《A Cultivation Tale: The Godly Punisher》


 Chapter 1: Recurring dream, supreme expert

    Many world-trembling battles were occurring in space. These battles either occurred in groups or individually. These people fought each other and their intents to destroy the other shot up nonstop.


    Massive swords, spears, and so on, condensed out of different energies they cultivated shot at great speed towards their opponents.


    Once these attacks of energies impacted, extremely loud boom sounds rang out and massive spheres of energy that shone with intense resplendent light abruptly surfaced and was instantly accompanied by ripples of destructive energies.


    These ripples of energy carried great destructive power, they could shatter planets if they passed through it.


    Extremely massive beastly creatures, the sizes of moons ferociously attacked each other.


    They discharged astonishing amounts of fire, ice, lightning, frost, heat to eradicate their adversaries.


    A tall man that wore a blue cape embroidered with stars engaged dozens of others in great, long-distance battles.


    His numerous opponents wielded horrifying weapons. These weapons emitted dreadful pressures despite being in space, and radiated resplendent auras of terrific power.


    They had been attacking this man for hours but he continuously halted their attacks. He seemed invincible, being able to cancel out dozens of attacks of energies shot at him.


    His opponents became exceedingly furious, their advancement was being halted by him. He was like a blackhole, except he didn''t devour their attacks but instead nullified it.


    Draining themselves of every drop of divine power, they sent their strongest offensives at the man.


    Swords, spears, blades, halberds and so on of astonishing sizes which were abruptly congealed from their entire energies shot towards the man at unbelievable speeds.


    These offensives radiated with power that could seemingly fragment worlds.


    The caped man, floating far away from these enemy combatants saw the incoming terrifying attacks.


    He ignored it and looked around to far places in space, then he saw how these adversaries overpowered his friends, disciples and allies.


    Many of them were being slaughtered like animals. This was because there were just too many of his enemies.


    Each person on his side fought at least eight enemy combatants and their strength was below par with that of their enemies, this made them easily butchered.


    Seeing there is no way out of this, he made up his mind. He closed his eyes and not long, an aura of sadness began to exude from him, tears formed swiftly in his closed eyes and rolled down his cheek.


    The instant the beads of tears rolled down his face, his body began to glow in an extremely brilliant light; the light coming from him was so bright it outshone tens of times many suns that illuminated worlds that were very far away.


    The stream of prismatic light emitting from him travelled far through the void bathing a great multitude of distant worlds in his extreme luminousness.


    Every other person at different places in space where they fought a battle individually or in groups looked over.


    The light had arrested their attention.


    The people on the man''s side understood what was happening, that he was about to detonate his core.


    A base of power he had been been building since billions of decades ago.


    With eyes that shone determination too, they closed them and began to glow too. These people were the man''s friends, acolytes and vassal forces.


    They were about to do what their friend and leader was doing.


    The moment the enemy combatants saw the man glow, radiating great luminance, they instantly deduced what he was trying to do.


    But they were awed to the extreme.


    such power.


    No wonder he wasn''t at a disadvantage when he fought with them. The man had reached a realm in cultivation where he had no peers.


    Quickly recovering from their dazzled states, they tried hurrying back to an extremely large dimensional portal far away to evade the blast, but they were seconds too late.


    Boom!..


    Everyone that were glowing at different regions in space also detonated their cores the instant the caped man did.


    Then billions of world-shaking booms rang out and immensely large amounts of violent energies discharged from them in all directions.


    These energies swept out with a force that could destroy everything. They were cataclysmic.


    The shockwaves of the explosion caused planets scattered about in the vast, unbounded expanseness of space to tremble.


    People in these affected planets were overwhelmed with great fright.


    At first, it was an extremely brilliant light that first shone, then it was followed by other resplendent lights.


    The lights were so luminous that it gave the feeling that numerous suns had appeared in their skies. Then unpredictably, hundreds of terrifying earthquakes occurred.


    Their magnitudes were beyond any scale.


    They manifested in rapid succession in different regions of these worlds.


    Apart from these earthquakes, giant tsunamis and frightening windstorms also occurred in lots of places.


    Raging, extremely colossal currents of water demolished structures in their path and violent, tremendously powerful gales pulverized hills and mountains.


    Entire skies were darkened as dusts were heaved into the air, saturating it.


    These worlds neared the brink of total ruin.


    A boy, whose eyes had golden abstruse patterns in it, floated in space far away from where the battles were taking place.


    Despite being very far away, he could see everything that was happening in space and in the thousands of distant worlds that were affected by the calamitous blast waves.


    It was like he had an all-seeing vision.


    All events that occurred everywhere did not escape his eyes that shone with mystification and peculiarity.


    This boy was awed by the power of these people, especially the caped man. He fought valiantly and was extremely powerful, canceling out attacks the sizes of worlds from more than fifty enemies all by himself and even obliterating some of them.


    But minutes later, absolute terror filled the entire void of his heart when he saw the terrifying energies raging towards him.


    Not able to do anything, he was engulfed by the violent energies.


    Argh!!!


    A young boy suddenly screamed up loudly in bed. It was as if he was caught in that terrifying, cataclysmal explosion.


    The dream felt very real.


    He shook intensely and sweat could be seen soaking his entire figure. It took a very long time before his mind calmed.


    It was 7:30am.


    He pulled apart the curtains, hanging them on a golden hook that was screwed tightly to the wall.


    The moment he separated the curtains, flood of soft rays of light from the sun came in illuminating the room.


    This room was astonishingly spacious, and it was grandly decorated and excellently furnished.


    The majesticness of this room surpassed the ones that noble or princely figures slept in.


    His bed was large and gave the feeling of great, unparalleled extravagance.


    The entire wooden frame of his bed beautifully sheened. They were coated with a type of paint that produced the feeling that it was of superlative quality.


    The wood used to make the mirror frame, wardrobe, shelf, cabinet, rack, chair and table were from very rare trees in remote regions. They emitted pleasant scents that calmed the mind and relaxed the body. He entered the bathroom to take his shower.


    After he finished showering, he dressed up in tight-fitting black clothes and sat on his bed.


    He thought back to the dream he had. He had been having this same dream since he was four, and now he was twelve.


    Every time it happened, he always screamed up from bed. The dream was extremely terrifying.


    ''''Who''s that man? Why do I keep dreaming of him?" He asked inwardly.


    He had never told anyone about these dreams except his uncle.


    This ''supreme expert'' as this young boy called him, had left a great and everlasting impression in him.


    He named him so as the man seemed unconquerable. He stood tall battling dozens of god-like beings by himself.


    In his memories where the figure of the man had been deeply engraved into, he was tall, extremely dashing and looked divine radiating with terrific power. This boy believed this man was the most powerful existence ever. That he was a god.


    This boy''s name was Alex. He was twelve years in age. But one of the striking features about him was that he looked much taller than his age. He had the height of someone that was fifteen.


    Another impacting feature of his was that he was peerlessly handsome.


    A reason was because he had a perfect face. All the contours of his face were unerringly shaped, like they were done by a supreme otherworldly molder.


    He had enchanting azure eyes and a long black hair that poured down far beyond his shoulders. It was like silk and was straight like a woman''s hair.


    He had a white skin that was mirror-smooth. It was free of blemishes, spots and cracks.


    He looked like an unequaled beauty.


    If not that he had hints of masculinity, many would take him for a great and rare beauty that cities would go to war for.


    The tight-fitting clothes he wore further added to his extreme handsomeness and brought out his impressive male physique.


    After a long moment of thinking about the man, he went to see his uncle.


    His uncle had been taking care of him since he was a baby. He had been a fatherly figure to him.


    He loved this uncle of his so dearly he wouldn''t hesitate to jump in front of him to receive a dagger-stab to the heart.


    He met hundreds of workers moving along the hallway to tend to duties they were employed for.


    He exchanged greetings with every one of them with a cute smile hung on his face and continued on his way.


    These workers dearly loved this boy.


    He was affable, accommodating, generous and very handsome.


    Alex was the friendly type. One could approach him and easily become friends with him. Despite having an uncle who had astonishing wealth, he wasn''t proud and arrogant like the sons of other wealthy families.


    The wealth his uncle had didn''t get to his head. He wasn''t attached to material things. Instead, he was more attached to people''s feelings. He had empathy for people. He was moved by people''s emotions. So this resulted in him being kind and highly generous. He gave things to people if he saw that they lacked it or if they requested for it from him. It was through him workers could collect stuffs from their boss who was Alex''s uncle since they weren''t comfortable with approaching him for their requests.


    Also, as a twelve-year-old child who just had an impressive height for his age, he was simple-minded and lovable.


    It was these endearing attributes of his that made the workers so dearly love him.


    These workers were people employed to maintain the overly enormous house he and his uncle lived in.


    These workers were very plenty that they numbered in the thousands. Many of these workers also had their families living here too who also worked to get remuneration which were really ''enormous'' in amounts.


    The house they maintained was extremely massive.


    It occupied an area of land for an entire estate and it was itself in a very large estate which had swallowed up hundreds of other estates it size.


    Tall and magnificent buildings many times impressive than the palatial mansion of a king could be seen in here.


    This grand estate was a hubbub of lucrative businesses. It had many restaurants, inns, shops, clinics, and what have you that don''t pay taxes.


    Also, very large and excellent, low-cost accommodation houses were seen here which was rented out to people at extremely cheap prices.


    This stately estate was owned by Alex''s uncle who had a lot of powerful firms and organizations in many other places.


    His uncle had great affluence. One could easily say from all these that he was the richest in the continent. He had no equal in terms of wealth.

 Chapter 2: Explaining cultivation

    ''''Morning". His uncle greeted and smiled affectionately when alex came in. Alex greeted back with a lovable smile and took his seat, relaxing himself on a cushion chair.


    His uncle, named Houston, was a man in his prime. He had raven-black hair and was handsome, he was quite tall and had an impressive athletic physique.


    Dressed in a really expensive outfit, he emanated the grandeur of a giant business tycoon.


    "Uncle. I had a dream about that supreme expert again. I have been counting it, this should be the eighty-seventh time. I don''t know why I keep dreaming about the man." Alex said.


    "I don''t know why you keep having dreams about him. Perhaps it''s to open your eyes to things you may believe, such as only gods possessing devastating power to turn worlds to ashes." his uncle said with a hint of shock and strangeness in his eyes which he tried concealing from the young boy in front of him.


    Alex shook his head disputably, "Uncle, I have asked you to tell me about cultivation, but you always said you would tell me at an appropriate time. Can you tell me now?" Alex asked with a false wrath in his face.


    His uncle saw the anger in his face and withheld the urge to laugh, his angry face looked very funny, it was like squashed tomato.


    "Alright, I would tell you before you burst." Houston said.


    Then he continued "Cultivation is a process of harmonizing oneself with an energy, then absorbing it into one''s body and nurturing it. Over time, the energy would grow from a small amount to a large amount."


    "Okay, where is the energy stored in the body?" Alex asked.


    "The area where this energy is stored in the body is just below the navel. It''s in the form of a sphere. We refer to this spherical area as the power-vessel, energy globe, realm orb or energyhouse." Houston replied.


    "Hmm. I got that uncle"


    Alex said.


    Houston nodded.


    Then he continued "Cultivation stages can be divided into four phases. The initial-phase, middle-phase, late-phase and peak-phase. While Cultivation realms are grouped into seven. They are, Human realm, Profound Adept realm, Saint realm, Sage realm, Celestial realm, Immortal Realm, Divine Adept realm and Imperishable realm." His uncle said.


    Then he looked at Alex with a smile. "Are you following or it is too much for your small brain?" Houston asked with a laugh.


    Alex rolled his eyes at him, "Uncle, what do you mean by that? Of course I understand" He said with fake anger.


    Haha!


    His uncle broke into laughter, he just couldn''t restrain the urge to laugh anymore, Alex''s face was now looking very funny.


    After laughing for a while, he returned to his usual seriousness.


    "What a comedian. Of course you are intelligent. I was only teasing you. Now, In the human realm, we have two stages. They are the Flow stage and Condensation stage..."


    Like that, Houston began to slowly enumerate the cultivation realms there was to Alex.


    In cultivation in this realmverse, there were twenty-eight stages and these stages have different levels of power.


    The degree of power of someone in any of these stages skyrockets to astronomical levels when he or she enters the next stage.


    Comparing the power of any stage to the power of the next is like comparing a house fly to an elephant, they are usually vastly disproportionate.


    In the human realm, there are two stages. They are the Flow stage (also called entry stage) and Condensation stage.


    In the Profound Adept realm, there are three stages. They include Earth Adept stage, Skylord stage and Heaven Adept stage.


    In the Saint realm, there are four stages. These are Saint stage, Great Saint stage, Saint Emperor stage and Grand Saint Emperor stage.


    In the Sage realm, there are five stages. They include Sage stage, Sage Priest stage, Sage General stage, Revered Sage Master stage and Sage Lord stage.


    In the celestial realm, there are four stages. They are World Adept stage, Celestial Adept stage, Hallowed Celestial stage and Celestial Ruler stage.


    In the Immortal realm, there are five stages. These are the Immortal stage, Great Immortal stage, Immortal Venerate stage (also called Venerable Immortal stage), Immortal Emperor stage (also called Great Immortal King stage) and Lord Immortal Emperor stage (also called Lord Immortal Monarch stage/ High God-emperor stage).


    In the Divine Adept realm, there are three stages. They are the Sacred Totem Adept stage, Void Adept stage and Primordial Adept stage.


    Lastly, In the Imperishable realm, there are only two stages. These are the Cosmos Great Exalt (also called Great Realmverse Prime) and Supreme Alpha Eternal (also called Omega-Overlord of Sea of Worlds or Guardian of Sea of Life).


    When Houston finished listing out the stages there was in cultivation to Alex, he listened patiently to Alex''s next question.


    "Alright. But is that all about cultivation?" Alex asked with a puzzled expression in his face.


    "No. Cultivation as a topic is really vast. Uhmm... Alright, let me tell you about the abilities gained when one first starts cultivation, that''s when one enters the entry stage." Houston replied.


    "Okay. So what are the abilities gained?" Alex asked.


    "They immediately gain two passive abilities. These are ''Self-Percipience'' and ''Stage Awareness Sense'' also called ''Cultivation Perception Sense.''" Houston replied.


    "Hmm. What are the abilities used for?" Alex asked.


    "The former allows us to see within ourselves while the latter allows us to discern the cultivation realm of others or the strength of their attacks. Through their aura, the cultivation stages they are in surfaces in our mind. With it, we would be able to recognize their cultivation levels." His uncle replied.


    "So I would be able to see within myself with the Self-percipience ability? Uncle, It''s so cool! See what you have been denying me all this while, it''s not fair." Alex said unhappily with surprise in his eyes.


    After pausing for a while to think of what to ask, he questioned "People who cultivates are called what? Let me guess, cultivators?"


    "Correct, people who cultivate are either called cultivation experts or cultivators. They are split into four classes. These include Energy cultivators, Soul cultivators, Body cultivators and Bloodline cultivators." Houston replied.


    "What do they cultivate?" Alex asked in a puzzled tone. He didn''t quite understand this part.


    "Okay. Energy cultivators are the commonest. This set of people cultivate energies. Soul cultivators whom are quite rare cultivate soul. These group of people only possess soul-based abilities, like illusion, mind-compel, hypnosis, soul-ripping attacks. Body cultivators cultivate body. They absorb a type of realm-energy from the world into their flesh, muscles, organs, bone and blood. This is done to strengthen and toughen their bodies. But they undergo extremely agonizing pains for hours, days or months just to make their bodies become as hard as nigh-indestructible treasure-artifacts. These experts'' bodies can be extremely strong and hard to the point of easily crushing sapphirstones, the hardest substance in our world with their teeth or effortlessly ripping extremely thick metallic sheets with their hands. Being the hardest and most torturous form of cultivation, people who practice this kind of cultivation are very rare. Lastly, bloodline cultivators simply cultivates their bloodline powers, they awaken lineage-based powers and nurture them by comprehending their mysteries. These people are descendants of extremely powerful experts, they are from ancient human, beast and non-human lineages. The humans in this group are dual-cultivators, that is they can cultivate both energy and bloodine. Their bloodline powers manifest as ultra-physiques, a form of super-powered body in which they can transform their fleshy bodies into. For example, a male with a bluefire blazegod physique and activating it would have his normal body transform. His hair would turn bright blue and burn like it''s on fire. His eyes would turn intense blue and one would see raging blue flames in them. Targets will spontaneously burn with a gaze. He would breath out bright blue mist which is extremely toxic and extremely corrosive. His entire skin gets covered in highly-resilient, blue armor-scales. Immense, bright blue, extreme-temperature flame would endlessly discharge from his body." Houston replied.


    Wow!


    Alex''s eyes sparkled.


    Houston looked at him and shook his head with a smile. Then he continued "But they need to awaken this physique first before they can cultivate it to such terrifying levels."


    "Huh! How?" Alex asked in an astonished tone.


    "This is simply unlocking every stages of their powers by comprehending the profound mysteries of their physiques." Houston replied.


    "Okay. Uncle, you mentioned descendants of beasts and non-humans. Can you explain that?" Alex asked.


    "They are progenies of beasts and non-humans. Now, about the beast progenies. They are dual-cultivators, especially the ones produced from the union of female divine beasts and human experts. Possessing both human and beast characteristics, they can cultivate energies and bloodline. Then coupled with their extremely durable body, they make for the strongest cultivators in the world. They have insane cultivation speeds in which that of human geniuses would only be able to match the lazy ones. So because of these, they are proud as hell. I have aversion to them. Haughty bastards. While the non-humans, as their name implies are not humans. They are other races aside from us and are really vast in numbers. They are also dual-cultivators as they can cultivate soul and bloodline. These beings are extremely terrific. Their powers are much more than humans and can only rival beasts. Only epic human geniuses can be called in the same tone as them." Alex''s uncle detailedly explained.


    "Hmm. But these beasts and non-humans would sideline us, they would see us as weaklings. That''s bad news for us. I am sure they are rulers in places populated by human cultivators." Alex said feeling down. He wasn''t happy with the strength-status of the humans.


    "Boy, you are right. They are majestic rulers in many places but don''t think we humans are weak. We are in fact the strongest. I am not trying to lie to raise your spirit but it''s true. We are quad-cultivators, we can cultivate energy, soul, body and bloodline. Although this reduces our cultivation speed, we are still extremely powerful in any level we are. But only extremely talented human geniuses can become quad-cultivators and they are very rare." Alex''s uncle replied in a sincere tone.


    Alex then shook his head with an admirable, triumphant smile hung on his face.


    He was happy that although the extremely strong human geniuses were rare, at least humans could cultivate all. They were not limited to one form of cultivation or the other.


    The only downside was doing this would drastically lower their cultivation speed. But it was still something to be very proud of. He thought.


    Houston saw Alex''s elated smile and shook his head.


    "Jealous" He uttered in his mind.


    Then he continued to lecture Alex about cultivation.


    "Now, cultivation have certain boundaries, when you accumulate energy to the extent of going beyond the threshold of a certain boundary, one is said to have broken through. This is a system every cultivator is subjected to. It''s a process that we can''t control. But there are people who have defied this system."


    "Really? Who are those?" Alex asked.


    "We generally call these people heaven deviants. They simply defy the rules of the heavens. The ones that defy cultivation rule are called cultivation deviants. Another called life deviants defy life span-rule, these life-deviants live far longer than they are supposed to. About cultivation-deviants, they possess more quantities of energy than are supposed. An expert''s accumulation may be fifty times theirs. Their degree of accumulation to enter the next cultivation stage could be a dozen to a thousand fold that of their peers. Although, this make their cultivation speed extremely slow, they have vastly more energy to spare. This could be very useful in battles, where it would seem their energies was boundless. Depending on the amounts of energy they possess at a stage, they could go on in combats for weeks, months or years. This is an unequalled advantage in battles. This aberration in their cultivation can be caused by peerless-rank god-pills that alter the function of their energyhouses, enhancing its capacity to accumulate energies to astronomical degrees before they can enter the next cultivation realm." Houston replied.


    "Cool" Alex said.


    Then he continued as he questioned "So, about the energy cultivators, what energy do they cultivate?"


    "Not what, how many. There are infinite number of energies around us which we could attune to and absorb. These energies can phase between insubstantiality and tangibility." Houston replied.


    "Huh! Uncle, how do you mean?" Alex asked.


    "They are incorporeal like a ghost when uncultivated and can become solid matter that can be felt and grasped when cultivated." Houston replied.


    Alex nodded his head in understanding.


    Then Houston continued. "But these myriad of energies make up the ultimate energy we call ''genesis realmforce energy''.


    Alex''s eyes shone with a light of comprehension.


    Seeing that Alex took in what he was saying without having a confused look, Houston continued.


    "This energy is an all-encompassing energy. It is the essence of all the worlds and everything found in them. By entering attunement with this energy, we can draw it for our utilization. But no expert have cultivated this energy since the inception of cultivation. It has been hypothesized that only someone who has blended with all the vastly diverse energies in the world, both in records and not, could sense this energy and tune their awareness to it. This energy is seen as all energies. Only when someone has cultivated all the energies in the world could one be said to have cultivated this supreme energy. Once all the energies are cultivated, they would merge and transform into this energy. It''s this ultimate energy every experts thirsts for, regardless of the tribulations that follow. But no one has ever accomplished this feat. It''s just theoretically and practically impossible. A reason is because they are restrained by their lifespans, even life-deviants, no matter how long they live can''t reach this level and the large number of energies we have in records are inconsequential in relation to the ones that haven''t been discovered and recorded yet. That''s why people go into seclusion to develop methods to sense these unknown energies and how to cultivate them"


    Alex shook his head in great awe.


    Everything his uncle had said were extremely astounding.


    Now, he knew gods were once humans just like him. Through cultivation they had transcended into a realm they could be called gods.


    "Uncle, how do I cultivate an energy?" Alex asked.


    "There are thousands of methods that describe how to cultivate diverse and variant forms of energies. We call these cultivation methodologies and are recorded in books called cultivation manuals. We only need to understand the essence of the energies we want to cultivate. Once we understand them, we activate our percipience of these energies. We then harmonize with them and absorb them. Apart from cultivation methodologies, we also have battle-class methodologies and movement-class methodologies. Then we have duality methodologies and trinity methodologies." Houston said.


    "Okay. What are those two you mentioned last? Uncle, I don''t quite get them" Alex asked.


    "Duality methodologies consists of any two of the three methodologies, a cultivation methodology and battle methodology or cultivation methodology and movement methodology while trinity methodologies consists of the three methodologies." Houston replied.


    He took a pause, then he continued


    "Unlike cultivation methodologies, battle-class methodologies and movement-class methodologies are graded. For battle-class methodologies, we have the A-grade, B-grade, C-grade, D-grade, E-grade and F-grade. These grades correspond to the Supernal Battle Entity-grade, Phenomenal Warring King-grade, Epic Warrior grade, Heavenly Warrior grade, Rare-Warrior grade and Mortal Warrior-grade, while for movement-class methodologies, we have Peerless Divine Speedster grade, World-speedster grade, Void-speedster grade, Spectre-Speedster grade, Rare Speedster grade and Mortal speedster grade. These grades still fall in different ranks, they include low-rank, average-rank, high-rank, supreme-rank and zenith-rank." His uncle said.


    Alex''s mind reeled in amazement.

 Chapter 3: Battle-Class Methodology Manual

    "Uncle, since you know so much about cultivation, you should have lots of cultivation manuals in your study room, right? I want a cultivation manual and a Supernal Battle Entity-grade battle-class methodology manual. I want to start cultivating" Alex said hurriedly.


    "Haha!" his uncle broke into laughter. "It''s an A-grade battle-class methodology manual you mentioned like that. I don''t have such wealth to purchase such. It''s something that experts from the High God-emperor stage could have. Even if they do sell one out, it should cost more than a thousand billion sapphirstone" Houston said.


    Alex trembled.


    So it has such value. Also, it must be exceedingly rare since it had such a price tag.


    The currency used in this world is called sapphirstone, it''s an octahedral crystal that comes in five colors. They are:


    - yellow,


    - cerulean,


    - purple,


    - silver and


    - gold.


    These colors correspond to:


    - common-quality,


    - good-quality,


    - rare-quality,


    - supreme-quality and


    - peerless-quality.


    Their value for exchange are:


    A cerulean sapphirstone can be exchanged for a hundred yellow sapphirstone.


    A purple sapphirstone can be exchanged for a hundred cerulean sapphirstone and ten thousand yellow sapphirstone.


    A silver sapphirstone can be exchanged for a million purple sapphirstone or hundred million cerulean sapphirstone or one billion yellow sapphirstone.


    A gold sapphirstone can be exchanged for a billion purple sapphirstone or ten billion sapphirstone or hundred billion yellow sapphirstone.


    These sapphirstones are one of the vast minerals found in the earth strata. They converted it to money to trade for goods and services.


    Their value depends on their rarity, for example, silver sapphirstones may only be found in a remote region in a continent out of ten thousand continents.


    Alex then made a funny angry face at him "What of a Phenomenal Warring King-grade (B-grade) battle-class methodology manual?" he impatiently asked.


    Alex''s uncle smiled and shook his head. "Come with me, I have a special one for you. There is a manual I purchased for you really long time ago, you would like it, definitely" his uncle replied.


    "I hope it''s blazing hot or I won''t accept it." Alex said with determination. "What a boy, you shall see, put your little mind at ease" he said as he laughed.


    Then he brought Alex to a shelf at a corner of his massive bedroom, he opened it and pulled out a metal box. When he opened the box, a large book could be seen within, the book had a thick blank page cover and was fastened.


    "Here. go practice" he gave Alex the book and immediately drove him out of his room.


    Plak!


    The door closed in his face.


    Alex was surprised by his uncle''s behavior.


    "Uncle, if you gave me a trash manual, I swear you wouldn''t rest, I would haunt you" he yelled attracting the attention of many of the workers.


    They only smiled as they knew he was throwing a childish tantrum.


    Alex snorted and left for his room, the moment he got to his room, he immediately unfastened the book and opened it.


    The instant he did, the air in his room abruptly turned turbulent. It caused the doors of his wardrobe to swing violently, his curtains blew like a windstorm was occurring in his room.


    His room turned disorderly.


    Framed artistic drawings and images of sceneries hung on the wall began to fall off. His quilt, bed cover, pillow were flung away by the aggressive wind currents.


    strong winds brushed his face causing his long hair to flutter.


    Alex was shocked. "What''s going on?"


    he looked around trying to apprehend what was going on, then he brought his attention back to the book and being an intelligent boy, he recognized that it was a form of residual power emitting from the book that influenced the movement of air in his room.


    "How mighty" he subconsciously muttered.


    The book had a blank front page, but when he turned to the next page, he saw the words "Wind Element Trinity Methodology: Primordial Wind Conjuring, A-grade" boldly written in it.


    "Trinity Methodology? A-grade? Crazy!!! How did my uncle get his hands on this?! The wealth he possesses should never be enough to purchase this book, right?" He asked excitedly.


    Great wonder and unfathomable puzzlement filled the black abyss of his eyes.


    Alex was elated for many minutes.


    When he brought himself back together, he sank his mind into the content of the book ignoring the tumultuousness of the air in his room.


    While Alex was reading, he didn''t know that strong winds were raging outside the mansion.


    The workers were perplexed, they didn''t know what was causing these furious winds.


    Alex''s uncle, now lying in bed knew about all that was happening, he only smiled and closed his eyes drifting to dreamland.


    Alex went through the introduction and couldn''t help but be greatly marveled. What made him more surprised were the battle-methods.


    They were large in numbers and were extremely powerful, as it was part acme-rank, supernal battle-entity grade (A-grade), battle-class methodology.


    When one reaches a high cultivation realm, one would be able to use a battle-technique to transform a single breath into immense, terrifying wind currents that can ravage worlds, with a technique at that cultivation stage, one could displace entire oceans and seas with just a sliver of air, It gave the user unrivaled movement-speed, both in flight and on foot and it numerous escape methods seems to have no equal.


    They were all simply techniques used by experts from void adept stage, a rank just two stages below the Supreme Alpha Eternal stage.


    Alex was extremely incredulous.


    The plethoric battle-techniques and speed-techniques listed in the manual were just too mighty.


    After feeling incredible for a long time, he sat cross-legged on the floor and began to ponder about the wind.


    The first step was comprehending the form, nature and essence of the wind.


    "what is wind? wind is air in motion. What is air? An unseen mass of matter present around us. The wind, like the fire element is formless but unseen, it can sometimes be soft and gentle and sometimes, hard and harsh. Nothing can obstruct its path, they would be overcomed, without air, nothing can live¡­"


    As he contemplated the wind, unknowingly, his mind had immersed into a unique state.


    In this state, he felt refreshed and relaxed.


    His physical senses became stronger, they were augmented beyond human level.


    But his mind, or more precisely, his mental faculty was the most heightened, he could now process large amounts of information very fast.


    Alex felt extremely awesome in this state.


    He liked it very much and felt he didn''t need to come out of it. While he was in this state, he picked up details about the strong winds occurring outside the mansion.


    He was surprised but recovered from his shock just as quickly.


    Many hours later, he stopped his cultivation and closed the book. The instant he did, the gusts vanished.


    He saw how his room instantly returned to normal.


    He smiled and shook his head, then he kept the book away.


    Focusing on the turbulent winds that manifested in his room moments ago, he had gained a complete understanding of the wind, but there was still something missing.


    That little thing was the essence of the wind he needed to comprehend.


    Once he did, he would be able to perceive an energy called ''Windforce energy'' as called in the book.


    Alex continued to think about the wind essence contemplatively until a week later, a large mass of air began to gather around him and swirl.


    This mass swirled at extreme speed scattering his entire room again, it was like a small typhoon had appeared in his room.


    An instant later, a energy, cyan in colour began to flow into Alex''s body from the air vortex that gradually increased in size.


    This was windforce energy.


    Alex had finally understood the essence of the wind.


    Now, he had tuned his perception to this energy. He was elated but he didn''t stop what he was doing. He directed the glowing threads of cyan energy along his energy pathways to his energyhouse.


    Slowly, they accumulated in his energyhouse and increased in quantity.


    This energy flowed into Alex''s energyhouse for a long time before a boom occurred only in his body, no one else heard the sound.


    This boom signified that he had broken through the invisible barrier between a mortal and a cultivator.


    He had now entered the initial phase of the entry-stage.


    He continued to cultivate until the next morning. This was because he was enjoying the feeling it gave him. A peculiar sensation washed through his body, this sensation felt very divine.


    All his pores were opened and began to breathe. He felt anew, like he had casted away his old body and had gained a new one.


    He felt he was going through purification.


    Not very long, he opened his eyes.


    The moment he pulled himself out of the special state he was in, he inhaled a pungent smell of rotten flesh.


    Alex trembled, the smell was so powerful that it gave him the urge to vomit hardly. He held his breath and looked at himself, he saw that he was coated in a dark black substance that evolved a strong decaying smell.


    Not able to withstand the smell, he rushed into the bathroom to shower.


    After showering, Alex felt really good. He had never felt this good before.


    Then he remembered the abilities one would automatically gain when one became a cultivator. He quickly tried it out.


    He looked within himself and could see a large mass of cyan energy gathered there. He was ecstatic.


    Now he was a cultivator and is on the path to become a god like his role model, the caped supreme expert he always dreamt about.


    He went to meet his uncle to share the good news. "I can perceive that you have transformed into a cultivator. Congratulations" his uncle said and gave a loving smile.


    Alex smiled and nodded.


    "Uncle, I can see a mass of cyan energy gathered in my energyhouse. Why is it cyan? Do energies possess different colors?" Alex asked puzzledly.


    "Yes, there are different colors. Take the five classic elements for example, which are fire, earth, water, air and wood. pyroforce energy for fire is scarlet, metalforce energy for metal is golden, plantforce energy for wood is green, terraforce energy for earth is yellow, and aquaforce energy for water is blue." His uncle replied.


    "Okay. Got that" Alex said.


    "Uncle, I started cultivating yesterday noon till this morning, I have gathered a lot of energy but I am still very far from the next boundary, I hope it''s not what I think?" Alex said looking at his uncle with hints of strangeness and confusion in his eyes.


    "Yea kiddo. I noticed that since you missed dinner last night. So what''s that you are thinking. Let me know, will you?" Houston asked with a smile.


    "That I am a cultivation aberrant?" Alex asked unsurely with one of his brows furrowed.


    "Hmm. Being an aberrant or a deviant is a good thing. It''s a good thing that should be celebrated. It shows you are far more unique than your counterparts. About your energy, as you cultivate and accumulate more energy with the aim to enter the next phase or realm, it would increase in quality and quantity. The color too becomes deeper and would undergo a transformation in form" Houston said.


    Alex''s eyes glowed.


    "Really? What transformation is that and at what cultivation stage?" He asked.


    "At all cultivation stages. Let me tell you the ones that happen at the the first nine stages of cultivation. The Entry realm, Congeal realm, Earth Adept realm, Skylord realm, Heaven Adept realm, Saint realm, Great Saint realm, Saint Emperor realm and Grand Saint Emperor realm can also be called, flow activation stage, condensation stage, core formation stage, core evolution stage, core transformation stage, core destruction stage, core baptism stage, statute entry stage and statute condensation stage. In these stages, your energy changes from one form to another and this changes are vastly different...." Houston began to tell Alex about the myriad forms energy would take at different cultivation stages.


    In the flow activation stage (entry stage) is the stage where you left your human shackles to become a cultivator.


    In the condensation stage (congeal stage), your energy thickens as it gains more mass.


    In the core formation stage (earth adept stage), your energy becomes a solid lump. This solid is referred to as the core.


    In the core evolution stage (skylord realm), the core evolves and one gains the ability to fly.


    In the core transformation stage (heaven adept stage), the core of your energies shatter and reassemble taking a new form. They could take any of the shapes of myriad of things.


    But these forms they take depends on the will of the cultivator. For example, one whose intent is to sever every bondages that would restrict his freedom with a blade would have his core take the form of an actual blade.


    In the core destruction stage (saint stage), the core undergoes destruction. It''s a life-or-death stage every cultivator must go through. It''s one of the major tribulation stages for all cultivators. If one''s core withstands the destruction, the core transcends to a higher realm of cultivation and if they don''t, they simply die.


    The higher realm of cultivation in this stage is the core allows the cultivator to operate in a higher realm of cultivation.


    In the core baptism stage (great saint stage), the core is baptized with statutes.


    In the statute entry stage (saint emperor stage). The cultivator starts to cultivate statutes.


    In the statute fusion stage (grand saint emperor realm), the statute increases in quality. That is, it increases in density.


    Statutes are the basal and principal forms of the energies cultivators cultivate.


    Anyone said to cultivate statutes is believed to have blended with the source, with the origin of the energies they cultivate.


    These statutes are the fountains, wellsprings of their respective energies.


    Cultivators refer to statutes as principal cosmic energies, primordial energies, basal energies, primalforce energies and originforce energies.


    For example, pyroforce energy, it principal form is fire statute which can also be called fire originforce energy.


    It is vastly more powerful in comparison.


    If an expert cultivating pyroforce energy can unleash a fiery attack that possesses the heat of a thousand burning coals. An expert that cultivates fire statutes will produce an attack a thousand times the strength of the attack of the expert that cultivate pyroforce energy.


    When his uncle finished explaining to him, Alex''s eyes glittered. "That''s a god! I shall become a god someday. No! A king of gods and ruler of aberrants" he screamed in his mind.


    At this moment, he decided this is the path he would traverse.


    The way of gods and deviants.


    Then he recalled the image of that powerful figure that had been indelibly branded into his very soul and smiled.


    "Uncle. Is there an end to cultivation?" Alex asked.


    He needed to know if there was an end to cultivation so that he can judge if that expert he idolized had reached the apex of cultivation.


    "I don''t know. There is a possibility that there is no end. It has been hypothesized that only someone who has cultivated all the energies in the world can be said to have reached the end of cultivation but this is impossible. No one can cultivate more than ten different energies, the energies would become chaotic in the person''s energyhouse and could cause the person to explode or become a cultivation cripple. So to think of reaching the end of cultivation is simply thinking to die, it''s basically suicide. But there would always be deviants, the Energy-deviants, they are people who defy the rule of the world and cultivate close to hundreds of different energies. Another group of cultivators called Beyonders, gain enlightenment in seclusion and fuse some of these energies, transforming them into a unique energy that is many times stronger than its constitutive energies. They may join hundreds of different energies together to create new cultivation energies. These new energies may have the strength to rival statutes. But in the end, they were destroyed by tribulations. These tribulations are vastly different from the tribulation that manifests when one broke through into a certain cultivation stage. They are meant for the complete destruction of these abnormal experts." His uncle replied.


    Alex''s mind shook.


    These genius experts were really something, taking such a mighty risk for great power, but it was worth it.


    At least, they would be legends.


    His eyes glowed when he remembered this was the path he chose, the path of deviants.


    But he didn''t care one bit about the tribulation that would haunt him forever seeking for his destruction.


    His eyes radiated steely determination, nothing would waver the resolution in his heart.

 Chapter 4: Practicing battle methods, training

    "Alright. I understand perfectly now. Uncle, I need a place to practice some of the battle methods. I want to use the forested land behind us to practice. Please." Alex begged with a lovable smile hanging on his seraphic face.


    "Of course! Why not? I bought that place with you in mind. Come with me." Then he led Alex to the land behind the mansion.


    This place was a large forest, the land was really big. Very tall trees that had had colorful canopies were abundant here.


    The earth was covered by tall grasses and nice fragrances permeated the air. They exuded from colorful flowers which added great scenic beauty to this place.


    His uncle turned and walked back to the mansion leaving Alex behind to practice.


    Alex took a deep breath as he got serious.


    He looked within and summoned that energy in his power vessel to his palm.


    The moment this energy came out of his palm, it caused the air to become turbulent, the wind raged as they kicked up dried leaves littering the soil, and dusts into the air.


    Abruptly gathering in his palm and following the steps for the ''wind ball'' technique, the mass of energy that had gathered in his palm rapidly shaped into a ball, it felt real in his hand, like it was a ball made of true matter.


    Deploying his willpower, he compressed it, making it smaller and added more energy to it to make it more solid.


    Then he aimed the palm holding the cyan ball at a large tree in the distance and the ball shot out of his palm towards the tree.


    The instant the ball shot out, air was pulled over in all directions. It speedily gathered around the glowing energy ball in large amounts.


    In a few seconds, the air had swiftly compacted into a huge ball of air that enclosed the cyan ball within.


    Bang!


    Once the ball exploded on impact with the tree, the tree shattered apart and gales rushed out from the area of collision.


    These gales swept dusts and leaves to distances dozens of feet away.


    Alex''s mind shook.


    "Is it right for my attack to have such level of power at my present cultivation stage just in my first practice?" he asked in a perplexed tone inwardly.


    The blast of the wind ball seemed to possess more power than normal.


    He paid it no further thoughts. He continued to practice.


    He would rest a bit to recover energy and practice again. The only way he could restore his energy was to cultivate to replenish the depleted energy in his energyhouse.


    He continued his practice till dusk. After he felt he had practiced enough, he went back into the mansion.


    He went to his room to resume cultivation.


    Air gathered around him and cyan energy entered into his body through his pores accumulating in his power vessel.


    He forgot himself in cultivation till morning came.


    Once the sun rays shone in his eyelids, they snapped open. He immediately stood up and went to take his bath.


    Feeling refreshed, he dressed up in tight-fitting clothes and went to the forest to practice again.


    - In the forest -


    Spreading a palm wide open, windforce energy came out from it and quickly molded into a cyan ball.


    The instant this energy discharged from his palm, It caused the air to turn into furious winds.


    Everything on the ground such as leaves, small stones, dusts were thrown into the air.


    This ball was more powerful than the ones he produced yesterday, it had more quantity which made it heavy, and it was denser, being compacted to the maximum.


    He was getting adept at using the ''wind ball'' attack technique.


    "Wind ball!" he shouted and threw that palm out hurling the cyan ball at a tree in the distance.


    The ball shot out at great speed gathering large amounts of air from all directions.


    The air enwrapped it in seconds and quickly condensed into a large ball of air that enclosed the cyan ball within.


    Bang!


    A few trees shattered into splinters when the ball exploded on impact with a tree.


    Once it exploded, strong currents of wind erupted, shoving everything in their path into the far distance.


    "Awesome." He smiled as he exulted his success.


    He looked away and fixed his gaze on another tree.


    Moving windforce energy to his palm, it abruptly condensed and shaped into a blade.


    He sent his palm out and the blade shot out at extreme speed towards the tree he aimed at.


    Shrr!


    The blade pierced through the tree and through other trees behind it.


    "So cool." He smiled.


    His little success in the techniques had filled his heart with ecstasy.


    "I have gotten only two moves down. The other moves need a lot of energy to sustain them. I need to breakthrough into the next cultivation stage to be able to execute them or I could use the wind elixir technique, but it would result in future problems for me." he said inwardly.


    Then he closed his eyes for sometime and when he opened them, they shone with intense cyan.


    The instant he opened his eyes, the winds became violent again.


    This was a technique called the air control vision. With just his eyes, he could influence winds.


    By sending this methodology, he gained an ability called ''wind sense.''


    Through this wind sense, he can summon air from distant locations and use his air control vision to manipulate them.


    Not very long, his eyes returned to normal which restored calm to this place. Then he resumed practice of his windball and wind blade technique.


    He practiced till late night before he went back to the mansion.


    Feeling seriously hungry, he went to have his dinner at the dining hall.


    "Alex, what would you like to eat?" A young girl around the age of fourteen came over and asked with a beautiful smile.


    She wore a gorgeous gown that accentuated her great figure and eyes that shone in hazel. She was the only daughter of one of the workers here and was beautiful.


    One impressive thing about her is that she carried herself like a noble and not as a worker as she had her character and way of doing things influenced by Alex.


    This was because they were good friends and spoke almost every time.


    But Alex was now busy with cultivation and they didn''t get to see and talk to each other like before.


    She worked to get money for herself and not rely on her parent. At her young age, she was smart and really hardworking.


    As of now, by learning from many people, she had learnt and perfected a lot of skills.


    "Kate, I am fine with anything. How are you doing? Am so sorry you haven''t been seeing me, it''s because I have started cultivation." Alex responded affably and a cute smile surfaced on his lips.


    "That''s good, but why not go to an academy? your uncle can surely pay for your fees." Kate asked in a bewildered tone.


    Alex''s uncle was very wealthy to be able to afford Alex''s cultivation academy''s school fees and other expenses.


    So she was surprised.


    But she didn''t know it was for a reason.


    He shook his head. "He wouldn''t. Right from when I was very little, he had been the one teaching me how to read and write. It''s as if he''s scared if I go to any of these academies I may never come back. But I think I would enjoy him more than any other teacher in any academy. He teaches me patiently and explains all over again if I get nothing." Alex said with a smile.


    His uncle was a good teacher.


    From what Alex knows about cultivation academies, he had always known to be institutions owned by a person or a group of individuals.


    They teach people how to cultivate, provide them with resources like herbs and pills to cultivate the energies they have attuned to and give treasures to assist in their cultivation.


    But to enter these institutions, multiple tests are first conducted.


    When one passes and is given admission, they are required to pay acceptance fees or admission fees which is usually very cost.


    After paying that, one would pay the school fee for every year which is also very high and increases as you go on.


    This is normal as the the school needs money to continue to operate. They would remunerate the instructors, pay the non-cultivation staff that would maintain the beauty of the academy.


    Only affluent people or people from noble homes can afford the costs of sending their younglings to cultivation academies.


    Another thing about these academies is that they act as shields for their outstanding students, especially the ones called Great Sons and Daughters of the Academy.


    When they move out of the academy, they are stealthily followed by some of the elders whom would spring into action in a moment''s notice once they detect danger.


    "Okay. But it''s cool if you could study at an academy, it would provide a competitive atmosphere which helps to build your overall prowess. Anyways, you might not need it just as you said earlier. Your uncle is a really nice man, painstakingly teaching you everything you need to know. Besides, look at all the wonderful unceasing opportunities he gave to us. I just pray the gods continue to bless his business." Kate wholeheartedly prayed for him.


    Alex only smiled when he heard gods.


    It had been clear to him since that these gods were once humans or other forms of living creations that strictly trained themselves to reach the god level.


    He didn''t explain anything to Kate as he would only upturn everything she ever knew or believed in.


    But he decided to do it slowly. With time, her belief would change.


    With the guess that she would have good cultivation talents, he asked "Would you like to cultivate? My uncle has a large library that has tons of cultivation books, I can get you some and see which one you have affinity to?"


    "No. I don''t want to ask for too much. I am okay living and working here, Alex. Just forget it. And let me go get you something" she said and gave a smile. Then she stood up and left.


    "Okay" Alex responded.


    ***


    After a while, Kate brought a scrumptious meal that exuded great aroma.


    Alex offered his thanks and dived down, voraciously. He didn''t comport himself in her presence, there was nothing to conceal from her.


    Kate looked at him as he ate with a smile on her face the entire time. Alex was just too lovable, and he was handsome, his look and facial expression would always tug the heartstrings of every girl he came across.


    Like that, Alex ate to fill his empty belly while being watched by Kate whose face flushed every time.


    They were in a big, grandly furnished dining hall that only the table alone could accommodate thousands of people. This was because Houston saw his workers as his family.


    They all always ate together at different hours of the day when it was time for meal.


    When he finished eating, he spoke with Kate for a long time.


    Then he left and went to his uncle''s room.


    "Kid, you have abandoned me because of cultivation. That''s not fair." His uncle said with a fake unhappy look.


    Alex smiled "Uncle, I am sorry. I was carried away by it. I promise to visit more often." he said.


    His uncle shook his head, "No need to visit me. Just do your thing. I was only teasing you. But I am very happy with you. You are really diligent. But look at your body, you are getting skinnier. Skipping breakfast and lunch just for practice? You can skip lunch but always make sure you come to the dining hall for your breakfast." His uncle said in a serious tone.


    Alex smiled again "Alright uncle. I would do just that." he said in response to what Houston said.


    "You don''t even come to me again for explanations. It seems you now know a lot that you don''t need to know about any other thing, right? I read so many books just to answer any question you might ask me when you are older. But your thing for cultivation has made it so that you no longer come to see me." His uncle said with a smile.

 Chapter 5: Alexs generosity, childhood friend

    Alex rolled his eyes at him "Well, I am here now." He said.


    "Okay. So, what are you here for?" Houston asked.


    "Well... I am here to ask for another cultivation manual, I want a Trinity Methodology A-grade one." Alex said shyly.


    His uncle''s ears twitched, he didn''t hear right.


    "Alex. What do you need that for? Practice that one I gave you to a level before you come for another." Houston said in a perplexed tone.


    Alex smiled, he knew his uncle was going to say this.


    "Actually, I am not asking for myself. I am asking for a friend." Alex replied in a begging tone.


    "Oh, if not for that you wouldn''t come to me. I would see what I can do about it. But it''s not certain I can get you a trinity methodology." Houston replied.


    He couldn''t believe Alex.


    Anyways, he took it as Alex being still young and naive. He was just twelve. What would a twelve years old know? He wanted to start giving out such expensive and rare methodologies.


    But Houston couldn''t blame Alex for his generousness ability as it was an habit impacted into him. He was the one who inculcated this habit into Alex. He always told him to give to people things he realizes they lack.


    Actually, Alex although was generous, he didn''t really see it as anything bad in giving a methodology to Kate. She was his childhood friend. They had grown up together and had developed this tight bond. Since he would be cultivating very soon, he wanted her to cultivate too. He wasn''t thinking for himself in this regard. He was thinking for her too.


    Since she was his tight friend and that they had grown up together to develop this deep mutual feelings for each other, he wanted her to become a god too just like he desired. A god-like female experts that would move mountains and oceans.


    Alex nodded his head happily when Houston agreed to his request.


    Then he remembered his dream about that expert. In that dream he saw thousands of worlds of different sizes.


    This deeply astonished him and so he wanted to know how many worlds there were in space.


    "Uncle, if I want to journey far in future, tell me about the worlds we have?" Alex asked with a smile.


    "Hmm. That''s a great plan. I myself have always dreamt to travel to many of these worlds to have rich experiences about them. Well, from my study, we live in a world out of countless numbers of worlds. The totality of these worlds is called the Realmverse or in mundane term, ''Sea of Worlds.'' These worlds, which can also be called planets, have their own suns which illuminate them. These worlds, depending on their sizes and richness of cultivation energies can be classed into Greatverse, Oververse, Underverse and Planeverse..." His uncle began to describe the worlds for him.


    In this realmverse, there are four types of worlds. These are


    - Greatverse,


    - Oververse,


    - Underverse and


    - Planeverse.


    They are listed in decreasing order of sizes, abundance of cultivation resources and energies, and ultimately, the strengths of the experts that inhabits them.


    Greatverse is known as the Great World or Grand World. it''s where primeval experts are found. These experts are super-existences, fearsome god-like beings.


    Limitless amounts of consummate cultivation resources are found in this type of world and cultivation energies are richly abundant in this world that they don''t need cultivation pills.


    These worlds have a radius from seventy-five octillion square kilometers and above. There are hundreds of thousands of Greatverses and each of them are very distant from each other.


    To give a precise figure, they are about thousand duodecillion kilometers away from each other.


    A Greatverse is ruled by a Revered Great Cosmic Emperor, an apex primeval expert, but this position is contestable.


    Oververse, also called Major World have few primeval experts and other frightening experts just a rank below them. These experts are numerous as sands in the deserts.


    Oververses have a radius from fifty septillion square kilometers to ninety septillion square kilometers. There are millions of Oververses.


    Each Oververse is ruled by a Worldrealm Overlord. The position is also contestable.


    Underverse, also known as Minor World has a a radius of ninety-two sextillion kilometers. Numbers of experts are extremely vast too. Sage-realm experts are nothing in this place. There are tens of millions of it. Each Underverse is ruled by an Underverse StarLord.


    Planeverse also called Mortal World is the world mortals live in. Cultivation resources are very scarce and cultivation energies are very thin, in terms of richness (density).


    Grand Saint Emperors are the proud peak experts here.


    But despite it being an insignificant world, legacies of ancient experts would appear here from time to time. These ancient experts prefer to give their legacies to people from this kind of world, people not corrupted by the aura of affluence, position, haughtiness and aloofness exuding from powerful experts from super families.


    They hate the idea of given those lordly or amoral cultivators from those kind of families their inheritances.


    Some of these inheritances could be easily received or one would have to go through a series of tests to prove oneself worthy of the inheritance.


    The radius of this world is about seventy-three quadrillion kilometers and there are billions of Planeverses. Each is ruled by a Mundane Versal-Lord.


    In each of these worlds, there are continents.


    These continents could hold hundreds, thousands or millions of ''Regions'' depending on their sizes.


    In each of these regions are ''States,'' where at least, thousands of it could be found in a region.


    Numerous cities, about hundreds of them are found in each state.


    These cities are presided over by city lords, a state by a governor, a region by a region master or states-master and continents by continent chiefs.


    All these worlds make up the realmverse which is ruled over by a Realmverse Great Sacred Lord.


    But no one has ever had this title since the beginning of cultivation.


    It''s just impossible.


    It''s more like the ultimate apex of cultivation which absolutely can''t be reached.


    Alex''s eyes glowed in amazement.


    "Wow! Limitless. Well, their numbers don''t scare me, I would journey through all of them in future." Alex said.


    "That''s the spirit. Just believe in yourself boy." His uncle replied.


    Alex nodded his head as he gave a smile.


    "Uncle, tell me more about divine beasts" He said.


    Those beasts he always sees in his recurring dreams feels like divine beasts to him.


    They had great, frightening power.


    The beasts were as large as moons and some as a small world. They were incredibly fearsome and radiated a powerful presence.


    He could still remember vividly those feelings he had in that dream despite his far distance from those warring beasts.


    His uncle smiled, then he said "Divine beasts are winged, quadrupedal creatures that when they appeared in the world, they had a cultivation base at the celestial beast realm and above. This type of beast could shift from their beastly form into a human form. They lived amongst us and you wouldn''t be able to differentiate. They ate what we ate, drank what we drank, spoke like us, you wouldn''t notice this unless they change back to their beasts forms. We humans have long accepted divine beasts in our society, there were many human male cultivators that have married beasts or dated them and vice versa. Many human female cultivators and female divine beasts produced offsprings from their marital union with beasts and humans respectively. Such offsprings were hybrids, progenies that have beast-related bloodline abilities and can cultivate either body, soul or energy or all three. Their cultivation progresses incredibly fast than that of humans. These divine beasts when they first appeared formed a family with humans or other species of divine beasts, and beasts that belonged to their own species. There is a book I would give you later that has all the names of the divine beasts that has ever appeared in the Multiverse. Their abilities and their rankings are included. Alright, I think I have spoken enough. It''s time to resume your cultivation. It''s extremely paramount." Houston stood up and dragged Alex out of his room.


    Alex shook his head in displease.


    Then he went back to his room.


    He ruminated on what his uncle said for a while before closing his eyes to resume his cultivation.


    Alex continued his triangular lifestyle for the next three months. During these period, he broke through to the middle-phase entry stage.


    He had always been in the mansion cultivating and comprehending one battle or speed-method, and in the forest practicing the techniques listed in the wind element trinity methodology.


    Also, during this period, he had spoken to Kate and the other beauties in the mansion.


    He had given Kate a cultivation manual, it was a Supernal Battle Entity-grade (A-grade) Dual Methodology titled "Great Cosmos Incineration Methodology: Thousand Worlds Burning Flame."


    She was shocked by the tyranny of the cultivation manual and by Alex''s uncle''s generosity.


    When Alex gave her the book, she gave Alex a long, sweet hug and a kiss on the cheek, and went to Alex''s uncle offer her thanks.


    ** A particular day **


    He decided to step out of the mansion to practice. He had a place in mind and this was the Red Lotus Cave.


    It was a really deep cave at the base of a mountain. It had many labyrinthal routes and each routes had red lotus flower growing in it. This was why it was named the Red Lotus Cave.


    No one knew why it was only producing red lotuses but these flowers were miracle flowers to mortals.


    It had good wound-healing abilities and the scents they gave out could pacify the mind.


    But beasts had chosen this cave as their abode. Beasts from the wild-beast realm to the saint-beast realm could be found here but at a great depth in the cave.


    This Red Lotus Cave was popular to everyone. People do venture in to kill these beasts for their skin which could be made into treasures such as armors. Their skin are very durable.


    While others go in there to capture the beasts and raise them as pets that can become battle-pets later.


    - Houston''s room -


    "Uncle. Please, I promise to not go too deep. I only want to gain battle experience. I am tired of practicing with those trees. They are unmoving and can''t attack. How am I supposed to develop good battle prowess when my opponents can''t attack and can only explode? So, since I don''t have a sparring partner, I could make use of the beasts to develop myself in battle. I want to experience real combat." Alex pleaded with his Uncle.


    "It''s not that I won''t allow you. It''s just extremely dangerous. I am scared you may loose your life." His uncle tried to impact reasoning into him.


    "Uncle, I know. That''s why I wouldn''t venture too deep. I promise."


    Ai!


    His uncle sighed. "Alright. You can go but make sure not to go in too deep. There are terrific ravenous beasts in those places, although less intelligent, they hate humans, a lot. So be careful kiddo." Houston said.


    Alex nodded, then he set off.


    He left the estate owned by his uncle and journeyed into the wilderness.


    He arrived in the wilderness in one of the ultivehicle his uncle owned.

 Chapter 6: Red Lotus Cave

    Alex forced the person who brought him in a Ultivehicle to stop at a place and return.


    He wanted to experience the world himself and without any help.


    Armed with a well-detailed map, he got there.


    After several days of walking alone in the wilderness and studying everything he could. He arrived in front of a mountain that had the red lotus cave at it foot.


    He was shocked by what he saw.


    This mountain looked divine. It was a single mountain, but it stretched far more than his eyes could see.


    "What a mountain. So huge." he muttered with awe filling the entirety of his heart.


    Then he looked at the cave at the base of the mountain. Whether it was formed by nature or by man he couldn''t say.


    He didn''t think deeply about it. He walked into the cave and was astounded by it.


    It was really wide and sweet scents filled the air. He could see red lotuses growing almost everywhere.


    He walked for sometime before he started hearing human voices. He knew there were people who always come here to either kill beasts or capture them or use the beasts to hone themselves in battle.


    He walked close to these voices and hid behind a rock in this place. He looked over cautiously and saw about ten people.


    Surprisingly, these people were young boys and girls, about the age of twelve to fifteen.


    Their group consisted of six boys and four girls. The boys wore yellow shirt and trousers while the girls wore yellow blouse and skirt.


    "These look like uniforms. They must be from an academy" he guessed.


    As he scanned around from where he hid, there was one whose silhouette caught his attention.


    She was a girl as this person wore blouse and skirt. But her blouse was hooded and she gave the feeling of aloofness. She was quiet but the others by her side talked.


    "Who''s there?" the older one in their group shouted.


    Alex''s eyes widened in surprise. "How did that big guy know someone else is around?" he got up slowly and smiled.


    He felt like a thief that was caught red-handed. "Hello guys. I am sorry if you felt I was sneaking up on you guys." he said with a jovial smile.


    The older one named Nathan asked suspiciously, "Why were you hiding behind that rock? You thought we wouldn''t discover you?"


    "Not at all. I only hid to see if you guys weren''t dangerous. If I noticed a sinister aura from you guys, I would immediately turn to leave, my safety comes first. I have heard stories of this cave and the nefarious people that come in here regularly that would kill even babies without batting an eye." Alex said hurriedly in defense for his actions.


    "Who did you come here with?" The older person asked.


    "I came here by myself." Alex responded.


    "What? You came in here yourself? Seems you don''t like your life. Forget about the evil people, how would you leave with your body intact when hundreds or thousands of beasts come at you?" one of them from the group asked.


    "Hmm. What a question, well, I can run." He said inwardly.


    After thinking of what to say. He said "I would try to escape. I have great evasion techniques, I would evade all of them, none would be able to match my speed. Besides, I won''t go too deep. I only came here to develop my battle prowess. The beasts around here shouldn''t be too strong, I should be able to kill all of them, even if they number in hundreds."


    The group were lost of what to stay. "Who does this boy think he is? Someone not from an academy, who hasn''t gone through refining or the baptism of competitions in an academy was claiming he could fight hundreds of beasts himself?" They shook their heads and turned to go further into the cave leaving him behind.


    Alex knew he was exaggerating things but it was good to carry oneself.


    Besides, he felt his uncle was wealthier than all of these peoples'' families combined and he studied an A-grade Trinity Methodology that only gods should have.


    he smiled when he thought to here.


    "Hey guys, can I come with you? I promise not to cause any harm. Besides, I can fight pretty well." He said.


    "Oh. With your measly mid-phase entry stage cultivation rank. Open your eyes and look well. We are all in the late-phase and peak-phase entry stage. Besides, you are not someone from an academy. So, what battle skills would you possibly have and how would you be able to help us?" Someone from the group said.


    Michael looked at the person who spoke and gave a eye that hinted he should shut the hell up.


    "Sure. You can come with us. Just make sure you don''t cause problems for us and that you would support us when we engaged the beasts in a battle." Michael said.


    "Yes, I promise" Alex said.


    Then he joined their group.


    They walked for a long time before they started hearing howls of beasts in the distance, it seemed to be approaching them.


    "They have perceived our smell. Everyone ready yourselves." Michael said as he and the others pulled out either a sword or a blade from their sheaths.


    Alex also produced a sword. He was given by his uncle.


    Not very long, hundreds of beasts could be seen rushing towards them. They raised up clouds of dusts as they moved.


    Quickly, energy-attacks were launched at the beasts from far killing them one after the other.


    One could see brilliant rays of colored energies shooting at extreme speeds towards the beasts.


    These colors were due to the different energies they cultivated.


    Alex wielded a blade that began to glow in intense cyan light.


    This light was extremely bright it outshone the other colors of light emanating from the weapons of everyone here.


    It was very brilliant that it dyed everywhere cyan.


    This was the colour of windforce energy as he channeled it into the blade in his grasp.


    Once the blade started to gleam, turbulent winds surfaced.


    He slashed out horizontally and a wide cyan ray of energy shot out at extreme speed.


    It slashed cleanly through many of the beasts.


    A single slash had caused the death of more than thirty beasts.


    Everyone looked at Alex with surprise in their eyes. The strength of his attack was on par with that of a peak-phase entry stage cultivator.


    Alex too was astonished, he didn''t think he could unleash an attack that could cut through the extremely tough skin of beasts and through many of them at that.


    He stopped thinking about it and began to enjoy the attention he was given because of his powerful strike.


    He felt like a superstar.


    Someone in this group snorted in envy and launched his attacks at the beasts.


    Despite being in the peak-phase entry stage, he could only kill ten beasts. It was far behind the number of beasts Alex killed with a single slash.


    Michael''s fist began to glow in deep yellow light. At a distance, it looked like his fist was a rock and a metal at the same time.


    It looked stony and shone with a metallic lustre.


    "Ravaging Ironstone Fist" Michael punched out towards a beasts that leapt over.


    Bang!


    The beast exploded into bits and a fist of yellow light shot out at high speed towards the other beasts in the distance.


    Some of these beasts exploded while some were knocked unconscious and were grievously wounded.


    Their bones shattered and blood spurted from their tough hides.


    One of the young girls, the one exuding the aura of aloofness took action after standing for a while doing nothing.


    She produced a white blade which was a treasure-weapon and rushed towards the beasts incoming.


    "Where are you going? Come back!" Michael shouted but she ignored him.


    While rushing at a great speed towards the beasts, the blade grasped in her hand began to erupt a white light as she poured energy into it.


    Then bright white flames surfaced around the blade. This white flame caused the temperature to radically increase.


    The flame was extremely hot such that the heat emitting from it was several times hotter than the heat that would emit from a hundred burning coals.


    "Incinerating Heavenly Blade"


    She shouted when she got to a close range of the beasts. Then she slashed out with her blade at them.


    A large white ray of energy shot out to the beasts. It left a wide trail of white flame in the air as it cleanly cut the body of the beasts in halves.


    This ray of energy was purely white flame moving in a straight line like a ray of light. It burnt the beasts to crisps once they were cut through by the wide straight-line stream of fire.


    Every other person then marched forward with braveness and killed the beasts that came at them.


    The beasts by now had reduced in numbers.


    They got enraged such that a thick vengeful aura began to emanate from them. They roared and spat out scarlet balls.


    These balls emanated intense heat that caused Alex and the rest to be horrified.


    Alex quickly took action.


    He placed one hand above and the other below. The palms faced each other, then windforce energy poured from within his body into the space between his hands.


    This energy instantly molded into a ball which increased in size as Alex added more energy to it.


    Few seconds later, the ball grew to a size many times that of a tennis ball.


    The large amounts of energy condensed and shaped into a ball between his palms caused the air to become chaotic.


    Strong winds began to move about.


    He aimed the cyan ball at the scarlet balls shooting over.


    As it jetted out of the space in his palms at great speed, it brought with it powerful gales.


    When it reached a close proximity, it exploded releasing strong currents of air that rapidly cooled the scarlet balls.


    None of the balls could withstand the tremendous blast of air.


    The scarlet heat-balls dissipated away with the wind.


    Everyone couldn''t help but marvel, Alex had just blocked the heat-balls fired by these beasts beasts all by himself.


    They started to look at Alex in a new light.


    They had to accept that although he wasn''t from an academy, he could be called in the same note as them.


    After being astonished for a few second, they resumed their battle with the beasts.


    The young girl wielding a white blade kept it away. Then her hand began to glow in intense white light and emitted great heat.


    Pointing at the beast, the white glow emitting from her hand changed to a red glow and the heat emanating from it increased.


    "Seven Rings of Fiendish Fire" she uttered and abruptly, seven red rings of fiery energy shot out from her finger towards the beasts at extreme speeds.


    On getting to a close range, the first ring exploded releasing red flames that burnt the beasts.


    The second exploded, followed by the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh.


    The power of the seventh ring was frightening as it had the total devastating might of all the six rings of energy.


    Alex was amazed by this aloof but extremely beautiful girl. "She''s this powerful?" he asked inwardly.


    The girl who just executed that fascinating finishing move now looked pale.


    She had really put everything into that last attack, killing off close to a hundred beasts at once with the power of her peak-phase entry stage cultivation level.


    Only she knew why she did that.


    Her reason was because Alex was oppressing them, but it was unintentional.


    Although, he wasn''t from an academy, yet he could rival them with his lower cultivation stage.


    She was ashamed of this and she believed everyone else too were ashamed but they couldn''t show it.

 Chapter 7: Olivia

    The last move she used was one of the techniques of an Epic-Warrior grade (C-grade), Variant-Fire Element Battle Methodology her family had.


    This indicated that she was from a family that cultivated only fire.


    She became very pale in complexion as she had drained her entire energy just to pull that technique off.


    "Olivia, you are absolutely amazing. What a brilliant killing move." Someone in her group praised.


    "That''s why she''s one of the top genius of our academy at this cultivation level. Olivia, I believe you would become a terrifying expert in future." Another in their group flatteringly said.


    Awe and respect could be seen in their eyes.


    "So her name''s Olivia. She''s really powerful. Her battle method can''t be from the academy, it must be from the family she came from" Veneration also filled Alex''s eyes.


    "I believe Olivia has drained herself of energy with that last attack. We would move when she fully recovers" Michael said to his colleagues.


    Then he turned to face Alex "Would you continue without us or wait sometime for her to recover?"


    "Nah. I would wait. I won''t be able to do anything in here on my own" Alex replied.


    "Alright" Michael nodded.


    He was pleased with Alex.


    Since the time they started to battle the beasts, he had discovered to his amazement how strong Alex was.


    He now held him in reverence.


    Olivia had sat in the cross-legged position on the ground.


    Her body slowly recovered after she took red pills to restore her energy. Slowly, colour returned to her pale body. A few minutes later, she became fine.


    She stood up and slightly nodded at Alex with a smile, probably acknowledging him for his strength.


    When Alex got a good view of her face, he couldn''t help but be astonished.


    This graceful and aloof beauty was like a celestial figure that came from the heavens to live amongst mortals.


    She had a long, ruby hairs that reached her waist. It had that colour probably because of the fiery energy (pyroforce energy) they cultivated in her family.


    Her face was smooth like glass, and in it were eyes that shone with intense blue and bright pink lips that was full and looked succulent.


    Her spotless white skin was exceedingly attractive, they glowed making her resemble a goddess.


    She possessed a slender body that was close to perfection, and she was pretty curvaceous.


    Despite her young age, she had a pretty big and erect chest. The firm fleshy lumps that protruded from her chest would definitely make any body to lust for her.


    The tight school blouse she wore couldn''t hide them as her bust stretched it to the maximum.


    She was quite tall in relation to her age. Her long, slender white legs were responsible for this, they made her look tall.


    When she smiled at Alex, her smile made the red lotuses in here pale in comparison.


    After she nodded and smiled at Alex, she asked "What''s your name?" This was her first time talking to Alex.


    She had been quiet and distant throughout the journey. Being a genius from the academy, she was quite proud.


    It was only because Alex seemed to be domineering in his attacks she had to display her power or her colleagues would begin to feel she wasn''t that much of a rare genius.


    But she was also amazed by Alex''s handsomeness.


    Make him wear a woman''s clothes and he would be mistaken for a rare beauty. A beauty that only appears in every thousand years.


    She had long noticed this glaring feature about him but she only ignored it, minding her own business and maintaining her aloofness like all were ants in front of her.


    "Alex." He replied with a smile.


    "You have a nice name and you have awesome abilities. Where did you learn those techniques since you aren''t studying at an academy?" she asked.


    "My uncle purchased the method for me" Alex replied.


    "Oh. That''s awesome. I guess your uncle must be powerful and wealthy to be able to possess such method" she said.


    Alex didn''t respond, he only smiled.


    Seeing that this was an opportunity to speak to this charming and rare beauty, he asked "What are you guys doing here? It doesn''t seem to me that you guys came here to hunt beasts for their skins or bones or catch them for pet keeping"


    "We are searching for a blue crystal lily. If we are able to get any one, especially a matured one, we would be rewarded by the academy. You may think only red lotuses grow here but other kind of flowers can be found here. Although, they are scarce but they hold more value. They can be recognized as cultivation resources." she replied.


    Alex nodded, then he asked, "What academy are you guys?"


    Before Olivia could reply, someone rudely answered. "Trying to get familiar with our Academy''s genius? Don''t even think so"


    Alex looked in surprise at this person.


    He smiled and nodded his head. He didn''t ask any thing else.


    Then they moved further into the cave. Although they were still in the outskirt region.


    Whenever they came across several routes, they chose one and moved on.


    After walking for about three hours, they suddenly heard roars of beasts in the distance.


    Then looks of depression crawled up their faces except Alex who smiled ready for battle.


    The reason for their sad faces was because they had come across again a new number of beasts.


    Not very long, hundreds of beasts could be seen flying towards them.


    Everyone faces turned solemn. This was because winged beasts were more difficult to kill. They were fast in the air, can evade attacks and can pick them up one by one to devour.


    Michael''s fist began to glow in yellow light. The sand and stones on the ground started to float due to his earth-power.


    "Hundred Earth Pillar"


    Michael shouted and punched the ground. Ripples of yellow energy blossomed from his fist and spread to the distance.


    Abruptly, towering cylindrical columns of earth jutted out from the earth beneath the winged beasts and smashed into some of them heavily.


    The beasts that were impacted exploded into mists of blood.


    Alex was impressed, the leader of this group was pretty powerful too.


    Clenching his fist, it began to glow in cyan light as he drew windforce energy from his energyhouse to it.


    The wind suddenly gained speed as they howled furiously.


    "Whirling Wind Fist!"


    He shouted and punched out.


    A glowing cyan fist of energy shot out of his fist at extreme speed.


    The instant the energy-fist shot out, a large mass of air abruptly pulled towards it.


    The large mass of air wrapped around the energy-fist and compacted into the shape of a fist.


    Carrying with it a powerful current of air, the air-enwrapped energy-fist punched into the beasts with fearsome might.


    Boom!


    The impact was powerful.


    It smashed many of the beasts into mists of blood one after the other such that he killed so many at once.


    The terrific currents of air did it own part by shoving them away.


    Many of these beasts were flung hardly away, smashing insanely into things around.


    The fist still continued into the distance smashing into a very large rock before ending it journey there.


    Everyone became badly shocked.


    What grade of wind element methodology was he studying? Even if he studied a very powerful duality methodology, he shouldn''t be able to exhibit such devastating power at his level.


    The fist he sent out could seriously injure many of them.


    They became terrified of him, especially the one who picked on him earlier. He decided in his heart to stop giving Alex the bad attitude.


    Alex was the most astonished.


    He never knew he could produce this kind of powerful attack.


    This filled the great expanse of his heart with ecstasy.


    He was slowly getting powerful. He believed with time he would become more powerful than his role model.


    When he thought to here, his gaze sharpened again.


    His fist began to glow in cyan light then it suddenly changed to crimson.


    The instant the brilliance emitting from his fist changed to crimson, dark crimson flames erupted from his fist. But these were not real flames.


    "Fiend Destruction Hellstorm Wind Fist"


    Alex shouted and punched out.


    The moment he punched out, a crimson fist of astonishing size shot out at extreme speed.


    Once this flaming fist of energy shot out, a large mass of air was quickly pulled over.


    They gathered around it, compacted and shaped into a fist in mere seconds.


    The fist formed from became very solid. It was extremely dense due to immense compaction.


    Surprisingly, the solid fist of compressed air enclosing the energy-fist turned crimson and transformed to flames.


    The air forming this fist had mysteriously gained the characteristics of fire.


    More air pulled in from far places as the fist behaved like a black hole.


    The air pulled over infused into the burning windy fist as it shot out.


    Boom!...


    The burning, crimson energy-fist exploded into a large crimson flame that burnt all the beasts to death.


    Despite their extremely durable flesh and bones, they couldn''t withstand the heat produced by the flames.


    Also, a portion of the solid earth beneath where the fist exploded turned into molten earth.


    The heat was great


    Alex looked at the molten ground and shook his head in utter astonishment.


    "I can do this?" he asked inwardly.


    Then he inhaled deeply through his nose and out through his mouth.


    The air that was expelled from his mouth transformed into a gust of wind that rapidly cooled the molten ground, making it solid again.


    It cooled but thick white fumes still emitted from it.


    "Alright. The ground is back to normal. We can move on" Alex asked looking at them with an amiable smile on his lips.


    "Sure" Michael said.


    Then he came to Alex''s side and began to converse with him.


    Olivia was quiet as usual and looked on with her usual indifference. But her uninterested eyes were full of amazement which she concealed very well.


    She had accepted Alex was a genius and that he was more genius than her.


    Although she was a proud person, she knew there would always be someone out there better than you.


    She then came to his side and kicked up a conversation with him.


    This surprised her colleagues.


    ''Why should she interact with this unaffiliated person?'' this thought flashed through their mind at the speed of light.


    But on reasoning, they believed she should.


    Geniuses interacted with only geniuses .


    They nodded their head at this realization. Then they then filled their minds with other things.


    "You were awesome Alex" Olivia said with a smile.


    When Alex caught sight of this, he couldn''t help but be awed.


    Her smile could bring about silver linings in entirely, inky black clouds.


    "So beautiful" he muttered inwardly.


    "Thanks Olivia. You guys were awesome too." He said.


    Olivia nodded.


    She was impressed by his character. If it were others, they would start carrying themselves like bosses.


    They would carry their arms like birds that wants to fly to the heavens.


    "What academy are you guys from?" Alex asked.


    "We are from the Immovable Earth Academy. We cultivate terraforce energy. Our uniforms are yellow since the colour of terraforce energy is yellow" Olivia replied.


    "Alright" Alex said and nodded.


    "Why aren''t you studying at an academy instead of studying by yourself?" Michael asked.


    "Uhm.. I would go to an academy when I reach the earth adept realm. I have missed out on the cultivation enrolment exams. I can only have chance for admission at the earth adept realm." Alex replied, intelligently fabricating an answer.


    "Ohh. Alright. Alex, I can recommend our academy to you. We treat ourselves as brothers and sisters in the institution. Our instructors are friendly and they are really good at explanations, we have no problems passing our cultivation tests and exams with the way our instructors handle us." Olivia said.


    "Cool. I would tell my uncle about it. So, you guys came here for a blue crystal lily. What''s it use?" Alex asked.


    He was new to plants and their diverse species. He asked to know more about this particular plant.


    "Blue crystal lily isn''t a big deal. It''s just a plant that we can extract juice from to attract a certain type of insect. The venom of this insect can cure someone of some kind of poison. Someone in the academy, when he went for experience-gathering was stung by a greenback mottled scorpion. So we were then sent here to bring the lily to the academy. We were told to use this opportunity to enhance our battle prowess." Olivia said.


    "Alright." Alex said.


    After walking for hours, they came across many tunnelled routes.


    Olivia chose one and they walked in.


    Half an hour later, they came before hundreds of beasts. These beasts looked like tigers. They were horned and their skin was purple.


    They breathed out toxic scarlet gases and their tails looked like a scorpion''s.


    At the tip could be seen a violet hook, and by the sides two holes that blinked, these holes seemed like eyes.


    The beasts were worshipping something that looked just like them but it was much larger and its color was dark purple.


    It was their king.


    Skorrpaetiger is what these beast were called.


    The skorrpaetiger king saw this group of humans that had entered into it territory and then roared in rage.


    The skorrpaetigers turned to look at Alex and the others. Then they howled furiously too.


    Then they rushed towards them with lust for their fleshes and bones. It was like they hadn''t tasted human flesh in a very long time.


    The beast king remained behind overseeing his minions.


    It wasn''t like them.


    It eyes shone with a bit of intelligence. This was because it had entered the next beast cultivation realm.


    Everyone quickly attacked.


    Colored fists, spears, blades, staffs and so on condensed out of energies shot at extreme speeds towards the beasts.


    The energy-attacks either injured them or killed them.

 Chapter 8: Battle with the Beast King

    Alex''s eyes turned cyan.


    He was employing the ''Wind Elixir'' technique using his wind sense and air control vision.


    He wanted to try out the Wind Elixir technique. He wanted to know it power.


    Air gathered around him in and swirled at great speed.


    Large amounts of windforce energy rushed into his body through his pores and into his energyhouse.


    Sharply, a thin, durable sphere of compacted air formed around his figure and carried him high into the air within the swirling mass of air.


    This sphere carried Alex up to a height where he was forty feet above the ground.


    His entire body had begun to glow intensely in cyan light and the column of air twirling around him increased greatly and unceasingly in size.


    With the way the winds howled furiously around him, he could simply be described as a god of wind.


    Following the steps for "Thousand Golden Blades of Mayhem God" technique.


    He aimed a palm at the beasts in the distance. Then tremendous amounts of windforce energy erupted from it.


    Golden hues could be seen in the large stream of cyan energy that discharged from his finger.


    He hadn''t mastered this technique yet, it was supposed to be entirely golden.


    Once this cyan energy that seemed like a small river in size erupted from his palm, it abruptly condensed and shaped into great numbers of huge blades which shot out at extreme speeds.


    As the blades shot out, they pulled along with them strong gusts of winds.


    Puchi!...


    The skorrpaetigers in here were cut cleanly into halves.


    Then the blades penetrated into the earth making hundreds of gashes in it.


    In just a few seconds, he had annihilated so many beasts.


    The Immovable Academy disciples trembled.


    His power seemed to be growing by leaps every time he fought.


    They couldn''t understand how he could do this.


    The power of this attack could rival that of someone in the condensation realm.


    While they were awed, deep inside a route in the cave, a powerful ancient entity was observing the whole situation.


    It was surprised at how Alex''s windforce energy had slivers of divineforce energy.


    This was an energy he shouldn''t come in contact with until the Immortal realm.


    It was this energy that amplified Alex''s various attacks.


    The being couldn''t help but marvel, "What a tremendous blessing from the universe this child has. He can be an inheritor for my master''s legacy, only he is worthy." It concluded.


    The Skorrpaetiger king roared thunderously in extreme rage, then it dashed towards them.


    Olivia quickly tried to launch her own attack to halt the Skorrpaetiger king in it frenzied rage towards them.


    Her hands began to glow in intense yellow light, then she put a hand on the ground.


    Suddenly, the portion of the earth she placed her hands on cracked and fragments of it were attracted to her arm.


    They enwrapped to form a gauntlet.


    This earth gauntlet increased in size as more shreds of earth attached to it.


    Terraforce energy moved out from her body into the gauntlet which made it to glow strongly in yellow-brown light.


    Infusing the gauntlet with terraforce energy caused it to increase it density and hardness.


    "Great Earth Supreme Punch"


    she shouted and punched out.


    The massive, glowing earth-gauntlet shot out at tremendous speed towards the raging Skorrpaetiger king.


    Bang!


    The beast was knocked backwards by dozens of feet by the gauntlet.


    But not even a mark couldn''t be seen in it body. It wasn''t damaged in the impact.


    It roared loudly, then It body began to glow in purple light.


    It lifted itself on it rear limbs, then stomped the ground hardly with it fore limbs.


    The instant it stomped the ground, purple energy rippled out from it fore limbs in all directions.


    The ground shattered in a ripple-like fashion and pieces of the earth were hurled at Alex and the group of students from the Immovable Mountain academy.


    Olivia saw the incoming, rampaging power-attack and her eyes widened in fear.


    This attack could annihilate all of them.


    Very quickly, she punched the ground and shouted.


    "Multilayered Earth Shield!"


    Abruptly, many blocks of earth that spanned dozens of feet wide and long jutted out the earth.


    The instant these large, dense blocks of earth emerged, the ripples of purple energy smashed into them.


    But they couldn''t stall for a few seconds, they shattered apart like a wall of sand that had a rock thrown through them.


    The purple energy-ripple moved on with tyrannical force.


    Abruptly, thin spheres of air formed around everyone, then a column of wind manifested beneath the spheres and swiftly lifted them high into the air.


    In this way, they evaded the destructive ripples.


    Alex had helped them dodge the destructive ripple by extending his air control power at them.


    The spheres of air remained afloat in the air under the influence of Alex''s air control power.


    Alex at the moment looked like a sun as his entire body glowed intensely in cyan light.


    This was because excessive amounts of cyan energy (windforce energy) moved into his body and saturated it.


    The vortex of air around him still increased in size as winds from far distances away were pulled into this route and infused into the cyclone that revolved around Alex.


    As windforce energy rushed into his energyhouse in overwhelming amounts, he felt he could explode very soon if he didn''t stop.


    At this moment, he had become very pale.


    Without wasting time, large amounts of cyan energy erupted from his entire body.


    It looked like he was engulfed in an enormous cyan flame. This energy increased to an astonishing height as they gushed out from him.


    "Mono-Duality-Trinity Annihilation Wind Fists"


    he punched out.


    The energy that erupted from his entire body quickly condensed and shaped into a fist, then into two fists and three fists which shot out at great speeds towards the skorrpaetiger king.


    As they shot out, they carried with them strong gales that could push large rocks by dozens of feet.


    Boom! Bang!! Boom!!!


    The fists smashed into the skorrpaetiger king one after the other with great hardness.


    It only took a few seconds for the three fists to impact the large beast.


    When the situation settled, no one could see the beast king or hear it growl. They only saw some pieces of its body on the ground which were scattered about.


    They could identify it because the color of it purple flesh was many times darker than the other bits of flesh on the ground, which were light purple.


    Alex had just killed a beast in a higher cultivation realm.


    The respect in the eyes of the Immovable Mountain Academy students increased.


    As for Olivia, she had more respect and great adoration for Alex.


    She had also begun to like him. Not for his look or anything like that, but for his battle prowess. That was the marveling attribute of his that attracted her. He seemed very strong and powerful. Besides, he wasn''t as proud as her who was aloof like all were ants that could be simply matched upon. He, who was supposed to be more proud because of his capabilities was far more friendly and accommodating than her.


    Therefore, which female heartstrings wouldn''t be tugged when a peerlessly handsome male displayed incredible powers and acted humble about it?


    Besides, it gave the idea that he would become an amazing expert in future, an expert that would shake worlds by a shred of his power alone, just from witnessing the spectacular feats that he was pulling now.


    Every beauty, whether mortal or immortal, no matter how strong they are, would want to be by the side of such mighty person.


    When she realized she had thought too far, she smiled and a tinge of pink blossomed in her cheeks.


    "Alex, you are just too awesome. You seem like someone that doesn''t need a cultivation academy" Michael said and laughed.


    He had just helped them remove that great obstacle or they would go back with a lot of injuries or perhaps leave some of their body parts here in their efforts to escape.


    Alex only smiled.


    Then like he felt something, he turned his head to look at Olivia.


    Then he became frightened because of the way she looked at him.


    In her eyes were the the hints of adoration and love.


    His heart became erratic, but he concealed this very well. He only smiled and turned his head away quickly.


    "Alex. We''ll wait for you to recover your energy" Olivia said.


    "No, I disagree. I would recover on the way. Let''s go." Alex refused.


    "I think you should listen to her. You look very pale. We would wait for you." Michael gave his own opinion too.


    "Alright" Then Alex sat in the cross-legged position on the ground and closed his eyes.


    Others did the same too, seemingly to relax.


    Since he didn''t have a pill that contained windforce energy, he could only absorb in small quantities at a steady rate from the essence of the wind.


    Wind swirled around him, but they lacked that violence and destructive power as the one when he uses the Wind Elixir technique.


    After many minutes of absorbing energy, his vision suddenly changed.


    In this vision, he saw a young woman and a young lady beside her.


    The two were like fairies that only existed in one''s imagination. This was because they looked too beautiful and too perfect to be true.


    The older woman had long black hairs that reached her waist, an oval face that had clear, intense azure eyes that sparkled like a gem, her nose and lips were structured in a way that accentuated her facial beauty.


    She had a beautiful white skin. It was free of spots and blemishes. It glowed and made her look like a peerless celestial goddess.


    This gave the feeling that she was a beauty that possibly appeared only once in every million years.


    Her perfect figure made her look like a flawless clay statue come to life.


    An aura of nobility and gracefulness could be perceived from the way she moved.


    She wore an immaculate white gown that had beautiful patterns of gold embroidered on it, a golden necklace hung down from her neck.


    It seemed she loves gold.


    While the young lady by her side was another apex of beauty, although she paled slightly in comparison to this extremely beguiling woman, it was certain that no other beauty would rival her.


    She had long scarlet hairs that looked like silk, an oval face that had clear crimson eyes that glittered beautifully in it, bright pink and full lips that were extremely attractive, a white, flawless skin that enchanted and captivated people.


    An imposing aura of aloofness emitted from her. This could be noticed in the way she carried herself.


    She wore a gorgeous bright red gown that had fiery patterns embroidered in it.


    He was totally blown away by these exceedingly great beauties but the one thing that made a tremor run through Alex''s mind and body was that he looked exactly like the woman gowned in white.


    He was like a child, male version of her as he was masculine, he had a v-shaped face and a glaring male physique.


    On seeing her, his heart trembled, he couldn''t help but mutter in a questioning tone, "Mother?"


    These beauty goddesses were astonishingly powerful. Just as they looked terrific in looks, they were just as terrific in battle.


    Only two of them battled a great multitude of adversaries.


    They canceled out hundreds of energy-attacks and sent theirs which annihilated dozens of these mighty figures at once.


    The woman embellished in white pointed at them, and abruptly, millions of symbols appeared in space, each of these symbols were formed from a type of cultivation energy in the Realmverse.


    These symbols merged, transforming into a vast sea of swords which shot out at extreme speed.


    Each azure swords spanned tens of millions of kilometers in size.


    They were extremely sharp that they sliced to bits these entities that had powerful bodies, and the frightening ancient beasts into pieces.


    The young girl beside her had her hands glow in scarlet. She clenched it into a fist.


    Then dark scarlet flames erupted from her luminescent fist. These flames radiated extreme heat, an uncanny heat that could burn small worlds to ashes in a flash.


    Once she punched out, an enormous, dark scarlet fist of fiery energy that glittered lustrously like diamond, spanning millions of kilometers in size, shot out from her fist at great speed.


    It exploded on impacts against many other terrifying counter-attacks into a seemingly boundless sea of scarlet flames.


    These unbounded sea of dark scarlet flames raged in all directions burning everything caught in it to crisp.


    Out of horror that sent his mind reeling, he was knocked out of this vision.


    Sweating where he was seated in the cross-legged position, Alex opened his eyes from his cultivation position, but he had an absent-minded gaze.


    He was awed by their great powers but he was thinking of that epitome of beauty and perfection that he subconsciously called mother.


    The image of that woman had now deeply engraved in his mind and soul, no storm would erode this engraving, it would stay with him forever.


    He didn''t know why, but he suddenly longed for her. He couldn''t explain it but he felt this woman was absolutely the person who gave birth to him.


    What was she doing in that place fighting that great number of people, and who were those people? He couldn''t find an explanation to these.


    Then a thought quickly surfaced in his mind, "Is that heroic man that I often dreamt about my father and that woman my mother?" but he quickly snuffed out the flame of this thought as quickly as it kindled in his mind.


    He couldn''t think of that possibility, he shouldn''t be in a Planeverse (Mortal World) if truly they were his parent, these people were gods and gods only live in Greatverses (Great World). Besides, his uncle had once told him that his parent were only affluent mortals who died in an Ultivehicle accident. So this thought further reinforced his conviction that they couldn''t be his parent.


    It was just impossible no matter how hard he thought about it but it still remained a mystery to him why he looked like a younger male version of that woman.


    Therefore, he had a feeling that his mind was playing silly tricks on him.


    He simply put these thoughts on the backburner as he focused on what was important.


    After his absent eyes regained awareness, he smiled and stood up. Then he said to the people who looked at him with perplexed gazes "I have fully recovered. Let''s go"


    Then they began to move forward in search of the blue crystal lily.


    Since their entry into this cave, they hadn''t covered as little as one percent of the outskirt region of this unfathomably deep cave.


    After walking for hours and discussing on many things, the friendship between Alex and Michael became tight and more tighter with Olivia.


    Now he knew where she lived and what family she was from and likewise she. She knew were Alex lived and about his uncle.


    She and the others were shocked to the extreme when they heard his uncle was the owner of Houston estate.


    They had heard a lot about him from their parents as they were people from wealthy families that ran many chains of business.


    Their families always spoke of Houston with fear in their eyes and respect in their voice.


    Houston estate was known by many from far as a place that all its buildings were many times grander than the stately abode of a city lord.


    The owner of the estate who was Alex''s uncle, was extremely rich. He had many large, juggernaut business organizations in hundred cities in the state.


    Ultimately, he was deeply feared because he was very powerful. His strength was fathomed to be the total of the entire strength of ten academies but how wrong they were.


    Alex never knew a thing about his uncle, he had always been kept in the mansion like he was on home arrest. He had never been out of the mansion, so he never knew anything about his uncle''s terrific power and ruthlessness outside the mansion. He always saw his uncle as a low-rank cultivator. But as one that was knowledgeable since he read a lot, to know more about the world and everything in it. However, he was very wrong about this as his uncle was something that even what he''s called would tremendously terrify him. He didn''t know that behind that likable and endearing, radiant smile of his which he usually showed was a heart that was full of mercilessness, which was as a result of everything that he had been through to gain the horrendous power that he possessed.


    He was surprised by their gazes that held absolute reverence but he didn''t ask them anything concerning the puzzling change in the way they looked at him.


    Not liking the way he was being looked at, he adroitly changed the topic.


    Then they began to converse on new and interesting topics.

 Chapter 9: Students of the Scarlet Flame Academy

    Not very long, they heard sounds of unbridled laughter in the distance. These seemed like laughter of humans. This was their first time coming across humans.


    Then they became wary, everyone knew of some type of cultivators that would come into this cave from time to time, and they knew of their nefariousness.


    They were rapists, fun killers, kidnappers and robbers.


    Very soon, the laughter abated and footsteps seemed to be approaching them from the distance.


    When Michael and his group saw the scarlet uniform this group of people wore, their faces turned grave.


    These set of people were from the Scarlet Fire Academy.


    It was an academy that boys mostly went to, girls were very scarce in here. While the few ones found were very ruthless.


    This academy would have been wiped out but they had a powerful expert overseeing the school. This person''s location couldn''t be locked on. So, no one could make a move against the academy as they were terrified of reprisals by this person.


    The training the academy made their students undergo had turned them into dangerous people.


    They could kill for pleasure.


    Students from this academy have covertly committed several vices in the society.


    They had raped, killed, assaulted and robbed people, especially wealthy ones.


    These students came to them with ferocious looks. The arrogance emitting from them knew no bounds as they looked at the Immovable Mountain academy students with complete disdain.


    This group was made up of only boys. They were all in the peak-phase entry stage and were twenty in number. They looked to be about fifteen to seventeen.


    Scars could be seen on their faces and on their bodies which marred them and made them look malevolent, they looked like a group of evil bandits.


    "Now, what do we have here? Oh, it''s the puny brats of the Immovable Mountain academy." one of them said.


    "Haha" The Scarlet Fire academy students laughed raucously.


    " Worms of the Scarlet Fire academy. What do you spawns want from us?" Michael braved up and asked.


    "Haha. Looking to die. eh? I don''t think so" another said while grinning evilly.


    The older one in the group looked at Olivia and his eyes shone with great, unrestrained lust.


    His blood begun to boil and they rushed to his private part. "You asked us what we want. This is what we want." This person smiled and pointed at Olivia.


    Olivia''s heart shook in terror.


    Although she was a genius, she wouldn''t be able to put up a lasting fight with this people.


    They were more than them and all had a cultivation base at the peak-phase. They would also wield powerful weapons.


    The person that spoke last laughed and shook his head "Are you trying to refute my request? Anything we say is the rule, the rule of the world. Now, give her to all of us to enjoy for the time being and we would return her to you in one piece. No, in less than half a piece." He said in a sinister and lustful tone.


    The Immovable Mountain Academy students'' faces turned graver.


    Olivia''s face was pale from fear. Then she looked at Alex. She felt he was the only one who could possibly repel this sinister guys.


    She had long wholeheartedly accepted that he was one of those legendary geniuses who exhibits great cultivation power from little.


    Alex at the moment was fuming inside, it was the apex of beauty he adored so much that this people profaned.


    He detested the way they looked at her.


    Their eyes shone with unbridled lust and their manhood were conspicuously erect.


    These boys were without shame.


    All their gazes were on her and they licked their lips lasciviously, seemingly imagining the sensual pleasure they would derive from her.


    They scanned her entire dazzling goddess-like figure for sometime before their gazes stopped at her chest region.


    Alex''s face then turned red from anger, he was about to act when Michael whose face had also twisted to become ugly due to anger shouted, "You would dare do this to the Great Daughter of our academy?!!"


    The Scarlet Fire Academy students simply laughed raucously. "Just surrender her to us, there''s nothing that you can do. Be fast about it or we would simply kill all of you." one of them said.


    Suddenly, a voice rang out. "Actually, there''s something they can do. Run!" this was Alex''s voice.


    The Immovable Mountain academy disciples were first surprised, but it didn''t take more than that second to recover from their dumbfounded states.


    They took to their heels and ran with all the speed they could muster. Only Alex remained behind.


    He wanted to hold back this people by himself so that the students from the immovable mountain academy would escape.


    He gazed at them disgustingly.


    They were nothing but eyesores to him. He saw them as living embodiments of debauchery and calamity.


    But he knew it would be tough and taxing to hold them back.


    To others, it might be impossible. But to him, he felt it would only take much more from him. With all that he had witnessed about his ability, he now believed he was stronger than his peers.


    Why he felt it would take a whole lot from him was that human cultivators weren''t like beasts that hadn''t fully awakened their bloodline powers.


    They could produce energy-attacks and they were smart and intelligent and, could sometimes be crafty or cunning.


    The Scarlet Fire Academy students were taken aback by what just happened. But then, they coldly snorted after they recovered from their astoundment.


    Then some of them moved to chase after the Immovable Mountain Academy students to bring back Olivia and the others remained behind to deal with Alex.


    Just as they were about to begin their chase, Alex''s eyes turned intense cyan. He deployed his air control power.


    Abruptly, strong winds began to howl. The gentle wind around them, under the influence of his wind manipulation power became furious storm-gales that possessed strength to heave a large rock.


    The Scarlet Fire academy students quickly produced wide, protective screens of energy to shield themselves from the incoming destructive wind.


    Alex saw this and the cyan glow in his eyes intensified. It was so bright his eyes looked like suns.


    Immediately the glow in his eyes grew stronger, wind came from every place to this particular route where it rapidly compacted to become very solid.


    They moved with astonishing momentum and howled like great primordial beasts from the abyss.


    Bang! Bang!...


    Multiple explosive sounds rang out as the solidified air smashed hardly with insane momentum into their energy-screens.


    The energy-screens shattered in the way glass would shatter when a big stone is thrown through it.


    Then the masses of dense air struck the boys in the chest breaking their chest bones and ribs. The air impacted them with the same force that splintered their energy-screens.


    The Scarlet Fire Academy students shrieked in pain and coughed out blood when they were struck. Then they fainted. It was like they were hit with a huge baton.


    They were carried away in the powerful gale like skin bags in a surging flood to the distance.


    The masses of air could achieve a great degree of solidness and denseness because of the windforce energy that erupted from the pores in his body. This energy mixed with the masses of air that he sent at the boys.


    The ancient being who was still observing Alex could see how divineforce energy in Alex''s windforce energy made the solidifed air become as hard as a wall.


    It couldn''t help but be astonished.


    ''Who is this boy?''


    .....


    Few minutes later, someone came running over. He also wore a scarlet uniform. He was tall and ugly as scars had marred his face. This made him look extremely vicious.


    The marks on his face would produce the feeling in anyone that this boy had been involved in so many deadly physical battles.


    This boy that seemed to be about eighteen years of age was also in the condensation stage.


    He came running over to see who did that to his juniors. His juniors from the academy had landed where he was. They had fainted and had grievous wounds on their chest.


    Their chest had caved in with the bones of their chest jutting out. It was horrifying and gruesome to look at.


    Out of rage, after tending to their wounds rushed over to exact retribution at whoever did that.


    Alex was just about to leave this route and go search for the Immovable Mountain academy students when he heard a shout "Don''t you dare move, you piece of shit!"


    He was surprised. Then turned to see who yelled that. When he saw the red uniform, he frowned. He now greatly disliked anything in this uniform.


    He looked at this person''s face and saw how ugly it was, decorated with scars.


    It gave him the chills. "Who the hell is this? This person shouldn''t show his face in public at all. So ugly and vicious." Alex shook his head. Then he yelled back "And how do you intend to stop me if i want to leave?!"


    On hearing Alex''s response, this person''s sinister gaze intensified.


    Before he could send out an energy-attack, winds howled and unexpectedly wrapped around Alex into a column that swirled at extreme speed.


    The speed of the twirling column of air increased every second and more air came in from the distance infusing into it.


    The vortex of air grew constantly. Anyone who saw this would marvel at Alex''s fine ability to control the wind.


    Alex''s new opponent was bewildered.


    He couldn''t believe what his eyes were seeing.


    Alex''s entire body at the moment glowed brilliantly in cyan light.


    He was enclosed in a thin sphere of air that floated very high within the towering air column.


    The intense cyan hue emitting from him dyed everywhere in it color.


    He was using the wind elixir technique again to gain tremendous burst of power but at a certain risk to his cultivation to finish the battle that was about to start.


    After he had absorbed windforce energy to his limits, he discharged the energy from his body.


    He was like a geyser of energy. Energy shot out from his body in tremendous quantities.


    Following the steps for "Wind Dragon Stamp", he sent his palm out and the windforce energy erupting continuously from his body abruptly condensed and shaped into an enormous dragon that shot out at extreme speed towards this person.


    As it shot out, it carried strong currents of air that howled like an enraged primitive beast from the fathomless pit of hell.


    This person from the Scarlet Fire academy, Arnold by name, became badly shocked.


    The attack fired at him possessed the strength of an offensive which can only be produced by someone in the middle-phase condensation stage, yet this person could, with his middle-phase entry-stage.


    Also, this young boy in front of him could float in the air and this was an ability that was only available to people in the Skylord cultivation stage and above, the ability to either float or fly.


    He wasn''t in this state of shock for too long.


    He immediately sent out a palm the moment Alex did and a large solid dragon condensed and molded out of scarlet flame, a variant-pyroforce energy shot out at breakneck speed towards the incoming cyan dragon of energy.


    The instant it appeared, it caused the temperature of the surrounding to soar to extremely unbearable degrees.


    It gave the feeling one was in a furnace.


    The waves of heat radiating from it caused the earth below it to fume.


    This was a technique of their academy''s Variant-Fire Element Battle-Methodology - Devouring Blaze Mono Dragon Seal.


    The techniques numbered from Duo to Nona.


    Boom!!


    The attacks struck each other and a loud explosion sound rang out which was immediately accompanied by a violent release of rampaging energies.


    These energies rushed into the surrounding in all directions like a tide, ravaging everything in their path.


    A cyan screen of energy immediately surfaced in front of Alex, same was done by Arnold who quickly produced a scarlet screen of energy to shield him from the berserk energies.


    When everything returned to normal, a large web-like crack that extended into the distance was seen in the earth.


    These cracks in the earth manifested just below the point of impact of the two attacks.


    The discharge of energies had caused these cracks to appear.


    Although Alex was high up in the air where the blast couldn''t reach him, he still created a shield of energy.


    He couldn''t take any chances that would lead to dire consequences, lest he be killed and he wouldn''t know how.


    Besides, it was a preventive measurement against bodily injuries.


    "You seem pretty powerful, but how long can you last? Look at yourself, you now look very pale. I am a merciful person, give me the manual for this battle-methodology and I would let you leave with only one of your hands and legs intact" Arnold said in a wicked tone.


    "Haha. A hand and a leg intact? You are sick and stupid. So what if I look pale? I can still put up a good fight with you" Alex uttered with a grin.


    This person''s gaze turned evil.


    "Very good. Then I would get it from your corpse" Arnold said in annoyance.


    His hand began to glow intensely in scarlet light and terrifying heat waves radiated from it in all directions.


    He sent his palm out discharging large amounts of energy that rapidly condensed and shaped into two massive scarlet dragons of energy that shot out at extreme speed towards Alex in the air.


    The heat emanating from them flash-melted the small rocks around.


    This was the second phase of the technique - ''Devouring Blaze Dragon Duo Seal''.


    By the time he unleashed this attack, he became extremely pale.


    He had put a lot of energy into this attack such that this attack could match that of an offensive produced by a late-phase condensation-stage expert.


    Alex, whose body still gave out bright cyan light had his face turn solemn.


    This attack could kill or injure him.


    With one of the abilities he gained immediately he became a cultivator, he could sense the strength of this attack with it.


    He sent his two palms out discharging all the energies his body had accumulated since he began using the Wind Elixir technique in his battle against Arnold.


    These astonishing amounts of energy rapidly solidified and formed into hundreds of large blades that shot out at great speed towards Arnold.


    They carried with them furious mighty winds.


    These blades were pretty massive for someone at his cultivation stage.


    By putting everything he has, the strength of his attack had now increased to a degree where it''s on par with that of someone in the late-phase condensation stage.


    Boom! Boom...!


    The earth shook and cracked as several loud explosions occurred at once when the attacks struck each other.


    The large amounts of energies that were expelled from the point of their collision wreaked havoc in the directions they moved in.


    Not all the blades were destroyed in the mighty explosions.


    There were still some blades that pierced through the air, whistling like an arrow towards Arnold.


    Now that he had drained himself of energy, he quickly produced a treasure-weapon which was an average-rank Class-2 defensive-type weapon.


    He activated it and the shield expanded in front of him blocking all the swords.


    But it wasn''t that easy to block an energy that contained tiny slivers of divineforce energy.


    Bang! Boom!


    Several loud explosion sounds rang out as the blades struck the metallic treasure-shield.


    Argh!


    He screamed in pain when the shield rammed heavily into him.


    The shield he put out to protect his body was knocked hardly into him by one of the blades.


    The heavy knockback force lifted him off the ground and was then continuously knocked into the distance by the blades as they struck the shield.


    The shock received from the collision of the blades with the shield ramming hardly into him rampantly, caused him to shriek in agony and misery.


    Then he fainted where he landed far in the distance.


    Alex too passed out whilst in the air and plunged to the ground, he bled from his orifices for mentally over-straining himself.


    If Alex fell to the ground headfirst from a height of forty feet, his head would burst like a juicy tomato that was stomped by a brute.

 Chapter 10: Azure Beastsman legacy

    As he fell while still in an unconscious state, space suddenly warped around his body and he disappeared from here.


    He appeared on the ground in a large hall.


    A pill appeared above his mouth and entered into it. It turned into green energy (healforce energy) that caused the wounds in his orifice and every other wounds to heal extremely fast.


    Not too long, he woke up.


    Realizing the new place he was in to his extreme astonishment, he stood to his feet instantly and looked for how to leave here.


    "Young one, calm yourself. I was the one who brought you here to heal. You strained yourself greatly using that special technique of yours. I brought you here because after observing all your battles, I have deemed you as a worthy inheritor. Now, let me ask, would you like to be a inheritor of my master''s legacy?" a blurry figure clad in black appeared before Alex and asked.


    Alex was taken aback, he didn''t know what the inheritance entailed. "Senior, my name is Alex. Greetings to you. Can I know what these inheritance is? I want to know if it''s suitable for me?" he introduced himself and intelligently asked in a respectful tone.


    "My master was the Azure Beastman. If you are able to inherit his legacy, everything my master had would be yours. This hall, methodology manuals, treasures, cultivation resources and so on would be yours. Do you accept?" It asked.


    Alex''s eyes glittered at the mention of methodology manuals and cultivation resources.


    He wanted to be as strong as his role model very quickly.


    Not revealing the excitement in his heart, he asked with indifference "Senior, why me? What about the others? Is there no one else more worthy of this legacy?"


    But his mind was racing.


    This was great wealth he was about to receive.


    Besides, the Azure Beastman seemed like a powerful expert. He would have great accumulations.


    "I don''t think there is any one more worthy than you. You have a special body. The make-up of your body is vastly different from others. During all your battles, which I observed carefully, i discovered there are traces of divineforce energy in your attacks. This greatly amplified your attacks. Do you think it''s normal for you to fight someone that has a higher cultivation level than you? It''s absolutely impossible. The energy is responsible for the augmentation of the destructive power of your attacks. Besides, I only know of energy leaving the hands as they are the exit point where they transform into attacks. But you, energy erupted outwards from your entire body. It was like you had billions of exit points in your body. Your pores behaved like exit points releasing energy. There are other peculiarities such as your force-arteries, which can also called energy-channels, they seem to be to able to stretch to accommodate any quantity of energy moving through them. If it was another person using that technique you used, they would die instantly due to the tremendous overload of energy but nothing happened to you, you only fainted because you mentally overstrained yourself. You must be the product of really powerful experts. Your body''s constitution is not something that mortals can produce." the entity replied.


    Alex was taken aback by what this figure said and when he thought about it, it was true.


    But the last part where it said he was the progeny of terrific experts, that he doubted very much.


    He believed he just had great talents for cultivation.


    "Senior, you said I have divineforce energy in my attacks, do you have an idea how it got into my body?" he asked.


    "Divineforce energy, also called omega god-energy, is a unique energy that exists outside the other forms of cultivation energies. It''s this energy expert from the immortal realm and beyond may begin to cultivate once they gain attunement to it. They can use this energy to enhance their energy-attacks to vast, terrifying degrees. It''s this energy that gives them godly powers, world-shattering powers. Cultivators have also referred to this energy in many ways such as deity energy, divinity energy or absolute heaven energy. How it got into your body, it''s a mystery no one may be able to solve." the blurry silhouette explained.


    Alex understood now. So, he had that kind of energy circulating within his body.


    Without thinking too far, he said "I accept to be the inheritor."


    The figure replied "Good, but you must go through a trial to prove yourself absolutely worthy of this legacy. The trial consists of three stages. These stages are extremely difficult to surmount and you could possibly loose your life in them. Are you sure you want to enter this trial for the inheritance?" the blurry figure asked, it was trying to see if Alex would compromise.


    "Yes" Alex said, his determination was unwavering.


    "Good, it start now. Remember, if the stage seem too difficult for you, just say ''I quit'' and you would be removed from the trial" the figure said.


    "Well understood senior." Alex replied.


    Like hell he was going to quit.


    Once he set his mind to do something, he must do it. Even if it involves leaping into the maw of a gigantic beast. He must get what he wants.


    Space warped around him and he vanished from this hall appearing on a large area of land.


    When he recovered from the shock of his sudden teleportation.


    He saw a beast in front of him, an ox-beast. It was fifteen feet tall and weighed more than seven thousand pounds.


    It eyes shone with intelligence as it was in the earth-beast rank.


    Gazing at Alex in indifference, it flesh suddenly turned bronze and then it rushed towards Alex.


    Alex''s eyes widened.


    This was a beast in the earth-beast rank, that was two cultivation levels above him.


    He quickly used the Wind Elixir technique. His eyes turned cyan and the moment he did, strong currents of air enveloped his figure and swirled like a vortex.


    They swirled at extreme speed around him and constantly grew in size. The vortex at the moment had reached a height of thirty feet.


    Alex was within a ball of air that floated at a great height in the vortex.


    His body glowed like a sun, emitting cyan light that dyed everywhere. This dazzling glow emitted from his body as windforce energy rushed in great amounts into it.


    The Ox-beast''s eyes glowed in elation, this was a good seed.


    Then It horn began to glow and suddenly, a massive horn formed out of energy shot towards Alex at extreme speed.


    Alex''s entire body then discharged large amounts of cyan energy that abruptly condensed and shaped into a massive staff that shot out at extreme speed towards the horn.


    This was a technique called ''Mountain Splintering Wind Staff''.


    Boom!


    Shocking amounts of violent energy was released at the point of impact.


    The staff shattered and dispersed while the horn shit towards him with great power.


    "My attack that contains divineforce energy, couldn''t stop or cancel out that attack? How come?" he asked inwardly.


    Then he prepared to discharge more energy-attacks to destroy the staff shooting towards him.


    What he didn''t know was that even if his attacks had all the originforce energies in the world, it won''t be able to achieve greater power output at his cultivation stage.


    The quality of his energy was too low. It wasn''t dense enough to be able to hold the slivers of divineforce energy. Some of these slivers would break away from his energy and return to the universe.


    So at his stage, he could do nothing against an attack of someone or something two ranks higher than him in cultivation.


    He produced many shields of energy that shot towards the horn with the aim of destroying the energy-horn shooting towards him.


    Boom! Bang!..


    Loud explosion sounds rang out rampantly.


    After smashing through many energy-screens, the horn got thinner and fainter, it had lost a lot of energy and it momentum had also greatly reduced.


    Another large staff quickly formed and struck the horn.


    Boom!


    The horn cracked and scattered apart, dissipating away.


    Alex clenched his fist and the large amounts of energy exuding from his body which had gathered into a giant cloud that enclosed his small figure quickly condensed and shaped into a solid fist that lustred like polished steel.


    "Wind Fist!"


    Alex punched out and the fist above him shot out at extreme speed towards the Ox-beast.


    The Ox was shocked by the size of the fist.


    How was he able to put out that amount of energy that he transformed into a fist.


    Besides this forbidden technique for great power output was really formidable.


    What grade and type of method was this boy studying, it thought.


    The horn on it head began to glow. Then a large horn of energy radiating extreme pressure shot out of it towards the fist.


    This horn-construct of energy was many times larger and denser than the previous one.


    It didn''t put a lot energy in it attack the first time. This was because it was dishonorable to fight someone with a lower rank.


    If it won, it was a facile victory.


    But it had to this second time after seeing the power Alex produced.


    Still, it only put three-tenth of it earth-rank energy in his new attack or it would simply kill him.


    Boom!


    An explosion occurred and devastating energies was released from the area of collision.


    The fist shattered while the horn now slightly faint, still moved towards Alex seemingly unstoppable.


    Screens of energy surfaced and shot forward to intercept the horn which caused continuous loud booms to ring out.


    They weren''t enough to destroy the horn, although it had now gotten very faint.


    Argh!


    The horn smashed into Alex causing him to wail loudly as he dropped to the ground.


    It was like a rock struck him hardly.


    He landed heavily to the ground. If not that the howling wind currents slowed his fall, he would develop possibly, life-threatening injuries at that height he plummeted.


    The place where he was hit by the horn caved in. His ribs had also crushed in the process.


    The impact affected his torso causing great pain to rack Alex''s body, it was extremely excruciating.


    Green veins bulge out from his skin as he endured the pain that flooded his body.


    He could have passed out but he stopped himself from fainting, he needed to defeat this beast one way or the other to acquire this legacy.


    If he didn''t succeed in this, he should forget about being an existence whose aura of power alone would cause worlds to tremble.


    The image of that heroic blue-caped man surfaced in his mind again, ignoring the agonizing pain that could make him insane, he picked himself up from the ground.


    Standing back to his feet, he growled like a frenzied beast then he punched out.


    The instant he punched out, the wind abruptly gathered, solidified and shaped into a massive fist that shot out at extreme speed towards the beast.


    He didn''t use his windforce energy, he used his control-power of the wind to form the wind fist.


    The beast was slightly disappointed.


    Then it sent a glowing horn of energy at Alex.


    Alex couldn''t fight back, the pain had taken over his senses. His vision became blurry and he felt extremely weak. His head ached badly and he felt he was loosing link to his wind manipulation power.


    The pain couldn''t allow him to think straight, he felt so helpless and useless.


    Not giving up, he summoned his last shred of power, putting everything into it, his intent, his will, his soul into it, he roared and punched out.


    This time, it wasn''t an energy fist condensed out of windforce energy that shot out of his fist, it was a star that shot out of it. A star shaped out of condensed astral energy (starforce energy).


    It was massive and extremely brilliant. It illuminated everywhere in it brilliant light as it shot towards the beast at inconceivable speed.


    Unanticipatedly, the challenger, in the form of a Ox, formed from a fragment of power of the control entity, was struck by the star which instantly exploded on impact.


    Boom!!


    The moment the star detonated on colliding into the beast, vast amounts of violent energies and bright resplendent light erupted.


    The explosion was similar to a supernova, explosion of stars, but on a small scale.


    Despite the Ox''s bronze-like tough skin, it shattered to pieces.


    The earth below the point of impact shattered in a ripple-like pattern, extending hundreds of miles into the distance.


    Alex wasn''t shaken by the enormous rampaging energies that entirely engulfed his being, he just stood there, bewildered by the destructivity of this power that suddenly came from nowhere.


    The berserk energies couldn''t affect him one bit, even when the earth shook and fragmented when the devastating ripple-like seismic wave appeared, he just stood there unshakeable.


    At that moment, he looked like a god-expert.


    He was still replaying that star and the disastrous events that followed in his memory.


    Then he became puzzled, "What was that star? It seemed to have come from me. That''s impossible, I never cultivated anything related to star."


    He shook his head, he couldn''t believe what he just thought.


    Now, he had forgotten about the pains that racked his body earlier since they had vanished.


    After thinking for sometime about the star-shaped energy-attack he sent, he brought up that fist he punched out and looked at it, he saw that it had turned pitch-black in color.


    "What?" he yelled in shock.


    But he quickly recognized this as a physique.


    From all the lectures he had received from his uncle, he was able to realize this.


    Then his mind calmed.

 Chapter 11: Shocking transformation, aspirations

    The entity controlling the hall was incredulous at the energy-attack by Alex.


    In all it life, it had never heard or seen something like this, even in ancient records it came across through it master and neither had it ever heard or saw someone coming up with such great power when they just awakened a physique, this was really strange.


    It looked on, trying to absorb the unusualness occurring before it, like it didn''t want to miss out on anything that was happening.


    Alex''s body had grown taller by many feet and his skin was now jet-black.


    It shone with a black metallic lustre that gave the feeling this body was forged from black metal.


    His eyes were completely black too. The white layer had been replaced by jet-blackness.


    Infinite, vastly numerous dots of light could be seen in the great, unfathomable expanse in those eyes.


    If one looked in those eyes, one would think they were looking at stars in space through a telescope.


    And this feeling was right, the innumerable motes of brilliance glowing within the unbounded vastness in his eyes were truly the innumerous numbers of stars in space.


    The stars in space mysteriously reflected in his eyes.


    Stars could be seen all over his seemingly metallic body, they looked like they were engraved in it.


    Each of these stars emitted resplendent light which created a beautiful scene that made Alex seem like a god of brilliance.


    The moment his body transformed, the sky here abruptly turned dark, then stars emerged, radiating with greatness and magnificence.


    These were not real stars but an unnatural phenomenon that manifested to further enhance the glory and grandness of the physique, the "Uncanny Might Astral Divinity Physique."


    But these stars that appeared can be used for something that would shock even gods themselves.


    It was left to Alex to find out.


    Alex at the moment was enjoying the strange, pleasurable power circulating within his body.


    This power was a surging stream of astral energy. It coursed in his body like a furious flood. Although it sounded violent, it was a sweet sensation to Alex who savored it and wished for more.


    Then a feeling suddenly came upon him, the feeling that he had vast physical strength to effortlessly shatter ranges of mountains with a finger strike.


    "Kid, you won. But I would like to test you again" The control entity said.


    Alex was surprised, then he said, "Alright senior."


    But he quickly asked, "Senior, you know what this physique is called?" He asked hoping for a good elaborative response.


    "No. I don''t know what it is called but only that it has appeared because you forced it to when you summoned the essence that comprised the entirety of your being to attack the trial challenger. You had unknowingly pulled out the physique from where it laid dormant in your body due to your nervousness and depression. But once your body returns to normal, I guess you wouldn''t be able to cause it to appear again unless you reach a realm that''s commensurate with its power. Enough of that, get ready, a Saint-rank beast would be your challenger." The entity gave Alex the full opposite of what he wanted to hear, a clearly explained bad news.


    "Okay" Alex shook his head, his excitement had been deadened. Saying his physique wouldn''t appear again caused Alex extreme sadness.


    Although, he accidentally borrowed its power since he hadn''t even awakened it. Neither did he know what realm he would be able to access this physique.


    Even if he did gain access to the physique''s power at that particular realm, he had to comprehend the profundities of the physique to a great level before he could unleash it power.


    He liked this power that coursed in his body very much. It gave him a fantastic feeling, a feeling that he was a deity of unparalleled physical strength.


    This was the power of gods he had always hoped to possess.


    "Physique or no physique, I would reach the level I would be called a god." Uttering in his heart with great determination, his excitement exploded again.


    Then he prepared himself to give it his all in his battle against a saint-rank beast.


    He had no fear when he thought of the rank of the beast he would be facing. He was very confident in this unknown physique his body had produced.


    Raaagh!!


    A beast roared at Alex the instant it appeared. It was really great in size, about forty feet tall and seventy feet long and weighed about twenty tons.


    It was armored. It had an extremely thick skin that shone like steel. Dense bony spikes that glowed could be seen on it steel-like armor skin.


    When Alex saw the beast, he trembled.


    It size and fearsomeness gave Alex the chills but it was quickly subdued by a fabulous feeling that occupied the entirety of his mind.


    This feeling was one that made him feel he could split the earth with a punch.


    Not frightened by the beast''s enormity, his eyes blazed with battle intent.


    He decided in his heart that he would make sure he horrified the control-entity by eradicating the beast with a single punch.


    Clenching his fist tightly, it caused a loud metallic sound to chime out.


    Then he ran towards the large beast which also ran towards him.


    Alex quickly covered tremendous distances in an instant, leaving after-images behind him and web-like cracks in the earth as booms rampantly sounded out beneath his feet.


    His body size was extremely insignificant in comparison to the beast.


    Alex knew this but he wasn''t perturbed.


    Once he got to to a close range, he mustered his strength and jumped into the air towards the head of the beast that was at a height of forty feet.


    Giant bony spikes shot out of the beast''s body towards Alex at extreme speeds.


    The spikes couldn''t get near him as an invisible astral force field continuously emitting from his body deflected the hundreds of enormous bony projectiles.


    This force field was impenetrable.


    Alex was astonished. Then he smiled with a countenance that depicted he wanted to demolish everything in his path.


    The projectiles couldn''t terminate his trajectory towards the beast. They were rendered useless by the impervious force field that emanated from Alex.


    The instant he approached the beast''s head in the air, he threw an ordinary punch out but with all the strength he could gather.


    Bang!


    Once the fist struck the beast''s head, a terrifying thunderous sound rang out and a large sphere of vacuum, about thousands of feet in diameter, instantly surfaced, which was abruptly accompanied by an enormous release of frenzied energy that could ravage mountains.


    The beast, once the fist impacted it, was shoved tens of thousands of kilometers into the distance.


    It shot away like an arrow, whistling through the air at extreme speed.


    Cracks rapidly appeared all over it armor-skin and they began to fall off, even it spikes had shattered apart.


    Once it plummeted to the earth, with a earth-shaking boom, it exploded to pieces cratering the earth it landed in.


    Large amounts of dusts was heaved into the air the instant it collided with the earth, with this dust resembling a giant mushroom cloud.


    Alex landed back to the ground.


    Marvel and wonder occupied every inch of his heart. "Totally insane. That''s one hell of a physical strength, I was like a god of strength, so cool" Alex uttered elatedly in his heart.


    This was one of the type of power he wanted, great physical strength.


    He knew that immense physical strength only belonged to body cultivators, experts that cultivate bodies by infusing and integrating energy into their bodies.


    So, he knew this physique was a physique related to strength.


    He looked at his hands, at the stars that radiated light and superphysical might.


    Not very long, the brilliant resplendent stars that looked like they were engraved on his black, seemingly metallic body vanished.


    His height then returned to normal and his skin became white again.


    The moment these stars on his body vanished, the stars that had emerged in the sky vanished as well.


    The inky blackness of the sky rapidly thinned away as the sky regained it azure color. Sun rays pierced through it bathing the entire land.


    The agonizing pain that racked his entire body before he transformed had long abated. The seemingly indestructible form his body took on had repaired every damaged parts of his body.


    When he noticed the revert, he closed his eyes and tried to summon that physique but he couldn''t. He tried hard to make the physique manifest again but to no avail.


    After so many times of futile trials, his mind spoiled. He knew the power had gone back to dormancy and was now concealed from him until he reached a particular realm.


    But he believed he would be able to call it up someday, that would be the day he truly awakened it not force it come up like what he did here because he was nervous and anxious.


    "Prepare yourself, the next stage of the trial starts now." The control entity said.


    Then Alex was teleported to another dimension.


    In here, he saw a really long flight of steps that stretched to a very great distance, where it other end connected to the entrance of the tallest part of a tower.


    This tower was large and stood very tall. Then chains of mountains could be seen on both sides of the flight of steps.


    It didn''t take long for Alex to know this tower was erected in a narrow mountainous valley.


    "You would climb up the stairs to a room in that tower. In there lies the final stage of the trial for the inheritance. In this stage, you would face pressure that increases with every step. I must warn you, if you feel the pressure is too much for you to bear, just say ''I quit.'' One must know when to stop. I said this because you seem to be pushing yourself for something that''s too great for you. It seems someone has been teaching you something that you shouldn''t come across for the next million years?" the voice asked.


    Alex''s mind shook.


    "I shouldn''t have been exposed to something that I should only know millions of years later? Why is that? But it seems true, all those things my uncle said were too advanced for me but he was just educating me so that I can aim for the highest and not be like the mediocre others." these thoughts moved through Alex''s mind at the speed of light.


    Then he thought about that man and then that woman that he seemed to be a young, male version of.


    He smiled, and when he pictured them, he saw they really matched, they were like celestial couples.


    "No one senior. It''s just me aspiring to be a zenith godly expert so I can move through every world insurmountably and invincibly. After I learnt humans could cultivate to the level they could become gods or devils, depending on the path of morality they chose, I have chosen to be neither, but a deviant, one who would defy the rules of the world no matter the consequences, I want to strike fear in the heart of deities and demons." Alex replied with confidence.


    "Hmm. Those are really great aspirations. I am very impressed. Boy, I''m glad I met you, if I had given my master''s legacy to anyone else and I came across you, I would surely feel regret, everlastingly. So, kid, always dream high and don''t let anything define your limit, not even yourself. This trial and the last became unnecessary when you showed that physique, it was really powerful as it made you seem like you were a god of strength and might. That alone, made you the best for this legacy, it defeated the purposes of the last two stages, since they were to test the talent and dexterity of examinees. There are some peculiarities about you that I believe in time, if there is enough stimulation, would manifest.


    I would give you the entire wealth of my master, but it''s still necessary to acquire the ultimate thing that was prepared by him, and it lies in that tower. When you climb, just be careful, the pressure increases many fold at every step and could cause you to explode. If you can''t withstand it, you can leave and come back again another time after you have gotten stronger, I would wait for you." the entity said.


    Alex shook his head, he wasn''t going to back down. "Senior, let me give it a try. If I don''t try, how would I know If I can''t withstand it." He said with an iron determination. "Hmm. Alright. Go on." the entity replied.

 Chapter 12: Strange realm

    Then Alex walked towards the stairs made of rocks, even without stepping on it yet, he could feel the pressure emanating from it. He took a deep breath as he braced himself.


    Once he placed a foot on the first step, he trembled, but only slightly. Then he slowly climbed up the steps one after the other.


    He looked at the steps, it would take a thousand step to reach that room the steps led to.


    Unhurriedly, he slowly climbed.


    The pressure was still within the range he could handle. By now, he had climbed up to the thirty-fourth step.


    Many minutes later, the pressure had increased to levels that Alex felt he would shatter to pieces and he was just at the two hundred and sixteenth step.


    He still had seven hundred and eighty-four steps to climb.


    At this step, he couldn''t take the next. No matter how he tried, he wasn''t able to lift his feet, it was like they were filled with lead.


    It was extremely difficult.


    His entire veins begun to bulge out from his body, his eyes turned red as blood rushed there. His ear, nose and mouth began to bleed.


    His face turned pale white, his innards, the organs in his abdomen, were tearing apart. Great excruciating pain racked his whole body, his vision became red and his head ached badly.


    His body''s skeletal framework, if one looked within, would see that they had cracked. Hundreds of cracks could be seen on every bones that comprised his skeleton.


    He knew he had forced himself past his limit, if he dared to take the next step, the only thing was death.


    If it was another person, he or she would have scattered apart into bit of flesh and blood.


    Even body cultivators would be shocked at the toughness of Alex''s body. Not being a body cultivator, he had a dense body, his bones and flesh were resilient.


    "So stubborn, just quit." The control entity was at alert, once it feels Alex would be damaged or slain by the pressure emanating from a step, it would instantly deactivate the formation embedded in the stairs that was emitting the pressures.


    "I can''t stop here. I have to push on. I want that legacy. I can do this. I can''t fail. I have to move on. Even the control entity has said that it has never seen or heard someone with a physique like mine. I believe that I am special. I can do this." Alex continuously said in his mind. And as he was muttering those words, like he was uttering a mystical chant, his consciousness was suddenly pulled into a strange Realm. Then in this realm, he saw countless numbers of bubbles the size of a minor world.


    In each of these massive bubbles, he saw a body, not real bodies but illusory bodies formed by the power of the Realmverse.


    These bodies were fearsome and looked divine. They radiated powerful presences that made them seem like animated bodies of gods.


    His perception roamed about in this mystifying realm at many times the speed of light.


    He was amazed at his speed, then he realized it was a sliver of his mind that was pulled in here and that he could reach such speed because it was backed by the laws of this realm, or he wouldn''t be able to move around in here here since the bubbles were as large as a small world.


    He looked at a bubble, and within it, he saw a body that was covered with complex patterns. It was dreadful as it discharged flames that were a thousand times massive than clouds in the outside world.


    Then in few other bubbles, he saw in each of them, bodies that possessed different characteristics.


    One produced astonishing numbers of lightning bolts that made it seem it was immersed in a vast sea of lightning.


    Another had thousands of enormous blades orbit round like it was the sovereign of blades.


    These bodies struck great fear and awe in him. "Where is this place I am in? Why have I appeared here? What realm is this dimension and are these physiques?" He looked at the uncountable numbers of bubbles and couldn''t help but be marveled.


    Trying to satisfy his curiosity, he touched a bubble that had a body that was golden in it.


    The intense golden light emitting from it dyed the entire bubble golden and it looked indestructible.


    The moment his awareness touched it, it was suddenly pulled in where it instantly blended with the golden body.


    Once his consciousness melded with the body, abruptly, vast amounts of information surfaced in his mind.


    He saw the name, ''Great Golden War Tyrant Physique'', which was accompanied by tremendous amounts of details he couldn''t understand, they looked cryptic.


    These were methods of the physiques, for transformation and battle.


    But in the next second, the transformation method was rapidly decrypted by his mind, it was quickly deciphered to a level before it halted.


    Since he had suddenly understood the method for transformation, he was surprised but quickly recovered as he quickly deployed the technique to transform.


    The instant he applied the method, he was connected to a power of the realmverse no being can detect unless they gain comprehension about the mysteries of it.


    Then he perceived a unique power surging through his body, he couldn''t contain them and seriously felt that he would explode.


    Without knowing why he did so or it was perhaps the terrifying power that moved him to, he roared to the sky.


    Raaagh!!!


    The instant he yelled, intense golden light emitted from his body, bathing everywhere in it golden brilliance.


    This made him seem his body was forged out of pure gold metal.


    Omnidirectional waves of power emitted from him that caused the stony step he was on to begin to crack.


    When he roared, it was like a planet-sized primordial beast bellowed in fury.


    The growl was so loud it pushed air away from him creating a free space, a vacuum. This continent-shaking roar dispelled the clouds in the sky.


    Once his body changed, the pressure exerting on his body vanished like it was never there in the first place.


    His bones that had cracked rejoined and was now golden, his flesh turned golden like it was gilded, it became extremely hard and dense.


    Everything in his body, his organs, blood, tissues also turned golden.


    He was amazed but he quickly recovered from his shock. He grinned as he felt he was truly special.


    He was elated by this particularity of his, he wasn''t like the usual ones, he had always wanted to be a deviant and he was on the first step of that ladder.


    Refocusing on the trial, he began to climb up the steps. He climbed up at an unbelievable speed, that in a few seconds, he had climbed up to the six hundred and forty-fifth step.


    "What?" He looked at where he was and was absolutely astounded, realizing he was just a few seconds from completing the trial, he nodded his head elatedly.


    Not wanting to waste time, he leaped and landed before the entrance of the tower.


    Appearing here, he grinned.


    Suddenly, his vision became blurry till everything in his vision turned dark. Feeling greatly weak, he collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud an blacked out.


    The lustre emitting from him dimmed as Alex''s body returned to normal.


    Then a glow in his head dimmed revealing some enigmatic patterns that vanished without trace.

 Chapter 13: Six years ago

    "Mom! See" a young boy said trying to impress his mother but it was the opposite of what he wanted to achieve.


    The person he called his mom had her eyes full of surprise, then anger replaced it.


    "Alex, leave my room this moment!" A flawless, extremely beautiful young woman shouted.


    She was really furious at the boy in front of her. He had large azure flame erupting from him and it caused everything in her room to catch fire and burn.


    Becoming aware of what he had done, he quickly apologized "mom. I am sorry."


    Then he rushed out of his mom''s room.


    His mom shook her head with a smile hanging on her face, she put her palm out and all the flames burning the things in her room were pulled to it.


    It instantly condensed into an azure ball that radiated frightening heat.


    She observed the ball grasped in her dainty hand and muttered, "son, I wish I would be there to see you grow" she said and shook her head sorrowfully.


    "Just do your best to grow stronger, only you have the strength to do what we can''t do." a feeling of grief radiated off of her voice.


    Alex was in the inner courtyard surrounded by a large group of people who looked at him with admiration in their eyes.


    At the moment, rings of water revolved round him at extreme speed. His body was blue and transparent. One could see what was behind him.


    Then these rings halted, twisted and turned to ice. They looked like ice screws. They spun and shot off to the sky.


    Abruptly, his body changed from blue and transparent to a taller, silver body that had abstruse inscriptions in it, then to a form where raging, dark green fire that had slight hues of crimson, violet, indigo surrounded his entire figure.


    Just like that, he changed from one physique to another showcasing himself, happily and proudly.


    These people surrounding him where seriously shocked.


    How many physiques does this boy has? How was he able to understand the mysteries of the physiques? and he was just six years old?


    Right now, he had shown more than thirty different physiques.


    "What do you expect? He is the son of the Star Lord, his gifts are too numerous. I am sure he would grow up to a hundred times more powerful than his dad" one of them said and everyone nodded.


    "Alex, it''s alright now. We have seen enough. But these are different from the ones you showed us three days ago. You showed us about thirty then and today you have shown us more than another thirty. How are you able to understand the methods for their transformation, although it seems at a low level?" Another asked in an astonished tone.


    Everyone looked at Alex with inquisitiveness trying to apprehend how he was able to do that.


    "It''s that realm I told you about where I saw countless illusory bodies. Since I have access to an unlimited amount of divine bodies, I am able to swiftly swap from one form to another and I am able to speedily comprehend their methods. I myself don''t understand why." Alex replied with strangeness in his voice. He too was astonished.


    Although he was six, but he was very intelligent to know this wasn''t right.


    Everyone shook their heads adoringly. They believed there was no one like him that would ever appear again. He was the first and the last.


    In a large, circular hall..


    A handsome young man sat on a beautiful throne. He was tall. He wore a blue cape that was embellished with stars.


    Before him were tens of millions of people. These people were the heads of all the vassal forces he had. They sat around him with reverence and adoration.


    The caped man at the centre looked at a massive screen projection. In that projection, one could see Alex, surrounded by a huge number of people that could be called his fans.


    The man smiled sweetly at the boy and shook his head, "What a show off."


    Everyone laughed, then one said "He would do anything to impress his fans. I am sure Star Lord doesn''t have a huge fan base as him"


    Everyone laughed while the man called Star Lord only smiled.


    "He is just extremely gifte.. er, what am I saying? His gifts doesn''t have numbers, they can''t be counted" another said.


    "You are right. From one of his fans, I heard that Alex had shown more than ninety divine physiques in just two weeks. It''s still a mystery to us how his mind works." one said.


    "Hmm. I don''t understand too. Let''s discuss the matter which I called you all here for. The reason is, I have received reports of new, small attacks in different continents across many worlds. Millions of people have lost their lives in each of these worlds where the battles occurred. I am sure a full invasion is soon. I would send a message to these marauders that we should fight in space, to prevent the residual shockwaves from the explosion of the attacks to devastate our worlds. This battle would be a battle to the death, there is no retreat and no surrender. Who is with me?" the caped man asked.


    Everyone eyes shone with determination.


    "Star Lord, we are with you. If we surrender and give our realmverse to these bastards, they would ravage every world in it and kill our people like flies. That''s the way of cowards, we are no cowards. We would fight this battle to the end and heartily accept any outcome." one said with battle intent emanating from him.


    Everyone else nodded.


    "Good. Now about Alex. Since he is the hope of our realmverse, I am thinking of sending him far away to a mortal world before the wars start. Also, I want to seal his memories and powers, block him from entering that realm. I want him to slowly realize his powers and destiny. It''s also a measure to allow him grow safely. This is because we wouldn''t be there for him. This war might take all of us away. I don''t want him exhibiting unusual powers and being chased about by evil cultivators just for their own gain or being recruited into societies that perpetrate evil in the society. I want him to live like every normal kid and grow properly" the caped man said.


    "Yes, Star Lord. We support your decision wholeheartedly. But sealing his memories and powers wouldn''t hold him back from being different. If he has these abilities just when he is at six, what would happen when he starts to cultivate? Besides, he already has a large amount of divineforce energy circulating in his energyhouse. That would be a great augmentation in his attack power. We can''t cage things the realmverse packaged into one person and believe he would live like every normal child. It''s impossible. Doing what you said might cause greater harm than good. Let his powers flow but we can seal his memories" someone said.


    "Hmm. You are right. Everyone, I have decided. I would only seal his memories. He wouldn''t be able to recall anything about his powers or anything about us. Now, let us meet again another time. The time for our next meeting would be communicated to you. Let''s head back to our respective places and resume our preparations for the war." The caped man said, then he vanished from here.


    Others then vanished from the hall too appearing in the organizations they controlled.

 Chapter 14: Blood crystal

    Many days later, Alex woke up.


    He looked around and then stood up from where he collapsed to the ground. He saw that he was covered in dusts. He then dusted himself.


    He was puzzled, "have I been unconscious for so long?" He asked inwardly.


    "You have awakened after eight days. Something happened to you. It''s about your memories. I detected a seal but it quickly vanished. Your memory was trying to break free from it" the voice of the control entity suddenly sounded from nowhere.


    "Memories?" Alex asked inwardly. "That''s odd" he said in his mind.


    "Boy, go in and get what''s for waiting for you." the control entity said.


    It was elated. This boy did it. Besides, Alex had just revealed another physique. It wondered how many divine physiques Alex had.


    "Okay." Alex nodded and went in.


    The room he entered was large and empty. The only thing in this room was a large red rock that floated.


    The rock was emitting a power that caused it to levitate in the air.


    "A rock? What am I supposed to do with a rock?"


    Then he approached the rock cautiously. He looked at it for sometime trying to notice any irregularity.


    After observing it for sometime and discovering nothing dangerous about it, he moved close to it.


    He then lifted a hand and placed it on the red rock. The moment he did, a force entered into his body. This force was soft and gentle, it moved through his body seemingly scanning it.


    After a while, the force returned into the red rock and the rock exploded.


    Bang!


    Alex shook because of the sudden explosion, "What''s going on now?" he asked in a surprised tone.


    Then he saw a red crystal floating in the air. Before he could do anything, the crystal shot into his body.


    Alex''s eyes widened in fear. He quickly looked within and saw the red crystal melt into a good number of blood that had different colors.


    These bloods moved into his arteries and veins blending with his blood.


    Abruptly, he felt a burning sensation all over his body. His eyes, nose, ears and every other parts of his body felt like they were on fire.


    He howled in pain as green veins bulged from his face. He held his face with his hand and his abdomen with the other.


    He gnashed his teeth so hard they could shatter. Then he fell to the ground and began to roll about.


    He screamed and screamed, with his voice becoming increasingly loud.


    After a few minutes, the pain disappeared.


    Alex remained on the floor panting. Sweat had covered his entire body and his clothes were soiled to the extreme.


    Alex couldn''t help but breakdown in tears. Thin streams of tears rolled down his face like a small stream.


    The pain he just went through was extremely traumatizing. It felt like lava was pumped into his body.


    Many minutes later, he stood up. His shirt was drenched in tears and was dark brown from rolling on the floor.


    What filled his heart was bitter resentment for the control entity.


    Why didn''t it tell him that he would go through a traumatizing pain once he placed his hand on the rock.


    Noticing Alex''s facial countenance, a voice sounded, "Kid, I know you are angry. But you just had to. If I told you and you refused to carry on, it would be my great loss. I wouldn''t find someone else like you ever again, am pretty sure of that."


    Alex nodded his head when he felt the control entity was apologizing.


    "Although you have my master''s legacy, I can''t call you master until you reach the realm my master reached." the entity chipped in.


    "Okay. I understand senior" Alex replied.


    He knew this powerful entity would surely be a proud one. "That red crystal that caused me such pain, what was it?" Alex asked.


    "It''s a blood essence matrix that my master designed. It consist of his blood essence and several hundred beasts'' blood essences. These beasts were fearsome high-rank beasts. My master, the azure beastsman, went around many worlds to places where divine beasts congregated. He subdued many and extracted a few drop of their blood essences which he refined. He was able to conquer them because of his unique bloodline power." the control entity replied.


    "What power is that?" Alex asked in a curious tone. "My master had the power to summon thousands of beasts." The entity said.


    Alex was surprised. "How was he able to do that?" he asked.


    "Okay. My master had a vast realm where he breeded millions of diverse species of beasts. This realm was linked to his blood. Through his connection to the realm, he could access it and what he stored there. It''s like a spatial ring. He can put something in there and bring it out at will. It''s that blood you have now and the blood of the divine beasts. When you reach a particular cultivation stage, you would gain access to my master''s abilities and the abilities of each of the divine beasts he extracted blood essences from." the entity replied.


    Alex''s eyes glowed in amazement.


    Divine beasts?


    Then he remembered those beasts he saw in his dream.


    "Blood essences of divine beasts? Wasn''t that supposed to kill me? my body shouldn''t be strong enough to contain the power in their essences" Alex asked.


    "Earlier, I was actually experimenting on your body. But I was sure it would be successful because of those mighty physiques your tiny body transformed into. It was supposed to be be a tremendously huge overload on your body but it didn''t crash. Besides, you have divineforce energy circulating in your body, that''s an energy that only belongs to divine experts. So it wouldn''t matter even if you had blood essences of divine beasts." the entity replied.


    Alex nodded in a light of understanding.


    Huuuu!


    Alex deeply inhaled. "These divine physiques, divineforce energy. How exactly did I come in contact with them, how I got exposed to such? Did something phenomenal happen to me when I was younger?" he asked inwardly.


    Then he tried recalling everything about his life before he reached twelve but to his amazement, he couldn''t.


    It was all blank.


    He furrowed his brows, "What happened to my memories? Why can''t I remember anything? No wonder the control entity said something was wrong with my memories. But why is that, at least I should be able to remember a few things about myself?" he asked inwardly.


    Now, what he wanted to do was go home and ask his uncle what happened to him when he was younger or why he couldn''t recall his past? He left this thought that bothered him and moved on.


    "So senior, what''s that vast realm the Azure Beastsman bred beasts in?" Alex asked.


    "It''s a realm that is a replacement for beastbags. Beastbags are used to store only beasts. Some possess large storage space while others possess small storage space. These spaces depend on their grades. But this realm was really vast. My master established a link to this realm with his blood when he discovered it was an extremely large continent that was a hundred and ten times massive than the largest continents found in any Greatverse. It was a lone continent as it didn''t border between any continent. He didn''t know where the continent was from. He named this continent ''Beast World.'' It was full of special unknown plant resources that caused the beasts he kept there to mutate, they became stronger than other beasts of the same specie at the same cultivation rank."


    "Hmm. Since he had such power, why did the Azure beastman go after the blood essences of divine beasts?" Alex asked.


    The beastman was really powerful, being the commander of a massive army of beasts. He should strike fear in the heart of anyone. But he caused his demise by going after divine beasts for their blood essences so he can have their bloodline powers.


    "Experts and their various ways for power. "What a world." he uttered inwardly.


    The entity was quiet for sometime before it spoke, "Every expert must do their best to grow stronger, one way or the other or they would fall behind. And every experts have their own way of accomplishing this. My master''s way was through journeying to wildernesses in continents to hunts for beasts to subdue and make his minions, after branding a soul mark in them. He kept very large amounts of beasts in that realm and reared them till their numbers became incredibly huge. It was through this method he invented he was able to overpower hundreds of divine beasts and take their blood essences. He refined these blood essences and merged them all with his extracted blood essence. But he wasn''t there to know if they successfully fused. If he had infused this blood matrix into himself, he would have automatically gained access to hundreds of divine beast bloodline abilities. Unfortunately, he couldn''t make it out from the battle. Although he was domineering, but he was later killed by an extremely strong corrosive poison, synthesized by a poison beast grandmaster."


    Alex shook his head. What a great expert.


    Then he bowed, paying his respect to the Azure Beastsman. He was in this bowing position for three minutes before he straightened himself.


    "Senior. I believe those divine beasts knew master had something of theirs which they don''t want to share with anyone. How were you able to escape from them?" Alex asked.


    Since the divine beasts had eliminated the Azure Beastsman, they would ransack his hall and take what was theirs and everything that seemed valuable to them.


    There was no way they would let the sentient being controlling the hall evade them. But it did. So he needed to understand.


    "Immediately my master got poisoned, he gave the order that I should leave that region. If I was seconds too late, I wouldn''t have been able to escape. After I left, I crossed large distances through the void to come here so that they wouldn''t be able to track me." the entity replied.


    Alex nodded and asked nothing anymore. But in his mind, he was exceedingly glad that he now possessed the bloodline powers of myriad divine beasts.


    But he knew that before he could be able to exhibit their abilities, he had to reach a high cultivation stage.


    Right now, he couldn''t perceive anything related to their abilities at all, and he didn''t try to.


    Even though he seemed to have a special body, he believed those abilities were still far from him to use.


    Then abruptly, something shot towards him like a ray of light and stopped in front of him. He looked at what that was and saw that it was a ring.


    This was the total wealth of the Azure Beastsman in his lifetime.


    Realizing this, he ecstatically grabbed it and inserted it into his finger.


    He knew how to use spatial rings like this. His uncle had a large number of them at home and even he himself had one on him.


    He sent his awareness into the interspatial ring, and instantly, the entire content of the ring appeared in his mind.


    He saw vast amounts of silver sapphirstone, large amounts of treasures, treasure-weapons and books.


    He was tremendously astonished by the amount of silver sapphirstones in the ring.


    There were about two million silver sapphirstones (supreme-quality sapphirstone) in the ring where one silver sapphirstone could be exchanged for one billion yellow sapphirstone (low quality sapphirstone).


    He skipped the treasures and treasure-weapons. He couldn''t be bothered with them.


    He knew they were something he couldn''t handle even in the Grand Saint Emperor realm as the Azure Beastsman would only use treasures and treasure-weapons that was perfect for his cultivation realm.


    Him activating any one of them would instantly end his life, so he reasoned.


    Excited about the immense wealth he had inherited, he then directed his attention to the tens of thousands of books that had appeared in his mind.


    These books were manuals of myriad methodologies for cultivation, battle and movement.


    He overlooked the books of small or medium sizes and brought his attention to the large books. There were hundreds of them.


    These large books had very thick covers and their appearances gave the feelings of superlativeness.


    He pulled out a few of these large books and looked at their titles.


    Butchering Fiendgod Darkness Methodology (B-grade Dual Methodology),


    Great Conflagration Methodology (B-grade Dual Methodology),


    Grand Arctic Palm/Sword Methodology (B-grade Battle Methodology),


    Radiance Palm/Sword Methodology (B-grade Battle Methodology),


    Worldbreaking Golden Overlord Fist (A-grade Battle Methodology),


    Limitless Shadow Great Evasive Thousand Step (B-grade Movement Methodology) and


    Great Empyrean Seven-Hue Lightning Methodology (A-grade Dual Methodology).


    When he went through these few, he couldn''t help but mutter" awesome", although he had an A-grade Trinity Methodology manual, he was still going to learn these.


    These Phenomenal Warring King-grade Dual Methodology Manuals and the last book he drew out were really making sense to him.


    Might and power radiated off of their titles.


    He returned them into the ring and sent his sliver of awareness into the ring''s space to look at other things.


    This sliver roamed this vast space for sometime before it attention was arrested by a small, thin book lying calmly at a spot.


    Looking over, he became blissful as he quickly pulled out this thin book from the space in this ring.

 Chapter 15: Weapons

    This book was titled "Weapons Book: All Weapons."


    It was this title that attracted him, he had always wanted to learn about weapons.


    He knew that each stage of cultivation had their own weapons. If someone used a weapon for a higher rank and they couldn''t withstand the aura of power emitting from it, they could be fatally injured or die.


    When he opened it to go through it, he discovered the entire pages were blank. He was taken aback and became disappointed.


    But then, an idea surfaced in his mind.


    "The Azure Beastman wouldn''t keep a trash book in his inventory, something must be peculiar about this blank book." He said inwardly.


    Then he sent a sliver of his perception into it and abruptly, vast amounts of information appeared in his head.


    He was shocked by the information contained in this entirely blank thin book. Alex''s mind reeled for sometime before he calmed himself and went through the information.


    "Weapons are what we use to attack others or defend ourselves. They are basically divided into offensive weapons and defensive weapons.


    Weapons have diverse forms and their abilities are unique, except the ones that are mass produced.


    Since the ancient times, incalculable numbers of unique treasure-weapons have been produced by great grandmasters of treasure-weapons crafting.


    These weapons have treasure in their names because they are different from ordinary weapons.


    They possess arrays that produce energies of different qualities and quantities.


    The quality of the energy refers to the density of the energy.


    These treasure-weapons could have thousands to trillions of arrays in them.


    These arrays are kept in special, natural crystals called voidstones.


    These voidstones have storage spaces that vary depending on their grades. Some could hold little amount of arrays, about ten or twenty of them while some could hold arrays the sizes of small worlds.


    These voidstones, possessing arrays, are embedded in treasure-weapons to magnify their wielders'' energy attacks.


    By the will of a wielder, energy is produced in these arrays operating in the voidstones and then transferred to the weapon, where they conduct across it and off it at his/her opponent as an energy-attack.


    The energy output of treasure-weapons can be determined by the level and number of arrays they possess.


    A sword, having just twenty arrays would be seen as a Class-3 or Class-4 treasure-weapons.


    It can''t be compared to another possessing thousands of arrays, which would be seen as a Class-7 weapon. The amounts of energies they can discharge are vastly different.


    Ranks of arrays in descending order include:


    - Mortal-Array,


    - Heaven-Array,


    - King-Array,


    - Monarch-Array,


    - Sovereign-Array,


    - Divine-Array and


    - Grand-Array.


    Treasure-weapons are made using strong, durable and good energy-conductive materials that wouldn''t crack or shatter when energies move through them.


    Also, the quality of these treasure-weapons depend on the forging skills of the weapon-makers.


    Treasure-weapons, in terms of quality of materials used to forge them, are tiered into:


    - Low-tier,


    - Average-tier,


    - High-tier,


    - Supreme-tier and


    - Peerless-tier.


    Then in terms of attack power (depending on the amounts and level of arrays).


    They are grouped into five categories:


    - Mundane weapons,


    - Epic weapons,


    - Legend Weapons,


    - Supernal Weapons and


    - Grand Supreme Weapons (or Zenith-Divinity weapon).


    In the Mundane Weapons category, we have the


    - Mortal-Weapon and the


    - Fusion-Weapon.


    In the Epic Weapons category, they have the:


    - Earth-Weapons (also called Core-Weapons),


    - Sky-Weapons (also called Cloud-Weapons),


    - Firmament-Weapons (also called Heaven-Weapons),


    - Saint-Weapons,


    - Arch Saint-Weapons,


    - Emperor-Weapons and


    - Supreme Emperor-Weapons.


    In the Legend Weapons Category, there are nine weapons. These are:


    - Wisdom-Weapons,


    - Priest-Weapons,


    - Commander-Weapons,


    - Profoundness-Weapon,


    - Lord-Weapon,


    - World-Weapon,


    - Celestial-Weapon,


    - Reverend-Weapon and


    - Ruler-Weapon.


    In the Supernal Weapon Category, there are:


    - Immortal-Weapon,


    -Immortal Elite-Weapon,


    - Immortal Prime-Weapon,


    - Immortal Exalt-Weapon,


    - Primal Immortal ruler-Weapon,


    - Grand Phenomenon-Weapon and


    - Chaos-Weapon.


    Lastly, in the Zenith-Divinity Weapon Category, there are:


    - Sentry-Weapon and


    - Realm-Weapon


    The weapons mentioned above are listed in descending order of their energy output and destructive capacity.


    They can also be classed as: Class-1 (Mortal-Weapon) to Class-28 weapons (Realm-Weapon).


    Then there are weapons called Marvel-Weapons.


    These are weapons that fall into the group, ''Wonders of the Realmverse''.


    There are many treasure-weapons in this group and these are Sentry-Weapons, the rest are non-weapon treasures.


    ...


    After perusing a small part of the introduction which was large in content as it was detailed to the extreme.


    He skipped it and browsed through the images and abilities of thousands of weapons of the seemingly innumerable weapons that had appeared in his mind.


    He was awed and horrified by these treasure-weapons. "What calamitous weapons. Is that why they don''t fight on the ground but in the sky and in space?" he asked inwardly.


    "The Azure Beastsman is really powerful. Just where did he get this book? This book would cause war in all worlds if it gets out." he said inwardly.


    His heart was filled with elation.


    This book was a priceless treasure to him, and to the rest of every race in every world he believed.


    This was because the book possessed information of locations of thousands of famed mighty weapons of fallen god-experts.

 Chapter 16: Reinforcements, unmatched evasion skills

    He pulled out his awareness from this book and then returned the book into the ring.


    He said into the air, since he couldn''t see the control entity, "When do I leave here?" he was done and ready to leave, he wanted to hurry back to the mansion and go study these manuals.


    "Now!" the entity replied.


    Instantly, space contorted around Alex and he was teleported from this dimension back to the place where he fought that person from the Scarlet Flame Academy.


    Almost at the same, something appeared and shot into the ring at the speed of lightning.


    He was surprised and quickly sent a fragment of his perception into the ring. He saw a hall, it was the hall the control entity operated in.


    He recognized this as a treasure, a dual-purpose one, for both flight and defense.


    "Kid, don''t put yourself in danger or engage in anything that would put you in danger. I won''t be able to do anything to help you. Don''t think that you are powerful because you have a body not in records since the inception of cultivation, you are nothing. At this cultivation rank, you are an absolute inconsequentiality. Powerful figures would squash you like a bug. Even the ones just three ranks above you in cultivation can do so. So keep yourself out of harm''s way." the entity warned and advised Alex.


    Alex nodded.


    It is mostly true the entity couldn''t help. It only had great power in the hall as it has full control over the hall.


    But it can be used as a means of escape from danger, since the hall, as a defensive, flight-treasure, can move at the speed of lightning and through the void to evade attacks or capture.


    Then he thought back to that celestially beautiful lady, Olivia and yearned for her face one more time.


    But he knew those guys would have long seen the blue crystal lily they were searching for and would have returned to the academy.


    The goddess figure and enchanting face of Olivia had been indelibly branded into his memory. Her image would remain in his head forever.


    Utilizing the "Great Wind Supreme Escapement" technique, a thin sphere of air abruptly materialized around him, and instantly, unusually strong gales of wind came over at shocking speed pushing the ball that Alex was in off into the distance.


    He covered large distances extremely quickly using this technique.


    Not too long, he was shot out of the cave.


    Once he came out, the cyan glow in his eyes receded and the ball of air that had formed around him as well as the furious gales vanished.


    But there was surprise in his eyes, as well as fear.


    In front of him were more than thirty Scarlet Flame Academy students. It seemed they had congregated here hours ago to wait for him to come out in order to deal with him.


    "They must have come out from different parts of the cave." Alex concluded inwardly.


    Ten of the boys were in the initial-phase congeal stage, five in the initial-phase congeal stage and the rest in the Peak-phase entry stage.


    One of them walked out towards Alex, this was the student of the Scarlet Flame Academy he last fought.


    Alex was surprised he had recovered. Then he surmised he must have taken excellent rapid-recovery pills.


    "Shocked to see me standing and not dead. Haha, in your dream bastard. I would deal with you, you never wished you came across m.."


    Before he could complete his speech, Alex suddenly blew air out of his mouth which abruptly transformed into a strong gale, one with the strength to roll away a large rock.


    This wind gale heaved this person and a few others, dozens of meters into the air to a far distance where they helplessly plummeted and crashed heavily into the earth.


    Immediately he opened a gap for himself, he instantly rushed forward.


    A thin sphere of air instantly formed around him and strong gusts of wind came over pushing off the spherical air ball Alex was in into the distance.


    Others were shocked by what just happened.


    Recovering very quickly from their dazzlement, they employed their own movement methods and began to chase after Alex.


    They didn''t tend to the ones blown away, they weren''t concerned if they had sustained any injuries, they only chased after Alex to capture him and force him to produce the manual he had.


    But could their movement method match that of Alex?


    The gap between them and Alex grew wider and wider till Alex became very small as he was extremely far in the distance.


    Not very long, he vanished from their sight.


    They stopped running when Alex disappeared from their vision. Their faces turned hideous due to being furious.


    Then they returned to their colleagues to help them nurse the injuries they might have sustained in their brief clash.


    Alex didn''t stop using this method.


    Instead, he applied more power which manifested as an intensified cyan glow in his eyes.


    The gusts pushing him over the ground continuously picked up more speed by leaps.


    After he felt he had fully left the area, his eye color returned to normal and the round ball of air vanished.


    He looked back to see if they weren''t following him. Certain that he wasn''t being followed, he walked on.


    By now, due to the movement technique he deployed, he had reached the city.


    Once he entered into the city through the city gates, he became the cynosure of all eyes.


    This was because he was soiled all over. His face was brown and so was his cloth which was dark brown.


    He was looking like that because of the great pain he felt earlier which caused him to tumble to the ground and roll about as it racked his entire body.


    There was no way Alex was able to wash his face with water back there.


    He couldn''t find water anywhere and so he came out like that.


    Also, he was being chased by the Scarlet Fire Academy students. There was no time to settle anywhere to find water and at least wash his face.


    Besides, he couldn''t change the cloth he wore as he came with only one.


    The way they looked at him was filled with wonder and disgust. Alex wasn''t surprised, he just ignored them and moved to where he had in mind.


    "Those damned bastards" He cursed in his heart.

 Chapter 17: Looking for trouble

    Alex was going to a Ultivehicle garage. He wanted a lift to his uncle''s estate as he couldn''t walk down there because it was extremely far.


    Besides, it was in this garage, owned by the city lord, that all vehicles stopped and parked.


    There were hundreds of these conveyance vehicles, from small sizes to great sizes.


    These Ultivehicles could fly and move in water and are used for inter-state, inter-region or inter-continental travel.


    The small sizes would carry ten people and was extremely fast, but it was really expensive. It flight ticket cost eight hundred thousand purple sapphirstone.


    The medium sizes would carry ten thousand people, the large sizes would carry hundred thousand people while the great sizes had the capacities to carry ten million people and was extremely cheap. This was because a large number number of people would board it.


    It only disadvantage was that it took a lot of time, like several months before it got fully occupied, and these great ultivehicles wouldn''t take off until all its passenger seats are occupied.


    Attracting eyes over and ignoring their gazes, he arrived in front of a massive building. In front of it were two poles that had a large board screwed to them.


    In this board was boldly written "Smith City Ultivehicle Garage."


    This was an Ultivehicle garage, it was located close to the city''s gate.


    This building was very large, and behind it, was an extremely enormous field.


    On this field, there were hundreds of small size ultivehicles, fifty medium size and large size ultivehicles and a dozen of great ultivehicles.


    When he entered into the garage, he saw a lot of people, and outstanding among them were several groups of people that were embellished in bright colorful uniforms.


    Having interacted with the students of Immovable Mountain Academy, he recognized that these groups of people were from different academies.


    There were about ten groups here and were pretty large in number. Each group had about hundred thousand people.


    Seeing their numbers, Alex became bewildered. "Where are these people going to and in such massive numbers? And since they are from an academy, they should have their own transportation vehicle, why are they here?" He looked around trying to get clues so he could understand what was happening.


    As Alex pondered, he suddenly heard a shout, "Hey! Smelly dirty brat, the filthy likes of you shouldn''t be here. Go home to your mother this moment!"


    Everyone turned their heads in search of the person that was spoken to, they wanted to see who was at the receiving end of that statement.


    They caught sight of Alex and felt he must be the person spoken to. Their eyes widened in astonishment.


    Who is this boy? Is he lost? what''s he doing here?


    In their eyes, Alex looked like a beggar that had sneaked in to beg for money or food from them.


    Alex shook when he heard that.


    He turned to see who spoke and when he saw this person, he said coldly, "Oh resentful foolish soul. Why don''t you shut up and mind your business. True I may smell, but I smell better than you. I am not here to beg if that''s what you are thinking, I am here for something greater than your purpose in life."


    Heck!


    Everyone''s eyes widened in shock. This was a student of the Green River Academy and someone at the condensation stage at that.


    Alex was speaking back to a cultivation senior?


    Wasn''t he asking to be punished?


    And he was just at the middle-phase entry stage?


    This person, Richard by name, dressed in green uniform that had a logo sewn to it to show he''s a student of the Green River Academy looked at Alex with a face that now looked ugly, it had contorted due to anger.


    "How dare you speak to me that way? Do you know what academy i am from? Mind the way you speak or you would be sent home without a tongue and a eye. Look at you, you claimed to smell better than me despite your obvious dirtiness, crackhead. I am sure you haven''t had your bath in days." Richard said quickly and angrily.


    "Yea, I haven''t had my bath in days because I fell into a hole that trashes like you wouldn''t be able to climb out from. It''s a mistake on my part for not carrying abundant clothes with me, I won''t repeat that a second time. When I get home, I would freshen up, thanks for the tip" Alex smiled and gave him a thumbs up, but the smile was noticeably disdainful.


    Richard''s gaze turned exceedingly furious, then he roared, "Ant, you dare look down on me?"


    Alex''s gaze sharpened, "No. But don''t you dare look down on me because you study at an academy."


    Immediately after he said this, everyone''s ears twitched, It was like they didn''t hear right.


    After looking at Alex for a long time with astounded gazes, they shifted their gazes to this person from the Green River Academy.


    The atmosphere became tense, everyone felt that a battle would soon occur.


    "Haha!" This person laughed raucously, then he said, "Alright. Let''s show off our strength in battle, we shall see who is better." Richard said as his eyes began to burn with passion for battle.


    Alex shook his head, he saw he had no other way out than to fight. "Alright. Since you want to be disgraced, then I would gladly do so for you." Alex replied.


    "We can''t fight here, let''s take it to the field." Richard said.


    Alex nodded agreeably.


    Then he followed behind Richard to the field.


    Everyone, being fanatics for battles, all followed after the two to the field which they would turn their battle arena.


    The instructors were in a room having a meeting with some people who were the ones running the garage on behalf of the city lord.


    When they noticed this spectacle, they laughed.


    "Don''t interrupt them. Let them do their thing" one of the instructors said and the others nodded understandably.


    "But who is that young boy? I hope it won''t be a glib victory?" another put out to everyone.


    "Hmm.. I don''t think so. He seems up to the task. Let''s watch, we would continue the meeting later." They all agreed and immediately deployed their powerful saint-senses which immediately captured the entire field.


    The field was really large, and despite the numbers and immenseness of the ultivehicles, there were still enormous spaces left out.


    It seemed they reserved these spaces for ultivehicles they would purchase sooner or later in future.

 Chapter 18: Battle

    Once they got to the field, Richard immediately chose a space and went to the end of it, while Alex went to the other end.


    They were now extremely far from each other about sixty feet at the spot they chose to battle.


    Brimming with the intent to battle, Richard uttered "Speed God physique."


    Instantly, his body turned blurry. His body generated after-images that seemed to move in every direction, and he was just standing there, still in motion. He did not carry out any action.


    Alex''s brows furrowed, "He has awakened a bloodline physique? He must be from a powerful family, and it seems like his physique is related to speed" He said inwardly.


    Thinking to here, Alex got ready for a battle he believed would be tough, he had never fought anyone that had a physique, a speed one at that.


    "Seven Fortresses" he said, and abruptly, seven large masses of air rushed towards him from far places and gathered around him, they compacted and shaped into several around Alex.


    These spheres had windforce energy mixed in and incorporated into them was divineforce energy.


    These spheres now felt very hard, almost as hard as granite and began to glow because of the cultivation energy and primal cultivation energy in them.


    These spheres enclosed one another as they formed.


    In less than twenty seconds, he was wrapped up in seven spheres of solidified air.


    "Does he thinks that would protect him from my ''unlimited fist barrage'' ability?" Richard smiled smirkingly.


    He left Alex to do whatever he wanted to do.


    Seeing Alex was ready, he rushed over at a speed no one at his cultivation rank could see, he was extremely fast.


    In three seconds, he had gotten to the place where the massive solid spheres of air enveloped Alex''s figure.


    Boom!


    An high-pitched sound rang out as Richard punched the sphere, but it didn''t yield, not a crack could be seen in it.


    Not stopping, he continued to launch punches at the sphere in hopes of breaking this tough spheres.


    In a few seconds, he had sent a little above five hundred super-hard, heavy punches.


    The sphere, under rapid attack, cracked, but it quickly healed. The cracks sealed as air was pulled from far and infused into the sphere.


    Practicing the wind-element, supernal battle entity-grade methodology had given him the ability to control wind and manipulate it to a degree that was relative to his cultivation stage.


    Any other wind methodology can''t rank close to this one Alex studied, they would be like comparing fireflies to the sun.


    It methods were extremely profound, being a god-grade trinity methodology made any of it technique vastly powerful than all wind-based techniques of any other wind element methodology.


    Besides, this ability to summon winds was powered by the divineforce energy that coursed in his energy veins.


    People shook at the sight of this.


    Such impenetrable defense.


    How was Richard going to surmount this rapidly recovering obstacle and this was just the first of the seven spheres.


    They were elated it would be a long, mind-blowing battle to watch, both opponents seemed strong and powerful in their own way.


    They now had a little respect for Alex.


    His combat strength matched his brag and they also wondered where he crawled out from.


    After striking the sphere more than two thousand times in just a few minutes, he stopped.


    He felt he was only wasting his energy and disgracing himself.


    His face was now more ugly. "Is that how you are gonna hide in there like a turtle? You are not someone of honor!" he screamed out.


    "Haha!" Alex laughed unbridledly within the spheres.


    Using this an opportunity to attack and inflict serious injuries, the spheres of air enclosing Alex''s figure detonated outward.


    Boom!!


    Once the spheres exploded in a single direction at Richard, they swept out like a wave, carrying great power.


    If Richard got hit as such close proximity, he would become heavily injured by the large, rampaging currents of air.


    This unidirectional blast was powerful because Alex had used large amounts of air to construct each of the spheres, which as he detonated all at once, resulted in terrifying, violent air currents.


    Once the blast occurred, Richard vanished from here by employing the foot-based evasion abilities of his physique.


    Alex then looked at Richard with a mocking smile, "Who is the turtle now? You ran away like an hare that saw a cheetah. Bro, you are not someone of virtue, you couldn''t face the attack head-on like a man but rely on the power of your physique. What a shame" he said.


    "What a sharp tongue." a voice boomed out from afar.


    Then someone flew over at extreme speed and landed to the ground. This person wore an immaculate white robe, he was dashing but indifference could be seen in his eyes.


    "Teacher Xi" Richard greeted.


    Teacher Xi nodded and then looked at Alex before saying to Richard with warmness in his speech "Richard don''t use your physique abilities. Beat this boy for me" he said briefly then flew away.


    Richard''s gaze sharpened, "You fight with great honor, right? I want you to see you fight. Everyone, see how I would crush this house of bones." Richard shouted to alert everyone of a great fight.


    Without alerting Alex that he was about to attack, he suddenly threw his palm out at Alex.


    A massive, green crystalline palm of energy shot towards at Alex at extreme speed.


    This palm was formed from a variant aquaforce energy.


    Alex too was on guard. Once Richard moved, he moved too.


    He quickly punched out and a glowing cyan fist of energy shot out of his fist.


    The instant this fist shot out, a large mass of air rushed over and enveloped it.


    This mass of air then rapidly compacted shaping into a fist around the energy-fist that Alex sent out.


    This fist, formed from solidified air, increased in size and denseness as air continually infused into it unstoppably.


    It rapidly grew in size at an exponential rate.


    Boom!


    Both attacks struck each other and destructive, violent energies discharged from the point of collision in a ripple-like pattern.


    The palm shattered into fragments, while the fist shot forward, endlessly increasing in size as masses of air added to it. It was like its growth had no limit.

 Chapter 19: My Uncles name is Houston

    Richard activated his physique and dodged the fist. He was surprised by how the fist grew in size. This wasn''t normal.


    The fist went on impacting an ultivehicle in the distance, but nothing happened to it.


    Alex''s attack wasn''t something that could destroy an ultivehicle.


    "What kind of battle methodology was it that he studied?" Richard thought. Then he looked at Alex who also looked back at him with a smile that looked like a smirk.


    "Thinking to surrender?" Alex asked.


    Richard snorted "Don''t even think about it. I am not done with you"


    Once he said this, his fist began to glow in intense green light. This was because he moved the energy he cultivated to his hand.


    Then he swung his hand in a slashing motion at Alex and at the same moment, a luminous ray of green energy projected from is palm at Alex.


    This ray carried with it intense coldness as it caused the air to freeze.


    "Hmm?" Alex saw this and sent out his own attack.


    He was surprised why Richard produced an ordinary attack. Doing same, a brilliant cyan ray of energy also projected from his hand when he swung it.


    Once this ray shot out of his hand, it caused the air wherever it passed to become turbulent.


    The ray traveled forward to collide head-on with the other incoming ray of energy.


    Bang!


    Richard''s energy ray attack shattered and dispersed while Alex''s traveled forward.


    Richard was shocked, it was like he was fighting someone that was a cultivation realm above him.


    "How''s he doing this?" he thought. This was what he wanted to confirm by sending out an ordinary attack and now it was glaring to him and everybody that Alex was stronger than him.


    He produced many other attacks which destroyed the energy ray that was shooting towards him.


    The instructors were greatly surprised. "Does anyone know who that boy is? He seems very talented" one asked.


    "Yes. He''s able to beat someone at a higher cultivation stage and the genius of the Green River academy at that. See, I always tell you guys, nothing is special about the the geniuses of the Green River Academy" another said and looked at Teacher Xi with a grin.


    Teacher Xi only snorted, then he stood up and left the discussion hall they were in. He flew to where Richard fought Alex.


    Remaining afloat in the air before Richard and Alex. Then he said looking at Alex "I noticed some special things about you, or more precisely about your attacks. Your first attack was pretty powerful, it had the strength of one in the condensation stage, the second was increasing in size limitlessly and the third which was an ordinary attack shattered the same from an expert at the condensation stage. I take you to be a genius from a family. So would you like to join our academy, a lot of benefit would be obtained" Teacher Xi said.


    Everyone were shocked, but when they thought about it, it was right for Teacher Xi to extend an invitation to Alex.


    He was simply a genius. "You are quite fast" A loud voice boomed out from afar.


    Then everyone saw the instructors of the group of people from academies here fly swiftly towards Alex.


    They arrived before Alex and remained hovering in the air. "Boy, where are you from? And why do you look dirty like this? You seem to be a genius from a powerful family, you should hold clothes with you" one of the instructors asked.


    Although Alex was twelve, he wasn''t naive not to understand the way world works, with all his uncle had patiently and painstakingly explained so far to him.


    "I was out of the family house for adventure when I fell into a deep pit. I was there for many days before I discovered a way to climb out of it" he said.


    "Uh? At your little age, you left for an adventure?" Another asked which Alex nodded to.


    They shook their head, what was this boy thinking? In this world full of evil and chaos.


    "From your battle methods, I can infer that you come from a powerful family or do you already study at an academy?" Teacher Xi asked.


    "No. I don''t study at an academy yet, but I plan to study in one. To your first question, I am not really from a powerful family. I come from Houston house. My uncle owns the place" Alex said.


    The instructors'' eyes widened.


    Then fear set in, but this didn''t show on their face. They nodded indifferently but their minds were reeling in fear.


    They had to leave this young boy in front of them to go. They couldn''t mess around with anybody related to that person. Even a worker from the Houston house must not be touched.


    From the news they had received about the man in the past, he had decimated more than three academies all because one of their students or elders abused his workers or the relatives of his workers.


    He was domineering and powerful, even the statesmaster, the person in charge of managing the entire affairs in thousands of states was his friend.


    Teacher Xi coldly snorted "You claim to be from the Houston house right? For me to believe you, show me something to prove that you are truly from there. I give ten seconds, failure to do so would result in direful consequences for you" He said.


    He thought Alex was claiming to be something he was not and instilling fear into him, a saint-rank expert for that matter, frightened by a naive child, had made him very upset.


    Alex was taken aback by this man''s sudden behavior. He furrowed his brows as he began to think of something to show the man.


    On his left hand was worn the ring his uncle gave him, he sent a sliver of his awareness into it and abruptly everything in the ring appeared in his mind.


    He searched for a few seconds before he pulled out something from within the ring. It was a scroll and when he unfurled it, what was drawn in it was Houston''s image.


    The instructors were amazed but Teacher Xi wasn''t satisfied with this. He was about to talk when a gentle voice sounded in his head "Hi, this is Houston. Why don''t you forget about this matter and let the boy go. I would take it as a favour"


    Teacher Xi eyes widened in unrestrained horror, his body shook and his face turned pale white.


    He didn''t say anything, he just flew away.


    Right now, he needed to go meditate to calm his mind or he could go insane. That voice from someone he feared sounding in his head all of a sudden had left him in dire straits.


    Other instructors were totally surprised and then flew after Xi to go ask him what was wrong and why he was looking so jumbled up.

 Chapter 20: Respect

    Alex was surprised and so were the others.


    Alex didn''t pay this any thought again, since there was no interrogator again, he furled the scroll and sent it back into his interspatial ring.


    Since the battle had been interrupted and none of them where in the mood to battle again, Alex went forward with a smile to Richard. "Hey. Nice fight you put up there. How did you awaken your physique?" he asked.


    Richard still feeling sad over his defeat and upset about Alex''s great identity coldly snorted and turned away.


    He walked back to his group from his academy. Then they left the garage and went back to the building.


    Alex smiled and shook his head. Then he left the garage and went back to the building to buy a flight ticket.


    While he was in the building, with everyone else who had returned, he asked someone that looked like he was from an academy since he wore a uniform, "Hi. Don''t mind my intrusion, what are you guys doing here? Are you all here to travel to another state with a large ultivehicle for competition or what?" he asked.


    The person that Alex spoke to turned to face him and then replied "Yea! You are right, we want to go to another state for a competition. An inter-academy battle competition. Many academies would be going. It involves battle between the student at the condensation stage. Next year, another state would be hosting the event. The host of this spectacular, thrilling event is rotated amongst the states every year." the boy said.


    Alex nodded "Thanks for enlightening me" he said appreciably and this person nodded.


    Then Alex left to go to a room where he would buy a flight ticket for a small ultivehicle.


    He was wealthy enough to buy the ticket, his uncle gave him lot of sapphirtones.


    On his way to the room to get a ticket, looking dashing in appearance but ruined greatly by soiled clothes, everyone here, both workers, travelers and others looked at him.


    But this time around, it was not with repelling disgust but awe and praise which screamed loudly off their gaze.


    After getting his ticket for the small ultivehicle which was for only VIPs, he went to board it.


    Now that he occupied the very last seat, the engines turned on and the ultivehicle took off from the ground and shot into the horizon at an unbelievable speed.


    Everyones'' eyes trailed the ultivehicle as it took off from the ground and shot into the distance.


    When it disappeared from their vision, they turned their heads away. Then conversations broke out. "So that little guy''s uncle is Houston? I wished I was him, such wealth such respect, and can you imagine I looked down on him." someone said.


    "Same here, not knowing I would be the one to look down on myself later." another replied.


    In a room, Teacher Xi sat in the cross-legged position on the ground and meditated. By now, his mind had calmed, he inhaled slowly and breathed out slowly, calmly and peacefully.


    After a while, his eyes snapped open and the horror in his eyes was no longer there, he was back to his usual self.


    "Xi, how are you doing doing now? We noticed something was wrong with you, what happened?" someone asked.


    "I suddenly heard Houston''s voice in my head." Teacher Xi said.


    "What?" many exclaimed and some breathed in deeply.


    "That''s terrifying, he was able to project a thought to you from where he was, and the Houston estate is really far from here. Such cultivation power" one said in adoration and the others nodded reverently.


    "That boy, since we have never heard about him before must be his first time leaving the Houston house?" someone asked.


    "Right.. Er.. We have spoken enough about him, let''s mind our business. Don''t forget since he could transmit his thought to Xi, he can as well eavesdrop on what we are saying" As soon as this was mentioned, the rest trembled in realization.


    Then they resumed their meeting which was postponed because of the fight.


    While in the air, Alex could see the VIPs looking at him from time to time, and these were experts with high cultivation stages.


    When he entered the ultivehicle from the garage, he had greeted them without arrogance which made these experts happy with him. He respected his seniors.


    Alex by now, had this strong suspicion that his uncle was powerful, only his image drawn in the scroll he had with him had sent Teacher Xi away, so he thought not knowing something else was involved.


    After thinking for a while about it, he closed his eyes and began to recall vividly all that had happened back at the red lotus mountain, then he thought of that beauty.


    He didn''t care what''s uncle would tell him, he would go to the Immovable Mountain academy to go study when he''s reaches the earth adept realm.

 Chapter 21: Impossible to restrict, chipped away

    An hour later, traveling at great speed, the ultivehicle arrived at the Houston estate and landed in a field meant for landing of ultivehicles.


    He came down from the ultivehicle and began to walk to the mansion. The ultivehicle took off and flew to the next destination.


    On his way to his uncle''s room, he was greeted by the workers he met which he amiably responded to.


    They were shocked by his appearance but they said nothing, only wondered in their heart why their young master was looking very dirty.


    "Boy, welcome back to your humble home." his uncle said lovingly.


    Alex smiled but before he could talk, his uncle dragged him out of his room.


    Plak!


    The door closed in his face again.


    Alex then swelled in embarrassment and anger. He kicked the door and left. He knew what his uncle''s action meant.


    When he entered his room, he went to shower, he became fresh again. All the dust that coated his face and present on his body had been washed away by the cold water shower bringing back his extremely striking look.


    He dressed up and went back to his uncle''s room. "Look at you now. So gorgeous" Houston said in a teasing tone.


    Alex looked at him with a smirk and said "Uncle, there''s something I want to ask you which has been bothering me for some time now"


    His uncle was taken aback, "All right, let the cat out of the bag" Houston said.


    "Uncle who were my parent and what happened to me when I was young, I just can''t recall anything about me before I clocked twelve?"


    "Hmm" his uncle thought for sometime before saying "That''s a tough question you asked. I can''t answer the two questions now but I promise to tell you later. I just want you to know that you are really special" Houston said.


    Alex raised a brow and pouted. "Okay. Uncle, promise me you will provide an answer to what am about to ask you next" he said.


    His uncle shook.


    He didn''t want to make a promise he wouldn''t want to fulfill. He took a deep breath, "Alright kid, bring it on" he said.


    Alex smiled happily.


    "Uncle, during one of the stages of a trial for a legacy, I accidentally awakened a physique, I had stars all over my body, I felt great power. But the power has gone dormant again, I can''t even sense where the power lies in my body. I also saw a realm where I saw countless bodies. These bodies were fearsomely powerful. What is that physique and what''s that realm?" Alex asked.


    Houston''s eyes widened in shock, but he concealed this very well from Alex.


    With a smile, he approached Alex and put a arm around his neck "Boy, like I said earlier, you are a very gifted kid. Well, to give an answer to that..." He said with a smile.


    Then he abruptly touched Alex''s nape with a finger that glowed resplendently.


    He couldn''t fulfill his promise.


    Alex''s eyes went shut as he fell into deep sleep.


    Houston quickly held him before he fell to the ground and then he placed him on his bed.


    He touched Alex''s forehead with his index finger and some abstruse patterns surfaced within Alex''s head.


    Houston''s eyes widened with marvel. Then he shook his head as he said "Truly backed by the realmverse. Your vast potentials simply can''t be limited or restricted. The divine power your father used to form the profound, memory restriction seal is being slowly chipped away and refined into pure divineforce energy, adding to the one circulating in your energyhouse" he said. Then he continued "I would love to undo this to give you back your memories, but I simply won''t be able to. The memory seal put there by your father would be extremely difficult to break. And forcing it to shatter and disperse might harm your memories. So only you can slowly grind it away as you go stronger, kid"


    .....


    Few hours later, Alex woke up. When he sat up in bed, he saw his uncle looking at him with a smile and a book in his hand. He was reading leisurely at the moment. "Uncle, I fell asleep here?" he asked in a bewildered tone.


    "Yes, you did" Alex was surprised. "that''s odd" he mentioned.


    "What''s odd about falling asleep in my room?" Houston asked with a smile.


    Alex couldn''t refute his statement, he only smiled back.

 Chapter 22: Calling for help

    "So, tell me about the legacy you had?" Houston asked.


    "Uncle, just wait and see. I would become very powerful, very soo... Wait, uncle, you haven''t explained to me what I asked you earlier?"


    Alex asked as soon as he recalled this.


    "Of course I did. Then you fell asleep, perhaps you were very tired from your journey, all those trials you went through knocked you off to sleep" Houston replied.


    Alex furrowed his brows, he couldn''t remember anything.


    Before he could talk, "Alex, why don''t you accompany me for a walk?" Houston asked.


    Alex was surprised "A walk?" He asked. "Yes"


    Alex happily nodded, this was his first time heading out into the estate.


    On the street, they walked together with everyone''s gazes following them, especially Alex.


    No one had seen him before.


    Houston kept him well hidden in the mansion. They went sight seeing for an hour and discussed about the many things they saw.


    On their way back to the mansion, a large slit suddenly appeared in the sky at a very far place, everyone in the city from wherever they where could see the slit.


    Then cold winds descended from that slit. Everyone shook, especially the mortals. It was like a god had cut open the sky with a large sword.


    Alex was firstly surprised, then fear set in, "What the hell is this?" he asked inwardly.


    Houston looked up with furrowed brows.


    He also didn''t understand what was going on. While he waited for whatever opened that slit to show itself, a sword, large in size was shooting through the void at the speed of light.


    It was this sword that made that slit by shooting off a gigantic ray of swordforce energy.


    But before it could escape through the slit, it was suddenly entangled in invisible shackles that bound it tightly.


    Since it couldn''t break free from their bondage, It called for help in a way only powerful experts would hear.


    The message was transmitted and Houston picked it up. Then his face turned solemn.


    He looked at Alex who was looking up at that slit with awe and fear in his eyes and then projected a soul ray into his head. This caused Alex to fall into a state of unconsciousness.


    He became unaware of what was happening around him. And like he was under a movement spell, he walked like a zombie into a partially visible portal which suddenly appeared and led to his room. Then he remained in there with a completely absent gaze.


    After Alex had appeared in his room, Houston vanished from where he was and appeared in the void before the sword.


    Immediately he appeared, he saw a few of the humanoid beings that brought death to his Lord, the ''Star lord.''


    Then boundless fury erupted from his heart. "Bluefire skyburning physique" he uttered in fury.


    Abruptly, his hair and skin turned blue and his body grew taller by many inches. Several overlapping layers of blue scales that shone like steel appeared all over his body radiating heat and intense blue luminousness.


    These superimposed, seemingly-indestructible, blue armor scales were condensed from fire statutes, the primary source of fire which was fire originforce energy.


    Gigantic, bright blue flames appeared deep in his dark blue eyes. With a gaze, towering, blazing flames manifested in the place he looked at. And this was the void which contained no matter. One could imagine his power of manipulation of fire elemental energy.


    Then brilliant, raging blue flames surfaced, enveloping his figure.


    At the stage he was, flames discharging from his body would burn fearsomely in the absence of air.


    The instant he transformed, he shot towards the beings.


    "Desolating Fist of Fire Incarnate"


    He uttered and punched out as he flew towards them.


    The instant he punched out, a massive blue fist formed from energy and carried frightening dark blue flames shot out from his fist towards these alien-like beings.


    Seeing the immenseness of the attack, the alien beings were greatly shocked by the power of this person. But before they could attack, an hammer that was nearly the same size of the flaming fist Houston unleashed, suddenly shot from far towards the fist. And immediately they collided, a massive world-shaking boom sound rang out.


    Violent energies that could decimate half of a small world swept out.


    These beings backed off a bit and produced powerful weapons that began to gleam, they were like suns in the form of a sword, spear and so on.


    Houston looked at that being who blocked his attack flying over from afar with battle intent continuously erupting from him.


    He began to glow.


    "Sea of blue flame"


    He bellowed. Then massive quantities of blue-colored fire elemental energy shot out from his body towards the being flying over.

 Chapter 23: Battle in space I

    "Sea of Blueflame"


    He bellowed.


    Then massive quantities of formidable blue flame shot out from his body towards the being flying over.


    The being halted and aimed its palms at the sea of flames rushing over.


    Then a silver-colored energy erupted from it palms and quickly condensed into a massive hexagonal shield, protecting the being from the incoming flame.


    The shield blocking the raging blue flames rapidly thinned as it was burnt away by the flames.


    But the being pumped more energy into the shield to increase it thickness, it density, so it could withstand the flames for some time till the attack would stop.


    After a few minutes of blocking the frenzied sea of fire, it realized it was only wasting away energy as the sea of devouring fire was unceasing, it continued to come at him.


    Then it shot up above the flame and rushed towards Houston.


    Houston on seeing what was happening, stopped discharging flames and clenched his fist.


    Then he flew towards the being coming at him. He punched out and at the same moment, the being punched out.


    Their fist connected.


    Boom!


    It was like a massive bomb went off.


    A ripple of energy carrying great destructive power erupted from the point of collision knocking both Houston and the being off into the distance.


    The sword being entangled began to glow in a bright, resplendent light.


    Then it shot off seven rays of swordforce energy at the seven beings that laid out the entanglements that captured it.


    The resplendent rays of energy carrying tyrannical sharpness was met by rays of energy produced by the beings.


    Boom! Boom!...


    Continuous explosions rang out as the attacks impacted.


    The rays of swordforce energy pierced through the attacks one after the other but they had gotten dim after loosing a lot of their energy when they impacted the attacks released by these beings.


    Whilst shooting forward, a ray of energy sliced through one of the adversaries, cutting it in half and killing it.


    The other beings became enraged.


    Then they launched powerful attacks at the sword.


    The sword was impacted by the powerful attacks but the materials used to forge it were truly resilient.


    Being swept about like a small canoe in a turbulent sea, there was no damage to it structure, not even a slight crack.


    For that attack earlier, the sentient entity controlling the sword had drained it entire energy to shoot those powerful rays of sharpforce energy which successfully annihilated one of these beings.


    Now, it could only hope the man battling the other being in the distance who was Houston should quickly finish the battle and could come release it.


    After exchanging fists many times like brutes, Houston and his adversary returned to long distance battle.


    "Destroying Sword of Fire "


    Houston calmly said and aimed his palm at the being.


    The instant he did, an exceedingly huge sword that was composed purely from blue flame and invoked the feeling of unmatched sharpness, shot out of his hand at a blazing speed towards the being.


    The being held it hand out, then a massive brown hammer appeared in it, it was rapidly formed out of it energy.


    The hammer that materialized in its hand had a head that was astonishingly massive in size. Then as soon as the hammer formed, it began to radiated a strong suppressive pressure and a power to crush all.


    Clasping the handle with both hands, it shouted with wrath in its tone;


    "Kal''eth Empyrean Killing Hammer"


    Then it swung the hammer at the incoming sword with great might.


    The sword, carrying great heat and sharpness rammed into the hammer resulting in a terrifying explosion.


    Boom!!


    A frightening blast occurred sweeping away with a wave that had the tendency to rupture half of a small world.


    Both of them were knocked back thousands of feet by the wave.


    Their bodies were strong enough to withstand the destructiveness of the explosion wave.


    Houston seeing the being was pretty powerful as it could exchanged attacks with him and not be disadvantaged produced a large blue halberd from his interspatial ring.


    It was a treasure-weapon, a Class-24 Category weapon.


    Once he activated it, an array, called ''Great Infernal Immolating'' array, numbering in millions and had the sizes of worlds which were linked to form a vast network of arrays within a voidstone plugged into one of the sockets in the halberd began to operate.


    It speedily generated an enormous amount of variant-blue flame energy which was then transferred to the halberd.


    This resulted in an intense blue glow of the blue halberd as the energy was conducted across it body to the large blade.


    "World-immolating Great Halberd strike"


    He said employing a battle technique and then swung his halberd at his adversary.


    The instant he did, the extremely large amounts of powerful blue flame that abruptly discharged from the halberd''s blade rapidly condensed and shaped into a ball the size of a small world and cannoned at the being.


    The ball of flame which was shockingly enormous in size, radiated great, terrifying heat as it blazed at extreme speed towards Houston''s challenger.


    When the blue fiery ball was formed, continents in few, distant small worlds at night, facing away from their suns were irradiated by it intense blue light and extreme heat. It was like an overly colossal blue sun had suddenly appeared.


    Then as the ball shot towards the being at a great speed, the image of an extremely gigantic halberd could be seen; where it astonishingly massive blade encased the enormous blue ball of flame that looked like a sun and radiated unsurpassed scorching power.


    With furrowed brows, the being from where it stood quickly produced a weapon, a spear; which was inscribed with indecipherable words.


    On activation, the cryptic inscriptions on the surface of the spear lit up, then thousands of large inscriptions appeared around him like it was projected, and in sizes that could match the sizes of continents.


    Instantly, the inscriptions transformed into spears of exceedingly great sizes and merged with one another in a second to become a single mighty spear that could nearly match Houston''s fiery ball-attack in size.


    "Great Vjolnur Almighty Spear strike"


    The being cried out with anger and the spear suddenly gained the inky-black shadow of a crowned and caped being that stood behind it. This shadowy silhouette radiated fearsomeness and majesticness.


    Once this being appeared, the spear shot out at the incoming energy-strike from Houston.

 Chapter 24: Battle in space II

    Boom!


    The spear and the halberd collided and a tremendously powerful explosion occurred.


    Tyrannical energies in excessively large amount rippled out from the collision ripping apart anything in their path.


    The other beings were terrorized. They instantly shot away at great speed or they would be swept to the ''deathworld'' by the obliterating ripples of energies.


    Once the spear and halberd collided, releasing enormous, destructive ripples of energy, the blue sun encased by the halberd''s blade detonated and a seemingly boundless sea of blue flame surfaced rushing everywhere like a furious flood.


    It burnt everything caught in it path to nothing.


    The majestic and fearsome shadowy being behind the spear turned into a corrosive jet-black fog that spread to cover everywhere but it was burnt away by the overpowering blue flame.


    Seeing the blue flame roaring towards him like a tsunami.


    The being quickly flew backwards while the inscriptions on his spear lit up and projections of hundreds of thousands of large ancient symbols appeared around him again. These inscriptions turned into really large, resplendent glowing spears.


    "Vjolnur Great Spear of Protection"


    It shouted ragingly and the millions of spears quickly came together and transformed into a large spear.


    Once they fused and became one, the solid, transparent image of a massive shield appeared, encasing the spear.


    Then It shot out towards the flaming blue sea.


    Bang!


    A loud explosion resulted as the shield impacted the flame.


    The massive shield blocked the enormous, tide-like flame and after many minutes of both attacks striving to destroy the other, they rapidly thinned and then canceled themselves out when they lost their energies and momentum as they were stuck both in a stalemate.


    Houston furrowed his brows.


    "This guy is pretty powerful" he said inwardly.


    Then he thought of something. He knew what he was about to do next could seriously injure him, but he just didn''t give a damn.


    He produced three more voidstones and inserted them into three sockets in the halberd''s handle.


    These three new voidstones each contained a vast array-network comprising millions of terrifying arrays the sizes of worlds.


    Once he plugged them in and activated the array-networks in them, the halberd began to glow and tremble, then it produced an aura that caused Houston to cough out blood, despite in his nigh-indestructible form.


    He knew he would be seriously injured, but he was resolute, no going back, he must finish off this being so he could go deal with the others.


    The voidstones also glowed in bright resplendent lights as the gigantic array-networks operating in them produced terrifying amounts of energies which were transferred to the halberd and then conducted to the blade.


    The entire halberd trembled greatly like it wanted to shatter but it was strong as Houston''s will.


    "Grand Heavenly Destruction Blaze Halberds"


    Houston said inwardly and furiously swung his halberd at that being.


    Once the four sets of pyroforce energies shot off the halberd''s blade, the blade rapidly cracked and then shattered into many tiny fragments.


    The blade couldn''t withstand the exceedingly colossal energies it put out. It was a critical overload for it.


    Houston was knocked backward by hundreds of feet by a force that was produced when the weapon shattered.


    He became seriously injured. His arms cracked in many places despite his body''s toughness.


    He bled from these cracks in his arms and he became pale-white because of the wound inflicted on him by the destructive feedback of his weapon that shattered.


    The energies that discharged from the halberd''s blade before it shattered apart instantly condensed into four massive balls of fire which were crimson, red, yellow and blue in color, since they were produced by different arrays. These terrifying fiery balls looked like actual massive suns. They radiated intense heat and astonishing luminance.


    Then as they shot out towards the being targeted, the image of an utterly massive halberd surfaced behind each of them, erupting power that invoked the feeling that it could sunder worlds.


    These halberds had abstruse patterns on them which pulsed with great divine power and emitted a dreadful suppressive force.


    While the being that Houston fired his fearsome attacks at became totally horrified; this was because it found to it horror that it couldn''t move and could only wait for it destruction.


    With a scream of rage and horror and then employing it possible best to break free, it eventually got free of the invisible restraining force that bound it in place. But before it could evade the massive attacks that Houston sent out, the colored suns, which were accompanied by frightening spears that were the sizes of actual small worlds, got to where it was and detonated at the same time.


    Boom!!!


    A really loud and bright explosion occurred, while tremendously powerful energy waves that could decimate worlds was released and was quickly accompanied by massive, tsunami-like flames of different colors that moved at great speeds in all directions.


    These possessed the alarming power to really evaporate worlds made up of only metals.


    These flames that raged to all directions like they were tsunamis, to describe their quantities; were hundreds of times the size of the ocean in this world.


    Therefore, as they raged to all directions, they wreaked absolute destruction in their wake.


    Argh!!!


    The being shrieked in great pain when it was struck by the destructive force that the seemingly frenzied, tsunami-like flames impacted it with. And shrieked more when it was eventually engulfed by the burning hot flames. Despite it body''s toughness and durability, it couldn''t withstand the colossal, raging seas of fire.


    As the flames burnt its body, it felt great pain and continually screamed in agony.


    The large halberds which were formed out of energy and were accompanying the massive, colored balls of blazing consuming fire, pierced through at extreme speed the gigantic sea of flames that had appeared and engulfed the being with the intent to burn it cinders.


    Then they struck the being extremely hard.


    Arrrrrgh!!!


    The being wailed again in sorrow and misery. Not long, no scream was heard again.


    Many minutes after the flame dispersed and the halberds vanished. The charred corpse of the being could be seen, but it wasn''t whole. It had been split in many halves.


    With eyes that that showed rage and shone with retribution, the few other humanoid beings brought out ''forbidden weapons'' and tried activating it.


    They were about to when few other human cultivators appeared at close ranges and sent out powerful attacks at them.

 Chapter 25: The purifier

    These attacks broke their concentrations as they tried blocking them, but they were a bit slow in putting up powerful defenses against the close range attacks.


    The attacks, powerful in might, penetrated through their rough defenses and fatally injured them.


    After a few attacks, the beings were slain.


    Houston''s body had reverted to normal and was speedily recovering from the wounds caused by his last attack as he had taken a god-rank recovery pill.


    The sword, since no one was maintaining the entanglements, broke free of them and shot to Houston''s side.


    Then a being, the sentient entity controlling the sword, appeared before Houston and offered it thanks.


    "Don''t mention. We are together in this"


    Houston said, then the control entity nodded.


    The slit the sword made before their battle had vanished, it had long closed.


    That was why the blast waves from the explosions couldn''t leave here to that small world or it would surely be in ruins now.


    The other human cultivators came over and the sword entity did the same to them, expressing it thanks.


    They nodded, and once they sensed Houston''s cultivation level, they were shocked and quickly greeted, "Senior. It was an honor to fight alongside you"


    Houston smiled and amiably nodded. Je was without haughtiness which gave these people a good impression of him.


    It was this same attitude he inculcated into Alex.


    Then he looked at the sword entity, "What happened, why were you being chased by the people of the Sae-Uhl race? How did they cross over to our Realmverse?" he asked in a puzzled tone.


    "It was all caused by my master, The purifier" the entity replied.


    "The Purifier? Have never heard of him before" He asked again in a surprised tone.


    After all the very long number of years he had spent, he knew many of the notable human cultivators. He just hadn''t heard about the Purifier. And to him, he sounded like a powerful person.


    "My master is not a ''he'' but a ''she''. She was not popular because she was a recluse. She had no relationship whatsoever as she was committed to cultivation. She was in seclusion for years no one could possibly think of as she was preparing herself for something she felt was greater than popularity or fame. In her seclusion, she gained enlightenments to many unrecorded energies and cultivated them to a great stage, she merged them together to form an energy she called ''purifier energy''. Then she crossed through The Great Divide using a treasure belonging to an ancient expert which she discovered in a danger zone" The entity replied.


    The Great Divide is a thick, quasi-membranous boundary that exists between two Realmverses.


    It spans a distance that would take someone nine hundred thousand undecillion realm-years to cross, that is, from one realmverse to the next.


    And one realm-year is one hundred and twelve thousand duodecillion years.


    It was impossible to cross through the Great Divide as one''s life span would end on the journey.


    Only through a certain treasure called ''Realm-Displacement vessel'' or ''Boundary-Blink Vessel'' forged by the greatest forging god of ancient could this be made possible in this world.


    But only one was forged, simply because of the materials used to craft it had been exhausted. It was the rarest of materials ever.


    The Great Divide is like a membrane, it was thick and semi-permeable. If it did not permit the entry of anything, nothing would surely get through.


    Only through treasures could this restriction be removed and those are the vessel-treasures used to cross the void.


    The vessel-treasure, number one on the ranking of ''Wonders of the Realmverse'' belonged only to that unsurpassed god of forging and when he died, it was in his possession.


    No one discovered where he died or where he was buried.


    It seemed the man kept his treasure so no one could use it and hold his beloved realmverse to ransom.


    He just forged it to be something that filled him with a sense of unparalleled achievement.


    Although, it had once been used to travel to the realmverse of the beings that always tried to invade their world to wreak havoc for retaliation.


    So, one could only imagine the power of that ancient expert that directed The Purifier to the danger zone where the supreme god of forging passed away naturally in his meditation to get enlightenments.


    The danger zone mentioned, like every other one is a region where an extremely powerful expert died in. Then the region was transformed into a deadly place by the cultivation power that continuously and endlessly erupted from the body of that primeval cultivator.


    Only experts with high cultivation level and unique powers can withstand the totally engulfing, vastly destructive powers that lingered on indefinitely in such zones. Such zones are also called "Forbidden Zones".


    "All these to achieve what end?" Houston asked with his brows furrowed.


    "According to what she told me, she said she was called upon by a voice since she was little to pave way for something great to come, that it should be given time to grow. It was this voice that spoke to her when she was younger, telling her to train for a great purpose that would benefit every creature. She was shown a vision which made her accept. She left her family and the whole world behind to cultivate in seclusion." The entity replied.


    Houston was more surprised now.


    Then he asked further "What was that voice? Where did it come from?"


    The entity thought for sometime, "My master despite her great cultivation level couldn''t trace the source, but she guessed it must be the voice of a dead ancient cultivator that perhaps transmitted through time. That was her speculation but it could probably be true" it replied.


    Houston brows wrinkled.


    He had a feeling that something was Alex, then his heart shook.


    If that ancient cultivator knew about Alex, then others would.


    His mind roiled but he didn''t show the state of his mind.


    But then, he surmised that it was only a voice pointing the Purifier in a direction and the voice must have been transmitted from the distant past to the purifier, that cultivator may already be dead.


    And even if the primeval cultivator is still alive, it was possible only he or she knew about Alex.


    Peradventure there were others still alive too, only a handful of them might know about him and his vast inborn abilities.


    Still, it depends on the ability they gained through cultivation of energies.


    Then he thought that perhaps this expert successfully cultivated the greatly elusive destinyforce energy and fateforce energy to a god-level. These energies gave one the respective abilities to peer into great mysteries of the realmverse to understand how something works or alter it programming, and know the fate of something.


    "Okay" Houston uttered as his mind returned to calm.


    Then one of the other cultivators before him asked, "So what about the Purifier? Where is she?"


    "She couldn''t make it out but I feel she''s still alive" It replied sorrowfully.


    "Hmm. Am sorry about your master, she was a great and remarkable person. She fought alone on behalf of the whole world, she paid a real great price." Houston said then he bowed.


    The others bowed too paying their respect to her. They were in this position for five minutes before straightening themselves.


    "Fellow cultivator, I would like to speak to you about something" the sword entity said facing Houston.

 Chapter 26: The boy in your possession

    "Huh! Okay" he said after exclaiming in surprise.


    "Fellow cultivators, thanks for the help you rendered to me and the sword, I wouldn''t have been able to totally eliminate those bastards without you guys. I would like to head out now, we may possibly see some other time for good and then merry." Houston said with a smile.


    They nodded and replied "Don''t mention senior. We are also heading back" then they vanished from here.


    With a thought, a large portal appeared before the both of them.


    At the other end could be seen Houston''s room. The portal revolved and drew close to them, swallowing up their figures, then they appeared in the room.


    "So what was it you wanted to discuss with me?" Houston asked immediately.


    His emotions were fluctuating.


    "I didn''t say everything I wanted to say back there because of the other cultivators as it''s a great secret that no one else must know. My master, the purifier said that something is in your possession. A boy" the entity replied.


    Houston shook.


    "What? How did your master know about that? Was she also told by the voice?" he asked hurriedly.


    "Yes. She told me to tell you, the recipient of the message that the boy should be made to realize his destiny. The sooner the better, or things could go awry very quickly." the sword entity replied.


    Houston''s brows furrowed, "Isn''t that a bit too early. He''s still young. How can I just pull him over and say, ''hey boy, the destiny of our realmverse lies in your hands, train well because in future you would be facing billions of adversaries.'' Only that statement alone might shock him to coma. He wouldn''t be able to handle it." Houston said with a bit of anger.


    "Fellow cultivator, it''s up to you. I have delivered the message I was sent here for" the entity replied.


    It paused for a while looking at Houston who was very uncomfortable with the news and said, "My master wants to support the kid in all his endeavors. All her life savings including the wealth of that forging god are in an interspatial ring kept within a spatial dimension in the sword. The sword is also a gift to him, it''s meant for his protection as I would be the one to safeguard him, that was what she tasked me with. Also, he would be able to utilize it when he reaches a high level in cultivation."


    Houston only nodded. He wasn''t happy at this news.


    Then he looked at the being with a curious gaze, "What exactly was the purpose she went there for, how would she create time for him to grow?" He asked.


    "She left the society hundreds of trillions of centuries ago to go into seclusion to cultivate. Then six months before now, she was summoned by that voice to use that treasure to move through the Great Divide to go to the world of the Sae-Uhl race." the entity replied.


    "Then how was she able to fight with such overwhelming numbers of adversaries. Wouldn''t she be slain at once by their attacks?" Houston asked.


    "Don''t forget my master is a Beyonder. Throughout the years, she had cultivated hundreds of unrecorded energies and had merged them into one energy she called the ''Purifier Energy''. With this energy, she put up a good fight with many of them and killed as many as possible before she was eventually overpowered." the entity proudly said, then in a sad tone.


    Huuuu!


    Houston took a deep breath, then he asked "How many are we talking here?" Houston asked. "More than you can possibly, exaggeratedly imagine" it responded.


    Houston looked at the entity in shock.


    It sounded to him like she eliminated half of them. Even the Star Lord, his Master, who was a Beyonder wouldn''t be able to fight more than billions of such adversaries himself as thy were also powerful in their own right.


    "There were many ways she was able to accomplish this. It wasn''t by her cultivation power alone, she used voidstones that had powerful, ancient arrays in them. These voidstones were from that ancient expert she took the realm divide-traversing treasure from. Of course, the material used to forge the sword cannot handle the conduction of such great energies perfectly, so she used inscription orbs, these are rare I know but she had a large number of them which were also owned by that expert. So, that was how she was able to kill so many of them, reducing them in numbers... Besides, it was a quick sneak attack at full power and she didn''t fight in the sky, she fought on the ground, wreaking havoc unrestrainedly, attacking them when they weren''t on guard. She killed their children, wives, just about anything sae-uhl she could kill." the entity said proudly with a small laugh.


    Inscription orbs (also called rune pearls) are small, dark crystal orbs or pearls formed by nature.


    They can store symbols condensed from divine power by experts, called ''Grand Inscribers'' who knows about divine inscriptions.


    The symbols and characters in the inscription orbs won''t dissipate, that is, the energy used to form them won''t disperse and return back to the realmverse. They would maintain that symbolic form in the orb for as long as possible.


    These orbs would absorb the energies from arrays or from the cultivators themselves and infuse them into the symbols they contain.


    These symbols would project outwards in gigantic, solid forms. They would appear in the air like they were projected onto a screen.


    Then these projections would fuse transforming into that attack the expert wants to produce after the cultivator infuses his comprehension of a battle-method into it.


    They can undergo infinite, myriad transformations just to create that specified attack.


    These are used to protect the treasure-weapons from shattering or damaging when energy conducts across them.


    Even a tremendously great overload wouldn''t shake the weapons that have rune pearls affixed into them.


    ...


    While divine inscriptions are characters, words, signs, patterns formed from divine power, using divineforce energy.


    Anything can be inscribed into, even the air, and can erupt great power. This is because they are formed from runes condensed out of statutes (basal energies).


    The sizes of inscription matters. The power they can emanate can be determined through their sizes.


    The larger the size of the inscriptions, the greater the magnitude of their destructive power.


    This is because one could have thousands of runes condensed out of statutes of destruction and another could have millions of runes condensed out statutes of destruction.


    The latter would come out with more power.


    "Hmm. I understand now. She did that just to make null all that they had planned and give the boy time to grow before they recover." Houston said in a light of understanding.


    "Yes" the entity replied. It paused and then continued "The wealth of those beings she killed are in the ring too, along with their bodies. That was why I was being chased back by a few of them that got through the opening in the Great Divide."


    "Okay. Where is that treasure now?" Houston asked.


    "It is with me. It''s in a spatial dimension in the sword." the entity replied.


    "Hmm... Alright. I would work on what you told me" Houston said.


    Then the entity vanished and the sword shot to his front.


    He took it by the handle and kept it into his interspatial ring.


    Space warped around him and he vanished from where he was appearing in Alex''s room.


    He waved his hand and the mind-compelling energy dispersed. Then Alex''s gaze returned to normal.


    He looked around and asked in surprise, "Uncle, how did we get here? I remember we were outside and now we are here?"


    Houston smiled, then he said "I did something to you, I used my soul cultivation powers on you. You remember that slit that appeared in the sky?"


    Alex was shocked. Then he nodded. But he didn''t believe what his uncle said about using soul cultivation power on him.


    He wondered where his uncle was going with this.


    Seeing his unbelieving face "I forced you here by using one of my soul abilities called mind-compel. Then I went into that slit" Houston said.


    Alex rolled his eyes at him "Are you that powerful?" he asked with a smile that gave hints of mockery.


    "No. But I am powerful" Houston said with a smile but seriousness could be seen in his gaze.

 Chapter 27: I told you lies

    Alex shook his head. "Alright. Uncle, prove to me that you are powerful" he said, since seeing is believing.


    "Hmm. A sliver of my power would destroy all that I have here. Then, let me show you something" Houston said.


    He then disappeared and appeared in front of Alex which made Alex''s eyes to widen in shock. Then Houston pressed a finger against Alex''s forehead which made Alex''s vision to suddenly change.


    He saw the whole event that occurred between Houston and the Sae-Uhl race. He saw how his uncle released powerful attacks that could rupture small worlds and he saw the other being that fought his uncle. He was powerful too.


    He relived the entire battle that occurred and couldn''t help but be amazed. Then his vision changed, returning to normal when Houston removed the finger pressed against his forehead.


    Alex looked at his uncle with an indescribable gaze. He couldn''t believe his uncle was this powerful.


    "So am I powerful now?" Houston asked with a smile.


    "Is that why they fear you?" Alex asked with that look still in his eyes.


    "I don''t know" Houston replied.


    Alex took a deep breath and before he could say anything, Houston said "I have something to show you. I believe you can still remember that I once told you that your parent died in an ultivehicle crash and couldn''t leave a picture of themselves for you as they were too busy with business and obsessed in gathering wealths just to live fine and not make you suffer any lack. It was a lie... I told you a lie. Come with m¡ª"


    Alex''s eyes widened in shock before it was replaced with anger interrupting his uncle as he spoke.


    "Uncle, you did wh..."


    Alex said in a vexed loud tone. But before he could finish what he was saying, Houston sharply cut in "I am deeply sorry, Alex. I told you those for your own sake. I will reveal everything to you soon and you will understand why I did that. Just come with me. Wouldn''t you like to see your parent''s images?"


    With glittering eyes that still contained hint of anger, Alex couldn''t help but nod.


    He really wanted to see his parent''s images.


    So he nodded and Houston led him to his room.


    But his mind was greatly unsettled, he was picturing who his parent would be but what he could visualize was that caped man he referred to as the supreme expert and that once-in-a-million-years great beauty.


    It now felt like forever as he was led by his uncle to where his parent''s picture was kept. He anticipated this eagerly.


    When they got to Houston''s room, Houston brought Alex to a shelf. He opened it and drew out many scrolls. These scrolls were made from thick beasts'' skins.


    "Here. The image scrolls. They have your parent''s pictures in them. Dive in" he said with a smile and went behind Alex who went forward with a heart that was beating erratically.


    He grabbed a scroll and rolled it open. The moment he did, he saw two figures in the painting and then it was like a bomb went off in his head.


    He couldn''t breathe, and it was like his heart stopped.


    "Father?... Mother?" he uttered slowly. He rubbed the figures drawn in that painting with his fingers.


    Then he left that scroll and rolled open the next. In that manner, he went through all the paintings drawn in the scroll.


    He then sat down beside the scrolls looking at the images he was seeing in the painting.


    "Alex. I am sorry for hiding the truth from you all this while. It was for your own good. I think it''s time I tell you some things about yourself and about your parent." Houston said.


    "Uncle, I won''t forgive you. So you lied to me all this while." Alex said in an infuriated tone.


    Houston smiled. He came closer to Alex and rubbed his head affectionately. "Forgive me or not, all that I did was for your own good." He said.


    Alex knocked off his hand and stood up from the ground. He picked up the scrolls which he rolled back and stowed away in his interspatial ring.


    He sat on his uncle''s bed and stared angrily at Houston who was also looking at him.


    "What are you trying to achieve with this gaze?" Houston said with a smile, breaking the silence.


    Alex still looked at him and this made Houston feel strange. "Are you trying to make me feel am talking to a statue?" He asked.


    Not getting any response, he came to sit beside Alex on the bed. Then he placed an arm around his neck.


    After sometime Alex spoke, "In my dream, my dad was fighting those people. What are they?" he asked.


    "Those people are beings from the Sae-Uhl race." Houston replied.


    "The Sae-Uhl race? They were greatly overwhelming in numbers, they were overpowering" Alex said.


    "They have that number because they are highly proliferative beings. A female Sae-Uhlian can give birth to twenty offsprings in a day. Imagine the number of offsprings that would be produced by a hundred of them." Houston said.


    Alex nodded. "So, why were they trying to invade our world?" he asked.


    "Alex, those beings are trying to invade our world simply because they have exhausted their resources. They have used up everything and are targeting other realmverses to support their existences." Houston said.


    "Hmm. But would the resources in our realmverse support their existence? Since we are different beings with different body make-up" Alex asked in a puzzled tone.


    "Of course they can." Houston replied.


    Alex thought back to that caped man that he had just discovered to be his father and smiled.


    Such powerful figure was his father. He looked at his uncle and asked. "Uncle, tell me all you know about my parent" Alex said.


    "About your parent... They were really powerful people. Your father, Max, a fearsome cultivation genius, from a powerful family with a unique bloodline, worked his way up to that level of strongest expert in the world through hardwork and dedication. He was reclusive for sometime before he shot himself to limelight through battles with frightful geniuses from powerful cultivation families. He was domineering, always coming out top in all battles he fought. He had a unique physique and great cultivation talents. While your mom, Lucy, was from a family that was into forging of treasures including treasure-weapons, she was a great cultivation genius as well as a forging genius. Her skills in forging were impeccable and unparalleled. She could forge treasure-weapons for cultivators five to six ranks above her and they were perfect. She came up with unique designs never before seen in history. She was very popular as experts sought for her to build treasure-weapons for them, this was because the treasure-weapons she forged could match that of ancient''s at that cultivation stage. Your dad got her hand in marriage by beating all the genius suitors. After many years of fighting bad people and seizing territories together, becoming the strongest experts anyone could think of, they gave birth to you." Houston said.


    .....


    Alex was silent for a great while.


    His heart was full of great joy because such experts were his parents.


    He looked at his uncle and asked "Did my parent leave anything behind for me? Like a cultivation manual or something related to cultivation?" Alex asked with eyes that sparkled.


    Since his parent had reached such a realm, he believed they would have lot of things which they would keep for him.


    "Your parent left a whole lot for you. Few hours before the great battle broke out, your father stowed away his entire palace-treasure into his interspatial necklace. This palace contains all the cultivation manuals he had ever received either from inheritances or that he seized from cultivators or took from experts that he killed. And within that necklace contains mountainous heaps of treasures and treasure-weapons. Your father''s friends, acolytes, vassal forces and your fans all gave up their spatial rings to support you in your cultivation growth. You have been excessively wealthy since you were little, kid." Houston said with a smile.


    Alex''s heart trembled. Such wealth!


    He couldn''t imagine what their numbers would amount to. He simply thought of cultivation manuals, treasures and pills as limitless in number. And he still had the Azure Beastsman''s wealth.


    He smiled as he imagined his future. He could see a really bright future of cultivation ahead of him.

 Chapter 28: So thats why Im special

    He regained control of his elated mind. Then he asked "My fans? Who were those?"


    Houston smiled and said "They are your parent''s followers. You snatched them from your parent and they started worshipping you."


    Alex was taken aback. Nothing he could remember when he tried to recall such. He smirked at his uncle. Not continuing discussions on the topic, he asked "What about my mom? She would surely leave things for me too right?"


    Houston looked at him and said in a teasing tone "You want your mom''s own too? Don''t you know such amounts of wealths would cause you to swell with extreme pride?"


    Alex gave a mtcheew before saying "Uncle, that''s not what I asked you. Did she or not?"


    Houston shook his head and looked at Alex with a smile.


    Alex rolled his eyes at him.


    "Alright. Your mom also left huge fortune for you. Being a forging genius, she spent most of her time forging treasures or treasure-weapons, and going in search of famed treasures of fallen ancient experts. Your mom was an adventurer. She always journeyed to forbidden zones for legacies of ancient experts. This made her collection of treasures, wealth in general, to greatly outnumber your dad''s. She had many vast storage-treasures belonging to thousands of these ancient experts whom she inherited their legacies. These storage-treasures were forged by ancient grandmasters using rare spatial materials. These had the sizes of continents and were entirely filled with treasures. So you can imagine." Houston said.


    "I can''t imagine." Alex said with a smile that revealed his teeth which sparkled like gems as light shone on it.


    "My mom was really something" he muttered.


    "Yes boy. She was something, something great that gods and devils feared and revered. Can you reach that level? Where you would be respected by all?" Houston asked with a smile.


    "Uncle, to be honest, I will do my best. Although their cultivation level was really high. I will do my best to attain it and greatly surpass it." Alex replied.


    "Good" Houston said. Then he asked "What about their wealth? Would you misuse it and not go in search of your own?"


    "No. I won''t rely on the wealth my parent passed to me. I would build my own collection of treasures and accumulate my own wealth by going to locations where legacies of experts are said to be kept or buried. Although this would involve lot of deadly battles. But I am not fazed. Only through battles would I become powerful and famous." Alex replied.


    Still looking at his uncle, he said "Uncle, very soon, my name would be mentioned in the continents of every worlds" Alex said with his fist clenched and raised above his head.


    He said this in a resolute way that would awe gods themselves.


    Houston was impressed.


    "Just like your father. His determination was like a juggernaut spear, piercing through all" He uttered inwardly.


    After hesitating for a while, he said "Alex, there is something I would like to call your mind to."


    Alex looked at him and asked in an elated tone as he was still thinking of his bright future and already making plans down. "What''s it?"


    "It''s about you... When you were very young, you showed great intelligence. At the age of one, you could already read and write. Just at that age, you easily learnt everything that you were taught and could likewise recall all. You had an excellent memory. Also, you could walk perfectly well. Your bones were strong as they could support your body''s movement. You had this sense of balance and equibrium that no matter how the surface you were standing on was, you wouldn''t fall. You were simply a miracle. Nobody could understand what was up with your body. When your parent called doctors to come test your body, they discovered to their amazement that you had divineforce energy and many other types of unknown primordial cultivation energies circulating in your energyhouse. These  unknown originforce energies couldn''t be recognized by anyone, they were just moving around in your energyhouse. It was all these energies that altered the make-up of your body. You gained vast abilities because of these primordial cultivation energies. A few of these abilities you have shown. The others we don''t know yet." Houston said.


    Alex''s mind roiled.


    So that was why he was special.


    It was all because of the cultivation energies in his body.


    He took a deep breath and smiled.


    His goal was slowly being realized. Now he was far more powerful than any body in the same cultivation realm.


    He now believed that only someone in a rank or two cultivation ranks above his was his true opponent.


    Seeing his smile, Houston said in a strict tone "Don''t think because you have those energies you are invincible, you are not. You are not even a percent close to it. Any expert in two or three ranks above yours can easily squash you. If you aren''t careful, someone in your cultivation stage would flatten your head. Everybody have their means of erupting tremendous power. It''s you who should be careful and never ever underestimate anyone."


    Alex nodded seriously. But he wasn''t that foolish to think he was now invincible.


    Then he vowed in his heart that he would reach that stage. "So uncle, how did such energies find their way into my energyhouse?" Alex asked in a solemn tone.


    "Your mother once said she should be the one responsible for the structural alteration of your body. During one of her adventurous journeys to grow stronger by entering danger zones for legacies of fallen experts, she was accidentally exposed to large amounts of diverse cultivation energies from an expert she believed to be a beyonder. These energies permeated into her body. It took about six months for her to finally expel them from her body. At that point in time she was pregnant with you. Although she was exposed and saturated with the energy for a long time, it didn''t remould her body. Instead, they made vast mutations to yours. Your very tiny body absorbed large amounts of these statute energies. It was greatly mystifying you didn''t die. That''s the only thing that remained a mystery to all of us. Then we guessed your body was a special body forged by the realmverse." Houston said slowly noting Alex''s countenance.


    When he saw Alex was taking in everything he was saying without problems, he continued, "Your father seeing that our realmverse still had hope went in search of legacies of ancient experts. During his adventures, he brought back a few eyes that surprisingly merge with your''s."


    Alex''s eyes widened in shock. "What eyes were those?" he asked


    "They were once normal eyes, but because they had been used to shoot powerful beams of primordial cultivation energies, they transformed into eyes that can produce phenomenal divinely powers. I won''t tell you what those eyes are. But with time, you would discover them yourself." Houston replied.

 Chapter 29: Uncle, are you kidding me? Hope of the realmverse? Nah!

    "Huh?! Okay, did my dad remove their eyes? That''s very gross." Alex asked in a disgusted tone.


    " Why would your father do that? He respected every experts he came across especially ancient ones. He wouldn''t mar their bodies or do anything to disfigure them, not even the bodies of his adversaries. Those experts removed their eyes themselves and kept it in preservation-treasures which they prepared as gifts for their inheritors, since they were already reaching the end of their lifespan. Your father inherited their legacies and brought it for you. I know you''re curious, the ancient experts grew new eyes but it lacked the abilities of their former eyes." Houston said.


    "Uncle, you mentioned ''the hope of the realmverse'', what''s that?" Alex asked in a puzzled tone.


    Houston took a deep breath, "Here comes the hardest explanation" he uttered within.


    "Uhm... Alex, since you are so special that no one can match you in terms of abilities, what can you think of yourself?" Houston asked.


    "I see myself as unique and that I have no equal in any cultivation rank that I would be in." Alex replied.


    "Good! Now to reply to what you asked me earlier. Since you are blessed with a lot of abilities, I can say that phrase or I should put it as a title, ''hope of the realmverse'' belongs to you. You would be the one who would play the greatest role in protecting us all from the next invasion of those beings from the Sae-Uhl race. That''s what I guess the realmverse prepared you for. That''s what your parent prepared you for. So, it''s time for you to prepare yourself. To take up the mantle as the ''Guardian of the Realmverse''. Those beings would soon invade again. And this time, I''m certain it would be no retreat no surrender. It would be a fight to the end." Houston said.


    Alex only smiled.


    "Uncle, it''s either you are sick or you are kidding me. Even if am peerless, when would I reach that level? It should take me hundreds of trillions of years. And the invasion like you said it, seems to be happening anytime soon. Like in a year or five years time. How can I grow to that stage in just five years? When did the god-level become so easy to reach even if I possess vast, unlimited abilities? Besides, I am a cultivation aberrant. Uncle, you should be the one to be called ''hope of the realmverse'', not me. I am not fit to have that title in any way" Alex said.


    Houston smiled. Then he came close to Alex and rubbed his head affectionately. "I am not forcing you to be anything. But I hope that when the time comes, you would do your part. Your father prepared for this. Same with your mother, their friends and followers. You should prepare for this too. Although you are still young and have an insignificant cultivation level, it''s just a matter of time before you surpass their cultivation levels and shock worlds with your tremendous calamitous power. True that you are an aberrant and would thus have a cultivation speed far lower than others. But I believe that with your parent''s lifetime accumulations, you should be able to rise in cultivation ranks. Remember that your parent left behind millions of perfect-grade, myriad cultivation pills for many cultivation levels. So this should help you in your cultivation. Don''t be worried in any way about being a cultivation aberrant. Like I once explained to you, it''s a blessing. Not a curse." Houston said.


    Alex nodded and said resolutely "Yes uncle. I would surely prepare for this. I want to avenge my parent. I would obliterate those beings when they try to invade again. I would decimate them all"


    His eyes shone with unbridled fury.


    "Those beings caused the death of my parent. Then I will prepare to destroy you all." Alex said inwardly.


    "Good! Slay them all." Houston said.


    Even if nothing else would drive Alex, this should drive him to train very quickly and reach that fated level before it''s too late.


    Alex then snapped his fingers and stretched that hand at Houston.


    "Oh, I understand" Houston said and smiled.


    Then he produced an interspatial ring and a necklace which he gave to Alex.


    Alex quickly collected the ring and necklace and wore it.


    The moment he wore them. They glowed resplendently and sank into his body. The necklace left an abstruse pattern in his chest likewise the ring, on the finger he wore it on.


    Alex was taken aback then he smiled. He was surprised that the ring and necklace sank into his body and he smiled because when he sent a sliver of his awareness into the pendant of the necklace, he saw a vast space and in this space, he saw enormous heaps of treasures and great accumulations of golden sapphirstones.


    The numerous stacks of golden sapphirstones were so great in quantities that they seemed to be a thousand times the size of a mountain in this world.


    Such wealth got his head spinning.


    Then he saw the palace-treasure his father stowed in here.


    It was majestic and huge. It was so huge Alex felt his dad must have used half of his savings to have treasure-forgers forge it for him.


    It was just too great in size. He had a feeling this palace would occupy an entire state if he brought it out of the pendant to the world.


    Then he looked in his mom''s ring and was smiling from ear to ear.


    Truly, his mom''s accumulation was greater than his dad''s.


    Then what he saw treasures and treasure-weapons. These awed and frightened him.


    He quickly pulled out his awareness and looked at his uncle with a smile.


    His uncle smiled back and produced a sword, the Purifier''s sword. He gave Alex who was unknowing of what is uncle was giving him.


    "What of my parent''s families, is any one them still alive?" Alex asked stowing the sword away.


    "I don''t think so. A lot of people from different races in our realmverse died that day, many families were also involved in the war and have become nonexistent. About a million families were involved in the war at that time but are now extinct, your parents'' families inclusive." Houston said.


    Alex became sad and livid. So he doesn''t even have family members.


    "So what''s your plan now?" Houston asked.


    "To cultivate in seclusion and quickly grow stronger" Alex responded.


    "That''s good too. But you need more battle experience. You should go out there into the world to hone your battle experience while cultivating at the same time. You wouldn''t become a great expert if you aren''t bathed in the rains of battles. That''s how your dad and mom, despite from mighty cultivating families, abandoned the wealth and fame of their families to go accumulate theirs and increase their battle proficiencies in the process. Be more than them, do more than them you sack of lazy bones" Houston said with a smile.

 Chapter 30: Deborah

    Alex rolled his eyes at him.


    "Now that you have excessive cultivation manuals, I want you to be selective. Don''t just study all, study the ones you feel makes sense to you." Houston said and Alex nodded.


    This was right, he just couldn''t learn all. There were just too many of them in his possession.


    He left his uncle''s room and went back to his room. He sat in the cross-legged position on the shiny, tiled floor and thought of all what his uncle said.


    Then he thought back to the dream about his father when he was battling those beings called Sae-Uhlians.


    He remembered he had abstruse patterns in his eyes. It was those patterns that allowed him to see what was going on in all those worlds, they gave him an all-seeing vision kind of ability.


    Then he thought that eyes must be one of the eyes of those great experts his father brought for him.


    He closed his eyes and tried to summon any of those special god-eyes.


    He didn''t know if it would work, he just wanted to conjure up any of them and see what their powers were, bear witness to them.


    He focused on his eyes but nothing happened. He didn''t give up. He continued to try.


    Few hours later, anciently mystical patterns suddenly appeared on the surface of his eyes.


    He felt a strange sensation in his eyes when the patterns manifested. Already understanding a bit of his body''s vast abilities, he quickly stood up and walked to the front of a large mirror in his room.


    He looked at the mirror, but before he could look into his eyes to see anything.


    Bang!


    The mirror shattered apart. The sudden explosive sound frightened Alex which made him back away very quickly.


    On the tiled ground could be seen countless shards of glass.


    Kom!


    He heard a knock on the door.


    "Alex. It''s Kate, open up". A female voice rang out from outside.


    "This is Kate''s voice" Alex said inwardly. He couldn''t be wrong about her thin, charming voice.


    Then he looked at the mess he had put his room in. He opened the door and went outside locking the door.


    "Hey. How are you doing?" He greeted and asked.


    "Bad. Since you came back, you didn''t come to look for me. And what''s up with you, where are you going to? Let''s go into your room to discuss" Kate said.


    "Bad? I am sorry if I made you feel so. I was chatting with my uncle. I was filling him on the experiences I gathered during my first time out of the city, if not I would have come to see you. We can''t go into my room or you could get injured. There are lot of mirror fragments on the ground. Let''s just find someplace else to discuss" Alex said.


    "Okay. Let''s go to my room." Kate said.


    Alex''s eyes widened, "Your room?" he asked.


    "Yep. Anything wrong with that?" she asked.


    Alex''s heart started beating fast.


    This was his first time being invited to a girl''s room. "Nothing''s wrong with that" he said.


    Then Alex was grabbed by the hand and pulled.


    On their way to Kate''s room, they met an older girl who also worked in the house.


    Alex on seeing her quickly withdrew his hands and his heart started to beat wildly. "Hey Debbie. How are you doing?" he asked.


    Why Alex''s heart started to beat fast was because, of all the beauties in the Houston house, the one who terrorized him the most was this girl he called Debbie.


    She always loved to touch and rub him in an affectionate manner.


    She would caress his face, rub his lips, pull his ears, press or pull his cheeks and so on.


    Although these were done in an affectionate manner, the touches were still like torture to him.


    This was because, in her presence, he couldn''t help but have his blood heat up and have his mind journey far.


    She knew about this and yet, she continued to do so.


    It was like punishment.


    But he still loved being around her.


    Debbie looked at Alex''s flushed face and smiled.


    ''What a little baby. Such naivety and cuteness.''


    She came very close to him and the perfume emitting from her body caused Alex''s face to flush the more.


    "I am good. Long time no see. You just abandoned all of us, me especially. Anyways, I can''t blame you. I heard you were cultivating. So, how''s it going? Leveled up yet?" she asked and smiled.


    Deborah or Debbie, as Alex called her, was an eighteen-year old beauty. She was gorgeous in looks and was always gorgeously dressed. She worked here with her mom trying to raise cash for herself and to support her mom.


    She was beautiful, as well as smart and enterprising. After learning fashion designing, she went into clothes business. She bought clothes materials and converted them into clothes that people bought from her. Because of she was from the Houston house, people who came into the Houston estate to buy clothes would usually come to her.


    Another reason was because her clothes were cheaper than others but their qualities were great. This was because she had a large shop in the estate and was rent-free; she paid no money for rent.


    "No. I am still in the middle phase. It''s because I have been slacking off in my training. I should be in the peak phase by now if I were in seclusion." Alex said trying to impress her.


    He wanted her to have a good opinion of his cultivation talents.


    She nodded and then turned to face Kate. "Kate. Where were you dragging him too?" she asked.


    Alex''s mind shook greatly, he now felt really embarrassed.


    "I was taking him to my room. He said his room was in a mess. So I tried bringing him to mine." Kate replied.


    Deborah nodded with a smile. "Alright. Let me leave you two lovebirds to go do your thing." Debbie said playfully.


    "Lovebirds?!" both Alex and Kate questioned in an embarrassed manner.


    "Sure! See the way you guys are behaving around each other. Everyone knows that you little kids are into each other." Debbie said and laughed.


    Alex''s face became ugly from embarrassment. He couldn''t conceal it anymore.


    Then Debbie continued. "I am sure your uncle knows too" she said in a teasing tone.


    Alex''s face swelled.


    She saw how she had ruined his handsome look. Then she laughed. "Don''t mind me. I was only teasing you guys. You can be on your way now." she said.


    Then she placed her palms on Alex''s face and rubbed it, his lips inclusive with her thumbs and left.


    Alex''s face was flushed pink. It took a while before it returned to it color.


    He took a breather and said to Kate with a smile. "Let''s go" he said.


    Kate nodded.


    She concealed the jealousness that had blossomed in her heart from appearing in her face.


    She became jealous and angry from the way Deborah touched Alex. But she couldn''t retort and could only observe.


    - in Kate''s room -


    "So, you said we should come to your room to discuss. What do you want to discuss with me?" Alex asked.


    "It''s about the methodology manual your uncle gave me. I have practiced but I haven''t gotten the hang of it." Kate replied.


    "Nah. Come on Kate, you can''t be a cultivator in just a week or in two weeks. You just have to keep practicing" Alex said.


    "Okay. I would do just that" Kate replied.


    Then they fell silent. Feeling awkward, Alex broke the silence "So is that what you wanted to discuss with me?" he asked..


    "Not really. Alright, tell me about your adventure. Tell me the things you saw, tell me about the people you met, the beasts.. Just everything" Kate replied.


    ...


    - Alex''s room -


    Alex was back in his room after speaking with Kate for more than five hours recounting his experiences to her.


    By now, his room had been cleaned up and was well-arranged. He cleaned it up himself. He always didn''t like calling any body to clean his room for him. Most of the time, he cleaned it himself. No worker in the mansion nor his uncle could guess the reason why.


    Sitting on the bed, he pulled out a thin book titled "Weapons". He wanted to go through the entire information recorded in this book, then he would use that knowledge to understand treasure-weapons and sort out all the nearly innumerous weapons in his parent''s vast inventories.

 Chapter 31: Realm-weapon

    When he brought out the book from the Azure Beastsman''s ring, he used his cultivation vision ability and the information about weapons surfaced in his mind.


    He fast-forwarded to where he stopped reading and continued from there.


    |Realm-weapons (also called Ultimate Calamity-weapons) are non-existent. They are just there to fill up that space. They are non-existent because a realm-weapon simply means a treasure-weapon having a great number of arrays the size of the realmverse.


    No one would be able to withstand the aura of power that would erupt from them.


    No treasure-weapon forger can have such life span to build such arrays.


    No material can withstand the great energies that would conduct through it.


    Referred to as Ultimate Calamity-weapon or Supreme Apocalypse-weapon is deserving because it would simply bring an end to the realmverse.


    Fortunately, no one would be be able to build such due to limitations set by law of the realmverse


    There is no material that can be enough to build such.


    The only expert who had attempted to build such was Lord Eden a.k.a Sword Walker.


    His plan was to use the sword to cut open an extremely colossal rift from one realmverse to the next as they were separated by a great boundary that would waste away their life if any one tried to cross it.


    He attempted, but it wasn''t close, not even in the slightest. But it became a marvel-weapon, weapons that fall in the category ''Wonder of the Realmverse''.


    By combining different powerful arrays from vast numbers of treasure-weapons of sword-wielding primeval experts into one sword, it became a marvel-weapon.


    The sizes of sword-based arrays he removed from the voidstones embedded into treasure-weapons of fallen ancient cultivators were each equal to the sizes of greatverses.


    And he had billions of them which he extracted from treasure-weapons lying in ancient ruins or remote regions he discovered from his lifetime adventures.


    He kept the sword-bound arrays, linked to one another in a dimension-storage crystal (a crystal with a large that can store small worlds).


    On activation, the arrays in the crystal would jointly erupt an utterly tremendous amount of swordforce energy which when turned into an attack can stretch for billions of kilometers in size.


    This made him reign unexcelled in his own time as he struck terror in their heart of others.


    .....


    He went through the introduction assimilating everything he came across, and when he was done, he went on to read about the marvel-weapons, weapons said to be the ''Marvel of the Realmverse''.


    They had tugged his interest when he read about Lord Eden.


    He looked at them and couldn''t help but be wowed.


    From their pictorial illustrations, when they were in use, they looked greatly frightening.


    In the book were recorded high-resolution motion images of the marvel-weapons and was horrified by the tremendous power they erupted with.


    He began to go through the information about the marvel-weapon.


    |Bridge of Karl: a vast, gold-colored bridge built by Lord Karl. The bridge-treasure was forged from excellent and extremely resilient, electricity-conducting metalliferrous materials. But the base was forged from an exceedingly rare gold-colored mineral called electreumite, it was impermeable to tremendously destructive impact and could mystifyingly summon and store lightning. This was the only thing Lord Marvell was rumored to have forged in his entire lifetime.


    He had the plan when he was younger, as a forger, to forge one of the strongest treasure-weapons in the realmverse. He moved round many Greatverses to gather that special lightning-mineral. During one of his search for this mineral, he came across an extremely large quantity of it. He extracted them and went ahead with his plan to build the bridge-treasure.


    Ignoring everything that was happening in the society, he carried on to build the one of the greatest weapons in the entire world.


    This bridge, hundreds of meters wide, stretches for billions of kilometers.


    Although it great size can be reduced through ''miniaturization'' divine symbols inscribed into it.


    This inscription function like a magical spell causing the bridge to shrink in size.


    What made this bridge-form treasure-weapon a marvel-weapon, apart from the metal and mineral used to make it, was because it was entirely dotted with voidstones.


    These voidstones, as array-containment crystals, contained vast networks of lightning-generating grand-arrays that comprised of billions of arrays.


    If calculation is carried out to determine the number of arrays it would possess, it could be seen as nearly limitless.


    Lastly, at the heart of the bridge is an enormous core formed from the statute of lightning.


    It''s in the form of a solid cube and inserted into a mechanism at the heart of the bridge.


    The core, in cubic form, condensed from massive quantities of lightning originforce energy made the energies erupting from the near-limitless arrays more overwhelming in power.


    Karl successfully completed his project, but he couldn''t use it as he became fatally wounded by the aura of power that came from the bridge.


    Thankfully, he activated the bridge in space or it would have unleashed great cataclysmal lightning power.


    But still, he brought total destruction to many worlds in an instant through a vast sea of electricity that it discharged upon activation.


    He couldn''t survive the injury inflicted on him by the weapon he created. But before he died, he altered the bridge, sealing off ninety-nine percent of the voidstones.


    If activated now, the arrays in the sealed voidstones wouldn''t work. This reduced the power of the bridge greatly but it was at a level someone at a high cultivation stage could handle.


    Then he prepared it for only the strongest. It''s in a cave where only the mightiest of geniuses can scale through because of the unnerving dangers in it.


    There are certain restrictions that prevent other cultivators he doesn''t want from entering.


    Location: Heavenlight Greatverse.


    Continent: Lord Marvell continent


    State: Karl state


    Stormmaker: an hammer-form treasure-weapon forged by Lord Anthony.


    It has a large blade at the other end. The weapon, large in size, had a single, large voidstone.


    This voidstone, equivalent to a thousand voidstone, contained a super-sized, lightning-generating grand array.


    It was a thousand times the size of a greatverse. At the heart of the vast array were sentient energy-creatures, numbering in billions.


    These creatures are not beasts or any sort of that, but quadrupedal creatures formed from energies and became sentient, that is, developed awareness through a mysterious process.


    The energy-creatures, at the core of the array, were lightning creatures. They came to being in zones where lightning had gathered in great quantities, such that, they congealed into liquids, becoming a large sea of pure electricity.


    Then after a great number of years, these seas of electricity transformed. They gained a solid body and developed consciousnesses while possessing certain lightning-based abilities.


    These pure electricity creatures had bodies that had a size that spanned dozens of Greatverses and were slightly intelligent, they were like babies.


    They migrated and lived in many lightning regions in the realmverse where it was impossible for experts to get to.


    But Lord Anthony could go to these places relying on his cultivation power.


    He picked up many of these beasts till they reached billions.


    He also spent a lifetime traveling through unidentified regions in the realmverse to capture these sentient, lightning energy-creatures just for his treasure-weapon.


    Inscribed entirely on the hammer he forged are abstruse runic patterns; patterns formed with runes; symbolic objects of power condensed from statutes.


    In this case, the runes are coalesced from the statute of electricity, electricity originforce energy.


    These runes augments the energy unleashed from the hammer.


    Lord Anthony couldn''t handle the power. It brought him great, severe injuries. Before he died in his all-out efforts to recover, he prepared the weapon for his successor.


    Location: Skyvault Greatverse


    Continent: Storm continent


    State: Anthony state


    Then Alex reasoned something out of this. It was like they sacrificed their life to build these weapons.


    It took away their lives as it came into existence. "Just to gain more power or be immortalized?.. Anyways, these are really awesome. Wish I could have them. I would beat my dad to a pulp. But ancient experts are really great" He smiled and shook his head, then he continued to read on.


    Blood drinker:.....


    "Kom!"


    Just as he was about to continue reading, he suddenly heard a knock on the door.


    Grumbling "Who''s there?" he asked.


    "Sweetheart. Open up, it''s me." Alex''s eyes widened in shock. That was Deborah''s voice.


    He kept the book away, then he stood up and went to open the door for her.


    She came in with a smile. "I hope I didn''t disturb your cultivation?" she asked.


    Alex shook his head, "Not at all. I wasn''t cultivating. I was reading through something." he said.


    "Alright" Deborah said and walked over to his large bed to sit. She tapped a spot beside her on the bed "Alex, why are you standing? Come sit beside me" she said.


    Alex''s heartbeats turned irregular and fast.


    He came to the bed sitting beside her. She then put a arm around his neck and caressed his cheek with that hand.


    "Alex, I would like to start cultivating too." She said in a serious tone.


    "Really?" Alex asked.


    "Yea, I would like to. Could you please tell your uncle to give me a book on cultivation so I can learn how to cultivate?" She said in a pleading tone.


    Alex could see the seriousness in her eyes.


    Debbie asked this because she knew of Alex''s generosity. He was the type that would give anything out once it''s requested from him. He wasn''t the stingy type.


    But not that she was taking advantage of that, she had always wanted to learn cultivation. She could have gone to a cultivation academy to study. But she or her parent wouldn''t be able to afford the fees and the other expenses involved.


    Why she wanted to cultivate was because she wanted to become powerful and independent. She didn''t want any man to fend for her. She wanted to acquire things by herself.


    Also, she knew that humans could cultivate to become gods. Therefore, this greatly fuelled her passion to become a cultivator.


    So, hearing from Kate it was Alex that gave her the cultivation methodology she was studying, she came to ask him for one. She wasn''t shy in any way around Alex.

 Chapter 32: Sent far away

    "I have some with me. I have.. Uhm.. Frost and ice cultivation manual, would you like that?"


    Deborah thought for sometime, then she said "That would be fine".


    Alex immediately produced it and gave it to her.


    She accepted with a smile and said "when you left the estate to go gather experiences outside there. Did you meet any beautiful girl that you liked?"


    Alex''s mind spun. "Ye.. Yes, I did." he said with slight difficulty.


    Deborah nodded.


    Then she asked "Did you tell her your feelings?"


    "I couldn''t. She was gone before I could see her again after we parted due to an unanticipated incident. But it was not like I was going to tell her my feelings. I just wanted to see her beautiful face again." Alex said recalling that beautiful genius from the Immovable Mountain Academy.


    "Uhmm... She must be really beautiful then. Do you think you would see her again?" Deborah asked.


    Alex thought about what she asked for sometime, then he replied "She studies at the immovable Mountain academy. So we could probably meet again"


    "What if she was taken before you get to meet her?" Deborah asked.


    "Well, I would be unhappy" Alex replied.


    "Aww. That''s why an opportunity presented shouldn''t be missed. They must be grabbed at the first instant. The gods brought such a girl your way and you just rejected it. Yea, that''s what I feel you did. Anyways, in case of another time, if you wouldn''t able to recover that girl that tugged your heartstrings and you see someone else you like, go for that person. Ignore any ugly incident you think might come up. Just say what''s in your mind to the person" She lectured Alex.


    Alex nodded as he listened.


    He now felt that he should have just told her what was in his mind.


    But he couldn''t be blamed. That was his first time interacting with a stranger of the opposite sex. He was already used to the female workers in his uncle''s mansion so he could easily interact with them.


    "Debbie. Thanks for the lectures. I really appreciate it." he said.


    "Aww. Sweet little guy, there''s no need for thanks between us." Then she brought her head closer to Alex''s face and gave him a kiss on his left cheek.


    The lipstick she wore stained that cheek. She only smiled and wiped it away with her thumb.


    Then she carried the book Alex gave her and left.


    Alex was left there in a daze.


    The kiss on his cheek had first made him forgot who he was and where he was.


    It took a long time before his memories returned. He touched that part of his cheek and smiled.


    It was slightly wet there, from the stain by the lipstick as she didn''t wipe it away totally.


    Not interested in reading the weapon''s book again. He sent a sliver of his perception into the necklace that had sank into his body.


    In there, when his perception roamed for many hours, he saw hundreds of rows of towering, gigantic bookshelves that were joined to one another.


    He came over to observe and saw so many A-grade (supernal battle entity-grade) duality and trinity methodology manual.


    He was greatly impressed. He believed there would be thousands of tons of these books in his dad''s palace-treasure and mom''s interspatial ring. And there were still a great, numbing amount of interspatial rings that belonged to his parent''s friends, relatives and followers. He just couldn''t imagine the wealth he had on him.


    He vowed he wouldn''t touch them unless absolutely necessary. Right now, he felt he was a living treasure vault. He smiled and then he began cultivating.


    ....


    Alex cultivated dedicatedly for more than eight months but he still remained in the mid-phase.


    This infuriated him greatly. The girls he gave cultivation manuals to, Kate and Debbie, had surpassed him and there was possibility they would reach the peak-phase entry stage very soon.


    Out of shame and embarrassment, he went to meet his uncle that he wanted to go out and hone himself, and this was after many pleas from Houston that he should be out there gaining battle experiences.


    "Alex. Here is my ring. Take it. I have no need for it again." Houston said.


    "Uh? Nah.. That''s where your entire wealth is uncle. I can''t accept that. How would you pay this people, your workers?" Alex asked.


    "One thing nobody ever knew, even your parent, was that I was more wealthy than them. Not speaking generally now, but in terms of sapphirstones. I discovered a great quantity of them, golden sapphirstones, in a region I went to for the legacy of an ancient expert. They were like a mountain and there were hundred dozens of them in that place. That''s one of the many places they haven''t mined out sapphirstones. I was just lucky to get one and now I want to bestow them to you. Their blessed memories, every one of them, that fought alongside your father gave their entire lifetime accruals to you, why should I hold back mine?" Houston said with a smile and then threw the ring at Alex who caught it.


    Alex shook his head and stowed it into his necklace.


    "Uncle, how would pay these people?" Alex asked, he wasn''t happy with his Uncle''s decision.


    Houston smiled. So this boy was this considerate.


    "Don''t worry about me boy. My wealth at the moment surpasses your imagination. To give you a hint. My wealth currently, at the minimum, surpasses that of ten statesmaster. So your worries are not necessary" Houston said.


    Alex''s eyes widened in shock. "Wow. Uncle, you are really wealthy." he said in utter astonishment.


    Houston laughed. "Alright, be on your way now. Go forge your own path" he said.


    Alex ran towards him and gave him a tight hug for sometime before he left him alone.


    "Uncle. Can I get one of those ultivehicles, the small size. Please." He said In a begging tone.


    Houston''s eyes widened in shock. "Never! That would put you in great trouble. I can''t take that chance. Forget it" Houston said strictly.


    Alex pouted. "Uncle, come on, you have about ten small ultivehicles. Just spare me one." he said.


    "Boy. There is no discussion on this topic." Houston strictly said.


    Before Alex could utter anything, Houston suddenly snapped his fingers.


    Then Alex rapidly turned blurry where he stood before he faded away, materializing in a wilderness in a very distant state.


    Houston sent Alex very far away. He made it extremely difficult for him to come back.


    It would be difficult for Alex to come back because he was about twenty states away from the state his uncle''s house was based in.


    "You are your own now kid. Train and develop yourself. I will only come to help you when you are in great trouble" Houston said inwardly in a lonely tone.


    He would miss Alex. Especially for his childish behavior and rants.


    Houston knew that he was still a naive, innocent and inexperienced kid. But he believed he would grow up and develop into a fine young man in the outside world.


    "All the best kid." Houston said after recovering from the feeling of loneliness he felt a moment ago.


    Alex appeared in a valley. It was mountainous and lush green. Once he appeared, he looked around and his mind shook "The hell?" then he roared in anger, "Uncle, if you are listening, I hate you!"


    The instant he roared, powerful waves of energy projected out of his mouth. These waves swept forth with great destructiveness.


    Every mountain in their path shattered into small fragments. Not long, the entire chains of mountains here were leveled.


    Alex became deeply awed. Then he quickly looked at himself and saw that his body was emitting sounds at the moment. All kind of sounds projected from his body and they made for beautiful musical tunes. It was like he was in an orchestra, except his body was the orchestra.


    These musical sound waves, as gentle, beautiful and thrilling as they were caused the ground to rive.


    Every path they took, the ground was rent apart and deeply at that. It was like the sound waves were swords wielded by gods, they possessed great sharpness.


    Musical signs and symbols surfaced around Alex, they caused the air to vibrate as they pulsed with power and released sounds that could put one into a trance.


    These symbols felt like they could shatter mountains and split seas. Then an information surfaced in his mind with the title, "Grand Music Mayhem Titan Physique"


    He was awed. This was another physique. He then remembered his uncle never told him anything about his memory and about the physiques and how they came to be.


    He gave a mtcheew in a vexed manner. Then he tried to quickly leave here before someone extremely powerful came over because of the havoc he had accidentally wreaked here.


    He willed his body to return back to normal and it did. The symbols around him vanished and the sounds halted.


    This took him aback. It seemed he controlled the reverse transformation this time around.


    The instant he became normal again, someone appeared through teleportation. "Kid, you know who did this?!" the voice of this person boomed out in fury.


    Alex''s mind shook but he hid this from showing on his face. "Senior. I don''t know who did this. I just arrived here to develop myself then I saw everything in ruins." he said, concealing the fear in his tone.


    "Alright." This person in the air then deployed a scanning ability and scanned the entire place but he saw no one.


    He furrowed his brows, then he looked at Alex for some time before he snorted and teleported away.


    Alex exhaled out deeply. He was scared shit. "See what my crazy uncle caused me to do. Does he want me to taken away be these experts?" he asked inwardly in an unhappy tone.


    The ultivehicle his uncle refused to give him made him feel bitter resentment for Houston.


    He knew it was for his own good but he still resented him for that.


    He turned around and left this place.


    After walking for a long time, he came across a beast-drawn carriage which he entered to convey him to a place called ''Adventurers guild''.


    His uncle had told him many things he needed to know about the outside world and had offered him priceless advices.


    The adventurers guild is a place owned by a person or a group of people.


    They usually give out manuals, pills and treasures as prizes to people who successfully bring back what they were assigned to as in the mission they were given or requested.


    This was to develop rogue cultivators as many weren''t that wealthy to study at an academy.


    Even students from academies come here to take missions and receive prizes.


    These adventurers guild can be found in almost every city in every states and there could be many in one city.


    Many hours later, he got there but it was already night. The carriage was very slow and this pissed him off greatly.


    If he wanted it, he would have gotten down, paid the owner of the carriage to go on his way and then use his leg to walk the thing.


    He got down from the carriage, paid and went to rent a room in an inn beside the adventurers guild to stay for the night.


    Next morning....


    Alex''s eyes snapped open from cultivation, he then left the room and out the inn to the guild.

 Chapter 33: Adventurers guild

    It was a pretty massive place. People came in and out, coming for missions or to request for their prizes after successfully completing a mission.


    Now that he would be thirteen, he looked a bit taller than before or he would have been sent away like a rat without mercy.


    He went to the mission''s room, and requested for a mission. But the person he met there denied him because he had a low cultivation level.


    After dragging it out in an argument with the mission assigner for some time, he was finally given because of the intervention of someone higher in position in the guild. Besides, he was creating a scene.


    They had to do something to appease this small angry god.


    He thanked this person and left after he had penned his name in the mission register book.


    The mission he registered for was to bring back the cores of hundred greyback silver-furred ape.


    This mission was rejected earlier because the greyback silver-furred ape were in the rare-beast cultivation rank and this was a cultivation stage that was equivalent to the condensation stage.


    Besides, they had really thick hides, powerful physical senses and were pretty intelligent.


    It was like sending Alex to his death but Alex knew what he carried within him, the power he possessed.


    Not that he was overconfident, but because of the confidence swelling in him as he had begun studying other cultivation manuals.


    And now, he had studied about ten of these methodologies and had cultivated their respective energies to the mid-phase.


    Besides, the quality of his energy was such that it could rival that of someone in the condensation stage.


    Also, his attacks were amplified to a level by the slivers of divineforce energy in all his energy-attacks.


    This made him believe that only someone in a stage or two stages higher than him in cultivation were his true opponents.


    He felt it was just a matter of time before they won''t be seen as his opponents again even if they were three ranks higher than him.


    The greyback silver-furred ape can be found on the peaks of mountains on the sides of a valley when one moved towards the south.


    These was really odd of them. But it was because they enjoyed a particular fruit from trees growing there, that they migrated there en mass and made there their home, settling there. They are really large in numbers as they flourished there.


    Alex went there via an ultivehicle that he paid for and this action of his had caused greedy eyes to look in his direction, but they were lost as they couldn''t figure out where he was going to. Only if they went to the ultivehicle garage to ask for his information but such information about him wouldn''t be given out.


    He was dropped many kilometers away from the mountain ranges bordering the sides of a valley located in the south.


    Then it flew away, going back to the garage.


    He didn''t climb up to the mountain peak. He first wanted to battle with the beasts he would see.


    His wish was granted.


    After walking for sometime, he heard beasts snarling towards him from far, they had picked up his smell.


    Not long, they appeared in his vision, kicking up dusts as they rushed frenziedly towards him.


    These had come out from a cave at the foot of one of the mountains here.


    "Time for battle" he said.


    Then his eyes shone with passion for battle. He wants to train himself to become more adept at using the battle techniques of the battle methodologies he studied.


    Suddenly, a bolt of black lightning shot towards him.


    He executed a evasive footwork and dodged the black bolt of lightning.


    This was an energy-attack by the beasts called blackthunder wolves and there were about fifty of them in this pack.


    Just as he dodged that, he saw hundreds of black bolts of lightning shoot towards him.


    His eyes widened, he immediately slid over the ground with his entire back dragging across it.


    Once the bolts shot over him, with his back still on the ground, he slammed his fists which glowed in cyan energy hardly on the ground and strong air currents surfaced which propped him back to his feet.


    This was done through discharging cyan energy from his fist in the fashion of a blast. It caused wind gales to abruptly surface beneath his back and push him up to his feet.


    "My turn" he uttered.


    Quickly, darkforce energy erupted from his palms and coalesced into a spear.


    It was dark in colour and radiated overwhelming feeling of gloominess. It filled one''s heart with sadness and despair.


    This was just an ordinary attack, an energy spear he formed from darkforce energy. He was able to cultivate this energy through studying the "Buthering Fiendgod Darkness methodology". This was one of the legacy cultivation books he received from the Azure Beastsman.


    He clasped the spear tightly and threw it out at one of the beasts. The energy spear shot through the air whistling like an arrow before it impaled a blackthunder wolf.


    But the spear didn''t stop there.


    It pierced through eight more behind it, killing them. Then the arrow continued into the distance.


    The blackthunder wolfs became enraged and began to glow. Electricity crackled around them.


    Then suddenly, they each unleashed a large stream of bolts of black lightning at Alex.


    Alex''s eyes suddenly glowed in purple light. This was because he moved speedforce energy from his energyhouse to them.


    This was an energy he cultivated from ''Great Spectre Movement methodology'', a duality methodology that focuses on cultivation of speedforce energy.


    The moment this energy permeated his eyes, the bolts became pretty slow in his vision. He was awed but he recovered just as quickly from his dazzled state.


    Since they were shooting towards him in slow motion, he saw the gaps between the energy-attacks unleashed by these beasts.


    Then he ran into one of this gap and moved through it, making sure not a spark touched him or it might spell his doom.


    When he came out of this gap, his eyes reverted to normal but then it suddenly turned very dark and a tiny, scintillating purple light could be seen at their centers. That light was from his pupils.


    He gazed upon the beasts, and briefly, the vision of the beasts changed.


    They appeared in a world lying in total ruins. The sky was inky black and three massive suns that formed a triangle could be found in it.


    These suns were purple and radiated intense purple brilliance which dyed everywhere purple.


    The earth was black but dyed purple partially by the intense purple light bathing everywhere in it splendor.


    Many, seemingly bottomless craters could be found in the earth. Then extremely chilly black winds blew up from these craters.


    They compacted and shaped into colossal hideous beasts that moved about roaring ragingly.


    It was like these beasts possessed a mind of their own.


    The beasts were terrified. What was this place.


    It was like an isolated, desolate world. The atmosphere here was greatly gloomy.


    Anyone who appears here would think of it as the end of him or her.


    Everything was barren, black and purple, and full of fathomless pits that fierce, black windy monsters crawled out from.


    This appeared briefly before it vanished.


    Alex had just employed an illusion-battle technique ''Dark-Forlorn World'', from a group of technique called ''Dark Phantasm Eyes'' in the "Butchering Fiendgod Darkness Methodology" he studied back in his uncle''s house.


    He was able to drag the minds of the multitude of beasts into this illusionary world.


    But this only happened briefly before the vision vanished, with his eyes returning to normal.


    The technique wasn''t able to last for a long time as the winged blackthunder wolfs were all in the condensation stage and were many in number.


    The technique wouldn''t be able to last because of such great numbers but it would work excellently if there were just five or six of them.


    As it was an integral battle-technique, that brief time they were sensorially numbed had given Alex an opportunity to deal massive damage on them.


    As they were lost in that unreal world, darkforce energy and pyroforce energy erupted from his entire body in great amounts. It was like his body was engulfed by an enormous flame that had hues of black and crimson.


    Stretching a hand out to his side, the dual energies continuously discharging from his body were pulled to that palm and quickly condensed into a large blade colored black and crimson which he grasped like a real weapon.


    This blade was extremely dense, and it was like it was something forged from a real metallic material.


    Since pyroforce energy was weaved in with the darkforce energy, the black energy blade shone with a bright crimson light and radiated great heat.


    This heat was extremely powerful such that it caused a large area of ground illuminated by the crimson luminance to begin to fume.


    This blade possessed great size; it spanned dozens of feet in length and was six feet wide, and it had a mass that would astonish even gods. They would wonder how this boy had the strength to carry such.


    The blade, which he named ''Blazing Splitter Blade of Rebellion'' was something he came up with when he understood the techniques of the ''Butchering Fiendgod Darkness'' methodology and ''Great Conflagration'' Methodology back at home.


    He had invented the technique.


    It only took him a few seconds to produce the blade. And this was just the time he needed.


    Once the beasts came back to their senses, when their vision of the real world returned, Alex had already dashed to their midst at great speed as he was propelled by an unusually strong wind gust.


    Slash! Slash! Slash!


    Many slashing sounds rang out as he cut them one by one into halves.


    Nothing could hinder his momentum, he was like a merciless god of slaughter.


    When he was done butchering them, all that remained was their blood on his body and the halved lifeless bodies of the beasts littering the ground.


    "Cool!" he uttered loudly.


    His own invention of a technique was pretty powerful.


    But it didn''t let this get into his head, any other genius would be able to come up with their own self-invented techniques from comprehending the techniques of the methodology they studied.

 Chapter 34: Battling beasts I

    The energy blade in his hand dispersed.


    Then he tore off the cloth he wore and flung it away as it was heavily stained with blood. Then he put on a new one.


    Now, he carried many clothes with him. If he changes twenty times a day for the next six month, he would still have clothes to wear for the next five years.


    His uncle had bought him a lot of clothes. It was not in Alex''s nature to repeat mistakes.


    Because of the smell of blood that lingered in the air which were perceived by some beasts.


    They began to come out from the holes or caves they sheltered in.


    Alex knew about this too but he didn''t back off. He continued to move forward, seeking for beasts to decimate so he could improve his adeptness in the battle-techniques he knew.


    Very soon, something huge jumped at him. Before that thing jumped at him, he suddenly felt a tingling sensation at the region between the brow of his eyes.


    Subconsciously, using a butterfly kick technique, he dodged that thing that wanted to pounce on him by surprise.


    When he landed, he quickly looked at what was in front of him and saw a large two-horned lizard. It had a red skin and breathed out violet fire.


    The lizard hissed before it shot towards him like an arrow.


    Alex had been on guard. Once the lizard showed a movement, he mustered strength and jumped into the air doing an aerial cartwheel over the lizard, then he switched it to a roll where he folded his legs in the air bringing his knees to his chest and rolled a few times in the air before landing to the ground.


    He was now behind the huge lizard and was about to produce a energy-attack when a bird screeched in the air and as soon as it appeared above Alex.


    It unpredictably swooped down towards him to capture him in it claws and take him away.


    His eyes widened in shock. But possessing great reflexes, he quickly executed an aerial backward roll.


    He swung his arms backward and threw his body into the air at the same time with all the strength he could muster.


    Once his body was thrown into the air, because of the arms he swung backwards which generated a backward pushing force, his body moved in the air in the backward direction.


    While airborne, he folded his legs bringing his knees to his chests and rolled away multiple times before landing many feet away from where he initially stood.


    "The hell" he said immediately he landed.


    The beasts were now two against one.


    Not thinking too much, he quickly employed battle-techniques, his hands began to glow in light.


    He then aimed his palms at the beasts and hurriedly shouted,


    "Wind Dragon strike"


    "Desolating Luminous slash"


    At the same moment he screamed out, large amounts of energies, windforce energy and radiantforce energy erupted from his palms.


    Then they abruptly transformed into large attacks.


    The windforce energy condensed and shaped into a large cyan dragon. Once it appeared it, it caused furious gales to appear.


    While the radiantforce energy solidified and molded into a large blade. It shone with great luminousness and resplendence as it emitted streams of light of many colors that bathed everywhere in them.


    It dyed everywhere in the colors it produced creating a beautiful scene but the source of this enchanting prismatic light was a deadly weapon of energy.


    Once they formed in the air, they shot through it at great speed like an arrow.


    Bang! Puchi!


    The lizard was knocked back dozens of feet by the cyan dragon of energy while the radiant blade of energy pierced deep into the body of the bird.


    Both were injured, and before they could even think of running back into the holes they came out from, Alex shouted;


    ''Overlord Multi-Earthbreaker Fist"


    Then punched out with both fist.


    The instant he punched out, two large golden rings of energy shot off from his two fists.


    At the centre of these two huge rings were two enormous gold-colored fists of energy shaped from compacted strengthforce energy.


    The golden fists were encased in golden spheres that revolved and radiated the feeling of strength that could crush all.


    Strengthforce energy is an energy that possesses physical might. He was able to cultivate it by studying: Worldbreaking Golden Overlord Fist.


    The entire attacks collectively radiated great might. They caused the earth they traversed over to tremble from the might they emanated.


    The powerful might released by the fists caused parts of mountains in his immediate proximity to crack deeply.


    Boom! Boom!


    The entire offensives smashed into the two beasts one after the other with a super-hard impact that could seemingly cause mountains to sunder.


    Despite their huge, intimidating size, they were knocked flying for more than a hundred feet into the distance.


    Then they landed heavily at that distance.


    Bang! Bang!


    Once they landed, they scattered into pieces.


    Their tough bodies had been splintered by the fists.


    Alex was surprised by the attacks he produced.


    "So powerful?" He asked himself in a deeply astonished tone.


    He didn''t know a primordial cultivation energy that circulated in his energyhouse had partially blended with the strengthforce energy he cultivated.


    This increased the power of the technique to shocking levels.


    But because the quality of his energy wasn''t so great, the primal cultivation energy that melded into it couldn''t show it immensely great power.


    Besides it was not it own energy. It was just a secondary cultivation energy it achieved partial fusion with.


    Then he thought that if he did this outside where human cultivators where gathered, they would chase after him to get the secret why he was able to produce such an attack.


    Then he decided he would never use the technique again or he could unfortunately stumble into something he might not be able to come out from.


    He was enjoying himself as he slayed the first wave and second wave of beasts.


    He then hoped more would come out.


    He was here to train.


    He would know how to quickly and efficiently deploy the various battle techniques he studied at home in this place.


    This valley, Skull Valley by name, was extremely long. Anyone who wanted to move through this valley to the other side must be an incredible expert, as there are thousands of terrifying beasts in here.


    They live deep in caves at the foot of the mountains or in caves at the side of the mountains.


    Not very long, many winged beasts flew out of a cave found by the side of a mountain he just reached along this valley.


    Alex looked at the incoming beasts and his face turned solemn. There were thousands of them and they were small in size.


    But such beasts were the most dangerous, they were highly overpowering because of their great numbers.


    Their wings buzzed loudly as they flew towards him and snarled.


    Then pyroforce energy erupted from his body in great quantities. This time he was truly engulfed by flame.


    The flame enveloping his figure roared like a frenzied beast as it continued to increase in size by great leaps.


    Very soon, the flame had increased to a size so large it could rival the size of a large hill.


    "Devouring Fiery Maelstrom" he shouted.


    Once he employed this battle-technique from the "Great Conflagration methodology, the fire, which still boundlessly grew, like it growth had no limit, suddenly began to swirl.


    It then became a massive column of fire that revolved at great speed. Alex was within this rotating gigantic column of flame thinking of how next he should attack.


    He only brought this up as a protective measure against the large swarm of beasts heading towards him.


    When they reached where he was, they only surrounded him and could not enter as the twirling column of fire frightened them. The heat radiating from it was unbearable. They could be quickly destroyed.


    "Fiend Incinerating Fire" Alex shouted.


    Then the fire column rotating around him changed from orange to violet.


    Once it changed, the heat emanating from it increased by many fold.


    The heat given off by this fire would turn metal to liquid in seconds.


    The fire column''s rotational speed picked up to the extreme and then exerted an attractive force on the beasts surrounding Alex.


    Many of them were pulled and were burnt to cinders.


    The few that got away, Alex punched out at them.


    Then large amount of the energy erupting from his body would abruptly condense and shape into enormous fists that shot out at high speeds towards the target Alex punched out at.


    He took down many of them that escaped from his fire vortex with his blazing energy fist, burning them to ashes.


    "Invincible" he said elatedly.


    Then he remembered his father''s devastating power. He shook his head and smiled. He wasn''t even a percent close to invincibility.


    "I would get there one day" he uttered with great confidence in his mind.


    Then he remembered how they died. "Dad, mom, your son promises to grow stronger quickly and wipe out those insane beings. I would go to their realmverse and desolate it. I will wipe away their existence for good." he said, vowing in his mind.

 Chapter 35: Battling beasts II

    Not very long, all the beasts pulled into the fire column fell to the ground as burnt corpses that scattered apart on hitting the ground.


    Their flesh had burnt away totally. Only their bones remained but it had turned black and innumerable cracks could be seen on them which explosively separated on impact with the ground.


    The fire column dispersed and Alex nodded his head. He was beginning to do great things, so he felt.


    He then continued on his way.


    Many minutes later, he came across a small, grey hill by a side of the valley.


    This hill looked odd.


    Alex put himself on guard on noticing the hill seemed like the back of a beast.


    On getting close to where this hill was located, the hill suddenly trembled.


    Then legs shot out of it which raised the hill above the ground and a head appeared.


    This head looked like a tiger''s head.


    This was a greyhill tiger beast. They had the power to manipulate earth to their desire. This was the beastly bloodline ability they were born with.


    It eyes, still closed, snapped open, and Alex could see dark blue giant eyeballs in them.


    He quickly got ready for action.


    He spread his two palms open, then coldforce energy erupted from his entire body in great quantities before they were pulled to his hands and then quickly condensed and shaped into two large blades.


    Anciently symbols appeared on on their surfaces and glowed, radiating power.


    Then extreme chillness emanated from these blades and caused the air to turn intensely cold. Snowy flakes formed where he stood and began to fall.


    "Lacerating Arctic Slash"


    he shouted and slashed out at the greyhill tiger with both blades.


    Two huge snow-white rays of energy shot out from the ice blades towards the greyhill tiger at high speed.


    These rays of coldforce energy possessed great chillness.


    They caused the air around them to rapidly turn cold to a great level. It was such that even the earth beneath became covered in ice.


    Bang! Bang!


    The rays smashed into the beast gashing it to an extent. Then ice rapidly formed all over the beast.


    The beast howled in pain.


    It was painful because of the long deep cut in it body and more because of the intense cold that got into its body. It had caused it blood to freeze.


    The greyhill tiger roared and shook off the ice that had formed on it outer body.


    Then it smashed it fore limbs on the ground.


    Bang!


    A seismic wave possessing great destructive power erupted from the beast fore limbs and spread in a ripple-like fashion towards Alex.


    As it moved, it tore off the earth and flung those pieces of the earth in all directions. But majority of them were hurled towards Alex at great speed.


    A sphere of air abruptly formed around Alex, then a column of air manifested below the sphere shooting it up, with him encased within to a great height in the air.


    In that manner, he evaded the earth-shredding ripples and the fragments of earth heaved hardly at him.


    In the air, he pumped more coldforce energy into the blades which caused it to increase greatly in size.


    It became heavier and denser but he could carry them.


    More abstruse symbols appeared on the blades and then formed a pattern. Then a layer of white light surfaced enveloping the blade.


    Once this light appeared, the coldness emitting from the blade increased by many folds.


    "Great Polar Blade strike"


    he shouted and slashed out at the beast with both blades.


    Massive, snow-white rays of coldforce energy (polarforce energy) shot off from the blades towards the beasts.


    These rays once they appeared caused an area of hundred feet to suddenly turn intensely cold as the ambient temperature plummeted to extremely low degrees.


    Bang! Bang!


    The rays smashed into the beasts at the same time and knocked it backwards heavily.


    Terrible wounds could be seen on it body. This caused pain to rack the entire body of the beasts.


    It howled in misery as blood gushed out from it body and it insides froze.


    "Let me put you out of your misery." Alex said.


    Then he brought the two blades together and willed for them to fuse. When they fused, the cold temperature emitting from the singular ice blade increased to a greater degree.


    It was so cold it brought frosts all over an area of two hundred feet around him.


    "Die!" he shouted and threw the colossal ice blade out of his hand at the beast.


    Puchi!


    The blade shot towards the beast and pierced deep into the body of the beasts.


    Roar!


    It roared loudly in excruciating pain and then died. But it great miserable howl attracted the other beasts sheltering in caves.


    Alex dropped back to the ground.


    He knew he would be facing other beasts very soon and got ready. He wasn''t scared. As long as he didn''t move too far through the valley.


    He planned to battle more before he went for the greyback silver-furred ape, which was the mission he requested for.


    When Alex still cultivated back at the Houston house, he had gone through part of the vast information recorded in the weapons book.


    There, he learned about energy-weapons.


    These were weapons condensed and shaped out of the energy one cultivated and could be made to behave like a treasure-weapon.


    They didn''t use arrays in treasure-weapons to produce energies for an attack, but inscriptions.


    These inscriptions are used to increase the power of the attacks. They behave like arrays in treasure-weapons.


    Cultivated energies, when channeled into the energy-weapons from the wielder will be made more powerful by the inscriptions.


    This is possible through infusion of a certain energy into them.


    By studying how to create an energy-weapon, he learnt how to make certain inscriptions in the weapons he could condense out of the energies he cultivated.


    The one he studied was ''augmentation/ amplification'' inscription, which was to heighten the strength of his energy-attacks to great degrees.


    These inscriptions appear as mysterious symbols on the surfaces of the energy-weapons and when concentrated, as patterns.


    These behave like arrays in treasure-weapons.


    The symbols or patterns would pull a certain type of energy from the realmverse called novaforce energy which would be infused into the energies.


    This novaforce energy (also called chargeforce energy or attackforce energy) would increase the quality of the energies to a great level, thereby increasing the attack-power of an offensive, the destructive power of an energy-attack, the degree of damage they could inflict.


    A powerful inscription could cause an attack to rival that of an attack released from powerful treasure-weapons.


    He learnt how to cultivate this novaforce energy from the weapons book.


    Although it was the basic stage of the augmentation inscription he learnt from the vast numbers of myriad inscription. With time, he would advance to the next stages and learn the other inscriptions.


    Roar!


    A beast roared when flying towards him from afar. It was a large winged python and a boiling red liquid which seemed like lava could be seen flowing in it veins.


    It was very long and had large black wings that shone with metallic lustrousness. This was a beast called blackwing lava python.


    Roar! Roar!


    Two large beasts appeared.


    One was a three-eyed crimson-skinned rhinoceros while the other was called a violet blizzardblade serpent.


    The rhino was enormous in size and had three eyes lining it horn. The other, a serpent, was violet in colour and had white frosty mists come out from it nostrils. it could generate blizzards as it had control over the ice element. Also, bony blades could shoot out of natural orifices in it tough skin. Hence it name, violet blizzardblade serpent.


    Alex upon sighting the three beasts had eyes that blazed strongly for battle.


    Growlll!


    Just as he was about to enter into battle with these beasts, a beasts suddenly growled from a cave high up in a mountain.


    It was an ape, a greyback silver-furred ape. It beat its chest multiple times as it continued to roar.


    Then it jumped down from that great height.


    It was an ape beasts that possessed a nigh-impervious body.


    Bang!


    It landed and caused the earth to crack from it heavy impact. It was huge than the rest and it was greatly muscular in appearance. It didn''t bend to walk on it four limbs. Instead, it stood straight and this made it more frightening than the beasts here as it looked more massive in size.


    Alex slowly withdrew. This doesn''t look like a battle anymore. This wasn''t a battle he would love to fight in or he would be overpowered and possibly loose his life, even though he was special.


    Before he could go very far, the ape roared and hit its chest many times before it looked at Alex ferociously.


    The ape then leaped towards him and so did the others.


    Seeing the incoming beasts, he hesitated in leaving. Then he made up his mind.


    His eyes glowed intensely in cyan light and abruptly, unusually strong gales of wind rushed over with a roar like that of a primitive beast.


    These powerful, roaring gales that could roll over a large rock halted the beasts in their jump towards him.

 Chapter 36: Battling beasts III

    Only the winged python forced itself through the gales but it was greatly slowed down by the mighty gales that came over.


    Seeing the stubbornness of the winged python.


    Alex shouted;


    "Mountains Devouring Herculean Punch!"


    Then he punched out a fist that was glowing brilliantly in golden light.


    A massive golden fist, shaped out of condensed strengthforce energy, shot out of his fist towards the beasts at extreme speed.


    This enormous golden fist had dozens of illusory mountains orbiting around it and within it was something like a blackhole with claw-like teeth or fangs. Iit was like the maw of a primordial beast. But this was illusionary too. Because of these peculiarities, the battle-technique was named so.


    Once the fist appeared, shooting out towards the winged python flying over in the distance, the air churned and the earth trembled.


    This was an effect caused by the tremendous might irradiated by the fist.


    It generated a great pressure that caused the earth it traversed over at great speed to sunder and emitted a restraining force that could seemingly suppress all things.


    Boom!


    The beast was knocked flying for hundreds of feet into the distance by the fist before it crashed into the earth as splinters.


    Bits of its flesh and drops of it blood littered and stained the entire ground at that distance.


    While the fist continued to move on like it was an unstoppable fist from a God. It smashed into mountains and cracked them.


    This carried more power than the one before because Alex had used a stronger technique.


    The ape, serpent and rhino saw how Alex instantly annihilated the winged python and became slightly fearful.


    The ape growled and dashed towards Alex.


    Quickly, Alex pulled cyan energy out of his clenched fist. This condensed and shaped into a large cyan fist that encased his normal fist.


    Once this fist of energy formed around his fist encasing it, a large mass of air was pulled towards the cyan energy fist. It abruptly compacted and also shaped into a fist.


    This was a close-combat battle-technique.


    Alex punched out the same moment the ape punched towards him.


    Boom!


    Their fist connected and a sphere of vacuum surfaced from the point of collision which was instantly accompanied by a wave of energy.


    Both of them were sent flying for dozens of feet the instant their fist connected.


    Alex crashed into the ground at a distance. He tried pushing himself back to his feet but sensation of intense pain flooded his nerves.


    Then he realized the arm he used to send a punch at the ape had dislocated and the bone there possibly cracked.


    His arm was tough to withstand the impact from the beast. Any other person would have their arm explode into mists of blood.


    Pain racked his arm but he endured it as he gnashed his teeth.


    Then he prepared for the next attack. The two other beasts had shot forward to attack him.


    The violet blizzardblade serpent began to glow in intense snow-white light. Then it shot off a great deal of frost at Alex.


    The frost was great in quantity that it was as tall as a tsunami.


    The frost wave raged towards Alex with the power to turn all to ice.


    From where he stood in the distance, he could feel very cold air. He felt he was slowly turning to ice. The temperature of the atmosphere surrounding them had greatly plummeted.


    "What a formidable attack" he said.


    Then he thought of his next method of attacking. He quickly deployed a battle-technique from the ''Great Conflagration methodology''.


    Large amount of pyroforce energy gushed out from him, enveloping his entire figure.


    It helped to repel the extreme cold he was feeling which was irradiated by the tsunami-size wave of frost.


    "Fiery Dragon Punch"


    He shouted and punched out with his other hand.


    The instant he punched out, the energy erupting from his body rapidly condensed and shaped into a large dragon which shot out at the incoming gigantic frost wave.


    Sssssss!


    There was no explosion, only one of the attacks canceling.


    Then the huge dragon condensed from flame shot forward and smashed into the serpent exploding on impact.


    Boom!


    Terrifying flames erupted and the force produced from the blast knocked the violet blizzardblade serpent into the distance.


    The rhino''s horn began to glow, then a massive horn shot out of it towards Alex.


    This enormous horn radiated with pressure and emitted power that could seemingly sunder mountains.


    The moment Alex knocked away the serpent with a blast. He quickly readied himself to battle the rhino coming his way.


    Radiantforce energy erupted from Alex''s palm in great amount. It abruptly condensed and shaped into a large sword that radiated all colors. It was beautiful as it looked like a rainbow, but it was deadly as an aura of tyrannical sharpness exuded from it. It irradiated with a feeling that seemed it could slash through all.


    This was a technique called ''Radiant sword'', a sword condensed from radiantforce energy (also called luminiforce energy).


    Then, Alex from mastering energy-weapons quickly inscribed abstruse symbols (weapon amplification inscriptions) into the sword.


    Once the symbols were made unto the surface of the sword, the density of the sword increased and the luminosity given off by the weapon increased by several folds.


    Everywhere was bathed in it great resplendence.


    Then he channeled in great amounts radiantforce energy into the energy-weapon.


    "Sky-lacerating luminous slash!"


    Alex shouted and slashed out with the radiant sword at the incoming horn-shaped energy-attack.


    An enormous prismatic beam of energy bearing terrifying sharpness shot out from the radiant sword toward the horn.


    Boom!!


    Both attacks collided and a large sphere of vacuum instantly surfaced before a wave of energy, destructive in might, was released and moved in all directions, wreaking havoc.


    The energy horn shattered while the beam which had thinned a bit continued on towards the rhino.


    Puchi!


    The gigantic, luminous beam of energy pierced through the tough hide of the huge rhino and out through the back, then off into the distance.


    The rhino collapsed dead to the ground.


    Alex had slain two beasts out of the four that came at him.


    The moment Alex killed the rhino, the ape had already begun running towards him.


    With a thunderous roar, it jumped high into the air, about forty feet, evading the killing beam of radiantforce energy.


    Alex''s eyes widened. He quickly threw the energy-weapon at the ape.


    Surprisingly, the ape, despite it massive size, twisted in the air dodging the energy sword hurled at it.


    Then with a movement technique, it left multiple after-images behind in the air as it shot towards Alex.


    Then it sent a fist out at him


    Alex became frozen. There was no time to defend himself. The sudden attack of the ape had left him incapacitated.


    But before the massive fist could strike Alex, a pencil-thin beam of energy shot towards the ape from afar and it fist shattered into pieces with blood shooting out like a spray in every direction.


    Alex''s face turned pale from fear and terror.


    As he stood there, extremely pale and extremely weak, the overwhelming thought of death revolved in his mind.


    Then his vision slowly darkened before he collapsed to the ground.


    ** Many hours later. **


    Alex''s eyes snapped open, he looked around and quickly stood up when he saw he was in a cave.


    Then he realized his dislocated arm had healed, he felt no pain there again.


    Suddenly, he heard voices in the distance. He quickly put himself on guard.


    Not very long, a group of seven people walked in, they consisted of four males and three females.


    They all seemed to be in their thirties and looked good in appearances.


    These people were all in the earth adept cultivation stage.


    "He has awakened" One said to the others and they all beamed. Alex didn''t know who these people were.


    Still on guard, he greeted, then he asked "Seniors, were you people the one who brought me in here?"


    They nodded. And the one who spoke earlier, presumably the leader, came forward with furrowed brows towards Alex and grabbed his arm.


    He looked at it. "Damn! You healed so fast boy. Seems the pill I gave you worked super efficiently" he said then released Alex''s arm.


    "Oh. It was senior who helped me. I offer my thanks" Alex said appreciably.


    "What are you doing here?" that same person asked. "Um... I am... actually on a mission I requested for from the adventurers guild..." Alex was interrupted in his speech by that person.


    He asked in shock "You are on a mission? With a middle-phase cultivation stage? Are you sure your head wasn''t banged against a wall?"


    Alex smiled. "I didn''t bang my head against anything senior. I was just out for experience, to advance my battle skills". He said.


    "I see. But it seemed to me you were advancing to the afterlife?" this person said.


    Alex was short of speech, he could only look on in shame.


    "No need to feel embarrassed. That''s why I helped you out there. My name''s Ken and these are my colleagues. We are also on a mission we requested for from the adventurers guild." That person, named Ken, said.


    This person, Ken by name, and his colleagues hadn''t seen Alex at all when he was in action.


    If they had, they would be slightly frightful of him even as they are in the earth adept cultivation rank.


    "Cool. What''s the mission?" Alex asked. "To hunt down a Rank-4 beast which is a sky-rank beast". Ken replied.


    Alex shook. A rank-4 beast? When they are in the earth adept stage? How would killing that be possible?


    Haha!..


    They broke into laughter upon noting Alex''s strange look.


    "Come on, it''s not like rank-4 beasts are anything special. We are much in number, there are seven of us and we wield a class-4 weapon. Our peak-phase earth adept cultivation stage gives us the capability to withstand the aura from a class-4 weapon. Killing it would be simple as butchering a fowl." Ken said.


    Alex nodded.


    He only hoped they were right or they would loose their lives.


    When Alex cultivated at home for many months, his uncle had lectured him about a lot of things he didn''t know before.


    Such as cultivation ranks of super-powered beasts.


    Although there were also normal, domestic beasts that can be found around and can be reared and killed for their meat.


    While the supernormal ones, referred to as ''Cultivation Beasts'', possess powerful abilities.


    These super-powered beasts don''t live around humans, they live in caves in mountains or in wildernesses.


    It''s these beasts that with time, develop intelligence and when they reach the celestial beast stage becomes divine beasts.


    But this divine beasts stage is also ranked.


    As cultivation beasts, they also have their own of system of cultivation.


    Rank-1 beasts are entry-beasts


    Rank-2 beasts are rare-beasts


    Rank-3 beasts are earth-beasts/ core-beasts


    Rank-4 beasts are sky-beasts


    Rank-5 beasts are Firmament-beasts


    Rank-6 beasts are Saint-beasts


    Rank-7 beasts are profound-beasts


    Rank-8 beasts are venerate-beasts


    Rank-9 beasts are celestial beasts


    Rank-10 beasts are godbeasts


    These were the few ranks his uncle told him and asked him to find out the rest himself.


    He advised Alex try to read more books about the cultivation world and the elements in it.


    ....


    "So, seniors. When would you all be heading out? Alex asked.


    "We just came back from a hunt, we would rest for this night and then continue tomorrow" Ken said.


    Then he produced a mat from his interspatial ring which he laid on the ground to lay on.


    His colleagues did the same.


    Only Alex was left standing.


    He came out of the cave for fresh air.


    Then he remembered the methodology he wanted to study.


    The ''Great Empyrean Seven-Hue Lightning Methodology'',


    It was a lightning-based A-grade duality methodology. The methodology was a very tyrannical one as it techniques were simply extremely powerful

 Chapter 37: Great Empyrean Seven-Hue Lightning Methodology

    He came out of the cave for fresh air.


    Then he remembered the methodology he wanted to study.


    The ''Great Empyrean Seven-Hue Lightning Methodology'', A lightning-based A-grade duality methodology.


    The methodology was a very tyrannical one as it techniques were simply extremely powerful.


    The methodology, as it is named, is a methodology that allows one to cultivate electriforce energy also called lightniforce energy.


    Via the methodology, one would be able to shoot solid constructs of electricity, and summon and manipulate electricity or lightning from the sky through the ''lightning evocation'' ability they would gain by studying the methodology.


    The methodology is divided into seven stages. They include: Lightning Adept, Lightning Reverend, Lightning Emperor, Lightning Sage, Lightning Celestial, Lightning Godlord, and Lightning Grand Venerate.


    The ''seven hues'' in it name correspond to the stages mentioned above. When one cultivate the specified energy, the energy cultivated takes on different hues.


    At the first stage, it is red, and down to the last stage, it changes from red to blue, black, purple, indigo, violet and finally to golden.


    To cultivate electriforce energy, one must absorb it from thunderclouds.


    That''s why the art, apart from being tyrannical due to it powerful plethoric techniques was tyrannical and deadly in the form of it cultivation.


    One could die from being struck by the most chaotic cultivation energy from clouds in the realmverse.


    Ninety-nine percent of expert will cultivate other forms of energy.


    This is due to fear of obliteration by the energy. It could destroy their energy channels (force-arteries) and render them crippled or totally decimate them.


    As he recalled all that he read in the cultivation manual, he decided to go for beasts that possesses lightning projection abilities tomorrow so he could cultivate the energy.


    This was just the introduction. In the later stages, he would have to be struck by lightning from thunderclouds in thunderstorms or search for pools of pure electricity. It was deadly he knows, but for greater power, greater risk must be taken.


    He went back into the cave and sat in the cross-legged position to ruminate on the techniques he had yet to practice.


    There were still many of them and were very profound. He was still having a bit of an issue in understanding them as they were too complex.


    Practicing god-level methodologies, apart from him being special, gives him an unequaled advantage against many of his opponents, as the techniques were techniques used simply by deities.


    Only them could invent such techniques of great profoundness but Alex was able to understand them, to a small level though.


    He hadn''t fully understood how to unleash their full power with his level of comprehension in the methodologies'' techniques.


    When Alex understands them to high stages, he would be able to erupt more power that would awe divinities.


    But he surely can''t be the only special being in the entire world; in the nearly innumerable worlds in the realmverse. Each world, down from the greatverse (grand world) to the planeverse (mortal world) would surely have their own epic geniuses, either human, beasts progenies or non-humans.


    *Next Morning*


    Alex cultivated till the next morning and when the sun rays hit his eyes, they snapped open. He was ready for another battle today.


    He would have his revenge on the greyback silver-furred ape. Although, the one that terrorized him is dead, he would go in search of another one and kill it.


    If one comes his way, he would kill it, if ten comes his way, the would kill them and hundreds, he would slay them. He vowed.


    Besides, he needed their cores to be able to collect his reward for accomplishing the mission he was given.


    The other adventurer team had woken up from their sleep. Then they all set out. They agreed with one another to be back before evening.


    The adventurer team made their way into a deep cave to search for the rank-4 beast they were after. While Alex continued on his way to find more beasts to fight.


    The realmverse granted his wish.


    Not very long, a tall lizard roared out of a cave, this was a rank-2 beast. It bellowed, releasing bright-burning flames from it mouth as it roared. It eyes shone with fierceness and so was it scales, they lustred like steel.


    Without surprise, it unleashed it attack. It breathed out a large stream of fire at Alex.


    From where he stood, Alex could sense the heat, if it engulfed him, nothing would be left of him.


    As the massive flame streamed over ragingly, Alex didn''t back off.


    Excited to battle but being careful, Alex mustered strength and did an aerial cartwheel over the flame, pushed up to a great height by a wind current, he evaded the flames and landed behind the lizard.


    While Alex was air-borne after he executed that fanciful evasion technique, cyan energy (windforce energy) gushed out from his hands in great quantities which abruptly condensed and shaped into a blade.


    Then inscriptions appeared on the surface of the energy-weapon he condensed out of windforce energy.


    These were array-mimicking symbols that infuse novaforce energy to his cultivated energies to amplify their power output.


    Once he landed, he shouted "Earth gashing wind" and slashed out.


    The cyan energy he channeled into the blade discharged from it as a giant cyan beam of energy.


    This energy beam possessed tremendous penetrative power and radiated with might that seemed it can reduce hills.


    Bang!


    The energy beam hit the rank-2 beast and it pierced into the beast but stopped halfway.


    It incredible skin''s toughness had reduced the power of the beam to a weak level.


    The lizard roared in pain. Then it body began to glow in light. Suddenly, flames shot out of it body in massive amounts towards Alex.


    The wind energy-blade dispersed and at the same moment, his eyes glowed intensely in cyan light.


    Wind currents rushed over from a great distance impacting the flame frenziedly burning towards him.


    The massive, opposing, elemental attacks created a large boundary making it seem both Alex and the lizard were in separate dimensions.


    The wind was unceasing. It swept over from far places with the aim to snuff out the flames.


    Many seconds later, the flames were extinguished. Once the flames vanished, Alex punched out.


    "Wind Fist"


    The moment he punched out, a cyan fist of energy shot out of his fist.


    This fist, as it shot out, pulled a large mass of air towards it which abruptly compacted and molded into a fist.


    The air solidified greatly that it solidness could be likened to a wall.


    Bang!


    The fist impacted the lizard''s head shoving it into the distance. It had smashed into the beast''s head with super-hardness.


    Alex ran over and saw the beast lying dead on the floor. The fist had struck it head open.

 Chapter 38: Bird

    Suddenly, a blue bird rushed over to where the lizard was and swooped down to pick up. As it dived down, it shot a blue-black fireball at Alex who did a wind-enhanced backflip to dodge it.


    It carried the lizard and flew away. Alex''s eyes glittered. That was a rank-2 cultivation falcon-beast called the ''necrofire heavenly darkfalcon''. He read about them in a legacy book called ''Fantastic Beast and their abilities'' from the Azure Beastsman''s collections of books.


    They could unleash blue-black necrofire. It burns only the living to cinders and not the dead. Anything that has vitality or a soul is burned to nothingness.


    After burning, their ashes gather and then mysteriously transform into corpses that can be controlled by the bird. It is vastly immune to necroforce energy (death-energy).


    This ability makes it exceedingly powerful. But the ability it is noted for is it extreme speed. They are known to be incredibly swift.


    When it awakens it complete bloodline ability, it can achieve speed a million times that of lightning.


    Also, it feathers can be used as materials to forge defensive treasures or as materials, melted to increase the toughness of a treasure-weapon.


    Defensive treasures using this feather as forging material can reach the rank of supreme-grade or peerless-rank defensive treasures.


    Alex knows it was still young and that it hadn''t awakened it frightening abilities, and it would be great if it could become his mount. He would not need a ultivehicle at that time. He was surprised what it was doing here.


    He looked at the bird as it flew away speedily, leaving behind after-images. A second later, it had vanished from Alex''s vision. He didn''t know where the bird went to and could only wish it was his.


    He resumed his search for beasts with lightning projection abilities. But he did not see any one. After many battles with other rank-2 beasts, he became worn out. He walked for many hours then he got frustrated.


    He decided to finish the mission he requested for. That is, hunt down the greyback silver-furred ape since he couldn''t find any lightning-power beast.


    His eyes began to glow in cyan. Abruptly, a vortex of air instantly surfaced around him. Then ribbons of cyan energy flowed into his body through his pores, unceasingly.


    He had turned his entire body into an energyhouse by utilizing the ''Wind Elixir'' technique.


    As the energy flowed into his body through his pores, his entire body began to glow brilliantly in cyan. It was like he was a small cyan sun as the light emitting from his body dyed everywhere cyan.


    Then a large stream of windforce energy shot off from his feet in large amount and in a jet-fashion.


    As the cyan energy endlessly discharged off his feet at high velocity, they turned into bursts of air that propelled him up at great speed. These continuous bursts carried him up like he were a rocket.


    Since he could continuously recharge himself using the wind elixir technique while employing the ''Wind Rocket'' technique to move up.


    He reached the mountain peak after many hours. He was very slow, he couldn''t achieve terrifying speed yet.


    Once he got to a peak, he looked into the distance and the entire thing zoomed in.


    He saw greyback silver-furred apes, dozens of them at a faraway mountain peak. The mountain they were on was very far away.


    It was already night, but he didn''t care. He started running towards that mountain.


    After many minutes, with air-propelled, wind-enhanced massive leaps, he reached a mountain that neighbored to the mountain where the apes sheltered on. Then the glow in his eyes receded as well the bright glow emanating from his body.


    This light caught the attention of the apes on the next mountain peak and they growled in madness and anger.


    Who was this that was trying to trespass into their territory. With their hatred for humans, their rage shot up like it wanted to pierce the sky.


    Then they rushed towards Alex in a frenzy. Being huge and greatly muscular beasts with bloodline ability for strength. They jumped towards Alex, both females and males. There were about twenty of them that jumped towards him.


    To Alex, their number was pretty small. Then he guessed this was one of the peaks they settled on. There would still be others on faraway mountain peaks.


    He quickly condensed a frost energy-weapon.


    "Great Arctic slash! "


    he shouted and slashed out towards them. An enormous snow-white ray of amplified frost-energy shot out from the blade towards the ape.


    As the ray shot out, the temperature of the atmosphere drastically plummeted to sub-zero degrees.


    This attack instantly transformed this area for dozens of square feet in diameter into an excessively cold zone.


    It was like they were in the winter season as snow began to fall, but it was tens of times colder.


    When the frosty energy ray shot piercingly through the air, it left a wide trail of frost and radiated unbearable cold temperature.


    Bang!


    One of the greyback silver-furred ape was hit by the beam. It was instantly cut in half with the beam traveling forward unstoppably.


    It cut other apes behind it in half instantly turning them into ice. The flash-frozen halves of the apes fell to the earth below and shattered.


    The other beasts were still air-borne and this was a great disadvantage to them. Seeing this as an opportunity


    "Ice Hegemon mountain-splintering slash!"


    He shouted and swung the frost energy-blade at them.


    Once he slung the blade at them, an enormous ray of frost-energy, which radiated terrifying coldness that instantly transformed this place to a polar region, shot out from it.


    This icy energy ray, going with great concussive power that can seemingly shatter hills, knocked the beasts back to the mountain peak they jumped from and were instantly enveloped by ice, turning to iced statues.


    When he eliminated them, the blade dispersed, and the slivers of energy that formed it returned to the realmverse.


    Screech!


    Suddenly, he heard a screech in the distance and when he looked in the direction of that sound, he saw the blue falcon bird.


    His eyes sparkled.


    The bird!


    Just as he was about to take action, like chase after it. The entire place began to tremble. The whole valley began to shake.


    Then a huge pillar of light shot up into the sky from afar which then expanded to cover the entire mountainous valley.

 Chapter 39: Female Expert I

    When the entire valley started trembling, cultivators that came into the valley to hunt for beasts rushed out from within the cave they were in and were greeted by the large beam of light which then magnified in size to enshroud the entire valley. The light was so intense they had to close their eyes or it could fry their retina.


    Alex on the mountain peak was first shaken in terror by the trembling of the whole valley, it was like an enraged primitive beast of fathomless size was climbing up, tearing out from the earth. And when the pillar of light appeared, and increased in range to swallow up the entire valley in it brilliance, Alex, whose eyes suddenly revealed abstruse patterns in it caused him to withstand the retina-burning splendor.


    Then he saw a beautiful lady within that pillar of light. Due to the patterns that surfaced in his eyes, he could make out that the lady was dressed in a gorgeous white gown and was one of the most beautiful lady he had ever seen.


    He was awed, such beauty. The way it was portrayed to him, was like an immortal goddess of beauty descending to world of mortals. Bathing in that light made her look like an embodiment of beauty.


    He looked up at her for sometime before the lady vanished. Alex instantly became unhappy. He became depressed because he hadn''t seen to his fill. He grumbled asking why she would disappear. He sat on the mountain peak and recalled that beauty. He wished he was already incredibly strong, he would fly up to meet her so they could sail away in love.


    When he recollected himself, after vowing to grow stronger very quickly, he slowly floated from the mountain peak back to the ground. Then he went back into the cave dug by the adventurer team into a mountain.


    He walked into the cave and met them sitting and discussing happily. There was roasted, oily meat in their hands and alcoholic fruit-taste wines in wine cups placed on the ground. It was like they were merrying. Their state of mind was good.


    "Hello. Seniors" Alex greeted. "hmm!" they nodded. Being an intelligent kid, he knew what was up. "I guess seniors were able to slay that rank-4 beasts" he said. "Exactly. We did. Come, come merry with us boy" one of them said.


    Alex immediately went to join them. He sat on the floor beside one of them and was given a meat. He bit it with the oil staining his lips, chewed it and swallowed it down. The meat tasted really delicious. Then he was handed a wine cup. With several gulps, he swallowed it all down. This turned to fire in his throat and chest.


    His white face turned bright red for sometime before it returned to normal in the next second. "Impressive" one said. Alex could quickly recover from the effect of a strong alcoholic wine in seconds. They hailed him wholeheartedly and handed him more.


    He drank and drank as he was handed the wine cups, then to the point it started looking unusual, strange. How could a kid drink twenty cups of such wine that would greatly intoxicate them and still look the same, the redness on his face never appeared again. It was like he was drinking ordinary water.


    As of now, after drinking eight cups, they became tipsy. But they were still slightly conscious of what they were doing and what was occurring before them made them to be greatly shocked.


    Alex then stopped. He had a smile on his face that spoke of satisfaction. He enjoyed the fruit wine very much. He looked at these people and saw that they were intoxicated and were looking at him with weirdness.


    He felt awkward, and to dispel the feeling of awkwardness, he asked. "Did any of you see that goddess-like lady in that pillar of light?". These people looked at him and then recalled all the events associated with that pillar of light. They looked at him and laughed.


    "What are seniors laughing over?" Alex asked and in a dumbfounded manner. "lady? What lady is that?" Ken asked and laughed. Alex''s mind reeled. "It can''t be only me that saw that lady right?" he asked inwardly.


    "There was a lady in that pillar of light. She wore white gown. Perhaps the trembling of the entire valley was caused by her cultivation breakthrough" Alex intelligently replied.


    "Boy, there was no lady. Perhaps you were fantasizing. Haha" Ken said and laughed, and the others joined him.


    Amidst their raucous laughter, Alex felt embarrassed. Well, his eyes couldn''t deceive him. He believed he saw a lady in that beam and it was no illusion or imagination, she was real.


    "I saw her but why couldn''t they see her? Why was she revealed to me alone? Or is it those god eyes?" Alex asked in his mind.


    As he was lost in thought, these people suddenly fell asleep collapsing to the ground.


    "Huh?!" Alex was taken aback. He quickly stood up and hurried to Ken''s side. Then he saw Ken was breathing with his eyes closed and a smile was plastered in his face. It was like he was having a nice dream. "He actually, suddenly fell asleep?". Then he looked at the others and saw they were all asleep.


    He exhaled relaxedly. They were just sleeping. Nothing happened to them. But the manner in which they fell asleep was abrupt and weird to him.


    With no one to discuss to, he came out of the cave and sat on the floor. He looked at the stars in the sky and prepared to cultivate starforce energy (astroforce energy or astral-energy).


    His dad''s self-invented methodology, ''Great Stellar Methodology'', An A-grade (Supernal Battle Entity-grade) duality methodology was now in his possession and he had been greatly itching to study it.


    He needed to understand the stars and the energy they emitted before he could enter attunement with it, so he could cultivate it. But he just couldn''t. The book had so many clues written down by his dad for him but he wasn''t able to understand the essence of the stars yet, the mysteries of their blinding and world-ruining energy. It was frustrating. Being one of the strongest energy in the realmverse, it essence was extremely profound. But patience was the best.


    Whoosh!


    As he was lost in his contemplative thoughts about cultivation. He suddenly heard a whoosh sound and this brought him out of his absent-mindedness.

 Chapter 40: Female Expert II

    Then quickly looking in that direction, what he saw shocked him.


    What greatly astonished him was that, the lady he saw in that pillar of light was right in front of him looking at him with a gaze he couldn''t describe.


    Alex quickly and respectfully greeted but she didn''t reply back and only looked at him with an indescribable gaze.


    Not able to look straight at her for fear of her thinking he was fantasizing about her, he hurriedly turned his head away to the side.


    Then a formless power, emitted from the lady in front of him, ''clasped'' his head and forced it to look at her.


    Now, he got a good view of the lady in front of him. She had long silvery hairs that fluttered in the wind, they were like silk. Her face was smooth and oval. In it, were eyes that lustred like polished gems, and natural bright red lips, that were attractive and looked juicy. She had a smooth and faultless skin that glowed in the starlight and made her look like a fairy.


    She wore an immaculate white gown that had slits at both sides which revealed her white thighs. And a plunging V-design which extended from her cleave to her waist. This revealed more than half of her breasts and belly button.


    Her breasts were really full and firm and so was her hip and backside, they stretched the gown she wore to it limit. She could be described as ''bountifully endowed'' as she was breathtakingly voluptuous and curvaceous.


    With a flat belly and thin waist that can be grabbed with a hand, she was extremely seductive. She could be seen as the embodiment of seduction.


    Alex''s body temperature raised as he felt his blood raging within his body. He could not stop his imagination from running wild. He started to sweat as he was frightened that the female expert in front of him might decimate him if she realizes that he was actually thinking far about her.


    Feeling awkward in front of this peerless sensuous beauty, he quickly asked, "What does senior want from me?" the female expert in front of him didn''t respond.


    With furrowed brows, she said "I have scanned you a lot of times and I can''t notice anything peculiar about you. How were you able to see me?"


    Alex was surprised.


    "Huh?! How was I able to see you? I don''t understand senior." He replied.


    "You surely do. Answer me!" she said with a loud voice.


    Alex''s mind and body trembled as it was like a thunderclap sounded in his mind and in his ear. Her loud voice was backed by a sliver of power.


    "I don''t know senior. Please forgive me for not being able to answer your question." He hurriedly replied in a fearful tone. She looked at him for sometime as he trembled before saying "when I was in that pillar of light, I was actually concealed in a layer of obscureforce energy, it''s an invisibility-energy. This energy renders me unseen to all forms of perception, physical sensory perception, mind perception, celestial sense, spiritsense, soulsense, heartsense and god-sense. How did you manage to do it?"


    Alex was blown away, the hell. He had a feeling it was one of those eyes that merged with his. He felt this would put him in great trouble one day, he decided to be careful from now on.


    "Senior, I honestly don''t know what you are talking about" he said with his heart in his mouth. She looked at him and shook her head. "Then I guess it must be your eyes then. I would take it with me and study it" she said in a serious tone.


    Alex''s eyes widened and his heart could almost jump out in fear. He wanted to run back into the cave and call those adventurers team for help, but he was stuck in that position by the formless power that engulfed his figure. His brain and mind were frantic.


    The lady shook her head at Alex''s trembling body.


    "Kid relax. Don''t be frightened. I am not the type of person to hurt kids. I am sorry if you feel I bullied you. I just did that to force you to confess the truth. But I am curious how you managed to pull that off because I can''t detect anything special about you. When you looked at me from that mountain peak, I felt your gaze on my body. That''s why I used my void movement powers to vanish from there because I was greatly surprised. Despite the stage I have reached in the art, you saw me with great ease." she said as curiosity shone in her eyes.


    Then the formless power she put out to control Alex''s movement disappeared.


    "So what''s a kid like you doing out here?" she asked.


    "I am out here for training to develop my battle prowess" Alex replied.


    "Training? With your flimsy middle-phase entry-stage cultivation base?" she asked in a shocked tone.

 Chapter 41: Michelle

    "I am trying to kill beasts out here for a reward" he replied. "Hmm. It''s best you be careful. There are some pretty dangerous beasts in here" she said.


    Alex nodded. Seeing how friendly she was, he asked. "Uhm. Senior, could I know your name?". The female expert in front of him was surprised. "Why do you want to know my name?" she asked back.


    "Well, I just.. um.. wanted to know your name." he replied. With a raised brow, she asked again "Why?".


    Need there be a reason for this? He couldn''t understand.


    "On a second thought, no need ma''am" He replied with a smile.


    The lady smiled. "My name''s Michelle. And you are?" she asked.


    Alex''s glittered with happiness. "Alex. My name''s Alex. It''s a pleasure meeting you." he replied.


    "Yea. It is" she replied with a smile.


    "I have to go now." she said.


    "Wait, what world do you live in?" he asked hurriedly.


    "You want to come visit me or what?" she asked with a surprised tone.


    "Not really. My cultivation level can be considered very weak. But I just want to know, so that when I reach a powerful stage, I.. I could come visit... you" he replied with slight difficulty.


    "Oh. I live in the Pure Heart Continent, Pure Heart Greatverse." she said.


    "Okay. I got that. Thanks for telling me. What about the region, state and city you live in?" he asked.


    "You are welcome" she said with a smile and vanished.


    "Huh? She''s gone. Hmm, Michelle from Pure Heart continent, Pure Heart Greatverse. That''s a supreme world where insanely powerful experts abound. Scoffs! Can''t be bothered about that. Even a sage would be considered insignificant there."


    Then he looked around. "I don''t think I would be able to finish my mission. There would be terrifying rank-3 beast there and I don''t think I can personally handle any of them."


    Then he went back into the cave and shouted to wake the guys lying on the ground.


    Heck!


    They quickly rushed up to their feet. Alex could almost burst into laughter by their actions. "Seniors, I think I need to go. It has been a great moment with you all. Thanks for everything."


    They nodded their head. "We may meet again. Take good care of yourself" their boss, Ken said. Alex nodded and walked out of the cave.


    I have improved my battle proficiency. Coming here wasn''t in vain. But that bird....


    - Skytrident city -


    When he left the valley, he arrived in an ultivehicle in this city.


    He looked around and was absolutely confused of what to do, where to go.


    What should be my next step?


    He didn''t need to join an academy. Whatever they could provide their students with, he already had them and in excess at that. Was it pills, cultivation manuals, treasures, weapons? He had all of them.


    So what else could he possibly want?


    This is strange. I am stranded. I don''t know where to go from here. Do I join an academy and leave later? No, my uncle forbade that. Now what do I do? Should I try to form my own organization? Scoffs! you are in the middle-phase. No one would even think of joining. I guess what I can only do is help people I see around, financially or in any other way. And deal with evil cultivators. Protect oppressed people and punish bad people. Yea. That''s the path I should take.


    After thinking up what he should do next. He smiled elatedly and decided he would start from here, from this city. Then that his legend would spread far as he gets stronger, invoking fear and solace in the bad and good at the mention of his name.


    But he didn''t know his plan was not in accordance with what destiny had for him.


    Alex at the moment felt that what he needed to do now was to eat. His stomach was grumbling within.


    He left where he had been standing for minutes and asked around for the description to a inn. He was directed to one.


    - Miriam Inn -


    This was the name of the inn he was directed to. It fitted what he asked them. He didn''t want to go to an expensive inn. But the inn was okay. Their meals were not too expensive and they were delicious. One would gain value for one''s money.


    He entered and went to seat at a table. Not very long after he sat down, a young lady came over.


    "What would you like to eat?" she asked.


    "I don''t know. My first time here. Let me see what''s on your menu." he replied.


    "Alright"


    Then she gave him the menu list. After going through them, he selected one and the lady went back to bring his order.


    While he waited. Several barbaric men barged in. They looked big and strong and wielded large clubs. When Alex looked at them, he could sense they were in the peak-stage entry realm.


    These men that abruptly entered went to the tables where people sat at and began to smash them using the clubs they wielded.


    Everyone having a meal in here had their eyes widen in fear. They quickly got up and rushed out of the inn.


    Alex remained sitting and so was another guy dressed in white. He wore a large white hat that covered his face.


    "Where''s your boss?!! Tell her to come out or we would smash everything in here to pieces!" the largest of the men shouted. This was the boss of the Ironblood.


    Then a beautiful lady ran out. She looked at her tables that had been smashed into pieces and shouted with all her voice. "What''s it you want from me?"


    The boss smiled. "You have always known what I want. I would say it to you again to make it loud and clear. I want your body. I want to feel those twin soft melons on your chest and how warm your cleft is" he said lustfully.


    Haha!


    His men burst into unbridled laughter.


    The lady became aggrieved. In an annoyed tone, she asked loudly "Is that why you destroyed my tables?"


    The boss laughed.


    "Yes. I always get what I want or people around you and you yourself would live in fear and terror." He replied.


    "Now. I want you to come with me so we could go have fun or we would smash your entire inn apart. But before we actually do that, I and my men would do a lot to you and your female workers. So it''s best you listen to me. Will you follow me now or not?!" he asked loudly.


    The lady became sad and terrified. What was she going to do? Would she follow them? If she followed them to their base, he would sleep with her and his other men might do the same. And she couldn''t refuse or a bad fate would fall upon her workers. Besides, she couldn''t allow anything to happen to her father''s inn. This was what she inherited from him and had turned to her source of livelihood.


    "Hey! Still thinking? Give me an answer in the next three seconds or something terrible would happen to all of you here."


    Just as this lady was about to talk, a male voice sounded out. "Get out!"


    Everyone became shocked.


    "Who just talked?"


    Then they looked in the direction that voice came from and saw a male in white wearing a large hat and seating relaxedly.


    "Haha! Who is this white-clothed adorable rat? Trying to play hero to get the lady right? Kid, if you know what is good for you, don''t dabble into my affairs or you wouldn''t have a good ending." he said in an annoyed tone.


    The male wearing a hat shook his head.


    "I said you should leave" he said again.


    The boss became enraged. He looked at his men. "Go drag that bastard out" he shouted.


    Then the men rushed forward towards this male.

 Chapter 42: Dealt with

    The male looked on with a smirk. Fools!


    Bang!


    He hit the table in front of him with his palm. Then the table flew out hurling hardly into one of the men.


    Argh!


    This person shrieked in pain as the table smashed into him. The other men became even more furious and wanted to employ a battle method to deal with him.


    Suddenly, the air in the inn became an unusually powerful gale. It swept them out through the door into the distance.


    The male wearing a hat had already stood for action but became heavily surprised at the abrupt manifestation of strong wind gust in the inn.


    "Why did that gale suddenly manifest? Is there a wind expert here?"


    Then he looked around and saw a boy whose eyes glowed in cyan.


    He was surprised and so were everyone when they saw Alex.


    The boss of the group had also being washed outside by the unexpected powerful gale. He stood up in annoyance and screamed in rage to the sky. Then he rushed back into the inn.


    The moment his leg stepped beyond the door into the inn. A hard kick was suddenly delivered in his face. This launched him into the distance.


    It was a flying kick sent out by the male wearing a hat.


    Then this male jumped out of the inn towards the boss in the distance while Alex rushed out of the inn to handle his minions.


    "Sword Fist!"


    "Nutcracker earth fist!"


    The male wearing a hat and the Ironblood boss shouted at the same time. The moment the male shouted, swordforce energy gushed out from his energyhouse and wrapped around his fist making it glow in a resplendent light and giving the feeling of sharpness while the fist of the Ironblood boss turned yellow-brown as it was wrapped up in terraforce energy, giving the feeling of solidness and heaviness.


    Bang!


    Their fist collided and the man shrieked as he was flung into the distance. And on his hand could be seen many wounds. It was like he was cut there numerous times by a blade.


    The hat-wearing male still standing where he was executed a roundhouse kick. As he kicked in the air, a thin ray of swordforce energy shot from the kicking leg.


    Argh!!


    The barbarous man screamed out in pain. The energy ray had penetrated through his shoulder leaving a thin hole there from which blood spurted out like a fountain.


    The instant the Ironblood boss began duelling with the hat-wearing male, his men had also begun battling with Alex. They ran towards him but the air became violent amongst them.


    But it didn''t sweep them away. It only made their movement restricted. It became difficult to get to Alex while Alex was like a fish in water.


    Then he sent out punches. Due to his innate body''s toughness, the punches he sent out could crack concrete walls.


    Bang!


    Bang!.....


    Crunch!...


    Continuous bang sounds and crunch sounds rang out as the men were sent flying one after the other into the distance.


    They landed unconscious to the ground. Their faces had caved in from the punches Alex sent out.


    Alex''s punches were not powered by any form of energy. Yet, they lifted these men off the ground and hurled them into distance. And these were men that had three to four times Alex''s body size.


    His steel-hard punches had driven them to unconsciousness and pressed their face in. They looked like monsters at the moment due to the disfigurement of their faces.


    The Ironblood boss got up with fury in his eyes from where he landed. Enduring the pain that racked him. He shouted.


    "Destroying gaia fis.."


    But before he could unleash a battle technique, a thin beam of swordforce energy shot towards him again at extreme speed. This ray of energy cut through his chest but not where the heart was.


    Argh!


    This man screamed in pain and fell to the ground on both knees. Still having a bit of consciousness, he produced a bottle containing pills and poured all into his mouth.


    Then his wounds quickly healed. He had swallowed dozens of healing pills. He looked at the boys with an evil gaze, then he coldly snorted and left, leaving his men behind. He didn''t bother himself about them.


    The hat-wearing boy came over to where Alex stood.


    "You are pretty powerful" he said.


    Alex smiled.


    "You have good fighting skills" he replied.


    The male smiled.


    "Come with me, let''s go back into the inn"


    Alex nodded.


    People in the street looked at the boys and their eyes glittered with amazement. These boys must be from academies. Perhaps they are out to gain experiences. So they thought.


    The lady rushed over to their side and thanked them wholeheartedly. Same with her workers for rescuing their boss. Then she led them into the inn to a table where she ordered her workers to bring for them anything they wanted to eat.


    "I hope he doesn''t come here again or I would surely kill him." he said.


    Alex''s eye glittered with surprise.


    "It seems you have killed a lot of people before?" he asked.


    "Yes I have. I was forced to actually. At first, I was devastated but I became used to it" he smiled and looked at Alex. "You?"


    Alex shook his head.


    "Well, I haven''t". He said with a smile.


    "Hmm. Okay. So what''s your name and where are you from?" Jake asked.


    "My name''s Alex. I am from Smith city. What about you?" he replied and asked.


    "Smith city? In what state is that?" the hat-wearing male asked again.


    "Well.. Trandon" Alex replied.


    "Oh. I haven''t heard of that before. My name''s Jake. It''s nice knowing you." he replied.


    "Same here".


    After a slight pause, Alex asked "So what are you doing here?"


    Jake smiled.


    "I am sorry I can''t tell you that. What about you?" he asked.


    Alex smiled too.


    "I am sorry, I can''t tell you that too." He replied.


    Jake smiled and shook his head.


    "Alright. I would tell you. I am a rogue cultivator. I believe you know what rogue cultivators are. So, I am just out here to gather experiences and develop myself" he said.


    "Awesome. I am also a rogue cultivator. I am out here to develop myself too. I will not return home until I reach the earth realm" Alex said.


    Jake''s eyes glittered with amazement.


    "Aren''t you being too harsh on yourself? You can''t just jump into the earth adept realm. It could take years if not decades. So what would you be doing out here till that time or is it a punishment by your family?"

 Chapter 43: Ironblood

    "No. Not at all. It''s just my desire to not return home until I reach the earth adept realm. I want to experience life out here." Alex said.


    "Hmm. That''s harsh." Jake said.


    As they were talking, they suddenly heard a shout outside.


    "Miriam! You stupid whore!.. come out this moment. You are a bastard if you don''t answer me."


    Huh?!


    Both Alex and Jake were taken aback.


    Did that bastard really returned or it was someone else?


    They went outside to see. And what they saw shocked them. What they could see were dozens of men. There were more than fifty of them to be precise and they were all in the condensation stage, from the late-phase to the peak-phase.


    Alex became heavily surprised. These people had gathered a small army for them or what? And they were pretty much in figure. It seemed it was a powerful society.


    What if their leader was in the earth adept realm? He hoped not or he would be in a run for his life. He had to be careful, especially now that he was in another city. He also didn''t know if this band of troublemakers were vassal forces of a more powerful organization.


    If anything else beyond my power I don''t expect comes up, I would make a run for it.


    If it was to run, Alex knew how to. Although it was relative to who was chasing him. But at his cultivation level and a stage above, he had supreme escaping/running skills which would grow more powerful as he advances to the next cultivation stages.


    It was like his father knew he would always be in a ''chasing'' problem, so he got him a methodology that could possibly have the best escapement method in the realmverse.


    But now, he couldn''t run. He had to face it like a man, for someone else was involved and it was a beautiful lady that was an ordinary mortal. If he ran, he couldn''t imagine the dark fate that would befall her and her workers.


    And for these guys to be so unbridled in the society, like there were no guards or anything to protect people from harm by thugs or brigands, they could rape and slay her and her workers.


    Jake looked at Alex. "It seems you won''t be needed in this fight." Alex looked at him. "Can you fight all these men yourself? You would be quickly butchered" Jake smiled. "They can try to. But they would never be able to. I am pretty strong." Alex''s brows raised. "Okay. But where are the bastardized guards meant to keep peace and order here?"


    Jake smiled but seriousness could be seen in his gaze. "What guards? Bastards that would have been tipped off." Alex nodded and looked on and he had slight difficulty swallowing his saliva.


    More than fifty he saw here. These people in front of him weren''t rank-2 cultivation beasts that couldn''t launch attacks constantly.


    They were humans that were full of cunningness and were very intelligent and smart. That was what made Alex slightly frightful.


    They could strategically think and turn around situations with their level of intellectual brilliancy.


    A sword appeared in Jake''s hand. It was pulled out from a spatial ring he wore. Alex looked at the sword and could see a purple voidstone affixed in the weapon.


    Treasure-weapon.


    That was what came to his mind.


    "So it was you you kids that haven''t grown hairs in there that beat up my men to unconsciousness. I must give it to you, you guys are pretty strong." the man said.


    "Scoffs! You that have grown hairs in there and can''t use it. Am sure It''s many times tiny than your pinky. Useless man" Jake exchanged naughty words with him.


    Such disrespect! In a public place. He, the founder of the Ironblood!


    The man''s eyes glowed with anger. "Bring me that toddler!" he cried out. His men rushed forward like zombies at Jake.


    Jake jumped towards them. He wasn''t as fearful as Alex. He wielded a class-3 treasure-weapon sword, he was in the peak-phase condensation stage and he studied a C-grade sword-based duality methodology. This gave him confidence.


    While airborne, the men sent out attack at him in the air. This was a disadvantage to him as he couldn''t fly. But he wasn''t horrified.


    Thousand swords roaming the skies!


    He slashed out with the sword that had begun to glow in resplendent light. The energy produced in the array within the voidstone came off it, and backed by his comprehension of the sword method he studied, the massive swordforce energy released, instantly condensed into thousands of sword.


    Swoosh...! swoosh...!


    They pierced through the air like an arrow towards these men. They cut through all the men''s attacks dispersing them. It was like a hot knife through butter.


    Seeing how effortlessly their attacks were nullified, defensive screens of light quickly came up to protect them.


    Bang....! Bang....!


    Continuous, loud bang sounds rang out as the swords rammed into the screens. Some shattered and the men were pierced while some withstood the energy-sword and both the screen and sword shattered.


    When he landed, he ran to meet these people who were shaken up by his attack.


    Sword fists!


    He sent out his fists that had begun to glow resplendently towards these men. They had been enveloped in swordforce energy.


    Bang...!


    These glowing fists connected to the chests, faces, shoulders of these men and they were hurled into the distance.


    Just as he was sending out hard punches. Someone mysteriously appeared behind him. This person moved like a spectre.


    Just as he was about to land Jake a deadly, heavy strike. Alex shouted. "Jake behind you!"


    Since he heard the warning shout, he didn''t need to look back. Not trying to know where the attack would be coming from. He jumped very high into the air away from the midst of these Ironblood members that flanked him on all sides.


    Bang!


    The attack this person, the founder of Ironblood sent out blazed forward and struck one of his men. This resulted in his instantaneous death. His head exploded into mists of blood by the powerful force the attack came with.


    Heck!


    Both Alex and Jake exclaimed in terror. It was good he was watching the whole thing or his newly made friend would be made headless.


    Jake eyes became filled with anger. This would have resulted in his death.


    "Human emperor sword" he cried and slashed out.


    Rmm!


    A large amount of swordforce energy erupted from the treasure-weapon sword. It shot like a beam towards the Ironblood founder at extreme speed.


    Once Jake slashed out and the beam was produced, the boss jumped into the air over the giant beam of corporeal sharpness-energy shooting towards him.


    He skillfully evaded the beam while at the same time sent his own.


    Devastating Heavenly slash!


    He was also a cultivator of the sword.


    A ray of energy shot towards Jake. Before the ray could impact him, he did a beautiful aerial flip over the ray of energy.


    At this time, everyone in the street had left to find a place to hide or they would be struck by one of the stray attacks sent out by these combatants.

 Chapter 44: Awed

    When the men saw their boss was engaging Jake. They tried to run into the inn to drag out Miriam and her workers.


    Alex thought they were coming for him. So he prepared himself for battle.


    He wasn''t scared of them as he knew how powerful his attacks were. But he had to be careful lest he would raise attention of terrific experts and that he didn''t want. Right now, he saw he had no other choice than to fight. They were coming for him.


    Windfist!


    He punched out and a glowing fist of energy shot out of his fist towards the men. As it shot out, all the air in far distances were mysteriously pulled towards it. They came like furious gales from far places as they howled like primordial dragons.


    Then they wrapped around the glowing energy fist and compacted, taking the form of a fist. This fist formed from wind became extremely solid due to great compaction.


    In a few seconds, it had grown from just a feet to twenty feet in size and it growth didn''t end.


    The men''s eyes widened in fear. They quickly produced screens of light. But they couldn''t withstand the impact of something that had slivers of divineforce energy in it.


    Bang!


    Their screens were smashed apart and they were knocked back heavily.


    The moment the roaring gales came, both Jake and the Ironblood founder halted briefly to see what had caused that phenomenon and were shocked to see that it was Alex''s energy fist attack that had caused such strong winds to appear.


    Like the wind was sentient, they saw it enwrapping the energy fist also becoming a fist that looked very solid.


    Their mind reeled in awe and shock.


    Alex knew all of his wind-based attacks weren''t normal. Anytime he sent out wind-attacks, air was pulled towards them from all directions.


    This was mainly because of slivers of wind originforce energy (wind statutes) in his attacks. They pulled air towards his attacks and augmented their destructive capacities.


    Disperse!


    The glowing energy fist scattered away. It lost it corporealness, rapidly dissipating and flowing back into the world.


    This was another ability of cultivators. They were linked to their attacks and could cause it dissolve to prevent further damage .


    Alex caused this to happen so his attacks which seem to have rapid boundless growth won''t move on and destroy structures in here and in the process destroying lives.


    There were mortals here, he couldn''t have their blood on his head. If he were in valleys, caves or in the wildernesses, he wouldn''t mind his attacks reaching out to places as far as possible.


    Jake quickly recovered from his shock.


    Shua!


    He sent out a flying kick to the torso of the Ironblood founder. Just as his leg was about to connect to the man''s torso, the man gave a devious smile and stretched out his hand, grabbing Jake by the feet.


    Jake''s eyes widened. Before he could turn around, it was already too late. The man grabbed his leg and swung him to the ground with all the strength he could muster.


    Prak!


    Jake''s shoulder cracked once he impacted the ground hardly. He had smashed into the ground with his right shoulder.


    As soon as he collided with the ground, he shrieked out in pain and lost his sword.


    ....


    The other men were surprised by the attack Alex sent out. Then they became terrified.


    Did this boy just produced that powerful attack?


    Once they recollected themselves from the awe that sent their minds reeling. They readied to attack him. He wasn''t in their scheme of things before but since he attacked them alone, showing how bold he was and, without warning, they would reveal their ferociousness to him.


    Alex saw their gazes and his mind roiled. He knew what they were about to do. Once they unleashed their attacks, they would devastate the inn. He couldn''t allow this to happen.


    Ravaging wind dance!


    His eyes glowed in cyan and the air around him abruptly turned into powerful gales that swept out towards the men before him like raging floods.


    The wind swept the men away, even as they jumped to evade it. While Alex did this, he suddenly heard the sound of cracking bones.


    He quickly looked there and saw Jake on the floor. Pain was written all over his face.


    Alex quickly ran towards the man.


    Once the man saw Alex running over. Still holding Jake''s leg, he gathered strength and threw Jake at Alex. He hurled Jake like a rock at Alex.


    The glow in Alex''s eyes intensified and the air around Jake quickly compacted reducing the momentum he was coming with. It was like he was moving through a quagmire as the air offered a lot of resistance. It greatly slowed the speed he came with.


    Alex caught him and gently placed him on the ground. He looked at Jake and saw pain plastered all over his face as he was pale white and gritted his teeth. He looked like he was going through hell.


    He quickly produced a saint-rank healing pill which he gave to Jake. In an instant, the pain vanished and the wound healed up.


    He then pulled him up to his feet. "How do you feel?" he asked. "Good!" Jake said in an angry tone. Alex smiled.


    Jake was really angry now.


    "Do you want to handle him or we should go together?" Alex asked. "No. I made an error. Deal with his men while I deal with this bastard. It''s been long I killed. I would slay him". Jake replied.


    Go!


    The two of them ran forward. Jake went to meet the Ironblood founder while Alex went to meet the more than fifty members of the Ironblood.


    And so a great battle started.....


    Lesser hundred killing slash!


    Jake swung his hand out in a slashing fashion. Then dozens of wide, crisscrossing beams condensed from swordforce energy shot out towards the Ironblood founder.


    Earth-lacerating slash!


    The moment Jake sent out his attack, the Ironblood founder reciprocated.


    A large beam of energy produced from swordforce energy surfaced and shot towards Jake''s attack at an extreme speed.


    Peng!


    It was like two swords struck one another. A small sphere of vacuum surfaced which was instantly accompanied by powerful ripples of energy.


    The energized waves of air released from the collision knocked back Jake and the man by many feet.

 Chapter 45: Gut feeling

    Once he landed with his back to the ground. He kicked his leg around which caused him to spin on his back, then he rolled over to his head into a headstand and pushed up with his hand to stand back on his feet.


    The instant he landed, he shouted


    Great swordsman deadly slash!


    He swung his hand at the Ironblood founder in a slashing pattern.


    Two long and wide beams of energy shot out of his hands at the Ironblood founder. These beams gave the feeling they could cut through six-inch thick steel.


    At the same moment Jake sent out his attack, the man he duelled with sent out his attack.


    Dragons slaying sword!


    He discharged an enormous beam of energy at Jake.


    Bang!


    Both attacks clashed in the air and a large sphere of vacuum surfaced before ripples of energy erupted, shattering everything in their path.


    The earth beneath their attacks'' points of collision shattered. One could see large web-like cracks in those places.


    The moment Jake engaged the Ironblood founder in a duel, Alex too began to fight it out with the members of Ironblood.


    Sky burning flame!


    Crushing ice fist.....!


    Dozens of powerful attacks were sent out at Alex. But before they could unleash their attacks, he moved speedforce energy to his eyes.


    The instant he did, the power of the energy affected the speed of everything in his eyes. They started to move slowly in his eyes. He could see the energy-attacks moving towards him in slow motion. The energy had affected his perception of the speed of the attacks.


    Then he ran towards the attacks. There were two of the attacks coming at him. They had been discharged before the others could release theirs.


    One of the two attacks shot towards him from the left, he twisted to the right dodging it. While the other came from the right, he turned to the left skillfully evading it.


    Then since he could see them move in slow motion, he saw the gaps between the attacks. Being careful, he moved into the gap between the attacks.


    When people who had gone into different places to hide away from being hit by stray energy-attacks saw Alex enter into the net of attacks, their eyes widened in surprise.


    They saw how Alex moved through the net of attacks. He was like a fish in water. His movements were very fluid and were fast.


    Since he could see everything in slow motion, it affected his own speed. This wasn''t an effect produced by him but by the energy that saturated his eyes.


    Once he came out of their attacks, he inhaled deeply and out through his mouth.


    The air that he blew out of his mouth turned into a powerful gust of wind that had the capacity to throw a large rock into the distance. The air had mysteriously turned into an unusually strong wind current.


    The men''s eyes glowed in astonishment. Then they recovered once he came out and quickly produced protective screens of energy the moment they saw him try to unleash an attack.


    Bang!


    The screens they abruptly condensed from the energies they cultivated shattered like glasses that had a large stone hurled at it.


    But the gale-force wind attack didn''t end there. Once it destroyed their screens of energy, the wind swept dozens of them into the distance of about twenty feet where they crashed heavily into the ground at a height of fifteen feet.


    This was a battle method called the ''Breath of Abyssal Beast''. A method from the wind trinity methodology he studied.


    This attack was powerful because the air he inhaled mixed with windforce energy and slivers of divineforce energy which Alex channelled to his lungs.


    The other men who weren''t washed away by the gale looked at Alex in slight fear. This boy, it was like his means were infinite. They wondered what grade of battle methodology he studied.


    ...


    The moment Alex dodged the attacks, they went forward to Jake and the Ironblood founder.


    Once the both of them felt the attacks coming towards them. They executed aerial flips skillfully evading the attacks before landing.


    Once they landed, Jake quickly ran towards the Ironblood founder. He jumped high into the air towards the Ironblood founder who saw it as an opportunity to deal a great damage on Jake.


    Predicting what the Ironblood founder was about to do, Jake twisted in the air dodging the beam of energy sent at him by the Ironblood founder.


    He landed before the man who punched out towards Jake''s head. Jake stepped back moving out from the range of the punch.


    He raised his knee and brought it to his chest, then he sent out a heavy kick to the man''s torso. Once the kick connected to the man''s torso, he was shoved back by many feet crashing into the earth heavily.


    The moment he stood up, Jake appeared in front him. Before he could do anything, Jake did a back flip and while airborne, in the horizontal position, he swung his leg out powerfully to the chin of the Ironblood founder as he flipped over in the air landing back on his feet.


    Plak!


    Jake delivered a bone-crushing kick to the jaw of the Ironblood founder. This kick was made more powerful by the momentum Jake moved with, as he was flipping over.


    The kick launched the man high into the air who plunged back to the earth at a distance of six feet.


    Foosh!


    With a flying kick, Jake pierced through the air like an arrow.


    Bang!


    He delivered a hard kick in the face of the Ironblood founder.


    Argh!


    He shrieked in pain as he was thrown away into the distance by the kick.


    ...


    The men looking at Alex with slight fear in their eyes regained their ferocity.


    So what? He''s just a kid at the mid-phase entry stage. He must be using a forbidden technique that''s augmenting his attack. We can take him.


    Then they rushed towards Alex while the others who had fallen in the distance had gotten back to their feet and began running towards Alex again.


    Alex shook his head


    Stubborn bastards!


    He wasn''t happy with this. What''s the point of having great strength and not able to use it.


    He had many battle-methods at his disposal that could instantly slay all these men. Like any of the methods in the ''Worldbreaking Overlord Golden Fist'' methodology, which were amplified by something in his body he couldn''t understand.


    He had figured out that the various primordial energies he was exposed to was the one responsible for the augmentation of the destructive capacity of any of the attacks he produced from deployment of the battle methods in the fist methodology.


    But he had preserved that as his last card or surprise card. He would only use it when caught up in critically dangerous situations. It was extremely powerful he knows, so as the strongest of all his attacks, only in dire occasions would he use it.


    Now, he needed to end this fast. He didn''t know who was watching. Once he did, he would leave here with Jake. This was because he felt someone was watching him.


    His gut feeling was right. Someone was watching him with amazement through a powerful sense. This person gazed at him with a smile that couldn''t show any of the the person''s motive.


    Then the person flew out from a building in the far distance towards them.


    Alex suddenly felt strange. Was something bad coming his way? He needed to end this fast.


    Wind Fist!


    He punched out nine times at the men dashing over with fierceness radiating from their eyes.


    Every time he punched out, a glowing cyan fist of energy shot of it.


    These fists summoned air very quickly in all directions which wrapped them and compacted to become solid.


    Since they had this attribute of boundless growth, the fist formed from air that had wrapped around the glowing fist of energy and had formed into a fist continued to increase in size.


    In a few seconds, it had quickly grown from a feet to dozens of feet and still continued to grow rapidly.


    Bang! Bang....!


    Loud bang sounds rang out as the men were knocked into the far distance. They screamed in pain as their bones cracked when the fist-attacks smashed into them.

 Chapter 46: We make for a good team

    Before Alex could make his attacks disperse. Several thin rays of energy came over from a height in the distance and shattered the fists into bits which then dissipated.


    Boom.....!!


    Alex''s body and soul shook when his attacks were shattered by offensives sent at them. That was the power of a terrific expert.


    Fear rose in his heart.


    Want he wanted to avoid was now coming his way.


    So this is the bad feeling I have been having. A more fearsome expert is flying towards me.


    With eyes that glowed brightly in cyan like they were the sun. A thin sphere of air abruptly formed around him and the air around him turned into powerful wind gales that carried him off into distance, propelling him at great velocity.


    Once he got to Jake''s side, he put his arms out and grabbed Jake by the waist pulling him into the sphere. Then they were rocketed into the distance by the gales at an amazing speed.


    Hmm!


    With wonder in this person''s eyes, the expert who just got to Alex''s initial position rushed after him.


    "The hell! What''s wrong? Why are you holding me like this and where are you taking to me to?" Jake yelled at Alex in surprise. "There is not safe anymore. We need to get out of there and find a place to hide. An expert is coming for us" Alex said.


    "What?" Jake''s mind shook then he shut up. But he was amazed at the speed Alex was moving.


    So fast! What grade of wind element methodology did this boy study actually?


    Alex was moving extremely fast, at a speed that even amazed the expert that was coming for him. This was because Alex had deployed the wind elixir technique.


    By turning his entire body into an energyhouse, he was able to achieve rapid and endless recharge of energy through the superpowering wind elixir method.


    This energy got mixed up with divineforce energy in his body and when they erupted from his body, it produced tremendous, long bursts of speed. It was like he was a rocket.


    But this expert gave a smile that didn''t give out the intentions of this person.


    This expert left Alex to keep running.


    Let me see how how long you can last.


    .....


    Thirty minutes later.


    Alex was still running. And this greatly surprised the person that was chasing him. The expert''s mind reeled in shock. It was like Alex''s energy was fathomless. His energy wasn''t fluctuating which would indicate that it would soon deplete, instead it was going stronger.


    "Kid, stop running. I have something to discuss with you." The expert said.


    But Alex didn''t stop. He continued to run.


    He tried his best to achieve a speed so he could escape from the expert that was on his tail.


    The eyes of the expert narrowed.


    ''What a disobedient boy'' The person uttered within.


    "Kid, please stop running!" The expert''s voice boomed out.


    Alex ignored the person and continued to run.


    The eyes of the experts coldened.


    ''That''s it''


    Boom!


    This person produced a sonic boom in the air by cutting through the sky at a speed faster than the speed of sound and appearing far in front of Alex.


    Putting out a hand, an unseen force emanated from the palm of this person and wrapped around Alex, bringing him to a forced abrupt stop.


    Alex couldn''t move, he was bound up in a force that wrapped heavily around him preventing him from moving. It was like he was wrapped up a hundred times with an invisible shackle.


    But Jake didn''t feel the greatly overwhelming restrictive force that came upon Alex. He was spared.


    Argh!


    Alex groaned in pain.


    It was like his body wanted to explode. The force was exerting so great a pressure that could cause his body to blast into bits of flesh and mists of blood.


    His eyes were red from pain and terror.


    A second later, the pain vanished as the force vanished. The expert had removed the force that acted on Alex''s body.


    "Hmm. You have an impressively strong body. Anyways, I made you go through that for making an expert at the saint emperor stage chase after you. That shows you have no home training. You weren''t trained to respect your elders. A kid not properly trained at home would be trained outside" this expert said with a strict and proud tone.


    Alex still remained on the ground totally drenched in sweat. The terror he felt earlier had caused his head to be buzzing.


    But it seemed this expert was on the good side since the person didn''t compel him to do something he wouldn''t want to do like handover your cultivation manual or something augmenting your attack beyond normal.


    While Alex remained on the ground. Jake was shocked by who was in front of them.


    It was a white-skinned lady that looked twenty. She was ridiculously beautiful. All his life he had never seen anyone like this.


    She was dressed in a uniform that had the embroidery of a black dragon at the left side.


    "Hey. Get up. I don''t have all day" she said.


    Seeing no response from the weakened Alex, a force emitted from her and lifted Alex to his feet.


    When Alex looked up to see who this expert was, he saw a lady that caused his mind to reel on astonishment.


    Three words surfaced in his mind.


    Queen of fairies.


    "Why were you running?" she asked with furrowed brows.


    "Uhm. I... I... Uhm, I thought you were one of those bad people that would want what I have and do anything to get it like torture then kill me when I produce it." Alex replied in a respectful tone.


    She smiled. "No. I am not evil to that extent. Anyways, I was impressed by you and your friend back there. You guys were awesome. When I saw you, what came to my mind was fat meal." she said now looking at Alex. Then she laughed. She continued "What I meant by fat meal was gold. You are gold kid. You would bring riches to whoever has you."


    "Huh?!" both Alex and Jake exclaimed. They didn''t understand what she was saying.


    Jake braved up and asked "Senior, what do you mean by whoever has us would have riches? We are just boys out of our family house for training. We want to know the world. I hope it''s not what I am thinking?"


    The female expert brows wrinkled. Then she asked coldly "what''s it you are thinking?" Jake suddenly had fear set in his heart.


    He didn''t want to say something that would upset this powerful woman. "I mean... like... take us to go do illegal underground battles to make money" he replied.


    The female in front of them shook her head. "Nah. I am not such a person. I would like for you guys to join the Black Dragon academy. What do you say?"


    Alex''s mind shook while Jake''s eyes glittered.


    "Senior, I am sorry. I won''t be able to join your academy. My.. my dad forbade it." he said.


    Jake looked at Alex in surprise while the female expert smiled. "What''s the reason?" she asked.


    "He didn''t give me a reason. He only said I shouldn''t join any academy. I don''t know why too." Alex replied.


    She looked at Alex for sometime before she looked at Jake. "Would you like to join?" she asked.


    "Would I be able to leave anytime?" he asked back. The female expert smiled and said "Sure. You can leave anytime you want." she replied.


    "Okay senior. I would join. I would like to experience life in an academy."


    She nodded then looked at Alex. "What about you? You can leave anytime too. No one would stop you. I just need you guys to do something for me. I will be in charge of your feeding, school fees and every other thing pending the time you would leave." she said trying to entice him.


    Jake came to Alex''s side. "Hey! Come on. Let''s go. Together, we are powerful. We can take down anyone. We make for a good team. Whatever she wants us to help her accomplish, I believe we can" he said trying to influence Alex into joining.


    But Alex wouldn''t be able to join. He himself knew the reason why. He was too powerful and overpowering for anyone in his cultivation rank.


    Only someone at the late-phase condensation stage would be able to contend with him and this would attract both desirable and undesirable attentions to himself.


    This wasn''t something he wanted. He didn''t want to leave in fear every time and being chased about by nefarious experts from everywhere because once word got out about him, his life would become a living hell.


    Experts in higher cultivation ranks would come for him under the believe that a powerful treasure has merged with his body and give out threats to surrender it and possibly try to kill him out of fear for revenge.


    Seeing that Alex was about to reject. She came to his side with a smile. She wouldn''t loose a diamond she just got. She would take him away forcefully and try to change his mind. Her fate depended on this boy before her.

 Chapter 47: Jennifer

    "So, would you join or not?" she asked in a serious tone. Alex saw that her smile had vanished and was replaced with seriousness.


    He didn''t want to offend the female expert before him or he might regret it. Taking a deep breath, he said "Yes, I would join." Once he agreed to join, the female expert gave a beautiful smile. Jake also smiled.


    Finally, he accepted.


    Why Alex accepted was because he was in a very far away state and didn''t know if his uncle''s sense was powerful enough to observe all that was going on here.


    "So, what favour is it you need from me exactly? I am too weak to do anything for you. You are in the saint emperor realm while I am just in the mid-phase entry stage. What help would I be able to possibly offer? He asked in a curious tone.


    The female expert looked at him with a smile then shook her head. "Well, there is nothing bad in letting you know since you would be working for me. I am an instructor at the Black Dragon academy. I had a bet with an instructor during a competition that took place in the institution. It was a battle between geniuses at the condensation stage. The boy I placed my bet on lost the match and so I lost the bet. What I used to bet is something I hold very precious to me. Don''t blame me, I just used it to bet since I didn''t have any other thing of value that could match that the other person produced for the bet. Besides, I believed the boy I placed my bet on was going to win. Because according to my calculations, he was stronger." she replied.


    "Okay. But it''s a competition at the condensation stage. Am in the mid-phase entry realm, I would be knocked away with a single blast. Besides, are you having a re-bet?" Alex asked. "Well, something like that. What I used to bet initially came in three pieces. I used one to bet and now I am using the other two pieces to re-bet." she replied.


    "Wow. So much trust in me. What if I lose the match. What if you are wrong about me?" he asked. "My instincts isn''t wrong this time. Your attacks could match that of someone in the late-phase or peak-phase condensation stage while in the mid-phase entry stage. I wonder how you are able to do that." she said.


    Alex smiled. He couldn''t say it''s because I have slivers of divineforce energy in my energy-attacks. "So, you guys organized a re-bet in the academy? Wouldn''t that be illegal? Is the academy in support of this?" he asked many questions at once in a curious tone.


    "Yes, we did. Funny isn''t it? Well, I told him to give me time. Since I didn''t think any other student in the academy would be strong enough to defeat the person he would bring for the re-bet match. My plan is to enrol a student into the academy who I believe is strong enough to defeat that person. You are that person kid. You are very strong and skilful. Only you can help me win the match. As you asked, it is legal. The academy is in total support of this as they see competitions as something to develop the students." she replied.


    "What about the lady who owns that inn? Those guys may come again to disturb her. And this time, with no one there to help her out, they may destroy her property and do bad things to her." Jake said. He had been left out of the discussion.


    She paused for a breath, then she said. "Alright, I promise to do something about that. Enough with the questions. Time to go". Alex and Jake nodded.


    She produced a tiny flat disc which she threw to the floor. On activation, it expanded from it very little size into a massive disc that spanned many feet in diameter. It was flight-treasure in the shape of a disc.


    "Climb on" she said. Then she jumped onto the disk that had begun to float a few feet above the ground. Alex and Jake did the same.


    When they climbed atop the disc, the disc shot towards a particular direction at a very high altitude. It blazed through the air like a rocket carrying them to where the academy was located.


    The academy which was thousands of kilometers away was reached in half an hour using the treasure. She could fly at a speed many times than this without the treasure. But because she wanted to deal no damage to the boys because of the great speed they were moving at, she opted to use the disc instead of dragging them along by pulling their arms.


    When they got to the academy, the disc they were on slowed down in speed. Then it flew over the institution''s gate. It dropped to the ground in the academy.


    Alex and Jake got off it. The female instructor who remained afloat in the air by her power of flight waved a hand and the disc shrunk back to it previous tiny size. Then a formless power emanated from her and wrapped around it, pulling it towards her. She then kept it away.


    "So, come with me." she said with a smile when she dropped to the ground.


    This was Alex''s first time in an academy. He was surprised by how majestic and impressive it was. He could see many large and tall, imposing buildings.


    At the time they arrived, the students were still having classes on cultivation. So they met no one on their way as all pupils of the school at different cultivation stages were in classrooms receiving lectures on cultivation.


    The lady expert then took Alex and Jake to where they would register to officially become students of the academy. After they finished registering, of which the female instructor paid their enrolment fee and school fee for that year. They were given uniforms, notebooks, a scroll containing the rules and regulations of the school and other miscellaneous items.


    "Here is where you would be staying" she said as she handed over two wooden cards to Alex and Jake. Inscribed in it were the numbers of the room they would be staying.


    "All your expenses would be covered by me. So prepare yourself, in a week''s time, we would be having the match and the whole school would be watching. I believe my instinct won''t let me down." she said.


    "Senior, what if we need anything, how do we contact you?" Jake asked. "You don''t need to contact me. Like I said, all expenses would be covered by me. That includes your feeding, your accommodation fee, just about everything that needs to be paid would be handled by me. All I just need is an exhilarating performance from your friend which I trust he would deliver" she replied looking at Jake.


    "Okay. But what of cultivation resources and manuals and ..." before Jake could finish saying what he wanted to ask her, she rudely cut him off "You ask too many questions, see you in a week''s time." she then flew away.


    .....


    - Jennifer''s office -


    A knock was heard on the door.


    "Come in" a female voice replied within


    Then a tall, handsome man came in. After locking the door, he smiled at the lady he came to see in here, then said. "I heard you brought in two students after your three weeks of gift hunt. So, how wonderful are they? I hope they would be able to withstand a little attack from John or you would become a laughing stock in the entire academy."


    This was the office of the female instructor that brought in Jake and Alex for enrolment. Her name''s Jennifer and she looked like someone in her twenties but she was way older than that.


    Every cultivator would always look far younger than their age due to absorption of any energy from the world. It''s only if they are unable to break through to the next cultivation realm they start getting old as their skins would start to wrinkle and fold and their hairs would turn to grey or white.


    But if they are able to achieve breakthroughs, one could be a hundred million years old and look twenty or thirty.


    Jennifer is an incredibly beautiful lady and she had a greatly appealing figure. Although she looked slender and somewhat frail as she looked so delicate and fragile that she should be handled like an egg, the power sleeping in her body at the moment could cause vast devastation to anyone at her cultivation rank and above her''s if awakened.


    Jennifer looked at the man she was having a re-bet with and smiled. "No. They won''t. It''s you who should be worried if your boy can handle a slight push from them." she said confidently.


    "Oh, what confident tone, we shall see then. Just keep that treasure for me, when the match is over, I would come to collect it." the man replied and laughed.


    "Micah, I am sorry you would be so disappointed" she replied with a smile. This man, called Micah smiled back as he shook his head. Then he left her office.


    ....


    Alex and Jake had already seen the room they were given after many minutes of searching.


    "Alex, I don''t think you have ever been to an academy right? This is another experience for you. Everything is not about battle and so on. You would meet a lot of people in here, especially girls. I am sure you don''t have a girlfriend, do you?" Jake asked with a mocking light in his eyes.


    Alex looked at him and shook his head.


    He-goat.


    "I know it''s another experience on it own. I get to meet a lot of people and understand them. But... but... Forget it. And to your last statement, I do have a girlfriend, her name''s Kat.. Uhm, Deborah." he replied.

 Chapter 48: Immoral discussion

    "Oh really? Ever kissed each other before?" Jake asked. "Sure, I have." Alex replied. "How was the feeling?" Jake asked. "It was an electrifying feeling." Alex replied.


    Jake looked at Alex. "What''s with the look?" Alex asked. "Why do I have a feeling you are lying? Perhaps you are indeed lying to me bro" Jake replied.


    "Why do you think am lying to you?" Alex asked. "I don''t know why. I just feel like so. Perhaps you are making this up just to not feel embarrassed and to feel among. Right? By the way, you were about to mention probably Katherine or Kate and then you changed it to Deborah. Why? You have two babes?" Jake asked.


    Alex''s eyes shone.


    What a bastard!


    "I am not making this up. I have truly kissed before. Not once, not twice but so many times and every time I kissed, it was like I was in the clouds." Alex replied. "Oh!" Jake exclaimed.


    "And no, I don''t have two babes. I only subconsciously said Kate. She is not my current babe as we have broken up already. She left with her parents to another state who went in search of greener pastures. She told me she didn''t have interest in long distance relationships and that we should end our relationship right there. And so we broke up, then I met Deborah. She''s hot. I mean it when I say hot. She''s like fire. If you are not careful, you could get burnt. Body and soul would turn to ashes." Alex said fabricating so many falsehoods intelligently and hoping Jake bought it.


    Alex simply didn''t want to be embarrassed and possibly mocked forever.


    When Alex mentioned ''if you are not careful, you could get burnt''. Jake''s eyes shone in a light that couldn''t be described. "I guess you meant if you are not careful, she could take you to another realm, sexually? Gosh! Then why were you being careful? You dickhead!" Jake asked and shouted at Alex towards the end of his speech, ending it with an insult.


    Alex smiled. "Nah. I can''t involve myself in such. I am too young to do such and in the process, unknowingly impregnate a girl. My parent, uncle, entire family members would come for my head." he said. "What a crackhead, you would pull out bro and spill it everywhere" Jake said unhappily.


    It was Alex''s time to have his eyes glow in a light that showed he was confused but he was faking it. "Uhm, what do I pull out exactly?" he asked behaving in way that showed he was trying to confirm something in his mind.


    Jake shook his head "that flexible-hard bone between your legs. You pull it out from the place you put it in when you feel something is about to come out." He replied trying to break it down for Alex to easily comprehend the mystery of what he was saying.


    Alex looked at Jake with a disgusted gaze.


    Perverted son of a perverted bastard.


    "Oh, I get now. I would try to use it one day and you know, pull out, just like you said. I just hope I don''t unknowingly impregnate a girl in the process" Alex said in a disinterested tone. Then he continued, "Enough with the lectures on how to use parts of the body. Let''s talk about something else." Alex said.


    "Okay. What should we talk about?" Jake asked delightedly, he was enjoying speaking on dirty things with Alex. Apart from being a skillful fighter, he was quite the erotic one.


    Alex now knew he had a pervert for a friend. He couldn''t help but shake his head.


    This nut really hid himself well.


    "Let''s talk about you, you immoral asshole. First, apart from killing as you were forced to and started doing it. I guess you have dabbled into this kind of matter too. You have gone rounds with many girls. Am I right?" Alex asked.


    "Yea, I do that anytime I want to cool off. I have gone many rounds with the maids in my home. I was also forced to, just as I was forced to kill. It was a maid that first introduced me to the stuff when I was really young and since then I have been doing it with her. Then I extended my grip to the other maids. She was really beautiful and was very good at it. Most times she was on top, riding me. She always moaned slightly, but I was the one who was always moaning loudly every time we did it just to hint you at how good she was. You need to reach this realm am talking about bro, it''s way better than the feeling of being powerful to shatter worlds with a gaze. I am telling you. Although vast, astonishing power is awesome too, but this is far better. When I grow up to become terrifyingly powerful, I would have an harem. A huge....." Jake was stopped in his speech by Alex who felt this nut could go on and on about this if he allowed him.


    "Wow. You must have had the pleasures of your life. Anyways, to you that was a great, satisfying carnal thrill but didn''t you ever feel or think that you were abused when you were a kid?" Alex asked.


    Jake became dumbfounded with this question. He calmed down and slowly responded. "Well, it was an abuse, true. But I got over it as soon as I realized it brought joy to my soul and ecstasy to my body. You need to experience what am talking about."


    Alex shook his head, then he said. "I get it now. You must have been an erotic cultivator that died through this thing you are talking about in your past life and reincarnated again to do more purposeful things in life. But you are still treading the same immoral path that caused your death."


    Jake hissed and smiled. "Mtcheew. Don''t you like girls, women?" he asked. "Of course I like girls, but I can''t reach the extent you have reached with them. We can only kiss and cuddle but I can''t go to that restricted area. Besides, I am not supposed to enter into any relationship with any girl. They would only slow me down as I have something very important to do that would affect the fate of everyt..." Alex immediately ended his speech there when he realized he was already saying more than is necessary.


    Alex felt women weren''t really necessary in his life because he believed with time, he would be chased about by terrifying experts as he wouldn''t be able to hide his unusual abilities forever.


    Besides, he felt they would only slow him down, he felt they would only reduce the momentum he was moving at or impede his growth just as his uncle had advised.


    What Alex wanted was to be free like a bird. He wouldn''t have to worry about anyone when experts began to chase him about. He didn''t want to be held to ransom simply because of anybody, especially women related to him.


    But how wrong he was. Even if he had peerless, supreme deity-rank escapement methods or techniques, would he be able to escape from the invisible hands of love? Sure he was only blabbering which he would realize later.


    Jake shook his head. Although he didn''t get that last part where Alex abruptly ended what he was saying, but it wasn''t important to him. It was the one Alex said before it that he felt was important. "Hmm. Pure of heart. Most righteous. Saintly. It''s people like you that become worse than people like me when introduced to this stuff. When you taste this fruit, you would thirsts for more so as to satisfy your fucking voracious appetite. You would become like sexual ravenous wolf" he said with utmost confidence.


    "Nah. That WON''T happen, NEVER. I have too many things in mind to be thinking of girls or women. Alright. My second question is, since you sound like someone that had been to an academy. Why the hell did you enrol in this you perverted numbskull? Wanna catch some girls in your evil net eh?" Alex asked.


    "Nah. I am not doing that. I only wanted to enrol. You know, since the opportunity was presented, one shouldn''t pass over it. I just wanna experience life in a new academy. On the question you asked me, I left the academy I previously studied at with excessive indignation. There were just too many boys there. What kind of academy would have 97% of the population of their students made up of only boys?" he asked looking at Alex.


    Alex laughed. "Oh, that''s a manly school" he said as he grinned. "Then that means you were planning to extend your evil clutches here you perverted nut. I pity those innocent girls you would lead astray." he continued.


    Like that, they began to talk and laugh on so many things they discussed about. Some fascinated Alex while some disgusted him. Although his new friend was the eros type, he was really enjoying his company. He made him laugh and at the same time disgusted him, terribly.

 Chapter 49: Trip for him or Hate him

    After school closed for the day, students left their classrooms to go back to their dormitories. Very soon, three young boys at the age of fifteen entered into the room Alex and Jake were occupying.


    The room was very large as each student had their own beds. They also had wardrobes, shelves and other things they could put their items on or in.


    Alex didn''t need any of this. It was useless to him. The spatial necklace and spatial ring he wore which had sunk into his body and merge with it had vast and excessive storage spaces.


    The boys when they entered their room were greatly surprised to see Alex and Jake. These faces they seeing were new in the academy.


    How was this possible? The school had admitted students long ago and wouldn''t admit until the following year and they were still far from another admission year. How did these boys enter? This thought surfaced in their minds.


    "Who are you? How did you enter into this place?" one of them called Rico asked. "I know the academy is far from admitting any student for now. We were given the opportunity to enrol by an instructor from the academy." Jake said. Then he turned to face Alex, "You see this punk here. Yes? he got us the opportunity. We were able to join because the fate of an instructor is in his hands. And that fate is if she would loose her treasured precious items to an instructor she got into a bet with." Jake said.


    "Oh. You are the person instructor Jennifer has been searching for? The one with gifts and highly skilled to help her win the re-bet match. Haha. She has simply lost the bet. Was her eyes paining her, didn''t she see there is nothing spectacular about you" A boy called Calvin said and laughed. He couldn''t believe his eyes.


    "He may have some points that would make him unique to Instructor Jennifer. She is a powerful expert, she can''t make stupid mistakes." the last boy, Kevin said.


    "Well, am Alex and he is Jake. Nice to meet you assholes" Alex said in an angry tone. These boys were mocking him. He wouldn''t take that. He replied fire with fire.


    "The hell, you just called me an asshole. Do you know who I am you son of a bitch. I would teach you a lesson in this place before John teaches you a good lesson out there." Calvin said angrily, ready for exchange of fists.


    "Calvin, come on. Calm down, will ya? You stepped on his toes first. He would have to retaliate. Besides, he could beat you up. Have you quickly forgotten he was brought in here by instructor Jennifer. He would be strong and powerful since instructor Jennifer could think of him as replacement for all of us. He could damage you. So, mind your business or you might regret picking on him." Rico said in a sensible manner. He was not the hot-headed type like Calvin that would jump into matters without first weighing it out to see if it was advantageous or disadvantageous to him.


    Calvin calmed when Rico spoke to him. Then he left their midst and went to lie in his bed. He picked up a book and started to read it content.


    It didn''t take hours for the whole school to know instructor Jennifer had gotten someone that would fight in the re-bet match to help her win back the piece of treasure she had lost in the previous bet.


    Alex didn''t leave the room he was in until evening when it was time for dinner. When he came out, students who had been trying hard to know who this person was were delighted when he finally came out.


    Now they would get to see who this person was. They thought.


    As soon as Alex came out, the eyes of everyone shone, especially the girls. He was the kind of boy that they would fall for just because of his extreme handsomeness. They could definitely say he was the most handsome boy in the whole school and probably the whole state their school was established in.


    While the boys had their eyes glow in the light of envy and jealousy.


    Who was this boy with a grandly impressive attractive appearance that would come to snatch their girlfriends and the girls they were hoping to make theirs?


    Was it because of his peerless handsomeness instructor Jennifer couldn''t bypass him and brought him to their academy? Was she planning on having an affair with him? This stupid, silly thoughts surfaced in the boys'' minds.


    The students with higher cultivation bases, like in the earth realm and skylord realm had their minds spin in awe when they saw Alex. As he walked, he was bathed in light from the sun and this made him resemble a goddess of beauty with masculine features.


    Then they coldly snorted.


    What a show-off. You can awe the entire world just by your appearance right?


    Then they would erase it. When they are done with him, he would be marred all over. They would give him an excellent face lift, ironically speaking. So they decided his fate.


    Alex and Jake didn''t greet anyone since they didn''t know them. They only went to where dinner would be served.


    They already know where the dining room was located as they had gone through a book that had information on everything about the institution.


    When they got there, they sat down quietly and silently, and patiently waited for their meal to be served.


    It was a large dining hall. There were many rows of large dining tables that could contain more than a hundred students. And this was just one of the dining hall, they still had more and were lettered A - J. The one Alex and Jake were in was ''Dining Hall C''


    The dining hall lettered A - J was for only students at the entry realm and condensation realm. Other cultivation stages like earth realm and skylord realm had their own dining halls.


    When people gathered in the hall. Many boys sat around the table Alex sat and begun to look at him in the eye. Same with others who sat at other tables.


    Jake was spared these looks but he was sad. It was like he was air to them, like a ghost. He could almost burst into tears as he wasn''t spared a single gaze, even if it was a wicked or evil one. Alex was the only superstar here.


    At this moment, the instructors in the school were using their various, powerful cultivation senses to ''see'' what was happening in dining hall C that Alex was in. They were also impressed by his handsomeness but only for a second.


    While they all gazed at Alex, the dining hall became deathly silent. It was like they were having indefinite silence for a very famous person that had died.


    Alex became uncomfortable. He looked at them, then he said. "Haven''t you bastards seen enough? What''s so special in my appearance that your eyes could almost burst. Eh? Never seen a pretty boy before? You jealous? Want it?" he began to ask many questions just to force them to take their eyes off him.


    His intentional infuriating questions grated their nerves and their eyes sparked in annoyance.


    "What did you just say? Who is jealous of the stupid you? I can''t wait to see John rip that face off your head. I don''t know what instructor Jennifer saw in you that she brought you here. Perhaps it was just your looks that impressed her and made her bring you over" someone said annoyingly.


    Alex shook his head and with a wide smile plastered on his face. He knew although they were jealous of his greatly astounding appearance but he knew what was paining them was because instructor Jennifer ignored all them and brought him.


    It seemed they were all bunch of useless idiots. They knew this was true as none of them could face John the ferocious as he was titled because of his mind-blowing performance in the competition. But they couldn''t accept or admit this truth.


    And they were jealous because of other facts which were he now had a good connection to instructor Jennifer, all his expenses would be paid for, which Alex believed they would have gotten a hang of, he had a layer of protection as she would always stand guard for him when bad times come and he would get to see and talk to the most beautiful female instructor in the academy. All these facts made their head spin in annoyance.


    Does he think it would last? When John is through with him, he would become a nothing, a nonentity. That terrific handsome face of his would vanish forever. They thought of this and laughed wickedly in their minds while some inwardly gloated at his misfortune.


    Their sinister thoughts didn''t appear on their faces. But Alex could feel it, he was able to detect their emotions and this amazed him.


    Alex was able to perceive the unseen emotional energies emitting from these students. These were energies emanated by the heart, he didn''t know so but this had opened a new door for him. Apart from gradually discovering the vastly numerous abilities of his divinely body, this ability would prove to be very useful in future.


    This gladdened him very much. It was left to him to discover how to turn it on and off. But he didn''t know he could do much more with this singular ability.


    As they sat there waiting for their meal and hoping the date for the battle would come faster. A tall boy suddenly stood up. "Bastard, I challenge you to a duel" he said confidently and haughtily.

 Chapter 50: Kenneth! Kenneth!!

    Alex took a deep breath. "Alright, where should we fight?" he asked. "Here!" the boy said.


    Huh?!


    Everyone exclaimed loudly in a questioning tone.


    In the dining hall? What got into this boy''s head? He could be punished by their seniors or by the instructors.


    "Fight here? We can''t fight here. This is the dining hall. Let''s take it outside" Alex said.


    "You wanna fight or not? Don''t worry, we won''t be using any battle-technique against each other. We''ll fight with our fist" The boy said raising his hand and clenching it into a fist.


    "Yesss! that''s better Kenneth. Exchange of fists. Fight! Fight!" one of the boys stood up and started shouting. His spirit infected others and everyone began shouting fight! fight!.


    The boy smiled evilly and looked at Alex. "Scared little boy?" he asked. "No. Since you want it. I would give it to you so bad" Alex replied.


    Then he left his seat to face the boy. When he got to seven foot before the boy, he stopped.


    The space they had turned to their battle ground was wide enough for a battle with fists.


    Then everywhere turned deathly silent. It was like they were having indefinite silence for the death of a famous person.


    With a roar, the boy rushed towards Alex. Alex too rushed towards him. Once they got to each other''s front, the boy sent out a fist towards Alex''s head.


    Alex twisted his body evading the punching fist. Then he sent his to the boy''s chest.


    Bang!


    The boy was knocked backward. He staggered for five feet before he stopped, regaining his balance.


    Hmm!


    Everyone''s eyes glowed.


    Alex had successfully dealt Kenneth a punch in their first exchange. And who was Kenneth? he was known in the academy to be very good with his fist and kicks. He could also perform beautiful aerial movements and incorporate strong, powerful kicks into them.


    Perhaps he''s letting the boy have fun first before he deals with him later, so they thought.


    The boy looked at Alex with a smile, then he ran and jumped towards Alex, sending out a flying kick.


    As Kenneth pierced through the air like an arrow towards him, Alex jumped high into the air, higher than the height Kenneth was cutting through the air towards him.


    With a full body twist, Alex''s body turned vertically in the air, and at the same time his body turned, he sent out a powerful kick to the face of Kenneth.


    Bang!


    Alex''s strong whipping kick connected to Kenneth''s face. Due to the force Alex''s leg impacted his head with, Kenneth fell to the ground head first, then his body followed, landing with a heavy thud.


    Everyone at this moment had their eyes glow in astonishment, especially the boys.


    So that damned Kenneth wasn''t leaving this boy to have fun first before he dealt with him later.


    When Kenneth stood up, blood stain could be seen on his mouth and his face had swollen. His face looked like a squeezed tomato at this point in time.


    When Alex looked at him, Alex could see anger in his eyes. If this anger was flame, it would burn a mountain to nothing.


    Then his face turned solemn. This boy, Kenneth was very angry now. But he believed in his own fighting and aerial skills.


    With a roar like a primordial beast, Kenneth ran towards Alex. Once he got to his front, he jumped into the air and entered into a tuck. That is he folded his knees and brought them to his chest.


    Since he came with a forward momentum, his body rolled forward in the air. The moment he would complete the aerial roll, he swung his two legs out towards Alex''s head.


    Alex put out his two arms in front of his face to receive the kick.


    Bang!


    The kick connected to his arms and he was sent flying for four feet before landing with a heavy thud to the ground.


    He put his arms in front of his face to block the kick from hitting it.


    Hahaha!


    Some boys laughed in bliss. They were happy. Kenneth had gotten control of the situation back. Then they began to shout Kenneth! Kenneth!


    Jake became angry and then he began to shout Alex! Alex! But his voice was like a drop in the ocean, it was overwhelmed with the cheering and celebratory shout of Kenneth''s name.


    Kenneth laughed. Then he signaled with his finger for Alex to come meet him.


    Alex stood up with anger and perplexity in his eyes. He was surprised by what happened. When Kenneth executed that kick, He just found out that he couldn''t move to evade it.


    He was stuck in that position and could only receive the kick from Kenneth.


    This made him angry. He knew that him being stuck there was the by restrictive power of someone many ranks above him. It could be the power of a senior or an instructor.


    They probably knew about the fight they were having and decided to manipulate his movement like a puppet so he could be disgraced and possibly cause the female instructor that brought him in to be highly embarrassed.


    And he was right, someone at the heaven adept stage in a room somewhere was emanating a constraining power that limited his movement.


    Also, it was this person that told the boy to fight Alex. This person was also acting under the influence of someone more powerful.


    Alex didn''t know what to do again. Whether to quit or continue? If he quitted, he would become a laughing stock. His female admirers would disdain him and this wasn''t something he liked.


    But if he continued, with that power acting on him, he would only be beating like a training doll. He would only receive punches, kicks to the face and abdomen and not be able to do anything about it.


    He looked at Kenneth who was laughing. "Come!" Kenneth said loudly and in control. Alex''s brows furrowed, what was he going to do about this?


    Swoosh!


    He jumped into the air towards Kenneth and sent out a flying kick. While Kenneth didn''t do anything to evade, he simply laughed, evilly.


    When Alex got to his front with one of his legs straight out, to deliver a kick. Kenneth fist glowed and he sent out a powered punch at Alex''s leg.


    The fist produced a force that cracked the bones in Alex''s leg and flung him far into the distance, about twenty feet away.


    Haha!


    The boys laughed in ecstasy. They were enjoying the sight of him being beating like he was a nonentity.


    "What a useless boy! He''s just handsome for nothing. He''s completely useless!" one of the boys said out loud. "Absolutely" Another said in a loud tone. And the boys nodded their heads in complete agreement.


    As people were shouting and booing at Alex , Kenneth''s eyes glowed in a strange light.


    How come?! This is weird.


    Alex was on the ground twenty feet away, groaning in pain. The bones in the leg he was punched had shattered.


    If Alex knew this guy simply wanted to kill him and say it was a mistake, he would get mad. This was because if it was another person that got power-punched like that, the person''s leg would explode into mist of blood.


    But Alex''s leg bone only cracked. It didn''t even shatter from the impact. If that fist was delivered into a three inch-thick steel, it would dent to the extreme.


    Since Alex''s body could contain numerous energies cultivated by experts at the immortal stage and above without any problems wouldn''t be so easily broken or ripped apart by some kinetic force.


    He had had a tough body ever since and his body would continue to grow in toughness and durability. He was a passive body cultivator but he didn''t know about this. His body grew tougher as he grows.


    Besides, his body had a passive ability which was reactive adaptation, now that he was hit in the leg causing his legs to crack, when it heals, it would take more than that force to break his leg bones again.


    While on the ground groaning in pain, he produced an earth adept-rank healing pill. This was a pill that could help an earth adept-stage cultivator to heal quickly from any physical injury.


    When he swallowed the pill, the pill turned into healforce energy that flooded every inch of his body. Then his leg bones healed.


    He did a kip up to stand back on his feet. He looked at Kenneth who gazed at him strangely.


    This bastard stood up back? How, how could he possibly quickly recover from that? Was it that regeneration pill he took? Impossible! What regeneration pill could he have taken that would allow him to quickly recover?


    These thoughts in form of a question rocked Kenneth''s mind. Same with the person that brought restriction upon Alex. He was marveled.


    Alex now felt like quitting the match. Damn the female admirers, what benefit would it be for him if he becomes grievously wounded.


    Then, when he jumped towards Kenneth, to deliver a flying kick which was just a trick as he wanted to deliver another kick that would probably send Kenneth to sleep. He suddenly felt that restriction again and he could not move whilst in the air. He was locked up in his position and Kenneth had the chance to deal him a great damage. But it not too great at the end.

 Chapter 51: How was he able to do that?

    As Alex was complaining bitterly in his heart and thinking of what to do next, a thought struck him.


    He remembered strengthforce energy. This energy was extremely powerful as he had once used it in an energy-attack to shatter peak rank-2 beasts, and which went on to splinter mountains.


    This energy, which he said he would use in an energy-attack, as his last card or surprise card when faced with dangerous events was powerful that it could match the energy produced by a cultivator in the heaven adept stage.


    He was able to know this through one of the abilities gained when one broke through the barrier between mortal and cultivator. He could feel the fluctuations of his strengthforce energy, it was the same as that of someone in the heaven adept stage.


    Strengthforce energy was more powerful than his other energies, but he knew it was because it had slivers of some originforce energy in it.


    It was that particular originforce energy that augmented the power output and destructive capacity of his strengthforce energy when discharged as an energy attack.


    But he wasn''t going to use it to send out an energy-attack at Kenneth. What he wanted to do was infuse the energy into every muscles of his body.


    Since strengthforce energy gave increased physical strength, he hoped the mysterious originforce energy that had blended with his strengthforce energy would give him vast physical strength. He needed immense strength to be able to resist the restriction placed on him.


    Thinking in this direction, he moved strengthforce energy from his energyhouse to the muscles in his arms and legs. This energy which was golden caused his muscles to glow gently in a golden light. Then he felt his muscles becoming extremely dense and powerful.


    Although no one could see the glow as it was soft and because his clothes covered it, if one could see the transformation going on, one would see that his biceps and triceps which constituted his arm''s major muscles, his pectoral muscles, then his quadriceps and calves which formed his leg''s major muscles, and his back muscles had begun to lustre like gold.


    Alex at the moment felt he could uproot a hill and lift it overhead. He felt very strong and that he was unstoppable.


    The instant Alex channelled strengthforce energy to his muscles. Kenneth had gotten to his position, then he sent out a powerful punch to his head.


    But the punch he sent out slowed down in motion, this was because Alex moved speedforce energy to his eyes. The punch was so slow it took precisely ten seconds to move by a centimeter.


    Alex then reached out with his hand, grabbed Kenneth''s punching fist and turned, flinging him away.


    Alex tossed him away gently, he didn''t apply much strength when he flung Kenneth away. But to his amazement, Kenneth smashed into a wall at the end of the hall, which was thirty-five feet away from where he stood.


    Everyone''s eyes shone in astonishment.


    What kind of strength was that? Was the strength given by a physique? But they didn''t see him transform or his body change, with patterns appearing all over.


    The heaven adept-stage cultivator was one of the most greatly shocked. He put his restriction power out there on Alex, but he discovered that it couldn''t hold Alex down again.


    Even after using his full limiting power on him, Alex wasn''t locked in his motion. This caused his mind to reel in awe. He quickly left there to report all that had happened to the person who assigned him to do the job.


    Kenneth smashed into the wall heavily and became unconscious.


    The golden glow on Alex''s body disappeared as the strengthforce energy flowed back into his energyhouse. Then he went to meet Jake, "Jake, let''s go back to our room. Am done here" he said.


    Jake nodded with a smile.


    ..........


    - In a particular room -


    "You said the boy was able to resist your restriction power?" a tall and handsome man asked. "He was. And that strength. I don''t know how he was able to do it." a man in his twenties said.


    "Hmm. Alright. You can go" The man said.


    Then his brows furrowed.


    This boy Jennifer brought seems to be pretty powerful. If he defeats John, I would be at a great loss. I would loose my treasure and the one I won from her. In six days time, they would fight. I need to do something about this. He thought.


    This was the instructor that was having a re-bet with instructor Jennifer. He tasked the heaven adept-stage student to apply restrictive force on Alex while Kenneth fought him.


    If Alex was beaten by Kenneth, the heaven adept-stage student wouldn''t do anything but since Alex was overpowering in his moves, he did something.


    -Jennifer''s office -


    "Jennifer, where did you get that boy?" Micah asked. "What boy?" she asked in a fake perplexed tone. "We both know who we are talking about." Micah said.


    Like she just realized what he was talking about, she exclaimed. "Oh." then she smiled. "He''s my cousin." she replied.


    Haha!


    Micah laughed. "Very good. Your cousin right? You guys are very attractive in the family" he said. Jennifer smiled, "Very" she replied.


    "Anyways, I just came to tell you that your cousin is really spectacular. He had a fight moments ago with Kenneth and he won. No energy-attacks were used, it was a battle with the fists and legs and he won. Excellent and genius isn''t he? The mighty Kenneth fell at his hands." he said.


    Jennifer''s eyes shone with slight anger. "I know it was you bastard that planned that out" she said with a slightly raised voice in a vexed tone. "Yes I did. I wanted to break your boy''s confidence and in fact, crush him so your boy wouldn''t be able to fight. But surprisingly he won. So, it''s up to me to buckle my belt or I may end up in tears." he said.


    "Wait. I didn''t hear well. You said you wanted to crush him. Like crush him? How dare you?!" Jennifer shouted as she stood up from her seat when she realized the gravity of his statement. And now, she was very annoyed.


    "Haha! So beautiful when you are angry. Anyways, if you remember correctly, according to what we agreed upon, if you aren''t able to produce a fighter during the match when we would be having our re-bet, I would take all. So that''s what I tried to do, to break his leg and once he doesn''t appear, I would take all. But those incompetent fools couldn''t handle him. But they are reliable or..." he said and ended his speech there as he started to think of something. Then he looked at Jennifer strangely.


    And with a light of perplexity and weirdness that abruptly shone in his eyes, he said. "The boy was able to resist the constraining power of a heaven adept-stage cultivator. How was he able to do that? Does that mean if I was in the heaven adept-stage, my restriction powers wouldn''t work on him. Hmm, that''s a first of it kind. I see why you brought him. The boy''s really special but John is more special. He has extraordinary cultivation gifts."


    "Micah, it''s time you left my office. I have heard enough of your shit" Jennifer said angrily. "Haha. I am leaving Jenny. Just make sure you keep the little boy out of harm''s way. Another thing I should tell you is, pending the time the battle would take place, your manwhore, who is also your cousin would live a life full of unnerving danger. Tell him to watch out" Micah said trying to infuriate her, then he left.


    Jennifer''s eyes turned red from anger but she controlled herself. Then she sat down, calmed herself and began to think of what next to do.


    "Alright, this is what I would do." Then she closed her eyes and deployed her scanning saint-sense to search for Alex. She wanted to deliver a message to him that he should come see her. She wanted to discuss something urgent with him.


    This was possible through a mind transmission methodology that she studied. It enables one to be able to cultivate transforce energy. An energy that can carry thoughts in one''s head into the outside world and into the head of another.


    Using her saint-sense to scan, she can transmit her thoughts directly to anyone who falls under her scanning range via the powerful cultivation sense.


    Even if the person was very far away. As long as the person was in the coverage range of her saint-sense, the person would be able to get the message.


    When she scanned everywhere, she couldn''t find him. She was surprised. "Where is this boy now? He disappears when you need him."


    Then she recalled that she hadn''t looked into one place. And that was the shower room.


    Her soul shook when she thought of sending her sense into that place. That isn''t appropriate. She would be nothing more than a peeping tom.


    Should I wait for him to come out? What if he''s not the one in there? She asked inwardly.


    Then light of curiousness shone in her eyes.


    She had never seen a male''s naked body before. It had always been cultivation, cultivation, cultivation. All her suitors had long left her to search for another person and she was very glad they left her alone.


    Besides, Alex was outrageously handsome.


    "Alright, let''s do it."

 Chapter 52: Horrified

    Then she sent her sense in. The moment her sense penetrated the door, the back of a perfect naked body was shown to her.


    Her eyes glittered. "Flawless skin". That was came to her mind.


    The person in the shower room was Alex.


    An instant after her sense got in, the hairs on Alex''s body stood. Alex was surprised. "What''s going on with my body again?" He asked inwardly.


    He was scared an ultra-physique had appeared and that he would unknowingly send off a powerful attack if he carelessly moved his hands.


    So, due to his experiences about ultra-physiques, he kept his mouth shut and didn''t try to wave or perform any hand gestures. He became very careful and cautious of every movement. While checking his body out to see if there was any physique.


    But he didn''t know the hairs on his body were just having a reaction to the presence of something in the shower room.


    After remaining still for a while, he saw that nothing happened and that there were no patterns or symbols on his body or his body changing color and becoming hard like steel.


    Then he broke his stillness and continued to shower.


    Not long, Alex''s front was shown to Jennifer who gasped at the sight of what protruded from his body.


    She abruptly pulled her saint-sense out and deactivated it.


    Her face at the moment was red from embarrassment. Now she saw what she didn''t want to see. She blamed herself for doing that.


    Many minutes later, after she had regained control of her mind, she sent out her sense again. She felt he must have come out of the shower room.


    When her saint-sense entered the room, she saw Alex on the ground cultivating. Since he was under her saint-sense''s sensory range, she shot an invisible ray of energy from where she was at him.


    The ray of transforce energy penetrated into his head and transformed into the message-thoughts that Jennifer had compiled for him.


    The message was thus, "Come to my office this moment."


    Huh?!


    Alex shook when her voice sounded in his head. Since the message carried with it an urgent tone, he hurried up to his feet, left the room and dashed to nowhere...


    He became confused as where to go.


    He didn''t know the direction to her office.


    Then her voice sounded in his head again, directing him to where he should take to get to her office.


    When he got there, before he could knock, the door opened for him and a female voice sounded from within, "come in."


    Then Alex stepped in and locked the door.


    When he looked on to see the female instructor that had called for him, he couldn''t help but be awed by her beauty again.


    "So, I heard you got into a fight with a boy called Kenneth?" She asked with a serious tone. "Yes, but he picked on me first. I am sorry if I have caused you problems in the academy on my first day. Those boys just couldn''t take their eyes off me" he quickly replied.


    He thought he had somehow land this instructor in trouble by fighting in the dining hall, a place meant for eating.


    "Well, you have indeed caused me problems but it''s not related to your brawl, in any way. Did you ever think why one of the boys suddenly picked on you?" she asked.


    "Yes, I feel one of the seniors must have pushed him to enter a fight with me." Alex replied. "and how do you know that?" she asked.


    "Well, when I was fighting Kenneth, I felt a restrictive force come upon me. I couldn''t move and could only take a beating. No one would be able to put out a restrictive force until they got to the heaven adept stage, so I felt it was a senior in that stage that did that to me." Alex replied.


    "Alright. So, how were you able to break out of it?" she asked in a surprised and curious tone.


    "Uhm.... I... I... Uhm, I don''t know. I just felt the restrictive power placed upon me disappear. Perhaps the senior putting out the constrictive force stopped releasing it." he said.


    He couldn''t say how he was able to break out of it. He forbade himself from telling anyone this. That''s why he never wanted to come to an academy in the first place. It was just to avoid trouble like this. Just his first day and he was already exposed.


    What if he spent a year here? His life would be upside down. He would be chased by all men and women so that they could know his secrets, as they would see him as a key to uncover the mysteries to greater power in this world.


    "Really? Come on, Alex. I am not a kid. You should hear what you just said. Is that possible? Why would the senior putting out that inhibitive force suddenly remove it away. He or she wouldn''t have produced that limiting force just to remove it away later. Since that senior was probably doing that to make you take a fierce beating, then he or she would have done so till the end, leaving you at the mercy of Kenneth who was your challenger at that point on time. So, quit your falsehoods-telling and just tell me how you were able to do that" Jennifer said amiably.


    Alex''s mind reeled. What has he actually gotten himself into? Even if he rejected her invitation back in that place, he believed that he would be forcefully brought here as there was no chance he would be able to resist the power of an expert at the saint emperor realm.


    "Alright." Alex said, as he tried to rapidly think of what to say to her in his mind.


    Then he quickly spoke when he felt that he had come up with one. "I... I come from a family... Uhm, in my family, we have this... this ability to resist the restrictive force put out by an expert at the heaven adept realm. It''s an ability that we are born with" Alex said.


    But then, he shook his head as what he said now made no sense to even him.


    "Alex, why do you persist on lying? If you continue to lie, I would have no choice than to force the truth out of you." she said.


    "Instructor, why are you making this hard for me? I don''t want to tell you or anyone. You should remember that I am just here because I want to help you do something. When I am done, I am leaving." Alex suddenly said in a harsh tone. Then his eyes widened in shock and fear. He had just actually spoken rudely to an instructor who was at the Saint Emperor realm. And cultivation seniors at this stage, who had pride in themselves because of the rank that they have worked so hard to reach and try to surpass wouldn''t like to be rudely spoken to by some kid who could be considered as an ant to them.


    Jennifer''s friendly and warm gaze became harsh that Alex''s heart spun in terror. Then with a cold smile in her face as she looked at him, her eyes abruptly changed to violet. The instant Alex gazed into her intense violet eyes. He saw himself at the bottom of an extremely massive hole in the earth. Then he saw that he was surrounded by many towering dark grey skeletons. There was black-red fire floating in their large empty eye sockets.


    They cackled loudly such that their cackles sounded like sonic booms and caused the air to vibrate intensely.


    This shook his ear drums so much they could explode, and his organs, so violently they could rip into shreds. However, it was only an illusion. But it felt very real, and this caused Alex who was the recipient of the illusionary effects to cough out a mouthful of blood due to the devastating vibrational effects of the air on his body, which was only an illusion.


    Then he saw drops of blood everywhere on the ground in the large hole that he was in. He was taken aback. Then he looked up and saw that these drops of blood were falling from the sky.


    He saw that the sky and the clouds had turned blood-red. Then rain began to fall torrentially from these clouds. This rain was red in colour and smelled like blood. It was like that because it was real blood falling from the clouds.


    Very quickly, the massive hole he was in which spanned millions of meters in depth and length was quickly filled to the brim with blood and began to overflow.


    Alex at the moment was trying his best to swim to the surface in this sea of blood, but he was knocked deep back into the blood sea by violent tidal waves that had suddenly surfaced. Besides, the blood-red sea that had mysteriously quickly formed from the heavy downpour of blood from the sky was so unbelievably cold that it caused his organs within to freeze. But this too was an illusion. All that Alex felt and saw were unreal.


    Alex shrieked miserably in pain.


    This was too much for him. He couldn''t withstand it anymore. He knew this was an illusion but it felt so real and was exceedingly terrifying.


    He wanted out. So he quickly apologized with sincerity in his tone to Jennifer for his rudeness and outburst moments ago.


    "Please, I am sorry. Senor, please, I am in pain. Please cease the illusion. I promise never to be rude again" Alex shouted in a begging tone.


    But his pleas didn''t get to her. Instead, they made the violet glow in her eyes intensify.


    While knocked deep and about by the tidal waves of the violent blood sea, a massive, emaciated shark-like beast appeared at a far distance in the blood sea and began to swim towards Alex.


    This beast was so huge it spanned tens of thousands of kilometers.


    Alex saw this immense, hideous aquatic beast and tried to fly out of here to the land using his wind-power. But he couldn''t. There was no air, and a sudden suppressive power was preventing him from doing so.


    The shark-like beast roared in the sea of blood and this roar shook Alex''s soul greatly that it caused him to cough out another mouthful of blood. Alex was beginning to look pale at this moment.


    The cold was tearing his body apart and the roar just a moment ago could cause his soul to disperse. Alex felt tremendous pain racking his body from the powerful and frightening illusionary elements and effects generated unceasingly by Jennifer who was exceedingly angry at Alex''s rude behavior.


    She was like, bringing him here didn''t mean that he could talk rudely or harshly to her. They weren''t age mate or cultivation-level peers. She was his senior, and not just a senior, a high-ranking one, at least for this world.


    Alex saw thousands of these shark-like beasts, the same size as the one he first saw. They were shooting towards him like a torpedo through water.


    Once they got to his side, one opened it mouth and bit him. Just as the claw-like teeth were just an inch away from his skin, they vanished and Alex saw himself in a terrifying thunderstorm.


    The thundercloud was extremely vast that it spanned the entire sky. Then lightning bolts that took the form of dragons and phoenixes, and were really massive in size that they would measure up to thousands of kilometers began to fall to the ground around him.


    Then the degree of horror that Alex felt greatly heightened to immense proportions.


    Once these massive bolts of lightning in the forms of dragons and phoenixes impacted the earth, extremely large craters instantly formed in the places that they struck, immediately resulting in the abrupt release of towering, devastating seismic waves.


    Then scarlet and dark red blood rose up from these craters formed by the lightning bolts and shot like a large column to the sky.


    Aieeeee!


    Kekekekekeke!!


    Shrieking, terrified ghostly cries emanated out from these columns of blood. These cries were accompanied by booming evil cackles.


    Bang!!!


    A loud, ear-deafening explosion occurred and the earth and everything in it shook. Once this powerful, earth-trembling blast sound rang out, the sky shattered like glass, revealing a pitch-black dimension.


    In this pitch-black dimension, Alex saw an immense maw of a primitive beast. Only its maw could be seen. He couldn''t see the rest of it body. Within this maw were several other maws that were snapping close and open.


    Then he felt an attractive force on his body, he was being pulled into the maw of the unseen beast.


    His eyes widened in fear as he screamed it out in terror.

 Chapter 53: Old man

    He had been trying his best ever since to break out of the illusions. He knew that the illusions were being sent into his mind through his eyes.


    Since his gaze connected with Jennifer''s gaze, it created a link that Jennifer used to send illusions into his head.


    He needed to break this gaze but he didn''t know how. He had numerous god-eyes, but he couldn''t summon any of them to use.


    Then he remembered when he was at home. When he looked at that mirror and caused it to explode. What he did there was destroy the mirror. Perhaps destruction was one of the power of one of the numerous god-eyes he had, he thought.


    So he would try to destroy that link that allowed Jennifer to continuously transmit illusory elements into his head.


    Then he focused on his eyes. And with a will and resoluteness that wouldn''t bend or yield to even Gods or Devils, he shouted "Destroy!"


    It was exactly at this moment that he was being pulled into the gigantic illusionary maw of the unseen, colossal primitive beast.


    Once he yelled ''destroy'' with great unflinching resolve and with total concentration, his eyes turned completely white. Then large golden pupils appeared at the centre of his eyes.


    The instant it appeared, nine small black pupils surfaced around them. Abstruse characters that glowed in violet appeared on the white surface of the eyes.


    Once these eyes appeared, everything stopped. Then Alex''s soul was pulled into a realm that seemed vastly infinite in size.


    In this realm, he saw an old man.


    He became shocked.


    The hell? Where is this place?


    He quickly greeted, "Senior, this junior greets you". The old man nodded his head. Then he asked, "Who are you and how did you did get here?"


    Alex didn''t know what to say. But he still said something, "I was terrorized in an illusion and tried to break out of it. So, I... I put all my wrath and will into it and destroyed the terrifying illusory world that I was in. Then I was brought in here." Alex replied honestly.


    Lying to this old man wouldn''t be a wise thing to do.


    "Hmm. But who are you? I remember one dashing young man, after many dangerous trials inherited my god-eyes. Where is he and how did you get these eyes?" the old man asked in a perplexed tone.


    "That young man was my father. He didn''t have the intention of using your god-eyes. He came for it and gave it to me." Alex replied.


    "Hmm. So where is that young man now?" the old man asked. "He is dead. He, my mother and everyone he ever knew or related with sacrificed themselves in the battle against the beings from the Sae-uhl race." he replied.


    The old man''s eyes shone. "Those bastards again. They came and took everything from me. I wish I can come back to life again, I would destroy them all." he said in anger.


    Then Alex seeing this as a golden opportunity to know more about the dreadful and fiendish alien race that he was going to battle with in future, quickly asked in a curious tone "Senior, why exactly do they raid other realmverses?"


    He wanted to understand why they did this, and how they were able to succeed at it.


    "This is because unlike other realmverses out there, their''s is only a single world. But it is extremely large. See it as an equivalent of ten thousand grand worlds. But despite it hugeness, it couldn''t support the rate at which they multiplied. Every female Sae-uhlian produced at least ten offsprings. One could imagine the number if trillions of them gave birth at that figure. Besides, there was no family control or anything like that, they just gave birth to increase the size of their population. They saw it as an overwhelming advantage in anything, but they were wrong. It''s true that it was a great advantage, probably in battle, but it caused them to use up all their resources. Their world couldn''t support their existences any more as all their resources were fully exhausted. Then so that they won''t go extinct, they reached out to other realmverses and once they conquered it, part of them settled there and multiplied. Ten billion years ago before I died in a clash with the beings from this race when they invaded our realmverse, I discovered to my terror and amazement that this race had seized more than thirty-nine realmverses, and that every realmverse that was seized by the Sae-uhlians would set up their own government and would compete with other Sae-uhlians that had established hegemonic power in other realmverses for a particular realmverse. The one that is able to successfully invade and take over a realmverse makes it their territory. So it became like a competition to them. I found this out from a bastard I caught and tortured to tell me what they had been up to. I fear this supreme proliferating race would drive every other race to extinction.


    Alex''s soul trembled.


    Now, he just got to know that the Sae-uhlians had long settled in the realmverses they conquered, multiplied at an exponential rate and are competing with others that had established dominance in other realmverses for a realmverse that had not been acquired.


    It was like battle trophies to them. It brought them glory, fear and reverence.


    He just hoped that they hadn''t set their devouring gaze here.


    "But that many!" he complained bitterly in his heart.


    "Even if I am the one to protect my realmverse, I can''t possibly deal with so many. What if armies of Sae-uhlians from ten realmverses come at me at once? I would be overwhelmed. Damn, I have a lot of work to do. I can''t disappoint my parent, they put all their hope in me that I would be one to protect every race in the realmverse". Alex thought in his mind and then his eyes shone with determination and vengeance.


    Still wondering how he was going to go about that, a realization hit him.


    Marvel-weapons.


    Only they can help him. When he gets stronger, he would go for them. He believed because of his body and the vast gifts he possesses, he wouldn''t be harmed when he operated the marvel-weapons.


    Then he thought of realm-weapons. Weapons that have arrays that are nearly the same number and size of worlds in the realmverse. He wished realm-weapons existed. They might make things easier for him.


    All these surfaced in his mind in a second. Then he looked at the old man and asked. "Senior, how many realmverses do we have out there?" he asked.


    He wanted to know how close they were to his realmverse and see if he had more time to grow.


    "So many than you can imagine. But many of them have worlds that aren''t as large or numerous as ours. We are blessed here, like tremendously blessed." the old man said.


    Alex nodded elatedly. Seems he still had more time to grow. "Senior, are you still alive? Did you find a way to live? And where is this place?" he asked. "No, I am already dead. This is only a body of information, formed from soul energy and this place is an eye-dimension." the old man replied.


    "Body of information?" he asked curiously. "Yes, a soul body of information. It is my soul energy condensed into a corporeal body and infused with all my lifetime memories." the old man replied.


    Alex''s eyes shone in amazement. "Senior, how''s that possible? Your soul body didn''t disperse" he asked. The old man smiled, "Yes, it can''t disperse because I am in this dimension. My reason for being in this dimension is to give my inheritor my complete legacy. Having the eye alone is just half of my legacy. Back to your question, if I was in the outside world, my soul body will shatter and disperse and the soul energy that formed this body would return to the Realmverse." he said.


    Alex nodded in apprehension. "Senior, how do I activate these god-eyes?" he asked. If he knew how to awaken this particular god-eye''s eye-power, that would be another powerful card for him.


    He now needs to learn how to do so many things about the gifts he has, and understand and operate so much of the things that had fused with his body.


    The old man smiled. "These eyes you have are half-true eyes. This is because they have arrays spatially compressed into them. See the eyes as treasure-weapons. Once you can understand the arrays, you would be able to unleash the full power of the eye. These eyes I named, ''God eyes of Grand destruction'' is named so, because the arrays in them produce destructiforce energy, the energy of destruction." the old man said.


    Alex was shocked.


    So his parent were even wrong about the eyes. What his uncle told him then was that it was because the creator of the eyes shot beams of cultivation energies through them that they mutated and became god-eyes.


    That wasn''t what happened. They simply turned their eyes into weapons. But he needed to confirm this. He asked the old man "So, the eyes can''t do anything without the arrays. They can''t produce their own power?"


    The old man laughed. "That''s why I said they were half-true eyes. Without the arrays, they can still produce their own power which is at the level of power I can unleash. Through my comprehension of the basal energy of destruction, which is primordial destructiforce energy, I transformed my eyes into god-eyes. I did this by infusing the eyes with my total comprehension of the mysteries of primordial destructiforce energy and saturated them with the energy, fusing it with every constitutive components of the two eyes. So they mutated and became god-eyes." the old man replied.


    Alex''s eyes shone in great astonishment.


    ''Amazing!''


    So because the eyes contains the old man''s full comprehension of the mysteries of primordial destructiforce energy (destruction originforce energy), they could erupt the same level of power as the old man.


    "Haha! god-level eye-power." He laughed somewhat wickedly within him and said.


    If Alex could see in his own eyes at this moment, he would see they have transformed and he would see abstruse characters on the white surface of his eyes.


    These abstruse characters represented the man''s comprehension of the mysteries of destruction originforce energy.


    Alex was amazed. "So, where are these arrays?" he asked. "They are in this dimension." the old man replied.


    Alex''s eyes shone.


    Then the old man looked at Alex, "Well, since you have inherited my god-eyes. You should inherit my entire legacy." the old man said.


    Then he turned into thousands of motes of light that drifted towards Alex''s soul, some of this motes were big while some were small.


    They penetrated into Alex''s soul and turned into tons of memories. Each motes of light were actually memories and their sizes depend on the sizes of the memories they contain.


    These memories were organized memories of so many things he never knew about. It was on alchemy or pill making, array or formations, forging, inscriptions, cultivation methodologies, battle-methods, movement-methods and so on.


    Alex''s soul shook due to the massiveness and numerousness of the memories but he could handle it. Besides, his soul was made stronger by being infused with a lot of soulforce energy.


    Then his soul was pulled out of this dimension into his body.


    There was something Alex did not know.


    If Alex knew this god-eye was a marvel-weapon, he would cough out mouthfuls of blood due to the shock that would rock his soul. But this he would discover later in the future.


    Once his soul returned, time continued. But the link had been broken. Then due to the manifestation of the god-eyes, a sliver of the power of destruction discharged from it and it caused Jennifer''s body to crack and her blood to seethe, so much that they could explode out into mist of blood.


    But as a saint emperor, it only caused her great pain. That tiny sliver of power only dealt her intense, excruciating pain.


    She bled from her eyes, nose, mouth and from the cracks on her body. She looked horrifying at the moment. Her cloth was dyed red with her blood and a tiny pool of blood could be seen on the ground.

 Chapter 54: Hes caring

    Alex saw this and his heart shook really bad.


    He had just unintentionally used the destruction-power of the eyes on the woman.


    But if the god-eye''s abilities weren''t sealed. Jennifer, the massive academy and everyone in it would instantly turn into dusts.


    Alex quickly looked into his spatial necklace and brought out a golden pill. It was a peerless-quality saint emperor-stage regeneration pill.


    He dashed over and put the pill into Jennifer''s mouth. Then he prayed in his heart that she would be fine. Or he would have just eliminated this senior who actually didn''t mean him harm, as she only did those to teach him a lesson that he should never be rude to his seniors, in any way at all.


    But his actions were totally unnecessary.


    He thought he had fatally injured Jennifer whereas it was just external and internal bleeds.


    Being at the saint emperor stage, she had a fast regeneration ability that she could heal from these injuries in no time. It was nothing serious, but because he was scared that he had greatly harmed her. He gave her the pill.


    She was still marveling with her mouth wide open at the power Alex produced from his eyes when Alex rushed towards her and inserted a gold-colored pill into it. She was caught off-guard by this.


    By the time she would come back to reality, she had swallowed the pill.


    The instant the pill got into her body, her bodily regenerative capacity was increased beyond the usual. In a second, the wounds all over her body, external and internal healed up.


    She looked at Alex in shock again. Then she vanished from here to her quarter.


    Alex was surprised by her action and became worried. Had she gone to tell the others about his ability?


    He left her office and went to his room. He must find a way to leave this academy this moment.


    - Jennifer''s quarters -


    Jennifer at the moment had an unsettled mind. A man had never come very close to her, talk more of touch her face.


    But this boy did it and she felt an electrifying sensation when his fingers touched her lips.


    She knew why he did this, because he saw she was bleeding profusely and so gave her a healing pill.


    "Hmm. So he''s actually quite caring." She said inwardly, understanding another of Alex''s abilities.


    Then she recalled what happened in her office and felt this boy was a product of some greatly powerful people. Perhaps they put him out there to gather experiences.


    She took off her blood-stained clothes and went to take a shower.


    Alex at the moment felt very heavy in his heart. He needed to leave here. But he would never be allowed to leave the academy unless they were tasked to do something or assigned on a mission.


    While feeling heavy in his heart, the hairs on his body stood at their ends again. They were reacting to something, which was an invisible presence. And that was Jennifer''s saint-sense.


    Alex was surprised. "Why? What''s happening"


    This was the second time. He didn''t know what was causing this.


    "Alex, come to my residence." Alex heard a female voice in his head. This was Jennifer''s voice.


    He heard her voice in his head and shook.


    What does she want from me again?


    Then following the directions to her residence, he got there. He then entered when the door swung open for him by an invisible force that acted on it.


    He saw the charming, adorable young woman on her couch smiling at him.


    "Come here, Alex. Come sit beside me" She said with a warm smile in her face. And when Alex got to where she sat, she immediately said "Alex, I am totally sorry for what I did to you then. I didn''t mean to be so wicked. But you should understand that you should never be impolite and rude to your seniors. So I gave you a slight punishment to brush up your morals. However, I am sorry for that and ask that you forgive me." Jennifer said with honestly in her tone.


    ''Slight punishment?'' He asked inwardly.


    But he was tremendously surprised that she actually apologized, an high-rank cultivation expert for that matter. She had thrown away her pride just to apologize to him. When he thought to here, he then apologized too with sincerity in his tone. And since she had apologized to him first, he felt that she wouldn''t take any drastic action against him again.


    "So where are you from?" she asked after she stood up to serve Alex tea. Alex wanted to reject it but when he saw the look in her eyes, he quickly accepted it and gulped it all down.


    "My parent are no more. They died in a battle. I now stay with my uncle." Alex replied.


    Jennifer''s eyes glowed. So I guessed it partially correctly. His parent must have been experts that probably lived in a Greatverse. Then because of a war in which they unfortunately lost their lives, his uncle brought him down here so he can live without the fear and terror of living there in the Great world. She said inwardly.


    She was fifty percent correct in her assumptions, except they fought a war with planetary invaders and were extremely powerful. They were the strongest experts in the world.


    "So sorry about your parent" She said.


    She also knew what it meant to not have one''s parent by one''s side, who would do their best to give one the love, affection, security and everything that one would ever want.


    Alex nodded his head. "It''s okay."


    Then she sat beside Alex again.


    "Do you have a drawing of them?" She asked.


    "Yes, I do." Alex replied.


    Then he produced several scrolls that had his parent drawing in it.


    Jennifer unfurled the scroll and when she looked at it content, she couldn''t help but be awed.


    She saw the painting of his parent, they were simply like celestial heavenly couples. They were extremely striking in appearance. Especially the woman, she was so beautiful.


    But somehow, she could feel feel the power possessed by this people just from the painting alone. The painting seemed to radiate their power.


    This was the first time in her life she would experience this. These caused awe and veneration to set in her heart.


    "Powerful experts. No wonder their son is abnormally powerful" she said inwardly in an amazed tone.


    Then she looked at Alex and looked back at the painting in the scroll. Then she smiled.


    And that why he''s so handsome. He takes completely after his mother, like a perfect duplicate of her, except that he has masculine features.


    Knock!


    Someone knocked on the door.


    Then Jennifer told Alex to keep away the scrolls. When whoever was at her door leaves, she would resume her looking at the painting.


    There was something in those paintings. They affected her overall comprehension of the methodologies that she was studying.


    She didn''t understand why and how this was happening, but she felt she was close to understanding the mysteries of the battle methodologies that she was studying.


    She could feel her apprehension level of the methodologies rising without her doing basically nothing.


    "I am truly blessed to have met this wonderful boy." she said inwardly with excitement and delight in her heart.


    "Come in" Jennifer said impatiently from within.


    Then the door opened and a beautiful female instructor came in. She was surprised to see Jennifer sit so close to a boy.


    "What are you here for Jane?" Jennifer asked. "I am here to discuss on something with you. I first went to your office but it was locked. So I felt you should be in your living quarter"


    This woman called Jane was also an instructor in the school. She looked at Alex and asked. "Who is he? What''s he doing in your residence?"


    "Well, it''s none of your business. Let''s see privately so we can discuss what you came here for" Jennifer replied. She didn''t like people poking nose into her affairs.


    Jane smiled. Then she looked at Alex in the eye. "He is very handsome. Your little boyfriend you wanna train?" she asked teasingly.


    Jennifer shook her head with a sad smile in it.


    ''Oh heavens, everyone''s nemesis is here!'' she complained aggrievedly in her heart.


    "And if he is not, I can make him mine and train him for you." Jane said with a glow of adoration in her eyes for Alex''s stunning look, and with a tease in her tone. Of course, she wasn''t serious about what she said. She was just the exceedingly playful type that liked to prank and kid all the instructors and students in the academy. Also, she wasn''t the kind who was very serious with cultivation seniority. If it were her that Alex spoke to in that rude manner, she would just laugh it off and seriously beg him to tell her.


    Jennifer couldn''t take Jane''s kidding talks anymore. Therefore, she quickly stood up from Alex''s side and went to meet Jane, and then dragged her to a room to discuss about what she was here for.


    As for Alex, after many minutes of sitting and feeling bored, he stood up and began to walk around in the living room, looking at the many pictures hung on the wall.

 Chapter 55: Reason

    After Jane left Jennifer''s room when she finished discussing with her. Jennifer went to seat beside Alex back.


    "I don''t think you know my name?" she asked with a smile. "No, I don''t." Alex replied. "Alright, my name is Jennifer." she said.


    Alex nodded. "That''s a nice name, Instructor Jennifer" he said in a praising tone.


    Jennifer smiled.


    "Anyways, I called you to my office then because I want you to be on the lookout. Never go to any corner or any dark place. There are some people assigned by an instructor to monitor you. They could seriously injure you, so I want you to be careful. My advise for you is that you should always be on guard, no matter where you are" Jennifer said.


    "Huh! Why? How did I offend this person?" Alex asked in a bewildered tone. "You didn''t offend this person. But because you are a candidate I produced for the re-bet, the person''s wrath has been directed at you." Jennifer said.


    "Oh, I understand now" Alex said. "So you need to be careful." Jennifer added.


    "But why is this person after me so much they could grievously injure me?" he asked in an aggrieved tone.


    "This is because, according to what we agreed, if I don''t produce a fighter for the fight. Winner takes all. Since you are here, they would try to break you so you wouldn''t appear for the fight" she replied.


    Alex nodded as a light of understanding shone in his eyes. So this was the reason. "Just so I wouldn''t appear in the fight due to injuries. Bastards!"


    He looked at Jennifer and asked, "What exactly is the item you guys are fighting for that is breeding hatred between you two?"


    He needed to know what that object is.


    "It''s a four-piece necklace my mom gave to me before she died due to an injury when I was a kid. Actually, it''s a key to open a door to a vault that contains lifetime accumulations of someone at the sage stage" she replied.


    Alex''s eyes shone in amazement. Lifetime accumulations of a sage stage expert? That is a cultivation stage that is two ranks above the saint emperor realm.


    He knew that for one to achieve continuous breakthroughs, one would need cultivation pills, herbs and so on to do these.


    By making these cultivation resources readily available, one would be able to achieve smooth breakthroughs to a particular realm.


    Lifetime accumulations like this was perfect for the job.


    If Jennifer was able to get her hands on the sage-stage expert wealth, her breakthrough into the sage realm would be smooth.


    There would be no hindrance, impediment or stagnancy in her cultivation progress as the cultivation materials are available, and in large quantities.


    Alex had many of these lifetime accumulations and they were ones that belonged to mighty expert that could reduce a world to shreds in an instant.


    He nodded with a light of understanding in his eyes. "Okay. One piece can''t open the vault and needs the other three pieces to open the vault''s door?" he asked.


    "Exactly. The one with that person is one of the four pieces of the necklace. The four pieces need to be merged so they could open the door of the treasure vault." she replied.


    "Alright. I would try my best to help you win back that one piece. But since this man''s fist is so tight on that one piece, don''t you think the man possibly knows that it''s part of a key to open a treasure vault?" he asked.


    "Yes. I think he knows. He was the one that suggested I use that one piece of the necklace to bet. When I lost, I was devastated because I just threw away my opportunity to have smooth breakthroughs into the sage realm. Then he came and offered me a re-bet, suggesting I use the three remaining pieces to bet. In my desperation to win back that one piece I lost, I agreed and so he gave the conditions which I didn''t take my time to understand and is now causing all these problems." Jennifer said unhappily.


    Alex smiled. Then he held Jennifer by her palms, "I promise to win you back that one piece. You don''t need to worry. Put your mind at ease." he said.


    Jennifer''s eyes widened in shock. Her arm trembled and she wanted to pull it out of Alex''s grasp. But she calmed down as Alex was only comforting her. She was like this again as no man had ever come close to her, talk more of hold her by her hands.


    She nodded her head and smiled sweetly at him. Then Alex remembered what Deborah told him that once he had anything in his mind to say to someone and an opportunity presents itself, he should always say it and not bury it.


    He took a deep breath as his eyes shone with courage and determination. "Instructor Jennifer, you are very beautiful" he said.


    The way and manner he said it caused Jennifer''s heart to beat fast and a shade of pink surfaced on her soft white cheeks.


    .....


    -Micah''s residence -


    There were about twenty boys in Instructor Micah''s room. They looked ferocious and powerfully built.


    "I would station you boys at some locations. You must do your jobs well, a clean one. You know, I am you paying for this. The institution''s management must not find out what am doing or you would cost me a job." A tall man said. This was Micah, the instructor who got into a bet and re-bet with Jennifer.


    "Instructor Micah, we would do our best to prevent the boy from appearing in the battle with John" they said.


    "Good. That''s what I want to hear. Don''t forget the plan and make sure you execute it properly" Micah said.


    ...


    - Alex''s residence -


    "Alex. Where were you? I have been searching for you all over?" Jake asked.


    "I went to instructor Jennifer''s residence. She called me for something concerning that matter we both know about" Alex replied.


    "Oh. Good. So you guys did anything elseeee?" Jake asked with a prayer in his heart.


    Gosh! This pervert again.


    "Hey, snap out of your sensuous thoughts, will ya? What would she possibly want to do with me. I am a nobody. I am just here on contract, once she is done with me, she would forget about me" Alex replied.


    "Haha. What a dumbass. That is why you need to strike the iron while it is still red-hot. Tell her your feelings man" Jake said.


    "What?! What feelings would I possibly have for her? Although we touched hands in there, I was only trying to comfort her and nothing else. What would such powerful expert have to do with me? I am too little to be involved in a romantic relationship with her. Even if I do have feelings, once I say it out to her, I could possibly be destroyed in an instant." Alex said.


    "You are not too little for her. She is twenty....." Jake couldn''t finish what he was saying when he was interrupted by Alex.


    "Twenty you say? You are so dull to have forgotten she is in the saint emperor realm. Do you know how many years it takes to reach that realm? I don''t know too. So don''t try to ask me. But i can say, she is maybe ten thousand or hundred thousand years old. Dumb asshole" Alex said.


    Then he quickly changed the topic. "So Jake, about you, any beautiful female fish entered into your net yet?" he asked.


    "Not yet, I am trying my best..."


    "Bastarddd!!! come out and fight!"

 Chapter 56: One problem after the other

    Jake ended his speech when he heard the shout.


    The hell?


    Alex too became surprised. Then his eyes shone with a light of realization.


    Those bastards. They have come for me.


    But he didn''t go out. Instead, he laid on his bed and tried to organize some things he thought about in his head.


    Alex didn''t go out simply because his name wasn''t bastard. It was Alex.


    Anytime the person outside got his name right, then he would go out.


    The person who shouted saw that no one came out of the room he directed his shout out.


    He felt embarrassed.


    The other boys in the room looked at Alex.


    They knew he was the person that summoning shout was directed to.


    They wanted to tell him to go out but they threw the thought away and went to do their own thing.


    Ever since Alex showed how strong he was, they had been careful of him. They would try their best not to vex him.


    Then this person came forward and knocked heavily on the door.


    Knock!! Knock!!


    One of the boys in the room opened the door and came out.


    "What do you want?" he asked.


    Pah!


    He was slapped heavily in the face, then this person pushed him aside and went into the room.


    Once he entered, he saw Alex on the bed and his eyes shone with anger.


    "Bastard, didn''t you hear me call you?" he asked.


    "......."


    Alex gave no response.


    Seeing that Alex was ignoring him like he was invisible, then this eyes turned red from wrath.


    He picked up a large wooden object before him and threw it Alex with all the strength he could muster.


    Once this object was thrown at him, Alex who had always been on his guard had his eyes glow in cyan.


    The air in the room abruptly turned into a powerful gale that knocked that object away. Then the gale disappeared.


    While on his back on the bed, he did a kip up. With a kick with his legs and a push with his hands He sprung onto his feet on bed.


    Then he did a side cartwheel from the bed to the ground. Enhanced by his body''s physical strength, he got to where the boy stood which was precisely eight feet away.


    Then he delivered a powerful kick to the boy''s head as he was about to land to the ground from the aerial cartwheel he executed.


    Bang!


    The boy blocked the kick by putting his arms out in front of his face but he shrieked in pain as he was sent flying for seven feet.


    The leg came with a force that broke the boy''s arm bones and shot his body into the distance.


    The leg Alex used to kick was the leg that was power-punched by Kenneth during their battle in the dining hall.


    It had gotten harder after it healed. So it could be seen as his more stronger leg.


    The boy landed on the ground with a loud bang.


    As pain racked his body and soul from his broken bones that had jutted out from his flesh, he endured it and tried taking a pill for regeneration but he couldn''t.


    He couldn''t even move the arms.


    Green veins bulge out from his temples and his eyes were red from pain. Blood dripped from his grievous wound to the ground


    Then pain racked him could be described as agonizing pain. He groaned and gnashed his teeth as the overwhelming sensation of pain coursed through his body.


    Haha!


    Jake came over to the boy''s front and laughed in a wicked manner.


    "Bastard, this will teach to never mess with my friend. Your stupid dumb ass got handed to you." He said in a mocking tone, then he laughed again.


    As the boy continued to groan, Jake looked at him. "Why are you moaning? Hmm, let me guess. You are moaning because of the feeling? It''s electrifying right? Those divine sensations of carnal pleasure washing through your body. I know, it feels like heaven" Jake said.


    Alex who stood beside Jake looked at him and shook his head.


    What an erotic bastard.


    Some people rushed into the room as the door was wide open.


    They had ferocity in their gazes.


    Alex looked at them.


    So, there were still more of this people outside?


    "Excuse me, who are you people and what do you want? See the way you just barged in like hordes of demons. Can I barge into your room like this you pack of fools. What the hell is wrong with you stupid nuts?" Alex produced many questions in annoyance.


    These people ignored Alex and looked at the boy on the floor and their gazes turned sinister.


    "What are those looks in your filthy eyes? Hmm, they seem to be full of lust. You go after boys? Gosh, I would be damned!" Jake asked in a mocking manner, then he yelled in surprise like he just got a revelation.


    The boys looked at Jake with a heart that had begun to seethe. Then they turned their heads to look at their colleague on the ground.


    One of them came over to their wounded colleague and gave him a healing pill.


    Once the pill was swallowed, it dissolved into a large quantity of healforce energy that spread to every inch of his body.


    Seconds later, the broken bones healed. Then the boy stood up from the ground, assisted by his colleague that fed him the regeneration pill.


    Once he stood up, he looked at Alex with fury in his eyes.


    "Just you wait!" he said.


    Then he and the others left the room.


    "Enjoy your time while it last. You wouldn''t make it up to the sixth day. That''s a promise." one of the boy in this group quickly threw a threat as they left the room through the door.


    Alex''s eyes shone.


    Damned instructor Micah.


    Then he went back to sit on his bed.


    "This is getting serious. Those bastards just barged into this room like that? What mad courage. They don''t even respect the others in the room and the academy''s rules and regulations" he said inwardly.


    This caused his eyes to glow in unbridled anger.


    Then he looked at the boys that resided in the room he was in and asked "Isn''t there supposed to be like a disciplinary committee in the academy? I want to go report those boys that barged in like they were the landlords of this room and as if we were owing rents?" he asked.


    The boys shook their heads.


    Then one of the boys who got the slap, Calvin, replied "Disciplinary committee? Well, it''s presided over by an instructor but he isn''t around. He has been gone for months now to only the stars knows where. And it might take many months more before he comes back. But before he left, he put an instructor in charge, and that is instructor Micah." Calvin replied.


    "Instructor Micah? Who is that? I don''t know him." Alex said.


    "Instructor Micah is the person that entered into a bet with Instructor Jennifer" Calvin replied.


    What?


    Jake''s and Alex''s eyes became solemn before fear shone on their eyes.


    "Goodness, he is the one in charge? That''s bad news" Jake said in an unhappy tone.


    Alex found it hard to accept what he just heard.


    "The hell! I believe that shithole has been planning these things years ago" he said inwardly.


    Huuuu!


    He took a deep breath.


    Then he went to his bed to sit.


    "My next six days in this academy would be full of frights. I have to be careful. But what a damned sinister instructor. He will do anything to win the bet. Greed for power can make people bad. They would do anything to get it" he said inwardly.


    His head became full of frothing worries.


    He knew in his mind that during the next six days, he might be forced to reveal a strange or an unusual ability that may put him in trouble.


    His identity would spread everywhere and people would come for him to know how he was able to it.


    Huuuu!


    He took another deep breath.


    This was still Alex''s first day in school and he was already experiencing problems.


    "Jake, goodnight" he said. "Nighty night" Jake replied.


    Alex then laid in bed and slept with the hope that no trouble would come his way tomorrow.


    - next morning -


    Alex got up from bed and went to shower. After showering, he wore his uniform and waited for Jake who was still having his bath.


    "The hell are you doing in the shower room?!" Alex asked in a shout.


    "Quit the yelling asshole. Leave me, let me do my thing. I want to be all fresh for the girls. If I am taking your time you can go." Jake replied.


    Alex shook his head in indignation.


    "Jake, I hope you get slapped in the face nine times today" Alex said with prayer in his heart. Then he left.


    The other boys had long gone to the classrooms.


    Alex would have tagged along with them, but because he was waiting for Jake, he couldn''t. And in the end, he still went by himself, without Jake.


    Bastard.


    Alex cursed in his mind as he moved to the buildings he felt classes should be holding.


    There were many tall buildings in here. Each building had six floors. Each floor was a hall that could contain thousands of students.

 Chapter 57: First time in a class

    He had never been to an academy before. He didn''t know were to go or what to do.


    He was confused again for the second time. First, it was when he arrived in skytrident city and now in this academy.


    "Well, it''s an experience for me. Except my life would be full of fear and worries while in here" he said in his mind.


    As he was confused of where to go. Someone came over to meet him.


    He turned to see who came over to his side. It was a boy and through his cultivation perception sense, he could sense the boy was in the late-phase condensation stage.


    "Hi" the boy greeted. "Hello" Alex replied in a friendly tone.


    "My name''s Will" the boy said. "Okay my name''s Alex." Alex replied.


    "I guess this must be your first time in an academy. Right?" Will asked. "Yea. My first time. How did you know that?" Alex asked in a surprised tone.


    The boy smiled. "From the confused look in your face. It is glaring to anyone" Will said.


    "Oh" Alex exclaimed in an embarrassed tone. Then he asked "Will, can you tell me what to do? Which of the buildings should I go into to receive lecture?"


    "You see all these tall and imposing buildings. There are six of them. Each of these six buildings are for different stages of cultivation. From the entry stage to the saint stage" Will said.


    Alex''s eyes shone. "That''s awesome. But I can see numerous floors in the buildings. What are they used for?" he asked.


    "Those floors are halls that can contain thousands of students. A subject is taught in each of these halls. They are acrobat, martial arts, alchemy or pill making, arrays and formations, lectures on methods of cultivation of a particular energy, weaponcrafting or weaponmaking, inscription, treasure forging, painting, music, military and general knowledge." Will replied.


    Alex''s eyes shone in amazement.


    "Uncle Houston has been keeping me away from fun." he complained in his heart.


    But he knew why his uncle did it. It was for his sake.


    "The academy would be fun if I was just like everyone of them. If I was not above the ordinary" Alex concluded in his mind.


    But he said this without any seriousness.


    If he had to choose again between overpowered and normal, he would go for the overpowered option.


    "So, if you would want to go for any of the lecture blocks. Go to the one that''s for your cultivation stage and that is over there" Will said and pointed at a place.


    "Alright. It''s time for me to head out to receive my lectures for the day. It was nice talking to you Alex. See you later."


    Alex nodded. "Okay. Thanks for the information. I really appreciate it. It was also nice speaking to you. Talk to you later bro" Alex said.


    Will hurried off to the building that was after the one he pointed to for Alex. This was the building where classes for the condensation stage was held.


    He was already late by fifteen minutes for his classes.


    Same with Alex who dashed to the building he was going to receive lectures.


    When he entered the building, he came across the first hall.


    He could hear the loud voice of an instructor as he gave lectures.


    A class was being held at the moment.


    Then Alex looked into the hall though a see-in in the large door, he saw it was already full with thousands of students.


    They were seated and were listening to lectures as they jot down a thing or two in their books.


    His face turned sour.


    When he enters, he would pull a lot of attention to himself because the door into the hall was before the thousands of students.


    Everyone would be looking at him. He didn''t like such great attention. Another reason for the sourness of his face was because he was Jennifer''s boy. This made him popular. Everyone wanted to see him. People who didn''t know he was before would want to know.


    And he wasn''t an attention seeker. He didn''t like being in the floodlight of fame.


    He took a deep breath and pushed the doors open to enter.


    Once he entered, he saw the great number of students. They were dressed in their uniforms and sat on their seats receiving lectures.


    They were a general knowledge class the moment which would go on for forty-five minutes. When this class was over, the students would then move to the other halls to receive their remaining lectures.


    The instant Alex entered, he pulled the attention of everyone as they all turned their faces to look at the lazy person who was just entering class at this time.


    Then they saw Alex.


    When they saw him, their eyes began to glow in all sorts of light.


    Some of the boys gazed at him in envy at his lady-snatching terrific looks, others because of his strength and skills, he had good aerial maneuverability skills and strength. Since he beat Kenneth. As for the others, their eyes glowed in anger just for no reason, probably they were jealous he would be talking to Instructor Jennifer.


    A gist had spread amongst all of them that Alex had gone to see her in her office and later went to her living residence.


    These came from the spies they put out there to monitor Alex''s movement.


    No instructor had ever invited anyone to their apartment before and instructor Jennifer at that.


    The most beautiful instructor, they believed, should be the most beautiful woman in their continent.


    With extreme envy and anger in their heart, they complained bitterly inwardly. "Who the fuck does he think he is?"


    Alex didn''t know being involved with the instructor they admired so much had caused these boys to be offended to the maximum and beyond.


    Just because of this reason without doing anything to them, he was immensely hated.


    Alex couldn''t be bothered with their gazes.


    He just knew no matter what one did in this life, whether you do the greatest kindness, if there are seven admirers, one would surely be an hater.


    As for the girls, such an handsome and strong boy tugged their heartstrings.


    Still, there are some that looked on with disinterested eyes. Not everyone would be interested in you even if you are the most perfect and most arresting human in the world.


    But Alex didn''t bother himself with their gazes too.


    He went to search for a seat to sit and then receive the lectures for the remaining minutes when he was called over by the instructor in the hall.


    "Who are you?" He asked in a strict tone.


    Alex''s eyes shone. He thought everyone should know who he was by now. Even the instructors should know.


    "My name''s Alex." Alex replied respectfully.


    "Alex? Never heard of that. How did you get into this academy? Because I know the academy is far from admitting students" he asked seriously.


    As a cultivator, if he knew about Alex a million years ago, he would effortlessly recall the details about him.


    This is because once one became a cultivator, one would possess vast superhuman retentive memory or enhanced photographic memory.


    They would never be able to forget all that they came across.


    "I was brought in by Instructor Jennifer" Alex replied.


    "Ohhh. You are the boy everyone has been heated up about. It''s nice meeting you" He said with a friendly, gentle smile.


    Then the smile plastered on his face vanished and was replaced by seriousness. "So because you are Jennifer''s boy, does that mean you should come late to my class?" he asked.


    Alex was taken aback by his abrupt facial expression transformation. "No sir. I was delayed by a friend of mine. I am sorry for coming late to class. It won''t happen next time" he said and apologized.


    "Good! At least you know how to show some remorse. Go find a seat. I want to resume my lecture" He said.


    "Alright sir."


    Alex then went to look for a seat. It wasn''t easy getting a seat in the midst of thousands.


    He eventually got one when someone called his attention to a particular seat that was vacant.


    He sat down and began to listen to the instructor''s lecture.

 Chapter 58: I love reading

    Alex listened to the man as he thought.


    The instructor was teaching them about so many things that they needed to know about the world.


    He told them facts and myths and busted some legends.


    The class was enjoyable. Alex enjoyed it very much.


    When the class was over, everyone stood and went to the next hall for lecture.


    The class they were having next was weaponmaking.


    The instructor was already in the hall waiting for the entire students to come in.


    When they came in and settled. He started his lectures.


    After he gave note. He then began to explain.


    When he was done explaining, he began to throw questions to the students.


    "What is a weapon" he asked?


    "Weapons are equipment we use to augment our power in battle" A student responded.


    "Good." the instructor said. Then he decided to make it difficult as he asked a more technical question.


    "The arrays in voidstones embedded in weapons, how do they produce cultivation energies that we transform into energy-attacks?" he asked.


    Then he looked around trying to notice that one student that would give him a good explanation on the question he asked.


    He could see the thinking-hard expression on their faces and he gave a smile.


    Alex wanted to say the answer but he was worried he would attract more attention to himself.


    When he saw that nobody knew the answer to the question.


    Screw it! He said inwardly.


    Then he stood to give the answer to the instructor''s question.


    The instructor when he saw Alex asked, "You must be the boy Jennifer brought in right?" he asked.


    "Yes" Alex replied.


    "Alright. Give your answer" the instructor said.


    "They absorb energy from energy crystals which they transfer to the weapons" Alex replied.


    "Hmm. Those energy crystals, how are they formed?" He asked after Alex got the question correctly.


    "In places where the energy is very dense. For example, pyroforce energy, when in abundance at a particular place would appear as mist. This mist after sometime by natural processes would condense into liquids. The pyroforce energy now in liquid form would then crystallize becoming an energy crystal." Alex replied


    Since Alex has the weapon book that belonged to the Azure Beastsman, he had read it to the section that explained how arrays in weapons work.


    Arrays in voidstones produce energies for weapons. These arrays draw energy from energy crystals which they transmit to the weapons.


    When Alex gave his reply, the instructor looked at him in surprise and said "Good!". He was astonished how Alex knew about that.


    Then he began to ask questions on weapons which Alex answered back.


    It got to a time that it seemed Alex was the only one in class. The other students were amazed by his knowledge while others snorted as they felt he was showing off.


    The instructor was highly impressed with Alex. He asked "How do you know so much about weapons. You have advanced knowledge of them" he asked.


    "I am a fan of books. Apart from cultivation, I indulge myself in reading. So I came across a small book about weapons, it caught my interest and then I picked it up and read till the end." Alex replied.


    He knew his reply was partly true and partly false.


    The instructor became more impressed.


    He looked at the other students and said" That''s how a good student should be and behave. Not just cultivate, indulge in immoralities or whatever. You should also take your time to read. Just read on anything that would enhance your knowledge. I am sure if I give you test right now, this boy here is going to score everything. And he just started yesterday" the instructor said.


    The instructor then looked at Alex. "Would you like to learn how to forge weapons?" he asked.


    Weapons?


    Alex''s eyes glittered. He quickly nodded.


    "Good. During the weekends, you can come to the weapon forging room.. There I would teach you how to forge weapons. We would start with class-1 weapons." The instructor said.


    Alex nodded. Then he sat back in his chair.


    The instructor looked around and said "This invitation is also open to all of you. When coming, come along with your seriousness or I would chase you out of there like a rat"


    Then he continued to give lectures.


    When time was up. The student picked up their writing materials and left the hall to have another class.


    ....


    When they were done with class, they moved out of the lecture blocks to have lunch.


    The place where they went to have lunch was a really big place. It could hold more than thirty thousand students at once.


    It''s this large because every student from the entry stage to the saint stage gathered there for lunch.


    In there, Alex met Jake who came over to his side with a smile. They both sat in the same place and began to have lunch.


    There was a cute girl beside Jake having her meal.


    Jake smiled at Alex who was eating.


    Alex saw the smile and shook his head. He knew what Jake wanted to do. He wanted to stand and go to another spot to have his meal but he killed the thought and decided he would pretend he doesn''t know Jake.


    "Hi beautiful" Jake said to the girl. The girl didn''t respond. She only looked at him and resumed her eating.


    "Hmm. The silent type or you just don''t talk to strangers?" he asked.


    "Why don''t you shut up and let me eat in peace. I don''t want to eat your saliva. It could spray from your mouth into my food" the girl replied.


    Damn. That''s a savage reply.


    Alex laughed within him. He was enjoying his friend''s misfortune.


    Jake eye''s turned red from anger. But he controlled himself and gave an attractive smile.


    "Well, I know you are trying to piss me off so I would stop talking to you. Anyway, straight to the point, I like you very much. You are indeed beautiful. You are the girl that caused my dead heart to begin to beat again." he said.


    The girl looked at him and smiled." Oh really?" she asked.


    Seeing it worked, his eyes shone as he quickly nodded. "Yes. I like you sooo much" he said.


    The girl nodded her head with a smile. Then she stood up and picked up the plate her food was in and poured it on Jake.


    Jake shook while Alex''s eyes widened in astonishment.


    Her action caused everyone to turn their heads and look at her. They saw what she did and began to laugh.


    Jake''s face was now ugly as it twisted due to embarrassment.


    "Your saliva is all over my food you bastard." she said in anger. Then she left there.


    Jake quickly stood from there and rushed to the room he was staying in. He had forfeited the remaining classes for the day.


    Alex pretended he didn''t know Jake. He faced his meal and continued to eat.


    "Isn''t he your friend? Why are you pretending you don''t know him? You should also share in his misfortune!" somebody shouted.


    Alex heard this but he ignored it.


    Suddenly, he heard something shooting towards him.


    Very quickly, speedforce energy flowed to his eyes and saturated it. Then everything slowed down.


    When he turned his head to see what was coming at him, he saw a bowl which contained hot liquid cut through the air at high speed towards him.


    He quickly deployed his air control power and the air in front of him quickly compacted and shaped into a barrier.


    The plate smashed into the air barrier and lost it speed. But it hot liquid content splashed about and every other person around him got hit by a drop or two of the hot liquid that poured out.


    Argh!


    The people who got hit shouted when drops of the hot liquid got to their skins. They stood up from where they were and hurried away to tend to the painful swells on their skins.


    Their screams pulled everyone''s attention, then some seniors quickly came over.


    One of them asked "Why did you throw that plate?"


    "Nothing. I just felt he should also bath in his friend''s misfortune" the boy questioned responded.


    Just as the senior was about to talk, he suddenly heard an angry voice in his head. "You fool, Back off this instant!"


    He shook. Then he quickly went back to his table. Same with the others. They had also received the order he got.


    Alex saw the senior tremble. Since he left just like that without punishing the boy, he felt someone must have ordered him to mind his business.


    He could arrive at this point because of the way Jennifer usually throws messages into his head.


    "Instructor Micah!" he shouted in his mind. There would be no other person than him.


    Besides, he felt the hair on his skin stand on their ends again. He suddenly felt they were reacting to the presence of something.


    He was right about that, they were reacting to a presence. The presence of Micah''s saint-sense.


    Then he thought, since my hairs stood on their ends, that means they were giving me signal of something around me. And it was just the same moment that senior trembled that I felt it.


    "Hmm. That damned Instructor must have been spying on me. My hairs were actually giving me sign of his invisible presence" He said inwardly.


    He was amazed and happy. He just discovered another ability of his body.


    Then he remembered how his hairs stood on their ends on two occasions. In the bathroom and in the hostel block he was in. "Instructor Micah have been spying on me?" he asked inwardly.


    Alex wasn''t sure.


    Then something came to his mind


    "Was it instructor Jennifer? My body hairs reacted a second time the moment I got her message. Would she be the one that spied on me in the shower room? Definitely not. It must be that perverted Micah. The asshole has actually seen the size of my rod. Damn!" Alex said inwardly and felt like crying.


    Someone have seen what he kept very dear to himself.


    As he was lost in thought, he was suddenly pulled back to reality when the boy who threw the bowl at him shouted. "What now? You wanna fight me!?"


    Alex looked at him and said "No. Why would I do that?"


    He sat and resumed eating. Then he focused on sounds around him as he ate. He did this so he would be able to quickly respond to an attack by anyone. Once he hears any sound of something coming in his direction. He would quickly try to evade or block.


    The moment he placed his focus on the ambient sounds, he suddenly felt he could hear everything to a far distance. His hearing amplified.


    He started hearing the discussions of every students in this place. It was so powerful he could hear the heartbeat of everyone.


    He became shocked at this revelation.


    "I can do this too?"

 Chapter 59: Reward

    The boy who threw the plate at Alex was surprised at how Alex was able to quickly put out a defense. He wondered how he was able to do that.


    He was hoping the bowl would smash into him and the entire hot liquid would get onto his skin but his effort was futile.


    Now he was in trouble. If the school management found out that the liquid actually had a substance in it that could cause and accelerate decaying, his life rot because he won''t be able to cough out the name of the person that gave him the substance.


    About nine students got splashed with that substance.


    He shook his head.


    He sat and continued to eat his meal.


    When people finished eating their meal, they went back to their lecture blocks to receive the remaining lectures for the day


    Same with Alex. When he was done, he left and went back to class.


    .....


    - Hostel block -


    "What happened to you today was a terribly fantastic thing. Haha! She showered you with love man" Alex said.


    Jake looked at him and didn''t say anything. He was still sad. The girl had just ruined his reputation.


    Now it would be difficult get other girls.


    He believed they would brush him aside with curses and possibly numerous heavy slaps. Him to them now was like a spitting rapscallion, so he thought.


    "Alex. I swear I would have that girl" Jake said as his confidence slowly returned.


    "Haha. That''s your problem. Not mine. I have got bigger problems to deal with." Alex said.


    "What problem are you talking about?" Jake asked.


    "The problem with Instructor Micah. He''s trying his best to make things difficult for me in this academy. As soon as you left, someone attacked me with a bowl of hot soup" Alex said.


    "Really? That man has a great problem. Go tell Instructor Jennifer that Micah is really bent on making your life miserable and that she should give you more than this reward" Jake said.


    Alex''s eyes shone.


    "Oh. What reward should she give me?" he asked with a smile. He already knew the direction his pervert friend was heading off.


    Jake didn''t reply.


    Instead he asked again, "By the way, what exactly was the reward she offered you if you do this for her?" He asked.


    Alex thought about it and then realized he actually wasn''t offered anything. The only thing he got was free meals, free accommodation and free tuition fee.


    Hell! I have been cheated.


    He said in his mind.


    When Jake saw Alex couldn''t reply to his question. He shook his head as he said "I thought as much. Alex, she must reward you. You are going against a saint emperor-stage cultivator which can result in your death. She must give you something as huge as the risk" he said.


    Alex nodded his head seriously. Then he asked "Jake I have no idea of what to tell her to reward me with?"


    Jake shook his head. "Alex, I said she needs to reward you heavily. You know, something heavy pressing on you. That could crush the gloominess in your heart and cause joy and ecstasy to erupt" he said.


    Alex''s eyes shone with astonishment. "Oh. I get" he said and shook his head.


    I hope I won''t do something bad one day under the influence of this perverted bastard.


    "So Alex, would you do that?" Jake asked.


    Alex smiled. "I would try" he said.


    Then he laid in bed and began to think of everything that had happened to him right from the moment he set out of the mansion to the red lotus mountain and down to skytrident city and finally here.


    He recalled those beautiful faces he had seen. Kate, Deborah and Olivia.


    He recalled their faces and their smiles and he smiled too.


    Then he thought about Olivia. He told her he would come to their academy when he was in the earth adept stage.


    But he was still in the middle-phase entry stage.


    It wasn''t that Alex wasn''t cultivating diligently. In fact, he was cultivating arduously. It was just that he cultivated so many energies at once and the depth of a cultivation layer to the next for him was far greater than that for his peers.


    He would have to cultivate more to accumulate more energy so he could break through to the late-phase condensation stage.


    When he gathers enough energy, he would break through the boundary membrane to enter the next cultivation realm.


    But he was closer to it. Very soon he should achieve a breakthrough.


    He thought of what cultivation stage they would all be in by now. He believed Kate and Deborah must have broken through to the condensation stage and Olivia, probably into the late-phase or peak-phase condensation stage.


    He yearned for her enchanting face once more and her charming smile that can eradicate gloom in one''s heart and replace it with boundless happiness.


    Then he remembered that powerful female expert he met in the skull valley.


    "Michelle, pure land continent, pure land greatverse" he uttered.


    That was another beautiful lady he met on his journey. He smiled when he recalled her striking body details.


    She still had the best figure of all the women he had seen. She had an hourglass figure, a full chest and a full round bottom. He could notice this from the way they stretched the provocative gown she wore to the maximum.


    When he recalled how she looked so seductive in that white sexy gown that revealed half of her busts and long slit that exposed her thighs, he uttered in his mind, "Heavenly Seductress"


    The only thing is her beauty was on par with that of instructor Jennifer''s who was another ridiculously beautiful lady.


    He wondered what gave birth to them to be so beautiful.


    He smiled at the great fortune of the men that would have these beauties.


    Then he recalled all that his uncle told him.


    When he thought about all that he said. He took he a deep breath and his shone with blaze. This was the fire of anger blazing in his eyes.


    "Sae-uhlians. You took something extremely precious for me. Come and eradicate me before I grow because when I grow to become immensely powerful. I don''t care about your overwhelming numbers, I would be the one to eradicate you instead. You would use your lives to pay for what you took from me" he said in his mind with a sky-piercing confidence .


    He remembered what he said he would do when he was still at the skytrident city.


    He had promised then to help the poor. He would give out money and other items to those who can''t feed or afford things and protection to those who are weak to defend themselves from oppressors and how he vowed to punish every evil cultivator that comes his way.


    Although he won''t take their lives but if they refuse to yield to corrections, then they should forget about living.


    "My abilities are getting numerous day by day. Now, I can produce a slight power of destruction from the grand god-eyes of destruction, I can gain physical strength that can rival that of heaven adept-stage cultivator, I can perceive emotional energies, my body hairs can sense presence of something and now, I can hear from far. I am wickedly blessed." He said inwardly in excitement.


    "My coming here actually hasn''t been in vain. I gained realization of these abilities in this academy. Instructor Jennifer has unknowingly helped me a lot. Except there is a downside. What if I accidentally produce a power that shouldn''t be able available to me at my cultivation stage? Well, I would be careful. I would try not to get angry over something because my abilities seem to work with anger. They only surface when I am angry." he said as he now identified what could cause his powers to suddenly erupt.


    Then he suddenly thought of something.


    "Wait. What if I focus my eyes to see very far, would I be able to do it and if I concentrate on my nose to perceive smells from long distances, would I be able to do it so?" he asked inwardly with a smile.


    He was sure it would work.

 Chapter 60: Poisoned

    Then he came out of the room and focused his eyes to see far. It didn''t work. But he didn''t back down.


    He continued to try to. After doing it for sometime, the distance suddenly drew closer in his eyes.


    It was like his eyes became a telescope. He could see clearly what was in the distance.


    "It worked!"


    He became excited.


    Then he tried to see if he could push the range further. He focused hardly, and his vision picked up from where it stopped and continued to move further into the distance.


    Like it had an unlimited range, it continued to move. But then, it stopped at a place. And no matter what Alex did, it didn''t increase.


    His vision stopped at about six hundred feet away.


    Wow!


    This made him extremely glad.


    If Alex could see his eyes at this moment, he would see that golden abstruse patterns had appeared in them.


    His eyes had changed into another god-eyes it merged with.


    It was these eyes that enabled him to see what was going on in thousands of worlds in the frightening dream he usually had about his father when he fought the people of the Sae-Uhl race.


    This was the Heavenly Mystery Revealment eye or star-gazing god-eyes which he would know about later.


    It had more than just see far. Alex would discover the rest of it abilities with time.


    "Haha. I knew I could do it." he said inwardly. He believed with time he would be able to to see further than that.


    Alex became elated that he had just discovered another wonderful ability. Then he uttered in his mind, "Truly blessed by the realmverse. It''s like my abilities are infinite"


    He recomposed himself and tried to see if he could detect smells or scents in the distance. He focused very hard but he couldn''t do it.


    After a long while of doing that, he saw he couldn''t. Then he pouted. "Well, maybe it''s not yet available to me." he said inwardly.


    He went back inside.


    It was night.


    The others had started sleeping including Jake who was smiling. The way he smiled seemed he was doing something immoral in his dream.


    Alex was bothered with his cultivation. He was still in the middle-phase entry stage all this while.


    He shook his head.


    "Being a deviant is a good thing and a bad thing at the same time." He said inwardly.


    But he knew the reason for his slowness in cultivation was because he cultivated so many energies.


    He had so many supernal battle entity-grade (A-grade) duality and trinity methodologies that caught his interest because of their plethoric godly techniques.


    He marveled at their power and so he employed their cultivation techniques to enter harmony with their respective cultivation energies which he absorbed into his body.


    Now he had more than fifteen cultivation energies.


    Windforce energy being the first he long cultivated had more quality and quantity than the rest of his energies and was already at stage where it would shatter that boundary membrane to enter into the next cultivation layer. It had reached it peak and could break in anytime.


    But it couldn''t as the other energies Alex cultivated had to reach the level of quality and quantity it had reached. In other words, they were the ones holding it back.


    It''s a rule of this world that all energies cultivated must be of the same level before one could charge into the next realm.


    He got up from bed and sat in the cross-legged position on the ground. He closed his eyes and began to cultivate darkforce energy.


    This was one of the remaining five energies of the fifteen energies Alex cultivated that hadn''t reached the level in quality and quantity others had reached.


    He could cultivate darkforce energy by utilizing the cultivation technique in the ''Butchering Fiendgods Darkness Methodology''.


    Motes of dark light gathered around him. They had suddenly appeared from nowhere.


    When they appeared, they entered his body through his pores, then into his energy-channels (force-arteries) and down to his energyhouse where they fused with the mass of energy of darkforce energy gathered there.


    The motes of dark brilliance became vastly numerous in number that they concealed his figure in their dark light.


    If a heaven adept-stage cultivator heaven sense comes scanning, they won''t be able to detect Alex in this encompassing speckles that gave out pitch-black light.


    It is an energy of concealment, for stealth, for partial invisibility. It is less stronger in the day but extremely strong at night.


    He cultivated till morning then he stopped. He didn''t want the boys in the room to see him. He sat on his bed and closed his eyes. But he wasn''t sleeping.


    Today was another day of lecture.


    "Another day of trouble." he said in his mind.


    This was the third day since he came to this academy. He believed he would make it out.


    Also he had begun to enjoy the academy. It was fun. He felt resentment for his uncle when he realized all that he had been missing. But he couldn''t complain. It was for his sake.


    While Alex went about with his activities. The entity in The Purifier''s sword was slumbing. It still hadn''t recovered it energy. Same with the control-entity in the Azure Beastsman''s palace.


    ....


    Once sunlight penetrated into the room, Alex''s yes snapped open. He quickly got off his bed and went to shower. After showering, he put on his uniform and dashed to the lecture block.


    If he was slow, Jake would tell him to wait for him. He would only end up going himself and very late. He had promised the teacher that takes the first class he wouldn''t do that again.


    At the time he left, although quite early, he met students on the way. These were also earlyrisers. They were going to their respective lecture blocks for classes.


    Alex got into the first hall and settled down.


    "You are very early today" someone came over and said with a smile. Alex looked at this person and nodded his head. "What can I do since I promised the instructor I wouldn''t come late to his class." Alex replied.


    The person nodded and went back to his seat.


    .......


    Jake got up from bed. He looked around and couldn''t find Alex. "Where is this bastard? Did he leave me behind to go to class? Seriously? What an asshole" he said out loud.


    The other guys that inhabited the room with him and Alex had also gone to their lecture blocks.


    This showed he woke up quite late.


    When he saw the time, his eyes widened. "Heck!". Then he rushed into the shower room.


    Suddenly, the region between Alex''s eyebrows tingled. He felt a strong tingling sensation there. Then he became greatly uneasy.


    "Is something bad about to happen here again? In this hall?" he thought as he focused on his hearing.


    He didn''t know what stimulated the sensation he felt at the space between his brows. So he had to be very careful.


    But to his amazement, nothing happened in here. Everyone''s heart was calm but he was still cautious.


    Then he began to think hard of what can bring about the sensation, he suddenly thought of instructor Micah and his insidiousness.


    Then he looked around and focused more on his amplified hearing. Everyone''s heartbeat in the hall were still beating at the normal rhythm.


    From their heartbeat pattern which was calm, he believed nobody in here wanted to do anything bad to him. Regardless, he still felt he should be careful.


    Then he thought of Jake. "What if it''s him?"


    His heart became erratic. Perhaps the harm was directed at Jake since he was related to him.


    He looked at the time, it was still five minutes before class started. So he quickly left the hall.


    By the time he would get to his hostel block. He saw Jake on the ground naked bringing foam from his mouth and convulsing.


    Seeing him like that Alex''s heart became exceedingly frantic. He quickly produced a peerless-rank heaven-tier healing pill.


    This was a healing pill that would help heaven adept-stage cultivators heal.


    He quickly fed his friend the pill. Then he looked around. He saw black powder on the ground.


    "Powder?" he asked inwardly.


    Then he looked at Jake''s face. There was black powder on his face too.


    He came to a realization that they blew the black powder in his face which Jake inhaled and caused him to be like this.


    The powder must be poison.


    "Instructor Micah!!"


    He roared in his mind as a massive fire of rage erupted in his eyes.


    Suddenly, his body transformed.


    His hair turned dark purple, his skin crimson. Then patterns appeared all over his body and pulsed with power. Dark purple flames enveloped his figure.


    Alex''s heart shook when he saw the form he had taken.


    He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Like that he began to take in breath that stretched his lungs to the maximum and out slowly through his mouth.


    Then he recalled all the beautiful faces he had seen and the wonderful moments he had with each of them.


    slowly, his anger began to abate. He did this to grind away the angry emotions in his heart.


    Then he deployed his willpower on the divine physique forcing it to revert. After a few seconds, his body returned to normal.


    He quickly looked into his dad''s interspatial necklace at the things he sorted out for different cultivation realms.


    He went to the poison-eliminating pills collections and picked up the one for a saint-stage cultivator. He wrapped a sliver of his consciousness around a bottle containing the pill and pulled it out of the necklace.


    Once the bottle appeared. He quickly grabbed it and removed a pill from it. Then put it onto his friend''s mouth.


    His fingers were trembling as he did so. He didn''t want his only friend to die. He was scared about Jake''s fate.

 Chapter 61: Scene

    Then he felt one wasn''t enough, he gave him three more and prayed in his heart that he should be okay.


    When Alex gave him the healing pill. It had turned into an excessive amount of healforce energy. The poison wasn''t able to wreak havoc in Jake''s body. It action became restrained.


    Then when the the poison-removing pills entered his body, they fought the poison in his system and pushed them out of his body.


    They came out through his pores and where dark black in colour. Seeing that the poisonous substance was being ejected out of his Jake''s body, Alex''s heart slowly calmed.


    He waited for a while. When he saw no more black substance was coming out


    Then he fed Jake a vitality pill. He also felt one wasn''t enough, he gave him another. This turned to overwhelming amounts of vitalforce energy in Jake''s body and his vitality began to return.


    Alex sat beside him and prayed for Jake in his heart.


    After a while, Jake''s eyes snapped open. He looked at himself and at the mess he created on the floor.


    He looked at Alex and realized it was Alex who had brought him back to life. His eyes glistened as tears welled up in them.


    He stood up and told Alex "Thank you"


    "No need for thanks" Alex said. Then he stood from where he sat on the ground.


    Then their eyes turned evil. Alex looked at him and asked "Did you see their faces?" he asked.


    "I did" Jake replied.


    "It''s just we don''t know who they are." Alex said.


    "I know who they are. I have seen them in my class before. They are also in the condensation stage. We have classes together in the same lecture block" Jake replied.


    Alex''s eyes shone. "Good. How many of them did you see?" he asked.


    "There were five of them" Jake replied.


    Alex nodded. "Let''s go for our classes. They would be shocked to see you in the hall" Alex said.


    Jake nodded.


    As they had turned brothers-in-arms. They now quite understand each other. What surfaced in Alex''s mind appeared in Jake''s mind.


    Alex looked at the time and saw he was already fifteen minutes late for class.


    "Again?" he roared in his mind.


    Those bastards. He cursed in his mind.


    Then they set our together to their respective lecture blocks.


    When Alex got to his, the instructor was already in and was teaching.


    Alex shook his head. Then he mustered confidence.


    He opened the door and walked in.


    The instant he did, everyone''s head turned to see who was just coming in by this time and they saw Alex.


    Their mouth became wide open in surprise. This guy again? Why is he trying so hard to be popular? For what end? He just wants to be popular in the academy so badly. So they felt.


    Alex couldn''t be bothered with their gazes. He greeted the instructor.


    The man looked at him and asked. "You came late today again. What''s the reason?"


    Alex quickly said. "I had come before. You could ask them. A few of them saw me this morning. But I quickly hurried back to do something which took my time or I would have been back before class started."


    "Hmm. Is it true what he says?" he thought then asked everyone that were seated.


    A few good souls stood and said they saw Alex come to the hall this morning and that he left hurriedly to go do something, just as he had said.


    The instructor then turned to face Alex." I am curious. What''s it you went to do?" He asked.


    "I was called by instructor Jennifer. She asked me to come to do something for her" He replied.


    At the mention of Jennifer''s name. His eyes widened and so did the eyes of the student.


    What a lucky bastard. He gets to meet and talk with the most beautiful lady in our world.


    The boys said in a cursing tone in their heart.


    They wished they were the one in his place. They believed anytime they would be around her, all their problems, worries would vanish and be replaced by incomparable beauty and joy which would fill the void in their hearts.


    "Okay. Go to your seat" the instructor said.


    Then Alex went to seat and the instructor resumed his lecture.


    The instructor was the same person that thought them yesterday on general knowledge. Each subjects had a permanent teacher for them.


    ...


    When Jake entered, the boys who were jotting down a thing or two into their book as lecture went on and were smiling from ear to ear as they would soon receive the reward that instructor Micah promised them became deeply shocked when they saw Jake.


    "He didn''t die?" the boys'' minds trembled. This was a great problem.


    Trouble was coming their way.


    Then they decided that after class they would go meet him and blow the powder in his face again. They still had some left.


    After class ended for the day, everyone left the hall. Jake did too as well as the boys.


    When Jake came out of the hall, the boys followed behind him.


    Alex too had finished classes at this time and was already waiting outside. There was fury in his heart that he wanted to unleash.


    The lecture block for entry stage and condensation stage were adjacent to each other.


    So, immediately Jake came out, Alex who was already out saw him. He didn''t do anything. He waited in his position. He wanted to see some action as some boys were behind Jake.


    He saw that the hands of one of the boys had clenched into a fist. This person was holding the poison powder in his fist.


    Then he saw how one of the boys called out Jake''s name and the boy with the powder in his hand brought up his fist to blow the powder in Jake''s face.


    Then everything became slow in his eyes.


    Alex saw in slow motion how the boy opened his mouth to blow out the substance held in his hand.


    Then Alex''s eyes turned cyan, it emitted strong cyan light.


    As soon as the boy blew out the substance, Alex deployed his wind control power.


    Abruptly, the air around them turned to strong gales that swept the powder away into the far distance. He did so no one would be harmed.


    The boys were surprised at the unnatural event that just happened.


    Just where did the fucking strong gale come from?


    Then Jake who had turned to see the person who yelled his name created a scene.


    "Hell! you guys again!? I survived the first one. I didn''t say anything. You tried doing it again. Why the fuck are you guys bent on killing me!?" he shouted loud so everyone would hear.


    The heads of everyone turned over to the place where the shout was coming from. Then their ears twitched like they didn''t hear right.


    Poison? A student poisoning another student?


    Then Alex came over.


    He looked at the boys with a blazing eyes and then he looked at Jake. "These nuts tried to kill you in the hostel!?" he asked in an angry tone.


    "Yes, they did. They came to our hostel room this morning. I was coming out of the shower room when something blew in my face. Due to my quick reflexes, I held my breath so I wouldn''t inhale the substance they blew in my face. But I still got some in. It tasted and felt like death. I had to swallow many higher-rank healing pills and poison-clearing pills before my internal system returned to normal. These bastards, I saw their faces. Seeing I escaped unhurt, they tried doing it again!" He shouted trying his best to make everyone hear.


    "What the hell are you talking about? What poison? Are you not the one doing fine in front of all of us? Why are labeling my group as killers? Watch your mouth or your tongue could get burnt." The boy said then he tried leaving the place.


    Alex looked at the boy as he tried leaving with his friends.


    He could detect the boys'' hearts were beating wildly but they kept a calm and innocent face like they didn''t doing anything wrong.


    "Bastards!! Stop right there! You aren''t a killer? Bring out everything in your pocket. If you can do that I would let you go!" Alex shouted at the boy.


    "Are you crazy? It''s a cultivation senior you talk to in this manner? You don''t have respect. I am gonna punish you" The boy shouted.


    "Oh yea? You want to" Alex replied.


    "Quiet!" a female voice boomed out from far.


    Swoosh!


    This person flew over speedily and landed before them. This was Jennifer.


    Alex and the boy, Kyle by name, greeted.


    "What''s wrong? Why are you two creating a scene here?" she asked.


    Alex said. "This bastard tried poisoning my friend."


    Jennifer looked at him. "That''s a very serious accusation" she said. Then she looked at Jake "Are you sure?" she asked.


    "Very sure Instructor Jennifer" he replied.


    Then Alex cut in. "Instructor Jennifer, tell him to bring out everything in his pocket. He still has some poison powder left I believe."


    Jennifer looked at Alex and then at Kyle. "Do as he says. Bring out everything in your pockets. I have things I am doing at the moment, so don''t waste my time. Quickly do what he says and everyone would be on their way" she said in a threatening tone.


    The boy started trembling.


    Just as he was about to put his hands into his pocket to bring out whatever was in.


    He heard a shout in the distance "Stop!"

 Chapter 62: Conditions

    Once Kyle heard a shout. He stopped and the fear in his heart abated.


    Swoosh!


    The person who shouted ''stop'', landed before Kyle. It was without surprise, instructor Micah.


    Jennifer looked at him and her gaze turned cold. She believed it was him who sent these boys to carry out the evil act.


    "This is your doing I believe?" she asked.


    Micah smiled. "You know, why do you still ask? I am surprised your boy has lived through three days. What magic potion did you give him to eat?" he asked.


    She didn''t give a reply his question.


    "Let''s go" Jennifer said to Alex and Jake.


    Alex looked at Kyle, there was still anger in his eyes. He felt like beating him up.


    Kyle looked at him with a smile. Then he looked at Jake. He wondered how Jake was able to survive from that poison. That was no ordinary poison Instructor Micah gave to him to blow in his face.


    Actually, they wanted to blow it in Alex''s face. But since he wasn''t there, they blew it in Jake''s face.


    Once Alex and Jake left with Jennifer, she brought them to her office.


    "In three days time, we would be having the competition. Alex, I don''t want anything to happen to you. Him saying you lived through three days is a warning and a threat. The remaining three days is only going to get extremely tough for you. I don''t know what that bastard has up his sleeves. I can''t let anything happen to you. You are my only hope." she said.


    Alex nodded. He was intelligent to know the three days mentioned by Micah was actually a threat.


    "So what do you suggest I do?" he asked.


    "I want you to forfeit classes for the next three days" she said.


    Alex''s eyes shone. Then he took a deep breath.


    "Why don''t you report instructor Micah to the school authority. They should be able to do something about all this. He is taking an ordinary competition too far" Alex said.


    "He has more connections than me. My request wouldn''t go far." she said.


    Alex''s brows furrowed.


    "What about me? My life too is at stake" Jake said when he saw he wasn''t needed in their discussions.


    "Yea. You too. You should forfeit classes. You can resume classes after the competition" she said.


    Jake nodded.


    "We would forfeit class to avoid his puppets, but what if they come to assault us in our room. They might do worse than what they did today. They could probably fill the room with poisonous gases that may instantly kill us" Jake said.


    Alex nodded at what he said. Their room wasn''t safe anymore.


    Jennifer thought for a long time, then she looked at them. "I would give you two a room to stay in my place." she said.


    Jake''s eyes shone in excitement but his exhilaration was cut short by Alex.


    "Nah. We can''t do that. The whole school is going to crazy about that. We still stay in our room. We would be more careful" Alex said.


    Jake became unhappy at Alex''s suggestion.


    "Is this boy stupid or what?" he asked and cursed in his mind.


    She looked at him and asked. "Are you sure? They could come do anything to you two"


    Alex gave a smile. Right now, he was armed with many uncanny abilities. They wouldn''t be able to escape his powerful senses, from his heightened sense of sight and hearing.


    He nodded.


    She looked at him and could see an aura confidence that couldn''t be dispelled emanate from him. Then she said "I would be scanning every time with my saint-sense too. I don''t what anything happening to you"


    "Instructor Jennifer, nothing is going to happen to me." Alex said assuredly.


    Jake looked at Alex with unbridled resentment in his eyes. "Son of a bitch" he cursed inwardly.


    Then he looked at Jennifer "Ma''am, could I stay in the room? I don''t feel safe at all in that hostel room" Jake said.


    "Oh! Alright. You can stay" she said with a smile.


    Jake heard this and was exceedingly glad.


    Alex''s ears twitched. He wasn''t sure he heard right. "Instructor Jennifer actually agreed that Jake should stay with her? Hmm, that''s great anyways" he said in his mind.


    Then Jennifer looked at Jake with a smile still plastered on her face. "Sure you can. But on three conditions. If you can fulfill them. My home is your home" she said.


    Jake''s eyes shone. "What conditions?" he asked.


    "There are three conditions. First, you cook pre-breakfast, breakfast, lunch, post-lunch and dinner for me. Second, the only food that would be available to you is only rice. Third, you would mop the tiles, sweep the whole compound." She said.


    Haha!


    Alex laughed inwardly. What wicked conditions. Jake would become a slave if he accepts that.


    Jake''s eyes glowed. "The hell" he said in his mind.


    "So do you agree?" she asked.


    "No. Thanks ma''am. I would stay in the hostel room. With your scanning saint-sense, we should be safe" Jake responded.


    Living with her was simply saying I want to become a slave, Jake thought.


    Slaves don''t even work as much as that. That''s torture and abuse. What a wicked lady. He complained in his mind


    Then they left her office and went back to their room.


    - Micah''s office -


    "How was he able to survive that?" Micah asked Kyle who was in front of him.


    "Instructor Micah, we don''t know. He collapsed to the ground in our presence and was shaking. We left him there to die in his nakedness. But we became surprised when we saw him in our classroom. We were greatly shocked. It was like we saw a ghost. It''s a mystery to us how he was able to come back from that." Kyle replied.


    "Things are going very bad for me. In three days time, the competition would take place. The school authority have detained one of my boys and is under serious interrogation. They want him to produce the name of the person that gave him the substance that he put into that liquid which splashed at those kids." Micah said.


    None of his orchestrations had succeeded. He wondered what kind of evil luck was following Alex. Some of his plans had gone awry, and he felt the remaining ones might go awry too if he wasn''t careful.


    - Hostel Block -


    "Alex, I am scared. Those guys might want to attack us again. You should have agreed to stay in Instructor Jennifer''s house" Jake said.


    "Nah. I can''t do that" Alex replied.


    "Why? Can you tell me why?" Jake asked.


    "Is this guy kidding me?" Jake roared in his mind.


    "No reason. It''s just not appropriate. Besides, we could invite extra trouble. Although we are young boys, those terrific cultivators who are instructors in this school could be in love with Instructor Jennifer. What if they get angry over us sleeping in her place. They could become angry and be directing their wrath at us. I already have enough problems to deal with. Can''t be burdened with another." Alex replied.


    Jake thought of it and shook his head agreeably.


    Some of the instructors in the academy might actually like instructor Jennifer very much. If they saw them living at Jennifer''s residence, they would shower them with wrath purely out of envy and jealousy.


    Alex looked at Jake and said. "Asshole, aren''t you a cultivator of the sword. Why are you scared of some bunch of rats. Besides, you killed several times before. Your fucking heart should be hardened"


    "You don''t know anything. An enemy you can see and fight is better. Those that come in your sleep or when your guard is down are the most dangerous. Mighty experts could fall in the hands of such kind of people. It''s good to be careful man" Jake replied.


    "Well, I don''t have a problem with that. I would be safe. Don''t worry, I would watch over you too. Besides, Jennifer''s saint-sense would be scanning" Alex said.


    You would watch over me? Are you kidding me? Asshole!


    Jake went to his bed and laid in it.


    Alex looked at him and shook his head. Then he came out of the room.


    It was still evening and everyone were now moving around in their non-uniform wears. They had changed from their uniforms to clothes.


    They were going from one hostel block to the other. Some went to see their friends to gossip, gist and some for something more serious, like solve an assignment given to them for a particular subject together.


    Being kids of wealthy parents as only their parents could afford a cultivation academy''s tuition fee, they dressed in gorgeous clothes and looked dazzling in them.


    They looked more beautiful in their clothes than in their uniforms. Especially the girls, they were dressed in provocative short skirts and gowns. It was like they were going for a night party.


    The girls who passed by his side to go a particular hostel room would wave at him with a smile. He was the guy with the face every girl would trip for.


    He smiled back amiably and waved at them.

 Chapter 63: Elena

    Then he thought back to what happened to him in the hall. He felt a tingling sensation at the region between his brows.


    He didn''t know what that was but it warned him of immediate danger happening to a close one.


    He touched that spot and tried to feel it out but he felt nothing.


    As he was thinking about it, someone came to his side. Alex came out of his thought to look at who came to him.


    Then he saw that the person was a girl. With his cultivation perception sense, he could sense that the girl was in the peak-phase condensation stage.


    Wow!


    Alex''s eyes shone with amazement. Give this girl some more years and she would break through into the earth adept stage.


    She was beautiful. She had snow-white skin and dark black silky hairs. She had cute and lovable eyes and lips that was painted in pink. Her eye lids were painted pink and she wore a bright pink gown and sparkling pink shoes.


    He was surprised.


    It looked like she was going for a party or something like that.


    "But is this how the girls dress here?" He asked inwardly. He felt the answer to his question should be yes. He had noticed this since the first day he had dinner in the dining hall.


    But this was just the way this particular girl loved to dress. She loved dressing flamboyantly.


    He asked after he regained his state of mind that was initially dazzled. "Hello beautiful, I see you came up to me, what can I do for you?"


    The girl smiled. "Well, I want to be your friend. I hope it''s not too much to ask?"


    Alex''s eyes widened in astonishment. "I would have agreed. But I don''t want to start worrying about another person..." Alex was still speaking when his speech was cut short as the girl put in "I know. Like your friend that was poisoned. You were worried about him. If you have me as your friend, you would also be worried about me because I am connected to you" she said with a smile.


    Alex nodded.


    "Well, You don''t have to. Instructor Micah can''t touch me." she said with a smile.


    "Huh? Really?" Alex asked.


    "Sure." she replied.


    Alex looked at her strangely. "It seems you know what is going on between Instructor Micah and Instructor Jennifer?" he asked.


    "Yes. I do. The whole school too" she replied.


    "I am not talking about the bet which you and the school knows about. I mean there is something brewing between Instructor Jennifer and Instructor Micah. And this can result in fatalities." he said.


    The girl looked at him. "Oh. I don''t know about that. Seems deeper than I thought. You know about it?" she asked.


    "Yea." he said.


    The girl nodded. Then she said "Since something is going on between the two of them, why are you involved. You should pull out of the matter or you could get your fingers burned."


    "I know what I may say would sound foolish to you but it''s just my personality. I never back down. I would help instructor Jennifer to the end. I promised her this. Going back on my promise would affect my determination and my goal." he said.


    Then he looked at her and said with a smile "In the end, I am always a survivor."


    "Oh. You wanna get involved in the matters between two powerful experts and survive?" the girl looked at him and asked.


    Alex only smiled. "So what''s your name?" he asked.


    "Elena" she replied.


    "Nice name. Earlier, you said instructor Micah can''t touch you. Why''s that?" Alex asked. He needed to deeply understand this point she made.


    "We, let''s just say my family is the strongest cultivation family in this state. My grandfather is in the peak-phase Sage General stage while the rest are in the Sage stage. So, he wouldn''t dare do anything to me." Elena said with a smile.


    Alex''s eyes shone with amazement.


    The Sage General stage was four ranks higher than the Saint emperor stage.


    "That''s a powerful family" he said.


    He wondered how old her grandfather would be. Probably ten million years old, he thought.


    Then he recalled the information his uncle transmitted to him when he was battling one of the Sae-uhl being.


    He was extremely powerful as he was able to breathe in space, he had an extremely durable body when he transformed and produced energy-attacks that were the size of a small world.


    He wondered what cultivation stage he would be in and then he thought of the cultivation stage his parent would be in.


    He couldn''t say.


    They were extremely powerful.


    "So, why do you want to be my friend?" Alex asked.


    "Because I like pretty boys." she said with a small laugh.


    "Huh?" Alex was flabbergasted.


    She saw the look on his face and laughed. "Don''t think you are that handsome. Your''s is nowhere as great as my brother." she said.


    "Oh." Alex felt hurt.


    He had always thought he should be the most handsome boy in the world. This he arrived at from the way people looked at him, he felt he must be the ''god of looks and appearance''.


    Elena saw the disappointment in his face and gave a smile.


    Such cuteness.


    "I was only kidding. I actually meant the opposite of what I said earlier" she said. Then she continued, "The reason I want to be your friend is because I like to make friends with geniuses."


    Alex grinned.


    "How do you know I am a genius?" he asked.


    "Well I heard about the fight between you and Kenneth. You were overpowering and at the end, you made a great throw. That''s one physical strength you were able to muster. Besides, you wouldn''t be here if instructor Jennifer noticed no worthy thing about you. Since she brought you here, you must be a genius. Maybe an epic or probably the legendary one." she said with a smile.


    Alex shook his head with a smile plastered on his face. "What about you? Since you are from a powerful family, you should be an epic genius yourself" he asked.


    "Nope." she replied.


    "If you want to sharpen your battle skills, you could try the training room. You could do this the day before your fight" she said trying to advise him.


    "Oh. I actually fixed that day and the day before it for something else" Alex replied.


    "Okay. What is that?" Elena asked.


    "I got invited by the instructor that takes weaponmaking to the weapon forging room. He wants to teach me how to make treasure-weapons" Alex replied.


    "Nice. You know where that is?" She asked.


    "No. Not yet. When it''s time, I would know where it''s located." Alex replied.


    "Okay. We could go there together. Our meeting point would be at the entry-stage lecture block which is the building you normally take lectures" she said.


    "Okay. You got invited too?" Alex asked in a surprised tone.


    "Nope. I am an apprentice there. I take weaponmaking as an extra subject which I pay for separately." she replied.


    "That''s great. Would I be able to apply too?" Alex asked.


    "Sure. As long as you can afford the apprenticeship fee. Besides, you are connected to Instructor Jennifer, they would quickly take you in." she said.


    "Alright. How many years does the apprenticeship last for till I become a licensed weaponmaker?" He asked.


    He remembered one of his mom''s hobbies which was she loved making weapons. And these were always peerless-rank treasure-weapons. He hoped he got her talent too in weaponmaking.


    Besides, he had long decided to learn weaponmaking and design his own weapons.


    He too wanted to journey round worlds and into isolated dangerous zones to get materials to build his weapons, just like those primeval cultivators mentioned in the weapons book whom forged marvel-weapons.


    "For as long as possible. There are three stages you must be complete to become a certified weaponsmaker. These are red, yellow and violet. These correspond to level-1, level-2 and level-3. Level-1 is how to make the bodies of the weapons, level-2 is how to make arrays and level-3 is placing the arrays into voidstones. Once one achieve all these, you become a licensed class-1 weaponmaker." she replied.


    "Hmm. Why the red, yellow and violet?" Alex asked. He didn''t quite understand this.


    "These are colors of uniforms to show what level you have reached. There is an amount of respect that comes with them." Elena replied.


    "Cool." Alex said.


    As Alex was about to chip in another question, he suddenly heard Jake''s voice from behind.


    "Hey, who do we have here?" he came out with a smile and asked.


    Elena looked at him and asked. "Am I familiar to you?"


    Jake shook his head with a smile plastered on his lips. "No you are not. Am just surprised to see the most beautiful girl in the world talking to my friend who doesn''t like women" He said.


    Alex''s eyes shone.


    What a bastard!


    "Oh. He seems to like girls. If he doesn''t, he wouldn''t be here talking to me. He would have long left" Elena replied with a smile.


    "Oh really? Well, that''s good. I guess he''s changing. You know, change is constant. This good boy once told me he doesn''t like girls. Anyways, that''s not important. What''s important is, you are extremely beautiful" Jake said.


    Elena smiled. "Aren''t you the guy I heard was showered with food at the eating hall?" she asked.


    Jake felt pangs of pain in his heart. That was something he would never forget in his life.


    He faced it like a man. "Yea, I am. What''s special about that? The girl was just too extreme. She is someone with an immature brain and abrasive behavior. I detest such people." he said.


    Elena looked at him with astonishment in her eyes. This guy!


    Alex looked at Jake and asked. "I saw you lie in bed to sleep. So your immoral ass wasn''t sleeping?"


    Jake didn''t respond, he only smiled.


    "Alex. I gotta go. If you want to talk to me on anything. You could come see me at my hostel block." Elena said.


    "Oh. Are guys allowed into the female hostel block?" he asked.


    "Sure. The academy encourages interaction between opposite sex. I am not talking about amorous interactions" she replied looking at Jake whose eyes had begun to glow.


    Alex smiled. His friend was done for. He is now infamous in the whole academy.


    Jake shook his head in unhappiness.


    "So my hostel block is A-Block. Room 323. Would be expecting to chat with you soon" Elena said and winked at him.


    "Alright. Talk to you later Elena" Alex said.


    "Wait! You can''t leave now? I just came out. Please talk some more. I wanna chat with you" Jake said hurriedly.


    "Seems you are in desperate need of a female friend. If you want some so badly, go to the make-up room or hairstyling room. You would find so many beautiful girls in there." Elena said with a smile. Then she left.


    Alex looked at Jake. "So asshole, thanks for degrading me." he said.


    Jake looked back at him. "Mtcheew! Do you like girls? I can remember vividly that you said you don''t like girls" He said trying to defend himself.


    "Thanks for ruining me anyways. I am going inside" Alex said. Then he left Jake behind and went into the room.


    Jake came in too.


    "Alex, I am going to the cultivation block." he said.


    "Okay. Just don''t walk in any dark corner or into a silent place. We still have the issue of Instructor Micah on our head. Be careful out there" Alex said.


    Jake nodded and left.


    ...


    Fifteen minutes later..


    On his way to the cultivation room. He suddenly saw some boys gather and begin to move behind him. His heart skipped a beat.


    These bastards again.

 Chapter 64: Exposed

    Jake turned back to look at them.


    "So what you fuckers want now?" he asked.


    "Give us your life" One of them said.


    Then he brought out a treasure-weapon and released an energy-attack at Jake.


    It was an ordinary energy-attack. One not carrying the comprehension of the mysteries of a battle-method.


    Besides, it was not at full power. It was like at 0.5/5 of it power. What they wanted to do was overwhelm him.


    Jake who had readied himself twisted away from the power-attack shooting towards him. He quickly produced his own treasure-weapon which was a sword and discharged energy-attacks at the boys.


    They turned the place into a battleground.


    Then the other boys quickly produced treasure-weapons which they used to release low-power energy-attacks at Jake.


    Jake executed many aerial cartwheels evading the energy-attacks as they shot towards him.


    Jake wasn''t a fool to believe he can take on all the boys. He knew he would be overwhelmed if this goes on. Besides, they might have something that could instantly eliminate him up their sleeves.


    Once he landed from the last cartwheel he did to dodge an attack. He ran quickly to the cultivation block.


    The other boys chased after him.


    Many minutes later..


    They stopped chasing when Jake got to the cultivation block.


    Jake entered and quickly went into one of the cultivation rooms.


    Jake grunted unhappily when felt he would have to stay here till the next morning. He couldn''t go out especially now that night was approaching.


    Then he made up his mind to remain here till morning and cultivate. Besides, he had been slacking off in his cultivation.


    After his mind calmed, he sat in the cross-legged position on the ground.


    Why the boys were so unbridled was because they had Micah''s support and the support of someone else.


    Although the boys could enter the cultivation block but they didn''t.


    These boys that worked for Micah would have tried doing a lot to Alex and Jake but they had to be careful and low key so as not to attract the attention, then the anger of the instructors or doing so might lead to a greater problem that would cause the academy to be torn apart.


    Alex at the moment was seated on his bed going through cultivation manuals he brought out of his dad''s interspatial necklace.


    Then he furrowed his brows. "That asshole isn''t back. Does he want to cultivate till morning?" he asked inwardly.


    "Probably" he replied to his own question.


    His hairs had stood on their ends three times. He knew Jennifer was scanning around his hostel block for any sign of anything that could bring harm to him and his friend.


    Then he produced one in his hand. It was titled ''Purifier Duality Methodology.''


    It was a book on how to cultivate purifier energy and it had it own astonishing battle-methods.


    When he opened the book to read it content, he was shocked. The energy cultivated which was purifier energy was a beyonder-type cultivation energy. It consisted of four other energies which fused to form it.


    He asked himself why he hadn''t gone through this since, he would have cultivated it. But he couldn''t do it again.


    He could only wait till he got to the condensation stage before he could think of cultivating this energy. Besides, he would have to cultivate them separately to a high level and then fuse them at a stage.


    The book had always been in his dad''s interspatial bracelet. He never went through it until today.


    Houston put the book into Alex''s father interspatial necklace. This was the book The Purifier recorded techniques on how to cultivate purifier energy.


    He looked at it for sometime then he kept it back into the necklace.


    Anytime Alex isn''t doing anything, he would go through his father''s books.


    He loved to read, so he could enhance his knowledge. He was also advised to do this by his uncle.


    There were so many books stored in his father''s necklace which gave techniques on how to cultivate energies up to the statute-level stage.


    That is, they gave methods on how to cultivate a basic form of energy, for example pyroforce energy to it principal form or primordial form, which is fire originforce energy.


    He was astonished by the numbers of energies in the world. There were just so many. No wonder the apex of cultivation couldn''t be reached.


    Cultivator''s life span may seem extremely long, it was too short to be able to cultivate the energies in the world.


    He continued to read...


    *Next day*


    Alex got up from the ground in his cultivation position to prepare for today''s class. It was another day and he couldn''t go late again today.


    He went to shower. After he was done showering, he dressed up in his uniform. But then he realized Jake wasn''t back.


    "Does he wants to forfeit classes today?" Alex asked inwardly. "Probably. Seems he is fully engrossed in his cultivation" Alex guessed.


    The other boys out of fear of being unfortunate victims left their hostel room to temporarily reside in their friends'' hostel rooms.


    Some minutes later...


    He felt the hairs on his body stand on their ends.


    He smiled thinking it was instructor Jennifer, then he heard a deep male''s voice in his head.


    "Boy, why don''t you and I see?" that was what rang in his head.


    Alex''s body and soul shook. But it quickly calmed.


    "See!? You bastard instructor." He roared in his mind.


    He already knew who was talking.


    "I am sorry. I have lectures I want to attend. Maybe another time." he replied.


    Since Alex was now linked to instructor Micah through the transmission of transforce energy and he was under his saint-sense, Micah was able to receive his messages.


    Where he was seated, he furrowed his brows as his gaze turned sinister.


    "Do you want to die?" he asked Alex.


    "....."


    There was no reply from Alex.


    "Oh. I see. Because you think you have got Jennifer ''s support you think you can disobey my order. Very good, if you don''t come right now. I would kill your friend" Micah threatened.


    Alex shook.


    He quickly focused on his hearing and tried detecting sounds from the cultivation block which was three hundred feet away.


    But he heard so many heartbeats. He couldn''t say which was Jake.


    "Who are those bastards still in the cultivation block?" he complained in his heart.


    Then he thought of smell and scent.


    He was already used to Jake''s body scent, to the smell that exuded from Jake''s body. This had long registered in his memory.


    Besides, he couldn''t forget as cultivators had powerful memories. He would be able to discern his smell from a thousand others.


    Then he focused on his sense of smell and tried perceiving Jake''s body smell from the cultivation block.


    Hearing no response from Alex, Micah barked in his head. "What a callous soul. So you want your friend to die!?"


    Alex ignored him and put all his concentration into detecting Jake''s body smell.


    A minutes later, he detected it.


    "Haha! He is still there. The bastard is safe" He laughed heartily and said inwardly. He became immensely glad.


    He didn''t know what Micah would do to him when he goes there because of his friend. He had been completely frightened before. His pale-white skin resulting from fear and terror, returned to it usual appealing colour.


    Then seeing the link as a medium to curse Instructor Micah. With extreme happiness radiating from him, he shouted in his head "Son of a bitch, get the hell out of my head!"


    The scream shattered the link between the two of them and this resulted as a backlash to Micah.


    He received a sharp pain in his head which vanished some seconds later.


    He became deeply shocked. Alex shattered the link between the two of them and actually caused him pain even if it was insignificant?


    Alex at the moment saw what his body was doing. It had begun to exude a form of energy that felt ethereal, was shapeless like a smoke and completely black in colour. It was like he was engulfed in a gigantic, dark-black ghostly flame.


    His body and mind shook upon a realization. He had actually just exposed himself.


    How? I thought it was only when I was angry.


    Because he thought his friend was truly captured by Micah, he became gloomy and sadness occupied every inch of the space in his heart.


    But when he discovered Jake was still in the library, he became extremely happy and out of tremendous delight, he caused his body to transform and release this energy.


    With his transformed body, he was able to unleash a power in his head that broke the link between him and Micah.


    Alex reasoned in this direction and finally concluded that it wasn''t only when he was extremely angry that he could transform.


    He could also transform when he was extremely happy. The transformation of his body into divine physiques depended on his sad or happy moods at extreme depth.


    He willed his body to return to normal and instantly, the energy erupting from his body ceased.


    "What am I going to do now?" he was greatly worried.


    Him shattering a mind-link established by a cultivator in the saint emperor stage was too unbelievable.


    Now Micah might see him as somebody that should be focused upon. He would want to know everything about him.


    This is because he would want to understand how a entry-stage cultivator was able to shatter the connection he formed to him with his power.


    "That bastard that is so greedy for treasures. He might think I have a treasure that has merged with my body and is amplifying my abilities." Alex said.


    Then he continued, "If he feels it''s a treasure, he would want to have it by all means so he could study it to see if it has other abilities and try to merge it with his. This is going to be greatly troublesome for me" He said in his mind.


    He quickly left the room and ran to the cultivation block.

 Chapter 65: I would show you

    He went to meet the the person that registered names of people that entered the cultivation rooms to cultivate.


    He got the room number which was room 306 but the lady in charge said he couldn''t go. There were regulations in this place and one of it was that anybody in the cultivation room shouldn''t be disturbed.


    After begging for sometime which the lady didn''t respond to. He said "Actually, I am the boy Instructor Jennifer brought in. I am here on her behalf to call out the boy in room 306. It''s concerning something very urgent." He said.


    The lady looked at him. Whether it was true or false, she couldn''t say but since he said he was here on Instructor Jennifer''s behalf, who was she to not comply to the request?


    Alex went to room 303. This was the room Jake cultivated in.


    Once he got there, he knocked.


    Knock!


    Jake who was still cultivating at the moment came out of it when he heard the sound. His mind became unsettled.


    It seems the boys had gathered this morning again and got tired of waiting outside. So they decided to come in. They had ran out of patience. So he thought.


    Then he thought hard of what to do. He felt he could only blame himself for his misfortune at this moment.


    If he knew, he would have just stayed with Alex in the room. It was because he just wanted to go see some beauties that he told Alex he was going to the cultivation block. But where he had in mind was the make-up room.


    He just wanted to scout the area and then quickly return but those boys attacked him and began to chase him.


    As he was thinking of what to do, he heard a voice.


    "Nut, what are you doing in there? Open this door!"


    His eyes shone. That was Alex''s voice.


    He quickly opened the door.


    "What the fuck are you doing here man?" he asked with indifferent eyes. But his mind was full of happiness.


    "When everyone has settled in class, we would leave here. We can''t attract eyes over." Alex replied.


    Jake could perceive a sense of urgency in Alex''s tone. "What''s wrong? Where are we going to?" he asked with one of his brows furrowed.


    "We would go to instructor Jennifer''s office. I want to talk to her concerning something. I just hope she hasn''t gone to give lectures. To your question, for the remaining days before the competition, we would stay in her place. I have made up my mind " Alex replied.


    Jake''s eyes shone.


    Haha!


    He laughed in great excitement. Then he asked. "That''s brilliant of you. Whoever took your brain just handed it back to you?"


    Alex looked at him and shook his head.


    They sat and waited for everyone to go to class.


    When they felt they had waited enough, they left the cultivation room and hurried down to Jennifer''s office.


    Luckily, Jennifer was still in her office. She was sorting out some stuff. But an hour later, she would leave to go give lecture.


    Knock!


    She heard a knock on the door. She became surprised.


    Who would be knocking on her door at this time? She was perplexed.


    From where she seated, a formless power emanated from her and unlocked the door. She pulled back in that power and said "Come in"


    Then Alex and Jake walked in.


    Jennifer was surprised to see both of them.


    She asked. "What''s wrong? Why aren''t you boys in class?"


    "We can''t go to class." Jake said.


    Before she could speak, Alex quickly said. "Instructor Jennifer, can we stay in that room you said you would give us?"


    She was taken aback. She didn''t know why Alex now accepted to stay in a room at her place. But she couldn''t reject him. "Alright. You are free to move in"


    Alex nodded while Jake''s eyes shone with intense delight.


    "So you boys won''t be going to class today?" she asked.


    "Yes." Alex said.


    "Why? I want to know the reason. Yesterday you assured me, but today I am hearing something else. Tell me" She said.


    "Alright. This morning when I was preparing to go to class, I suddenly heard the voice of Instructor Micah in my head. He ordered me to come to his office and then I replied he should shove his order up his butt" Alex replied.


    Jake''s eyes shone with awe. He looked at Alex and asked "You told him that?"


    "Yes I did." Alex replied.


    Jake shook his head. "Another brilliant feat. Just amazing. No wonder you hurried to where I was and asked we run down to instructor Jennifer''s office." he said. "I wonder how the asshole felt" he said with a grin.


    "Oh, I get. So you want me to defend you in case he comes for you right?" Jennifer asked.


    Alex nodded.


    Jennifer shook her head. What a boy.


    Then she pointed a finger. A wide beam of resplendent light shot out from it and tore a large hole in the fabric of space.


    Alex and Jake could see a room at the other end.


    That was the room she wanted to give to them.


    "Alright. Go in" she said.


    Then Alex and Jake walked into the spatial hole and appeared in the room.


    Then the hole vanished.


    "Haha" Jake gave an unbridled laughter. "Finally!" He shouted.


    Alex looked around in the room and saw that it was dusty and full of cobwebs. It hadn''t been swept and dusted in a long time. It seemed Instructor Jennifer abandoned the room as no one was staying in it. But now he and Jake occupied it.


    So they got to work. They started cleaning the whole place.


    Jennifer was still in her office. It wasn''t time for her to go give lectures.


    She was arranging some files when a knock was heard on the door.


    "Come in" she said.


    Then Micah walked in with a smile plastered on his face.


    "What do you want now?" she asked in a displeased tone.


    "The boys at your place?" he asked.


    "Yes, what about it?" she asked.


    "I want to see that boy. Can you produce him for me. I promise I am not going to hurt him." he said.


    "Can''t take that risk. I know you. You are a very desperate person. You would do anything to achieve your goals. Bad or bad." she said.


    "Oh really? perhaps if I tell you this, you would loosen up. I know a secret you are keeping from everyone" Micah said.


    "That the four-piece necklace is a key to open the door of a vault that contains the lifetime accumulations of a sage expert. Yes, I long figured out that" she replied.


    Micah''s eyes shone.


    "Well, let''s just end everything here. Let''s go together to the place where the vault is located. We would split the wealth sixty-forty" he said.


    "Who receives the fatter share?" Jennifer asked.


    "Me of course" Micah replied.


    "You are a very greedy person. Anyways, I am not splitting anything off with you. It was mine in the first place. The bet still goes on. When either of the boys wins, the person who produced the boy that won the match would take the treasure. Just keep that one piece safe for me" Jennifer said with confidence.


    Jake could feel the unyielding confidence in her tone. He smiled and said, "I see why you are so confident in the boy. He''s not like the others. He''s powerful. I was just wasting away my time all this while setting up obstacles only to be conquered by the bastard in the end. Well, I just discovered that this morning. He''s a gem. Give me the boy, I want to ask him a few questions. That''s all" He said as his tone turned sinister.


    "if I don''t, what will you do?" she asked.


    "I would tell the whole world about the wealth of the sage expert you have." he said in a threatening tone.


    Jennifer body shook.


    "Yes, tremble. I know you know what that means. Every cultivator from the saint emperor realm and grand saint emperor realm would come for you. By the time thousands of them gather before our academy, the academy would have no choice than to beg you to release the key in your hand. Wicked right? Haha" he said and grinned evilly.


    "I will give you twenty four hours to produce the boy. You don''t? Just prepare yourself to loose ownership of the other three piece." he said with an unbridled laughter.


    Then he walked out and jammed the door heavily.


    Jennifer sat on her seat. She became incredibly sad. Her beautiful face became ruined by the worries in her heart.


    If she refuses to produce Alex, she would loose the wealth.


    She sighed in anguish.


    She couldn''t do that to the boy who had always trusted that she would protect him. She was not the betraying type


    When she thought hard over it, she made up her mind.


    - Evening -


    Jennifer''s residence...


    At the moment, Jennifer was in the shower room having a nice warm shower. When she was done, washing away the stress of the day and looking striking, she summoned Alex.


    "Alex, something happened today. And because of it, I have given up on the bet" she said in a sad tone.


    "What? Why? You can''t do that?" Alex hurriedly said.


    "Yes, I have to. I was told to choose between you and the wealth. I have to let go of the wealth. What did you do to him exactly?" Jennifer asked.


    Alex upon hearing this felt extremely down. What happened this morning had caused everything to turn around.


    He looked at her. Since she could let go of the wealth just for his sake, there was nothing bad if he revealed something to her.


    The impression of her in Alex''s mind went up. She was a good person and she wasn''t greedy.


    He made up his mind.


    "Okay, I would show you"

 Chapter 66: Awed

    Alex at the moment was already understanding so many things about his body.


    Then he focused on all the anger and hatred he had felt so far.


    He focused on his hatred of the sae-uhl race because of the death of his parent and on the anger for what Micah did to Jake and said to Jennifer.


    With rage in his heart and flames of fury burning in his eyes, his body suddenly emitted intense white light.


    He became like the sun. Like a white sun, emitting dazzling radiance that bathed everywhere, dying it white.


    Jennifer had to cover her eyes as she felt she could go blind. Then she sealed up her residence with her power so the power emanating from this physique wouldn''t go out and attract attention.


    She was astonished at first. And when she felt the pulses of power emitting from his physique, she became deeply awed.


    "How''s this possible?"


    An information surfaced in Alex''s mind "Great Immortal Radiance Physique"


    Alex too was surprised, but not too surprised.


    He knew he had always had many physiques but he just didn''t know how to bring them up. But now he had an idea of how to cause them to surface. He could now summon them through his emotions.


    Then he tried to do something.


    Still focusing on the hatred and anger he had felt so far. He deployed his willpower, then he roared in his mind. "Change!"


    Suddenly, the light emanating from him ceased and his body turned violet and felt like steel. He became many feet taller and the pupils in his eyes became three making six pupils.


    Patterns could be seen all over his body and pulsed with power. A dark violet energy erupted from his body and abruptly condensed and shaped into dark violet chains around his arms, back and legs. They looked like real chains.


    At their ends could be seen blades that glowed like they were extremely hot.


    Another information surfaced in his mind. "Violetchain Rebellious Terminator God-physique"


    With this physique, he was afloat in the air. He floated many inches above the ground.


    He was floating and flight abilities only belonged to someone in the Sky Lord stage.


    After a while, his body reverted to normal and he fell to the ground from that height unconscious.


    Jennifer quickly caught him and placed him on her bed.


    But her head was ringing.


    This...?


    There was nothing she could say. She was totally blown away. Spirit, body and soul.


    The two physiques she saw gave out the power of a cultivator in the Saint stage. While he was just in the mid-phase entry stage in cultivation.


    "How is that possible?" She asked in an astonished tone inwardly.


    "That means if he transforms, he would be able to battle someone at the Saint stage. Besides, he is probably going to win such battles. His body looks extremely tough. They felt metal that couldn''t be destroyed any means." this thought flashed in her mind.


    The only thing was he couldn''t sustain it. If it was a life-or-death battle, he had to end it very fast, like in half of a minute.


    But she was overwhelmed.


    She pulled out a chair and sat in it. Then she produced a few of the scrolls that Alex borrowed her which she was going to return once she was done using it. These scrolls had Alex''s parent painting in them.


    Alex had lent her the first time that he came to her residence. He felt strange about what she told him which was that she wanted to look at the picture.


    He didn''t mind. He lent her anyways.


    At this moment, the comprehension of several battle methodologies she studied was nearing the perfection realm.


    Once she reaches perfection of the methods at the Saint emperor stage, she had to continue to comprehend up to the perfection realm for sage priest stage.


    That was where apprehension of the methods stopped as it''s a methodology invented by a sage priest-stage cultivator.


    But she believed this scroll would be able to support her comprehension to that stage.


    An hour later, her understandings broke through the perfection realms of the Saint emperor stage and entered the minor success realm of the Grand Saint emperor stage.


    At this level, because of her increased understandings of the profoundness of the methodologies she studied, she could now produce more power than before.


    Although she was in the saint emperor stage, her comprehension was now in the grand saint emperor stage. This would enable her to erupt power in the grand saint emperor stage. She only needed energy to support this.


    She had gotten a clue on something, which was whoever drew this painting infused the comprehension of the methodologies he or she studied into it and that the person must be a woman as the methods were ladylike.


    Only women would use such techniques.


    It has beauty and possesses deadly power.


    The scroll was imbued with all the person''s comprehension using mentalforce energy, an energy that can hold mental information.


    She was lucky to have studied a few of the methodologies that related to the ones this person studied. It was what was helping her now.


    Because the methodologies share similarities, the places where she was stuck in all this while in her understanding of the methods became opened and she could climb to a higher understanding in it.


    Vast information about them filled her head and she was rapidly comprehending the techniques to perfection, as the mentalforce energy flowed into her head.


    This was the strange power she felt when she first opened the scroll then.


    If she cultivated mentalforce energy, she would see that it was actually large amount of words condensed from that energy that were flowing into her memory, enhancing and consolidating what she knew about the methods she studied.


    Then she looked at Alex and uttered with a smile, "His mother drew this painting."


    Many hours later..


    Alex woke up. When his eyes snapped open, he saw he was in a bed. The bed had the scent of a woman. His eyes widened, he quickly jumped to his feet from the bed.


    Jennifer who was still comprehending opened her eyes at the sound of Alex feet hitting the ground.


    She looked at him and smiled. "Pretty boy, you have awakened."


    Then she furled the scroll and kept it away.


    She looked at him with a smile and said, "Your parent must be really powerful people"


    Alex nodded.


    She nodded too with a smile.


    Then she said "I have made up my mind to forsake the sage-stage expert''s wealth. Besides, I can''t have the child of such expert in my hand. So today, because I don''t want anything to happen to you, I would revoke you as a student and take you far away from here" she said.


    Alex''s eyes widened in shock. This was one heavy piece of bad news.


    He looked at her with an ugly face because of what she said and asked "Why?"


    Jennifer looked at him and said. "So many things are involved. If I don''t give you up, I don''t know know what that bastard would do. So you have to be on your way while I face it like that."


    "No, I am not going anywhere" He said.


    "Don''t be stupid at this hour. You would have to go." she said.


    Alex became extremely sad. Then he asked "What about you?"


    "Well, I would resign and move far away from here. I don''t have a family I can return to. So when I go out there, I would become a rogue cultivator. Maybe that way I would be able to get resources for my cultivation." she replied.


    Alex felt pangs of pain in his heart.


    If she left, she would become an unaffiliated cultivator. One who isn''t attached to any organization or firm. Trying to get resources out there would be through extremely brutal battles.


    She could get resources from the school as they would supply her with it, but since she would leave, she would have to fight for it out there.


    Besides, it would be extremely dangerous for her. Her beauty was like a beacon. It would summon hordes of cultivators that are beasts and demons at hearts. They would lust for her body.


    He couldn''t imagine this beautiful lady going through all that.


    Alex! You are a bastard.


    He cursed himself in his mind. It was his fault for getting over excited over a small matter and revealing a strange power to Micah.


    He looked at Jennifer and said "You don''t need to resign and I am not going anywhere."


    Jennifer became short of words. What''s wrong with this boy''s brain at this moment?


    Before she could talk, Alex produced a sword from his dad''s interspatial necklace. It was a shiny blue sword with a crimson sharp edge. At the handle could be seen four socket. These were socket for voidstones.


    Then he produced a full body armor. It was a thin, light-weight armor that was silver in colour.


    She looked at him with shock in her eyes.


    These were really powerful treasures. When she came out of her dazzled state, she asked "What do I do with this?"


    "Fight? You are not a coward." Alex said looking at her in the eyes.


    "Oh. I can''t fight that many people. Put the treasures away" she said.


    "Does that mean you are coward?" He asked.


    Jennifer''s eyes shone with anger because of what Alex said which felt very rude to her. But she calmed herself. "So, what am I going to actually do with this when so many people are attacking at once? Huh!?" She asked in an infuriated tone.


    "How would you know if you don''t try it out?" Alex asked.


    Jennifer looked at him. Then she shook her head.


    "Okay" she said. She collected the sword and the armor from him.


    She sent a sliver of her awareness into the armor and a message appeared in her head.


    Name: Great Silver Skeleton Forging Armor.


    Stage: Saint emperor


    Ability: Transforms user''s bones.


    Method of activation: Drip blood seven times on armor.


    The armormaker had recorded information about the armor in it. The information is only accessed when one sends one''s perception onto it.


    Jennifer was surprised. Where did this boy get this? Then she thought, it''s normal for him to have this. Having such powerful parent, of course, he would have their lifetime accumulations.


    The instant she activated it. The armor glowed in a silver light, then it became like a viscous, semi-liquid substance.


    It stretched from the hands which she used to hold the armor to every part of her body, encompassing her figure.


    Her body glowed in a bright silver light for a long time before it receded.


    The armor actually melted into her body and infused into her bones making it extremely strong.


    Her bones at this moment became extremely durable and powerful. Her skeletal strength; the physical strength her skeleton could give her increased from that of normal human strength to that of a cultivator that had cultivated the body to the sage general stage.


    She was an energy cultivator and not a body cultivator that cultivated body to make it extremely tough. Their bones, muscles would become extremely powerful by infusing energy into it. But this came with great pain and cultivators of this kind are very rare.


    Also, If she had cultivated strengthforce energy, she would be able to use the energy to amplify her physical strength.


    As an energy cultivator, she could only use energies cultivated to attack. But now, she had physical strength that could match the power of an attack of someone in the sage general realm.


    For example, If the energy-attack of a sage general could produce trillion tons of force, she now possessed the strength to be able to produce that same amount of force when she punches.


    Besides, it now needed more than this amount of force to be able to break her bones.


    She felt extremely strong. She felt like she was a goddess of might and strength.


    She looked at Alex deeply astonished.


    Alex smiled.


    She was amazed. She quickly sent her perception into the sword.


    Name: Sky-splitting sword.


    Stage: Saint emperor


    Ability: Produce powerful slashes that can rent cities apart at full power.


    Socket: 4


    She activated the sword. The moment she did, it became heavy that despite her physical strength, it was quite heavy for her. Only she knew the weight of the sword.


    The sharp edge gave out an intense crimson light. It produced the feeling that it would slice anything to halves. Even the air around it got slashed apart by the sharpness-power emanating from it. This created gashes of vacuum in the air.


    The sky-splitting sword in Jennifer''s hand was a peerless-rank commander-weapon. And it was forged by Alex''s mom.


    Every cultivator uses treasure-weapon that matches their cultivation stage.


    So, a commander-weapon is extremely suitable for a cultivator in the sage general stage.


    Her eyes shone with intent for battle.


    "Let them come" she uttered.

 Chapter 67: Cultivating I

    Alex smiled when he saw the battle intent that had begun to erupt from her.


    He was happy.


    Now that she was stronger, she would protect him.


    At least, he found someone who cared about him. That''s why he was generous.


    Actually he had to be generous because, firstly, she was a friendly and a lovely person. Secondly, he had so many of these things. They were just too many. His mom who loved forging forged a lot of these things.


    It was an hobby for her. Anytime she wasn''t doing anything, she would start forging. And her forging skills in her own time was peerless.


    Right from when she was young up to that fearsome cultivation stage she reached, her height in forging was unattainable.


    She was unexcelled throughout her lifetime.


    She was very productive. She could forge hundreds of treasures of different abilities and characteristics in half of a month.


    As long as she had the materials.


    Besides, she went to forbidden areas of famed ancient experts to collect their legacies.


    It''s called forbidden areas because these were zones the experts died in.


    So the place, for thousands of kilometers, had been transformed by the power emitting from their bodies into a place that was extremely dreadful.


    The vast aura of power emitting from the bodies of these experts could kill anyone in a rank lower than their''s. But she could, to give one an inkling of the degree of her strength.


    So, the legacies she obtained were vast records of cultivation of unknown world-energies, astonishing amounts of fearsome treasure-weapons and powerful myriad treasures.


    Also, his dad''s treasure collection and that of his friends'' and vassal forces were with him.


    Cultivators don''t usually settle down to marry. They are always cultivating to be stronger. That''s why it was when Alex''s parent reached that stage they decided to marry and have kids.


    Only the lazy ones would settle down and marry to produce kids or those that had become stagnant in their cultivations.


    So he had all their lifetime accumulations as there was no one else to give the wealth they possessed to.


    Alex was just exceedingly lucky.


    "Alex. Thanks for everything you have done for me" Jennifer said emotionally.


    Alex smiled. "No problem Instructor Jennifer. I should be the one thanking you. For being my pillar of protection" he said in an honest tone.


    Alex then left her room and went back to the room she gave he and Jake to stay for the time being.


    When Alex came in, Jake looked at him and gave a smile.


    "What went on between you two in that place?" he asked.


    "Nothing. Just discussing on how to deal with Micah" Alex replied.


    "Liar!" Jake barked. Then he said in a pained tone. "I am your friend, you shouldn''t keep secret from me bro."


    Alex shook his head.


    He could help but scream PERVERT!! in his mind.


    "I am not keeping any secret from you. I promise" Alex said.


    "You spent hours in there. So you guys were speaking about Micah for hours?" Jake asked.


    "Actually, something happened." Alex replied.


    "Like what? tell me" Jake said with eyes that had begun to glow.


    Alex looked at him. "Nope. I am not telling you" he said.


    Then he went to seat on the bed.


    Jake looked at him and shook his head. He could imagine Alex doing it in the missionary style with Jennifer.


    He vowed to get his own babe.


    Alex sat on the bed and so many things were going through his mind.


    He had the bloodline ability of the Azure Beastsman which was the ability to summon millions of beasts from a realm he called beast realm.


    Also, he had the abilities of the hundreds of divine beasts the Azure Beastsman took blood essences from.


    He wondered when he would be able to use the powers. He believed that when he got to a higher cultivation stage, he would be able to sense these powers in his body.


    Then he thought of his own bloodline powers. His parent being powerful experts would have bloodline abilities.


    Then he thought of those physiques.


    Now, he could only access them by bringing up the anger he buried in his heart or when he became over excited. He couldn''t just bring them up to use without getting extremely angry or exceedingly elated.


    But it was good, he felt. At least he has another card for himself. He would unleash them when it was necessary.


    Only when it was totally necessary would he do so. As he had to finish a battle very quickly, like in half a minute or in a minute before he collapses to the ground unconscious.


    It would be dangerous for him if he fought someone higher than him in cultivation like four to five ranks above his and didn''t finish the battle in a minute.


    He had to slay his opponent or adversary in a minute. Or things could go awry from there.


    "Well, let me put that somewhere for now and focus on tomorrow. How would it turn out?" he asked himself.


    Same day. Evening...


    Alex and Jake were summoned to the table to have dinner.


    Nobody spoke to anybody. They just focused on their meal.


    Jake wasn''t happy with this. "What the hell is going on between these two?" he cried out bitterly in his heart.


    He then spoke since no was willing to talk "Instructor Jennifer, you are the most amazing cook I have ever met. The meal you prepared tastes hundred times better than the one prepared by chefs in the statesmaster house"


    Jennifer looked at him with a smile and said "Oh. I am flattered" then she continued with her meal.


    Alex only shook his head with a smile plastered on his face.


    Attention-seeking pervert.


    He continued to eat his food.


    But the meal was truly delicious. Instructor Jennifer was a good cook.


    Alex took a bite of the fried meat and it was really tasteful.


    "Hmm!" he couldn''t help but mutter in his mind.


    His lips began to sheen as oil from the fried meat coated them. Then he drank the fruit wine put there and accidentally belched.


    "Oops! Sorry" Alex hurriedly said.


    Jennifer looked at him. "You have no manners" she said.


    "Yea. Tell the nut. He has no manners. See the way you belched. I could see some food particles jump out of your mouth into my food" Jake said in an unhappy tone.


    "Jake its okay. Observe table manners, please" Jennifer said. Then she continued to eat.


    They became like a small happy family.


    ....


    The next day...


    Before Jennifer went to class, Alex gave her a few stuff in preparation for anything that might come up.


    A few moments after she left, he began to cultivate.


    He was cultivating polarforce energy. This was the energy that creates ice and frost.


    Before him could be seen many snow-white pills. These were ice-cultivation pills for the condensation stage. There were about twenty in front of him.


    In the past, he had been using entry-level pills.


    Those were cultivation pills meant for his cultivation stage.


    Anyone who takes a pill higher than the cultivation stage they were in could become crippled.


    This was because such pills contained large amounts of energy that could become excessive in one''s body and destroy one''s energy-channels.


    This is due to overstraining and the sudden enlargement of the energy channels causing them to ruin.


    But now, he was going to stop using them as they became very insignificant to his cultivation.


    Being an aberrant, he needed to absorb more quantities of energy.


    This was just to quickly increase the amount of energies he cultivated so they could catch up with the others.


    Therefore, he wanted to start taking higher-rank pills so he could quickly push his cultivation energies to the level he wanted. To the level it would satisfy the requirement of the cultivation laws of this realmverse.


    So, he started with condensation-level pills.


    He believed his energy channels wasn''t going to ruin because of some excessive amount of energies.


    He felt his body could handle them as they have handled things that would instantly cause other cultivators to explode.


    He had a tough body that contained primordial energies, could transform into divine physiques without anything happening to his body like his body systems crashing due to the tremendous overload, except fainting for overly straining himself mentally.


    So with this line of thought, he strongly believed some amount of energy meant for the condensation-stage cultivator wouldn''t do a thing to him.


    He had even made up his mind. If the condensation-level pill only increased the quality and quantity of his energy by a few amounts, he would switch to using earth-level pills.


    Apart from him being a cultivation deviant, this was another reason for his slow cultivation speed despite the extremely huge amounts of diverse supreme-rank and peerless-rank cultivation pills.


    He had been fearful all this while of ruining his cultivation. He couldn''t imagine his future without being an expert that would shake worlds with a slight gaze.


    But now, after putting some factual things together about his body in his mind, he has thrown the fear to the ground, stomped on it to pieces and burnt it to cinders.


    He put one of the pills into his mouth and swallowed it. This turned into large amounts of polarforce energy in his body.


    He looked within for a strain but he felt none. He smiled.


    Then he directed this stream of energy along his energy channels (force-arteries) to his energy house where it added to the mass of polarforce energy in there.


    When he was done, he used his inner-self cultivation vision to look at his energyhouse and saw that the polarforce energy in there increased a bit.

 Chapter 68: Cultivating II

    He nodded his head at this development.


    Then he continued to swallow the pill one after the other. This turned into energy which flowed along his energy channels into his energyhouse.


    It was increasing but it was still slightly slow.


    "The heck! Screw you then" he said in his mind.


    Then he packed all the cultivation pills into his hand, about twelve of them and swallowed them at once.


    These turned into extremely large amounts of polarforce energy. But it only caused him to groan a little before the pain he felt vanished.


    "Haha!" He laughed happily.


    Then he directed the energy to his energyhouse.


    Like that, he began to swallow the pills like they were nothing.


    A few hours later, after swallowing more than sixty-five condensation-rank pills. The polarforce energy in his energyhouse entered the same level of quality with many of his energies.


    Only a few of them were remaining. These were strengthforce energy, radiantforce energy, darkforce energy, speedforce enrgy and phantasmforce energy.


    These where energies meant for might and physical muscular strength, for luminance, for stealth and partial invisibility, for alteration of perception of motion of objects and to cast illusions respectively.


    When he thought of the remaining energies he was going to cultivate, he became sad as his mood spoiled.


    "How am I going to go about this?" he said in his mind.


    Then a thought struck him.


    "Can I cultivate all five at once?" He asked inwardly


    "Is it possible for me to cultivate all five energies at once?" he asked again.


    "How would I know if I don''t try." he said.


    Then he closed his eyes and employed his power of perception to the maximum.


    A moment later, he entered a state where he felt very relaxed. And in this state, the power of his senses increased to many folds. Same with his cultivation perception sense.


    He could detect the five energies he thought about.


    He gave a wide smile.


    "I did it!" He uttered in an excited tone inwardly.


    Alex had once entered this state when he first started cultivation. But he didn''t know back then.


    Then when he thought of it again, he smiled at the realization that he had experienced things back then he didn''t know about.


    In this state, he felt very physically and mentally relaxed, his entire sensory perceptions increased and he felt a wonderful divinely sensation wash through his body.


    He was gladdened.


    "What a state" He uttered in his mind.


    "What do I call this state? Uhm.. Ultra Perception State? Yes. That would be fine" he said in his mind giving the unique state he was in a name.


    He named it so because it greatly heightened his amplified senses.


    Then the five energies that orbited around him began to flow into his body through his pores.


    He was surrounded by these energies and they created a beautiful scene around him.


    One could see golden ribbons of energy, they caused the air to vibrate. These were strengthforce energy.


    Another emitted brilliant, resplendent light. They were the sun in the form of threads, as they emitted great luminousness, resplendence and splendor. This was radiantforce energy also called luminiforce energy.


    One was black and deflected light, causing partial invisibility. This was darkforce energy.


    Another seemed to affect the flow of time. If one looked through this energy, some things sped up while slowing down at the same time. This was speedforce energy.


    The last caused the appearance of unreal things to appear.


    Anywhere it casted it light upon was affected by it illusion-power. Worms could be seen floating in the air, cries of pigs could be heard, flames of all colors burned on the ground and single-winged one-eyed green monsters amongst other hideous creatures could be seen and heard shrieking as they flew in the air.


    These energies flowed into Alex''s body. Then they infused into their respective masses of energy increasing their quality and quantity.


    Jake too was also cultivating. He had his eyes closed and was surrounded by threads of swordforce enrgy. They hummed as they flowed into his energyhouse.


    -Jennifer''s office -


    Jennifer was still in her office. It wasn''t time for her to give lectures.


    Knock!


    She heard a knock on her door.


    Her eyes shone when she thought of who might have knocked.


    "Come in!" she said.


    Then a beautiful lady stepped in. She was also an instructor on the academy. If Alex was here he would recognize this woman. She was the one he saw the first time he was summoned to Jennifer''s residence.


    "Jane. What''s you are doing here?" Jennifer asked.


    She thought it was Micah.


    "Can''t I come visit you in your office again, madam?" Jane asked with a smile.


    "Sure you could." Jennifer replied with a smile.


    She looked at Jane and asked "Why aren''t you in your class?"


    "I am done." Jane replied.


    "Okay. So what are you here for? Wanna give me cash or what?" Jennifer asked with a tease in her tone.


    Jane smiled. "I only came to ask you about something" Jane replied.


    Jennifer''s eyes shone.


    "And what would that be?" she asked.


    "Those two boys you brought in. They are not in their hostel. No one saw them yesterday and now they aren''t in class. They at your place?" Jane asked curiously.


    "Why do you mind? Besides, how do you know about this? Monitoring the boys?" Jennifer asked.


    "Nope. Not at all." Jane replied with a smile.


    "Is that why you are here? To ask about the boys?" Jennifer asked.


    "No. That''s not why I am here. Jennifer, what''s going on between you and Micah? All the instructors can sense something going on between you two." Jane said.


    "Nothing. We are just heated up over the bet." Jennifer said with a smile.


    "Hmm!" Jane thought. "Well, if that''s the case. I have to get back to my office" she said.


    A few moments after Jane left, Micah came in with a smile plastered on his face .


    "So have you thought about it?" he asked.


    "Yes" Jennifer replied.


    "Good. Then what''s going to be? The boy or the treasure?" Micah asked.


    "I give you treasure. I am going for the boy" she replied.


    Micah''s eyes shone.


    "So, you would forego the treasure?" he asked with a sinister light emanating from his eyes.


    "Yes. I don''t need it again" Jennifer said. Then she continued "I would find another. Now, you punk can leave my office"

 Chapter 69: In a dark and gloomy place...

    "Oh, am not leaving yet. I am not done with what I want to say. It''s true I told you then to give me either the boy or the treasure, that you would forsake one. Actually, what I wanted was the boy." Micah said.


    "Oh. You want the boy? Well, am sorry about that. I can''t give him to you. You laid out your options and I went for the boy. Now what''s the problem again? Why are you so unworthy to have a deal with? You are so fickle you capricious bastard" Jennifer said with a hint of anger in her voice.


    "You can curse me all you want, I don''t care, I just want the boy." Micah said with a raised voice.


    "And if I don''t surrender him to you?" Jennifer asked.


    "You wouldn''t want that. I discovered a special characteristic about the boy and I have reported about this to someone. Surrender the boy or this person is going to harm you" Micah said in a threatening tone.


    "Oh. What bastard is going to come into the school and harm me? What courageous fool would come into an academy where there are more than twenty instructors in the saint emperor stage? I would love to see such a person and applaud him or her for their unparalleled stupidity" Jennifer said.


    Micah smiled.


    "You don''t know what you are getting yourself into" he said.


    "Neither do you. Now can you leave my office!" Jennifer barked at him.


    Micah eyes turned evil.


    He nodded his head with a smile on his face and left.


    - Evening -


    At a dark and gloomy place...


    "So did she surrender the boy?" An elderly man with a closed eyes asked.


    Ripples of power could be seen emanating from him. It caused the air to tremble.


    "She didn''t. Instead she gave up the treasure." Micah said.


    "She did? She gave up the treasure of a sage stage-expert just for a boy" The man asked as his eyes snapped open.


    The instant they opened, the eyes glowed brilliantly and rays of power shot off it into a wall.


    Bang!


    The walls exploded into smithereens.


    Only someone in the grand saint emperor realm would be able to do this. Would be able to project beams of energy of their eyes.


    It was an ability everyone from the grand saint emperor realm and above can deploy.


    "Yes." Micah replied.


    The man entered into a deep thought for a second.


    In that second, he had thought of a thousand things.


    All that he thought of merged into one conclusion.


    That a powerful anciently treasure must have merged with Alex''s body.


    And the only way to retrieve it was to cut him up and bring out that treasure.


    Just if he could have that treasure, he would become extremely powerful in the state.


    He believed it was far better than the treasures of a sage-stage expert. Such treasures must be treasures forged by primeval godly treasure-forgers.


    That would beat everything a sage-stage expert could have.


    When it gets to his hand, he believed he would be able to unleash more power through it.


    Why he arrived at all these was because no matter how he thought about it, from vastly different perspectives, a mid-phase entry stage-cultivator should be hopeless and powerless before a saint emperor stage-expert.


    But this boy could destroy a link between himself and such an expert.


    He vowed to get the treasure for he had a great plan.


    He looked at Micah. Then he asked "Has she discovered anything peculiar about the boy?"


    "Probably. Or maybe she just want to protect him" Micah said with uncertainty in his voice.


    "She just want to protect him? I would see how far she would go about that. Micah, I will take it up from here" He said.


    Micah nodded and flew away.


    - Next day -


    Knock!


    Someone knocked on Jennifer''s office door.


    Come in!


    A beautiful female voice sounded from within.


    Then Micah came in.


    Jennifer looked at him and asked "What are you here for again?"


    "Nothing. I just came to return the one piece of the key to the vault''s door I have with me" Micah said.


    Then the piece appeared in front of him and floated towards Jennifer by applying his telekinetic power.


    Jennifer was surprised.


    "What''s going on?" she thought inwardly. Then she grabbed hold of the piece and stowed it into her interspatial ring.


    Then Micah left her office.


    Jennifer began to wonder. "Hmm. Something fishy is definitely on. I have to be careful"


    Anyways, she was glad Micah returned the last piece with him.


    .......


    A week went by peacefully.


    Everyone in the academy were morose when they heard that the battle between the most prettiest boy in the school and John had been canceled.


    The boys became unhappy at this development. They wanted John to tear his face away.


    The girls too were sad. They wanted to see the prettiest boy in their school in action. They wanted to see more of him.


    Since the battle had been canceled and Micah seemed to turn a gentle and amiable soul, he and Jake resumed classes.


    On a certain day, he and Elena went to the weapon forging palace.


    It was an extremely large palace that comprised of seven huge halls. Six of these halls were for different grades of forging and the seventh was a very large hall were all the apprentice met.


    The grades of forging were from class-1 treasure forging to class-6 treasure forging.


    These grades corresponds to the entry stage up to the saint stage.


    In there, he met a lot of people in uniforms. Some in red, some in yellow and the others in violet.


    He knew who these were. They were apprentices who had different levels of ability in forging.


    He exchanged greetings with the ones he met on the way.


    Then he left for the room were they would be teaching on forging for the entry-level.


    In the hall...


    Alex was seated amongst the other apprentice in here. He saw many of the student in his class here.


    "So these guys take forging too?" he asked inwardly in a surprised tone.


    At the front beside a large white board could be seen a man. He was the same instructor that taught Alex and the others weaponmaking in the class.


    He was telling them how to forge treasures.


    "Forging of treasures is split into eight stages. First, selection of materials. Second, the melting of the materials. Third, molding. Fourth, cooling. Sixth, refining. Seventh, remolding and eight cooling." he said.


    Then he took a pause allowing the student jot down a thing or two into their notebooks.


    Then he continued "What do I mean by selection of materials? This is selecting the material required to make a treasure. For example, if you want to forge a lightning sword, what material would you use?" he asked facing the students.


    No one could respond. They were only looking at the instructor to give the answer.


    He looked around to see if anyone raised their hand to answer the question. But he saw no one.


    As he scanned, he saw Alex. Then he gave a smile.


    He said "If you know the answer to the question, spit it out"


    Alex nodded. Then he said "Electreumium metal. They are excellent lightning metallic materials that can be used to forge lightning-ability weapons" he replied.


    "Good" the man said. Then he carried on with his lecture.


    At first, Alex wanted to behave like he didn''t know the answer. But since he was told to answer the question if he knows it, then he will.


    The instructor taught for three hours before he left. Same with the other instructors.


    Today was delivery of long, in-depth lectures on forging.


    When Alex came out, he saw Elena leaning on a wall.


    "Hey. How was lectures?" she asked.


    "I enjoyed it. You?" he asked.


    "Of course I did" she replied with a smile.


    "So thought of registering as an apprentice yet?" She asked.


    "Yea. Take me to the apprenticeship registration room" Alex said.


    Then she took him there.

 Chapter 70: Going over his cards

    In the registration room...


    Elena was discussing with the person who was going to register Alex''s name.


    "Alright. Your registration fee is five hundred yellow sapphirstone and your apprenticeship fee is ten thousand yellow sapphirstones." the man said looking at Alex.


    Elena''s eyes widened.


    She was the one in charge of the talking as Alex knows not a dime how to go about registration.


    "Isn''t that too much? He is the boy Instructor Jennifer brought in" She quickly said.


    "Oh. The special candidate. Alright, this is what I would do. Since you were brought in by an instructor of the academy, I will exempt you from paying the registration fee and then I will slash the apprenticeship tuition fee by half. Now, you would only pay five thousand yellow sapphirstone." the man said.


    Elena nodded. This was better.


    Then Alex was given the registration form. He would take it to Instructor Jennifer to sign for him.


    Days went on smoothly.


    By now, Alex had spent two weeks in the academy.


    There was no problem from anyone. But he knew in his heart this was just the calm before the storm.


    He could feel in his heart that something terrible was brewing but he just couldn''t place it.


    He decided to be more careful.


    On a certain day...


    Jennifer was summoned to the principal''s office.


    She was before an elderly man that looked fifty.


    Perhaps he once had a problem with his cultivation, that was why he looked elderly.


    This is because normally, cultivators don''t age as long as they as they have smooth and continuous breakthroughs into the next cultivation stage.


    This man was a bald man with thick eyebrows and a friendly smiling face.


    His name was Gerald.


    He was the principal of the academy. He was in the grand saint emperor stage.


    "So Jennifer, some extremely wealthy merchant came to our academy to ask for our help. They want to transport an item to another city and they fear they would robbed. They have asked for our help and the help is they want the protection and guidance of a saint emperor-level expert. I thought about it and decided to give you the job." Gerald said.


    Jennifer''s brows furrowed.


    "Why me? There are many others you could give the job. I am not interested." she said.


    "Don''t be quick to reject. They want to trade the map of a sage lord-expert inheritance for this service" he said.


    The instant she heard that, her heart shook.


    A sage lord-level expert''s inheritance. That was the apex stage in the sage category.


    Every cultivation stage are divided into groups or categories. The Sage Lord stage was the acme stage in the group it was in.


    She thought deep for a while.


    Then she nodded her head.


    "Good" Gerald said.


    "They would move during the weekend. So, prepare yourself" he said.


    Jennifer nodded and left his office.


    The academies had many ways of generating profit for themselves. One was through this means. By sending out instructors to protect people who are transporting items from one city, state or region to another.


    The institutions are paid heavily for it while the instructors who acted as protection would be awarded something too.


    Evening...


    She told Alex about it and adviced him to be more careful. Micah who wanted him desperately was still around. She didn''t know what he would do before she comes back.


    He nodded in the light of understanding.


    Next day which was the weekend, she set off.


    She met up with the merchant who wanted her help. They were going to transport an item from one city to another. The city they were going to was ten cities far away from the school she stayed in.


    It would take her months to complete this mission.


    She got into the ultivehicle with them and they sailed away.


    In her heart, she was tremendously worried about Alex.


    "That cute boy" she said inwardly.


    She could clearly visualize the face which she believed would tug the heartstrings of goddesses.


    "Just be careful. I would be back soon." she said.


    A few days later...


    In the academy.


    A large number of students were gathered before the principal.


    He was addressing the whole school.


    The whole school was always addressed like this whenever something important comes up.


    "People have reported appearance of the egg of a water dragon. We would send many of you out to retrieve the egg. But only the ones in the entry stage would be allowed to go." Gerald said.


    The ones at higher cultivation stages grunted.


    Gerald smiled upon hearing the pained grunts of his student "Come on. Why are you grunting? This was decided upon by all the academies, not me alone. We want our new students to develop themselves in battle. So, instructor Douglas, please call out the names of those that have been chosen to go" he said now looking at instructor Douglas.


    Instructor Douglas came out and began to call names. He called out the names of twenty people.


    Alex''s eyes shone when his name was called.


    He then furrowed his brows as he began to think of many things in his head.


    First, instructor Jennifer was sent off. Now, he was called out to venture with some people to retrieve a water dragon egg.


    Although, they wanted to use this means as a medium of competition between the academies but he felt there was something deeper going on.


    "Is this that storm that''s about to happen?" He asked inwardly.


    Then he quickly reorganized all that he had said were his powerful cards. The god-eye of destruction, his physiques, his mutated strengthforce energy, his powerful senses which can further be heightened by entering the ultra ''perception state'' and treasure-weapons.


    When the names of the twenty people were called out. They were given time to prepare. Then they set off in the academy''s ultivehicle.


    They headed to the south where the water dragon egg was rumored to have been seen.


    ...


    A person in the cloud looked at the ultivehicle as it shot into the distance.


    Then this person gave a sinister smile.

 Chapter 71: Soul beast?

    The ultivehicle landed in a place. And in this place, a little below a hundred people could be seen.


    This large number of people consisted of both young boys and girls who were of the ages between fifteen to seventeen.


    These students were from seven institutions in the state. These institutions were the Skywalker academy, Crimson Phoenix academy, Golden Lion academy, Southern Roar academy, Greenwood academy, Victoria Girls academy and Kings academy.


    Including Alex''s academy, there were eight schools in total.


    When everyone were fully gathered. They were told to look everywhere for the water dragon egg in this area individually or in groups and anyone that was able to discover where the egg was should give a signal by shooting an energy beam into the sky from the location they were in.


    Also, anyone who was able to produce the location of the egg could exchange it for something from any of the eight academies.


    It would be like an auction between that student and any of the eight academies. Any of them that could produce an item of more value would get the egg. That was what the instructors from the academy decided upon.


    This was to boost the battling atmosphere between the students.


    And so, they began their search.


    This area they were in was a lush green mountainous valley.


    Many kilometers away could be seen a large forest. It had tall trees that had tall canopies which blocked out sunlight from reaching the forest floor. So the forest was partially dark as light from the sun couldn''t fully penetrate through.


    The boys from Alex''s academy formed their own group. As Alex was someone they disliked so much all because of instructor Jennifer chose him over them, they formed their own groups and left him to be on his own.


    They didn''t want to explore this region adventurously with him in their group.


    Alex didn''t mind this. The only that he minded which gave him fear was that he could sense something evil was lurking around and looking at him.


    ....


    Jennifer was still thinking about Alex''s safety when the ultivehicle she was in stopped in the middle of nowhere.


    Nowhere meant it was an isolated region far from the inhabitation of any race.


    Jennifer''s brows furrowed.


    She asked "Why are we stopping here?"


    "I don''t know what happened. Something is wrong with the engine. Let me go check it out" One of them said.


    Then they began to come down from the vehicle one after the other.


    Jennifer was surprised.


    "Why are they all coming down?" she asked inwardly.


    "Or are they planning something against me? They want to lure me to come down too as they would feel I would become suspicious of their questionable activities. Hmm. I would remain here" she said in her mind.


    She didn''t come down from the ultivehicle. She wanted to see what these people wanted to do.


    The people who came down began to work on the ultivehicle.


    Many minutes later, nothing happened.


    But Jennifer remained alert. She readied herself for any thing that was going to happen as she could detect something fishy was going on.


    She listened and prepared herself. At the moment, she could hear sounds coming from where the people worked on the ultivehicle.


    Many minutes later...


    Twelve people suddenly appeared in the air. They had shot over at extreme speed from different nearby places.


    The instant they arrived at that altitude in the air, they discharged enormous energy-attacks at the ultivehicle she was in.


    Jennifer saw the attacks shooting towards her at great speed. Then she tried to come out of the ultivehicle. But she discovered there was a barrier of light that prevented her from doing so.


    This barrier was emitting from an array that had been set up by the people that came down from the ultivehicle.


    Her eyes burned with fury when she thought in this direction.


    Bastards!


    Then she tried punching to break out of it, but just before her fist could connect to the ultivehicle, the massive energy-attacks rained in on the ultivehicle.


    Boom!!


    Boom!!...


    Several massive explosions occurred.


    When the ultivehicle was first impacted by the attacks, a huge mushroom cloud of orange fire appeared when it exploded and abruptly, a wave of destructive power erupted from the blast.


    The huge cloud of fire rose to the sky and bathed everywhere in the light and heat emitting from it.


    The energy-attacks unleashed carried hundreds of millions of tons of force.


    Several large craters could be seen in the earth and and blackened tiny fragments of the ultivehicle laid about on the ground.


    The people who launched offensives at Jennifer remained afloat in the air with their brows furrowed.


    "She didn''t die?" they asked in a perplexed tone inwardly.


    As powerful cultivators at the saint emperor stage, they also had powerful physical senses.


    They could hear her heartbeat and that it was beating normally. It didn''t sound like a heartbeat that was slowly fading away. Instead, it had a steady and strong rhythm that made it seem she was confident.


    Then they waited.


    They wanted to see what would remain of her from that terrifying explosion.


    A moment later, Jennifer flew out of one of the craters she was in.


    The people looked at her and saw her fully covered in a grey armor.


    The armor glowed in a dark grey light for sometime before it dimmed.


    Then it vanished off her body appearing in the storage space of her spatial ring.


    This was one of the items Alex gave Jennifer that morning. It was a treasure-armor that would protect the wearer from the energy-attacks of experts in the sage stage.


    When she came out of the crater in the glowing grey armor, the experts were shocked.


    They quickly regained their seriousness and sent out another round of attacks at her.


    "Sky Immolating fire"


    "Heaven shattering Saber strike"...


    They launched barrages of powerful energy-attacks at her. These attacks moved with the force to shatter mountains.


    Seeing the numerous formidable attacks coming at her, Jennifer quickly produced a pentagon-shaped shield which produced a large shield of energy in front of her. This shield of energy had the same shape as the shield in her hand which was pentagon.


    Boom!


    The attacks smashed into the massive screen of energy produced by the shield. As soon as the attacks collided with it, a powerful wave of energy was released and it rushed into the distance in all directions wreaking havoc. But it couldn''t cause vast degree of damages on the ground as the wave raged high in the air.


    With the dozen attacks that impacted the shield of energy, it didn''t break. Except when the attacks smashed into the shield, Jennifer was knocked backward by a few feet.


    But no damage happened to her. Her bones couldn''t shatter from the impact of the attacks. They could resist the shock that transferred to her arm from the collision of the attacks with the shield.


    Although the dozen attacks moved with the power to level mountains, as they could deliver hundred million tons of force each. Her bones were durable to the degree only more than billion tons of force could break them as they had been vastly augmented in hardness and toughness to a great degree.


    Besides, the shield protected her. It was a powerful treasure Alex saw in one of the numerous spatial rings in his dad''s spatial necklace. It was useful for a saint emperor-stage expert.


    The brows of these people wrinkled.


    How''s this possible?


    What''s making her so strong?


    That flurry of attacks should have killed her.


    Isn''t she in the saint emperor realm?


    This?


    These questions shot through their minds at the speed of lightning.


    Jennifer looked at them and said "Who sent you? If you give me the answer, although am a ruthless person, I may allow you go"


    The experts looked at her with a sinister gaze.


    Then one said with a smirk "If I were you, I would just run"


    Jennifer laughed "Run. To where? To the academy? I am going nowhere until I get to the end of this." she said.


    "Then you can just leave your life behind" One of them said.


    The moment he finished saying this, lot of expert appeared in the air. They had also shot over from different places they hid in.


    Jennifer looked at them and became deeply surprised. There were more than forty of them at the saint emperor stage.


    "These people have planned well to eliminate me. What did I do to provoke the ire of a society of murderous cultivators?" Jennifer asked inwardly.


    Gazing at them with coldness in her eyes, she asked "How exactly did I summon the attention of you bastards?"


    Haha!


    One of them laughed "You were warned but you refused to listen. Since you wouldn''t listen to live, then you should listen to the summoning call of your death. Kill her" he said looking at his colleagues.


    With eyes that radiated nefariousness, they produced powerful treasure-weapons and launched devastating energy-attacks at her.


    Jennifer quickly produced the sky-splitting sword and deployed a battle-technique from the battle methodology she studied.


    "Twin Killing Lotus"


    She shouted and slashed out.


    The instant she slashed out, sky blue and crimson-red sharpforce energies (energy of sharpness), produced from arrays in the voidstones, erupted from the sword in enormous amounts.


    These energies condensed and shaped into a blue and red lotus that shot towards the incoming attacks.


    These lotuses each spanned a size of ten thousand meters. They emitted pulses of power that matched that of the attack of a cultivator in the sage general stage.


    As they shot through the air towards the attacks, the air around them and to thousands of feet churned.


    It roiled due to the sage general level-power of sharpness emitting from them. It was like the attacks Jennifer sent out were each composed of tens of thousands of large swords that spanned dozens of miles.


    Boom!!


    The two lotuses collided into the attacks and a ear-splitting boom sound rang out. Then a wave of energy erupted from it and traveled into the distance.


    This wave seemed to possess the power to destroy all in it path as it dispersed the clouds in the sky. It swept both Jennifer and her attackers into the distance.


    But possessing a powerful skeletal framework, she was knocked by a few feet before she regained her balance. While the others were knocked back by more than forty feet.


    When they regained their balance, they looked at Jennifer with astonishment and slight fear in their eyes.


    What was that attack?


    Is that not an attack of an expert in the sage general stage?


    Did that sword in her hand produce the energy-attack?


    What treasure-weapon. Where did she get that?


    Many more of these questions flashed in their heads as their minds reeled in awe from the powerful dual attacks produced by the sword.


    They didn''t know the sword only produced the energy while she infused her comprehension of the method she studied into it which was at the sage general level.


    Her comprehension had broken through into the perfection realm of the sage general stage.


    These people became slightly frightful.


    She possessed the strength to use a sage general weapon and she could withstand the aura of power emanating from the sword.


    This wasn''t what they were told about her.


    They prepared to launch attacks at Jennifer when she suddenly flew away.


    They were surprised she ran, and when they recovered from this state, they began to chase after her.


    Jennifer wanted to attack them too. But then, she thought about Alex. If she could be attacked out here, Alex might not be safe back at the academy.


    Then she thought of that one person that would implement these evil designs against her.


    Micah!


    ...


    While Alex was on his own in the forest doing his best to look for the water dragon egg, he suddenly heard a roar in the distance.


    Roar!!


    This roar seemed to come from everywhere. It shook everyone''s soul.


    Alex''s eyes shone.


    A soul beast!?

 Chapter 72: Mother water dragon

    These were beasts that could cause damage to the soul. They were beasts that had ability to attack the soul.


    He didn''t know what species was here. But he believed they weren''t powerful enough as their soul-shredding roars wouldn''t be able to do anything to the souls of everyone here. They could be rank-2 beasts. So he thought.


    Then he produced a sword in his hand. He wasn''t going to create energy-weapons like he did back then in the valley where he met Michelle.


    He didn''t know if the instructors from the academies were watching everything that was going on. If he created such, they might want to ask him how he came to know about that.


    Also, he produced a ordinary weapon. He couldn''t bring any weapon from his parent''s storage-treasures as they were all supreme-rank and peerless-rank treasure weapons with multiple sockets for voidstones.


    He knew they would come after him to ask how he got his hand on such treasures. They wouldn''t leave him until he produces the location of where he got it or until he produces all the treasure on him.


    Looking like an ordinary student, he was ready for the beasts. He employed his physical senses to the maximum and entered the ultra perception state.


    The instant he entered it, his sense of hearing and smell which could detect sounds and smells from miles away became augmented by a factor of ten.


    No movement escaped his senses.


    He closed his eyes and using his sense of hearing, he could create a mental view of everything around him for a distance of ten miles.


    He became surprised that he could do this too.


    So many abilities. He said inwardly in an excited tone.


    He felt like a child god as he had so many uncanny abilities.


    Then he began to walk without fear of anything as he could see everything in his mental vision based on his powerful sense of hearing.


    As Alex walked about in the forest, someone far in the sky could notice everything that Alex was doing.


    Being a powerful expert, nothing Alex did escaped his vision. He saw how Alex''s chest glowed and then a sword appeared in the air. This surprised this expert greatly.


    Normally, cultivators use spatial rings and spatial belts to store treasures. He had never seen anything like this before in his life. He smiled that he was actually right. That a powerful treasure merged with the boy.


    Haha!


    He laughed wickedly in his mind.


    Although he was right about a powerful treasure merging with Alex but it was just a spatial necklace owned by Alex''s dad with the storage space to store small worlds.


    This particular storage treasure and that of his mom merged with his body, appearing as patterns on the surface of the skin in the part of the body they fused with. Anytime Alex summoned a thing, they would glow softly.


    His parent did this so Alex''s items would be safe with him. If he was unconscious, someone could take the spatial rings on him and leave. That was something they couldn''t afford as it contained all their lifetime accumulations and that of million others which they gathered for their dazzling divinely son.


    But something shocked this expert more.


    This was because Alex had his eyes closed yet he walked like they were wide open. He was able to avoid large stationary object which were trees in his path.


    Jackpot!!


    The expert screamed in his mind.


    "Such a powerful treasure. If I have it, I would be able to study it and unleash more power. Then my plans will come to fruition. Only heaven knows what type of treasure that merged with him. It could be the treasure of a deceased divine adept-category cultivator." The expert said inwardly in an excited tone.


    Then the man waited in the cloud. It wasn''t time yet to strike.


    "Yes, wander off. Wander away from those people and come to me. Haha. Come to this expert" The man said inwardly as he monitored Alex.


    Alex, not knowing someone was watching him, moved like he had eyes on all sides of his head.


    He was able to do this as when wind blew by the trees, the leaves on them fluttered and generated a sound that was nearly imperceptible. But he could hear them, then he took those sounds and used it to draw up an image of the trees in his path and around him.


    So in this manner, he avoided the beasts that appeared in his mental vision. He thought doing this would not allow him to showcase his fearsome combat abilities.


    But how wrong he was. Just by closing his eyes and walking, he had been quickly spotted out.


    Many minutes after the first soul-shaking roar sounded, another sounded.


    Roar!


    But this was more powerful than the previous one as it caused all the students to have tremendous aches in the heads. It felt like their heads wanted wanted to burst open.


    A network of green veins appeared on their heads as they struggled against the roar that seemed to want to rip their souls apart.


    But Alex was exempted.


    When he heard the roar, his soul only shuddered for a bit. Then he focused on his heightened sense of hearing as he tried to trace where the roar was coming from. He traced the roar to the east to a small pool, as it appeared in his inner vision.


    He was surprised that the beast putting out that sound was actually in a pool.


    Then a thought struck him.


    "What if it''s the water dragon egg?" he asked inwardly.


    Then he began to make calculations and deductions in his head at an amazing speed. He arrived at one which was that since the roar was from within the pool, then it must be the egg of the water dragon and that it had hatched.


    His eyes shone with excitement.


    "A baby water dragon! I must get it. I would make it a pet. Awesome. Haha" Alex said in his mind in an elated tone and laughed happily.


    But just as he was about to rush there, he suddenly paused in his actions as another thought struck him.


    "What of mother water dragon. She could still be around and would be a divine beast that would kill me with a gaze".


    He thought hardly for sometime.


    "As Deborah once said, once an opportunity present itself, I must do everything in my power to make use of it. Let me go there and check it out. And if it turns out to be a dangerous exploration, I would immediately leave there" He uttered I''m a solemn tone.


    He was slightly confident in his evasion skills against a divine beast. Now that he had identified how his mutated strengthforce energy works, he could apply them to his muscles so they could transform into powerful and dense muscles to generate force that would probably allow him run at the speed of a heaven adept-stage cultivator in flight.


    Besides, he could control the air by deploying the strong evasion methods in the wind trinity methodology he studied which would be powered by divineforce energy.


    He smiled when he put these two things together in his head.


    If he knew about the other application of strengthforce energy then when he was being chased by instructor Jennifer, he would give her a good tough time in catching him and probably escape. So he felt.


    Then he dashed towards there at high speed. Pushed by powerful gale-speed air currents he got to the location of the pool.


    When he arrived in that area, he stopped dozens of feet away from the pool. Then he began to approach it cautiously.


    He got to the pool and saw that nothing came out to harm him. This was because he was expecting mother water dragon as he called it, out of protection, to fly out of the pool in rage and attack him.


    After waiting for a while, he looked into the pool. He could see nothing as it was too deep.


    What unnatural pool is this? So deep.


    He recalled his amplified sense of vision. Then he exercised his will on his eyes to see further and he did.


    Actually, he unknowingly activated the heavenly mystery revealment god-eyes or star-gazing eyes. Golden abstruse patterns could be seen in the eyes.


    The instant it activated, his vision suddenly enhanced to the extreme and in a second, he could see what was at the bottom of the pool.


    The pool was actually extremely deep that it depth could be fathomed to be fifteen thousand kilometers deep.


    So Alex saw the bottom using that eyes. He was shocked by this but became deeply shocked by what he saw.


    It was a massive blue dragon that stretched for thousands of kilometers and was hundreds of miles wide.


    It looked really fearsome in appearance.


    "This must be a divine beast" Alex muttered inwardly with a heart that suddenly had it tempo speed up.


    He felt it must be this beast that created the pool in here.


    It looked unnatural and unordinary.


    With a heart that had begun to thump wildly. He felt he needed to get away from here very quickly.


    But just then, he noticed wound scars all over the dragon. The wounds were really numerous and looked grievous.


    It was like the beast had a great battle with another beast or maybe a cultivator.


    At the moment, the beast seemed to be sleeping to probably recover from it many, deep wounds.


    Alex couldn''t imagine the pain this beast would be going through. He suddenly felt pity for it. Then he looked around and saw a large egg at that bottom.


    His eyes glittered.


    "Dragon egg!" he screamed in his mind.


    "But what gave off those roars? What''s it the egg or this beast? It seems to be sleeping or it''s probably unconscious. Do I go in there to take the egg? But it''s deep. It''s not like I can swim underwater like a fish"


    Alex began to contemplate if he should go in or not. Even if he could swim underwater, he couldn''t trust his movement speed in water but he could on land.


    As he thought hard of what to to do, the eyelids of the gigantic water dragon beast suddenly snapped open.


    Then it gazed at him.

 Chapter 73: The man in the sky

    Alex''s heart and brain could almost explode into pieces.


    He quickly tried to dash away but he was held in his position by a power that suddenly appeared from nowhere.


    "Not again!"


    He shouted in terror in his mind.


    It was when Jennifer held him like this he felt terror in his mind, now he was experiencing this constraining power again.


    He was powerless against it.


    Then he concentrated on all his buried angry emotions. As he focused on his anger to possibly bring up any physique that would help him to eliminate the restraining power holding him in one place, he heard a swoosh sound.


    Swoosh!


    He looked towards that sound and saw that it was a beautiful woman. She had flew out of the pool.


    She had an attractive face but wounds could be seen all over her body and she was pale white.


    Then the formless power holding Alex fixedly at a spot vanished allowing Alex to regain his body back.


    This should be the divine beast. She had taken the form of a human. Then he wondered why she removed the binding power placed on him earlier.


    He wanted to ask a question when she suddenly spoke. "I am sorry for what I did earlier. I need your help. My name is Nadja and I am from the water dragon kingdom. It was destroyed by the fire dragons after a great feud between them which ran for millions of years. I am now the only surviving member of my race and I arrived here months ago. Then, I was pregnant but I successfully gave birth to my child in this place, on land. Because of humans that had come here, I moved my baby into the pool I dug to hide it away from human cultivators and beings from other races. I am going to die very soon. But before I go, I want to place into your custody and care my only child. Please take care of him"


    Then she brought out a large egg from her spatial ring.


    Alex was speechless.


    He didn''t know what to do.


    When he regained himself, he nodded his head and accepted the egg from her which he stowed away into his spatial necklace. He was also given her spatial ring.


    The egg was still an object. Once it hatches, he wouldn''t be able to store it again in it life form in any of his storage treasures.


    The only way he would be able to store living things like humans is in shelter-type treasures i.e treasures in the form of a building for living and beasts in beast bags.


    Nadja then continued. "Please take care of him well."


    "But.. But why did you choose me of all people?" Alex asked confusedly. He believed he should still be seen as a weakling at this cultivation stage. So he asked.


    Nadja managed to give a smile even as she was in great pains. "It''s our culture to give things to those who come to us when we are exceedingly desperate or in dire need of something. You came when I was dying and was seriously hoping to get someone who would take care of my baby" she replied.


    "But am a nothing" he said.


    "You are now. But I believe in future, you would be an expert that would cause skies to disappear and seize planets and stars" she said with a smile.


    Then she grunted and coughed out blood.


    "Life is leaving me. You need to go. I would go back into the pool and die in there. Please take care of my baby" She said.


    Alex felt sad in his heart for this woman. Then he hurriedly said. "I have many god-level recovery pills with me. You could recover."


    Nadja smiled. "Thank you. Keep it for yourself. You would need it later. Besides, I don''t think any pill can help me recover. I used a forbidden method of my race to escape from the clutches of those people. It granted me great speed but in the end, for that speed, I paid with my life and soul essence. Go now." she said in an hurried tone.


    Just then


    Hahaha!


    "My heart is touched." A man laughed and said as he descended from the sky. He was cloaked in a form of black energy that revolved around him.


    This energy concealed his appearance and figure from both Alex and Nadja.


    But Alex, whose eyes still shone with golden abstruse patterns in them saw who was behind the concealing energy. He saw a face he couldn''t recognize.


    Alex was able to as the heavenly mystery revealment god-eye was still active.


    It was an eye that could see infinitely far, through all forms of concealment and to a higher level, see into the mysteries of the world.


    It was these same eyes Alex used to see Michelle in that pillar of light back at the Skull valley.


    Nadja looked at this person and asked in a worried tone. "Who are you?"


    "I am the one who would kill this boy, take out the treasure that had merged with him and then leave with your child who would become my pet. I hope it turns out to be a girl so I can drive my cunt into and gain the best pleasure under the heavens and in earth from. Hahaha!" the man replied and laughed evilly.


    Nadja''s eyes shone with fury. But there was nothing she could do, she was weak. But she made up her mind. She would fight this man till her last breath. Then she mustered her remaining strength.


    She transformed back into a large dragon and roared at the man.


    The man held his head as green veins appeared in his temple. Then blood could be seen streaming down the man''s ears, nose, eye and mouth.


    This was a roar that targeted his soul. It could almost rip apart.


    The man was just recovering from the soul-rending roar attack when Nadja in her blue dragon form swung her massive tail at him.


    Her powerful muscular tail struck him and he was sent flying for hundreds of feet.


    His chest caved in from that strike and blood spurted out from his mouth like a fountain. He became greatly injured by that one strike.


    The man knew she was a divine beast but one that was greatly weakened and was nearing her death. So he dropped down from the sky to kill her and kill Alex, and then leave with the treasure and egg. But he didn''t expect her to become this powerful by speaking some vexing words.


    He got what he deserved by underestimating Nadja.


    Alex looked at Nadja in her beast form and was amazed by her power. Also, he just realized she was the one that produced those soul-shaking roars then. He believed she did that to scare away the students that had come here in search of the water dragon egg.


    Since Alex wasn''t a target of the roar, he wasn''t affected by it.


    She transformed back to her self but she looked worse than before. Her beautiful face had vanished as she now looked extremely old. Her hair was white and body was very thin. It had emaciated. She was drying up.


    Alex felt really sad for her.


    He knew he had to leave here as there was nothing he could do to a grand saint emperor stage expert.


    He quickly ran away and Nadja became happy at how astute and decisive Alex was.


    Many minutes later...


    She saw the expert flying towards with blood all over his face and body. She tried to transform again but she realized she couldn''t.


    A bead of tear formed in her eyes and rolled down her cheek.


    The only prayer in her heart was Alex should get far away from here so that her baby could be given the chance to grow.


    There was a flash of light.


    Puchi!


    A large sword pierced through her flesh, stabbing into her heart and past it.


    The man then gave a sinister smile and pulled out the sword. The instant she did, blood gushed out like a fountain from that wound. Then he swung his blade around cutting off her head.


    Her headless, lifeless body fell to the ground and blood poured out from it like a small stream.


    Nadja''s corpse became soaked in her own blood as it formed a pool around her.


    Alex at the moment had covered a distance of hundred kilometers. He had infused his leg muscles with his mutated strengthforce energy. This made them very powerful and were able to produce a force that propelled him at high speed.


    Also, he pushed his power over air to the maximum. Strong winds howled behind him as they significantly added to the speed he was running at.


    Very soon, Alex had left the area.


    But the noise of the battle that occurred and the boy moving at shocking speed did not fail to attract the attention of the other instructors.


    They ignored the battle and rushed after Alex.


    Due to the large amount of powerful cultivators on Alex''s trail, the region between his brows suddenly began to tingle and then he felt warm there which suddenly turned hot.


    It was like a danger warning system.


    Alex looked back as he ran and saw about twenty-four instructors in the saint emperor stage blazing in the air towards him at astonishing speed.


    Two of the instructors were from his academy. They were going after him to ask what he was running from and possibly how he was able to achieve such a speed.


    Such a number.


    Alex''s heart became filled with terror.


    Was he not done for? He asked inwardly.


    Leaving a sonic boom in the air, the instructors blazed across the sky at high speeds and appeared in front of him.

 Chapter 74: Chase

    The instructors from his academy asked. "Alex, what''s wrong? What were you running from?" An instructor called Kennedy asked.


    "I was being chased by a sinister expert." Alex replied.


    "What sinister expert? There''s no sinister expert here because we scan the whole place every time with our saint-senses." An instructor from the academy asked.


    Alex shook. Didn''t they see that man?


    "There was. The person killed a female water dragon beast." Alex said.


    As soon as Alex said that, the eyes of the instructors shone.


    "You saw the beast?" One of the instructors asked.


    "Yes I did." Alex replied.


    "Were you able to get the egg?" Another asked.


    "No. I wasn''t able to. How would I be able to do that between a divine beast and a powerful cultivator?" Alex replied.


    "Then why were you being chased by the expert?" one of the instructors asked in a disbelieving tone.


    Alex didn''t know what answer he was going to give. But he quickly thought up a lie.


    "It''s because I was there when they fought. The expert might want to come after me because I was there. Such sinister expert need no reason to kill. That was why I ran away." Alex replied.


    They looked at him for sometime before one of them asked "You were so fast it took a bit of energy to catch you. How were you able to do that?"


    Alex became tongue-tied here.


    He couldn''t say it was because he channeled a form of cultivation energy that increases strength to vast degree to my leg that I was able to achieve such astonishing speed.


    "Give an answer!" One of the instructors roared.


    Seeing Alex wasn''t able to say anything, the instructors from the school he enrolled at spoke to the other instructors.


    "Fellow instructors. This boy is a student of my school. So, we would it take it from here." One of the instructors said.


    "What do you mean by that? What he did was all witnessed by us. He has to tell us how he was able to do that" An instructor from another academy roared.


    Alex was worried. He needed to get away from here. That expert could be looking at him from wherever he was.


    Kennedy and the other Instructor from Alex''s academy looked at the other instructors with fury in their eyes.


    "What now? You want to battle all of us?" An instructor asked.


    Kennedy and the other instructor then looked at Alex. "Run!" they shouted. Then they produced treasure-weapons and dashed towards the other instructors.


    When Alex heard run, he was surprised but it didn''t take more than that second to recover from his surprised state.


    Then he dashed forward at great speed with his muscles glowing in a soft golden light and emitting pulses of power of godly strength and might.


    Like an arrow, his body whistled in the air as he shot into the distance on a straight line on ground.


    Boom!!


    Boom!!


    Alex could hear the sounds of terrifying explosions. He knew that the instructors from his academy were trying their best to hold back the instructors so he could have the chance to escape.


    He felt the speed he was moving at wasn''t great enough, he needed to quickly leave this area.


    Then he focused on his emotions of hatred and anger. He recalled all the feelings he felt when he was told his parent sacrificed themselves in a battle against the sae-uhlian race, the feeling of hatred and anger when Jake was poisoned, the feeling of melancholy when the water dragon gave him her child to protect because she wouldn''t be able to survive the injuries inflicted upon her and the way he felt when the instructors from his academy tried to give him time to escape from the other instructors regardless of injuries that might be sustained.


    Then he made up his mind that their sacrifice wouldn''t go for nothing. With his pent-up emotions, he roared "Speed Physique"


    His legs which were contacting the ground two hundred times in a minute suddenly increased to a million times in a second.


    Then he began to move so fast he left blurs behind.


    When he transformed, an information surfaced in his mind. "Unparalleled Speed God Physique"


    Because of the extremely fast rate at which his legs were touching the ground, he was able to cover large distances in seconds.


    He was moving at the speed a saint-stage cultivator could fly at in the air


    By now, he had appeared in a new area. He was heading towards a mountain range. He chose there to hide from the expert and the instructors.


    His only hope was that there should be a cave in there that he could hide in and that was not yet inhabited by beasts.


    Luck was on his side. When he got there, he saw a cave in one of the mountains he chose to hide himself. The cave was at the foot of the mountain and was properly hidden from view.


    Then he ran into it. The instant he entered the cave. He suddenly fell unconscious with his body landing heavily to the ground.


    ...


    Jennifer at the moment was blazing through the air at a shocking speed. Her plan was to head to a city to enter a space transference array.


    A space transference array was an array that could allow one to move through the fabric of space and appear in one region from another. It was extremely fast. One could go to another world such as Greatverse, Oververse, Underverse or Planeverse in seconds.


    But it was exceedingly costly to use and whoever wanted to use the array must be attached to a firm or an organization.


    Rogue cultivators aren''t allowed. Although there might be exceptions, but they would pay double the price and if they are to be extorted, three to four times more.


    The other experts too were hot on her trail. And were shooting attacks at her which she dodged.


    She didn''t want to exchange attacks with them as she felt doing that would waste her time. Besides, Alex could be in danger, she didn''t know what Micah would do to him.


    She was really vexed at the moment. She vowed in her mind that when she gets back to the academy, she would raise hell.


    Why Jennifer took the mission was simply because experts are proud. Although, Alex''s parent were extremely wealthy and he had all their accumulations. She couldn''t ask him to give her some treasures and some amount of money and pills.


    She just couldn''t do that as it would be too lowly of her. She would be no different from a beggar if she did that. So she believed.


    Despite moving at many times the speed of sound, she still hadn''t reached a city.


    "Am I moving in the wrong direction?"


    "Why haven''t I gotten to a city yet?"


    She asked these questions in her mind. She was bewildered and worried. Also, she was wasting away a good deal of her energy. She needed to get to the city on time or her energy would rapidly deplete at the speed she was moving.


    Then something came to her mind which made her come to an abrupt stop.


    Then she turned around to look at the other cultivators that were shooting over at high speed.


    A second later, they appeared before her.


    "Tired of running?" one of them asked.


    "Tell me this is an illusion. That I have just been flying since for nothing." she said.


    Haha!


    They laughed.


    "So you finally figured that out. We were playing with you and we played with you to our satisfaction. You have been deceived all this while by gigantic illusion arrays we buried weeks back and activated upon your arrival in here. You have been here the whole time. Haha!" one of them said and laughed.


    Jennifer eyes glowed in a light that could give one chills.


    Then she looked around trying to detect a weakness in the illusion put out by the arrays. But she couldn''t detect any.


    She looked at them and then remembered what she told Alex, ''Let them come''. Then her eyes began to glow with a towering intent for battle.


    "Since it''s a battle to the death you guys want" she said out loud. Then she continued "Come and have it"


    She summoned the armor which appeared and covered her body her body, the shield and sword which she grabbed in her hands and then a pill which she swallowed.


    This turned into large amount of energy that instantly restored all the energy she had wasted in flying.


    Then she flew towards them to engage them in close combat. She did this to quickly end the fight.


    Haha!


    Just then, a laugher was suddenly heard from far in the sky.


    Swoosh!


    Then a man appeared many kilometers before Jennifer. His figure couldn''t be made out as it was concealed in a form of energy that was black in colour.


    He looked at Jennifer within this cloaking energy and gave a sinister smile.


    "Jennifer. You should have listened to his warning. Since you couldn''t, just prepare to die."

 Chapter 75: Shocking strength

    "Jennifer. You should have listened to his warning. Since you couldn''t, just prepare to die."


    Then the man aimed his palm at her and instantly, a large amount of a purple-blue energy erupted from it. This energy abruptly condensed and shaped into a blade that shot towards her.


    Jennifer having fought in many battles before, quickly responded to the energy-attack shooting towards her.


    "Nirvanic Dragon Fiery Breath"


    She shouted and aimed her two palms at the energy blade cutting through the air at high speed towards her.


    Then a large amount of hazel-silver flame, one with the temperature to flash-melt and vaporize rocks discharged from her hands and washed through the air at great speed and astonishing denseness towards the energy blade.


    Boom!


    The attacks collided and a powerful blast sound rang out which was instantly accompanied by a wave of destructive energy that swept across the sky like it wanted to bring about it collapse.


    This wave knocked both Jennifer and the man concealed in black energy into the distance by many feet.


    When the attacks collided, Jennifer''s offensive could actually withstand that produced by a grand saint emperor and she was just in the Saint emperor realm.


    Both attacks canceled out and calmness returned to this part of the region they were in.


    The man obscuring himself with energy looked at Jennifer in astonishment. He couldn''t help but ask "Jennifer, how were you able to do that?"


    Jennifer''s eyes shone.


    "Who''s this man? He actually knows my name"


    Then she felt something within her heart.


    Alex.


    She needed to get out of here. She could feel danger escalating every minute. She became extremely worried. She started to feel fear and anxiety. If she knew, she wouldn''t have left and would have told the principal to get someone else. If anything happened to him, she wouldn''t forgive herself.


    Although she tried to conceal all that was going on in her mind from revealing on her face, the man could somehow detect the change.


    Then he gave a smile which wasn''t shown to anyone as he was within that mass of black energy that swirled around him. "You are worried about him right? That stunning, charming boy of yours. What''s that his name again? Alex? Yea."


    The instant the man mentioned this, Jennifer''s mind could almost explode. Her worries intensified and she started to shake. All forms of evil thoughts came to her mind. And all these thoughts centered around Alex.


    Out of fear, anxiety and anger, she rushed towards the man to deal with him. She needed to end this fast and get out of whatever illusion array they have placed her in. She believed once she could eliminate this man, the others wouldn''t be so hard to quickly slay.


    But before she could get to the man, the man seeing he had achieved what he wanted to achieve gave a wicked smile and threw a palm out at her. Then a large amount of energy erupted from it and transformed into a blade that was tens of thousands of meters wide.


    This blade shot through the air at high speed towards Jennifer. She could sense the power of this attack. This was the kind of attack an expert in the sage stage can produce.


    But she didn''t back down. Her skeletal structure had been made so hard to the point she could throw a punch carrying billion tons of force and it needed more than that amount to shatter her bones. That was the amount of force someone in the sage general stage can produce.


    Besides, she was wearing a powerful armor that could withstand the attack of an expert in the sage realm. Since her body was protected, she carried on to execute what was in her mind.


    With a furious roar, she punched the blade once it appeared in front of her.


    Boom!!


    It was like the sky shook and the earth trembled. The clouds were dispelled as a wave of energy swept across the sky in all directions.


    The man was knocked back by many feet. And before he could regain his balance, Jennifer whose eyes were red from anger and shone with a glint that gave hint of ferocity appeared before him and sent out a punch.


    Bang!


    Being an expert that had fought in many battles, he was able to quickly shield himself from her fist.


    But his shield gave a bang sound as it shattered into pieces and the fist reached out to his chest connecting with it.


    Prak!


    The remaining force delivered by her fist on impact with the man''s chest caused it to cave in. He coughed out blood as he was sent flying like an arrow through the sky into the far distance.


    The man as he shot through the air with his back had all his chest and rib bones jutting out of his skin. Blood spurted from the areas where the bones pierced out from. But being at a high cultivation realm, he was slowly recovering.


    Still in a conscious state, he quickly produced a pill from his spatial ring and swallowed it. What he swallowed was a healing pill. The instant it entered his body, it dissolved and turned into a large amount of healforce energy that filled every inch of his entire body. All these he did in a few seconds. Then his wounds began to heal.


    As he shot backwardly through the air like a rocket and struggling hardly to regain his balance, Jennifer flew speedily towards him and sent another punch at him. But this time, she threw a downward punch at the man''s chest.


    Bang!


    The fist connected to the man''s torso and he was knocked heavily to the earth. With a loud boom, he cratered the earth and raised a giant cloud of dusts since he was hurled down with a lot of force.


    Now that Jennifer had gained the upper hand, she wasn''t going to spare him. She flew down into the crater and threw another super-heavy punch at the man''s chest whose body was at a depth of nine hundred meters.


    BANG!!!


    The earth for thousands of meters shook intensely and dusts rushed into the air like an eruption, saturating it. Everywhere became darkened.


    ......


    Argh!!


    The man that stabbed Nadja suddenly felt that his soul was going to rip apart. His eyes were red and green veins bulge from his temple. He coughed out a large amount of blood and fell to the ground on both knees. He held his hand and screamed in pain and agony.


    After a long while, he calmed down. Then his eyes shone with anger and fury. Flames of rage could be seen burning in his eyes.


    "Where did she get that strength from?"

 Chapter 76: Rage

    After a while, the intense pain he felt in his soul disappeared. Then he stood up. He looked around and vanished from where he was.


    Alex was still in the cave in the unconscious state. He had really strained himself mentally this time.


    Seeing Alex was in trouble as part of his abilities had been exposed, the entity in The Purifier''s sword had no choice than to use the little power it had recovered to cloak the cave Alex was in.


    Not very long, the instructors arrived in this new area. Then they sent their saint-senses into every caves in the mountains.


    They scanned and scanned all over again, then their brows furrowed.


    He can''t be that fast right?


    The hell! Is that how we missed that boy?


    What treasure gave him that speed?


    So many shocking questions flashed in their minds. They wondered how Alex was quickly able to evade them.


    The instructors from Alex''s academy were greatly injured. Blood streamed down the multiple wounds in their bodies. They could have taken pills for recovery but were in the unconscious state. The attacks they received had knocked them unconscious and in a seriously wounded state.


    After the instructors from the other academies searched for sometime, they hurried back to where their student was. Then they too began to look around for the water dragon egg.


    Actually, why they didn''t see the battle between Nadja and that man was because of an illusion array. This array transmitted illusory elements to all the instructors and students in here. Except Nadja and Alex because he wanted to show himself to them.


    They didn''t see the pool Nadja dug in the earth with her power and telekinetically pulled water from far places including atmospheric water into the massive hole, transforming it into a large pool.


    The array was still operating. And so none of them could detect the pool Nadja made. Even if they did find it, there was no point again as Alex already has the water dragon egg.


    They searched for a long time before they finally stopped and left with the student from their respective academies.


    .....


    When Jennifer flew out of the crater she formed. She sent her saint-sense into the distance around her but all she saw was a great wilderness that seemed to have no end.


    Illusion array right?


    Then she brought out the sword Alex gave her. In it were four voidstones that each contained a large network of arrays. She activated the sword and the massive array networks in the voidstones began to draw upon energy from enormous energy crystals in the arrays.


    These energy crystals were cultivation energies that due to overabundance turned into mists, condensed and solidified, becoming solid energy crystals.


    A small fraction of the huge energy crystals melted, turning into a large stream of energy. These were channeled to the body of the sword through the voidstones. Then the treasure-sword glowed in a brilliant red and blue light as the energies conducted across it.


    As the energies accumulated in the sword, the air around it for thousands of feet shook. Emitting dual light like it was a two-colored sun, Jennifer flew straight up into the sky and slashed down at the earth from a great height.


    Rmmmm!


    The air trembled and produced a sound as large amount of dual energies discharged from the sword.


    Backed by Jennifer''s comprehension of the strongest battle-methods which was at the sage general stage, the energies released condensed and shaped into an enormous blue-red lotus.


    This energy-lotus, condensed from sharpforce energies and spanning tens of thousands of kilometers smashed into the earth.


    BOOM!!!


    The earth shook greatly and a wave carrying great destructive power surfaced and traveled in all directions. A large crater, tens of thousands of kilometers wide formed in the earth from the impact. Dusts was thrown into the air and this blackened the entire area.


    Then if one looked closely, it was like reality was warping. One would see things appearing and disappearing. After a while, everything returned to normal.


    Jennifer looked on and saw that she was in a deserted area. More like a desolated place. Then far in front of her were the men who had attacked earlier. But she saw they were pale and were trembling. These effects were probably caused by the fright of her fearsome physical strength and by the powerful weapon she wielded. Then they shot off into different directions to run away from her.


    Why objects began to appear and disappear was because Jennifer''s overcharged strike destroyed the massive array buried in the earth.


    Now that she had ruined the array and the men attacking her had shot away out of terror. She quickly took off in a direction, hoping to get to any city to use either a ultivehicle or a space transference array.


    ...


    Shooting through the sky at a tremendous speed, at a speed many times the speed of sound, she finally got to a city.


    When she got there, she immediately requested from people the direction to a space station.


    The space station is a place where the space transference array are installed in and used.


    Following the directions she was given, Jennifer got there. She was charged an exorbitant amount to singly use the space transference array but she paid for it without a grunt.


    Stepping into the spatial displacement formation which was a round platform that was surrounded by four columns and had two large rings lying at its centre, the person in charge activated it and the rings lying on the ground floated up and began to spin at an insane speed around Jennifer.


    The columns emitted a blue light that shot at Jennifer as beams. These massive beams of blue light enveloped Jennifer''s figure and by the power of the array, she floated many inches above the ground.


    Whirrrrrr


    As the array operated and the rings revolved around her. Her body began to grow blurry till it finally faded away. She vanished from here and appeared in another space station. This was located in the Skytrident city, in the city the Black Dragon Academy was located. Her body materialized in the space transference array and when it deactivated, she came out of it.


    All that was in her mind now was Alex, she was totally worried about him. She wanted to rush down to the academy, to her residence and hope to see Alex safe and sound in there.


    Flying in the air at a shocking speed, few minutes later, she arrived at the academy. Then her heart began to beat wildly. More like out of control. She couldn''t control her emotions as it was overwhelmed with worry and fear.


    She got in and exchanged pleasantries with the other instructors she met along the way. Then she hurried down to her living quarter and saw only Jake. He didn''t go to class.


    When Jake saw Jennifer, he smiled and greeted her, welcoming her. She nodded and asked "I have sent my saint-sense to scan my place, but I couldn''t detect Alex. He''s in class?"


    Jake shook his head. "Nope. Being a genius, he was lined up with other students and were carried to a place where they had rumors of sighting of a water dragon egg" he replied.


    Jennifer''s worry intensified. Then she asked "Since when did they leave?"


    Jake could see the worry in her face and became worried too. "Many days ago. But they have returned. The instructors that left with them came back very injured. We don''t know what happened to them or who attacked them. But it''s good all the students picked for the mission returned safe and sound but I couldn''t find Alex." He replied.


    "What?"


    Jennifer''s eyes shone with fury. Then she dashed to the principal''s office in a fit of rage.


    She easily crushed the door''s handle with her strength and went in.


    The principal looked at her and asked with annoyance clearly written all over his face. "Jennifer what''s the meaning of this?"


    She coldly snorted and said "When I was gone, you selected Alex to go with a group of boys to get an egg. The others returned but he didn''t. And from the way you are sitting, you don''t seem to be worried about his disappearance."


    The principal''s brows furrowed. "Of course I am greatly worried that he didn''t come back with the others from the adventure they went for. But trust me, I am doing something about it." he said.


    "Oh really? You mind telling me what you are doing about this?!" Jennifer said shouting at him.


    "Jennifer, I would advice you to calm down. Nothing is going to work out with you being like this. Give me time. I said I am working something out." The principal replied.


    "No. You aren''t giving me the answer I want. Where did you send them to? Give me the address of the place. I am going there to search for him" Jennifer said.


    The principal looked at her and replied "South of here. About five hundred kilometres away. You would come across a chain of mountains and before it a large jungle."


    Jennifer then left. But before she could leave the office through the door, the principal said "Don''t tell me you are actually going there to search for him. I told you am working on something to get him back. We would find him. That''s a promise. You just came back from your mission and didn''t even report anything about it to me"


    Jennifer looked at him with vex purely written all over her face. She said "I am going now to search for him. And I give you three days Gerald. If I come back and don''t see him, I swear I am going to raise hell in the academy. That''s a promise"


    Then she flew out of the academy into the horizon.


    Gerald came out of his office. Floating in the air, he looked at Jennifer in the far distance blazing through the sky.


    "I would like to see how you would raise hell Jennifer."

 Chapter 77: Search

    In a cave...


    Alex''s eyes suddenly snapped open. Then he stood from where he lied. He looked around and remembered he fainted here when he produced a physique.


    He took a deep breath.


    "So I escaped from the clutch of that evil bastard. What insane luck"


    Then he sat back on the ground and began to think hardly of what to do next.


    But he didn''t know it was because Jennifer overpoweringly destroyed a weaker clone of that person that he was released from the person''s clasp. This person was ready to pursue him to the ends of the earth for the treasure he believed merged with his body if he hadn''t suffer a great soul injury.


    "I can''t go back to the academy. Those two instructors are going to tell the others about me. What kind of life is this? I feel cursed."


    This was the first time Alex felt his tremendous unique abilities were a curse. He felt it would only bring him nothing but pain and fear. He would always live in terror until he got strong enough to repel every expert that come his way. So he thought.


    "Is this how I am going to be living my life? Being chased about like a rat?" he asked out loud.


    He looked at his clothes and saw they were soiled.


    "Another ruined cloth"


    Then he stood from where he sat and approached the cave''s entrance cautiously. He waited for sometime trying to perceive any form of sound using his amplified hearing ability.


    Feeling nothing looked out of the usual, he came out of the cave. Then he looked into his mom''s spatial ring and saw the dragon egg. It had a beautiful blue shell. When he saw this, he smiled.


    "I finally have a beast companion. What do I call you? If you are a female, I would name you after your mom, Nadja. And if you are a male, I would call you Nojraagon. Hmm. Is that a nice name for a male?" He asked inwardly.


    "I think" Alex replied with certainty to his own question after being thoughtful for some time.


    Then he looked at himself again.


    "Gosh! So dirty. How many days I did I spend lying on the floor? Anytime I am chased about, my cloth always end up ruined. I need to grow up very quickly to change my strength-status. I am tired of being chased about like a deer by a cheetah."


    "But my cultivation layers are very far from each other. In all honesty, being a cultivation aberrant is really a curse. Not a blessing. I wouldn''t be able to live life like every normal cultivator. I am sick and tired of all these. I think I am done in this state. I would return to my uncle''s mansion. I am very safe there. I would be able to use cultivation pills to boost my cultivation speed safely and quickly in there. Then when I have achieved a high cultivation stage, I will set out again" Alex said making up his mind.


    Then he recalled the female instructor he was very close with in the Black Dragon academy.


    "Instructor Jennifer" he subconsciously muttered.


    "If I leave without saying goodbye, she is going to be devastated when she returns from her trip. I know she would hear about the attacks on the instructors and about my disappearance. Then she would think something bad happened to me and feel very guilty for leaving me to protect myself. This would definitely affect her cultivation heart."


    "No, I can''t leave. I have to go back. Besides, she is now strong enough to protect me. Other than Elena''s grandfather who is the strongest in the state as he is in the sage general cultivation level, no one should be able to face instructor Jennifer. Even if they can, she has powerful defensive and attacking treasures." Alex said. Then he nodded his head. He agreed with this line of thought more.


    "But I need to grow stronger quickly. Like very quickly. That condensation pill works but it''s slow at raising my cultivation level. I think I should opt for the consumption of earth-rank pills. My body is strong enough to withstand the energies that they would produce when they dissolve"


    He nodded his head and searched for where to get water to clean himself.


    ....


    After deploying his powerful physical senses, he traced the sound of flow of water, that''s water current, to a small river.


    When he got there, he focused on his energyhouse and discharged pyroforce energy from his entire body. This appeared as a bright hot flame around him. But this time, since it was his will. It burnt away the clothes he wore to cinders.


    Then the flame that engulfed his body vanished, revealing his flawless, ripped naked body. He had ceased the discharge of pyroforce energy from his energyhouse.


    Why Alex had an impressive, ripped muscular physique was because of his strengthforce energy. Anytime it saturated any of his muscles, it caused them to spontaneously, rapidly grow.


    This made him possess increased muscle mass and muscle denseness. Now, without the energy, on a basis of pure physical strength, he is many times stronger than five mortal men combined.


    So because of his muscle size and density accelerated growths, he looked ripped. But not too excessive in a way that was irritating. It was a physique every girl and woman would wow to. It was a physique they craved ultimately in a guy; that would make him look as hot as fire to any woman who sees him topless and turn them on.


    When Alex was done, he then stepped into the river, submerging himself into it. Then he began to wash himself.


    .....


    Many minutes later.


    Swoosh!


    Jennifer appeared in the area where the water dragon egg was reported to be found.


    Then using her saint emperor-power which she infused into her voice. She shouted "Alex!"


    Her shout terribly shook all the trees in the forest that they could almost crack and even the mountains seemed to be trembling.


    She amplified her shout so Alex could hear this wherever he was.


    Then she deployed her emperor-level scanning saint-sense. But she detected no movement. Then she shouted again. "Alex!!"


    There was no response or any form of movement. This made her feel really bad.


    Then she flew to an higher altitude, above the mountains and shouted.


    "Alex!!!"


    Another slight pause.


    "Alex!!!"


    She shouted again and again.


    But there was no response neither could she detect any form of movement. Then her heart began to beat wildly from intense worry.


    Her heart became overwhelmed with fright. She feared for Alex''s wellbeing.


    "Alex please be safe." She uttered in her mind.


    She didn''t know where else to go from here, what to do next. She became confused on how to search for him.


    "Micah you evil, sinister thing and Gerald you stupid principal. I swear if I don''t see Alex, two of you would pay for it. I would wreak havoc in the school" She said out loud in anger.


    Then she flew away to a random place to search for Alex. She deployed her saint-sense to the maximum and scanned everywhere for Alex.


    But as fate would have it, she went in the direction completely different from the one Alex took.


    Alex at the moment had come back to the cave and in front of him could be seen the earth-rank pills for the cultivation methodologies he studied. He looked at the numerous large pills on a plate and took a deep breath.


    He was about to swallow these and hoped he doesn''t ruin his cultivation. He hoped he was right about his body''s toughness and about the tenacity and endurance of his energy meridians, his force-arteries. Once they cut, ruining, then his cultivation could be said to be all over.


    Although, he had already made ten of the energies he cultivated satisfy the condition of the realmverse. It was only five remaining and this was because he didn''t have pills for them. He could only draw them from the world into his body and to a degree that they would now achieve the same quality as the others.


    But now, he wanted to blaze through the late-phase and enter the peak-phase entry stage. He had been at this level for a long while and had become tired of been seen as weak because of his very low cultivation level.


    Besides, he had a feeling that if he enters the peak phase, he could be surprised. Some new abilities could be open to him. He hoped so anyways.


    He carried a pill with shaky hands and swallowed it. The instant he did and the pill melted, it was like a bomb went off in his body.


    The amount of energy released from the dissolution of the pill produced an amount of energy that was more than a hundred times that of the amount that would be released by a condensation-rank pill.


    He groaned in pain as his eyes turned red. His nose and ears began to bleed. Green veins bulge from his temple.


    But a single break or cut couldn''t be seen in his organs, especially his stomach where the melting of the pill occurred talk more of his durable skin. True it was stretched to a great extent causing Alex great pain, but it didn''t burst.


    Likewise his other organs, they were being pressed by the energy that escaped from his stomach as it was great in quantity but they could withstand the crushing force exerted upon them by the energy.


    Although, Alex''s bodily components seemed to withstand the large amount of energy roiling in it. He wallowed in great pain and agony.


    But for a rapid increase in his cultivation level, he endured it, gnashing his teeth so hard they could shatter.


    He channelled the energy wisp after wisp to his energyhouse where they infused into the respective energy mass.


    Slowly, the energy mass began to change qualitatively and quantitatively. Then after a long time, it density and size became the same as that of someone in the peak phase. He had jumped phase. Right from the late phase to the peak phase.


    Yet, he couldn''t be said to have entered the peak phase as five of the fifteen energies he cultivated which were strengthforce energy, radiantforce energy, phantasmforce energy, darkforce energy and speedforce energy were still at the level of quality of someone in the mid-phase entry stage.


    Seeing how the energy transformed, Alex became glad, then he swallowed a different pill meant for another energy.


    ...


    Jennifer searched for Alex everywhere. She had scanned so many places and in the process put herself in trouble. But she quickly overcame this by virtue of her shocking physical strength.


    She entered into trouble by deploying her saint-sense and scanning everyhere. Everything one person or the other did in secret were revealed to her and this annoyed many experts.


    But they couldn''t do a thing to her except scurry away in fear and terror as she was too powerful.


    Besides, her strength was fuelled by her anger. She was ready to take it out on anyone who came her way to challenge her.


    Right now, her heart was incredibly bitter. It was filled with sorrow. She felt she wouldn''t see Alex no matter how hard and where she searched. He could have been taken away for some evil thing that bad people did.


    But she didn''t give up hope. Since he was the only son of incredibly powerful experts, it was right for him to possess a hundred ton if not a thousand of life-saving treasures.


    She believed he would have many of these things with him and that she was checking the wrong places. But peradventure she was wrong and after searching for him for weeks, she couldn''t get find him. She would return to the academy and unleash her unbridled anger.


    "Micah. I know this is your doing. It''s best you leave the school this moment because if I return without Alex or I don''t hear any news about him in the school, you would face my wrath. That I promise you."


    Then she flew away at supersonic speed to other places.

 Chapter 78: A Breakthrough

    In a dark and gloomy place.


    "What if Jennifer comes back without Alex? She could wreak havoc in the school. That wouldn''t be too good for your plans" Micah said.


    "She can''t do a thing." An elderly man wearing a black, hooded cloak sitting on a small rock said.


    "But you said she destroyed your clone that was at the grand saint emperor realm. She is now powerful. How wonder how she was able to gain that strength." Micah said.


    "I don''t understand too. Her strength is on par with that of a sage-general stage cultivator. I wonder how she was able to achieve that strength" The man said in a puzzled tone.


    Then he looked at Micah with a frown, "You are so incompetent. You couldn''t discover the whereabouts of a boy. Later you would say you are an expert at the saint emperor realm. Saint emperor realm my old ass. How was he able to evade your powerful senses despite me pointing to you in the direction he went in?"


    Micah shook his head in disgust and anger which he concealed from the old man. "I scanned everywhere. But I couldn''t find him. I don''t know how he was able to to evade my sense. Perhaps it''s that treasure that has merged with him that''s blocking detection by my scanning sense."


    "Hmm. That could be possible" The man nodded.


    "So what do we do about Jennifer. She has this strength and could ruin your plans. How are we going to stop her?" Micah asked.


    "You have the direction she went in?" The man asked.


    "Yes."


    "Good. Call the League of Shadows"


    .....


    At the moment, Alex was trying to up his cultivation level. He was giving it his all. Now, ten of the fifteen energies he cultivated had reached the same level of quality as that of one in the peak phase. He had only the five energies left.


    He thought hard of what to do. There was no pill for this and his cultivation of the energies seemed slow.


    He wondered how much time he had left to prepare for the next invasion as he had spent many months in the middle-phase entry stage.


    Besides, a week later, he would turn fourteen. Meaning he had spent almost a year in this stage. But no one would know this. They would see him as a sixteen or seventeen year old boy because of his height except that he was facially younger.


    "I must not disappoint my parent. All their effort over me wouldn''t go fruitless. I promise."


    Then with eyes that shone with determination, he closed them and spread out his perception far and wide. He forced himself to his limit.


    He got to his limit, but he pushed it further trying to break through the constrainment on his perception.


    He suddenly received a sharp pain in his head and his ears began to buzz and his eyes began to hurt. But he didn''t stop. He continued to push further and further. And because of his iron determination, he continued to do so.


    His perception continued to spread far, without stop. But at the moment, his face had turned ugly as it had contorted due to the great pain he was going through. His head ached badly. It was like an axe was used to split his head open. That was the kind of pain he was going through.


    Although he was glad he was able to push his perception of energies to an higher degree, the pain inflicted upon him in trying to go beyond his perceptive limit made him not able to revel in his fortune.


    Then he focused on the energies he wanted to cultivate. He deployed the techniques to cultivate them all at once.


    That was a serious mental multi-tasking.


    The instant Alex utilized their respective methods, five forms of energies appeared. They surfaced in different colors and began to swirl around him producing a beautiful scene. At the moment, he was like a divine god of color.


    Then the masses and sizes of these energies began to build up, becoming a large energy tornado. It appeared as a massive, funnel-shaped mass of swirling colored energies around Alex.


    These energies flowed into his body, strand by strand, through his pores and along his energy channels to his energyhouse. Then they infused into the energies which began to increase in density and quantity.


    Because of the size of the energy cyclone, it emitted many colors of light that reached far. The resplendent lights emitting from the cyclone bathed everywhere in its brilliant colors.


    If one looked at it from far, it was like a treasure had just revealed itself to the world. It was just too colorful and beautiful. That was the scene this vortex painted.


    Because of the rate of flow of large quantities of energies into Alex''s energyhouse, the density of the energies shot from middle-phase to late phase.


    Many hours later..


    Boom!


    An explosion took place in his body. It was like a bomb went off. But only he could hear the sound. But the effect of his cultivation breakthrough could be seen around him.


    It caused the ground he sat on to dent by an inch and the air to tremble.


    Alex had now entered the peak-phase entry stage.


    Haha!


    He laughed excitedly.


    "Finally!" he screamed out in intense joy.


    His pains paid off at last.


    He didn''t bother to tend to the blood that was streaming down his nose and ears.


    "Hmm, another soiled cloth"


    He looked at himself and shook his head. He saw that he was bloodied and that he was coated in a smelly, dark brown filths. These were produced as a result of his breakthrough.


    When the boom occurred in his body, it was an indication that Alex had broken through into another cultivation layer. Sub-layer actually.


    So as he broke through, his body was made to release many of the filths he was exposed to and had absorbed over the years in this world.


    But if one looked closely, the intensity of the colour of the filth wasn''t like when he first started cultivation. Then it was dark black. Now it''s dark brown. The colors were changing from a darker shade to a lighter shade meaning the filth in his body were reducing.


    Alex then went to the river again to wash himself.


    He submersed himself into it and let the river undercurrents hit him. These washed away the filths and blood on his body. Also, he was trying to know if he could hold his breath for long in water and without surprise to him, he could hold his breath far more than normal.


    Thirty minutes later, he shot up out of the river.


    The instant he landed on land in his complete nakedness, he saw a group of people in front of him or more precisely, a group of men. They looked twenty plus and thirty plus.


    Once Alex saw them, he screamed in shock.


    Argh!!


    With a thought, the pattern on his chest flashed a prismatic light. Then a cloth appeared on Alex''s body.


    Alex felt incredibly bad. His nakedness had been seen. With anger in his heart, he shouted "WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU PEOPLE?"


    This was the first time Alex ever used the fuck word. This showed the degree of his anger. No boy or man would like his private property revealed to the world, especially to a group of burly, ugly men.


    The men in front of him were big and ugly.


    They looked at him with furrowed brows. That flash of light from his chest caught their attention.


    Then one of them stepped out. He was probably the leader. He asked with seriousness "Boy, did you see any treasure in here? There was this huge vortex of multicolored energies. It was likely produced by a treasure. Did you see it?"


    Alex looked at him and said "What treasure? I saw nothing. I achieved a cultivation breakthrough and came here to wash myself but you guys followed me here and saw my dangle. It''s really annoying"


    ''Damn. I should have focused on my hearing. When did this team of adventurous bastards arrive? Maybe it was when I was cultivating. I was so engrossed in it I detected nothing. Gosh! I fucked up''


    The man before Alex looked at him and asked "Are you sure? Think carefully"


    Alex looked at him. He could understand the underlying meaning of what the man just said.


    "Yea, I have thought carefully. So nope, I didn''t see any treasure. Please go. I want to be on my way." Alex said, feeling disgusted.


    "Shut up! Am not done with you. Where do you think you are going? What gave out that light from your chest?" The man asked.


    Once this question was asked, Alex''s eyes turned sinister. "Are you trying to bully a boy because of your high cultivation levels?" He asked.


    "Haha. Yes we are. Now tell us what flashed the light from your chest" The man said.


    ''That must be a treasure. Haha''


    The man was smiling within.


    Alex shook his head. "It''s not in my nature to bully. Since you asked for it, I would give it to you"


    "I don''t think I heard clearly. What can a peak-phase entry stager do to a peak-phase condensation stager? Huh?" Someone in the group asked in a mocking tone.


    Haha!


    Alex gave an unbridled, fake evil laughter.


    "Many things!"


    Then he dashed towards them at lightning-quick speed. He was so fast they weren''t able to respond to the punches he hurled out when he got to their front. He was like a ghost that was throwing punches.


    Bang!


    Bam!


    Pow!


    So many sounds rang out as Alex''s fist connected to their heads and chests, sending them flying into the distance. Their faces were pressed in and blood streamed down their noses.


    They landed to the ground with a heavy thud in an unconscious state. The heavy and hard punches Alex threw at them had driven them to this state.


    Besides, because they were underestimating Alex, they weren''t able to quickly produce protective screens of energy before his powerful fists met them.


    This was what Alex capitalized on to quickly beat them and be on his way. Also, because he was fast with his moves and delivering attacks in places that could knock them unconscious, he was able to quickly beat them.


    Then he decided to run away because he knew adventurer teams like this may have two or three earth adept-stage cultivators.


    But he burnt that thought. He must do to them what they did unto him.


    Shrrr!


    He stripped the unconscious men naked.


    "Wow! Such large dangles. Perverts"


    Then he tried to take his leave. But before he could, he suddenly heard a shout.


    "Bastard!! I dare you to take another step!"


    Alex''s brows wrinkled when he heard this. Then he turned to see the person who spoke and saw two people, a male and a female. They were in the middle-phase earth adept stage.


    ''Ugh. Shit!''

 Chapter 79: Battle

    Alex looked at them and the male and female looked back intensely at him.


    "So what? What can you do? It''s not like you can compete with me in a race" Alex said in a loud, proud tone.


    "How do you mean? That if you try to run, we won''t be able to catch you?" The female asked in a puzzled tone.


    Hahaha!


    The male laughed raucously.


    Alex looked at them and nodded.


    "Yes. You can''t catch me." He replied.


    "But on a second thought, I actually want to duel it out with you guys. I just achieved a cultivation breakthrough and wanna see how far my strength has increased."


    "What?" the male and female became shocked at what Alex said.


    Alex wanted to see how far his strength has increased since he had broken through to the peak phase.


    The earth adept-stage experts were still amazed at what Alex said. But became serious, slightly serious when Alex suddenly dashed towards them and unleashed an attack.


    "Windball!"


    Alex shouted and punched out. Then a mass of cyan energy shot out of his fist in a large quantity. This mass condensed and shaped into a ball that shot towards the male expert.


    The male expert furrowed his brows in astonishment. He could detect the strength of Alex''s energy-attack. It was an attack that could match that of an expert in the peak-phase condensation stage.


    "A peak-phase entry-stage cultivator? How?"


    But he wouldn''t know Alex''s energy-attack could have such power because of the strands of divineforce energy that had mixed in with the windforce energy that formed this offensive.


    Then the male threw his palm out at the energy ball and a large mass of dark purple energy shot out. This mass of energy condensed and shaped into a fist that shot at great speed towards the energy-ball.


    Bang!


    The instant the attacks collided, a wave of energy was released. But Alex''s attack couldn''t withstand the dark purple energy-fist. An energy-attack by an initial-stage earth adept cultivator .


    This fist, although now dim as it had lost a lot of it energy from the collision with the cyan energy-ball still shot towards Alex. But at a decreased momentum.


    Alex long prepared for this did a front flip over the large fist and landed many feet farther in the front.


    Once he landed, he quickly punched both fists out at the two of them. With fists that glowed intensely in black, two large masses of darkforce energy erupted from them.


    Then these masses of energy abruptly condensed and shaped into fists which shot towards the male and female earth adept-stage cultivators.


    Huh?!


    Before they could even respond to the attack, the glowing, black energy-fists had appeared in front of them at a shocking speed.


    But experienced in battle, they quickly produced shields of energy.


    Bang! Bang!


    Their energy shields shattered and the resulting powerful waves released from the impacts knocked them back for a few feet before they regained their balance.


    They looked at Alex with marvel in their eyes. They wondered why his attacks suddenly became fearsomely fast.


    Alex''s attacks became insanely fast because he infused speedforce energy into them. This caused the velocity at which the attacks traveled at to increase by many folds.


    With wonder in their eyes, they wondered how he was able to do it. Alex too was surprised, but a bit. He knew this feature would be added to his attacks when he imbued them with speedforce energy. Although he had done the calculations in his head about the speed his attacks would be able to move at, he was still pleasantly surprised.


    Then he thought of how he could combine different energies together to achieve many effects. Thinking in this direction, he smiled.


    His smile gave the earth adept-stage cultivators frights.


    Then various forms of energy began to exude from his body. If one looked at him, it was like a multicolored smoke was emitting from his body. There were many energies of different hues discharging from the pores of his body.


    Then these energies were pulled to his palms like a nail to a magnet. They quickly condensed, shaping into two large palms.


    Since Alex was linked to his energies, he could make them take the shape of whatever he wants. So using his will, he was able to mold them into crystalline palms that had various colors and emitted shocking power.


    These palms shot towards the experts and their faces turned solemn.


    These attacks this time, since they had so many energies incorporated into them, pulsed with the power of someone in the half-earth adept stage.


    Besides, the attacks had influence on them, om their minds. They started to see unreal things as the light emitting from the palms entered their eyes.


    It was like they had suddenly appeared in a new region and that this region was a desolated one. So many dilapidated buildings could be seen and the sky was dark. There was no sun but stars that were purple and this brought upon them a gloomy and forlorn atmosphere. Also, to make it worst, they couldn''t see the solid palms of fused energies shooting towards them


    They knew they were in an illusion and tried to break out of it. But they couldn''t quickly break out of it despite being in a higher cultivation stage.


    This was because of strands of divineforce energy that had blended with the component energies of the attacks. It increased the power of illusion emitted by the phantasmforce energy to a higher degree that it had effect on them.


    But the moment they broke out, the attacks moving at astonishing speeds struck them and they were sent flying before crashing into the earth at a far distance.


    Alex laughed inwardly in an excited manner. He had just discovered a way to attack people using multiple energies mixed together.


    But he didn''t know he was able to do this because of his special body constitution. He had unique energy meridians that allowed him to release various energies at once. No one else would be able to do this.


    He nodded his head at this new discovery of his abilities.


    Then infusing his muscles with his mutated strengthforce energy, and his eyes emanating a bright cyan light which caused the air to move around him as he deployed his wind manipulation power, he shot off into the distance like a jet leaving numerous after-images behind and a large cloud of dust far behind him.


    Few hours later, since he was moving on ground at a speed a heaven adept-stage cultivator could achieve in the air, he reached a new area. Then he stopped, returning the energies to his energyhouse.


    He had chosen a random location and had arrived in a new city. This city was Ed''lok city. It was bustling as crowds of people moved up and down and shops could be seen on both sides of the streets in this city selling one thing or the other.


    He asked for the direction to a ultivehicle garage. When he got there, he was about to enter when he suddenly decided against it.


    There would be lot of crazy experts in here and would be amazed at the amount of sapphirstones he was able to produce at such an age. They might see him as a son of a billionaire in sapphirstones or perhaps, he got lucky coming in contact with an unsealed spatial ring of a fallen incredible expert.


    He didn''t want to be chased about again as he had just escaped from one. And he didn''t know if his uncle was watching him and would come to protect him if he sees that his life is in great danger. But he believed his uncle''s power of perception may not be able to reach this area as it was very far away from Smith city.


    "Ugh"


    He grunted in unhappiness and left there. To avoid problems, he was going to use the carriages which were very slow.


    "Well, it''s not too bad. It''s far better than being chased around. Besides, I could use that time to well, comprehend new techniques and cultivate. I still want to breakthrough into the condensation stage. This peak phase entry stage comes with nothing. Maybe if I enter the condensation stage, an ability would be opened to me. I hope so"


    ...


    After paying the fee for transportation service, the beast-drawn carriage set out.


    Alex shook his head in unhappiness. It was incredibly slow.


    Many hours later, they were still in the city. Despite the beasts drawing the carriage moving at high speeds.


    There were grades of beast-drawn carriages but Alex chose the lowest grade as he didn''t want to draw unnecessary attention to himself.


    He complained bitterly in his heart that he should have chosen a higher grade. Those had faster wild beasts and would have left the city by now.


    Also, he wasn''t the only one in the carriage. There were many others in it. This increased the load the beasts had to pull. Besides, being a low-grade beast-drawn carriage, it came with no protection.


    People using it are left to protect themselves. But what would mortals or entry-level cultivators be able to do against bandits if their carriage was attacked?


    In the wilderness, as they moved at a slow speed to the Sky Trident city. They suddenly stopped when the beasts became greatly tired from the journey. They had used a lot of energy and were exhausted.


    Everyone too were weary. It was a slow journey full of internal complaints. Now, they had stopped in the middle of nowhere where they could be attacked by nefarious people or sinister cultivators.


    Alex at the moment was focusing on his hearing. He knew too how the wilderness could be. It was where outlaws resided in. They would attack people leaving the city and people coming into the city. They could kill, rob and rape.


    Right now, his range of hearing has increased and he could hear very far.


    At the moment, after deploying his amplified hearing ability, he could hear very light footsteps in the distances covered by his power of augmented auditory perception.


    Then he closed his eyes and entered his ultra perception state. Abruptly, his hearing intensified, increasing to a great degree and by closing his eyes, he could pick the sounds and vibrations around him and use it to paint a detailed image of the surrounding in his mind.


    In his mental vision, he saw many men hiding and gathering in numbers. It was like they were in the hive of outlaws. They could probably be.


    He was able to detect their cultivation stage as his hearing could pick up the frequency at which their energies vibrated in. These frequencies matched that of experts in the late-phase condensation stage to the middle-phase earth adept stage. And he could detect at least sixty men.


    Then he looked at everyone around him. Although they were twenty in the group, they were mostly mortals. Only he and six others were cultivators at the entry-level stage.


    He could run away if he wanted to but these mortals. He couldn''t leave them to themselves.


    He thought hard to what to do next.


    There was no way than to tell them there was a large number of dangerous cultivating outlaws lurking in secretive, concealed places and were ready to pounce on them.


    He looked into his mom''s spatial ring and produced the Azure Beastsman ring.


    "You are a great expert of beasts that know how to jumpstart their evolutions and cause their mutations. Please, have something in your ring that would enhance the carriage-pulling beasts. Only I cannot protect the number of people in here against these many dangerous higher level cultivators." He said, praying in his heart.


    Then he looked into the spatial ring and searched for something. Just anything. A treasure, pill or anything.


    After searching for a while at a frantic speed. He came across a large number of bottles containing pills meant for augmenting beasts'' power and strength.


    Then he saw a large bottle. In it were many red pills that gave out light like a star. On the bottle''s body could be seen a label carrying a name for the pill and the description of what it could do.


    [Animal Enhancement Pill]


    [Thousand Horse Pill]


    [Description: Increases strength, agility and stamina of wild beasts]


    "Very nice. I knew he would have many such pills. Now I can help these mortals."


    With two pills in his hand, he went to were the two beasts were resting at. He looked around and stealthily put the pills into their mouth.


    Once it was swallowed, many minutes later. Their eyes which were dark brown began to glow in a bright purple light. And their veins bulge. They weren''t furry wild beasts but skinny wild beasts. Their veins brown in color were now blue.


    He could see the transformation but he knew this would only last for a while. So they needed to get out of here.


    "Everybody!"


    Alex shouted pulling everyone''s gazes at him.


    "What?"


    Murmurs rang out among the people in here.


    "Please let''s get out of here. There are a large number of evil cultivators hiding in the distance. They are ready to attack us. Let''s get out here"


    Alex said, hoping they would listen to him. But what he heard caused him to have his face turn ugly. They didn''t listen and instead began to argue with him. Especially the older men at the entry level stage.


    "Will you shut up! Who the fucking fuck is this kid? Where the fuck you come from? Fine, we maybe at the same cultivation phase, but you think we wouldn''t be able to detect what you can detect? Eh? Are you trying to play a fast one on us?"


    "No. Please listen. I... I...."


    Haha!


    A loud wicked laugh suddenly sounded from far. Then many men appeared in far distances. They had come out from where they were hiding and began to dash towards Alex''s group.


    "Oh shit!"

 Chapter 80: Alexs shocking abilities I

    Everyone looked towards the source of that sinister laughter and saw many burly men dashing towards them.


    The older men at the peak-phase entry stage looked at Alex in awe. Then regret shone in their eyes. They should have left when he said they should leave. What now occupied the entirety of their hearts was how they were going to survive this. Then everything in their spatial rings poured to the ground.


    When the mortals saw the cultivators do this, they knew it was over for them too. With sadness in their hearts as they would surrender all their belongings that were earned hardly, they began to drop all the materials in the carriage to the ground.


    Haha!


    "Good! You guys are wise. I like wise people." The man laughed and said. Then he looked at Alex and said "Boy, how were you able to know there were many bandits in hiding?"


    Alex looked at him and said "I just had a feeling"


    Haha!


    The man laughed. Then he said "Just a feeling? You looked totally serious about it. It was you who forced us out of our hiding spots. We couldn''t let a meal that has entered our trap escape because of our negligence"


    His smile disappeared and he looked at Alex evilly "Where is your possession? I want it now. Failure to do so would result in your death"


    Alex looked at him and asked "Well, I believe you are not blind. Do you see a spatial ring on me?"


    Everyone''s eyes widened, including the bandits. Their eyes shone with great surprise.


    Such boldness to speak back to their commander.


    The commander, who was at the middle-phase earth adept stage looked at Alex with a smile. Then he said "Well, I arrived at that conclusion because I feel you might have kept it away. Since you were so serious about these people leaving here because you felt bandit were concealing themselves at some spots, you could have probably hidden away your spatial ring out of fear that we might catch up with you people. Now, I would ask you for the last time. Where is your spatial ring?"


    ''My parent''s and their friends'' wealth? Haha. What a joke.''


    Alex shook his head. "I don''t have a spatial ring"


    The commander nodded. Then he looked at his men.


    "Kill the mortals!"


    Unbridled terror suddenly rose in the hearts of these mortals. They quickly went on their knees and began to beg the commander for mercy.


    The commander laughed and told his men to carry on with what he ordered then to do.


    Alex looked at the commander who looked back at him with a smile.


    "You want to kill the mortals? What did they do? You should come for me instead" Alex said.


    "Well, I would get what I want from you when I kill a few mortals. I believe your heart can''t be so callous to the point of ignoring the death of these innocent mortals" The commander replied.


    Why the commander was after Alex''s spatial ring was because of all the people here, Alex was exquisitely dressed. The cloth he wore showed that he was from a wealthy family. Looking at it from any angle, one would know that the materials used in making the cloth was probably many times the amount of money everyone from the carriage would have in their possessions combined.


    Seeing the bandits draw nearer to them with eyes that shone with ferocity and a smile that spoke volumes of nefariousness, he made up his mind.


    Large masses of cyan energy poured out from his two palms. Then they condensed and shaped into blades which he grasped.


    Once these masses of energy erupted from Alex''s palm, the air around the bandits became stormy. It was like they were in a windstorm. Strong gales of wind rage about, heaving up dusts into the air and causing the bandits to feel great difficulty in standing their ground. If care was not taken, they could be knocked off their feet and hurled away by the furious wind currents.


    Why the air became violent was because Alex produced an energy that controlled wind. But he wouldn''t have been able to achieve this effect if not for the threads of wind originforce energy or primordial wind energy (a higher or tertiary form of wind-manipulation energy in the realmverse) in his windforce energy.


    [The wind originforce was one of the numerous primal cultivation energies he was exposed to when he was still in his mother''s womb.]


    Besides, the tumultuousness of the air was evoked by Alex''s will. He exerted his will on the air around the bandits though his link to his enhanced windforce energy. So he was able to manipulate the air around them through this medium.


    This spectacle caused everyone to open their mouth wide in awe. They wondered how Alex was able to do this.


    But what made the commander more surprised was because Alex constructed blades out of his energy. He had never seen or hear of someone generate solid weapons from their energy since his introduction to cultivation.


    Of course, Alex could learn about this since he had the weapons book. A small book that described weapons and it various forms, which he discovered in the Azure Beastsman''s ring.


    The blades in his hands were formed purely out of his cyan-colored windforce energy. These blades could be referred to as wind energy-blades. They were blades condensed from energy that had control over the wind element.


    When the aggressive wind currents abated, the bandits who were trying their best to resist the pull and push of the powerful air currents looked at the glowing blades in Alex''s hands.


    When they sensed the power pulsating from the blades, their eyes lustred with marvel. The blades were emitting the power of a cultivator in the peak-phase condensation stage.


    "Who the fuck is this boy?"


    How would someone in the peak-phase entry stage mold solid weapons out of his energy and such would pulse with the power of a cultivator in the peak-phase condensation stage?


    This question rocked their minds.


    ''Or is he concealing his cultivation stage? This boy must be a powerful expert.''


    When this thought surfaced in their minds, they began to slowly withdraw. They suddenly had the feeling that Alex must be one of those powerful experts that had cultivated for long and looked young or that he was one of those legendary geniuses.


    The commander saw his men backing. Then fury shone in his eyes.


    "What the hell are you idiots doing? Don''t tell me you bitches are scared of a sixteen year old boy?!" He asked as he shouted at them.


    They didn''t respond. All they knew was that their life mattered to them. If they were killed, who was going to provide for their wives and kids at home.


    "Okay. I get it now. You guys don''t want to be obey me your newly elected commander. I wonder what Coldmoon and Bloody Heaven would do to you guys when we are done here." The commander said with a sinister smile.


    Once the bandits heard that, their eyes shone with terror. They took a deep breath, then their fear for Alex vanished.


    Alex''s eyes widened when he saw that they were about to attack. He thought he could scare them by doing those things he did, but their of fear of some people replaced the fear they developed for him moments ago.


    ''Damn!'' He complained inwardly.


    ''It''s battle then''


    Then he looked at the mortals and cultivators.


    "Go. Enter the carriage and leave here once" He said to them.


    They were shocked, but they did as they were told. Why they now listened to him was because they felt he wanted to help them hold back the bandits.


    Besides, they also felt he was up to the task as he seemed powerful. Then out of fear for their lives, they ran to the carriage leaving their goods and possessions behind.


    The bandits saw this and wanted to run after the mortals to kill them as they were ordered. But just then, the air around them suddenly became like a thick barrier.


    It was difficult for them to get through as there was a lot of resistance offered by the air. It was like they were pushing against a strong, fast-flowing river. Air came from far distances at great speed and swept against them, blocking their movement.


    As they struggled against the powerful, unceasing wind currents, the mortals and other cultivators entered into the carriage. Then the beasts, whose bodies'' biological characteristics had been enhanced to a great degree shot into the distance at tremendous speeds. Very quickly, the carriage vanished from everyone''s sight.


    "What the hell?"


    "How.. how is that possible?"


    "Goodness!! We are doomed!"


    ....


    The men spoke out in a shocked tone and with unbridled fear in their hearts.


    They looked at Alex in a sinister way and felt they must capture him so they could appease their two Lords.


    Like they were in agreement with one another, they suddenly produced energy-attacks which shot at great speeds towards Alex.


    Alex was long ready for them. With speedforce energy saturating his eyes and producing a mystical glow, his perception of the velocities of the attacks slowed down to the barest minimum.


    The attacks blazing through the air at astonishing speeds took them many minutes to move by an inch in his vision.


    Then he focused on his energy-blades and abruptly, mysterious patterns appeared all over the blades. These were weapon amplification patterns. They increased the damaging power of weapons formed from energy. These patterns were formed from many abstruse symbols that fused together, forming different complex patterns.


    Once these patterns were hastily inscribed into the blades held in both hands, the large, cyan blades of energy shone a brilliant blue light as threads of novaforce energy, a blue-colored energy was pulled in from the realmverse into them.


    Then he slashed out at the incoming attacks. The instant he slashed out, wide beams of blue-cyan energy discharged from the blades and impacted the attacks.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!...


    Many loud explosive sounds rang out as the attacks collided with Alex''s attacks. But they were overpowered as they shattered and dispersed upon impact with Alex''s attacks which still traveled forward with the same momentum towards the bandits.


    With deep shock in their eyes, they quickly fired attacks at Alex''s offensives.


    Boom! Boom!...


    They thought a second round of attack would cancel out Alex''s attack. But they were wrong.


    Argh!!


    They screamed miserably in pain and agony as they were struck with the attacks which sent them flying.


    Grievous wounds could be seen in their bodies. Their chest had caved in and their chest and rib bones could be seen jutting out. Also, large deep wounds could be seen on their bodies. Blood spurted like a fountain from these wounds.


    Their peak-phase, condensation-stage energy-attacks at full power couldn''t withstand Alex''s attacks which pulsed with the power of a cultivator in the earth adept stage.


    Normally, Alex can''t achieve this level of power. But because of the attackforce energy infused into his energy-attacks, it increased their destructive powers to another level.


    The other bandits were shocked by Alex''s battle power.


    Legendary genius!


    This was what came to their minds.


    Then Alex prepared to finish off the others and the commander. But just when he was about to launch attacks, he suddenly heard a whistling sound from a very far distance behind him.


    He was able to detect this sound as he had deployed his powerful hearing ability right from the start. And from the way it sounded, it felt like a powerful treasure-weapon.


    Not wasting time, and not knowing why he did so, he quickly channeled wisps of mutated strengthforce energy to his energy-blades. This caused the patterned blades that were emitting a brilliant blue and cyan light to turn golden.


    The instant he did this, a weapon which resembled a spear appeared behind him. Alex quickly turned and slashed at the treasure-spear that had suddenly shot to his back at a great speed.


    CLANK!!!


    The instant the two weapons clashed, a large sphere of vacuum surfaced. Then this spherical zone of vacuum that had manifested was abruptly accompanied by a wave of powerful, violent energies that knocked both the spear and Alex into the far distance.


    The shock Alex experienced from the head-on collision was more than enough to shatter the bones of an expert in the earth adept stage.


    Although his hands trembled from the impact, they were able to withstand the shock as they didn''t crack or break. He was able to do this by infusing strengthforce energy into the bone and muscle tissues of his hands.


    Before Alex faced the stealth attack head-on, he had permeated his arms'' bones and muscles with this mutated strength-amplifying energy.


    He would have experienced more shock that could probably shatter his arms if he hadn''t imbued his energy-blades with his strengthforce energy. Doing that greatly increased the blades'' resistances to heavy impact-shocks and their tensile strengths to an astonishing level. Also, their toughness were augmented to a shocking degree as they didn''t shatter from the powerful collision that only the energy wave released would crack mountains.


    The energy-blades in Alex''s hands, if it were a supreme-quality, earth-tier blade became a peerless-rank, heaven-tier blade by permeation of strengthforce energy.


    Alex who had stood back to his feet from the dozens of feet he was knocked to, had his eyes shine with amazement when he just realized another usefulness of his mutated strengthforce energy. It could simply upgrade the rank or quality and tier of weapons formed from energy.


    He looked on and saw two men land where the treasure-spear was knocked to. One of them picked up the spear while the other looked at him intensely.


    "How were you able to withstand my hidden spear attack?" The man looking at him asked in a deeply puzzled tone.


    But Alex couldn''t reply as he was gawking inwardly at the moment. He was shocked by the cultivation stages these men were in.


    They were both in the Saint stage. A cultivation stage that was six levels higher than his. A rank two stages below the Saint Emperor realm.


    ''How can I fight these two bosses by myself? I have to leave here at once''


    Just when Alex was about to make a run for it, a large, dome-shaped barrier of prismastic energy suddenly appeared, covering everyone within.


    This was a trapping formation that prevented people from escaping.


    Once Alex saw he was trapped in the formation and remembered the fact that he was very weak to break out of such, he muttered.


    "No....."


    He looked at the rest of the bandits and then at the two men at the saint stage.


    He took a deep breath.


    ''How would I come out from this problem I am in? These men are going to kill me. They won''t spare me after I all that I have done. Will a divine physique bridge the gap between me and these dangerous saint-stage cultivators?'' He asked inwardly.


    Then he looked at them with a gaze that showed readiness for his very first Life or Death battle.

 Chapter 81: Alexs shocking abilities II

    When he thought of using a physique, the blades in his hands lost their form. They turned into large number of threads of cyan energy that flowed back into his body, depositing at his energyhouse.


    When the two men saw that the weapon Alex formed from his energy, decomposed, becoming wisps of energy that flowed back into his body, they became heavily surprised.


    "Thinking of surrendering?" one of them asked with a sinister smile.


    What now occupied this man''s head where his fantasies of getting the technique that enabled Alex create those powerful energy-blades and then kill him for the mess he had caused, as he had exposed their secret bases to people. Now they would have to move and search for another place they would set up as their base.


    "Yes. I want to surrender. Would you pardon me and let me join your bandit group?" Alex asked.


    Haha!


    The two men laughed raucously.


    "Hmm. I see you want to keep your puny life. Alright, this is what we''ll do. The method you used to form those weapons out of energy. Yea? Give it to us. Haha" one of the men said.


    Alex looked at the person who spoke and asked. "Would you let me live after I give you the scroll for the method?"


    "Sure. We would. Now stop wasting time and give us the scroll!" the other man shouted.


    Alex then knelt on a knee and clasped his fist. "Thanks for allowing me to keep my life. But I am sorry, I wouldn''t be giving any scroll to you vile worms"


    What?


    The other bandits and the commander were shocked.


    The two men''s faces turn evil. They were about to unleash an attack when Alex''s entire body started to emit three different lights.


    All through the time that Alex was speaking with them, he was focusing on his emotions of rage and hatred. He wanted to use his fury and his buried, intense aggrieved feelings as catalysts to bring up a physique.


    But unexpectedly, he had suddenly received the comprehension of three different physiques at once.


    [Twelve Thousand Mayhem Blades Grandmaster Physique]


    [Profound Twelve-Winged Chaos Seraphim Physique]


    [Earthbreaker Silver-Elephant Diamond Physique]


    Alex became tremendously stupefied. But since he was in a life-and-death battle, he decided to employ the methods for their transformations at a go.


    But he knew in his mind that the one minute he had to do whatever he wanted to do before he fainted due to mental overstrain had now been divided by three.


    But he would never regret this decision. He did it for tremendous bursts of power that would help him quickly destroy these guys.


    Besides, he chose killing them to breaking through the trapping formation as it would take a lot of time to dismantle the formation.


    All the time he had to settle all that he wanted to settle was just twenty seconds. So he thought.


    When the three brilliant colors of light emanating from Alex''s body dimmed, one could make out three physiques.


    His upper body and lower body were of different colors. While sections of his upper body were also of two distinct hues.


    The areas of his body that had different shades belonged to the respective physiques he chose to transform his body into.


    Half of his upper body was purple. Then dark purple feathers that shone like steel could be seen on them. The same instant half of his upper body turned purple, six feathered wings sprouted from his back. These wings were large and thick, and were purple-violet in color. They resembled wings forged from steel.


    Then numerous huge wings formed in the air. These wings were purple-violet in color just like the wings that had sprouted from Alex''s back. The surprising thing was they looked like real wings casted from steel or other forms of metal.


    Yes, these were real as they were formed from manaforce energy. An energy that could create something out of nothing; can produce solid objects out of a void. So, by borrowing the mystifying power of creation of this energy, as he had the comprehension to draw in the energy from the realmverse, Alex could form real, solid metallic wings out of thin air.


    Also, a mass of pitch-black energy appeared around Alex. This energy was ink-black and caused the air to tremble. Even the earth directly beneath this mass of energy crushed, caving in. The pressure emitting from it was powerful. This was chaosforce energy. An energy that a strand of it would reduce mountains to rubbles by virtue of it tremendous weight. It was an energy of super heavy mass.


    While the other half of his upper body remained the same. But one could make out various colored tattoos of blades on his skin. These blades'' tattoos had ancient words in them.


    When one looked at this part of his body, it gave one the feeling he was a person that had been baptized by hundreds of war. He emitted an overwhelming aura of slaughter.


    Loud humming and strong buzzing sounds could be heard in the air as hundreds of blades revolved around him. This blades felt like they were sentient as they wheezed around him.


    Wielding a large blade in his hand that shone in all colors of light and emitting a tyrannical aura of sharpness, he was like a Supreme expert of the Way of Blades.


    The blades that moved round him were actually masses of metalforce energy drawn from the realmverse. They condensed and shaped into large, glowing blades that pulsed with shocking power.


    There were many types of metalforce energies in this realmverse. Copper metalforce energy, bronze metalforce energy, silver metalforce energy, golden metalforce energy and so on. But the metalforce energy that formed the blades that swirled around Alex like they were excitedly worshipping a god was one that was a thousand times powerful than golden metalforce energy.


    Then his legs which constituted his lower body grew huge. This rapid increase in size caused the trousers he wore to rip off from the middle of his thighs. This exposed his thigh muscles (quadriceps) and calf muscles.


    But the way they lustred gave one the feeling they were metal and not packs of fibrous muscle tissues. Also, they glittered like diamond in the light from the sun, appearing beautiful. This glittering was because his legs became diamond-skinned. His skin was actually replaced by diamonds.


    Then an elephant formed behind Alex. This elephant, silver in color, formed from silver metalforce energy was astonishingly huge in size. About 30ft tall and 60ft wide.


    A shocking thing about this elephant formed from energy was that it eyes shone with full intelligence. This was because it was infused with animateforce energy from the realmverse. An energy that animated things. It gave life and sentience to non-living objects.


    When the men and the bandits saw the multiple transformations, they became shocked.


    Alex at the moment had two different eyes. One of them was completely dark blue with many ancient symbols in it while the other was totally white and looked crystalline. Except a shadowy silhouette could be seen in it. And this dark misty figure had nearly limitless number of blades revolving around it.


    When they looked at this eye, they suddenly felt a sharp painful sensation in their eyes. This made them grunt and look away. But the rest of the bandits had their eyes rip apart as blood spouted from them like a well spring.


    Argh!!


    They wailed in pain and fell to the ground. They were too weak to withstand such level of power.


    The men at the Saint stage were still shocked by Alex''s multi-physiques. In all their lives, they had never seen or heard of someone capable of showing three different physiques at once. Besides, he jumped levels. Right from the entry stage, he leapt to the Saint stage.


    ''Bloodline physiques? Descendant of God-level experts?''


    Then they became scared. They were actually trying to harm a child of powerful experts. They wanted to deactivate the formation and met him go but their greed couldn''t allow them to do so. First, they believed he wouldn''t be able to last for a long time using the powers of the physiques he had evoked. Second, they wouldn''t hurt him and only force him to produce all the wealths on him. When they got it, they would leave here and travel far away.


    And so, a misunderstanding occurred between them. Alex had the thought that they wanted to kill him, while the men just wanted to let him deplete his power, become extremely weak and then force him, even if torturous means was necessary to force him to produce all the things on him.


    Alex''s transformation was abrupt, such that it only took a few seconds for sections of his body to turn into these.


    With a thought, the blades of energy that orbited round Alex shot towards the two saint-stage cultivators.


    Swoosh!!!


    They were like a stream of arrows as they whistled, cutting through the air at great speed towards the two men. There were more than six hundred massive glowing blades that shot at the men.


    When the men saw the attacks shooting towards them, they quickly produced screens of energy.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Continuous explosive sounds rang out as the blades rammed into the energy shield.


    Due to the momentum the solid energy blades came with, although the shields didn''t shatter, but the men got knocked back multiple times when the humongous blades impacted the shields.


    But numerous cracks could be seen on the shields of energy. Just before they could reinforce their shields, to make it harder and seal up the cracks, enormous, purple-violet metallic wings smashed into them.


    Bang!! Bang!!


    Plak!!


    The shields finally shattered and the wings smashed into the men. But before the wings could hit them, an armor quickly appeared on them.


    Bang! Bang!


    They were sent flying for dozens of feet when they got struck by the blades. But luckily, they didn''t sustain much injury. They only coughed out blood due to the shock they received from the collision of the wings with their armor.


    Their eyes then shone with fury.


    ''This bastard actually wants to kill us?''


    Then like they were telepathically connected to one another, they both arrived at a thought that they would kill him and run away. Who would know that they did this? He had messed up everything and so he needed to be killed.


    "Icy Dragon God-devouring Strike!"


    "Seven Books of Death Attack!"

 Chapter 82: Battles Saint experts

    Large masses of frostforce energy and deathforce energy erupted from the men.


    The frostforce energy was bluish white in colour. This was an energy that could create ice and frosts while the deathforce energy, purple-black in color could bring about emaciation and death.


    The massive mass of frostforce energy condensed and shaped into a blue-white dragon. This dragon, crystalline in appearance like it was molded from ice shot towards Alex at high speed.


    As it cannoned towards Alex at a far distance, it left a wide trail of ice in the air. Then these fell to the ground as ice crystals. Even the ground below the trajectory path of the attack froze in a flash. It became encrusted in ice.


    When this energy first appeared, it brought about an excessively cold temperature. The temperature of the surrounding instantly plummeted to a very low degree.


    Alex from where he stood could feel the great decrease in temperature as the air within the dome-shaped barrier became insanely cold.


    While the mass of deathforce energy condensed and shaped into seven large books that shot at great speed towards Alex. These books, purple-black in color had ancient inscriptions in them. These inscriptions pulsed with a fearsome power of decay and death.


    When this energy erupted from the man, Alex suddenly felt that his life was draining away. He could feel that his vitality was disappearing.


    These men were actually unrestrained in the discharge of the powers gained from the cultivation of certain energies. They knew that their men were in the dome-shaped barrier, but because they were furious and wanted to kill Alex, they released their powers without constraint.


    The rest of the bandits couldn''t withstand the power emanating from the energies that invaded their bodies. They either froze, in body and soul, becoming ice statues or rapidly turned black, shrunk and dried up, falling to the ground as jet-black ashes that scattered upon hitting the ground and drifting away with the wind.


    In a few seconds, the commander and the rest of the bandits had been eliminated.


    Once Alex saw the dragon-form and book-form energy-attacks materialize and shoot towards him, he quickly pointed his hands at them. Then the blades and wings suspended in the air shot like arrows towards the attacks.


    Boom! Bang!


    The massive attacks unleashed by the saint-stage cultivators were impacted by the blades and wings. When they clashed, waves of energies erupted and traveled into the distance in all directions.


    Alex and the two men were knocked backwards by the powerful waves that were released upon collision of their attacks.


    Alex smashed into the massive silver elephant behind him and produced a muffled groan. While the men, since there was nothing to confine them struggled for sometime before they regained their balance. They had been hurled for dozens of feet into the distance by the waves generated from the collisions.


    Since Alex had long gained his balance, he quickly used that as an opportunity to deliver an attack at the Saint-stage cultivators.


    He raised his left leg and stomped the earth hardly with it. When Alex raised his left leg, the enormous silver elephant behind him raised it left limb too. Then when Alex smashed that leg into the ground, the elephant did the same, smashing its left fore limb into the earth. It copied what Alex was doing.


    As it was a sentient energy-animal; an animal formed from energy and given consciousness by the power of animation of the animateforce energy, it could think because it now had a high level of awareness and perception.


    It knew what Alex was about to do and so mimicked him.


    Boom!!!


    A loud explosive sound rang out as Alex''s leg and the elephant''s limb stomped the ground. The earth, because of the power passed into it, trembled intensely and cracked. Then a tall, silver-colored wave of earth-splintering power surfaced and moved in all directions.


    This wave of energy, moving with the power to reduce mountains to rubbles, swept out and caused the earth within the large barrier to a great depth to crush and reduce to powder.


    When the saint-level experts saw the wave, which was about thirty feet tall move towards them, they quickly produced energy screens to protect themselves from it.


    Bang!! Bang!!


    Their shields shattered and they were sent flying by the terrific wave. They were knocked far into distance such that they collided into the barrier produced by the trapping formation.


    Since they were wore powerful armors, they were protected from the mountain-crushing energy wave. But their organs suffered the most from the impacts. Serious cuts could be seen in them. These were caused by the shocks transmitted to them when the wave impacted the armor they wore, causing grievous internal wounds.


    But as experts at the Saint stage, their fast recovery powers kicked in and then their wounds began to heal up.


    When the omnidirectional wave lost it power as the energy that constituted it dispersed, calm returned to this region except that great amount of dusts filled the air. The whole place within this barrier darkened as sunlight couldn''t get through.


    If one could see the ground, one would see that a large layer of the earth in the dome-shaped barrier had been stripped away. It was this layer of earth that had turned to dusts that saturated the air in this barrier. The earth had been pulverized to smooth, fine grains by the powerful, energy-charged seismic wave generated by both Alex''s and the elephant stomps.


    Alex''s rapid comprehension of a battle-technique of the [Earthbreaker Silver-Elephant Diamond Physique], which was the [Ground Rending Stomp] stopped at the Saint stage. His sudden understanding of the mystery of the technique enabled him to possess the power of ninety thousand elephants.


    So, by infusing that level of comprehension into his stomp attack, he was able to stomp the earth with the strength of ninety thousand elephants. That is, with the might of ninety thousand elephants. But his attack was augmented to a vast level by the humongous silver elephant behind him.


    Possessing great weight due to the gigantic mass of energy that constituted it and having the same degree of comprehension of the battle-method as Alex. When it stomped the earth the same instant Alex did, it was able to increase the destructive power of Alex''s stomp by a factor of fifteen thousand.


    Alex at the moment was beginning to feel dizzy. Also, he felt an intense sharp pain in his head. The pain was probably equivalent to the pain a person would feel when such person''s head was cracked open by an axe.


    Green veins bulge from his temples and blood streamed down his ears and nose. But he endured the agonizing pain and focused on it instead.


    He concentrated on the pain he felt to prevent himself from blacking out. Right now, he was in a state of urgency. He needed to end this or he would be ended.


    Then he deployed many of the powerful techniques of the three physiques all at once.


    [Blade Whirlpool]


    [Prismatic Blade Sovereign Slash]


    [Chaotic Dance of the Seraphims]


    [Earth Devourer]


    The hundreds of large blades floating in the air began to move in circles at a great speed. It formed something like a cyclone or a whirling column. Then it raged towards the men producing the feeling that it would cut and shred everything in its path to bits.


    The large mass of chaosforce energy; an energy that a wisp of it, if it descends into the ocean would cause a tsunami as it would eject a large volume of water because of it mystifying tremendous weight, suddenly infused into the wings formed out of nothing by the power of materialization of the manaforce energy.


    Once the wings were permeated with the energy, they became jet-black and extremely heavy. They were now a thousand times their initial weight. Then they shot through the air like arrows towards the men, but in a rather chaotic manner. Their form was disorderly. There was no pattern except they just shot from every angle and at different speeds. This was the [Chaotic Dance of the seraphims] battle-technique.


    A large, luminous blade of energy that gave out many colors of light, held in one of Alex''s hands shot of it like a cannonball towards the men.


    As the blade shot through the air, it unexpectedly transformed into a massive, resplendent beam of energy that was tens of thousands of meters wide. It caused wide gashes of vacuum to appear in the air in it path. Even the ground below it began to lacerate due to the power of unbridled sharpness emitting from it.


    Then Alex''s last attack, which was the [Earth Devourer], was a towering, all-direction wave of energy that discharged from his lower body. This wave was many times powerful than the previous wave Alex generated when he stomped the earth.


    But this time, the elephant didn''t stomp the earth. Instead, it shot into the air to a great height and then plunged to the earth. It wanted to deliver an extremely powerful attack.


    The moment Alex deployed the various battle-methods of the physiques, the crushing headache he was inflicted with, intensified by multiple folds. This was because he greatly overstrained himself throwing out those terrifying attacks.


    Argh!!


    He screamed in agony as he held his head tightly. Then his bloodshot eyes became void of any awareness. He had become non-conscious. Then he fell with his back to the ground.


    When the Saint-stage cultivators saw the numerous frightening attacks coming at them, their faces turned grave.


    With a thought, treasure-weapons appeared in both hands. Then they totally discharged all the energies in them.


    At the same time, with an understanding that what they were about to do next could pose a great problem to their cultivation in future. They drained themselves of every energy in their energyhouses and channeled them along their energy meridians to their palms.


    It was a risk they were taking because their energy meridians could rupture or ruin due to the overwhelming amounts of energy suddenly moving through them. This could prevent them from continuing their cultivation in future.


    "Fiendgod Termination Ice Storm!"


    "Death Emperor Staff Strike"


    The energies that erupted from their energyhouses and treasure-weapons transformed into massive fearsome attacks that blazed through the air towards the attacks unleashed by Alex.


    The men at the moment looked extremely pale and were shaking. It was like they had put their life into the attacks they sent out. They coughed out blood and then collapsed to the ground, directly entering the unconscious state.


    Boom!!! Boom!!! Boom!!!


    The attacks collided and multiple explosive sounds rang out. These sounds were instantly accompanied by massive rippling energies that moved in all directions, ravaging everything in their path.


    These huge energy ripples possessed high degrees of devastating power as it affected the dome-shaped barrier of energy generated by the trapping formation.


    Thousands of wide cracks rapidly appeared in it structure. Then with an intensely loud, earth-trembling bang, the dome shattered and the numerous powerful ripples of violent energies erupted from it, traveling into the distance in the wilderness.


    If one looked at the area where the massive dome-shaped barrier formerly was, one would see a large, deep crater in the earth. This crater was astonishingly deep, about thousands of kilometers deep and thousands of kilometers wide.


    At the bottom of this crater could be seen two bodies covered with grievous wounds and lying in small pools of blood. These bloody pools were actually formed from the blood oozing from the wounds in their bodies. Pieces of metals could be seen around them and some sticking out from their skins.


    Far in front of these men was a large, majestic palace. In it tall, golden gate could be seen massive engravings of fearsome beasts. If one looked at these enormous beasts engravings, one would have the feeling that these were divine beasts. This palace was the Azure Beastsman''s palace.


    .....


    Jennifer became tired and weary from her long search for Alex. She was really heartbroken. If anything happened to Alex, she wouldn''t be able to forgive herself.


    She left the academy because she couldn''t control her urge for the wealth of a sage-lord expert. Thereby, leaving Alex to protect himself. At that point in time, she felt was selfish, only thinking about herself.


    She didn''t know where the greed came from as she wasn''t always like that. She always cared for people. But the joy at the thought of having such wealth clouded her senses, disabling her from thinking straight.


    But it wasn''t her fault. Which expert wouldn''t want to have continuous and smooth breakthroughs to higher cultivation stages.


    There was great anger, hatred and sadness in her heart. She was angry at herself and at the principal for electing Alex to go for some adventurous exploration which was in the form a competition between academies. She was now totally hateful of Micah and the feeling of sorrow she felt was because she couldn''t find that sweet, handsome boy.


    At the moment, she was at a place very far away in the city. This place was like a wilderness. She was scanning this place with her powerful, emperor-level saint-sense and hoping she would detect Alex.


    She thoroughly scanned the place for undergrounds and probably formations that generated invisibility.


    Many minutes later, the sky in this region suddenly darkened, then a few people appeared in the clouds.


    Jennifer noticed the change. Then she ceased scanning and looked up. She saw three masked people dressed in black uniforms. Their eyes shone with the intent to kill and maraud.


    "Who are you?" She asked.


    "We are members of the league of shadows" One of them responded.


    Jennifer''s eyes shone. Her eyes glowed because the person that replied had a feminine voice. This meant this person was a female.


    "Oh! What do you want from me? You are here to rob me or what?" Jennifer asked.


    "We have been paid to take your life" The three of them said at once in that same feminine voice.


    Huh!


    "Really? Then let me see you are going to do that" Jennifer said.


    Quickly, she armed herself with the sword Alex gave her. Then a strong battle intent, accompanied by an aura of wrath erupted from her.


    She was ready to unleash all the emotions that had built up in her mind for the past few days on anyone.


    She flew towards the three people which were actually the same person. Then she struck at them with her sword. They also responded too.


    CLANK!!!

 Chapter 83: Powerful adversary

    The instant Jennifer''s sword clashed with theirs''. A deafening metallic sound rang out and a massive sphere of vacuum surfaced, enveloping both Jennifer and her three masked adversaries. At the same instant they were engulfed by the sphere, a powerful wave of energy manifested, knocking both Jennifer and the three masked people into the distance.


    Immediately she regained her balance, she abruptly unleashed an attack at them.


    "Fiery Sword Lotus!"


    She shouted and slashed out at the three people. Then pyroforce energy and swordforce energy discharged in great quantities from the treasure-sword in her hand.


    Once the energies erupted from the sword, one of them caused the ambient temperature of the atmosphere to shoot up to extreme levels such that even the clouds seemed to be vaporizing.


    This insane heating effect was brought about by the pyroforce energy which was crimson-red in color. It was an energy that generated flames and heat. While the swordforce energy, sky-blue in color caused gashes of vacuum to appear in the air. These were large slits void of matter. There was no air or any other form of particles in these slits.


    The energies mixed with each other. Then they condensed and shaped into a large lotus. This lotus was massive such that it spanned ten thousand feet in size; both in height and width.


    Emitting overbearing heat like it wanted to evaporate everything in its path, and an unbridled power of tyrannical sharpness that seemed it could cut through all things, the lotus shot forward at a great speed towards Jennifer''s attackers.


    This lotus came about when Jennifer infused her comprehension of a battle-method into the energies. Since cultivators were connected to their energies, they could transmit their profound understandings to them and the energies would transform, forming that attack.


    The attackers saw the enormous, lotus-shaped energy-attack come at them. Then they quickly unleashed their own attacks in response.


    "Sky-splintering Thunderbolt!"


    "Meatgrinder Attack!"


    "Bronze Spear of Misery Strike!"


    Then three forms of energies discharged in great quantities from the weapons they released at Jennifer''s attack.


    These energies; lightniforce energy, bladeforce energy and bronze metalforce energy, immediately transformed into a large blue bolt of lightning, a massive maw that resembled that of a primordial beast and a spear respectively.


    Swoosh!


    Immediately they formed, they shot through the air at great speeds towards the incoming attack.


    Boom!!!


    A loud, sky-shaking sound rang out when Jennifer''s attack, which was many times massive than her adversaries'' attacks, collided.


    Then large, ripple-like streams of violent energies were instantly released. These berserk energies raged into the distance tearing apart the clouds in their path. Very soon, the region became void of clouds.


    Jennifer''s attackers had their faces turn solemn when the energy-lotus, although now dim, still shot towards them, radiating power that sent frights into their very souls.


    Very quickly, they unleashed numerous devastating attacks at it. Since the lotus was impacted multiple times by fearsomely powerful attacks, it lost it form as it shattered and the energy that constituted it dispersed, returning to the realmverse.


    How would they be able to easily destroy an attack unleashed by a treasure-weapon, a peerless-grade commander-weapon forged by Alex''s mom?


    "Ma''am, where did you get that sword? I could sense that the treasure-sword must be a peerless-grade weapon. Right?" one of the masked people who were the same asked.


    "Why do you care?" Jennifer asked irritatedly. Then she continued "Oh, I get. You have taking a liking to my sword. So, when you kill me, you would take it along with you. Right?"


    The one that spoke nodded her head. Showing that she agreed to what Jennifer said.


    Pffft.


    Jennifer broke into laughter.


    "You think you can harm me?" She asked with a smile that seemed wicked.


    "Of course we can. You shall see. Haha!" The same person responded with an evil laugh.


    Then two of the three people who had been quiet the entire time began to glow. The light emitting from their bodies dyed the region they were in, in their colour. This light was prismatic and brilliant.


    Jennifer became surprised at this spectacle. She knew they were about to do something that would be seriously harmful to her. But she couldn''t guess in any way what they were about to do. But she remained at alert. Besides, she was the type not to underestimate her opponents. With her sword in her hands, she readied herself.


    An instant later, the two people that were emanating a bright, colorful light unexpectedly turned into thousands of motes of power that entered into the body of the female that spoke to Jennifer and permeated it.


    Then her cultivation stage increased from the Saint Emperor realm to the Sage General realm.


    The hell!


    Jennifer became stupefied.


    "So she has always been at the sage general stage?" She asked inwardly and in a deeply surprised tone. Even the state of amazement she was in could be easily noticed in her face.


    "How was she able to do that?"


    Jennifer began to wonder what kind of cloning technique allowed the female to accomplish that. Then fear set in her heart. Although, it was only a slight fear as she still believed she could handle a true Sage general stage cultivator.


    Besides, she was armed with a commander-weapon and many voidstones that contained powerful arrays which could produce great amounts of various form of energies.


    Jennifer wasn''t a true sage general stage cultivator. She only had her body''s skeletal framework strengthen and toughen to the point that the power she could produce from her fist and palm strikes could match the damaging power or destructive capacity of the full-powered attacks of a sage general stage expert.


    The female looked at her and asked "Scared?"


    "Scared? Don''t even think about it?" Jennifer replied.


    The female nodded.


    Then she produced her own commander-weapon. It was in the form of a sword too. This commander-grade treasure-sword was a supreme-rank one.


    "Nine Planets Strike!"


    She shouted and slashed out at Jennifer. Then a colossal mass of terraforce energy; an elemental energy of earth, known for it heaviness and solidness, shot towards Jennifer at a great speed.


    When this energy discharged from the treasure-sword, it moved as a massive dark brown cloud towards Jennifer. It then rapidly condensed and shaped into nine dark brown spheres that pulsed with astonishing power.


    They caused the air to intensely tremble and the earth below them to crack and shatter due to the great, mountain-sundering pressure emanating unceasingly from them.


    These spheres were large in size. They each spanned ten thousand meters. The deep brown light emitting from them illuminated everywhere in this place, with their numerous shadows casted over it.


    Jennifer could feel the destructive power of the attack.


    "Truly a sage general stage expert!" She said inwardly. She couldn''t imagine the amount of energy needed to form these numerous, mountain-sized attacks.


    "Profound Sun and Moon Trinity Blades!"


    She shouted and slashed out.


    Then great amounts of solarforce energy and lunarforce energy erupted from the treasure-sword. These were energies of the sun and moon respectively. One was extremely hot, the other was extremely cold.


    These large masses of energies were produced from two new voidstones Jennifer plugged into two sockets in her sword.


    When these discharged from the sword, they swiftly condensed, taking the shapes of blades that spanned ten thousand meters. When they formed, they shot out at tremendous speeds towards the incoming attacks. There were three of these blades formed by the two energies.


    These enormous blades condensed from energy emitted strong, blinding lights that bathed everywhere in their powerful luminescence.


    The gigantic, fearsome attacks collided and enormous ripples of violent energies erupted from the impacts. These travelled in all directions, wreaking havoc. They would ravage anything in their path.


    If these collisions and energy eruptions occurred on the ground, they would make massive and deep craters in it.


    Bang!! Bang!!


    Both Jennifer and her female attacker were sent flying for long distances by the rippling energy waves when it struck them.


    Just before the waves which moved at shocking speeds could hit Jennifer, she quickly covered herself in the armor Alex gave her. This protected her from the waves that could collapse the sky.


    But it shattered upon impact and she was knocked flying. Long metallic pieces of her splintered armor could be seen sticking out of her skin.


    Luckily, her silver skeleton didn''t break from the tremendous destructive impacts. It could withstand the fragmenting force transmitted to her by the wave.


    But her flesh was a bloody mess. Covered with nauseating wounds all over, blood spurted from it from different places.


    When she crashed into the earth from that altitude, she groaned agonizingly in pain as her body smashed the earth hardly.


    She immediately became dizzy because of the height in the air she fell from. It juggled her brain. She forced herself out of this dizzied state and stood back to her feet.


    She grunted as intense pain racked her entire body while trying to stand. She quickly produced a healing pill which she consumed. This turned into a large amount of healforce energy in her body.


    As the energy circulated round her body, it ejected the metallic fragments that had burrowed into her skin. Then the wounds she sustained began to heal up.


    When she was impacted by the waves, she lost grip of her sword. She couldn''t find where it dropped. As she searched around and with her powerful sense, the female attacker could be seen in the cloudless sky. She was also injured as blood tricked down the sides of her lips. She wasn''t as injured as Jennifer, only slightly injured.


    This female had a wicked smile in her face. She raised a hand up and in it grasp was Jennifer''s sword.


    "Looking for this?" She asked loudly with a smile.


    Jennifer''s eyes shone. Then unbridled fear set in her heart. What now occupied the void of her heart was the thought of how to surmount this opponent of hers. Without the sword, she couldn''t deliver energy-attacks that could match that of sage general stage experts.


    The only way to beat her female attacker was to fly up to her and attack her at a close range. Only in that way could she break and crush her bones by delivering super-hard, immensely heavy punches at her body.


    She became very worried. This was getting graver for her every second.


    The lady up in the sky left Jennifer to think of what to do next. She wanted to see what Jennifer would do about this. She was laughing wickedly in her mind as she saw the deeply confused state Jennifer was in.


    Jennifer then sent a sliver of her perception into her spatial ring. This sliver of her consciousness roamed the vast space of her spatial ring for sometime before she discovered one of the many items Alex gave her that day.


    She looked at it and saw it was a pill. It was white in color and the pressure emanating from it caused her to be shocked.


    "What sort of pill is this?" she asked inwardly in a surprised tone. Although she was perplexed, she had a feeling that it was something that would probably give her a burst of power.


    But she wouldn''t know this pill was the blood essence of a divine expert. It was mixed with alchemical ingredients, such as consummate cultivation herbs to help improve rapid dissolution in the body and quick absorption by it.


    Even Alex didn''t know what the pill was. As it emitted power that greatly frightened him, he felt he should give it to her. Besides, he still had many more of these things. So he believed he would find out about it use in future.


    She hoped her intuition was right. With a thought, the pill appeared in front of her. Once it appeared in front of her, it emitted waves of power that pushed the air away around it, creating a vacuum zone. Besides, the pill was luminous as it gave out an intense light. It was like a divine pill.


    "Divine pill?"


    Both Jennifer and the female in the sky thought at the same time.


    Without wasting more time, Jennifer quickly swallowed it. Once it entered into her body and dissolved, it released great amount of energies upon it dissolution in her body.


    Jennifer suddenly felt she had the power to move worlds. It wasn''t real, just a feeling. But she felt she could probably do this.


    It wasn''t an unreal feeling. She felt she could do this because of the currents of power raging in her body.


    The energy she got from the pill was divineforce energy. This energy then melded with the energies Jennifer cultivated.


    When the new energy in her body achieved a homogenous phase with the other energies she cultivated, she felt incredibly powerful. Even her comprehension went up by a leap.


    With a smile plastered in her face, she looked at the female and said "I want my sword back"


    With furrowed brows, the female said "Oh. You think some pill is going to make you match by battle strength? Girl, you must be foolish. Such pills had never existed. So, If you want your sword, lay down your life. When I kill kill you, I will bury your sword with you."


    Jennifer laughed hysterically "Lay down my life? In your dreams bitch!" she said loudly.


    Then with a stomp on the ground, she hurled herself into the air.


    The female saw that Jennifer had regained her confidence and that her confidence was now very high, then she decided to switch to plan B.


    Very fast, she flew towards Jennifer.


    Jennifer saw her action and became bewildered. She didn''t know what she wanted to do. But she got ready to attack.


    When the lady appeared in front of her, Jennifer seeing this as an opportunity to deliver an island-crushing punch, quickly sent out her fist.


    The lady dodged the fist that generated a wave of power that pushed all the air away from her. Then because of her high cultivation stage, she had a faster reaction speed.


    Very quickly, she shot her finger into Jennifer''s chest. This pierced Jennifer''s chest easily and abruptly, dark-colored threads of energy spread from the two fingers that had penetrated Jennifer''s chest to the rest of her body.


    Then her beautiful, flawless skin ruined as her glowing white skin turned black. Lot of veins bulged all over her body and when the female removed her hands, blood spurted from the wound inflicted upon Jennifer. Her blood wasn''t bright red anymore. It was incomparably black.


    Her beautiful face ruined as it turned haggard. It became wrinkled and black.


    The bright glow in her eyes dimmed as a dark layer formed in them.


    Her beautiful long hair turned dark grey and began to fall off.


    Slowly, she emaciated. Her skins dried up and began to fall off like withered leaves.


    A great pain racked her soul and body.


    "Did you think some divine pill was going to save you from my hands? Everyone I set out to kill always die. But I must give it to you. You were very formidable. So die well. Haha" The woman said and gave a sinister laugh.


    Then she kicked Jennifer heavily on the chest and this sent her plummeting to the solid earth.


    Bang!


    She landed hardly to the ground and coughed out black blood. Cracks rapidly appeared all over her weakened skin, then dark black blood began to seep out from them.


    At this point in time, Jennifer''s vitality drained away as the poisonforce energy circulated in her body. Her body slowly became stiff and cold.


    All her memories became blurry and seemed to vanish, she couldn''t recall them. It was only Alex''s image that remained in her mind.


    "Finally! I got a peerless-grade commander-weapon. Haha. Bitch!! If you can still hear me, thanks! I am taking your sword away with me!" she shouted elatedly.


    Boom!!


    Then she flew away at a speed ten times the speed of sound. Moving at that speed caused the air to boom.

 Chapter 84: Return

    Alex could be seen lying on the tiled floor inside the Azure Beastsman''s palace. He was still unconscious. But the blood that seeped from his ears, nose and from the corners of his lips had stopped.


    The control entity, in it blurry form looked at Alex and shook its head in awe. It was amazed by Alex''s power. Right from the Red Lotus cave where he met Alex, Alex had always summoned physiques that had the power of a Saint-stage cultivator. It wondered how Alex was able to do that. He had a really special mind.


    But it also wondered why Alex couldn''t stay in his transformed state for longer. Then it began to make thousands of deductions in it head and arrived at a conclusion that Alex''s soul was weak.


    His body was the one that mutated, not his soul. Although it was made much more powerful as it could withstand soul-shaking attacks from peak-phase condensation stage and probably half-earth adept stage cultivator, it form wasn''t altered or changed. It was only augmented to a shocking degree.


    Like in the case of Nadja''s soul attacks, others were seriously affected, but Alex was only slightly affected and even instantly recovered.


    So anytime Alex transformed, it exerted an enormous pressure on his soul that after a while, he would knock out of consciousness. That was his only weakness.


    The control entity then decided that it would make Alex cultivate soulforce energy. Only in that way would his soul be able to withstand the pressure exerting on it when Alex transformed his normal body into a super-powered body.


    Then a pill appeared in front of it and using his telekinetic power, the pill floated in the air towards Alex''s mouth and entered it. Once it entered, it turned into a large amount of healforce energy that began to heal up Alex''s body.


    When Alex''s attacks and that of the saint-stage cultivators'' clashed and towering, destructive waves of energy erupted, the entity brought Alex into the palace as his body had reverted from it armored form back to it delicate, fleshy form. If it didn''t do that, Alex''s body be reduced to pieces by the ravaging energy waves.


    It would have come out to help Alex against the Saint-level experts, but it couldn''t as it only had power inside the palace. The only two ability it had was to bring in something from outside into the palace through teleportation and can turn the palace into a flight-purpose treasure that can move through spatial layers.


    When the healing energy surfaced in Alex''s body, it began to work on the wounds Alex sustained in his battle against the Saint-stage experts. Near instantly, Alex''s wound healed totally.


    Then it waited for Alex to wake up. It didn''t force Alex up. As a sentient being possessing great amounts of knowledge, it knew when this kind of pain could sometimes become a fortune for one. It hoped Alex gained a lot of benefit from this and that the benefit must be for his soul.


    ....


    "So she''s dead?" Micah asked the woman in front of him.


    "Of course she is. I watched her turn to a rotting, irritating black mess. Haha. But she was pretty powerful. Her bones were extremely strong. They were powerful to the point that they enabled her throw a punch that could match the power of an attack that could be unleashed by a sage general stage expert. I felt this when I appeared in front of her to use my poison finger technique. If that punch actually met me, I wouldn''t be here. My body would have exploded into a blood mist." the lady replied with slight fear. She still recalled that crushing tyrannical punch Jennifer sent out.


    "Lady Poisonheart, thanks for helping us remove that obstacle." A man wearing a dark cloak said.


    "Don''t mention. It''s your money that made my organization make a move to remove the threat you were facing. But what I don''t understand is you are at the sage general stage too. You could have gone to kill her yourself. Why didn''t you do that instead of paying us to do it for you?" Lady Poisonheart asked in a perplexed tone.


    "I can''t risk leaving very far from the academy. There''s a powerful expert who is after me and is still on the track for my whereabouts. There is a massive formation I set up that would help me conceal myself from this expert. The lady I sent you to kill is too far away from the academy'' s location. If I leave the range of the formation''s concealment power, I would be exposed. I can''t take that chance." The man replied.


    "Oh. That''s very sad. Well, pay us to do it for you. We have many powerful experts. Experts in cultivation stages many ranks higher than mine. Pay us and we''ll do a clean job for you" Lady Poisonheart said with a smile.


    "Thanks for the offer. But I would do it myself. I want to have my revenge. When I become stronger, I would go after the bastard" The cloaked man replied.


    "Oh. Okay. Good luck with that man." Lady Poisonheart said.


    "Yea. Now, I hope you know we paid you very well to help us eliminate that stubborn lady. Yes? I want the items you took from her." The man said.


    Haha!


    Lady Poisonheart laughed raucously.


    "Well, that item is now mine already. It''s my spoil of war. I can''t believe you frigging bastard want it. Please, am done with you. Go away" she said.


    The man''s eyes turned evil.


    "Okay. I have money. How much do you want in exchange for it?" He asked.


    "Haha. Well, in exchange for it. Give me your pitiful, miserable life" The lady responded.


    The man looked at her fiercely. Then he shook his head when he remembered he was in an organization that had powerful experts that would squash him like a bug.


    "Let''s go" He said to Micah. Then they both left the organization situated in an underground cave.


    Via a spatial displacement array in the organization, they left the cave and appeared in a place that looked desolate. Then they flew towards the academy.


    Immediately they left Lady Poisonheart''s place, she brought out Jennifer''s treasure-sword from her spatial ring and looked at it.


    She was amazed when she looked at it well this time. It gave the feeling it was made of perfect and excellent-quality materials. She concluded that it was these materials that made the sword a peerless-grade sword.


    But what made her more amazed were the number of sockets in the sword. There were four of it. Every weapon she had come across only had a maximum of two sockets, but these had four.


    Besides, when she removed the voidstones to look into them. She could detect powerful energy-producing arrays. They were all Tier-7 arrays; Grand-arrays. These produced vast amounts of energy very quickly and the energy crystals in the arrays were pure. These were not created or synthesized by any expert that would have impurities in them, thereby lowering the quality of the energies. These were formed directly by nature; by natural processes and were astonishingly large in size.


    She deduced that even if one abused the amount of energy that is released by the gigantic energy crystals, It would take several thousand years for it to totally get exhausted before the arrays become non-functional. This is until they get another energy source.


    She wondered where Jennifer got all these. But she was glad she now had a powerful weapon. She looked at the sword for sometime and then kissed it beautiful, shining flat surface.


    "Baby, your other mama is dead as she is weak and useless. But this mama is way stronger and is gonna take very good care of you. No one would take you from my hands." she said and kissed it again.


    Then she returned it to her ring. She was pleased that the organization gave her the mission or she wouldn''t have come across such a wonderful, marveling item.


    She laughed blissfully.


    ...


    Jennifer at the moment could be said to be dead as she had no vitality again. But she still had a spark of life which she held onto. There were two things preventing that spark of life from going into oblivion. These were the divineforce energy circulating in her body and the image of Alex that refused to vanish from her mind.


    The divineforce energy, produced by the melting of a pill, formed from the blood essence of a divine-class expert in her body fought back the poisonforce energy that seemed to want to corrode all of her cultivated energies.


    The poisonforce energy tried to destroy all of Jennifer''s energies but it couldn''t. The divineforce energy was overpowering, keeping all of her energies from being contaminated and toxified by the ruining poisonforce energy.


    Slowly, it was being expelled from Jennifer''s body. This granted Jennifer the ability to move albeit slightly. She hadn''t regained one percent of her movement ability.


    While the image of Alex which was clear in her mind prevented that spark of life she had left from dying. She still hadn''t seen him and so could not end up like this. She wanted to see him and if she couldn''t, she wanted to see his corpse.


    When the thought that Alex was probably dead as she couldn''t find him flashed in her mind, a great fury manifested in her heart. If this fury were flames, it could burn the entire world she was in to a crisp. That was how wrathful she became.


    Then that spark of life that seemed to be fluctuating; glowing and dimming, suddenly gained strength. From a spark, it grew into a small fire and into a towering, raging flame. Literally.


    The instant her will to live to came back and this time stronger, the energies circulating in her body began to move faster along her energy channels. And in the process, the rate of ejection of the poisonforce energy in her body increased.


    Many seconds later, colour returned to Jennifer''s body. Not actually her body, just the pieces of flesh hanging around on her silver skeleton. But she had regained her movement. With a thought, she produced all the healing pills in her spatial ring and swallowed them all. She didn''t care if it was excessive.


    Very quickly, the old flesh fell off and new flesh began to appear around her body. New blood vessels surfaced within her new body and her organs formed.


    Her hair which had completely fallen off regrew and her face which had turned black regained it color and texture appearing beautiful and spotless.


    Her bewitching, flawless beauty returned. This time, more mesmerizing as she had casted away her old skin.


    She looked at the small pool of black blood on the ground and shook her head. She was glad she survived through it.


    But she knew it was not by her power, it was the divineforce energy circulating in her body that helped her energies push out the desolating poisonous energy in her body.


    The divineforce energy at this point in time had totally left her body. Her body couldn''t retain it the way Alex''s did. His body was like a sponge, absorbing energies and retaining them.


    Her beautiful gown was ruined by her blackened blood. She decided to wash up first and change into another outfit before she left for the academy.


    There was nothing in her heart now except fury which she wanted to unleash at Micah and the principal. Especially Micah, she hoped she would meet him there.


    She was ready to tear him apart. Her eyes shone with a high degree of ferocity that if cultivators with a higher cultivation stage looked in her eyes, they would quickly back up. The anger in her eyes was type that depicted she wanted to destroy everything her path.


    .....


    Alex from where he laid on the ground suddenly sneezed, then his eyes abruptly opened. He remembered all that happened and quickly looked around, he saw that he was at the bottom of a crater.


    Then he saw two unconscious, heavily injured bodies far in the distance. He recalled who those two were. Then he quickly stood up. He didn''t know if they would wake anytime soon. So he decided to quickly leave the deep crater he was in.


    But he stopped and looked back at them. He felt that he must kill the two men. But he couldn''t bring himself to do it. He had never killed before and felt bad thinking about it.


    Alex who had begun looking pale just from the thought that popped in his head knew he had no choice than to do it. It was better to not leave future problems for himself.


    Two colored lights flashed and two spears appeared in Alex''s hand. Then he went to where the bodies of the unconscious men laid in.


    Puchi! Puchi!


    Those were the sounds produced as Alex drove the two spears into the hearts of the two men.


    The instant he drove the two spears into their soul, blood gushed out like a fountain, splashing on him and dying the soiled clothe he wore red.


    Alex then knelt beside them.


    Killing the two men took a toll on his mental state of mind.


    ''It just had to be done'' He said inwardly after a long time.


    He stood to his feet and removed the spears stabbed deep into their bodies. Then he put them back into his dad''s spatial necklace.


    .....


    The entity returned Alex''s body to the crater since he would soon wake. It was going to speak to Alex later concerning cultivation of soulforce energy to increase soul power which includes the durability and stamina of his soul.


    It couldn''t take Alex out of the crater since it was still weak, it hadn''t regained much of its energy. Only a little amount. Using that small amount gained to power the large treasure-palace to move would quickly exhaust its strength.


    Alex looked up and complained in his heart. "Damn! So far"


    Then he employed his wind manipulation power. His eyes turned cyan and a large mass of air came in from a far distance into the crater.


    When it got to the depth Alex was, it surrounded his figure and then windforce energy began to flow into his body unceasingly at a high speed.


    This caused his body to glow brilliantly in cyan as a large quantity of windforce energy permeated his entire body.


    Alex was utilizing the Wind Elixir technique of the Wind Trinity methodology he studied. This enabled Alex to have boundless amount of wind-controlling energy for his use. Well, for as long as he can maintain the technique which consumed mental power.


    Then because of his special body constitution, he ejected the windforce energy from his feet at a high velocity using the Human Rocket technique in the methodology. This was impossible for a lot of cultivators at any stage as some could only discharge energy from only their hands.


    Swoosh!


    Because of the high rate of release of the windforce energy from his feet, he shot upwards like an arrow, cutting through the air at an astonishing speed.


    If one looked closely, It was like cyan flame was expelling from Alex''s feet. This was the cyan-colored windforce energy gushing out of his feet in massive amounts.


    Alex wasn''t worried over the shocking amount of energy he was wasting to achieve this terrifying speed as he could endlessly recharge himself. He had access to fathomless amount of energy for his use using the Wind Elixir technique, for as long as he could sustain it.


    Just a wisp of this energy, when it left a foot, transformed into a super-fast air current that propelled Alex up at an extreme speed. It had this velocity because of the divineforce energy that was incorporated into it.


    Many moments later, he came out from the crater. Looking all bloodied, he went to find a place to wash himself and change his clothes.


    Fortunately, he got one when he deployed his powerful sense of hearing. He could hear the sound of water flow. Then he traced this sound to a small stream.


    Few minutes later, he finished washing his body. Then he changed his clothes. When he saw he was neat and looking good, his leg muscles started to emanate a golden light, resembling metal in appearance. These soft golden glows emitted by them was because they had been infused with strengthforce energy.


    Flit!


    Then he shot towards the Sky Trident city at a great speed.


    Since he knew the direction they were moving in with the beast-drawn carriage before all these happened, it was easy for him to trace his way to the city.


    Moving at a speed that could be probably three hundred times the full speed of a cheetah, he left numerous after-images behind and a large cloud of dust far in the distance. Not very long, he arrived at the city.


    "Finally"


    He said excitedly in his heart. He couldn''t wait to see Jennifer. He recalled the dazzling image of Jennifer in his mind and smiled. He even had a plan that would surprise her.


    Then he took a carriage that would convey him to the academy. This time around, he entered a carriage that had more powerful beasts.


    They looked like they would be able to move fast as their muscles seemed bigger and denser. This carriage was a high-grade one and was very expensive.


    Of course, notorious and greedy eyes looked in his direction. But when they saw that he paid the carriage to convey him to the Black Dragon academy and seeing how expensively dressed he was, they backed. He seemed like a kid from a wealthy, powerful family as only he paid to use a carriage for ten people.


    Alex did this and without fear because he knew they wouldn''t be able to do anything to him when they calculated in their heads the amount of money he would pay to singly use the carriage. And that he was heading to an academy. Only rich kids of powerful cultivating families could afford cultivation institutions.


    The carriage set out and in a few minutes, he would reach the Black Dragon academy.


    ....


    Jennifer at this point in time had arrived at the academy. Anger could be seen blazing in her eyes. She was ready to wreak havoc.


    Floating in the air above the school''s gate, her voice boomed out.


    "Micah! You vile spawn! If you are in there. Come out now!"


    Everyone wondered which female had the audacity to come make a scene at their school. Classes abruptly ended as instructors flew out of the lecture blocks to go see who that was when they saw Jennifer. They became shocked.


    "Jennifer, wha-what are you doing here? We were told that you have resigned and that you have gone to another continent" Jane who had flew out with the other instructors asked in shock.

 Chapter 85: Alexs plan

    Immediately Jane asked that question, Jennifer''s brows furrowed.


    "Who told you that?" she asked.


    "The principal. He said you resigned because you got a better place in another continent where you would get better cultivation resources. I was so disappointed that you left without telling me but here you are, giving me the shock of my life. Are you and the principal trying to play prank on us?" Jane asked.


    "No. I didn''t resign. I have never had that thought in my mind. I only went with some people to help secure their goods till they got to another states. But surprisingly, the bastards tried to kill me. I was engaged in a long battle of life and death at different locations before I could come back here. I believe someone set those up. And that person must be Micah. But wait, the principal told you that I actually resigned? Like he made an announcement of it?" Jennifer asked in a puzzled tone.


    "Yes. I don''t know why he announced that. Perhaps he was being playful or something at that point in time. You said Micah set you against some people that tried to take your life. Why would he ever want to do that?" Jane asked.


    "This matter is deeper than you can think. I will gist you later. But now, I have a score to settle." She said.


    Then she looked towards the place that could be said to be Micah''s office.


    "Micah, I believe you can hear me. If you are truly a man, come out this moment" Her voice boomed out once again.


    Micah was in the principal''s office. His brows were wrinkled and his face looked grave. He was looking intensely at the man in front of him with a heart that was beating wildly.


    The man before him also had his brows furrowed. But the expression of shock and bewilderment could be clearly seen in his face. He wondered what to to do next. But he couldn''t think up anything as he was confused. To the extreme.


    "That damned Lady Poisonheart" He cursed out loud.


    Then he looked at Micah.


    "Go meet her" he said.


    Micah''s body shook and his face turned graver.


    "What? Go meet her?! I have never seen Jennifer this angry before. She is going to skin me alive. She is now way stronger than me. Please, you should go see her and try to calm her. She would still listen to you even if she''s angry. Please!" Micah said hoping his pleas would get to Gerald.


    How could he go to meet Jennifer who at the moment was like a volcano ready to erupt. Once he appeared, she might rapidly send out a powerful, instant-obliterating attack without waiting for an explanation. He loved his life and couldn''t die now.


    Gerald looked at him and nodded his head. He still had a chance at soothing her. She would listen to him as he was the principal.


    He flew out of his office to meet Jennifer in the air.


    "Jenny. You are back. Welcome" he said with a smile.


    Jennifer didn''t respond. She only looked at him with angry eyes. It was he that caused the disappearance and possibly demise of Alex. She wasn''t going to let him have it easy.


    "Yea, I am back but to wreak havoc. I told you the other time that when I come back and don''t find Alex, I would wreak havoc in the academy" she said out loud angrily.


    Huh?!


    The whole school exclaimed loudly in shock.


    So all these was about Alex. That bastard. They said in their mind.


    They wished someone would care for them like that. So much as face people of stronger abilities for them.


    The man didn''t know what to say. He was quiet for some time before he finally spoke "Alright. What do you want to do now that you can''t find Alex? Demolish the buildings of the school you teach in? Girl, please receive some wisdom. Don''t be stupid and foolish. You know how hard I tried to find that boy. What''s his name again? Yea, Alex. You know how hard I tried to find Alex. I have long arrived at something. That he is no more. Jenny, I know this may hurt, but you have to take it like that" he said. He seriously hoped Jennifer would do as he said.


    Once he mentioned this, Jennifer''s gaze became venomous. If looks could kill, Gerald would have been reduced to pieces of mangled flesh.


    She nodded her head at him. Then she asked. "Where''s Micah? Don''t tell me he has gone or I would do as you said. I would bring down the academy''s numerous structures and I would like to see what the academy''s founder would do to you when he finds out that you couldn''t properly handle the safety of your students." She threatened, looking very serious about it.


    Haha!


    The man laughed in an unbridled manner.


    "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked with a heavy voice.


    "A thousand and hundred percent sure" Jennifer responded disdainfully.


    The man''s gaze then turned sinister. But just when he was about go at it with Jennifer, a carriage appeared before the school''s gate. Then a dashing young boy, who looked celestial as the light from the sun bathed him came down from the carriage.


    When he came down, a perplexed look creeped up his face. He became confused at what was going on. He could see many students of different cultivation stages at the gate and wondered what they were all doing there instead of being in classes receiving lectures.


    Then he looked up and gaped. He saw Jennifer and began to wonder what what she was doing up there. From his own angle, it seemed Jennifer was about to face the entire school.


    Jennifer who was looking intently at Gerald, ready to do anything against what he might do, noticed the change in his countenance and in the atmosphere.


    She saw everyone, Gerald inclusive, looking away from her towards something that seemed to be on the ground.


    Unbridled shock could be seen in Gerald''s face and great amazement in the eyes of the students and instructors.


    Then she turned to look at the thing that pulled all attention away from her. The instant she did and she saw Alex, all her emotional pains, frustrations and worries vanished like they were never there in the first place.


    She didn''t know when she swooped down to the ground from that height in the air and dashed towards Alex to take him into her embrace.


    There was unfathomable joy and happiness in her heart at the moment. She hugged Alex tightly who also reciprocated.


    He too embraced her tightly and took in all the wonderful, fragrant scent emitting from the perfume she used. His hands were tight around her back


    Alex at the moment, surrendered himself to the sensation that continuously erupted from his chest that was being tightly pressed against by the large and firm, round lumps of flesh jutting from Jennifer''s chest.


    He seriously enjoyed the feeling that made his mind float and his heart swim in bliss.


    He was lost in this feeling that he didn''t know when he increased his arms'' tightness around her. To everyone, it seemed like he wanted to squeeze her into him.


    Gasps rang out in the air when people saw this spectacle.


    "Damn! Just fucking damn! What a bastard. I wish I was the one hugging that goddess like that. Ahhh, I would be in paradise."


    "Oh my goodness. What a tight embrace. Those large, soft melons... Mehn!"


    So many naughty and silly thoughts flashed in the minds of all the students. Even some male instructors were jealous. But it didn''t show in their faces. They only looked on with a smile.


    Gerald at the moment was shocked beyond words.


    "This boy dared to return? Haha. Very good." He said and laughed wickedly in his mind.


    Of course, Jennifer too noticed the way Alex hugged her. It was so tight. But she ignored it as she was glad he came back in one piece to her. She was glad beyond what any word could describe. She just hugged him, rubbing his back affectionately.


    The way they were was like they were two long lost lovers who suddenly found themselves again.


    "Alright. Alex, it''s enough" Jennifer said softly.


    Then Alex''s mind came back from paradise. His arms loosed their tight grips around her back as he came out of the long and delightful, sensuous embrace.


    A wide smile could be seen in his face. The smile could probably be because he hugged someone he wouldn''t dream of hugging.


    Jennifer saw his smile and only shook her head. Since she had seen who she was looking for, there was no cause for trouble again. She ignored everyone who were either gawking or had conspicuous envious gazes in their eyes and dragged Alex into the academy''s compound by the hands.


    She brought him to her residence. Immediately they entered the residence, she patted him heavily on the head. "You damned brat! You know how worried I was when I couldn''t find you? Where did you go too?" She asked scoldingly.


    "Uh.. I got chased and attacked by some people. Am very lucky to have survived." He replied.


    Jennifer heard this and became glad. She was pleased with the heavens that they brought Alex safe to her. She looked at him affectionately and took him into her embrace again.


    Then she whispered in his ears. "What I did then was very selfish. I was so self-centered. I was after my own gains, leaving you to protect yourself when you were in danger. I am so sorry. Please forgive me. I promise never to do that again. Ever" she said.


    "Instructor Jennifer. It''s okay. I never even thought of that. Every cultivation expert must do their best to grow stronger or they would be left behind and the gap between them and the others would become larger. You shouldn''t always be worried about me. Besides, I can''t always rely on everyone for my own safety. I have to grow stronger too to be able to ward off every bad thing that comes my way" Alex replied.


    Jennifer smiled. "That''s why I have always liked you and overlooked all the things that you have ever done and will ever do. You are not like the others. You are smart and intellectual." she said. And when she pulled out of the embrace, she kissed his forehead. Then she ruffled his long womanly hair and left the general room to her own room.


    Alex''s soul and mind were spinning from that kiss. "She kissed me?" He became excited.


    ..........


    "Jake. You are done here. You can go back." Gerald said.


    Then Jake, whose eyes could seemingly shoot off fire, looked at the principal and left with a loud ''mtcheew''.


    Bang!


    He jammed the door heavily and walked away.


    The instant Jake left, Micah appeared.


    "The boy came back?" he asked with shock in his eyes.


    "Yes, he came back. And I don''t how Jennifer could come back from Lady Poisonheart''s most deadliest technique. I need to speak to that bitch and make her come fix all these. Stupid idiot." he said and cursed.


    "But am more shocked that he could actually come back here. If I were the one, I would have long left the state to another when I know that someone sinister and extremely powerful could possibly be hot on my track." Micah said in an astonished tone.


    Gerald looked at him with a gaze that gave the feeling that he could possibly heavy slap Micah.


    "Oh shut up you fool. Who are you calling sinister? Eh? Well, he has to come back. He may like being around Jennifer and so couldn''t leave. I would get him very soon. When I divide him up, I would get that treasure. Then when I master the powers provided by the treasure, I would have my revenge and my orchestrations would come to fruition. Haha" He said and then began to laugh wickedly.


    Micah joined him in the laughter.


    ..........


    "Jake, where have you been? Everyone gave me a heartwarming welcome except you. Where were you?" Alex asked teasingly.


    "It was all thanks to that bastard principal. When you and instructor Jennifer left the academy, he and Micah made my life a living hell. I couldn''t go for classes any more as they made me clean disgusting places, and without remuneration. I have really suffered. But I have been discharged now. Shitty bastards" Jake said with anguish and bitterness in his heart.


    "Why would the principal make you do that? He was supposed to even look out for you since Jennifer wasn''t around. But instead, he joined hands with that nefarious bastard and made you clean shitholes. Jake, don''t worry. The light is on them now. When we grow stronger, we would have our revenge." Alex said with a calming smile.


    "Certainly. I must spank the ass of that bastard Micah. And shred the butt cheeks of that crazy principal" Jake said.


    Alex looked at him with a disgusted gaze.


    "Of all forms of punishment, you wanna shred.. Gosh. Jake, you will never change." He said.


    Jake only smiled.


    In the evening after meal, Alex was summoned to Jennifer''s room.


    "Alex. I have something to tell you. I lost the sword you gave me. I am so sorry. I was also involved in a battle to the death. I was hit by a tyrannical energy wave and lost grip of the sword. When next I would see it, I saw it in the hands of my attacker. And she left with it after thinking she had killed me." Jennifer said unhappily.


    "No need for apologies. That sword wasn''t anything great. The day I was sorting out things I could give you to augment your battle power, I came across astonishing treasure-weapons. I would have given them to you, but I felt they could do more harm than good and instead kept them back and gave you those. Well, since someone wants to feed on your remnants, they should. It''s only right someone as beautiful and lovable as you get a better, fatter one." Alex said adorably and gave a smile that seemed suspenseful.


    Jennifer just looked at him with a smirk and waited for him to reveal what he wanted to show her.


    Then there was a blinding flash of colorful light in the room and the air trembled, folded and twisted from the terrific pressure and unbridled power emitting from whatever just appeared in the air.


    She looked at what that was and saw a two inch-thick, double-edged sword. It was also large in size and was broad.


    It had violet-gold edges and a flat, ruby surface. The dual-colored edges had a long, crimson wave engraved in them. Then antiquated symbols could be seen inscribed in the flat surface of the sword.


    Then right at the centre, from the tip of the sword down to the base of the sword''s hilt could be seen a shocking number of sockets. There were eighteen of it. The beautiful, multicolored sword floating in the air actually had eighteen sockets for voidstones. And plugged in those sockets were voidstones that glowed resplendently.


    "Al¡ª¡ªAlex, you also have this?" Jennifer said in a shocked tone. She continued to look at the sword that emitted hues of light and floated in the air by itself, emitting a sage lord-level constraining power, a visible aura of frightening sharpness and an overpowering, suppressive pressure.


    "Yea. And many more." Alex replied with a smile.


    That was Alex''s plan. He wanted to give her this and other things. Only he knew why he did this. Just to surprise her anyways.

 Chapter 86: Vision

    She sent a sliver of her awareness into it and an information appeared in her mind.


    [Name: Godsfall Broad Sword]


    [Usage stage requirement: Saint Emperor]


    [Abilities:]


    (1) Can produce Sage Lord-level constraining power.


    (2) Can imbue energy-attacks with the power of sharpness. (for example: fiery energy attacks, icy energy attacks or lightning energy attacks etc. will possess terrific lacerating power. They would have the power to cut or pierce through attacks.


    (3) Can infuse attacks with pressureforce energy. Energy-attacks will emit a pressure that would act directly on other energy-attacks and suppress or shatter/crush them before even collision.


    (4) Can emit a strange light that can affect thinking speed and reaction speed of attackers.]


    [Number of Sockets: 22]


    [Primary Sockets: 4 (Permanent) {Status: Hidden}]


    [Secondary Sockets: 18 (removable) {Status: Open}]


    When she read through the information, she became confused.


    ''Primary and secondary sockets? Twenty-two, four and eighteen sockets?'' she asked inwardly in a confused tone. This was her first time coming across information about treasure-weapons.


    Then she went through it again. When she did, she then understood that the eighteen sockets she saw on the body of the sword were the ones whose voidstones could be removed and replaced with another. They made up the secondary sockets.


    While the other four sockets which were the primary sockets had voidstones permanently embedded in them and were concealed within the sword. The voidstones were irremovable. They were the ones that would give the attacks those attributes that was mentioned the sword could do.


    ''So, a total of twenty-two sockets. What a gem!'' she said inwardly. She became really pleased with the sword.


    She looked at Alex and smiled. Alex smiled back too.


    "So, you said ''and many more''. Where are they?" she asked with a laugh.


    She didn''t feel ashamed around Alex again. Besides, Alex was in possession of weapons that only gods should have. Even the lowest class of weapon in his hands would be a god-tier weapon.


    Where would she get weapons that would beat that? All her life, she only knew of weapons with a maximum of two sockets. Alex had come and changed everything she knew about treasure-weapons. He had opened her eyes to many new possibilities.


    ''Imagine a saint emperor-stage weapon possessing so many voidstone sockets. Then what would the ones of higher stages have? Hundreds, thousands or millions? I am certain every treasure and treasure-weapon he would have with him would be of the peerless-grade.'' She thought inwardly.


    Alex smiled when Jennifer asked him about the other items he wanted to give her. He was glad their relationship had improved beyond ordinary teacher and student relationship.


    But he was wrong about that. Jennifer had always seen him as someone close to her heart or she would never ever allow him to live with her in her residence and even let him take advantages with her, such as the embrace part or where he held her hands when they first knew each other. It would seem like disrespect to her if it was any other person and she would ruin or decimate such person.


    With a thought, many more items appeared in the air and floated by their own power. They caused the air to seethe.


    Jennifer looked and saw a grey armor, a silver crown, crimson claws, black boots, silver belts and a two-colored cape.


    She became shocked by the items in front of her. She could feel the tyrannical power emitting from them. It felt like powerful, frightening hegemonic cultivators had appeared before her.


    She put a hand out and a formless force emitted from it. It engulfed the treasures in the air, then they were pulled towards her.


    Once they got to her hand, she sent slivers of her awareness into them and many information regarding the treasures appeared in her head.


    [Name: Overlord X Black Armor]


    [Usage stage requirement: Saint Emperor]


    [Abilities:]


    (1) Can produce Sage Lord-level energy shield.


    (2) Can engulf wearer in a protective, powerful flame and produce a large field of fiery energy that can burn off energies composing an attack.


    (3) Made from rare, highly durable metals and minerals, it can withstand full-power, close-range attacks from a sage lord-level cultivator.


    [Number of Sockets: 5]


    ....


    [Name: Blue Ocean Defense Crown]


    [Usage stage requirement: Saint Emperor]


    [Abilities:]


    (1) Can produce an armor of energy around the wearer. This armor is formed from blue aquaforce energy.


    (2) Can project beams of energy by a thought from the user. Energy beams discharged depends on the array in the voidstones plugged into the sockets


    [Number of Sockets: 6]


    She went through this and the rest and nodded. Her mind was reeling in awe from all the information transmitted to her mind. Then she did a re-evaluation of Alex''s parent cultivation stages.


    She surmised that they must have very high cultivation stages. If not, Alex would never have such kind of items on him. When she kept them into her spatial ring, she drove Alex away from her room.


    Next day...


    Alex dressed up for class. So did Jake. They left Jennifer''s residence the same time and went to their respective lecture blocks. They left early so they wouldn''t enter the class late.


    The instant Alex entered the hall, the few students that had arrived looked at him with envious gazes. The scene where Alex pressed Jennifer''s body tightly against his was still fresh in their heads and this made their minds spin.


    That was the way the boys looked at him. While the girls wished they were the one who were being hugged like that. They wished they could feel the body of the hottest and prettiest boy in the school press against theirs in a tight embrace. They envied instructor Jennifer for that.


    Alex nodded at them with a smile and sat down. Then he waited for their instructor to come in. After sitting relaxedly in his seat, he smiled and said inwardly, "It feels good to be back to school."


    When it was a minute before class would kick off, the instructor came in. He scanned round and saw Alex. Then he smiled and said "Alex. Welcome"


    Alex nodded politely with a smile and replied "Thank you sir."


    The instructor gave him a thumb up and started his lecture. Then he began to teach about weapons.


    After he was done, he said to Alex "Hope you still have interest in weaponmaking? Do come to the weapon forging hall"


    Alex nodded with a smile.


    Many hours later, the last class ended and Alex got out of the class. He went to the front of the building adjacent to the one he came out from. That was the block students in the condensation stage received lectures. He went there to wait for Jake.


    As he waited, he saw Elena and her friends. She looked beautiful in the uniform she wore.


    He gave her a smile and she winked at him. Alex then thought it was wise and right to hug someone or a friend one hadn''t seen for a long while.


    So he went forward with arms wide open to hug Elena. But she didn''t respond to his actions. Instead, her pace picked up as she walked far away from him with her friends.


    Alex quickly put down his arms and tried to hide the feeling of embarrassment that showed on his face. Then without waiting for Jake anymore, he turned around and left for Jennifer''s residence.


    He was still taking ''refuge'' in there as the coast wasn''t clear yet.


    He was really angry at himself for trying to hug Elena. He thought he was doing the right thing but she just ignored him like air. She caused him public embarrassment. He swore in his life that no matter what happened, he wouldn''t hug any female again. He was pissed off.


    When he got to Jennifer''s residence, he went to take his bath in the room she gave he and Jake to share.


    When he was done, feeling refreshed and having washed away the feeling of embarrassment he felt earlier, he sat down on the bed in the cross-legged position to cultivate.


    What was in his mind now was to break through to the condensation stage. He believed a surprise would be waiting for him at that cultivation realm.


    But he couldn''t cultivate here as when he caused the other energies to surface and swirl around him, he would draw attention to himself. This was something he didn''t want at the moment or would he ever want.


    Then he thought of a place he could go to cultivate and hide the phenomenon from people. Then he remembered the cultivation hall.


    "That would be the best thing to do" He nodded his head and stood up. He left the room he was and went in the direction the cultivation hall was situated.


    When he got there, he paid for a top-grade cultivation room, an A-class one. When he produced the amount of money to use the room which was fifty times the school fees of ten saint-stage students combined for five years, the people in charge were shocked beyond what any word could describe.


    "Is this instructor Jennifer''s money this bastard is lavishing like this?"


    This puzzling thought flashed in the minds of everyone in this place.


    Alex because of his experience with greediness of people whenever he brings out stuff from his dad''s or mum''s storage-treasures, wore a low-grade spatial ring on his pinky finger which he brought out the large amount of sapphirstones from to pay to use that room that can only be afforded by wealthy saint emperor-stage cultivators.


    He chose to use that cultivation room because every strange cultivation activity coming from him would be hidden away from everyone. He didn''t want to expose himself.


    When he got into the room which was very large, he sat down at the center of a huge square platform. At the four corners of the platform were large, round pillars that had ancient symbols inscribed in them. This was an energy synthesis formation.


    Although it was named so, it didn''t create energies. Instead, it helped the cultivator draw the energy they want to cultivate from the realmverse.


    Once the cultivator sends his comprehension of the energies into the formation, the formation would act with that information. It would draw the energies the cultivator wants from the realmverse.


    When Alex activated the formation, the pillars began to glow. Few moments later, five energies appeared and began to swirl around him.


    The energies then became overabundant that they became like a thick multicolored fog. One couldn''t make out Alex''s figure in this fog composed from energy.


    Then Alex produced many earth-rank pills. Ten different peerless-quality cultivation pills to be precise and there were about sixty of each of them before him.


    With a deep breath and eyes that shone with unyielding determination, he swallowed one of the pills. It was the windforce energy pill he swallowed first.


    When this got to his stomach and melted, turning into a large amount of energy, Alex felt he was inflating as the energy was too great in quantity. They came out from his stomach and filled every space of his body within, causing him to look inflated like a balloon.


    He was in great pain but he endured. He gritted his teeth as he sent the energy wisp by wisp to his energyhouse where they infused into the mass of windforce energy.


    Very soon, his speed picked up and he was able to move large bundles of wisps of the energy to his energyhouse.


    When he was done with that, he took another pill and his body became inflated again. He did the same thing he did earlier. He began to move large bundles of the threads of the energy to his energyhouse.


    Many minutes later, after consuming more than fifty pills, the mass of windforce energy in his energyhouse in it gaseous form changed.


    It became liquid. This is because the gaseous mass of windforce energy condensed, becoming a liquid.


    It was following the way energy crystals formed in the world. When an energy becomes very abundant, it condenses to become a liquid. Then after many years, it would undergo crystallization. The energy liquid would solidify forming energy crystals.


    Same with cultivators, the energy they cultivate would change it from it gaseous form to a liquid form and finally to a solid where it becomes a pillar in the energyhouse.


    Since his windforce energy had changed in form, becoming a liquid. He could be said to have entered the condensation stage.


    But because his other energies hadn''t achieve that form, he couldn''t be seen as a true condensation-stage cultivator but as a quasi-condensation stage cultivator. It''s until all his energies compact to become liquid that he would become a true condensation stage cultivator.


    When Alex noticed this, he smiled and readied himself for another long round of intense pain.


    He took an ice cultivation pill and this turned into cold energy in his stomach. Because of the grade and rank of the pill, his body temperature radically lowered and his innards froze hard.


    He felt great pain because of his blood, tissues and organs had frozen. But he endured it and moved the frostforce energy to his energyhouse.


    .......


    Alex took many hours to turn his energies into liquid. Then he focused on the energies around him. On the ones that constituted the multicolored fog that engulfed his figure.


    Employing the energies'' cultivation methods, the energies got pulled into his body through his pores.


    He felt great pain as large bundles of strands of the myriad energies that constituted the energy fog entered his body through his pores. It was like thousands of huge needles were violently burrowing into his body.


    He gritted his teeth, enduring the agonizing pain he felt as the energies forced their way into his body.


    His energy channels swelled greatly as large amounts of energy moved through them but they couldn''t ruin or snap and cut as they can adapt to any amount of energy moving through them. They were special energy meridians.


    Hours later of cultivating the energies; absorbing them and infusing them into the masses of energies in his energyhouse, they turned to liquid.


    Boom!


    An explosion sound rang out in his body. This showed that he had broken through to the condensation stage.


    But this boom was instantly followed by waves of energy that erupted from his body, causing the platform he was on to tremble intensely.


    When he calmed and his eyes opened, they glowed brightly and beams of energy shot off causing the air in front of him to shake.


    He gave a smile. "Finally"


    He became glad that he had entered the condensation stage. He couldn''t remember how long it took him to reach this stage.


    All he knew was that he had used more than a year and the half to reach this stage. Then he thought of his father''s cultivation stage and wondered when he would get there.


    ''That''s unimportant. I don''t need to rush. I know I would get there one day. All I hope for is enough time to grow powerful before the next invasion or my realmverse would be taken over by those filthy whatever they are called beings.'' He muttered inwardly.


    He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Then he tried to see if he had gained any new ability because of his cultivation breakthrough.


    After looking around for sometime within his body, he sensed nothing new. It was the same old. He became unhappy.


    "Isn''t a new ability supposed to be available to me?" he asked aggrievedly.


    "Well, I shouldn''t always expect something every time. I am fine with what I have already" he said. Then he smiled as he remembered he had a whole lot. Is it in terms of abilities and accumulations? Not a single kid his age would have what he has. He was thankful.


    But he still strongly believed that a new ability would be open to him in the other cultivation stages. He thought in this direction because he felt that as he progresses in his cultivation, the abilities he had would also progress too. New stuffs could come up. They could change entirely to a new one or become more powerful.


    Then he remembered the numerous god-eyes. He hadn''t used them in a while. He was told by Houston that he had many god-eyes that fused with his without problems.


    But he had only discovered two of them. The God eyes of destruction and the heavenly mystery revealment eye or star-gazing eye. But he didn''t know about the star-gazing eyes.


    When he was done, he left the room he was in and headed for Jennifer''s residence.


    While walking towards there, he saw Elena. She was dressed in a beautiful gown. When she saw him, she walked towards him with an adorable smile hung on her face.


    "Hey" Alex said.


    "Hi Alex. Am just coming from instructor Jennifer''s place. I saw Jake who told me you could probably be at the cultivation hall. So I walked here to see if I could find you. Well, here you are pretty boy" Elena said with a smile.


    "Okay. So what''s it you want to tell me?" Alex asked.


    Elena could perceive a sense of detachment in Alex'' s voice but she didn''t let this faze her.


    "Well, I wanted to see you to say I am sorry for what I did to you today. I thought about it and felt really bad just thinking about it. I shouldn''t have done that to you. It was very rude of me" Elena replied.


    "Well, I don''t know how to keep a grudge. So apologies accepted. What I want to know is why you did that to me? I was really ashamed of myself and vowed never to do hug any opposite sex that comes my way again." Alex said with determination in his voice.


    "Aww. My action hit you that bad? Man, am sorry. Well, I did that because of the way you hugged instructor Jennifer yesterday. I don''t think you know that it was really irritating to we ladies the way you embraced her yesterday. It has been the talk of the girls in the hostel block since yesterday. When I saw you coming with your arms wide open, I had to look away or if I saw your enchanting face, that willpower to ignore you would totally dissipate and then I would see myself in your arms. Besides, you could go hug me in a way I would make news. I don''t want to be the talk of everyone and everyone looking at me weirdly the next day and forever. Am very sorry Alex" she said looking at Alex with a remorseful and solemn face.


    "It''s okay. You have apologized earlier. No need to apologize again." Alex said with a friendly smile.


    Alex wasn''t the type to keep grudges.


    Elena smiled. Then she came close to Alex with her arms wide open.


    Alex smirked and said "Hold it lady. What are you doing? Well, let me you something. One of my principles are, opportunity missed will never be regained. So don''t think I am going to embrace you just because of an apology."


    "Oh really? Trying to play hard to get cute guy?" Elena asked with a smile.


    "Nope. It''s just one of my principles." Alex replied with a smile plastered in his face.


    "Hmm. The principled man. Good for you." Elena said seriously and applauded him.


    Alex smiled again.


    "So, is that why you came here? Just to apologize to me?" Alex asked.


    "Sure. What else you want me to do?" Elena looked at him with an affable smile.


    "Of course nothing. You would be going back to your hostel block right? Let me see you off" Alex said.


    "Aww. What a lovable, principled, young gentleman. Thanks." Elena said with a smile. Then she came close to Alex and curled an arm around his neck.


    Then they began to walk towards Elena''s hostel block. While walking, the principal suddenly appeared in front of them.


    "You guys should be couples. You match each other a hundred percent." He said with a smile.


    Elena quickly removed her hand as she and Alex greeted.


    "It''s okay." He said with an affable smile. Then he turned his head to look at Alex.


    "So sorry I couldn''t get to you in time. I would have brought you to the academy instead of you going through a lot in coming back here. You do love the academy that you returned instead of going far away and never returning. Your life could have been endangered. You would have been attacked or killed by pillagers or robbers in the wilderness and in some places in the city. All that''s in the past anyways. I am glad you are here now." He said with a friendly smile.


    Alex smiled and nodded. But he could perceive another meaning in what the principal was saying. His mind then began to decrypt the words the principal said and he came up with something that seemed insidious and nefarious from all that Gerald said.


    Then he looked at the principal again and his eyes turned white, then golden abstruse patterns appeared in them.


    Suddenly, he appeared in a large room were a beautiful woman looking pale white could be seen. Despite looking so sick, her ravishing beauty couldn''t be hidden.


    She held a three-piece necklace in a hand that was trembling. Then in front of her could be seen a charming, seven-year old girl and an old man whose hair were completely white beside her.


    He was shocked by where he was. He didn''t know how he appeared here. Then when he looked around, he saw the man that attacked Nadja.


    "What?!"


    His eyes widened.

 Chapter 87: Power of the Star-Gazing Eyes

    Alex then began to wonder what the man was doing there. He looked back at the woman and at the three-piece necklace held in her hand.


    "Isn''t that the necklace instructor Jennifer said was the key to open the door of a vault?"


    Then he looked at the man again.


    "But what''s this bastard doing here?"


    Then he kept quiet and tried to understand all that was going on before him.


    "Daughter, I am sorry I wouldn''t be there to see you transition to a beautiful young woman. I shouldn''t have gone for the sage-stage cultivator inheritance. I was purely after my own gain. Look at me now. My vitality is draining away." The sickly woman lying on the bed said regrettably.


    "But mom, what really happened? You always told me that you were strong and that no one would be able to overpower you. How did you come to be like this? You are now a mortal. How were you reduced to this state? Please don''t hold anything back. Tell me all that happened. I want to know" The young girl in front of her said morosely.


    "Jennifer, I always told you those to make you train yourself harder. I know how your mind works. You would want to be better than me. You would want to hone yourself so that you could become more powerful than me since I am your role model. So I said those to set a high target for you" The woman said.


    The young girl before her, Jennifer by name, began to sob. Tears streamed down her eyes while the old man beside her rubbed her hairs.


    "Jennifer, it''s okay." The man said.


    Jennifer nodded. Then she looked at her pale mother on the bed and asked "Mom, I still believe you are strong. But how was your attacker able to do it?"


    The woman smiled even though she was going through a lot of pain. Then she said "Actually, we once fought for the inheritance and I defeated him. Then he left. But I never knew he would come back and use underhanded means against me. He used a cultivation poison on me, but I was still able to fight and seriously injure him before the poison started tearing apart my cultivation, rendering me crippled." the woman replied sadly.


    Jennifer looked at her mom''s pitiful condition and couldn''t help but have her eyes emit a wicked glow. She asked "Mom, were you able to see the person who did this? I promise that when I get stronger, I would rip apart that person''s head"


    Her mom shook her head weakly. "Jenny, I couldn''t see the man''s face. He was wearing a mask. Even if I saw his face, I would never tell you. I can''t let revenge be your source of inspiration for cultivation. So, just forget about me and focus on your cultivation life. I can''t let you carry the burdens of a dead person." she said painfully. Her heart was full of pain.


    Jennifer nodded sadly. She looked at her mother and felt really bad at the way she looked.


    She went closer to her and took her hand in her''s. Then she hugged her mom and said with tears streaming down her eyes. "Mom, I promise I would do my best to grow stronger. I will grow powerful that tens of thousands of worlds would know my name. And when I reach that stage, the stage where I can look into the pasts and future, I will go for the man that took you away from me. No matter what you say, I will always carry your burden in my heart. I must kill whoever did this to you mom. I promise."


    Jennifer''s mother couldn''t say anything again. She just hugged Jennifer and allowed her tears to impact her body and flow down it.


    She rubbed her daughter''s back affectionately but weakly. There was no strength in her again. She said to Jennifer with difficulty "It''s okay. Don''t cry again. Mama''s already proud of you. And I know you would make mama proud in the future. Just do your best to grow stronger so that you can withstand and eliminate every trouble that would come your way. I trust you my girl. It''s okay."


    Once she said this, her hands fell off Jennifer''s back. There was no life or vitality in it again.


    When Jennifer felt that her mom''s hand suddenly dropped off her back, she raised her head to look at her. Then she saw that she was no more, that she had given up the ghost.


    She burst into tears and grabbed her mom. She shook her mom''s lifeless body as she shouted "Mom, please wake. Don''t go yet. I still have things to tell you. Please mom."


    The old man just shook his head pitifully and came to Jennifer''s side. Then he patted her. "Jennifer, she''s gone. No amount of shaking and shouting will bring her back."


    After a while, seeing that there was no response from her mom''s cold and stiff body, she stopped and placed her mom properly on the bed. Then she carried a sheet of cloth and spread it over mom''s body.


    Alex looked at the woman and felt bad for her. Then he looked at the seven year old Jennifer and smiled. Then he looked at the man that slayed Nadja and his eyes shone an evil light .


    He wants to kill this man but he knew he was too weak to do so. He really hated him. He was the first person that Alex had marked for death. Once he got stronger, he would come for his head. That was his silent, unbreakable promise to Nadja and her child anyways.


    Then he began to wonder why he was here or why he was shown this vision. So he began to make deductions in his head. He recalled that as he saw the principal, he was suddenly shown this particular scene.


    "Is this the power of one of the god-eyes? Clairvoyance?"


    He knew he doesn''t have the ability to look into the past or into the future. Then he surmised it must be the sudden activation of a god-eye. A god-eye that allowed him to see the past and probably into the future.


    "It can''t just come up without a reason right?"


    Then he began to think that something must have stimulated the eyes to suddenly reveal that scene to him.


    "As soon as I saw the principal, I was shown this vision. Or was he the... the..."


    When Alex arrived at this deduction, his breathing rate increased and his heart began to beat wildly.


    "The principal is this man?"


    He couldn''t be sure.


    He looked at the man''s body and tried to match his features with that of the principal. He saw it matched a hundred percent. It was like the principal just having another face. They looked exactly the same in terms of body physical characteristics, morphological appearances.


    His brows tightly furrowed as he still wasn''t sure. Since he was still being shown the vision, which meant the eye was still operating, he decided to control it power for his own use. He wanted to be sure if the man was the principal. He wanted to confirm if he was the one that hurt Jennifer''s mom.


    Then he focused on the eyes and willed it to take him to the scene where Jennifer''s mom went for an inheritance. He was only trying his luck. But surprisingly, it worked.


    The scene he was seeing at the moment vanished and was replaced with another.


    Deep in a mountain range in an underground cave, he saw Jennifer''s mom fight a masked man. She was very strong as she was able to withstand the waves of violent energies that erupted from the collisions of their attacks without an armor. It didn''t even cause her to stagger. But the man was sent hurling into the distance with a miserable shriek coming from him when the waves struck him.


    Seeing the woman was domineeringly powerful, he surrendered and left the place. The woman then proceeded to acquire the necklace after going through trials for it.


    When she came out of the cave, she was suddenly ambushed by the masked man who risked getting very close to her. Then he threw a large amount of grey-colored powder in her face.


    She wasn''t expecting this and before she could cease her breath, she had already taken some of the powder in.


    She instantly felt weak as the powder turned into poisonforce energy that circulated her body through her energy channels.


    It began to ruin her meridians and contaminate her cultivated energies. While at the same time having a sickening effect on her.


    She felt nauseous, weak and her vision became blurry while great pain racked her lungs and the organs in her abdominal region.


    Realizing she had been poisoned, she dashed towards the man at a shocking speed and used her last strength to inflict a great deal of damage at the man.


    She sent out a palm strike at the man''s chest. Once her powered palm strike connected to the man''s chest. It caused it to cave in as the bones in that area jutted out from his back. Blood spurted from his heart and lungs.


    He was sent flying by the strike for hundreds of meters. Then he collided heavily into a mountain bringing his forceful flight to an end.


    Then she got more weaker. Knowing she had lost her strength as she now felt like a mortal. She quickly left the place before the man would recover.


    Alex then willed the eye to show him where the man landed. Then he saw the man come out from the large crack he made in the mountain upon collision.


    His face looked scary as it had twisted due to fury and pain. His heart was boiling as pain racked his entire body. Then he removed the mask he wore. The instant he did, Alex saw his face and his eyes shone.


    "So he was the bastard that attacked Jennifer''s mom?"


    When the man pulled off the mask, he saw the face of the man that killed Nadja.


    Now that he had confirmed, he decided to understand so many things. He wanted to get to the end of this.


    He doesn''t know when he would have the chance to do this again. And like he was once advised by Deborah, once one came across an opportunity, one mustn''t let it slide or slip past one.


    Now, what he needed to understand was what the man was doing at Jennifer''s mom''s place, how he got to know about the inheritance and if he was the principal in disguise because he was the one that suddenly caused the appearance of these past scenes in his mind.


    He focused again on the eyes with hope in his heart that it should reveal to him how the man got to know about the sage-stage expert''s inheritance.


    Then another scene appeared in his mind. In this scene, the man was actually Jennifer''s mom''s male friend. And it seemed because they had gone exploring many dangerous places together before and after she got married, she couldn''t hide a secret from him.


    She told him about the inheritance and wished him to get his too. At that time, they were just a half-step into the great saint cultivation stage.


    "So that was why he was there? The bastard was actually her friend."


    Then he wanted answer to his last question. He appeared before the man in a room. He was sitting in the cross-legged position on the ground and a purple energy could be swirling around him.


    Then the energy flowed towards his face like a stream and penetrated it. Once they entered it, they permeated it. Then his entire face turned purple and began to twist.


    It looked very frightening as the skin of his face contorted. It was like thousands of worms were wriggling beneath it.


    As the man did this, he felt great pain. Then rapidly, his face''s structure began to change.


    The purple energy twirling round him was morphforce energy. It was an energy that gave cultivators the ability to turn into other people or into other things. They could shift their appearance from one form to another. It was a shape-shifting energy; an energy that enabled them to physically transform into anything.


    A moment later, his face transformed, becoming a new one. When Alex saw the new face, he became short of breath.


    "The principal? No.. No"


    He was hit by the truth.


    He had just come to know the principal was actually the man that killed Nadja. He only shape-shifted his face. He could have done so for his entire body but it would cause him pain and would waste time. As he did only a small portion, he was able to quickly get it done.


    Alex then surmised that he changed his face so that when he fought Jennifer''s mom in that cave, in case the mask got pulled off or something happened to it, she wouldn''t identify him. Or she would become alert upon recognizing him and thus ruining his other backup plans.


    Alex didn''t know how to leave the vision that was playing in his mind without stop. Then he attempted something.


    "Cease" He said inwardly as he focused on whatever god-eyes had emerged from his eyes.


    The instant he willed for the eye''s revealment power to cease, the scenes playing in his mind stopped and he was brought back to reality.


    Immediately Alex saw that his mind had been brought back to the present as he could see the principal standing in front of him, he quickly concealed the wrath on his face.


    But it felt like he was just gone for a fraction of a second. Nothing was amiss.


    With a smile plastered in his face, he looked at the principal and said "Good sir, I would like to be on my way"


    "Oh. Alright. I would see you again" Gerald said with a friendly smile.


    Alex nodded and then dragged Elena with him. Elena became surprised by Alex''s action but she didn''t remove her hand. She let him pull her to her hostel block.


    The principal still stood where he was. He was looking at Alex who pulled Jennifer. He was wondering what those dim golden patterns in his eyes were. He had seen it as he was looking directly at Alex.


    "Don''t tell me he has another treasure that had merged with his eyes. Is it that am going insane because of treasures or what? I can''t be hallucinating right? It was real. I saw it and I felt something."


    When Alex''s eyes changed and gazed on him, he suddenly felt he had been seen through. He felt that all the secrets buried in his mind were revealed to Alex.


    "Hmm. Is it possible that boy now knows my secret? Well, doesn''t mean anything. I would kill him soon. Then that stupid girl would be buried by that damned Lady Poisonheart. I just hope she does her job well this time."


    Then he flew away.

 Chapter 88: Knowledgeable kid

    Alex and Elena were silent as they walked to her hostel block. When they got to the gate, Elena suddenly said. "Alex, you just started acting weird when the principal appeared before us. What happened?"


    "Well, I don''t like his presence. I felt terrible seeing him. Besides, he was disturbing the romantic talk of we lovebirds" Alex said teasingly with a smile hung on his lips.


    Elena looked at him irritatedly. Then she pulled out her hand in his grasp.


    "Well, goodnight good, young sir" Elena said with a smile.


    "Yea. Bye sinister mistress." Alex replied with a smile and waved a hand. Then he turned around and walked away without waiting to hear what Elena would say. He then headed for Jennifer''s residence.


    He wanted to go to Jennifer''s room and tell her all that he saw. But after contemplating, he decided to tell her tomorrow as she could be busy doing some things or probably cultivating.


    Then he left for his room. When Alex got in, he saw Jake sitting in the cross-legged position on the bed. He was cultivating at the moment.


    Alex nodded and sat on his bed.


    After a deep breath, he said "I have things to read."


    Then he looked into his dad''s storage-treasure to bring out just about any book to read. With a thought, a large, thick-cover book appeared in his hand. Then he opened it and began to read.


    The book he was reading was titled ''Tribulations of Sins in the Realmverse''. It was a book that gave information about the kind of tribulations that would come upon a cultivator if he or she did some things considered as a sin in this realmverse.


    An example is killing innocent mortals. Once one killed a lot of them to a particular number, lethal tribulations would descend and for every three years.


    It would also accompany the tribulation that would manifest when one breaks through to a higher cultivation realm, transforming it into a destructive tribulation. One out to totally obliterate the marked cultivator.


    Such tribulations that surface because of sin such as killing of mortals are called ''Fiend Destruction Tribulation''


    ''Hmm'' Alex thought inwardly.


    He loved the book he was reading as he began to learn new and interesting things about the realmverse.


    Alex was a lover and devoted reader of books. He simply loved reading.


    When Alex entered, Jake perceived his presence. Then after a while, he opened his eyes. He was about to round up his cultivation when Alex came in.


    Still in that cross-legged position on his bed, he said "Alex, Elena came to look for you? I told her you were probably at the cultivation hall since that''s the only place you may go. Did you come across her?"


    "Yea, I did" Alex said.


    "Oh. Alex you need to strike the iron while it''s still hot. That girl likes you. I seriously envy you. I have been here for weeks and no girl has come to search for me" Jake said unhappily.


    Alex gave a mtcheew and said "She only came to apologize."


    "Apologize? She wronged you or what?" Jake asked in a surprised tone.


    "Yea she did. In public at that. Anyways, I have brushed it off" Alex replied.


    "Oh. So you have been embarrassed publicly too? Haha. That''s a good one" Jake said applauding Alex.


    Alex looked at him disgustedly and shook his head.


    "I want to read man" he said.


    "Alright. Me too. I have homework to do"


    "Oh. For what subject?" Alex asked with his interest piqued.


    "Cultivation." Jake replied.


    "Nice. Can I see it?" Alex asked.


    "Wait a sec, I would read the question loud for you." Jake said.


    Then Jake reached for his stuff and brought out a book. It was one of the notebooks he used to write things in class. The book was for a particular subject. It was for cultivation.


    He opened it to the place where the assignment was given. Once he got there, he read out loud.


    "Explain the powers gained by cultivating diamondforce energy, buddhaforce energy, monarchforce energy and destinyforce energy?"


    He looked at Alex with a smile.


    "Confused as fuck I guess. Haha. We have many energies you never knew about. There are just so many of them."


    Alex looked at him with a smirk.


    "So you wanna lecture me now about energies? Anyways, that''s a pretty tough assignment. Why don''t you use the library. When are you submitting it?" he asked.


    "Library ain''t my thing. It''s too quiet in there. I prefer chaotic place. Or Alex could you go the library and do my assignment for me? Please!" Jake said in a begging tone.


    "Heck. You are mad bro. Me do your assignment for you? That is the last thing I would ever do." Alex said.


    "Come on. Aren''t you my dashing, book-loving friend. You love to read, don''t you? So, you could use this to improve your knowledge about energies. I am actually helping you man" Jake said with a laugh.


    Alex looked at him and shook his head.


    "Anyways, I know the answers to that question" Alex said with a smile.


    "Sharrap! You don''t. Can''t write the rubbish you would tell me. I can''t fail and be mocked in class. You wanna rubbish the reputation I am trying to build back? Huh?" Jake asked.


    Alex''s eyes shone.


    "Oh really? Then go to the library to do your assignment. I don''t have time for this. I want to read." Alex said.


    "Are you really sure you know the answer to the question?" Jake asked.


    He couldn''t doubt Alex''s words. He knew Alex was highly intelligent and was a devoted and enthusiastic reader.


    "Sure. I have come across those energies in cultivation books before. That was how I got to know about them." Alex replied.


    "What do you see so much in reading? Is there any benefit to it?" Jake asked in a puzzled tone.


    "You want me to help you or not?" Alex asked.


    "Sure"


    "Alright. Diamondforce energy, also called tissue augmentation energy is the energy that when infused into the flesh and tissues of the body makes them tough and powerful. When this energy permeates the flesh and tissue, they become crystalline. This change in body form, as the cultivator would appear crystalline gives the cultivator increased body durability and great physical strength. The enhanced body toughness gained enables the cultivator to withstand fearsome attacks without the use for an armor to protect oneself and then vast superphysical strength since the muscles would be extremely dense. The crystalline form the body would take is more like an armor." Alex said elaborately.


    When Jake finished writing that into his notebook, he looked at Alex with awe in his eyes.


    "How did you know about that? I have never seen you go to the library to read or take out a book to read and return later. Where do you get the knowledge you have? I wanna know" he asked.


    "Well, I have read a lot before I came here. My dad has a super large library of books. He is a lover of book and a collector. He has copies of just about anything in this world. So as a lover of books, I went through his collections, therefore enriching my knowledge about so many things." Alex replied.


    "Bro, you are awesome." Jake said sincerely.


    He couldn''t imagine imagine himself spending time with books. He would rather spend that time on beautiful girls if he can''t spend it on his cultivation.


    "Can I go on mister?" Alex asked impatiently.


    Jake quickly nodded.


    "Sure!"


    Then Alex continued with his explanations.


    "Buddhaforce energy, also called indestructibility-energy, is a white-golden energy that is only infused into energy-attacks. It makes one''s energy-attacks extremely durable. That is, the attacks gain great durability and at the apex stage, indestructibility. The attacks wouldn''t shatter upon collision with other energy-attacks. This energy would make an energy-attack very deadly as it wouldn''t be crushed by other attacks and still retain it form and the momentum it was moving with. Such an attack could be seen as an overpowering or domineering energy-attack."


    Jake shook his head in amazement.


    "Damn! So many tyrannical energies in the world. That''s powerful man. I wished I cultivated buddhaforce energy, my attacks would be fearsome. All the female cultivation experts in different worlds I would journey to would adore and come for me when I dominate them and their male lovers in a battle. Haha" Jake said with a hint of regret in his eyes.


    Alex who was in a lecturing mode looked at him and felt like hitting him. He felt that everything Jake said and would ever say would always be related to women.


    "Should I continue?" He asked with annoyance and impatience in his voice.


    "Go on." Jake said looking serious again.


    "Hmm. Jake, no more interruptions. If you do, well, I think three out of four questions done is enough to show you are serious with your studies." Alex said.


    "Nooo! Fuck that. I want it four over four. Ride on bro. Don''t mind my annoying deviations" Jake said.


    Alex nodded. Then he decided to say the last two answers to Jake''s question at a stretch.


    "Now, monarchforce energy also called kingforce energy is the energy that makes one look like a sovereign. It portrays one as an overlord to opponents. It''s not infused into attacks or into the body. Instead, it''s discharged from the body. When emitted, it brings upon adversaries a feeling that one rules over all and shouldn''t be attacked. It has an influence on the mind of the attackers. Or more precisely their will. It would disable them from unleashing their offensives at one. While destinyforce ener....."


    Before Alex could give the last answer, he was suddenly interrupted by Jake.


    "Pardon me bro. Since you are so knowledgeable, let me chip in this question. For instance, let''s say I cultivate monarchforce energy. So it''s only useful for attacks and not for any other thing?" He asked.


    Alex smiled. He already knew where Jake was heading to.


    "Well, it''s not only on attacks. Once discharged, it would affect the minds of every living thing, forcing them to submit to you. You would be seen as a Lord, an emperor that reigns supreme over all things on lands and in the sky." Alex replied.


    "Damn! Haha" Jake said and laughed.


    Alex looked at him with a smirk.


    "Thinking of cultivating it so women would have no choice than to bow their heads to you and do what you want? Execute what you command? Listen to your choices of lewd positions? Eh? You will always remain a pervert man. Your soul is damned, it can''t be redeemed, ever." Alex said.


    "Haha. Damned is better." Jake said with a laugh.


    "Do you know the technique on how to cultivate the energy? Please tell me, don''t hide it from me" he said in a begging tone.


    "I don''t know it man. I only know the powers gained when one cultivates the energies." Alex replied.


    "Shit. That''s the best cultivation energy in the world. I would go to the library or ask about it from an instructor. They might know a cultivation technique for it" Jake said happily.


    Alex just looked at him with dull eyes and waited for his excited mind to calm before he continued.


    Noticing Alex''s bored gaze, he stopped laughing and composed himself.


    "A-hem, please continue" Jake coughed and said.


    Alex shook his head. Then he continued. "Lastly, destinyforce energy is the energy that when channeled to the eyes, it gives one the ability to look into the mysteries of the world. One would be able to see it programmings and come up with accurate deductions on why certain events may start and why they ended in that way. On why some things manifest and predict the way they would end." Alex said.


    When Jake wrote that, with a wide smile hung on his lips, he clapped for Alex.


    "Bro, you are good"


    Alex only nodded with a smile. Then he looked at the book in his hand and started to read.


    .......


    "Lady Poisonheart, I hope you do your work well this time." Gerald said.


    "Sure. This time, she would be dead for good. I would leave with fragments of her bashed head." Lady Poisonheart said determinedly.


    "Hmm. When would you strike? I want to be there when you would do it" Gerald said.


    "Well, you wouldn''t be able to do that because i will strike when an opportunity presents itself. You know I can''t just enter into the academy to battle Jennifer. I would be surrounded by the instructors. Even if I am in the sage general stage, I could be injured or worst, become crippled. So, let me make my plans well." Lady Poisonheart replied.


    "Okay. I would advice you to be careful. We can''t tell what that girl now has up her sleeve. Since she was killed back then and mysteriously recovered, she would be on her guards. If she sees you again, there''s no telling you may come back alive" Gerald said


    Haha!


    Lady Poisonheart laughed.


    "No matter what she may do, she would still die terribly in my hands. She is no match for me. True, her body''s skeletal strength is formidable, but she is still no match for me. How can a saint emperor-stage cultivator fight a sage general-stage cultivator. Only a great defeat at my hands mister" She said.


    "Hmm. That''s good. I like your confidence. Just make you have a back up plan and something powerful to protect yourself." Gerald said.


    "Hmm. Now, all these is because of a boy? How precious must the boy be to you?" Lady Poisonheart asked surprisedly.


    "Well. There''s not much about the boy. He only knows the location of some powerful ancient treasures." Gerald replied.


    Once Gerald said that, Lady Poisonheart''s eyes glowed.


    "Ancient treasures? I see. That''s why you want that female saint emperor-level expert out of the way so you could get the boy. Hmm, well Gerald, when you get the boy after I kill her, make sure you send some treasures to me after you get them" Lady Poisonheart said.


    Hahaha!


    Gerald laughed maniacally.


    "Sure. Sure. I would be on my way now." He said.


    Lady Poisonheart nodded.


    .....


    Next day.


    "Alex, are you sure of what you are telling me?" Jennifer asked with deep shock in her voice.


    "Yes instructor Jennifer. I had visions about the principal. He changed his face to another. That''s not his real face." Alex said.


    "Alex, that''s one crazy accusation. I am sorry, I can''t believe you in this." Jennifer said.


    "Hmm. Okay. Um... Your mother went for an inheritance, she got it but she was attacked by a masked cultivator who used a cultivation poison on her." Alex said summarily.


    Jennifer became speechless as her eyes shone with unbridled shock. She didn''t know what else to say.


    "A¡ªAlex, how did you know about that? Who told you?" She asked with a trembling and fluctuating voice. A thick, alternating expression of bewilderment and surprise could be seen on her face.


    "No one. I just suddenly received a vision about the man. He is the person that killed your mom and caused you all the pain that you have buried in your heart over the years. You have to do something about it. Won''t you avenge your mom? He is right in front of you, you have to destroy him. He may even be planning against us" Alex said.


    He was saying so many things to bring out the anger Jennifer had buried deep in her heart. He wanted her to go fight the man and destroy him. He wanted his life wiped out.


    That was his vow to Nadja and her child that he would slay the bastard. So he would use any means to accomplish it.


    Jennifer was still lost in her thoughts. All memories of her mom came rushing to her. Her eyes glistened with tears as memories about her flooded her mind.


    She saw her mom''s happy smiles and all the things she had to go through as her husband wasn''t around anymore. She suffered a lot but kept quiet about it and used all her strength to raise her little female child.


    Finally, the tears that had welled in her eyes causing them to shine, rolled down her cheeks like a bead.


    She wiped her tears and then her eyes began to glow with fierceness. The light of ferocity emanating from them could be likened to that of an hungry tiger. She was ready to pounce and devour.


    Swoosh!


    She teleported away from the room and appeared before the gate to Gerald''s residence.


    Boom!!


    She sent a fist out at the gate and the two large pillars holding the gate at both sides shattered into pieces with the gate flying, crashing into the roof of Gerald''s quarters.


    "Jennifer!! What the fuck are you doing?!!!" A furious voice boomed out from within.

 Chapter 89: Going somewhere?

    Jennifer didn''t reply. She just waited for Gerald to come out.


    Boom!


    The gate that had crashed into the roof of Gerald''s residence was sent flying when a fist was sent at it. Then Gerald flew out of the hole made in his roof by the gate.


    Floating in the air with an hideous face. He asked vexedly "Jennifer, are you out of your senses?"


    "No. I am not. I know who you are. You are hiding behind another face. This is not your real face" Jennifer said.


    Gerald became shocked beyond what any word would describe but he kept his expression of shock from creeping to his face.


    "What do you mean by this Jennifer? What face are you talking about?" Gerald asked.


    "Shut up. You know what am talking about." Jennifer said.


    Swoosh! Swoosh!....


    Many instructors started appearing. They had flew out of their residences to this place. They had come to check out what caused the two loud booming sounds they heard.


    Then they saw Jennifer with her fist tightly clenched. They could perceive that she was very angry.


    They didn''t say anything. They just looked on to understand what was happening before their eyes.


    When Jennifer teleported away from the room, Alex became shocked. He didn''t know Jennifer would just teleport away without notice.


    He began to think of what to do. But he was glad that she would be able to handle Gerald as he had given her some treasures to augment her battle capacity.


    Then he quickly thought up something in his head and this was that if Gerald was being beaten by Jennifer, he could leave there and come for him.


    He felt the man wanted him and not what Jennifer had. He strongly believed that the man had noticed some peculiarities about him and mistook it for some treasure.


    "I have to go hide. I have to make Jake go hide too" Alex said. Then he dashed to the room he shared with Jake.


    ........


    "Jennifer, would you stop all these rubbish you are spitting from your mouth. What''s your problem?" He asked.


    "My problem? You want to know my problem? I would tell you. I can''t live under the same sky as you. That''s my problem" Jennifer replied.


    Gasps rang out among the instructors. Since they could now deduce where this was going to. They flew towards Jennifer to stop her from doing what she wanted to do. They didn''t know what got into her as she had been acting strangely ever since she came back. But they too could detect that something fishy was going on.


    "Jennifer, stop all these nonsense rantings. I implore you" Jane said in a begging tone.


    "Jane, there is more to this. Alright, I would spill it out for everyone of you to hear. This man you call your principal is the killer of my mother. He is after a key my mom passed to me which would open the door of a vault containing a sage-level expert''s wealth. From all that I have seen, I can say he is the one controlling Micah. He must have sent his damned henchman to tell me to bet with the key during the competition. Out of my greed for what Micah offered and my belief in the student I would bet upon, I agreed. But unfortunately I lost. Then his henchman came to me again that there would be another competition and that I should bet. Out of my desperation to win back one of the piece of the key, I agreed without paying attention to the conditions he set. When I realized what trap I have fallen into, I journeyed far and wide to get that one person that would help me win the treasure I have lost. The heavens took pity on me as they made me come across Alex. I forced him here and enrolled him just so I would have that chance at winning back my treasure. Since then, Micah set up boys to break the boy''s determination and body. But Alex was a genius. Everything they threw at him was conquered by him using his strength. I don''t know what this man and Micah discussed that they made me leave the academy on some mission to protect some people who tried very hard to kill me. Luckily, I was able to escape from them and come back here. Only to be told that I have resigned and went to another continent to join a new academy for better cultivation resources. I believe this bastard planned it all. He is a schemer and a liar" Jennifer said looking at Gerald.


    Although she mentioned the sage-level expert''s accumulations. It wasn''t really important to her again as just the treasures Alex had given were ten thousand times better than the ones she would get from the acquisition of the sage-level adept collections. So she felt.


    Since they were now very close like they were an older sister and a younger brother, she could be shameless with him. She could ask him for cultivation resources which she believed would always be of peerless-quality. Just anything she could get in that sage-rank cultivator inheritance would be like pieces of filth to the one Alex would give her. She recently thought all these which made her give up on the inheritance.


    Besides, in all that she said, she left out so many things about Alex. Of course, she couldn''t say anything about those to everybody here.


    Jennifer looked at the instructors who were gaping at the moment. They were speechless as great, unconcealed shock radiated from their eyes.


    After a while, they looked around. They couldn''t find Micah in their midst. He didn''t come to see what was happening.


    Then they looked at the principal who was looking at Jennifer with a sinister gaze.


    One of them asked "Sir, is this true? Please refute it"


    Gerald then looked at the instructor that spoke and shouted "So you believe her cock and bull story?"


    Before he could say anything else. Jennifer interrupted, saying "Why are you trying your best to maintain your already-exposed secret identity? Just give up. For your information, I know you have always worked here as an instructor ever since my mom was still alive. When she died, as her friend but after what you wanted, you made me come here to enroll for cultivation studies. Then furthering your level in this institution, you became a principal. But am surprised you didn''t try to kill me all those years for the key I inherited from my mom. I guess it''s because you were afraid of Uncle Jerry. Remember him? That old, white-haired man that you promised you would take good care of me and look out for my safety? I know you were terrified of him and so you couldn''t touch me till I grew up to this stage. Then because of your thirst for the expert''s wealth, you couldn''t let me go when my set graduated from the academy. You retained me, employing me as an instructor with the promise of fat remunerations and better cultivation materials."


    Haha!


    Gerald laughed. He looked at Jennifer with a sinister light emitting from his eyes.


    "What secret identity have you exposed? I can perceive no sense in all that you have said. Or can you guys?" He said and asked the instructors hovering in the air when he turned his head to look at them.


    They looked at Gerald. All that Jennifer had said seemed to make sense. But they still couldn''t believe he was what Jennifer claimed him to be.


    "Well Jennifer, your assumptions seem right. But how exactly did you know he was the one when it could be anybody else far away from this location? How did you know he is hiding behind another face?" An instructor asked.


    "Y''all don''t need to worry about that. Just believe me that this man is a killer. It''s possible the bastard has schemed against us." Jennifer said confidently.


    Haha!


    Gerald laughed.


    Hahahahahahahaha!


    He continued to laugh but in a way that it seemed he had lost his senses. In way that felt he had gone insane.


    The instructors looked at him and wondered why he was laughing like a maniac.


    After a while, Gerald stopped laughing. Then he brought his palms together and began to applaud Jennifer.


    "You should be an investigator-cultivator. Very good event analysis you carried out there." He said with a smile.


    Then wisps of a purple energy began to discharge from his face. As the energy came out, the man''s face slowly changed as it wriggled like worms.


    Then when the energy left totally, everyone could see his face. That was the face of the man that killed Nadja which Jennifer recognized well to be the face of her mom''s male friend.


    The instructors gasped in shock. Then they quickly armed themselves. But then, their brows furrowed tightly when they felt the waves of power emanating from the man''s body.


    That was the power that can only be emitted by a sage general-stage cultivator.


    Their eyes shone with alternating expressions of surprise and fear.


    "So this man had been concealing his cultivation stage from us?"


    That was the question that shot through their minds at the speed of lightning. Worry shone in their eyes. How were they going to defend themselves against him if he started attacking.


    Jennifer too was surprised. "So this man was not in the grand saint emperor realm. He was only hiding his cultivation level from us."


    The worry and fright that shone in the eyes of others didn''t emit from hers. With her powerful, augmented skeleton to give her sage general-stage expert damaging power, and possession of defensive and weaponized treasures that could protect against and discharge greatly devastating attacks, she wasn''t horrified by Gerald''s hidden, shocking power at all .


    At the moment, some things were now making sense to her. She had always wondered why the principal had such a slow cultivation speed.


    Many thousand years ago when she was at the saint stage, he was at the saint emperor stage. And now that she was in the saint emperor stage, he was in the grand saint emperor stage.


    She thought maybe he was having problems with his cultivation. Maybe he had a congenital illness that was affecting his cultivation speed.


    But when Gerald exposed his true cultivation level, everything became lucid to her. But there was a question she wanted to ask and needed answer to.


    "Gerald, you are in the sage general stage. Why are you bent on acquiring the wealth of a cultivator two ranks lower than you?" Jennifer asked.


    Gerald smiled.


    "Well, I wasn''t after the collection of the expert. I was after something in the vault. Your mom didn''t tell you this. Maybe she was keeping it as a surprise for you. But your naive mom told me" He replied.


    Jennifer looked at him with wrinkled brows.


    "My mom told you that? How did she know?" She asked.


    "Well, she knew through a mental message recorded into the key. It told her about the things contained in the vault." Gerald replied.


    As soon as he said that, he shot up to the sky at a tremendous speed.


    Huh?


    Everyone here except Jennifer were shocked by Gerald''s action. A moment after Gerald shot up to the sky, Jennifer followed him. She began to chase him. She couldn''t allow him to escape.


    Jennifer had always wanted to eliminate her mom''s killer as she had promised her mother many years back. So she couldn''t let him slip out of her fingertips.


    After a long moment of hot chase, Gerald suddenly stopped. Then he turned to face Jennifer. A wicked smile could be seen in his face.


    Jennifer wondered why he abruptly stopped. Just when she decided to move forward to attack him.


    She suddenly heard a whistling sound. And from the way it sounded, it seemed something was cutting through the air towards her at a great speed.


    She quickly produced the Great Titan sword Alex gave her and turned around, swinging the sword hardly against the thing shooting towards her.


    CLANK!!


    A deafening metallic sound rang out. The instant the ear-splitting sound surfaced, a wave of energy erupted, knocking Jennifer backward by a feet. She was able to withstand the destructive energy wave.


    The sword in her hand didn''t vibrate. It perfectly absorbed all the shock generated upon collision with the object that shot towards her at an extreme speed.


    When she gained her balance, she looked at what that object was as it dropped to the ground. It was a large arrow with a huge arrowhead. But it had been slashed into halves.


    She looked in the direction the arrow came from and saw a masked woman float up from the ground to her level in the air. She was wielding a bow and three arrows with a glowing, blue arrowhead could be seen nocked to it.


    Although she was masked, Jennifer could recognize her. She was able to identify the lady through her eyes that shone with unbridled evil.


    "It''s you bastard again!" Jennifer yelled.


    "Yes. It''s me again. This time, your puny, miserable life would be snuffed out." the woman said confidently. Then she fired the three nocked arrows at Jennifer.


    Ziu! Ziu! Ziu!


    The arrows shot toward Jennifer, piercing through the air at a great speed.


    The arrows having a voidstone inserted into a socket in them, enabled them to absorb expandforce energy from the realmverse.


    Expandforce energy was an energy that caused object to grow to a tremendous size. Their sizes depends on the amount of energy absorbed. They could grow from the size of a needle to the size of a planet and more.


    Once the energy permeated the arrows, they rapidly grew large to a size that they were bigger than mountains.


    Jennifer''s eyes widened. She quickly produced the Overlord X black armor Alex gave her and wore it. Then with a thought, aquaforce energy discharged from the armor and condensed into a large, thick, protective screen of energy.


    Bang!! Bang!! Bang!!


    The mountain-sized arrows smashed into the screen of energy. But it didn''t shatter. It only rippled violently.


    Since the shield was formed from aquaforce energy; water elemental energy, it absorbed the impact without generating shocks.


    Even the wave of energy released from the impact upon collision couldn''t harm Jennifer. But she was sent flying for dozens of feet.


    When she regained her balance, she willed the arrays in some of the voidstones plugged into the sockets of the sword to start operating.


    She didn''t activate all as she wasn''t sure she would be able to withstand the power that would erupt from them, even with the armor she was wearing.


    Then the sword began to emit brilliant, colorful light as the energy arrays in the voidstones produced energy. Then they were transferred to the sword, which she discharged at her opponent by slashing out at her.


    These energies shot off as massive clouds towards Lady Poisonheart at great speeds. Then infused with her comprehension of the battle-method she studied, the enormous masses of energies that erupted from the sword condensed and shaped into many large swords.


    As they shot through the air towards Lady Poisonheart, she quickly fired many arrows at the incoming swords which rapidly grew to terrifying sizes.


    Boom!! Boom!!.....


    Many explosive sounds rang out with waves of destructive energies instantly accompanying them when the massive energy swords clashed into the gigantic arrows.


    But formed from pure energy, carrying Jennifer''s battle-method comprehension which was at the sage general stage and possessing special attributes, the swords pierced through the arrows towards the woman. They seemed unstoppable.


    "What?!!"


    Lady Poisonheart shouted in horror. Then she quickly fired the hundreds of arrows in her quiver at the swords.


    Casting their shadows over the land and hiding the sky because of their great numbers and shocking sizes, the enormous arrows rammed into the swords at high speeds.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!....


    Colossal, tsunami-like waves of violent energies surfaced and moved ragingly into the distance in all directions.


    Lady Poisonheart, Jennifer and Gerald where he floated in the sky observing the fight were damagingly knocked into the distance by the huge, berserk energy waves.


    They fell to the ground from the sky landing with a heavy bang sound. Both Lady Poisonheart and Gerald coughed out blood when the shock generated from the impact transmitted to their bodies. Only Jennifer was alright as the armor she wore protected her. But still, she felt slightly dizzy.


    Jennifer then deployed her sense to search for Lady Poisonheart. A few moment after she did, she saw Gerald take off into the air at a great speed.


    She saw him fly away. And when she looked in the direction he was going, it was in the direction of the academy.


    "Alex"


    Her face twisted. Then she shot into the air after him. But before she could move further, Lady Poisonheart appeared far in front of her with a wicked smile.


    She had removed her mask and blood could be seen streaming down the sides of her lips.


    "Going somewhere?" She asked.

 Chapter 90: Great battle

    Jennifer didn''t respond, she only readied herself. Grasping her beautiful sword tightly in her hand, she slashed out as she shouted


    "Nine Skies Immolation Lotus!"


    The instant she slashed out, a shocking large mass of pyroforce energy erupted from the sword and shot towards Lady Poisonheart.


    As it shot towards her, the energy condensed and shaped into a lotus that spanned hundreds of thousands of feet.


    Since the lotus was composed from red-colored, fire-elemental energy which generates heat and flame, the lotus was red in colour. It emitted bright red light that dyed the sky red and heat that caused the solid brown earth, thousands of feet below it to melt and turn into magma.


    And because it contained the following energies; swordforce energy and pressureforce energy which were infused into it by the arrays in the voidstones plugged into the primary sockets of the sword, the air folded and vibrated intensely from the tyrannical pressure emanating from the lotus and slashed in hundreds of places apart because of the unbridled, terrific power of sharpness emitting from it.


    Lady Poisonheart was deeply shocked by the attack. From where she hovered in the air, she could feel the extreme, unbearable heat emitting from the glowing, red energy-lotus despite producing a large screen of energy in front of her to block the intense heat radiations discharging from it.


    Besides, her energy screen showed numerous wide marks of slashes and a large web-like crack. These manifested because of the power of sharpness and terrifying pressure directly acting upon it. These effects were brought about by the attributed energy-lotus.


    Horrified, she quickly backed away and reinforced her energy screen that had begun to thin out because of irradiation by the fearsome heat waves coming from the lotus.


    Then when she felt she was far away from the range of the horrifying powers emitting from the lotus that shot speedily towards her, she quickly produced an armor that appeared on her and immediately slashed out at the lotus with a shout of a battle-method.


    "Furious lightning trinity blades"


    The instant she slashed out, lightniforce energy erupted from the sword in great quantity. It speedily condensed and shaped into three large blue blades that had electricity arcing out of it.


    The second they formed, they shot towards the lotus at great speeds. The blades were enormous that they spanned thousands of feet each.


    With loud, crackling sounds that rampantly rang out from them and emitting a bright blue light that dyed the earth and sky in this area blue, the blades rammed into the lotus hardly.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Three loud explosive sounds rang out when the blades impacted the lotus. Immediately they clashed with the lotus, huge waves of violent energies were released. These waves then traveled into the distance in all directions with shocking terrifying power.


    They struck both Jennifer and Lady Poisonheart and sent them flying into the distance where they crashed heavily into the earth.


    Despite the three massive blades that struck it, the lotus still moved forward towards Lady Poisonheart. Although, there was a slight crack in it structure and it had gotten dim, it still moved with a momentum that gave one the feeling it must obliterate every obstacle in it path.


    Since Jennifer was linked to her energy-attack, she could control it. As it hadn''t shattered, Jennifer could control it movement and maneuverability in the air. Then driven by her unbending will, the fiery lotus of energy shot towards Lady Poisonheart to destroy her.


    Lady Poisonheart became terrified. This was getting difficult for her. She wondered what kind of treasure-weapon Jennifer was using this time.


    With a thought, five small metallic balls appeared before her which she grabbed. If one looked closely, one would see crystals embedded in them. These were voidstones.


    Then she activated the arrays in the voidstones. The instant she did that, the voidstones began to glow as the arrays in them started to operate. Then she hurled the metallic balls in her hand at the lotus moving towards her. When she carried out that action, she shot away extremely fast to a very far distance.


    Boom!!! Boom!!! Boom!!! Boom!!! Boom!!!


    Five deafening explosions occurred and massive waves of alarming energies were released. These waves traveled in all directions wreaking havoc.


    When they exploded, they produced a brilliant light that illuminated tens of thousands of kilometers. People in regions illuminated by these lights were shocked before their heart could almost rend apart when they heard the multiple terrifying booms that caused the earth they stood upon to tremble intensely. It felt like the continent they were on was going to collapse.


    The metallic balls Lady Poisonheart hurled at the lotus were weaponized treasures known as energy-bombs. They were one-use items. They can discharge all the energies in them as one terrific, earth-shaking blast.


    The energy-lotus Jennifer discharged shattered. It couldn''t withstand the multiple pulses of earth-shattering energies that erupted from the bombs when they exploded.


    Lady Poisonheart could be seen lying on the ground bloodied. Pieces of metals sticked out of her skin. Those pieces were from her armor that shattered upon being struck by the devastating energy waves that surfaced from the powerful explosions. She was still conscious but her condition looked very pitiful.


    While Jennifer''s armor, which was of the peerless grade didn''t shatter from the destructive impacts. But the shock transmitted to her upon being struck by the waves caused her to cough out blood. Her organs at the moment felt like they had turned to mush. Also, she felt dizzy and her vision was blurry. Still, her condition was far better than Lady Poisonheart.


    Why the waves seemed powerful as they could cause Jennifer to cough out blood despite the peerless-grade armor that she wore which would be able to withstand attacks from a sage lord-stage expert was because the destructive capacity of the energy waves were far higher than the destructive power of an attack that can be unleashed by a sage lord-level expert.


    The instant, absolute release of all the energies in them made the blast energy waves they produced to have that degree of astonishing damaging power.


    Inside a deep hole in the earth formed by Jennifer when the tyrannical waves struck her, hurling her forcefully to it, she stood up with a ferocious expression in her face. Grasping her sword tightly, she jumped out of it.


    When she came out and landed on the ground many feet after the hole she made when she crashed into the earth, she saw lady Poisonheart far in the distance looking at her with a venomous gaze.


    "You seem tougher to kill now. Aren''t you?" Lady Poisonheart asked with an evil expression in her face.


    The defensive and offensive treasures on Jennifer made her incredibly tough to beat this time around. She wondered again where Jennifer got the treasures from.


    At the moment, Jennifer''s heart was beating wildly. She wanted to get back to Alex but Lady Poisonheart stood in her way. She simply obstructed her from moving forward. She was frantic as she needed to get to Alex before Gerald did.


    She felt she had reneged on her promise again as she left Alex to protect himself. She was so after what she wanted that she didn''t consider Alex''s safety. She was very furious at herself and at the woman that stopped her from advancing to the academy. She hoped in her heart that the instructors would be able to protect Alex.


    "Worried about the boy? Eh?" Lady Poisonheart asked with an evil smile plastered in her face.


    Once she mentioned this, Jennifer suddenly had a hard time breathing. The sentence Lady Poisonheart said made her feel like she was suffocating. Her breathing became haggard.


    She quickly shot to the sky while Lady Poisonheart did the same. Seeing there was no leeway other than than battle, Jennifer then willed more arrays in the sword to produce energies.


    As the arrays in the voidstones produced energies, Lady Poisonheart who understood what Jennifer was trying to do, that she was trying to accumulate tremendous amounts of energies for an instant killing attack, quickly took that brief moment of opportunity to attack.


    She produced a violet crossbow from her spatial ring and then quickly fired three arrows all at once at Jennifer.


    One of the arrowheads of the three arrows that shot out from the crossbow glowed. This was because a type of energy was infused into it.


    As they shot toward Jennifer at an extreme speed, a voidstone plugged into a socket in the arrow that had a glowing arrowhead began to pull in shrinkforce energy from the realmverse. Then this arrow seemed to vanish from vision.


    Jennifer who saw the arrows shoot towards her with the exception of the arrow with a glowing arrowhead quickly produced a large screen of energy in front of her.


    Before the arrows could smash into the energy screen she put out, they instantly grew to a great size that they were many times larger than a mountain. They had rapidly pulled and absorbed expandforce energy from the realmverse which caused them to instantaneously increase greatly in size.


    Bang!! Bang!!


    The energy screen upon being impacted heavily by the two massive treasure-arrows shattered and dispersed, with the energy that constituted it returning to the realmverse.


    A powerful force-wave was generated from the collision. This knocked Jennifer many feet into the distance.


    Then before she could regain her balance, the arrow which had disappeared from vision suddenly reappeared and struck her.


    Puchi!


    It pierced through her armor and out through the back.


    When the arrow pierced through her, she screamed in pain and she lost her balance in the air. Then she fell to the ground from that height.


    Bang!


    She landed heavily to the earth. Then her body began to incapacitate. She lost control of some part of her body.


    The arrow that pierced through Jennifer drew shrinkforce energy from the realmverse. This energy also called miniaturization energy, can make objects grow smaller to the size of a grain of sand and to a billion times smaller than a grain of sand. But this depends on the level of comprehension of the cultivator.


    Therefore, absorbing that energy caused the arrow to grow smaller to the point that it seemingly disappeared from sight. But it retained the speed or momentum it was moving with.


    This energy can be used to make stealth or hidden attacks. It was very deadly as one wouldn''t know what was coming at one.


    As Jennifer struggled to regain control of some parts of her body which had been paralyzed and showed signs of decay, she wondered what could possibly pierce through the armor.


    The arrow which had a glowing arrowhead was one of the numerous special arrows that were produced by a weaponmaking grandmaster at the divine-level class. They were purchased in large quantities by Lady Poisonheart''s organization. Then she took one to use in case things turned south in her battle against Jennifer.


    Why the arrowhead emitted light was because it was infused with a type of energy. This energy wasn''t created by an array in the voidstone inserted into the socket of the arrow. It was imbued with the energy by a cultivator that cultivated it.


    This energy was thetaforce energy. Also called penetration amplification energy, it increased the piercing power of only sharp-pointed objects such as arrows, spears, spikes, pikes and needles to frightening degrees.


    But the paralysis was caused by poisonforce energy that was released into Jennifer''s body when the arrow pierced through it.


    The arrow''s body was coated with a poisonous substance that Lady Poisonheart synthesized herself.


    When the arrow pierced through her body, the substance the arrow was coated with melted in her blood and turned into a corroding and poisoning energy that began to wreak havoc in her system.


    As Jennifer struggled to regain her movement and endured the intense pain racking her entire body at the same time, she suddenly remembered the pill she swallowed the other time she was poisoned.


    With a thought, two pills appeared above her head. One of the pill emitted intense resplendent light and waves of power that pushed the air and every particles of matter around her away. This was the pill containing the blood essence of a divine-class expert. While the other was a peerless-grade, sage lord-rank healing pill.


    Then using her telekinetic power, the pills were brought into her mouth. She swallowed them and they melted producing energies that began to work to heal her.


    The healforce energy was boosted by the divineforce energy that had mixed with it. Then the poisonforce energy began to eject very quickly from her body in form of a gas. Then she regained full control of her body.


    Swoosh!


    Lady Poisonheart appeared by Jennifer''s side. An evil smile could be seen in her face.


    She crouched and began to rub Jennifer''s face and hair. Then she said "Poor kitty. Look at you. Dying again in my hands. You are not a wise person. When you saw me, you should have fled for your life. Any person I set out to kill, I always kill no matter what they do. But out of your obstinacy and foolishness, you fought me and now, see where it has led you. Your miserable soul has been delivered to me again. All that being said. It''s time for your soul to disperse. Haha."


    Then she looked at the sword in Jennifer''s hands and her eyes glittered.


    "My fucking goodness. Babe, where did you get this demonic treasure-sword? Wait, is it that boy that told you the location of this sword? Hmm! That bastard that calls himself Gerald thinks he is smart. If he gets the location of the treasures from the boy, he might forsake me. I might not get anything. I have to think of what to do to get some for myself."


    As she was lost in her thoughts, Jennifer who patiently waited for an opportunity to present itself suddenly rose up from the ground and quickly hurled the sword which now had all of it arrays activated at Lady Poisonheart.


    Puchi!


    The sword pierced easily into her body, then it discharged alarming amounts of devastating energies and a shocking pulse of power that hurled Jennifer far into the distance.


    When Jennifer regained her balance, she flew back to where she initially was. She could see bits of flesh scattered all over the place and drops of blood suspended in the air.


    "Anybody you set out to kill will be killed. Who killed who now? Bitch!" Jennifer said.


    Then she pulled out her sword that had stabbed deeply into the earth and took Lady Poisonheart''s spatial ring on the ground.


    She stomped the ground with a foot and was sent high into the air by the force she stomped the ground with.


    Boom!!


    The air boomed loudly as Jennifer suddenly shot to the academy''s location at a speed many times faster than than the speed of sound.


    ......


    At this point in time, Gerald was busy launching powerful energy-attacks at a massive shield that was produced by a defensive array network installed in the academy.


    "You bastards!! When this shield collapses, I will kill all of you. Put away the energy shield and let me take Alex. Then I would be on my way." Gerald shouted.


    The instructors heart were beating wildly. Their faces were painted with expressions of horror. They thought he had killed Jennifer and had come back to attack them with the excuse that he wanted Alex.


    Their prayer now was that the shield would lasts till the time the founder of the academy would return from the underverse (minor world) he went to.


    "Crack!"


    A loud cracking sound rang out as a single crack appeared on the surface of the energy shield.


    Hahaha!


    Gerald laughed maniacally. Then he began to unleash more powerful attacks crazily.

 Chapter 91: Battle with Gerald I

    As Gerald unleashed more attacks, more cracks began to appear in the structure of the energy shield. The instructors became pale from fear and terror.


    BANG!


    BANG!


    More loud bang sounds rang out as flurries of furious energy-attacks impacted the shield.


    The student too were scared. They felt some bad guys were attacking the academy. They began to hope in their heart that the instructors would be able to repel the guys trying hard to attack them.


    When Jennifer vanished from her room and reappeared at Gerald''s place where she began to make a scene, Alex who had dashed to Jake''s side compelled him to leave the academy for the meantime.


    They were able to successfully sneak out of the school because the entire staff of the academy were at Gerald''s place after Jennifer created a scene.


    They journeyed far away from the school''s location to another place in the city.


    ..........


    Minutes later...


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Gerald was relentless in his attacks. He laughed wickedly as more cracks appeared in the structure of the shield.


    "I will destroy all of you. All of you I say. Just hope this shield doesn''t collapse. Haha" Gerald said and gave an evil laughter.


    Finally, with a loud, earth-trembling bang, the shield collapsed. The energy that constituted it dispersed and returned to the realmverse.


    "What did I say I would do when this shield falls apart?" Gerald asked looking at the instructors who had begun to shake and had unbridled fright showing in their eyes.


    The instructors couldn''t respond. They only trembled in fear so hard they could just drop dead. They were terrified to this extent as they knew that their large numbers was nothing in front of a maniacal sage general-stage cultivation expert.


    Just when Gerald would start an onslaught, Jennifer appeared in the far distance and launched a powerful, fearsome attack at him.


    Swoosh!


    Gerald heard the sound of something swooshing towards him. Then he quickly turned and smashed at that thing with his treasure-weapon.


    Bang!


    The energy-attack shattered but a powerful wave of blue energy surfaced from the collision and knocked Gerald dozens of feet away.


    When he regained his balance, he looked in the direction the attack came from and saw Jennifer who was looking like a celestial warrior at the moment. She looked very charming and had many colorful, lustrous items on her that glittered beautifully in the light from the sun.


    On her body could be seen an armor, claws that glowed and pulsated with power, a cape which fluttered in the wind, then a crown and a belt on her head and around her waist respectively.


    She looked celestial in them because of their ravishing colors and the pulses of astonishing power emitting from them.


    But a ferocious light could be seen emitting from her eyes. This fierce gaze of her''s could be likened to that of an enraged dragon that would stop at nothing to devour all life.


    Gerald looked at Jennifer. Or more precisely, at the offensive and defensive treasures on her. Then his eyes glittered.


    "Where did she get these treasures from?" he asked inwardly.


    Without saying a word to him, Jennifer sent out an attack.


    "Golden Dragon Claws!"


    She shouted and swung out her hands. The instant she did, golden metalforce energy instantly discharged from the claws. Or more precisely, from the voidstones affixed into the claws in great quantities.


    These tremendous masses of energies condensed and shaped into many large claws that resembled that of a dragon and shot towards Gerald at high speeds.


    Gerald, armed with a large broadsword which was a priest-weapon; a sage priest-rank weapon, confidently shot towards the claw-shaped energy-attacks and slashed out at them.


    "Nine Deities Beheading Profound Slashes!" He shouted.


    The instant he slashed out at the attacks, nine large masses of swordforce energies erupted from the sword.


    Then they condensed and shaped into nine massive swords that caused the air for hundreds of feet around around each of them to slash apart in thousands of places.


    The thousands of slashes in the air which were wide and long were visible since they were dark. This darkness was because they were devoid of air and other forms of matter and energy like dusts and light radiations respectively.


    The instant the nine blades formed, they shot towards the incoming, huge claws of energy.


    Bang! Bang!...


    Many deafening sounds rang out as the energy-attacks heavily clashed into one another. The instant they collided, pulses of energies that could ravage entire towns appeared and moved into the distance in all directions at great speeds.


    Although they fought high in the air, the shockwave that surfaced when the attacks collided caused the buildings of the academy to tremble intensely. Then cracks began to appear in their structure. If the buildings weren''t made with sturdy materials, they would have collapsed at just the violent shaking of the air around them.


    The instructors on the ground had to create protective domes with their energies to protect themselves from the waves of ravaging energies.


    When the waves surfaced before Gerald, they struck him and sent him flying. But surprisingly, without an armor, he wasn''t injured by the powerful, ruining energy waves that erupted from the collision of the attacks.


    He looked at Jennifer who was far away with an evil smile. Then his voice boomed out as he asked "Jenny, where did you get these treasures from?"


    "From your tombstone" Jennifer replied.


    Then with a shout of a battle-method, she swung a hand out at Gerald.


    "Heaven Warring Claw of Slaughter!"


    The second she swung out her hand, a large amount of slaughterforce energy instantly erupted from the claw. This energy was a dual-colored energy as it was blood-red and silver in color.


    The moment it rapidly discharged in a shocking quantity from the claw worn in Jennifer''s hand, the energy abruptly condensed and shaped into a large, two-colored claw that spanned tens of thousands of feet in size. Then it shot towards Gerald at an astonishing speed.


    The massive claw formed from slaughterforce energy radiated with a feeling that seemed it would butcher all existences. That it would reduce all things that have life to bits, including gods. That was the might emanating from the energy.


    Emitting a long-range power that caused the blood in everyone''s body to seethe violently such that it seemed they would burst out any moment and discharging a strong smell of blood that pervaded the air for thousands of feet, the claws shot forward at a high speed towards Gerald.


    Gerald at the spot he floated in the air could feel the suppression of the attack as it caused his blood to roil. And the strong smell of blood that pervaded the atmosphere invaded his senses, preventing him from thinking straight. In his vision, all he saw was blood.


    But he was a sage general-stage expert, he was able to quickly overcome the suppression brought upon him by the attributed attack. Grasping his sword tightly in his hand, he slashed out with a roar.


    "Fiery Sword of Destruction!"


    Then great amounts of swordforce energy and destructiforce energy discharged from the sword. The swordforce energy, an energy that emitted a resplendent aura of tyrannical sharpness was azure in colour while the destructiforce energy, an energy of destruction and desolation was grey-black in color.


    Released with them was pyroforce energy; fire-elemental energy. Once it appeared along with the others, terrifying heat waves emitted from it.


    The intensity of the heat coming from it was so vast one could describe it as the sun discharging heat radiations in the direction Jennifer was in.


    The temperature of the area bathed by the heat shot up to an astronomical degree, to a level that the temperature at the heart of the molten core of the planet paled greatly in comparison.


    Everything these frightening heat waves impacted began to vaporize. Even the air for thousands of feet greatly heated that it became a fiery, colored mass of hot gas that emitted sweltering heat and light.


    If Gerald was facing the school with this energy, the instructors, students and every other staff employed would have burnt to ashes now or even evaporate away as the heat was great. But he was facing Jennifer with it.


    Jennifer, at the spot she hovered in the air could see the effects of the thermal energy on the air, but it couldn''t do anything to her as the distance she was in the air was very far away. Besides, she was protected by peerless-grade defensive treasures.


    When the tyrannical energies Gerald produced mixed, they condensed and shaped into an enormous sword of three colors.


    This sword spanned tens of thousands of feet in size; ninety-three thousand feet in length and width to be precise. It was astonishingly huge. He could reach that degree of immenseness as he was a sage general-stage cultivation expert.


    The energy-attacks in the instant they materialized shot towards each other at extreme speeds from far distances. Illuminating the earth and dying the sky in their colour, they collided.


    BOOM!!!


    An earth-trembling sound surfaced and was instantly accompanied by terrifying pulses of energies that spread throughout the entire area in all directions.


    When these energies extended into the distance, the part of the sky in this region became hidden by the raging, multicolored energies.


    Spreading like a blanket beneath the sky to a distance of thirty thousand miles, they caused everyone under the sky in the area covered by the horrifying energy waves to look up with terror written all over their faces.


    It seemed like the descent of a deity as everywhere trembled intensely the second the concealing layer of destructive energies appeared in the sky.


    A powerful shockwave that surfaced from the collision moved through the air to the distances and caused many buildings to collapse to the ground as rubbles.


    Alex and Jake in the place they hid themselves also noticed the phenomenon that was occurring. They saw the curtain of energies that had hidden the sky.


    Alex knew what was happening. That a battle to the death was going on between Jennifer and Gerald. He hoped she would be able to slay the devious man because if he escaped, things would surely turn out awry for the both of them.


    Many of the buildings in the college had collapsed to the ground. The students had to rush out of their hostel blocks before they collapsed on them.


    There was intense worry in their faces. The battle was getting bigger and could result in their death if they didn''t leave here.


    Jennifer was struck by the energies and was heaved hundreds of feet into the distance. But they couldn''t cause her significant damage as she was wearing many powerful defensive treasures.


    The cape she wore upon activation stretched to a greater length and wrapped around her body several times. Then it stiffened, becoming like steel but thousands of times stronger than it.


    While the crown on her head and the belt worn around her waist produced solid spheres of colored energies that protectively enclosed her figure.


    As for Gerald, he was seriously injured. Floating in the air at where he was heavily knocked to by the devastating energy pulses, many breaks could be seen in his skin. Blood spurted from these cracks like fountains.


    He swallowed many healing pills and these caused his body to rapidly heal. It boosted the regeneration abilities of his body.


    "Those treasures on you are excellent. Tell me, where did you get them?" His voice boomed out again from that distance he floated in the air.


    Jennifer, within two large energy spheres at a far distance replied with her mesmerizing feminine voice frigidly booming out.


    "That was the same question that bitch asked when I killed her."


    Haha!!


    Gerald laughed loudly and everyone had to cover their ears.


    "Nice one" he muttered.

 Chapter 92: Battle with Gerald II

    Jennifer looked at him with hatred in her eyes. But she was glad she was able to get to him before he could get to Alex.


    She put away the claws, then a sword appeared in her hand. That was the Godsfall broadsword. Emitting waves of terrific power, she got ready to unleash a powerful attack.


    Gerald too readied himself. Suddenly, a purple-golden energy began to discharge from his body. Immediately this energy emitted from the pores in his body, an illusionary being appeared behind him.


    This figure was astoundingly huge in size. Only a toe would cast a shadow on the land for thousands of feet. Emitting a dazzling, resplendent light and an aura of mind-influencing power, it looked like a grand emperor of the sky.


    On it head and immense body could be seen a golden crown and a golden armor. Then behind it was a purple cape that fluttered without the wind. Although this entity was illusionary, it looked solid and corporeal.


    This gigantic illusory entity was brought about by the purple-golden energy being released from Gerald''s body. Also, the size of the being was due to the level of Gerald''s comprehension of the energy.


    This energy was monarchforce energy. Also called kingforce energy or sovereignty-illusion mind-enchanting energy, was an energy that would portray one as an overlord to all living creations and affect their minds and hearts. Or more precisely, their will. They have no choice than to bow to such cultivator that cultivated the energy as the energy compelled their minds to submit to the expert exuding the energy. So, this energy would greatly disable an attacker from unleashing his or her offensives.


    Jennifer, where she hovered in the air felt her will to attack Gerald dissipate away. And she had accumulated enough energies for one devastating attack.


    Then she suddenly found herself trying to submit to Gerald. At this point in time, many voices were whispering in her head at once. They were telling her to drop her sword and surrender herself to the mighty, majestic emperor before her. And that she should become a concubine for the emperor.


    The voices in her head were overwhelming and she felt that she must listen to them and obey what they say.


    But she struggled against these foreign voices in her head. She tried to regain lucidity of her mind but she just couldn''t as she couldn''t overpower the numerous voices chanting in her head. And neither could she bring back her will that had vanished.


    Slowly, like she listened to them, she found herself deactivating the arrays operating in the voidstones. Then the energies, which were ready to be discharged, returned and infused into the energy crystals.


    After a while, Jennifer lowered her sword. But she still struggled hardly against the voices that pervaded her mind and slowly took over it.


    Gerald just stood where he was with a wicked smile in his face and an evil glint in his eyes. Then this glint turned to unbridled lust.


    He scanned her body that was peerlessly attractive, then his manhood began to stiffen up. His male organ became shamelessly, fully erect when his gaze rested on her busts and evil sensuous thoughts surfaced in his mind.


    Many destructive sexual positions surfaced in his head and he began to laugh evilly. Then he flew towards her at a relaxed speed and the colossal majestic being at his back moved along with him.


    Jennifer saw him flying over and her struggle against the overpowering force that had taken control over her body increased. She was frantic. Once Gerald got to her, that would be the end of her. So she believed.


    With intense worry and fear in her eyes, she tried her best to resist but all her effort was fruitless. She felt there was nothing she could do other than allow Gerald do what he wanted to her. She was in despair and she looked gloomy.


    Then when she thought of Alex, a spark of will manifested in her mind.


    "No, I can''t end here!" she roared. Then she sent her perception into her spatial ring and saw the pills that emitted shocking pressure. Those were the pills she called divine pills.


    With a thought, the pill was ejected from the ring and appeared before her. Then a formless force emanated from her body and wrapped around this pill. The pill was then pulled into her mouth which she quickly swallowed.


    She was engaging herself in a risky bet. All that was in her heart was the prayer that the pill would give her the power to withstand the voices and make her will return.


    The pill when it melted in her body turned into a large amount of divineforce energy. Then she felt tremendously powerful as divine power began to circulate in her body. She had never felt this way before. At this instant, she felt like a god. Like a deity that can war hundreds of demons.


    Although the compelling voices still rang in her head which would last for as long as the emperor being was still around, she was able to resist them.


    Pretending like she had given up struggles against the mind coercion power that was produced by the monarchforce energy, she bowed her head to Gerald when he finally arrived at her side after relaxedly flying for a while.


    "Raise your head" He said.


    Jennifer did and was now looking directly at him. Gerald smiled in bliss.


    "Look at you Jenny. You have just subjugated yourself to me. Now, I would make sure I have the best time of my life with you. I can''t wait to feel those twin mountains jutting from your chest and the crack between your legs. Haha" he said lustfully.


    Then he raised a hand and placed it on Jennifer''s head. He began to feel the long, black hair that poured down beyond her waist. He smiled ecstatically as he felt the texture of Jennifer''s straight hair.


    "You have a nice hair" Gerald said.


    But lust could be perceived in his tone. He took his other hand and touched Jennifer''s smooth face with it.


    "Damn! Like glass. Smooth and spotless" Gerald said adoring her. Then he began to rub around her face with his fingers. After a while of feeling the smoothness and softness of Jennifer''s cute face, he drew the fingers rubbing her face down to her full, attractive lips to touch them.


    With an amorous light in his eyes, he brought down that hand and dipped his fingers into Jennifer''s cleavage. Then a strong fire of desire lit up in his eyes. He really wanted to grab Jennifer''s busts and press them. But he stopped himself from doing this. He wanted to take it slow.


    Then he moved in very close to her that it seemed he wanted to hug her.


    He whispered in her ears.


    "I am going to devour you to the very last enjoyment I can get from you and then I would slay you. You were right about me being scared of your miserable, old, white-haired uncle. But I can have his life snuffed out very easily. Haha. I am badass right?"


    When he finished saying this, Jennifer whose mind was full of bitterness at Gerald for touching her at one of the erogenous zones of her body prepared to attack. This was the opportunity she waited for.


    There was a bright flash of light and before Gerald could think of what that was, he screamed in agony as Jennifer''s hand suddenly pierced into his body. Or more accurately, the part of the body where his heart was.


    Losing control of the emission of the monarchforce energy from his body as great, excruciating pains racked it, the monolithic kingly being behind him vanished along with the hundreds of voices in Jennifer''s head. She regained her mind''s clarity and willpower.


    His heart which was already in Jennifer''s grasps was being squeezed hardly. Without pity.


    If she squeezed coconut like that, it would crush into pieces. But as a cultivator, his heart was far stronger than that, but it caused him pain he would never ever want to go through even if he was promised all the riches of the world.


    His body froze up from the pain that racked his body. His eyes were red and blood could be seen streaming down their sides. His ears and nose bled profusely and blood came out his mouth like a wellspring. He looked at Jennifer unbelievably.


    "Time to go to hell Gerald" Jennifer said coldly.


    Then she pulled out her hand along with Gerald''s heart. Immediately she pulled it out, Gerald''s body dropped heavily to the ground.


    On that hand that clasped Gerald''s heart could be seen a claw. This was the claw she kept away earlier for the sword. It was the item that when it appeared caused a brilliant light to flash.


    Without it, it would be very difficult for Jennifer to pierce Gerald''s chest with her hand as they were many times tougher than a three-inch thick steel.


    His flesh was that tough because he was a body cultivator. By infusing his flesh with a type of energy from the realmverse, they had been made hard to the point he can withstand impacts by fearsome energy-attacks of lower-rank or same-rank cultivators with just his body alone.


    That was why he was able to fight Jennifer without an armor and even fly towards a fierce energy-attack to shatter it.


    But the claw, a powerful offensive treasure enabled Jennifer to easily accomplish this feat that would be very difficult for even a cultivator that was in a cultivation rank higher than that of Gerald''s.


    Then numerous slivers of swordforce energy erupted from Jennifer''s palm and engulfed the heart, swirling around it. When they stopped and the sharpness-energy dispersed, only bits of the heart could be seen in her hand.


    She threw them away and relaxedly lowered herself to the ground where Gerald''s body fell to.


    Gerald, whose eyes still had life but showed signs that it was draining away looked at Jennifer when she landed beside him. Sorrow and anguish could be seen in them.


    Jennifer smiled at him and bent to take away the spatial ring in his finger.


    "Thank you for helping me to kill you." She said mockingly and with disdain in her eyes.


    Then she shot high into the air, to an altitude of nine hundred feet. Her broadsword began to glow and after a while, she slashed down, unleashing a massive, attributed energy-attack that spanned hundreds of thousands of feet at the stiffened body of Gerald.


    Rmmm!!


    The air vibrated intensely and warped as the attack shot down at a furious speed.


    Gerald''s eyes glowed with intense regret. He should have just killed Jennifer when he overpowered her but because of his lust for her enchanting face and amazing body, he didn''t.


    "So, th¡ªthis is how it wo¡ªwould end f¡ªfor me?"


    Then he closed his eyes.


    BOOM!!!

 Chapter 93: Appointment

    The earth shook mightily causing buildings hundreds of kilometers away to collapse. The instant the colossal attack struck the earth where Gerald''s stiffened body lied, a towering, devastating, tsunami-like wave surfaced and swept out in all directions with a tyrannical force that could probably injure gods. That was the might of the destructive wave.


    ...


    Alex heard the cloud-dispersing boom sound and felt the intense trembling of the earth. Then he prayed in his heart that nothing should happen to Jennifer.


    After the earth shook terribly for a long time, it stopped and no intense loud sound could be heard again. It was like an enraged, super-sized primordial beast attacking the earth had gone back to slumber. Everything suddenly calmed.


    "Is the battle over? Did instructor Jennifer kill the principal?"


    He couldn''t be sure.


    Jake looked at Alex and asked "It seems the battle is over. Should we return?"


    Alex thought for sometime with furrowed brows.


    "Yea, we should. Let''s head back to the academy. But we have to be careful so things wouldn''t take a wrong turn for us. It would be disastrous if we deliver ourselves to the principal. But I believe in Instructor Jennifer. She would come out victorious" he said confidently.


    Jake looked at him and shook his head.


    "Why is he so confident?" he asked inwardly.


    He didn''t think more about it.


    Earlier, Jake had demanded for an explanation from Alex and Alex had fabricated an explanation for him. So that was how he knew what was causing the intense battle between Jennifer and Gerald. Another version anyways.


    They both walked out of where they hid and headed for the academy.


    After Jennifer saw that she had crushed Gerald''s body to pieces, she flew back to the academy. When she arrived, she could see that the academy was a far cry to it former self. All the buildings lied in ruins while the instructors, non-academical staff and student could be seen on the ground unconscious. They bled from several places in their bodies.


    Jennifer believed that the wave that surfaced from her last overpowered attack upon striking the earth was what brought ruins to the academy''s blocks while also causing severe injuries to the bodies of everyone here.


    Feeling guilty, she looked into her spatial ring and deduced that the amount of healing pills stored in it should be enough to go round for everyone.


    Then she lowered herself to the ground to start putting the recovery pills into their mouth. Just immediately she landed, a purple portal appeared in the sky and an elderly man stepped out of it.


    He saw his academy lying in ruins and his employees and students looking bloodied as blood trickled and oozed down from numerous wounds in different places of their bodies. Then unbridled fury shone in his eyes.


    He looked at Jennifer and recognizing who she was. He calmly asked "What happened?"


    Jennifer respectfully greeted with a bow. When she straightened herself, she said "Sir, uhm.. a battle occurred between me and the principal"


    Once she said this, the man''s eyes that gave one the feeling that it would release all the beasts from hell suddenly shone with amazement and bewilderment.


    "What? A battle between you and Gerald? Where''s he?" The man asked with deep shock in his voice.


    "He''s dead. I killed him" Jennifer respectfully replied.


    The man became quiet. After a long time, he asked "Why?"


    "Sir, believe me. It''s a long story. Maybe after we put everything back to the way they were, then I would tell you about it" Jennifer said with respect in her voice.


    The man looked at her and nodded his head.


    He didn''t want to press further. After they put everything in order, he would know what caused the fight between her and Gerald.


    Then he put out a hand and a vast formless force emanated from it, enwrapping everyone. This force wrapped around the bodies of the numerous thousands of workers and students lying unconsciously on the ground.


    He raised that hand into the air and all the bodies enveloped by this invisible, shapeless power were lifted high above the ground. He chose a place where there was no fragments of building and gently lowered their bodies there.


    After he did this, the same hand emanating the formless force began to emit a turquoise light. Then luminous strands of healforce energy began to discharge from it.


    These torquoise strands of regenerateforce energy penetrated into the bodies of the instructors, staff and students and began to heal up every wound.


    With bodies that glowed as the regeneration energy circulated in them, their eyes slowly opened.


    Then they tiredly stood to their feet. When they saw the founder of the academy before them with a smile in his face, they quickly greeted with a deep bow.


    The elderly man nodded his head at them.


    Then the turquoise light emitting from that hand changed to another light. This light was a deep carnation light and was produced by a type of cultivation energy channeled to it from his energyhouse.


    Immediately that energy was moved to his hand, the type of power emanating from it enwrapped the rubbles on the ground. Surprisingly, the rubbles began to move towards one another. Then they attached to themselves and began to form the academy''s previous structures.


    The academy''s founder was using the power of manipulation of earthly materials; an ability gained from cultivating aethaforce energy to form the previous structures out of the rubbles on the ground.


    Jennifer and the others saw this and shook their heads in awe.


    Aethaforce energy is different from terraforce energy which can only be used for an energy-attack. This energy gave the power over earthly materials not earth, while terraforce energy, a yellow-colored energy, also called earth-elemental energy is an energy of the earth and emanates the power of heaviness.


    ...


    As Alex and Jake went on their way back to the academy, they came across homes of people that had collapsed to the ground. There were many of these buildings lying in ruins.


    Then he could see lot of people on the floor crying. Though they were injured as blood spurted from the wounds in their bodies. But they weren''t crying because of these injuries but because of their properties that had been destroyed by the shockwaves. To many of them, these were their many years of hardwork and labor gone down the drain.


    When Alex looked at the number of collapsed buildings, there were so many for as far as he could see.


    Hearing the sorrowful wails of these mortals, he took pity on them. Then he began to wonder what he could do to help them in this situation. But there was nothing he could come up with.


    One thing he knew for sure was that he couldn''t start giving heaps of sapphirstones to them to build new shelters or notorious cultivators would surely come for him.


    But he still thought hardly. He couldn''t leave these mortals in their distresses. Then after sometime, he came up with an idea. That was the only way.


    Many minutes later, after secretly doing what came to his mind, he went to meet Jake. Then they set again for the academy.


    Alex smiled because he felt he was able to render some help to them. He just hoped in his heart that the person who would carry out the task wouldn''t disobey the instructions he gave.


    ...


    Knock!


    A knock was heard on the door.


    "Come in"


    A deep male''s voice sounded from within.


    Then the door opened and a young man stepped in.


    "Sir, there is something you would like to see" The young man said hurriedly.


    The man on the seat looked at the young man in surprise.


    "Alright. Take me there" He said.


    When they left the office together, they arrived in a place. In this place could be seen many people. They were looking at a few objects dozens of feet in front of them and wondered what cultivation expert put them there.


    When the man saw the objects, he was greatly shocked. What he saw was a golden spatial ring that floated in the air by itself. And directly behind it were two large, twin blue swords stabbed deep into the ground. These swords, without no one controlling them emitted waves of sharpness-power as they slashed the air around them apart, creating a vacuum zone.


    Then on the ground were words boldly written in it. It looked like a sovereign expert of the sword wrote that into the earth as the words emanated a visible rippling power of fearsome sharpness.


    "This is to the Public Affair Officer. Take the spatial ring and share the wealth in it to the people. To the mortals who have lost their properties. If you dare take the wealth for yourself, I would come for your head because am somewhere watching. For your obedience and diligence, I gift you the swords."


    That was the message written in the ground.


    The man''s eyes glittered. He was happy and at the same time sad. The swords were wonderful treasure-weapons but he knew he couldn''t keep them with him as powerful experts would come for them. Therefore, he was sad as he would have to sell them off in the auction for wealth. But anyways, he was happy.


    Using his cultivation power to withstand the frightening pulses of energy emanating from the swords, he approached them. Then he took the ring and stowed away the swords.


    After doing this, he looked up at the sky like he was looking for the expert that made those words into the earth. Then he immediately left the place to carry out what he was instructed to do.


    ...


    When Alex got to the academy, he was shocked to see the structures still standing. But when he looked at it attentively, he saw that the structures seemed to be made from heaps of rubbles.


    They didn''t scatter apart and fall back to the ground. It was like a power was holding them together. He was amazed.


    "Who put up these structures from pieces of broken walls?"


    He only shook his head in awe and entered into the academy to look for Jennifer. He knew he would find out about the structure thing from Jennifer.


    Immediately Alex entered into the school compound, he saw many people picking up one thing or the other from the ground and carrying them to a different place. These were students picking up their stuffs.


    Immediately they saw Alex, they became surprised. So this boy was not in the academy.


    Alex only nodded at them and made way for Jennifer''s residence.


    Jennifer would have gone to search for Alex but immediately the man put back the structures, he called her and the other instructors to a particular place he turned into an office for a meeting.


    "Now, I want to know what really happened" He said.


    Then Jennifer began to explain. While the other instructors put one thing or the other into what Jennifer was saying.


    The man listened very well to know who was wrong and who was right as he was ready to mete out severe punishment.


    This man was the founder of the Black Dragon Academy. His name was Damon and he was at the Sage Lord stage. When he achieved a breakthrough to this cultivation realm, he left this mortal world (planeverse) to a minor world (underverse) to get more resources that would support him in his cultivation.


    After listening to all they said, Damon couldn''t help but applaud Jennifer. But he still couldn''t understand how Jennifer, who was at the saint emperor stage would beat and kill a cultivator at the sage general stage.


    There was a difference between beating and killing. Even if she could beat him in battle, he should at least be able to run away. But she actually eliminated him.


    After thinking hardly for sometime while looking intently at the instructors, he appointed Jennifer as the new principal.

 Chapter 94: Show of strength I

    Immediately Damon said this, Jennifer''s eyes and the instructors'' shone with deep surprise. Then they looked at her and began to offer their congratulations with amiable smiles in their faces.


    Jennifer nodded and smiled back at them. She was incredibly happy but she didn''t show it.


    Why Damon made Jennifer the principal was because Jennifer was powerful enough to fight and kill a sage general-stage expert by herself. He believed the others wouldn''t be able to accomplish such an impossible feat. So he put her there to fill the empty post as he felt only her was worthy.


    Being a principal, more cultivation resources would be delivered to one. The cultivation materials that would be offered to anyone in this post could be said to be one that would support the cultivation of a grand saint emperor stage-cultivator.


    Besides, she had the spatial rings of Gerald and Lady Poisonheart. Those were sage general-stage cultivators and would have many resources which they have gathered for several hundred thousands of years. Also, she has the sage-stage cultivator inheritance which her mom passed to her.


    Thinking of the amount of wealth she now had. She smiled. Then she recalled that boy that made her have all these and she gave a wide smile.


    She saw Alex as her lucky star. Ever since she met him, many good things had been happening to her. So she felt.


    Although Jennifer knew that she almost died on three occasions because of him, but she was able to overcome those auras of death that wanted to engulf every inch of her being solely with what he gave her. Without him, all these she had would never be in her possession. These were the thoughts that surfaced in her mind when she imagined Alex in her head.


    Thinking further, she believed that she was now far stronger than experts in her cultivation rank, that she now had fearsome treasures in her possession which her peers would never ever imagine having, that she had now accomplished what she always wanted to accomplish which was to slay the killer of her mom and had gained the wealths of experts many ranks above hers all because of him.


    She believed that if she hadn''t met him, she would never have come across all these. That''s why she saw him as her lucky star.


    Her heart was filled with bliss and gladness upon just thinking about all these. For now, her cultivation breakthrough into the sage general stage would be smooth.


    When they were done with the meeting, they left the place Damon made into an office to their various residences.


    Alex at the moment had gotten to Jennifer''s residence. But he remained outside with Jake. He wondered if she was in. But when the thought that she could have probably gone to look for him again surfaced in his mind, he inwardly uttered ''I hope not''.


    Just as he prepared to enter the residence, he saw Jennifer coming towards him from afar. Beside her was Jane who was full of smiles.


    She was smiling happily at the thought that since her friend was now a principal, she would be able to get more cultivation resources. She would shamelessly ask for more of them from Jennifer and she believed Jennifer would never refuse her requests.


    Jennifer saw Alex and the smile in her face widened. She wanted to get to her residence first to confirm if Alex wasn''t there before she flew out of the academy to go search for him.


    When she got to his side, she began to ruffle his hair with an affectionate smile surfacing from her lips. Alex smiled back too.


    Jane saw the smiles in the faces of Jennifer and Alex and shook her head. She couldn''t understand why both were smiling at each other like that.


    Alex said "Instructor Jennifer, the buildings. They look like someone put pieces of walls together. Is there any person doing this or it''s a power from some sort of arrays?"


    "Nope. It''s the academy''s founder. He is around. He arrived from a higher world when he got a distress signal from the instructors" Jennifer replied.


    "Hmm. Okay." Alex said shaking his head in awe.


    Then he began to wonder how powerful the man must be for him to produce buildings from pieces of wall and maintain the towering forms they had taken without collapsing back to the ground.


    "So Alex, I have a good news to share. I have been made the principal of the academy" Jennifer said with a smile.


    Alex''s and Jake''s eyes widened in surprise. Then they offered their congratulations.


    Jennifer smiled at them. Then she came closer to Alex and curled an arm around his neck. She then walked into her residence with him.


    Jane and Jake entered the building too. When they got in, Jennifer removed her arm and pushed Alex to Jake''s side. Then she went to her room with Jane who followed behind her with a smile. While Jake pulled Alex who was looking confused to the room they both stayed in.


    Once they got in, Jake said with a grin "Well, I guess there''s no need to stay here again. The coast is now clear right?"


    "Yea. We would move out very soon." Alex replied.


    Jake nodded. Then he looked at his bed''s furniture. It lied on the ground in pieces.


    "Great. Now I would have to sleep on the ground pending the time new furniture would be brought In" Jake said unhappily.


    "I guess so." Alex said.


    They looked around at the spacious room and could see pieces of wood scattered all over the ground. They were covered with white dust that was produced by the walls when they collapsed.


    Since they couldn''t sit with the room looking like that, they began to clean it.


    Next day...


    Many people arrived at the school. There were about a hundred of them. These people were mortals who were professional bricklayers, carpenters and so on. They were here to fix the school''s ruined state. To return it to it previous beautiful look. They were called by Damon to come plaster the buildings, create new furniture and do other stuffs.


    Alex at this point in time was in the academy''s field. He was in there together with Jake, Elena and many others. They were busy carrying away large shreds of trees on the ground.


    The trees had been destroyed by the residual rampaging energy waves that surfaced from the energy-attacks collision.


    Their plan was to regrow new trees since the old ones had been damaged beyond repair. When they moved away the large tree pieces littering the entire field that spanned kilometers in size and uprooted the old ones from the soil, they would plant new seeds in the ground.


    Everyone of them had been in the field clearing it for hours. Bathing under the sun, they sweated as they carried on with their tedious works.


    As they worked, one of a group of tall, burly boys at the peak condensation stage came to Alex''s front and said looking at Alex "Bro, I have been hearing some news of how you are very strong. But I don''t fucking believe this. You may be a genius that would beat everyone when it comes to battle but when talking about pure physical strength, you would be a worm."


    Alex was surprised.


    ''These guys. Don''t they ever get tired of picking on people smaller in size to them? I guess they never will"


    "Alright. What are you driving at?" He asked the tall, burly boy in front of him.


    "Since you are renowned to be so strong. Let us have a small contest. Show us your upper body and how physically strong you are. Let us see how powerfully built your body is and the strength your arms possesses" The boy replied with a chuckle.


    "Come on. Why would I ever want to do that? I can''t reveal my upper body in public. Am sorry" Alex said.


    The boy''s smile grew wide. Then he said with a loud voice so everyone would hear and look over.


    "Oh really?! You are scared of just revealing your upper body and strength? And me here thought you don''t back down from any contest. You are a cowardly genius man!"


    Immediately he said this, everyone turned their heads to look in the direction of that loud voice and saw Alex and a brawny boy in front of him.


    Alex at the moment was looking at the boy in front of him with an irritated gaze.


    "Give me one reason why I should do that?" He asked again. Annoyance could be perceived in his voice.


    "Well, no reason really. It''s just to impress everyone in here. We have been working hard for hours now. Let us have a small show to entertain them. Let us show them who''s well-built and stronger between the two of us." The boy replied with a smile that gave the feeling of confidence.


    "Oh. You want to use me as a ladder to fame. Because you have large arms, broad chest and a great muscular physique you think you would have a more impressive physique and strength than me? Well, since that is what you want, I would be glad to obliged your request"


    The boy nodded with a smile hung on his lips. Then using a hand, he ripped off his cloth to reveal his upper body.


    The instant he did, shocked gasps rang out of everyone''s mouth. What they could see was an astonishingly large muscular chest. Then he flexed the bicep of an arm to show powerful it was. It came bulging out, looking like a rock.


    Astounded exclamations filled the atmosphere. With a victorious smile in his face as he looked at Alex, he clasped his fist and a thunderous boom sounded out. It was so loud it felt like dozens of thunder bolts struck at once. Everyone had to cover their ears or they could probably go deaf.


    The boy''s action produced a shocking physical effect on the surrounding. This effect was a furious gale which surfaced from the collision of his palm and his fist causing dust to be swept into the air and pushing people backwards.


    The sudden rush of violent wind made everyone behind Alex move back by many feet. The wind possessed a knock-back power.


    Only Alex remained standing at his spot. But he knew how powerful the wind was. If he didn''t permeate his leg and arm muscles with strengthforce energy, he would have been flung far away as he was directly in front of the boy.


    After the boy showed how outrageously powerful he was, Alex came to an understanding that the boy in front of him was a body cultivator. He had great physical strength. Then he began to wonder what level the boy had reached in cultivating his body.


    Alex smiled at him as he applauded at the same time.


    "Impressive" he said.


    "Alright. Show us your physical strength" The boy said impatiently.

 Chapter 95: Incoming storm

    Alex looked at him.


    "Alright." he said.


    Then he tore off his shirt to reveal his upper body.


    Immediately he did that, his upper body was shown to everyone. And they are all gawked. What came to their heads was ''Is Alex also a body cultivator?'' But they couldn''t understand no matter how hard they thought about it.


    Alex''s pectoral muscle although was lower in size to that of the burly boy. But it was very impressive for his age. It wasn''t excessive and was well-defined. It was the type that would affect the minds of the opposite sex. Just seeing this finely built part of his body would give them the burning desire or cravings to commit amorous deeds with him. He was simply hot looking.


    Also, his abdominal muscles, also called ''six-packs'' and then his oblique muscles; the muscles lining the sides of his abdominal muscles looked like they were carved by a sculptor. He simply had high definition abdominal muscles as his abdomen looked ripped beyond comparison.


    Besides, both his chest and abdominal muscles appeared like metal as they lustred in the sun. The shininess they produced gave everyone the feeling that they were looking at a torso forged from metal.


    Topless, with a beautiful flawless skin, he was bathed by the light of the sun and he looked spectacularly dashing.


    Then at the center of his chest could be seen a mystifying colorful pattern. This pattern which looked like a birthmark further added to his devilishly charming appearance.


    Elena, who was looking at Alex''s upper body with an indescribable emotion in her eyes was fighting the impulse to move closer to him and rub his chest and feel his ripped abdomen. She tried hard to resist the naughty thoughts that rampantly flashed in her head.


    Not only Elena felt this way, every other girl on the field felt like running towards him and feel the muscles that looked like they were sculpted from steel.


    The guys became very envious. Same with Jake. He was gawking at Alex''s beautifully toned muscles that shone like steel. Then he began to wonder how Alex was able to have such steamy-looking muscles as he had never seen Alex do bodybuilding exercises before.


    But he wouldn''t know that Alex was able to achieve this because of the mutated strengthforce energy that he always channeled to his muscles from time to time to augment his physical strength.


    Being an energy that it itself had been mutated to a high degree as a type of originforce energy had partially melded with it, it gave tremendous boost to Alex''s physical strength anytime he infused his muscles with it.


    Therefore, saturation of his muscles with this energy would cause them to begin to self-develop at a rapid rate.


    The muscles permeated with the energy would start to grow quickly in size and density automatically. Alex doesn''t need to do workout exercises with the aim of building his muscles, they would develop themselves for as long as the energy remains in them.


    Therefore, Alex could achieve this astounding musculature because of the energy.


    The brawny boy who was looking at Alex in awe began to applaud him. Then he asked "Fine muscles. But what''s the use of fine muscles when it''s incapable of producing power?"


    Alex shook his head upon hearing this.


    "You want to see my strength?" He asked with a grin.


    The boy nodded.


    Alex then clenched his hand into a fist. Then he punched the ground heavily.


    Boom!


    A thunderous sound rang out when his punch was delivered to the ground. The instant his fist connected to the ground, a tall wave erupted from the point of collision and swept outwards in all directions with a powerful might.


    When the wave was produced, it heaved large amount of dust into the air. This caused the field to suddenly darken as light from the sun couldn''t penetrate through the thick layer of dust suspended in the air.


    The boy in front of Alex was knocked backwards by the wave. But then, despite his huge body size, he forced himself to turn in the air. He landed back to the ground with his leg sinking knee-deep into it.


    He did that to hook himself to the ground as the force produced by the wave upon impacting him still acted on him.


    After sometime, he regained control of his body as the backward force acting on him vanished.


    Alex, upon seeing the phenomenon he had caused had his eyes begin to glow in cyan. His eyes emitted this cyan light because he deployed his wind control power.


    So, using his wind-manipulation ability, there was a sudden movement of air currents and the large, floating layer of dust dispersed causing the field to be illuminated again.


    Once light returned to this place, the glow in Alex''s eyes receded and a smile hung on his lips.


    The brawny boy then stepped out of the small holes he made into the earth with his legs. Then he moved closer to Alex from a distance of dozens of feet. That was the distance he was knocked to by the wave.


    When he appeared in front of Alex, he asked "I see you are strong too. But you are not a cultivator of the body. How are you able to achieve such physical strength?"


    "I am sorry. That''s an information I will tell no one. Haha" Alex replied with a chuckle.


    "Hmm. Well, I now see you as a quasi-body cultivator. How about we fight? With fists like barbaric brutes? I have always wanted to have a good fight of fists with a body cultivator." The boy said with a confident smile.


    Once ''fight'' was mentioned, everyone became happy and excited. It had been a while they ever saw a good battle. Especially between Alex, the renowned battle genius of their academy and a formidable opponent.


    Alex looked at the boy with a smile and nodded. He too wanted to know how powerful a body cultivator was. He had read that they were terrifying experts. At a very high stage, they could punch the air and this air would rupture worlds.


    He had read of one such body cultivation experts. His name was ''The Strength Empyrean''. He was a doctor by profession but was a terrifying body cultivator. He ruled over many great worlds (greatverse).


    He could clap his hands so hard that he would create a world-trembling sonic boom. The boom would affect the air, transforming it into immensely devastating, rampaging wind currents.


    This air, because of the vast destructive strength it now possesses would move on to splinter worlds.


    Just the boom produced from his clap made the air astonishingly powerful. What if he punched the surface of the planet he stood upon? Alex once asked himself this question when he came across the material.


    But he also knew the answer to his question which was that all life would cease to exists. Both mortals and gods of all stages he believed would be wiped out.


    Besides, one of the feats of The Strength Empyrean which he read about in a book titled ''Record of Amazing Cultivators'', was that he had once used his index finger to shatter a world-sized energy-attack carrying more than a hundred quadrillion tons of force.


    Even the planet-shattering wave of energies that resulted from the collision of his finger and the energy-attack couldn''t knock him back by an inch. He effortless withstood it with no injury appearing on his body. His body was astonishingly tough.


    Apart from the tyrannical strength that he possessed, his body was nearly-indestructible as he could easily withstand engulfment by a cataclysmic wave of energies possessing tremendous damaging power. Every other god-experts would be instantly annihilated.


    That was another incredible feature of body cultivators. Apart from strength, they possessed powerful bodies that can withstand energy-attacks without the use for an armor. As their comprehension and cultivation of the energies increased, they could turn their bodies into powerful, peerless-grade, god-tier divine armors.


    Those were the terrifying attributes they were known for once they got to a high realm of comprehension of the profoundness of the energies.


    The energies they cultivated to achieve these were duraforce energy and strengthforce energy. The duraforce energy, also called flesh-invincibility energy or treasure-armor body transformation energy was an energy that when infused into the tissues would fuse with them and make it hard.


    But this came with a great deal of agonizing pain as it alters the cellular structures of the tissues. They would bleed greatly as the tissues undergo a vast rearrangement.


    This reformation manifests as tears, cuts, shreds and breaks on their skin. Apart from the restructuring to toughen their flesh, the tissues would gain some metallic characteristic which were hardness and density. They became very hard and highly dense.


    It''s an energy more powerful than diamondforce energy.


    While the strengthforce energy increased their physical strength to great levels. At a great level, they could pull planets out of their orbit and literally throw it trillions of kilometers away at supersonic speed.


    Alex with his knowledge of so many energies recorded in notes which his dad left for him, had always wanted to cultivate this duraforce energy. He admired body cultivation experts'' astonishing physical strength and the shocking body toughness they possessed.


    But he hadn''t had the time to cultivate his body as he was being chased here and there. Also, he was pressed for time, he wanted to quickly ascend to the next cultivation stages.


    But Alex seeing one in front of him made him very glad that he wanted to do battle with the burly boy.


    Alex no longer looked at the boy before him with disgust but with admiration. He adored him for the great, excruciating pain he went through just to increase the toughness of his body.


    But now that he wanted to battle with him, he knew that the battle would be tough as he wouldn''t be using any of his overpowered energies but only his physical strength.


    Yet, he believed that he would be able to fight the boy as his muscles had long been enhanced to a great degree. So, even without his mutated strengthforce energy, he would still erupt with amazing physical strength.


    With all these thoughts in his head, he guessed he didn''t need to back down from a battle that would delight him.


    He looked at the burly boy and made a ''come'' gesture with his fingers.


    Then with a roar like angry primitive beasts from the bottomless pit of an abyss, they both ran towards each other and sent out their fists.


    Their fists connected and a deafening boom rang out. This boom sounded like when dozens of thunderbolts struck the earth at once.


    The instant their fists met, a powerful wave of energy erupted from their fists and moved in all directions, knocking both of them backwards.


    This wave was so powerful that the earth beneath the point of collision of their fists cracked, with large fragments of it being shoved into the distance by the force the rampaging wave moved about with.


    Alex was knocked further into the distance than the brawny boy who regained his balance after dozens of feet.


    Standing where he landed, he became excited. This was his first time battling a worthy opponent.


    .......


    Somewhere in a hollowed cave in a desolate valley.


    "Jennifer and that foolish Damon. You guys wouldn''t be safe for too long. A great storm is coming at you all very soon."


    Hahahaha!!!


    Then a loud sinister laugh rang out disturbing the tranquil atmosphere of this region.

 Chapter 96: Meets his match

    Alex who was about twenty feet away from the burly boy looked at him with passion for battle blazing brightly in his eyes.


    "Draco, put the weakling in his place!"


    Somebody suddenly shouted from afar. This person was in the group of boys the burly boy named Draco came out from.


    Draco looked over to the person that shouted his name and nodded at him. Then he looked back at Alex with a confident smile in his face. But disdain couldn''t be seen in his eyes as he now respected Alex''s strength.


    When his fist and Alex''s fist met, he felt the crushing power in Alex''s punch. If it was another person''s arm that got struck like that, it would explode into a mist of blood. Therefore, he didn''t look down on Alex again. Instead, he saw him as an equal.


    Standing at that distance which was twenty feet away from Draco, Alex leaped high into the air towards him.


    Seeing Alex jump towards him. He too took off into the air towards Alex. Then with their elbows bent, they hurled out their fists towards the other.


    Boom!


    Immediately their fists clashed, a deafening boom rang out and both of them were shoved backwards for many feet at the speed of a furiously thrown dagger.


    Alex being an highly skilled fighter with great aerial maneuverability skills tucked himself as he shot backwards in the air. He folded his knees and brought them to his chest. Then he wrapped his arms tightly around them.


    In this position, when the backward propelling force disappeared, he rolled many times to the ground from that height in the air.


    But before he would land, he straightened himself and landed with his feet to the ground. Still, the pushing force that surfaced from the collision of their fists still acted on him as his feet that were planted solidly to the earth were dragged further to a distance of five feet.


    Draco too had good aerial movement skills. As his body was flung backwards, he did multiple twists and then landed back to the ground. But since the shoving force that erupted from their fists when they clashed still acted on him, immediately he landed with his leg planted firmly to the earth, they were pulled backwards on it for a distance of two feet.


    But he covered less distance than Alex. This indicated that he was stronger.


    Everyone who had long given them space to fight watch the battle excitedly. Then loud cheering noises rang out from everyone of them.


    The large crowd of students began to support either Alex or Draco as they shouted their names loudly with the aim of cheering them up.


    But the voices that screamed Alex''s name were mostly the females. They were the girls that had this burning desire for him. The ones that were dying to have a taste of him.


    ''This Alex is pretty strong'' Draco thought inwardly when he regained his balance.


    ''This boy''s body is damn tough. The hell. How am I going to beat him'' Alex said inwardly.


    But with a heart that still blazed for battle, he ran towards Draco. Immediately he took off on foot towards the burly boy in the distance, he clenched his fist. And the way he clenched it was so hard that a boom rang out, causing the air around his fist to tremble.


    What?


    Everyone became shocked by the phenomenon that Alex produced. They couldn''t believe that him just clenching his fist would cause distortions in the air.


    With a loud, beast-like roar, he leaped high into the air, about thirty feet above the ground towards Draco.


    Draco didn''t try to jump towards Alex to intercept him. Instead, he waited for Alex to arrive at his side.


    Seeing Alex approach him from the air with a punch that could seemingly shatter mountains, he readied himself.


    The instant Alex got to his front from that height in the air, he sent out a fist at Draco''s right shoulder. But Draco skilfully evaded it by twisting his body to the left.


    When he successfully dodged the fist Alex sent to his shoulder, he grabbed his punching arm with an iron-like grip. Then he turned around several times with Alex''s arm tightly clasped in his hands.


    Swoosh!


    He released his metallic grip on Alex''s arm and Alex was flung very far into the distance.


    Being thrown with a lot of force and no obstacle to hold him back, his body continued to shoot through the air like an arrow to a very far distance.


    Bang!


    He landed to the earth many feet away, precisely forty feet. And because of the force he was hurled with, his body dragged along the ground for sometime before it stopped.


    When Alex stood up, he spat out the dust that had entered into his mouth. He was looking filthy at the moment. The cloth he wore was soiled.


    Alex dusted himself. Then he began to walk back to the field.


    A few minutes later, he arrived at the space they had turned into strength contest zone.


    Draco smiled at Alex.


    "You are strong. I must be sincere with you" He said.


    Alex shook his head.


    "I am not strong as you." He replied.


    Draco scoffed.


    "At least, you are better than a lot of body cultivators I have fought in the past. But I want to know, how are you able to achieve such high degree of strength and body toughness?" He asked.


    "Well, I don''t want to tell you that mister. It''s my tiny secret" Alex replied with a smile.


    Alex didn''t want to cheat. If he used any of his energies containing divineforce energy, he knew the boy wouldn''t be a match for him.


    He could have used speedforce energy to affect his perception of time, thereby affecting the speed at which Draco moved in his eyes. But he didn''t as he was a boy of his word.


    "Still interested in exchanging fists with me?" Draco asked.


    "Yea." Alex replied.


    He was still interested in exchanging fist with Draco and was now adoring body cultivators more and more.


    "But I would like to incorporate kicks into my attacks? Cool with it?" Alex asked.


    "Sure. That would make it even more entertaining for our watchers" Draco replied.


    Alex smiled as he nodded his head.


    Flit!


    Alex suddenly dashed towards Draco who quickly got ready to defend himself from Alex''s strike.


    In a few second, Alex had reached Draco''s side from a distance of fifteen feet. The instant he appeared before Draco, he raised his knee to his chest, then he sent it out towards Draco as a kick. This was a kick called snap kick.


    Seeing the leg come with a roar that sounded like that of enraged dragons, he sent out his fist at the leg shooting towards his chest.


    Boom!!


    An intense boom sound rang out. And this high-pitched explosive sound was abruptly accompanied by a large wave of energy and violent, rippling air currents that knocked both of them backwards.


    This time around, Draco moved further than Alex.


    He became surprised.


    ''How come this boy''s leg is this strong?'' he thought inwardly.


    The leg Alex used to send out a snap kick was the leg that was cracked by Kenneth back then in the academy during their small fight in the dining hall.


    But since Alex''s body was special, after receiving that super-charged punch from Kenneth and the bones in the leg struck by the energy-imbued damaging fist cracked in many places, they underwent a process called reactive adaptation.


    With this process, all parts of his body would rapidly adapt to any form of force that came upon them and abruptly produce a better response, like a defense mechanism for it next time. Such forces included; pressure, force, heat, light and so on.


    Kenneth''s punch which carried a force of many tons as it was infused with energy caused Alex''s powerful and durable leg bones to crack. But after they underwent the reactive adaptation process, the bones reinforced themselves that they would need much more than that amount of force to crack them again.


    This leg was far stronger than his other leg.


    "Surprised?" Alex asked with a smile.


    "Yes. Your leg is pretty powerful. No wonder you wanted to include kicks. Anyways, my turn!"


    Immediately Draco said that, he dashed towards Alex at a high speed.


    Once he got to Alex''s side, he lowered himself to a crouch. Then with a 360-degree rotation of his body, he turned round quickly and swung out his leg to sweep Alex off his foot.


    Noticing the sweeping kick that generated a gust, Alex did a flip over it. And when he landed, he turned his body around while sending out a powerful arcing kick at the same time.


    Draco saw the strong kick raging towards him. Then to evade it, he threw himself to the ground where he landed with his back. Then he kicked his leg around and this produced a rotational force that caused his body to spin. As his body spun, he rolled onto his shoulder. Then using his powerful arms to push, he raised himself into a handstand.


    Alex seeing this as an opportunity to attack quickly rushed towards Draco.


    Draco in the handstand position pushed himself many feet above the ground with his arms. Then entering a horizontal position in the air at a height of four feet, he bent his knees by bringing them his chest. Then he kicked them out with all the might towards Alex who had appeared in front of him.


    Bang!


    Alex blocked the double snap kicks that Draco sent at him by bringing up his arms vertically in front of his face.


    The instant the kicks connected to his arms that were in the blocking position, he was knocked flying by them with a wave of energy manifesting from the point at which the legs impacted Alex''s strong arms.

 Chapter 97: Making a new friend

    Bang!


    Alex crashed into the earth at a distance of fifteen feet.


    "Ugh" he grunted where he fell to. Then he stood up and dusted his trousers that had long turned brown. He also wiped off the sand on his upper body.


    Then he began to walk towards Draco. As he walked towards him, he said in his mind.


    "This guy is strong. Time to end this battle"


    When he got to Draco''s front, he gave a smile and said. "You win bro. There is no way I would be able to beat you. So I accept my defeat"


    What?


    The hell!


    Everyone on the field became badly shocked.


    Why would the popular genius of their academy concede defeat? From the look of things, it seemed he could match Draco in strength and he even had better fighting skills. But he just announced that he accepted his defeat.


    They still couldn''t believe it. It was like they didn''t hear him right.


    Draco wasn''t left out of the shocking news Alex gave. His eyes were full of surprises. He looked at Alex for sometime before he finally said "No way man. It was a draw. It''s only a win if I knocked you unconscious. Since you are here in front of me without any form of injury, it is a tie."


    Then with a wide smile surfacing on his face, he continued "You were very awesome. Thanks for the battle. I never had such a fulfilling battle with other body cultivators. I always beat them like how an ape would overwhelm a baby monkey"


    Alex laughed. Then he nodded his head, indicating that he accepted what Draco proposed as the conclusion to their match.


    "Alright. It''s a tie then. We would fight some other time in future to see who the real winner is." he said with an amiable smile.


    "You can bet on it" Draco said with a laugh.


    "Alright. We shall see! You seem like a nice guy man. And I like making friends with nice and strong people. Hehe. Although you already know my name but let me properly introduce myself. My name''s Alex. What''s yours?" He asked.


    "Draco. It was great battling you man. You fulfilled my burning passion of fighting a worthy body cultivator even if you aren''t truly one. It was a great and satisfying battle." Draco replied.


    Alex nodded with a smile.


    Then he asked when he thought of something "I don''t think you have been in the academy? If not, you would have fought me a long time ago."


    "Yes. I haven''t been in the academy. I went home for something very important." Draco replied.


    "Oh. Alright." Alex said.


    Then he looked at Draco''s muscular physique again and asked "You must come from a family that cultivates the body right?"


    Draco smiled as he nodded as his head.


    "My family is weird right? Just only into cultivating the body? Yea, we don''t want to be like every expert that cultivates three to nine energies and above. It is a great waste of time. Besides, body cultivators are far stronger than energy cultivators. We can shatter energy attacks with part of our bodies such as our fingers, fists and legs and can withstand energy attacks with our body alone. While energy cultivators would just create protective screens of energy that we can shatter using our hard fist. Bwahaha. Also, it is the hardest. Who can withstand the agonizing pain we go through every time we want to cultivate the body?" he asked.


    Alex became quiet. He didn''t refute what Draco said as he was right.


    "Well, you are right. But there are energy cultivators who are just as powerful as body cultivators. Only a pin-sized ray of some energy they cultivated, shot from a finger tip would punch a hole through a massive world purely of steel. You know that right?" Alex asked.


    "Of course. There are so many of these fearsome experts. They live in the grand worlds. Like the ones my grandfather told me about such as the Twin Violet Sword Lord, Blue Shadow King, Blood Storm Emperor and so on can ruin small worlds with the dazzling aura of terrific power emanating from them. While the Stormchaser, Goldenfist Lord, Godripping Tyrant and many others who are body cultivators can easily execute that feat too in their own unique way. Just the flick of a finger at the air and targeted small worlds would be brought to their collapse" Draco said with pride in his tone.


    Divine-class body cultivation experts could flick a finger at the air and they could transfer their power of world-ruining might to it through this action alone.


    The air, since it has been infused with their cataclysmic might-power becomes the type that would manifest from the detonation of a planet-sized bomb. That is why they could punch the air and worlds would explode into smithereens.


    Alex smiled. "You are right Draco. You also know much. You read too?" he asked with curiosity in his tone.


    "No, I don''t. I don''t have time for reading. Most of my knowledge about these guys came from my parent and grandparents. They have left this world to worlds above ours. It is there they learnt about the terrifying abilities of these experts." Draco replied.


    Then a fire of determination that gave one the feeling that it would never be snuffed out came to life in his eyes and burned dazzlingly.


    "One day, I will reach their level and surpass them" He said with a strongly blazing determination in his eyes.


    Alex looked on with awe in his eyes. What a great determination this guy has. He suddenly had a feeling this guy would become an expert that would rip worlds apart with a slight step.


    "Alright. Let''s get to work. I want to leave here." he said.


    "Me too." Draco replied. Then he asked while looking at Alex "We are friends now right?"


    "Sure man. I am glad to have a powerful body-training cultivation expert as a friend" Alex replied with a cute smile.


    Draco nodded his head. He gave Alex a thumbs up and went back to the group he came out from.


    Since there was no battle again, everyone on the field focused on clearing the field. They worked with excitements till sunset before they left. But they had cleared the field completely.


    The pieces of trees which they took away from the field were stacked upon one another at a side of it. Then they set fire to it, burning it to ashes.


    Evening...


    Jennifer''s residence...


    "Alex, I was very pained today. You hurt my feelings. Why the hell would you concede defeat to Draco? You could have beaten him. I am certain of that" Jake said with an unhappy tone.


    "Yea. You could, I think. I had a feeling that you were holding back." Elena said.


    "Noooo, I wasn''t. There is no way I would be able to beat him. He is stronger than me. It would only be me eating dusts everytime I exchanged fists with him. So, why can''t I just call it quit than to continually embarrass myself." Alex asked.


    "You are lying man. I had the same feeling Elena had. I just can''t tell if the feeling was right. But all I know is that you were holding back from unleashing those dragons in your cage" Jake said.

 Chapter 98: Have you ever kissed before?

    "Guysss. Whatever. Battle is over and it ended with a tie. You heard Draco say that himself. He said it was a draw. So, no meaning in dwelling in the past or in crying over spilled milk. Let''s focus on something more important." Alex said.


    "Which is?" Jake asked in a surprised tone.


    "About instructor Micah. Only heavens know when the bastard sneaked out of the school. I wonder where he is now. He has a wrong knowledge about me and this could prove to be a problem for me and everyone in the academy if wind about it got out." Alex said with a worried tone.


    Jake''s and Elena''s eyes shone with surprise. They couldn''t understand what he meant by that.


    "Alex. You care to explain further?" Elena asked.


    "Forget about it guys. I ain''t telling you anything. What I want you to know is what I have already said out loud."


    "Hmm. Alright. So you think whatever Micah knows about you could pose great danger to all of us?" Elena asked.


    "Yes. I feel that way." Alex replied.


    "Well, the school founder is still around. He is very powerful. He would be able to ward off whatever danger a lowly saint emperor-stage cultivator could bring upon us." Jake said confidently.


    "Okay." Alex said.


    "Alright. It was nice chatting with you cute boys. I have to be on my way to my hostel." Elena said as she stood from where she sat.


    "Or lot of people would think you are having a threesome with us." Jake said mischievously.


    What?


    Alex''s eyes widened in shock. Then a bright cyan glow abruptly manifested in them. He waved a hand at Jake and a strong current of highly compressed air suddenly appeared in the room, raging towards Jake.


    Bang!


    Jake was knocked flying by this solidified wind current. Then he smashed into a wall of the room and dropped to the ground.


    Elena was surprised by Alex''s action and she gave an adorable smile. Then she turned her head to look at Jake who had a shocked expression in his face. He too was surprised that Alex could do that to him.


    "Deserves you right. You very filthy mouthed person" she said out loud with a giggle as she looked at him.


    Jake stood up from the ground with a smile in his face. Then he dusted his cloth and went to sit.


    Elena then turned to look at Alex.


    "My young knight in shiny armor. Care to escort this lady to her hostel block?" She asked with an attractive smile.


    Alex nodded and looked at Jake. Then he said with a smile "Asshole. Your unbridled mouth would cause you to go into extinction one day"


    Jake laughed.


    "That''s the best man. I love to say things. That''s why my girls love me" he said.


    Alex only shook his head.


    "Your girls? You mean those dirty maids at your home?" He asked.


    Elena''s eyes widened. Her interest had been piqued.


    Seeing the interest in Elena''s face, Alex left the discussion with Jake and held Elena by the hand, pulling her out of the room.


    "This is the second time you are holding my hand. You just love to grasp my hand in yours. And this kind of behavior from boys means something I believe. You are trying to pass a message to me right? Alex, just tell me your mind. I won''t bite you" Elena said after they have gone far from Jennifer''s residence.


    "Huh? What message? Oh! Not that El. It''s not what you are thinking right now. In any way. Please. I just held your palm so we can quickly leave that room that was having it air getting slowly tainted because of erotic talks. I don''t want to engage Jake in a dirty discussion with you around" Alex replied.


    "Oh! Alright. But I am starting to feel that what Jake said that other time could be actually true. That you don''t have interest in girls" Elena said with an smile.


    "What? Nooo! I like girls. A lot. Beautiful ones like you. But I don''t have that time to be flocking around girls. I have something to do and am short on time. So, I don''t have the luxury to love any girl for now." Alex said trying to disperse the thought Elena had about him.


    "Hmm. From the way you are behaving, I have a feeling you have never kissed before. Have you? Wait, don''t be in a rush to tell me the answer. I don''t want to hear anything fabricated. Just tell me the truth. Be honest with me" Elena said.


    Alex''s eyes sparkled. Then he became silent.


    After some time, he finally spoke, looking away from Elena.


    "No. I haven''t. It''s not a bad thing you know. I am still young. When I gro¡ª"


    He suddenly froze in his speech with deep shock in his eyes. He couldn''t move as his body stiffened from the electrifying sensation that flowed to every part of his body.


    At the moment, his lips had locked in with Elena''s.


    She had suddenly kissed him without notice.


    Her dainty hands tightly clasped his head at the back just so he wouldn''t pull out of the lip-lock. Her full and firm busts pressed hard against his chest. Then the sweet-smelling scents of perfume exuding from her body invaded his nostrils.


    She didn''t even mind where they stood. With her eyes closed and passionately kissing Alex, she savored every sensation that she felt as she kissed him.


    Alex''s hand were hanging by his sides. He didn''t know when his hands moved and curled around Elena''s waist at the back.


    He could feel the skin at her back. It was soft. He was able to feel the texture of her skin through the cloth she wore. It was made of a thin material but it wasn''t revealing.


    Elena reached into the interiors of Alex''s mouth with her tongue and began to lick around it, with her saliva mixing with that of Alex.


    After many minutes of kissing, she pulled out her lips from his and a satisfied look could be seen in her eyes. Then she left him there and walked down to her hostel block.

 Chapter 99: In a dark hall...

    Alex stood there dumbfounded for some time before he regained his state of awareness and returned to Jennifer''s residence.


    When he entered his room, he immediately went to lie in his bed. But in his head, the scene where he and Elena kissed continually replayed.


    A smile surfaced on his lips, and slowly, his mind drifted away to the dream world.


    .......


    In a slightly dark hall as only a few lanterns hung on the wall provided light to it, many people could be seen sitting round a large circular table. They all wore black hooded cloaks and their faces were partially concealed as the hoods worn over their heads were large.


    These people were looking at a caped man that seated on a shiny blue throne floating in the air. The throne he sat on was actually condensed from a type of blue-colored metalforce energy.


    This man looked very tall despite being seated. It gave one the feeling that if he stood, he would be dozens of feet tall.


    His eyes were of two colors. The left was grey while the right was white. Then glowing metal-like scales could be seen on his hands and feet. But one would be able to surmise that these scales covered his entire body.


    Then hung on his back was a large and thick blue-black blade that was dotted with voidstones. If one took a guess at the number of sockets the blade should have, one can say that the number of voidstone sockets the blade would have should be in the dozens.


    "Someone actually dared to kill a member of my organization." He said.


    "Lord Shadowslayer, assign someone to eliminate this person." One of the many people seated said.


    "Yes, I will definitely do that. No one harms a member of mine and lives. Have these people forgotten about me and about this organization? It seems it has been a long time we brought havoc to the society. I would rain chaos again soon. Anyways, about Lady Poisonheart''s killer. Her name''s Jennifer Winterburn. She is an expert at the saint emperor stage but has the physical strength of an expert in the sage general stage. But she''s not a body cultivator. I don''t understand how she is able to possess that degree of strength. Anyways, I want her brought to me dead or alive. But I prefer that she is brought to me alive. Who is up for the task?" Lord Shadowslayer asked looking at his henchmen.


    "My Lord, killing her is easy. But I heard she has powerful treasures that would augment her battle power. Besides, the founder of the academy is now around and wouldn''t go back anytime soon. So, we have to plan well or it could backfi¡ª" One of his men was talking but he was abruptly cut off in his speech by Lord Shadowslayer.


    "Shut your trap Darklight. He is in the mid-phase sage lord stage while I am at the peak-phase sage lord stage. There is a great difference in our abilities" He said.


    Lord Shadowslayer then turned his head to look at one of his men and said "Bring that man out"


    "Yes My Lord" This person replied.


    Then an horizontal azure portal manifested in the hall and someone dropped out of it to the ground.


    The person that dropped out of the portal was a man. He was wrapped up in chains and wounds could be seen all over his face and even on his head.


    Lord Shadowslayer looked at this man with a sinister smile. Then he pointed a finger at this person and an unseen force emitted from it.


    This force engulfed this man and was pulled towards Lord Shadowslayer.


    "You once said that you wanted to join my organization. But you are a member of the organization my enemy is part of. So that makes you my enemy too. And I don''t forgive my enemies. I torture them to my satisfaction and swallow their souls and devour their energies." Lord Shadowslayer said..


    Then he grabbed this person''s head with one of his large hand and abruptly, mystifying symbols appeared in his eyes as he began to look into this person''s memories. But with disinterest. Nothing in the man''s memory excited him.


    While looking at the man''s memories, he absorbed them at the same time.


    Very soon, shock appeared in his eyes. This was because he came across the memories of everything that the man in his grasp had about Alex.


    In those memories, he saw where a heaven adept-stage cultivator was reporting to the man how Alex, someone in the mid-phase entry stage was able to easily resist his constraining power and how Alex was able to shatter a message transmission link formed by this man who was at the saint emperor stage through some form of energy possessing saint-level power that his body exuded when it transformed, causing the man injury.


    ''What a tyrannical physique!''


    His eyes glowed brightly for sometime before receding. Then a smile appeared in his face. He nodded his head. He knew what he was going to do.


    He looked at this person and said "You had such vital information in your head. Thank you for that. I will compensate you with death"


    Snap!


    He crushed the man''s neck. Then he placed his other hand on the surface of the man''s body, directly on the area of the body where the energyhouse was.


    Then abruptly, various forms of colored energies began to emanate from the pores of the man''s body. These energies condensed and shaped into spheres that floated in the air around Lord Shadowslayer.


    Immediately these energies formed into spheres, they crystallized, turning into solid crystalline orbs of energies.


    "Haha. A new collection of energy orbs. Good"


    Then he kept them away.


    As he was done with this person, he flung the person''s cold, lifeless body away to a side of the hall.


    He then looked at an incredibly beautiful young woman and pointed at her. Then a ray of energy shot out of it into the woman''s head.


    Once this ray of entered into her head, it turned into a large amount of information. The information was all about Alex


    "Coldmoon, bring that boy to me." Lord Shadowslayer said.


    Then he looked at two people beside her.


    "Bloodeyes and Skyblade. I have chosen you both to bring me that Jennifer"


    "Yes, My Lord"


    They responded in unison with a deep bow. When they straightened themselves, the beautiful young woman began to absorb morphforce energy; a purple-colored energy of shape-shifting from the world and enveloped herself with it like a cocoon while absorbing it into her body.


    Argh!!


    She screamed in agony as the energy shifted her body from this form to another. After sometime, her screaming stopped.


    When her body was absorbing the energy, it glowed brilliantly in it color. Then after she fully transformed, the intense purple glow of the energy emitting from her body receded and a perfectly shaped, phenomenally beautiful young girl could be seen. She looked like one of those rare beauty one wouldn''t come across for the next several thousand years.

 Chapter 100: Hey cutie

    Next day...


    "Alright. It''s time for you boys to move out of my residence." Jennifer said looking at Alex and Jake.


    "Instructor Jennifer, can we please stay for a month and then we would move out?" Jake asked with a pleading tone.


    "No" Jennifer said.


    Jake looked at Alex, and the look he gave him passed a message that he should say something.


    Understanding what Jake''s gaze meant, Alex turned his head to look at Jennifer. Then he asked "Instructor Jennifer, can we please stay a month more? Please"


    Jennifer smiled.


    "You think your cute, pleading face will get to me? In your dreams. You both are leaving today. But I will get you a new place. One, more comfortable" she said.


    Alex gave her a slight frown.


    Jennifer only smiled. Then she moved closer to him to ruffle his hair. She then came out of their room and headed to hers.


    Many minutes later.


    When Alex and Jake were done bathing, they wore their uniforms and headed for class.


    Since Alex had broken through to the condensation stage, he could now enter the lecture block for students at that stage.


    So he went with Jake to class.


    But his mind was unsettled. His mind stirred because he would see Elena in class and he doesn''t know how he would face her. But when he remembered the kiss, he smiled.


    When they got to their lecture block, Jake brought Alex to the hall where they would be having their first class which was cultivation. Unlike in the entry-stage lecture block where their first class was weapon-making.


    After they entered, they went to get a seat. Alex sat down and began to look around. He was searching for Elena but he didn''t see her.


    Just then, she came in through the door and when Alex turned his head over to see who just entered, their eyes jammed.


    Alex''s mind could almost shoot of his body. He managed to give her a smile while Elena winked at him and went to get a seat.


    Alex started to feel like he was suffocating. He was taking in short breath and at a rapid speed.


    Jake noted the change in Alex''s breathing pattern and asked with concern in his tone "What''s wrong?"


    Alex quickly replied "I''m fine."


    "You sure? Come on man. Tell me the truth. I have never seen you like this. What''s wrong?" Jake asked again.


    "I don''t know too. But I would get over it soon" Alex said.


    "Hmm. Pull yourself together then. The instructor would be arriving anytime soon." Jake said.


    Alex nodded. Then he tried to calm himself.


    A few minutes later..


    The instructor that would teach them about cultivation came to class.


    Immediately he entered, he looked at his students and greeted them which they all responded to. Then as he looked around to see if everyone was in class, he caught sight of Alex and became shocked.


    "Alex, what are you doing in my class?" He asked with deep surprise in his tone.


    "Wait. You have broken through?" He asked again.


    "Yes sir. I have broken through" Alex said with a smile.


    "Good! But your cultivation speed¡ª You were in the mid-phase entry stage few months ago but now you have broken through to the condensation stage. That''s very quick" he said.


    Alex only nodded with a smile.


    He couldn''t reply saying it''s because I have tens of thousands of peerless-rank, energy-producing pills for all cultivation ranks, and because I took many earth-rank pills, pills meant for an expert in the earth adept stage without exploding into bits because I have a powerful body as it was able to withstand the great amounts of energy released when the pills melted.


    "Well, it''s good to have you here. So introduce yourself properly to the rest of us" The instructor said.


    "Alright. My name''s Alex Blaze Star" Alex said out loud when he stood.


    "Good. You can have your seat. Now I will start today''s class" The instructor said and took a pause. Then he continued "What is cultivation?"


    Everyone raised their hands except Alex. The instructor noted this and said "Alex, I don''t see you raising your hand. You don''t know it?" He asked.


    "I know it" Alex replied.


    "Alright. Now tell us anything you know about cultivation" The instructor said.


    Alex was trying to be low-key as possible since he he just got here. But now, he was focused on.


    "Damn! Must you pick me? I think I should raise my hands next time" Alex said inwardly.


    He wasn''t happy the instructor called him to answer the question. Then he felt maybe the man was trying to test his intelligence.


    ''He could have probably heard of my intellectualness from other instructors and so want to test my ability'' Alex thought inwardly.


    Then he stood up to answer the question, with a promise in his heart that he would not bring down the instructor''s rating of him.


    "A-hem" He cleared his throat. Then he said "Cultivation is simply harmonizing to a type of energy in the world. After entering into harmony with it, we can now begin to absorb it into our energyhouses." Alex replied.


    "Good. Class, applaud him" The instructor ordered.


    Then sounds of hands clapping rang out as thousands of students in the large hall began to clap, but with disinterested eyes.


    "Alright. It''s okay." the instructor said telling them to stop clapping. Still looking at Alex, he asked "Alex that was good. I felt you didn''t really understand the topic but you actually do. So, this leads me to my next question. Can you explain how cultivation works?"


    "Okay sir." Alex said. Then he continued "When one enters into a state of harmony with a particular energy, the energy which exists in the incorporeal state around us becomes corporeal. That is, it materializes around us because we have entered into attunement with it. Actually, the energies do not really materialize around us. What happens is that we can see and feel them because we have attuned our sensory perceptions, the physical senses and other types of senses we have available to them, to their forms and the frequency they vibrate in. They only become visible or noticeable to others when we employ a cultivation method to pull them into our body for absorption."


    The instructor smiled and nodded his head.


    "Good." He said.


    Then he brought up a new sub-topic for the subject and began to teach them.


    Alex listened attentively, and so did the rest of the students. Only Jake wasn''t as he was looking at a girl far at a spot in the hall towards his left.


    That was the girl that poured food on his head back then.


    Although, anger could be seen in his eyes, there was also another form of emotion that surfaced in them. And this emotion was desire. He wanted this girl and would do anything to get her.


    He made her his goal because of what she did to him. But not the type to get to her for revenge. He loved the girl and so he wanted her.


    An hour later..


    "Alright. Time''s up. You can leave the hall to the next hall for your second subject of the day." The instructor said and left heading back to his office.


    Immediately he left, everyone packed their writing materials and kept them into their storage-treasures. Then they left the hall to the next hall which was on a higher floor.


    As Alex was packing his things and got ready to leave the hall because of Elena, she arrived at his side. A beautiful smile blossomed in her face.


    Before Jake could say anything, Elena said "Hello Jake. Could you please give me and Alex some privacy? I want to have a few words with him"


    Jake was surprised.


    "Sure" He said.


    Then he left the hall.


    Elena then turned her head to look at Alex who was trying to avoid her gaze.


    "Hey cutie" She said with an affectionate smile.

 Chapter 101: Saddened

    "Hey El. How are you doing?" Alex asked.


    He was starting to gain control of his roiling mind.


    "Am good" Elena replied. Then she continued "So, about what happened yesterday, I am very sorry. I didn''t know what came over me. I just saw myself jumping at you to kiss you. I don''t know where the urge came from." Elena said.


    "No. Don''t apologize. You did nothing bad." Alex said.


    "Alright. Well, we will continue being friends. Don''t think because I kissed you last night that we now have a thing between us. Nothing of that sort can blossom between us." She said.


    "Wow" Alex became surprised. And before he could talk. Elena said "Actually, to be very honest with you. I like you very much that I wouldn''t hesitate to do anything you ask me to. But look at you. You are like the sovereign queen of fairies with slight masculine features. The day you ever wear a woman''s clothes and a half-mask, many powerful suitors would come for you. Haha." Elena said and ended her speech with a chuckle.


    Alex whose face depicted that he was sad wanted to talk but she gave him a shush and continued "I definitely won''t be able to keep such a boy with beaconing attractiveness by my side as your greatly enticing look would pull all sort of females. I can''t share my boy with another female since I know you would definitely have other beauties that would come for you. Also, you are a genius. So many girls would come your way that I can''t imagine. All the more reason for me to just end whatever feeling you already have for me because of my last night''s action"


    Alex became quiet as he didn''t know what to say. While Elena waited for him to process everything she had said.


    Why his mind began to seethe in class when he thought of Elena was because of the feelings of love for her had germinated in his heart and had begun to grow.


    He was having a somewhat panic attack because he had never been in any relationship. He didn''t know what to do. Being in one suddenly caused him to have panic-like breathing patterns.


    After a long time, he asked with sight difficulty. "S¡ªSo, you want us to be friends and nothing else?"


    "Yes Alex. Am sorry. I shouldn''t have done what I did last night." Elena replied.


    "It''s uhm... It''s okay. Okay? We would only be friends then I guess" Alex said, but with an unhappy tone. Sadness could be sensed in his speech.


    The feeling he had was like ascending to the empyreal heavens one moment and then thrown out of it in the next instant.


    Elena noticed the sad look Alex was trying hard to conceal from her.


    "Poor cutie"


    She too felt bad for toying with his feelings in that manner.


    So she came to him and gave him a hug. The she said in his ear.


    "Don''t be sad Alex. You don''t need to. I will always be here for you. If you ever need someone to talk to, come to me. I will welcome you with open arms and a smile."


    Alex nodded his head.


    Then Elena smiled and stroked his long hairs. Then she held him by a hand and they went to the next hall together.


    .........


    "Coldmoon, you seem so eager to meet this boy. Won''t you make a scheme first? You can''t just jump into there and think you can come out with the brat just like that" Bloodeyes said.


    "No. That''s not what I plan to do stupid. I would infiltrate the place and come out of there with the boy." Coldmoon replied.


    "Hmm. I just wonder what master saw in that kid?" Skyblade asked.


    "Well, I don''t know too. He only gave me information about the boy. Perhaps he saw a great, dazzling potential in the boy and so, wanted me to bring him to our organization whom he would make a shadowling, just like us" Coldmoon replied.


    "Probably. But why this appearance? Isn''t this too excessive? You are exceedingly beautiful in your true form as even the prettiest of many states wouldn''t come close to your beauty. But this form you have taken is just too conspicuous and mind-blowing. You look too perfect and too attractive to be true. You are like an illusion. No beauty as this one you have transformed into will truly exist under the skies, I guess. Well, except for probably those monstrously powerful female cultivators rocking the grand world." Bloodeyes said.


    "Haha. I know that I would pull all attention to myself, but that is what I simply want. Undying attention! That way, I would get to the boy''s heart very quick that I wouldn''t even need to bundle him and carry him out of the school. He would follow me on his accord." Coldmoon chuckled and said.


    "Hmm. Poor bastard. I am starting to actually feel pity for him. You being with him and only giving him attention would spark up hatred among his colleagues and among the guys with higher cultivation level" Bloodeyes said.


    "But how do you know you would get to the boy''s heart so quick with this method? Besides, this is not a game. It''s a mission. If you fail, you know what our Lord can do" Skyblade said.


    "Hmm. Well, there is nothing bad in having slight fun. What could possibly go wrong? Anyways, to your question. Boys like beautiful girls and the type that would give them attention. In that manner, I would pierce deep into his heart and become an idol in there that he would worship everyday of his life. Hehe." Coldmoon said with a grin.


    "I am sure that it''s with this technique you used to easily kill all your targets in the past. You would seduce those pedophiles in this form and have sex with them to put them off their guard. Idiotic bastards" Bloodeyes said.


    "Yea. Imagine terrifically powerful cultivators being stabbed and slashed into halves by her too easy. I now begin to wonder how many men you have slept with in the past, Coldmoon. I am sure they number in the thousands" Skyblade said.


    "Sharrap. I am still a virgin who hasn''t even be touched in the face by a man. I hate men. They are all vile spawns." Coldmoon said.


    Huh!


    Bloodeyes and Skyblade became shocked.


    Then they felt that maybe something really bad happened to her to make her hate men in this manner.


    They could sense grief and wrath in her tone when she spoke.


    Then she continued "Actually, I killed those old bastards with my real appearance. Not with this form. I am very beautiful that they became intoxicated by it. Haha. The only time I use this ravishing appearance is when my bewitching charm isn''t working well on my targets. Then I would morph into this beauty that would make thousands of gods to go to war. Take note, this is not my only peerless goddess form. I have still many of them. I used this because I have perfected it"


    "Damn! That''s just tyrannical. How do you do it? These transformations" Bloodeyes asked


    "Well, many thousand years ago, I spent majority of my time crafting the best beauty in my head. I went through thousands of paintings of ridiculously beautiful female experts from higher worlds. Then using my power of visualization, I merged one or two striking features about each of them into one unmatched spectacular beauty. Then this detail I would transmit to my morphforce energy which would then begin to change my appearance to match the exact description of the imagery I sent to it." Coldmoon said proudly.


    "Hmm. You are thousands of times awesome. But I have a feeling you want to devour this boy" Bloodeyes teasingly said.


    "Devour? How do you mean? Are you guys morons? I said I am not going to kill him. I am only taking him to our master" Coldmoon replied.


    Haha!


    Bloodeyes and Skyblade laughed.


    "You are the moron. That was not what I meant. What I meant was that would you go wild with the boy? You know, do all those hot riding and grinding moves with him in bed? Bloodeyes asked.


    Coldmoon was deeply shocked as she became speechless.


    "The hell! Listen to what you goats are saying. I, Karen, a proud sage-rank expert to go down dirty with a little boy because I transformed into an adorable little girl? You guys must want to be buried headless" she said angrily.


    "Just kidding. Haha" Bloodeyes said and laughed.


    "So, how are u guys going to bring that instructor to Master?" Coldmoon asked.


    "We don''t have a plan yet. We are not in a rush. When it''s time, we would set out for her." Skyblade said.


    "Hmm. Alright. Well, I have to depart now. Good luck to us on our missions. See you at the end of it" Coldmoon said.


    "What bullshit luck? I don''t believe in luck. Just do your thing properly. Luck won''t come to save you if your plans go awry" Bloodeyes said.


    Coldmoon shook her head.


    Then her eyes and hands began to emit a deep brown light. This light was from an energy called sandforce energy; an energy that gives one the power to manipulate sand.


    The instant this brown light emitted from her hands as sandforce energy was channeled to them, unseen waves of power of sand-control discharged from them, from the sandforce energy saturating her palms at the moment and traveled far into the distance.


    Then abruptly, like the invisible waves sent out from her hands were summoning calls, large amount of sand moved from many kilometers away to her front.


    Exercising her will on the large mass of sand gathered at her front using her power of sand manipulation, it shaped into a towering wave which she jumped onto.


    Then the large sand wave with Coldmoon on top shot towards the black dragon academy at a shocking speed.

 Chapter 102: Arrival

    Evening...


    Alex and Jake were given a new hostel block to stay. And surprisingly, only them stayed there. They didn''t have roommates.


    Jake felt fulfilled while Alex saw it as normal. He felt it was normal for Jennifer to give them a nice place which only two of them would stay in alone.


    "Yea right. Alex, what did Elena come to discuss with you today? I was surprised she asked me to give you guys some privacy. Also, why were you breathing like that? You still haven''t told me. Were you sick? But that''s impossible as you are a cultivator and not a mortal" Jake said as soon as he remembered the events that occurred today in the lecture block.


    Alex looked at him with a smirk and shook his head. Then he responded with a smile "Well, it''s something that doesn''t concern you in any way. Why must you be so curious about everything?"


    "Oh! I asked because I connected some events together. On every normal day, your breathing pattern is calm. But since you stepped out of instructor Jennifer''s residence with Elena, your gaze which was always full of awareness became absent and a smile would appear on your face from time to time. Today in class, your breathing fashion changed from normal-paced breath to short, rapid breaths like you were anxious and nervous about something." Jake said.


    "Huh? So where you jackass driving at?" Alex asked in a perplexed tone.


    But he was deeply shocked that Jake noticed everything about him yesterday after the incidence with Elena.


    ''Damn'' He said bitterly in his mind.


    He felt bad that he wasn''t paying attention to Jake or he would have hidden the expressions which manifested in his face as result of what he was thinking in his mind.


    "The fuck. Calm down bro. I would arrive where am going to soon. Haha. Now, moving forward from what I said earlier, I think something like that would only happen to someone who has never been in a relationship before and something intimate or romantic suddenly happened to him or her. That person would become nervous as he or she wouldn''t know how to face the person that brought them into the world of love and romance. So, on that train of thought, I can say something definitely must have happened between you and Elena. That was what made you have those short, quick breath that deemed you to be nervous. Right? Don''t try to prove me wrong." Jake said with a smile.


    He felt like a love investigator.


    ''Damn. This guy...''


    Since Alex could feel that Jake had discovered with certainty that something happened between him and Elena, he finally opened up to him.


    Besides, as Jake was his friend. He felt there was really no harm in telling him what transpired between him and Elena.


    "So, what are you feeling like right now? Like an emotions investigator expert? Huh?" He asked.


    Jake only smiled waiting for the answer to the question he asked Alex.


    Then Alex continued "Anyway, you are right about everything you said. Yesterday when she left and I accompanied her, she suddenly gave me a long passionate kiss after we have walked some distance away from instructor''s Jennifer residence."


    Haha!


    Jake''s eyes glittered as he chuckled.


    "Excellent" He said out loud excitedly.


    Then he continued "She finally unveils her true feelings to you. She just couldn''t take it anymore. I have always known Elena likes you and that she was just concealing her emotions from you, waiting for you fantastic moron to open up to her first since she wouldn''t want to appear cheap and lowly before you. Haha. Well, she has given you the damned signal. So, It''s up to you to work on it"


    Alex smiled and shook his head.


    "Well, I would have tried to work on it. But today after cultivation class, she came to me to apologize for her actions yesterday and said that I shouldn''t think that anything would ever happen between us. That we can only remain as good friends who got each other''s back." Alex said.


    Jake who was excited that Alex was now in a new relationship which he would work on became deeply surprised at the sudden turn of things.


    "Aii, is that why you sound depressed?" He asked


    Jake questioned this because when Alex spoke, he could sense the heaviness in his speech. With this, he knew Alex was morose since he spoke with a heavy tone which depicted the sadness in his heart.


    "Yes. Maybe. I thought she had something for me after she kissed me. Only to be told the next day that the kiss was on impulse and that we can only be friends." Alex replied.


    "Hmm. What else did she tell you?" Jake asked.


    "She told me that if I ever needed warmth and someone to talk to, I can come to her. She would welcome me in with open hands" Alex replied.


    "Okay. But I have this feeling that she still likes you. She is just trying to conceal the emotions she has for you again." Jake said.


    "Huh? How do you know that?" Alex asked with a perplexed tone.


    "Why would she ever kiss you in the first place if she had no desire for you. Besides, she must have thought of kissing you long ago. Her action wasn''t out of the blues. It had long been in her heart. So Alex, forget those things she told you. She still loves you but doesn''t want to show it." Jake said confidently.


    Alex became silent. And after sometime, he asked "Are you sure? That she has the same feeling as me?"


    "Yep. But you are really a novice at this game. You bastard haven''t been in any relationship and that time you told me you once dated two girls. Mehn. You are so good at lying. I don''t think I would fully believe anything you tell me again. Ever" Jake said.


    He was pained that he imbibed Alex''s lies.


    Alex only smiled. He had been caught and there was nothing he could say to defend himself.


    "Alright. But I am not fully sure if what I said is true. I only arrived at that conclusion because I looked at it logically. To be sure she has emotions for you, we would have to make her jealous" Jake said with a smile.


    "Make her jealous? I would flirt with another female just so she becomes jealous?" Alex asked.


    "Yes. That way, we would know if she actually has desirous feelings for you. If Elena sees you with another girl and doesn''t feels jealous, she just probably want you guys to be friends. But if she becomes jealous... Haha!! She definitely has the thing called love for you man" Jake said with a laugh.


    "Oh. That''s a nice plan. Hope it won''t backfire?" Alex asked.


    "Backfire? What will backfire? Don''t be a dunce man. What we need to do now is to get a beautiful girl who you would become romantic with for sometime just so to make Elena react. Haha! Am a bad genius right?" Jake asked and laughed evilly.


    "But what if she doesn''t shows whatever feelings she has for me? Like she just conceals it and move on?" Alex questioned.


    "Well, my plan is not an absolute one. So don''t expect it to yield the result you want. You can only hope it does. It''s more like fifty-fifty" Jake replied.


    "Alright. But wouldn''t it be weird to everyone when I suddenly start talking to a random girl in our class? I just came in you know." Alex asked.


    "Well, that''s up to you man. I have done my best for you" Jake said.


    "Alright. I would try it out" Alex said.


    "Cool for you. By the way, I want to know something. When did you develop feelings for Elena? This is too sudden for me you know" Jake said.


    Alex smiled.


    "I don''t actually know too. Maybe I have always liked her but I kept my emotions from seeing the light of day. It was that kiss that probably caused them to erupt." Alex replied.


    "Okay" Jake said.


    Then he looked at Alex with a wide smile.


    "What?" Alex asked.


    He was wondering why Jake suddenly began to look at him in that manner.


    "I think you must be the only single boy in the entire academy. Haha." Jake said and chuckled.


    "Oh! Says the single he-goat in front of me" Alex shot back at him.


    "Well, I don''t see myself as being single any more. I am leaving that zone soon. But as for you, you might be in it for a really long time." Jake said.


    "Hmm. Well, it should be me to say that I would leave this single zone anytime I want. Not you. There are a lot of girls in here that like me so much. I see it in the way they look at me. I can see the unquenchable flames of passion for me in their eyes. If I go to meet any of them now and tell them that I like them and want to enter into a relationship with them, they would instantly agree." Alex said with a confident tone.


    Jake looked at him and smirked.


    "Whatever" He said and laid in his bed.


    "Haha. I won. Nobody argues about collection of girls with this male-looking divine goddess" Alex laughed and said.


    "Ohhh. Says the beautiful boy that has never been in a relationship, while this one can boast of pressing soft and firm peaks of dozens of fine girls and penetrating into their wonderful world." Jake shot back.


    "Yuck!" Alex said out loud.


    "Go sleep man. I am done with this discussion."


    ........


    A young girl who looked insanely ravishing in appearance arrived in front of the black dragon academy on a tall, fast-moving wave of sand.


    "Finally. Alex, this pretty girl is coming for you. Get ready to welcome me with open arms."

 Chapter 103: Lets see if you can handle my skills

    In the sky floated a massive majestic hall.


    This hall was so large that it seemed to span the entire sky in this region.


    Within this hall could be seen a dashing young man and a charming, gorgeous woman. They looked like deities in appearance.


    They both sat on two sapphire-colored thrones that floated dozens of meters above the floor of the hall levitating in the sky.


    The air around these thrones continuously rippled while the thrones themselves gave out brilliant sapphire radiances and frightening pulses of power.


    If one looked at these thrones, one would have the feeling that they weren''t something formed from solid materials but something constructed from power.


    Thousands of armored golden giants wielding enormous battle-axes that their edges glowed as they gave out a deep red light floated in the air by the sides of the people sitting on the thrones.


    Then slightly far in front of this man and woman were more than hundreds of billions of people dressed in blue uniforms. Their bodies also radiated power that caused the air to seethe.


    "The time we have waited for is now. Friends, families and allies, this would be one battle that would sweep us all away. But before it does, we will show these beings that our realmverse is not to be messed with. Prepare yourselves." The young man sitting on the floating throne said out loud.


    Immediately he finished talking, his brows furrowed and his face turned solemn.


    He looked at the beautiful woman by his side and said affectionately "They have arrived"


    The woman nodded her head. Then she looked at a man in the distance. She flicked her fingers at him and two rays of light shot towards the man.


    The man caught the two rays of light shooting towards him in his palm. Then he looked at what he caught and saw a necklace and a ring.


    He looked back at them and nodded his head. He understood their decisions.


    "Take the child far away from here and lock him up like a prisoner if you have to. Although he is intelligent, he''s still a little kid that knows nothing about this world. Only when you feel he''s wise enough and can manage his numerous abilities without getting into problem should you allow him to journey on his own. You can go now. You would not be needed in this battle" The man said.


    The man spoken to nodded in reverence and vanished from where he stood.


    The young woman by the side of the man who spoke held the man''s hand and smiled at him. She totally agreed with what he said. But deep in her heart, she was sad. This sadness originated from the fact that she wouldn''t see her child grow into a fine young man and this made her very morose.


    Mystical patterns appeared in the eyes of the man sitting on the floating sapphire throne. Then the same patterns that appeared in his eyes also appeared in the sky.


    These patterns which were millions of meters wide caused space around everyone of them to distort. Then in the next instant, they appeared in the vast, boundless expanse of space where great numbers of worlds of different sizes could be seen.


    Then billions of miles away was a very large portal. This portal was incredibly enormous in size that it would swallow dozens of great worlds at once.


    Coming out of the super-sized portal were large amounts of beings armed with fighting weapons. Their eyes glowed brightly and an aura for battle spread out from their bodies.


    As the numbers of these beings increased like there was no end to them, more powerful experts from different greatverses in this realmverse appeared in space with their acolytes.


    They greeted each other. And like it was an agreement between them, they all shot towards the beings at inconceivable speeds who also shot towards them with the towering intent to slaughter.


    BOOM!!!


    The instant they clashed, a world-shaking boom sound rang out.


    Alex who had fallen asleep was jolted up from his sleep. And the instant his eyes snapped open, glowing patterns could be seen in them. But in the next moment, their glows dimmed and then the patterns vanished.


    Alex now sitting upright on his bed wondered how he suddenly he fell asleep. Then he recalled what he dreamt.


    He smiled when he remembered the faces of the man and woman sitting on the throne. Then in the next moment, he became very sad.


    Although, he knew Houston loved him very much and acted like a father to him, he still wished he could see his true parent. He wanted to embrace them and feel their warmth. He wanted to talk to them and do smart and stupid things in front of them.


    Then he recalled those beings who caused his parent''s death and great anger surfaced in his heart. They were the ones responsible for his parent death and their families demise.


    As he thought about these beings, he remembered what his uncle told him before he sent him far away via teleportation.


    "Alex, the other time you asked me to tell you about yourself. Although I did but I didn''t tell you everything. See, when you were born, you showed intelligence far greater your age. Five months after you were given birth to, you could already say mom, dad. And this amazed everyone while at the same time worried them because they hadn''t come across anything like what you were exhibiting in all their lives. After doctors examined your body, like I have told you before, they detected large amount of divineforce energy. Then they traced this energy to your mom. It entered into your body through the cord linking you to her when you were still in the womb developing. But what really baffled them were the other large amount of primordial energies in your dormant energyhouse. They didn''t leave returning to the realmverse. Instead, they remained there in your energyhouse, circulating within it under some invisible influence we don''t understand. But before these energies got into there, they had done many things to your body. They altered it in a large number of ways. One of them was your memory. You already had a powerful retentive memory since birth as you could memorize mom and dad and many other words in just one day and could say them as you had a well-developed organ of speech at that age. Seeing this as a great miracle of the realmverse, your parent left you in the hands of people they trusted and journeyed to exceedingly dangerous places for inheritances of terrific ancient experts. Like I told you that time, he came back with many god-eyes which fused with yours and also with hundreds of blood essences of primeval cultivators that rocked every world. But these he locked in his palace along with many other things he found during his search for legacies. He did not inject the blood essences into your body for fear of causing your body to explode since they contain terrifying amount of energies. So the vault where these essences are stored in your dad''s palace would only become accessible to you when you reach a very high stage of cultivation. Apart from that, you have your dad''s and mom''s bloodline ability and you know what bloodline ability entails. Physique evocation. What you just need to do is to discover these bloodline abilities which are locked up somewhere in your blood and comprehend their mysteries so you would be able to deploy the vast powers


    Huuu!


    Alex inhaled deeply when he finished recalling all that his uncle told him.


    ''Uneasy truly lies the head that wears the crown. And this crown for me is to prevent the dark fate that would soon fall upon the nearly infinite number of worlds that make up this realmverse. See what I have to go through just to protect the worlds and the many thousand races living in them. Being the defender of the realmverse because I have been tremendously blessed by it wouldn''t be easy. It would be one very arduous task. And uncle, I am sorry, I will never cast away the friends I have already made. But I promise that I won''t allow them to distract me. In any way." Alex said inwardly and vowed.


    Then he remembered something and smiled.


    "I once promised my uncle that I would seek out legacies of experts and at the same time, build my own accumulation of treasures and sapphirstones since I wouldn''t want to depend on what my parent, friends and their many followers left me. But here I am, wasting away the little time I have left to grow powerful. I need to go on many adventures to hone my combat proficiency. I will talk to principal Jennifer to request for permission to leave the academy for a year or two. Also, I would ask Jake and Elena if they would like to come with me for wonderful adventurous explorations'' Alex said inwardly with a smile appearing in his face.


    Then he looked towards the other side of the room and saw Jake seated in the cross-legged position on the ground. He was cultivating.


    Alex nodded his head.


    "Good child" He said with a small grin.


    "While me a bad child. I was actually sleeping instead of cultivating"


    He shook his head.


    Then his mind traveled back to the past where he first discovered some unique things about his body.


    He recalled when he, who was at the mid-phase entry stage fought a male student of the scarlet dragon academy who was at the initial-phase condensation stage.


    Despite his lower cultivation level, he was able to overwhelm the male student during their exchange of energy-attacks.


    He smiled when he remembered this, and at the fact that he would be able to dominate any challenger in his present cultivation rank and probably in the rank above his which was the earth adept rank.


    He knew that the enhancement in his overall battle capacity, whether discharge of energy-attacks or close-quarters fist fight was because of the primordial energies that had been absorbed into various parts of his body, and because of the ones circulating within his energyhouse which blended with some of the various energies that he cultivated, increasing their damage power output.


    He recalled vividly what his uncle told him about how is mom was responsible for the energies abounding in his body.


    When he was still a foetus in her womb, she journeyed to unknown regions for legacies of cultivation experts and for materials to forge treasures, synthesize pills and so on which was her only hobby.


    Then one time she was searching for these items, she was accidentally exposed to large amounts of originforce energies which penetrated into her body and saturated it, including the fetus developing in her womb at that point in time.


    These energies, present in great abundance in the zone she went for legacies exuded from the body of a dead Beyonder; Cultivation experts who can cultivate from hundreds to thousands of energies, defying the system of the realmverse. They go above the law of cultivation in the realmverse which was cultivation of maximum of nine energies and risk deadly tribulations that would torment them as long as they are alive.


    Although she expelled all the foreign energies that had permeated her body, the energies remained in Alex''s body and caused a large-scale degree of mutation to it. That was why he had so many abilities.


    Alex still didn''t know the names of the energies he was exposed which exuded from the body of the Beyonder and caused him to develop the various abilities he was now cognizant of.


    To have an understanding of these energies, he read books that had details of numerous cultivation energies recorded in them.


    Yet, he didn''t come across the ones that gave him the abilities he had. He wondered what kind of originforce energies the Beyonder cultivated.


    Alex then began to think of the various abilities that had been revealed to him right from the trial for the Azure Beastsman''s legacy in the Red Lotus cave up to here.


    These abilities which were the enhanced senses of smell, sight, hearing, touch, physique manifestation, strengthforce energy-destructive capacity augmentation, strange realm and detection of emotional energies were caused by some of the many primalforce energies coursing in his body.


    The energy responsible for his powerful physical senses was an energy called senseforce energy. Also named sensory enhancement realmverse-energy was a type of energy that would increase the sensory percipience of a cultivator.


    Since Alex''s body could retain energies, the senseforce energy that had penetrated into his body remained in there, completely saturating the cells that formed his organs of sight, smell, touch, hearing and taste.


    It would amplify their functions to a great degree as it continuously emanated the power of sensory perception augmentation which affected the ranges of Alex''s physical senses.


    It was for this reason Alex was able to see to a great distance, hear sound waves from a very far place, perceive scents or smells from a distant location, feel the scanning power-sense of cultivation experts; like in the case of Jennifer and Micah where the hairs on his skin stood on their ends the instant he fell under the range of their scanning emperor-level saint-sense and detect composition of food or basic components of materials through tastes. Although he he hadn''t discovered this yet.


    For the physique part, it was a form of energy called protoforce energy. Also called Physique Manifestation energy or Power-charged Body Conjuration energy, was a soul-related energy as it it inhabited Alex''s soul.


    It was this energy that gave Alex the instant connection to a type of power in the realmverse. And this power was near-infinite number of physiques.


    During the time when he was undergoing trials for the legacy of the Azure Beastsman and his soul was pulled into a strange realm because of his unflinching determination to pass the test. His soul wasn''t actually pulled into any realm, the door to the world of the physiques was opened to his mind.


    As a physique manifestation energy, it gave him access to a type of dimension in the realmverse. This dimension was the ''Plane of Sovereign Realmbodies'' and the massive bodies he saw in those world-sized spheres were the ''Celestial Protocosmic Bodies''.


    The bodies were not real, corporeal bodies but billions of linked mysterious symbols of power that took the form of bodies and showcased the calamitous powers they possessed within the gigantic spheres.


    This energy didn''t mutate his soul or did any other energy. It only gave him the passage to this vast, boundless plane to use any of the innumerable powerful bodies manifesting from the power of the symbols.


    It was for this reason he always blacked out after the billions of symbols forming the bodies in this realm moved to his mind.


    He couldn''t handle the pressure they exerted on his soul and so he would knock out of consciousness.


    Until his soul was powerful enough could he last for a long period of time.


    Then his ability to detect emotions of people stemmed from the heartforce energy that permeated his brain.


    It was this energy that enabled him to perceive emotional fluctuations of people around him.


    He would be able to differ good and bad people from the kind of emotional energies emitting from them. But he could do more with this energy.


    Arriving at his ability to detect emotional energies, he felt he could use it to know what kind of feelings Elena had for him.


    Then he tried to practice with this power using Jake as his target. But soon, he found out that he couldn''t perceive anything. It was like he was locked out of the ability. He couldn''t sense anything.


    "Is it because I neglected it? Noo, you have to come back." Alex dejectedly said.


    Then he began to practice hard.


    But what he was doing was just sending out his powerful senses. He only heard stuffs, perceived smells and so on but not emotional energies.


    "I think I am doing it wrongly. Should I use my heart to feel?" He thought.


    Then he shut his senses from coming up and tried to send out his heart but to no avail.


    ''Damn'' He complained inwardly.


    "Whatever"


    ...


    Next day.


    Morning.


    "Miss Karen, the school isn''t supposed to admit anyone until next year. But since you are from the Statesmaster family of the neighboring state and would like to join our academy, who am I not to gladly accept you in. Alright, here are your receipts for the acceptance fee and tuition fee." A young woman who looked thirty and was at the heaven adept stage said and handed over two receipts to the beautiful young girl in front of her.


    She couldn''t help but envy such a great, marveling beauty.


    Then she gave the girl before her two sets of uniforms and a wooden card with some letters and numbers inscribed in it. The purpose of the card was to point her to the room of the hostel block she would be residing in.


    After the girl collected the items and stowed them into her spatial ring, she left there and began to walk towards the room she was given.


    A playful smile surfaced on her lips.


    This was fun to her. She couldn''t wait to see the Alex she was assigned to bring to their organization.


    "I wonder what''s so special about you that master sent me to get you. He has never been interested in kids. But you, an initial-stage condensation stage cultivator he instantly took a liking to. There must be something he saw in that man''s memory. I would surely find out. And before I return with you to the organization, I will play dirty with your mind. Haha. Let me see how pure your mind is and if you can withstand the seductive skills of this girl with an illusion-like beauty" She said inwardly in an excited manner. Then a wide mischievous smile appeared in her face.


    She then began to hum as she walked.


    ....


    Classes were going on with all the students already in. So, no one saw the beauty that continents full of deities would enter into a war for walk down to the student residential quarter allocated to her.

 Chapter 104: Peerless Divine Beauty

    Evening...


    After showering when they returned from class, Alex and Jake headed for the dining hall. And so did everyone in the academy.


    Arriving there, they all settled down and then waiters began to bring their food.


    The instant Alex picked up his spoon to eat, a beautiful girl stepped into the hall.


    Everyone raised their head to see the person who just entered. Then they froze in their positions when they saw the person.


    The person was a girl that looked eighteen. She was tall and wore a gorgeous, bright purple dress.


    But why they froze where they sat, with eyes looking like they would drop out of their sockets the next moment was because of the girl''s glaring, exceedingly charming appearance.


    The girl had an egg-shaped face and a long purple hair that it tip was dark scarlet in color. Her hair was straight, silky and was very long as it went beyond her waist.


    In the girl''s smooth and oval face were intense blue eyes that sparkled like polished blue gems. She had long eyelashes and smoothly carved eyebrows that were raven-black in color. With her eyelids painted purple, it added to her bewitching appearance.


    She had a pointed nose and full, perfectly shaped lips that were pink in colour. The pink color of her lips was intense that it seemed she dyed them.


    Only looking at her bright pink, juicy lips would cause towering feelings of desire to rush to one''s mind. Then one would suddenly find himself dashing towards her to take that lips into theirs if one couldn''t resist the urge.


    Her lips were very enticing.


    She had a long slender neck and a tall, slender body. Actually, her long legs were responsible for her tallness.


    Her skin which was snow-white was free of spots and blemishes. It was faultless as it appeared smooth and radiant.


    Bright light that continuously discharged from lamps, illuminating the entire dining hall bathed her figure and portrayed her to everyone as a divine priestess that brought fortunes and blessings to all the divinities in the world. This phenomenon resulted because of her beautiful, pure white skin.


    Although the girl was slender, she had an hour-glass figure that made her look busty and curvaceous. Her hips were full and so was her chest. The gown she wore couldn''t hide the twin mountains that protruded from her chest and neither could it hide the fullness of her hips.


    They both stretched the purple gown to a level that it seemed any more than that, then the gown would rip apart. Also, her belly which was flat and her waist, thin made her figure-eight shape more pronounced.


    She had a nice backside. Her bottoms were full and round.


    Everyone''s eyes shone.


    "What a great and unholy ravishing beauty!"


    This was the thought that surfaced in their minds.


    They stared hard at her like she would disappear the next moment. They wanted to take in everything about her into their mind.


    The girl before them simply appeared too perfect to be real.


    Then they began to wonder why they haven''t heard of such a beauty before. They know of the marveling beauties that won the Miss State, Miss Region and Miss continent beauty pageantry award.


    But she they had never seen in their lives. And the degree of her beauty and body characteristics when compared to those award-winning great beauties was like comparing the earth to heaven.


    Her busts, hips and backside although large were in the same proportions. Then her face and skin were greatly attractive. No one here could think of anyone that would match this girl in terms of beauty and figure.


    Seeing the effect she caused as her beauty deeply affected everyone, she simply smiled.


    Then she began to scan the entire hall. When she caught sight of Alex, she gave a smile and seductively winked at him.


    Alex at the moment was looking at the girl without blinking and breathing.


    It was like he had just seen the most enchanting girl in the millions of small and large worlds.


    But the instant the girl smiled at him and gave him a seducing wink, his mind, spirit and soul could almost leap out of his body.


    He instantly became short of breath as the electrical signals in his brain fired chaotically. They went on rampage because of a single alluring wink and smile. His face sharply turned from white to red.


    He suddenly stood from his seat and then left the hall through another entrance where he made a dash for his hostel block.


    Coldmoon who was the celestial-looking girl in disguise was deeply surprised by Alex''s behavior.


    "Really? So he has such a heart? And me here was thinking he would be hard to get to because he would be worshipped by hundreds of beautiful girls as he is extremely good-looking and wouldn''t give a damn about any bewitching beauty he would ever come across. How wrong I was. Just a wink from me set his mind and soul on fire. What if I come very close to him with nearly all of my breasts in view? His body would certainly catch fire and burn. Haha. It would be great fun to bully boys with such a heart. I would take you to heaven, then to hell and back to heaven. Hehe. Don''t mind me terrorizing you with my seductive skills" She said inwardly and smiled.


    Then she went to take her seat and ignored everyone else looking so hard at her.


    When she winked, everyone saw her action. Then they searched for the person she winked at.


    But they became deeply shocked when they found out that she winked at Alex.


    Elena who sat before Alex on the large dining table saw the wink from the girl and anger surfaced in her heart.


    This anger stemmed from jealousy as the girl was dozens of times attractive than her. Then apart from being too beautiful, she had an insanely hot figure. She was like a busty and voluptuous goddess of attraction and charm.


    Elena couldn''t deny this fact no matter how hard she tried. And now, this person who was far more beautiful and curvier than her just winked at Alex.


    It was for this reason she became infuriated as the girl winked at someone she held very dear to heart. She suddenly felt that she would loose something very soon.


    Then she became worried.


    If Alex was still here, he would instantly know from the angry and worry expressions that had appeared on Elena''s face that Elena truly had feelings for him and that she was just trying to hide them.


    Alex at the moment had sat in the cross-legged position on the ground in his room.


    He tried to calm his chaotic mind by listening to the frequency of an energy he had never cultivated before.


    This energy that he tried tuning his senses to was starforce energy.


    He knew he couldn''t cultivate it yet, he only did it to take his mind completely away from the event that happened in the hall as the image of the girl still appeared in his head and the scene where she smiled and winked at him continually replayed in his mind.


    .........


    "Alex, that girl that winked at you was super hottt!! But you greatly embarrassed me you know. Now, everyone knows the kind of guy you are. You couldn''t even take a wink from a beautiful stranger without your brain overheating and your mind shattering into fragments. You seriously need to work on your ability to withstand smiles and winks from strangers of the opposite sex, no matter how appealing they are. When they wink at you, you wink back at them. When they smile at you, you smile back at them. And if they blow you a kiss, you catch it and press onto your lips and you could even throw yours back" Jake said as he tried to lecture Alex.


    Alex smiled. Then he nodded his head.


    "I am sorry Jake. It won''t ever happen again. I behaved like that because I wasn''t expecting those things she did. It was too sudden. I don''t know her reason for doing that." Alex said.


    "Do you know her?" Jake asked.


    "Where would I know such a beauty from? I don''t know her from anywhere. Believe me" Alex replied.


    "Really?! That''s just dogshit amazing. Bruh, the realmverse is smiling at you. This is one massive fortune the world just bestowed upon you. If I were you, I would go meet her now, tell her my mind and straightaway become her boyfriend and future husband" Jake said.


    "Haha. Crazed pervert. I can''t do that. That would just be too cheap of me. I would just ignore her since I don''t know her from anywhere. Her actions were just too strange to me. I don''t understand the motive behind the action she carried out in the hall" Alex said.


    "Heavens! Alex, you are dull, sincerely. Such beautiful girl tried to arrest your attention and what you want to do is cast her away." Jake said angrily.


    "Huh? I am confused now. What do I do?" Alex asked in a puzzled tone.


    "Hmm" Jake uttered as he thought up something.


    Now looking at Alex who had a perplexed expression in his face, he said with an evil smile "Alright. This is what you would do. Since she has given you the signal, you would go meet her and tell her how you feel about her"


    "Nah. I¡ª" Alex tried to retort but he was interrupted by Jake who sharply cut in.


    "Go meet her and try to be lovey dovey around her. This badass method would allow you to know Elena''s real feelings for you." Jake said


    "No. That''s wro¡ª"


    "Hold it there man. If you like Elena, flirt with this embodiment of extreme gorgeousness so you can fathom whether Elena is passionate about you or not. This is a perfect opportunity." Jake said with a smile.


    "Hmm. What if I flirt with her and after i get where Elena''s emotions stand, the girl doesn''t let me go? What do I do?" Alex asked.


    "You think she would let you go? Haha. Once you are in it, there''s no coming out. So, if Elena likes you and the girl holds on tight to you, then you manage them both man. Period" Jake replied.


    Alex shook his head with a smile in his face.


    ''Filthy polygamous bastard!'' he said inwardly.


    "Alex. If you feel that you can''t manage both of them, I suggest you drop Elena and go for that phenomenal beauty" Jake said.


    "Oh! Drop Elena you say. Like she is a valueless object right? Well, Elena is not an object. She is a human, a beautiful girl that would grow into an adorable woman. True that the girl is far more beautiful than Elena. I seriously don''t have anything for her. Except maybe lust and amorous desire for her sexually attractive body. Those melons on her chest had magnet-like attraction on my mind. It could almost jump out of my body towards it. After I left the hall, scenes of me pressing and squeezing them came to my mind and I wasn''t the originator of this imagination. The scenes formed themselves and projected to my mind without stop. Haha." Alex said and chuckled while Jake gave a laugh.


    Then he continued "While what I have for Elena is love. I love her."


    The desire for Elena was strongly evident in Alex''s eyes.


    "Hmm." Jake muttered when he saw the burning desire in Alex''s eyes.


    "Well, it''s because you have spent time with Elena. The amount of time you have spent with her made you develop these feelings for her. But believe me, same will happen with this girl once you get to know who she is and when you spend time with her too. Actually believe me a bit. Am just spouting things. Haha" Jake said and grinned.


    Then he continued.


    "Anyways, if I were you, I would love them both. Nothing bad in having two girls. All experts have three to dozens of women. It''s one of the major ways of our world bro. We live in a polygamous cultivation world and you can''t deny that. No strong man would ever try to have just one girl. Except that person is a weakling, a physically disabled mortal or a crippled cultivation expert. Then another reason is if the man vowed to commit himself to only one woman he believes no other beauty for the next million years would surpass in attractiveness, elegance and gorgeousness. Coming back to the topic, Elena is truly very gorgeous and appealing in looks while the other girl is like a hot young goddess. So, go for them both. Love them man and you shall see you would be full of joy."


    Alex smiled when Jake mentioned ''if the man vowed to commit himself to an unsurpassable beauty''.


    That was what his dad did. He loved only his mother.


    Then he nodded his head in agreement to what Jake said.


    Jake smiled when he saw that he successfully reformatted Alex''s mentality about relationships.


    "Haha. I am badass" He said out loud which Alex smirked to. Then he continued "Alex, let''s go cultivate"


    "Sure thing!"

 Chapter 105: Kiss

    Next day...


    Alex and Jake stood from the spot they sat in cross-legged. They had cultivated from night till morning.


    "Let''s prepare for class." Jake said.


    "Why are you in a hurry? There''s still time" Alex said.


    "Well, let''s just see it as me being in a hurry to see that beauty." Jake said.


    Alex smirked.


    "I envy you, sincerely. I wish I was the one she winked at" Jake said.


    Alex glared at Jake, then he felt like punching him. He just gave a ''mtcheew'' in the end and went to shower to prepare for class.


    ......


    Dressed in uniforms and looking good, they marched to their lecture block for the class of the day.


    As soon as they got into the hall where they would have their class, Alex saw the girl who winked at him yesterday already on seat.


    When she saw him, she smiled at him. She was trying to make Alex react the same way he did yesterday so that she would get a good laugh as she found it very entertaining. But Alex smiled back calmly and even winked at her.


    At this point in time, one could say he was ready for anything. Or more precisely, it was his mind that was ready for anything that had to do with girls.


    After a proper orientation from Jake, he could now return the actions of people of the opposite sex. One could say he was now well groomed by Jake over interaction with females both known and unknown.


    Seeing that Alex didn''t fluster like he did yesterday, the girl who was Coldmoon in disguise smiled but there was shock abounding in her eyes which she concealed very well from revealing to Alex.


    "Nice. He learnt quite fast how to have control on his mind. I am impressed. But wow, he is an epitome of attraction. Who are his parent really? They must be some very charming people. Anyways, I shall see to the degree the grip you have gotten on your mind" Coldmoon said inwardly.


    Alex took a seat somewhere with Jake and sat. Then they waited for their instructor to come in.


    While waiting, Elena came in with a smile in her face. But the instant she saw the beautiful girl who was Coldmoon, her smile disappeared and her brows wrinkled. An expression of ire appeared in her face.


    But this appeared only for a second as it vanished the next.


    Coldmoon who was a powerful cultivation expert of course noted the rapid change in Elena''s facial expression, then she began to wonder how she had offended the beauty in front of her.


    "Or is she the boy''s secret admirer?" She thought.


    "Ahh, must be. That''s why she''s angry. She feels I would make the person she adores so much turn a blind eye to her. Haha. Well, be prepared as my next actions may cause you to cough out mouthfuls of blood in anger" She said in her mind and grinned.


    Elena then went to sit and waved at Alex who also waved back at her with a smile.


    "Hello!" the instructor said out loud when he came in. Then the entire class greeted as soon as they heard his voice.


    When he got ready to teach, he saw a young beautiful female in his class whom he had never seen anywhere before in the institution and became surprised.


    But awe and astonishment emanated off his gaze as he stared at the girl before him.


    Looking at her with glittering eyes which showed he deeply marveled at the girl''s beauty, he asked "You must be a new student right? I have never seen this face before. Or did you ascend to here from the entry-stage class because of a breakthrough in your cultivation?"


    "No. I am a new student" Coldmoon replied.


    "Huh? You are a newly admitted student?" The instructor asked.


    "Yes" Coldmoon replied.


    "But the institution isn''t supposed to accept new students anytime soon. The year hasn''t come to an end and we would only take in fresh students the following year. So, am surprised how you were able to enter and enrol as a student"


    "Actually, I am not from around here. I came from a neighboring state." Coldmoon replied.


    "A neighboring state. Hmm. Then I guess you must be a member of a powerful family since you were given admission. We only give exceptions to children from influential and wealthy families" The instructor said.


    Then he continued "Do introduce yourself to the class"


    Coldmoon nodded.


    Then facing the class, she said "My name''s Karen Moonlight Frost" Coldmoon replied.


    "Okay. You must come from a family that cultivates moon, ice and frost-energy right?" The instructor asked.


    Coldmoon nodded her head.


    "Alright, you can have your seat" The instructor said.


    Coldmoon nodded and sat. And when she sat, she turned her head to look at Alex who was looking at her at the moment. Then she produced a flirtatious smile at him.


    Alex didn''t smile back this time. He only nodded at her and turned his head away to focus on the instructor who had begun to give lectures.


    But throughout the time the instructor was teaching, Coldmoon would look over to Alex''s side who would look back at her because he could feel her gaze on him and when their eyes jammed, she would wink at him in a seductive manner.


    Alex couldn''t understand why the girl who was Coldmoon was trying hard to get his attention.


    He began to wonder where he knew her from. He thought maybe they had met some place in the past, but he couldn''t bring up anything about her in his memories.


    Alex didn''t know that she wasn''t trying to catch his attention. Instead, she was just trying to make Elena feel more jealous.


    As she continued to do what she was doing which were smiling and winking at Alex, she could feel Elena''s angry gaze on her body.


    Inwardly, she was grinning. She was enjoying what she was doing. It was fun to her.


    "It has been very long since I had such fun like this. I feel like returning to a more younger age and going back to school where I would cause mischief"


    At this point in time, Coldmoon had winked at Alex close to nine times. But she became surprised when Alex winked back at her in an alluring manner and blew her a kiss from where he sat.


    But no one saw this. The instructor nor the students in the hall. Only Elena and Coldmoon saw what Alex did.


    Actually, Coldmoon had been constantly releasing omnidirectional waves of sage-level illusion-power from within her body.


    She did this by utilizing an illusion-based battle method to project illusions to everyone''s mind. Except to that of Alex and Elena.


    This totally affected what everyone were seeing and hearing. So, nobody noticed her all through the time she was winking at Alex who then reciprocated her actions and took it up a notch.


    Elena who was maintaining her state of mind couldn''t take it any more, when she saw what Alex did to Coldmoon, ire surfaced in her heart.


    Bang!


    She raised her fist and smashed it into her table, shattering it to pieces. Then she left the hall.


    The instructor became dumbfounded. He didn''t know what caused the sudden outburst from Elena.


    Alex too was surprised. Then he quickly stood up and said "Instructor Kennedy, you can continue with your class. I would go talk to her and bring her back"


    Instructor Kennedy was astounded. He didn''t know what was going on. He nodded his head showing he gave his approved.


    Then Alex dashed out of the lecture hall towards Elena who had walked far into the distance.


    On reaching her side, he asked "Elena, what''s wrong?"


    She didn''t reply to his question. She just continued to walk as she headed to her hostel block.


    Alex tried talking to her but she just ignored him.


    He did his best to grab her attention but his efforts were futile.


    After sometime, Elena said "Go meet the most beautiful and sexually attractive girl in the school. Please stop bothering me"


    Alex could only smile wryly. He felt he shouldn''t have done what he did back then. But he didn''t mean to make Elena jealous.


    "Elena, it''s not what you think" Alex said. Then he tried to explain.


    "Hold it mister. I don''t want to hear your explanation. You boys are all the same." Elena said.


    "Huh? How?" Alex asked.


    "As soon as a girl way more beautiful and fleshy than the girls you guys know comes in and gives you all attention, then you all would pay more attention to her, forgetting about the rest" Elena replied.


    Alex could feel her pain. He could perceive it in her speech. She was really aggrieved.


    He now began to feel like he had done something extremely bad to her.


    "Elena, come on. It''s not like that. Please hear me out first" Alex said.


    But Elena ignored him and just kept on walking.


    Seeing that she refused to listen to him and wouldn''t stop walking, Alex grabbed her hand.


    She became shocked. Then her anger intensified.


    "Alex, if you don''t leave my hand this moment, I will attack you." She said in a threatening tone.


    "What? You would really attack me?" Alex asked.


    Elena didn''t respond. She only tried to pull out her hand from Alex''s tight grasp.


    She did her best to remove her hand that was clasped in Alex''s but to no avail. The strength of Alex''s hand was far beyond hers.


    He had the physical strength of many men and would be able to flatten a thick steel rod in his palm by applying a crushing force.


    So, how would Elena be able to pull out her hand from a hand that possessed such strength.


    Then her other hand began to emit a dazzling colorful light.


    Alex saw this and his eyes widened. She wanted to unleash an energy-attack at him.


    Then he thought of what next to do to calm her down. After producing thousands of thoughts in his head in a split-second, he chose one which he felt was the only brilliant thing to do.


    Before Elena could shoot off an energy-attack at him, he abruptly pulled her close to himself. With her body now pressing hard against his, Alex took her lips into his.


    He started to kiss her.

 Chapter 106: Cracks?

    Tightly clasping her head with his hands so she won''t remove her lips from his, he continued to kiss her.


    Although he tried his best to kiss her well, anyone that saw him would feel he was just introduced to kissing. He looked like an amateur as the kiss would look awkward to anyone that saw him.


    It was simply funny.


    As it was just his second time kissing, he didn''t know how to give a proper kiss yet.


    Elena who wasn''t expecting this froze in her position as Alex''s lips moved around hers.


    A few moments later, her body relaxed and she began to reciprocate his actions. She curled her arms around his back as she began to kiss him passionately.


    After a long time, they stopped. But she didn''t pull out of his tight embrace. She rested her head on his shoulder.


    "Don''t ever make me sad again." She said.


    "It won''t happen again." Alex smiled and replied.


    Then he began to think of what to do next. He was thinking between telling her that they should return to class or that he should just remain in the embrace.


    He didn''t say anything in the end as he felt that saying they should return to class was an unromantic thing to do at the moment. He would ruin the beautiful time they were having together.


    So, he just continued to embrace her, surrendering himself to the sensation that surfaced in his body as Elena''s large busts pressed against it.


    The chest area of his body where Elena''s twin mountains pressed against produced the wonderful and warm sensation that flooded his body.


    Slowly, his body was being aroused.


    Alex tried hard to control himself as he could feel that his body was having a reaction. He could feel blood rushing to the organ at his groin region which began to slowly stiffen.


    So, he tried to control himself in order not to have a boner and not embarrass and shame himself in front of Elena.


    He felt that it would be an embarrassing thing for him to have an erection with just an embrace.


    Predicting that his effort to control his body''s reaction would be futile as his male organ still continued to grow stiffer and firmer and that it was beginning to push against a part of Elena''s lower body, he quickly pulled out of the embrace with an embarrassed look in his face which he concealed the next moment.


    "Elena, let''s go back to receive our remaining lecture. I promised instructor Kennedy that I would bring you back to class. We have wasted a lot of time outside" He said as he slightly bent himself, trying to hide his partially erected male organ.


    "Yea right. Let''s go back." She said with a smile.


    Alex nodded.


    Before Alex released her from his embrace, she could feel something hard and rod-like pushing against her thighs.


    Elena knew what that was but she didn''t say anything. She only smiled.


    She knew that if she said something, Alex would feel terribly embarrassed. So she just pretended like nothing happened.


    A few moments later, Alex stylishly straightened himself when he felt that his manhood had lost it stiffness and had fallen back to it relaxed state.


    Then they walked back to their class.


    Nobody saw this spectacle as students were all in class and instructors were busy teaching or were probably in their office doing one thing or the other.


    The only person who saw all this was Coldmoon. And her eyes sparkled.


    If she had sent out her sage-sense which was more powerful than saint-sense, Alex would still instantly detect it as his skin was hyper-reactive to any form of strange field-scanning power-sense.


    But he couldn''t as Coldmoon didn''t deploy her scanning sage-sense. Instead, she used a method to observe what he and Elena were doing.


    Still affecting everyone in the class with the power of illusion rippling from her body, she sent out a large mass of violet-colored ethereal energy from her two palms.


    This energy penetrated through the roof of the building to the sky where it condensed into a massive eye that turned invisible the instant it formed. Thousands of glowing mysterious patterns could be seen in it.


    Coldmoon had just deployed a technique called ''Floating Overseeing Eye of the Firmament''. It was one of the many eye-based techniques of the ''Great Divining Dreamcaster Eye-methodology''.


    The violet energy she discharged from her palms was oracleforce energy. It was an energy of interstellar vision as it gave the ability to see what was happening far away such as in another world if comprehended to a great level and divination which was to see to the past and future.


    It was this energy that circulated within the heavenly mystery revealment god-eyes or star-gazing eyes that Alex had.


    She was able to cultivate this energy using the technique mentioned in the Great Divining Dreamcaster Eye methodology which was a peerless-grade duality methodology; a merge of cultivation method and a battle-method


    So, utilizing the eye-technique enabled her to see everything for hundreds of feet without the need for a field-scanning sense.


    "They were lovers before? Aww. And I tried to come in between the two of you" Coldmoon said inwardly.


    When Alex and Elena arrived at the hall, they both went to have their seat.


    As Elena returned to her seat, she gazed at Coldmoon who only smiled at her.


    "Elena, what happened earlier? Why the sudden outburst?" Instructor Kennedy asked.


    "Nothing really sir. I was just overreacting to a slight matter. Everything is fine now. I am fine. It won''t happen again next time." Elena said.


    "Don''t let it happen next time. Never let your anger get the best of you. I have ordered for a new table from the furniture reserve room. You don''t need to pay for that. Your tuition fee already covers damages and reparation. They should have brought it. I don''t what''s taking them time" Instructor Kennedy said.


    "Okay. Thank you sir." Elena said.


    "Mention not. Let me continue with the class" Instructor Kennedy said.


    Then he resumed his lecture on Cultivation while Elena sat back in seat.


    Many minutes later, instructor Kennedy announced end of class and left the hall. Then the students packed their things and moved to the next hall for their next class.


    When Alex stood from his seat, he waited for Elena who came over to his side and curled an arm around his neck.


    She did this to show the girl who she felt would take Alex away from her that they were already in a relationship and that she should back off.


    Coldmoon saw this and laughed it away inwardly. She couldn''t be bothered with fighting for a boy with another girl. Besides she got bigger and better things to do.


    .........


    Evening...


    Classes had ended for the day and Alex and Jake were back in their residence.


    Jake sat on the ground in the cross-legged position as he was cultivating. While Alex was seated on his bed. He was looking into his dad''s spatial ring which he did by sending a sliver of his perception into it.


    Everything this sliver that roamed the vast space of his dad''s storage-treasure saw was projected to his mind.


    At the moment, the sliver was observing a shiny, large blue egg. It had a beautiful blue shell and a thick misty fog could be seen around it.


    Alex wondered where the fog came from as his dad''s spatial necklace prevented everything not under his influence from moving into it.


    It blocked out everything except the ones Alex stowed in it from outside.


    So he was thinking of how the fog came in. When he thought hard for sometime, he surmised that the fog must have been produced by the egg.


    The sliver of his perception moved close to the large blue egg. When it did, whatever the silver of perception saw was directly transmitted to his mind.


    He could see numerous cracks on the egg.


    ''Cracks?''


    Then his eyes widened when a realization struck him.


    With a thought, the large blue egg appeared on his palm with the flash of a brilliant blue light.


    He placed the egg gently on the ground and began to observe the changes happening to the structure of the shell as more cracks appeared in it.


    After a while, the shell which had cracked in many places scattered apart revealing a winged, lizard-like scaly creature that was intense blue in color.


    Alex''s eyes glittered with joy.


    "It has finally hatched"

 Chapter 107: Nojraagon

    He moved cautiously towards the creature which looked at him with intelligent eyes.


    Alex could see the awareness in it eyes as it looked away from him and around in the room and back at him.


    He knew beasts like this were intelligent right from the moment they were born as they had divine blood coursing in their blood vessels. And so he was careful as he approached it. He didn''t want to appear as an enemy to it.


    When he got very close to it, he knelt on a knee and stretched a hand towards it. The winged, lizard-form blue creature moved back a bit when it saw Alex''s hand move towards it.


    But seeing that Alex seemed to be harmless as he was smiling and his eyes full of joy and excitement because it has hatched, it moved towards his hand.


    Then Alex''s hand touched it head which began to rub it. He then stretched his other hand towards it and used the other that rubbed it head to lift the creature off the ground.


    "Haha. Baby water dragon. Welcome to this vast world of cultivation." Alex chuckled and said. Then he continued "I once prepared two names for you. The names were Nadja which was also your mother''s name and Nojraagon which I formed myself. Although I derived it from your mom''s name. So which is it gonna be?"


    Looking at the tiny water dragon in his hands, he said "Let''s know your gender. If you are a female, I will name you Nadja and if you are a male, I will name you Nojraagon"


    Then he looked for the sex organ of the dragon. When he saw that it was rod-shaped in appearance, he gave a wide smile.


    "You are a male. Nojraagon it is. Haha" Alex said with a grin.


    "Look at you. So beautiful and fearsome like your mother. Do your best to grow up strong. You have been brought into a world full of evil bastards" Alex said.


    Raagh!


    The little blue dragon Alex named Nojraagon growled like it agreed with what Alex said.


    "What? Don''t tell me you understand what am saying? You that just hatched? That''s just damn. So, you can already understand language? That''s very nice. You are truly a divine beast" Alex said.


    Raagh!


    Nojraagon growled again.


    Alex nodded with a smile.


    "Can you fly?" Alex asked.


    Raagh!


    Nojraagon growled.


    Alex didn''t understand what Nojraagon was trying to tell him.


    But he decided to try it out. Only by trying would he know if Nojraagon could fly.


    He sent a sliver of his perception into his mom''s spatial ring and everything in it appeared in his mind.


    Then with a thought, the ring ejected the Azure Beastsman''s ring which he immediately caught in his palm the instant it appeared in the air.


    He looked into it and brought out a bag. The bag he brought out was a beast storage bag. It was a bag used to store beasts.


    Alex produced a beast storage bag as he couldn''t store things that had vitality such as living beasts into storage-treasures.


    But unbeknownst to him, his dad''s and mom''s storage-treasures also had that function. They could store anything that has life such as beasts and even humans in them.


    "Alright Nojraagon, I want to test if you can fly for I don''t understand the message you are trying to pass to me with your growl. Could have done it in the room but the space in this room is too small for a mighty beast like you. I would only be wasting away your potential by allowing you try to fly in this confined space." Alex said with a smile.


    Raagh!


    The beast growled.


    Alex couldn''t understand if it meant yes or no. But he took it as a yes.


    Then he activated the beast bag which began to glow, producing a resplendent light.


    Since Alex''s mind was now linked to the activated beast storage bag, with a thought from him, a spatial power which caused space to distort around Alex was produced by the bag.


    Then this space-power generated by the bag under Alex''s control engulfed the small blue dragon and moved it through a spatial dimension into it own storage space.


    After Alex did this, he set out for the field.


    It was evening and everyone will be in their residence doing one thing or the other.


    So he felt that was the best time to test the dragon''s flight ability.


    Once he reached the field, he looked around to see if there was no one around. And like he had planned everything right from the start, he closed his eyes and tried to summon a physique.


    Alex''s plan was to actually leave the school''s location to a faraway place. Like to any other area of land that was not occupied by anyone.


    He didn''t want to bring out the dragon in this place as he was still in the school''s premises. He couldn''t trust anyone except Jennifer, Jake and maybe Elena.


    Also, because it was the place where they planted trees which they harvested crops from and processed into consumable products to provide meals for the students. He didn''t want an accident to happen which they would trace to him.


    When he closed his eyes after he was sure no one was in the field observing him, he tried to transform his normal human body into a super-powered body. But he wanted a specific one.


    So, focusing on the earth and unleashing all the anger he had buried deep in his heart since long ago, an information appeared in his head after a few moments. This was the protoforce energy, the physique manifestation energy at work


    [Six-armed Mountain-shifting Earth Lord Physique]


    Huh?


    Alex became surprised.


    He was only trying his luck but it actually worked.


    Earlier, he wasn''t sure focusing on the earth would give him a related physique as in the past it would just give him a random physique.

 Chapter 108: Training the dragon

    But this time around, an information of an earth-related power-body appeared in his head.


    Although he was excited, he didn''t think too much about it. Straightaway, he deployed it transformation method.


    His body turned dark brown in color and then he became mountainous in size. Two pairs of massive arms that seemed like they were carved from large rocks extended from the sides of his abdomen.


    When he transformed, he immediately utilized a movement technique of the physique.


    [Earth Striding Unstoppable Swift step]


    Then the earth opened up like a hole to a depth of hundred feet in which Alex immediately jumped into. Then because of his great mass and increasing his plummeting speed using his earth-control power, he reached that depth in no time.


    The instant Alex jumped into the hole that manifested as a result of the deployment of the physique''s movement technique, it rapidly closed back after him.


    Then when he got to that depth, he began to traverse it horizontally to a random place at a shocking speed. Although it was pitch-black in here, Alex whose eyes was intense yellow could see very well. The lack of light in here didn''t affect his vision at all.


    Releasing the earth-manipulation power of the physique to it maximum, he created a large tunnel for himself which instantly closed as he went through them.


    He wasn''t running as the technique implied, instead he was riding on a fast-moving wave of earth that in less than a minute, he had gone many miles beyond the school''s field which stretched for many kilometers.


    Then at a new place that was very far away from the school, the earth opened into a massive hole again.


    Now using another technique called ''Heaven-piercing Earth Pillar'', a tall column, formed from earth materialized below his feet and shot him upwards at a great speed.


    Then when he reached the crust of the earth, the column shooting his enormous, rock-like, dark brown body up the hole halted.


    He then quickly walked away from the column he formed using the earth-control power of the physique to the ground.


    After he walked away from it, the large hole instantly closed up.


    "Cool" He said inwardly.


    He was amazed by the power of the physique.


    Then he focused on his body and willed himself to change.


    In an instant his body returned to normal.


    Then he fell to the ground exhausted.


    "Phew! Not easy" he said.


    When he was moving in the earth, he began to feel dizzy. That was why he immediately came out of it or he would be buried in it.


    After resting on the ground for sometime, he looked into dad''s spatial necklace and brought out a bottle that contained pills.


    On the body of the bottle was a label with the name "Soul Invigorating Pill" written in it.


    Although the entity controlling the Azure Beastsman''s palace which had gone back to slumber hasn''t told Alex that he needed to cultivate soulforce energy so that he would be able to last longer with the physiques, Alex being an intelligent boy was able to come up with his own deductions which was that his mind wasn''t strong enough to withstand the pressure exerted by the physiques on his soul.


    Then he searched for something that would help his mind and so he came across the soul invigorating pill. This type of pill he discovered recently when he went through his father''s massive collections and mountain-sized heaps of cultivation pills again.


    He swallowed many of them and he felt a wonderful sensation course through his body. This sensation was brought about by the soulforce energy that appeared in his body on dissolution of the soul invigorating pill.


    Then the energy moved into the soul-dwelling region of Alex''s body where it infused into the immaterial, fog-like soul that inhabited that realm of his body. That realm was called the soul realm or soul inhabitation dimension.


    Alex at the moment couldn''t see his soul or know what it looked like. It was only when he got to a particular cultivation stage would it turn from it incorporeal, fog-like state to a corporeal state where it would take Alex''s true body form.


    When Alex felt that his soul had refreshed and the dizziness he felt earlier had vanished, he brought out the dragon from the beast storage bag and returned the bag into the Azure Beastsman''s spatial ring.


    "Alright. Time to fly Nojra" Alex said.


    Raagh!


    The dragon growled.


    Taking it growl as a yes, Alex channeled his mutated strengthforce energy to his arm muscles. Then mustering great strength, he threw the dragon hundreds of feet into the air.


    "Fly!" He roared.


    Nojraagon which was now hundreds of feet above the ground began to flap it wings trying to stabilize itself in the air and fly. But it couldn''t as it hadn''t gained much strength to do such thing.


    Then it fell towards the ground from that height which was about hundreds of feet.


    Seeing Nojraagon plunge to the earth from that altitude, Alex quickly dashed towards the place it was falling to.


    Then with a stomp of a foot against the ground, he shot himself hundreds of feet into the air and caught Nojraagon which he embraced to himself. Then he landed back to the ground.


    Alex smiled at it and asked "Would you like to go again?"


    Raagh!


    Nojraagon growled again.


    "Haha. That''s how a divine beast should be. Fearless" Alex grinned and said.


    Then he threw it very high into the air again.


    This time, Nojraagon lasted in the air for a few moments before it dropped back to the ground. Alex leapt towards it again and caught it.


    Before he could throw it into the air again, he suddenly heard a mesmerizing voice.


    "The dragon seems like a newly hatched one. You are just wasting your time and it time. It doesn''t have the strength to fly yet. Wait for it to develop so he could have the strength to fly."


    Huh!


    Alex turned to see who spoke and saw Karen.

 Chapter 109: Angered

    Alex''s eyes widened in shock when he saw Coldmoon.


    At the moment, she wore a beautiful scarlet dress which revealed her cleave and there was a slit at the right side of the gown which revealed the smooth, white-skinned thigh of her right leg. Then with an enchanting oval face and bright blue eyes, she looked highly seductive in the gown she wore.


    Moving towards Alex with graceful steps and exuding an aura of sensuousness and great charm, when breeze moved past her, her hair fluttered in it and she appeared as a goddess of seduction to Alex whose eyes could almost pop off from the sight of the exceedingly appealing, voluptuous girl in front of him.


    "Hello Karen" he said.


    "Hi" She replied with a smile.


    "I am sorry if I disturbed the training of your dragon" she said with a smile.


    "It''s okay." Alex said.


    But in his heart, he became cautious.


    Then he asked "How did you know I was here?"


    Coldmoon smiled.


    "Where did you get the dragon? It''s beautiful" She asked without giving a reply to Alex''s question.


    Alex looked at her with furrowed brows. Then he kept the dragon into a beast bag.


    "It''s none of your concern actually. I ask again. How did you know I was here?!" He questioned with a loud voice.


    "Well, I saw you leave your room to the field and so I followed you." She said.


    "What? You saw me when I... I transformed?" Alex asked in a stuttering manner because he was deeply shocked.


    "Yea. I saw you when you transformed. Nice bloodline ability you got there Alex" She said.


    "Oh no." Alex muttered morosely. He felt he had revealed his abilities again.


    "What''s wrong? Anything bad with activating a physique?" Karen asked with a smile.


    "Why are you following me? What do you want from me exactly?" He asked.


    "Well, I am greatly attracted to you. Ever since I saw you, I have been obsessed about you. I just want you to be mine" She replied.


    "You want me to be yours? I find that hard to believe. In fact, I find you scary. You must want something else from me" Alex said.


    "Nah. Come off it. I said I like you very much." Coldmoon said.


    "You like me very much? Don''t mind me doing this then" Alex said as a wicked smile surfaced in his face.


    Before Karen could react, Alex whose leg muscles were long infused with mutated strengthforce energy dashed towards her and at a speed that he crossed the distance between them in the fraction of a second.


    The instant he got to her side, he embraced her. But one of his leg slid on the soft floor when he got to her front, and because of the high speed he came with, Karen was knocked to the ground with him on top of her.


    Alex''s plan wasn''t to actually kiss her. He just wanted to mess with coldmoon as he found her to be suspicious. He still didn''t understand how she was able to track him here. So he tried to mess with her. You like me? We shall see. Maybe kissing you would cause you to expose your real motive.


    But now he fell on top of her with his head directly on her busts.


    He immediately stood with an embarrassed look in his face. This wasn''t what he wanted to achieve. He hoped she wasn''t pissed off.


    Coldmoon eyes turned frosty.


    She couldn''t believe a kid just took advantage of her. No man had ever done this. Not even as little as touch her face. But this boy in front of her had done the unthinkable. He fell her down and rested his head on her peaks.


    She felt greatly embarrassed and harassed.


    Still lying on the floor, she slammed her palms on the ground and this created a force that pushed her body back up to her feet.


    Alex quickly apologized.


    "Karen, I am sorry. I never actually meant to do that. I just thought that since you like me so much, you wouldn''t mind me suddenly kissing you. Who would miss an hidden opportunity to taste your lips? But then we fell and my head was directly on top of your.. your chest. I didn''t mean to do that. I am sor¡ª" He said.


    Coldmoon didn''t listen to what he was saying. She turned a deaf ear to it.


    The instant she propped herself back to her feet, she said and punched out.


    "Swirling Fire Fist"


    As she punched out, a large mass of pyroforce energy instantly expelled from her hands and abruptly turned into a fist that shot towards Alex at a high speed.


    Seeing the incoming fist shoot towards him at a high velocity, Alex mustered strength in his leg and did an high aerial cartwheel over it.


    Then when he landed, he quickly said to Karen.


    "I said I am sorry."


    Karen wasn''t paying attention to what he was saying. When she saw that Alex had skillfully evaded her energy-attack, she prepared to launch another one.


    "Fire spear" She said and sent out her palm at him.


    The moment she did that, large amount of pyroforce energy discharged from the palm. Then this mass of energy condensed and shaped into a large spear that shot towards Alex at a rapid speed.


    When Alex saw that Karen wouldn''t listen and would only continue to attack him, he decided to not evade but defend himself.


    "Wind Fist" He said and punched out.


    The instant he did, cyan-colored windforce energy discharged from the fist in a large amount. Then it condensed and shaped into a fist that shot towards the spear.


    Boom!


    The attacks collided and a powerful wave of energy resulted from the collision.


    But the fiery spear of energy shattered apart while Alex''s energy-fist still shot towards Coldmoon.


    ''No way!'' Coldmoon said inwardly as she became shocked.


    She was astounded because at the moment, she was in the peak-phase condensation stage while Alex was in the initial-phase condensation stage. Yet, his attack ruthlessly destroyed hers. Also, she could see little crack in the structure of the energy-fist. This meant that Alex''s attack had a higher degree of denseness and solidness than hers.


    She then readied herself to defend against the fist shooting through the air like a cannonball towards her.


    "Fiery Staff" She said as she pointed a finger at the fist.


    Then a large stream of orange-colored, fire elemental energy instantly discharged from the finger.


    The instant the huge stream of fiery energy expelled from her finger, it quickly compacted and shaped into a large staff that emitted a dazzling orange light and emanated waves of extreme heat that would melt thick metal near-instantly.


    The second it formed, it shot out towards the fist.


    Boom!


    A loud explosive sound resulted from their collision and this was instantly accompanied by a blinding orange light and a wave of berserk energy that traveled far into the distance, ravaging everything in it path.


    The destructive power output of the impact of their attacks was high that it caused the ground beneath the point of collision to shatter, resulting in a deep fissure.


    Coldmoon became surprised. The new attack she sent out still couldn''t destroy Alex''s energy-fist attack. Instead, both were canceled out like her attack was on the same level of power as his, despite all the pyroforce energy she put into it.

 Chapter 110: Battle with Karen

    Then she raised her cultivation stage.


    Alex''s eyes abruptly widened in shock.


    This was because Coldmoon''s cultivation stage had just increased from the peak-phase condensation stage to the initial-phase earth adept stage.


    Alex backed a bit. He was surprised at how she was able to achieve that.


    "Immolating King Fist" Coldmoon said coldly and punched out.


    Then a large amount of earth adept-level pyroforce energy discharged from the fist.


    The instant this energy erupted from her fist, it swiftly condensed and shaped into a massive orange-colored fist that spanned many feet in size.


    Then it shot out like a rocket towards Alex, radiating an effulgent orange light that could burn the retina and heat that would flash-melt a three-inch thick steel.


    Alex quickly readied himself to defend. He pulled many energies from his energyhouse to a palm and sent that palm out, discharging all the energies channeled to it at all once.


    When these energies came off the palm, they mixed, instantly condensing and shaping into a beautiful, multicolored palm of energy that shot towards Coldmoon''s energy-attack the second it form was completed.


    Bang!


    The attacks clashed and a deafening sound was produced from the collision along with a terrifying wave of energy which erupted from the point of impact, rushing into the distance in all direction with desolating might.


    It ruptured the earth beneath it as it moved into the distance and when it got to Alex''s and Karen''s position, it knocked them many feet away at a high speed despite them being on guard against the tyrannical energy wave.


    But the resplendent energy palm Alex sent out, although now dim still shot towards Coldmoon with a great momentum. It seemed it was unstoppable.


    When Coldmoon stood to her feet, there was only intense astonishment in her eyes. She couldn''t believe that she could not outmatch a kid in an exchange of energy-attacks. She felt deeply ashamed of herself.


    "Profound nine fiery fingers" She said in anger while pointing at the palm cutting through the air at a terrifying speed towards her.


    Her finger which had begun to glow as energy was pumped to it released in an instant the excessive amounts of pyroforce energy channeled to it.


    The exceedingly large mass of energy condensed and shaped into nine massive fingers that shot towards Alex''s attack.


    Boom!!!


    The earth trembled from their impact and waves of energies were produced which traveled at great speeds into the distance.


    Although they were both prepared, their energy screens still shattered apart when they were struck heavily by the rampaging waves and then were shoved hard into the distance by them.


    But they didn''t sustain form of injury.


    Coldmoon became frustrated. She couldn''t believe what was occurring before her. It was like she was powerless against the boy.


    Alex, a cultivator of the initial-phase condensation stage could actually exchange attacks with her who was an initial-phase earth adept stage cultivator and not be at a disadvantage.


    She couldn''t believe she was seeing right. But here was reality in front of her.


    All that was in her heart was to teach him a very good lesson for taking advantage of her. But it seemed her goal was difficult to reach. And she doesn''t want to expose herself as a sage-stage expert or she would blow her own cover. If not, she felt she would easily deal with him.


    So she became highly embarrassed and livid. If her master was here, Karen knew that he would be so disappointed in her.


    Why Alex used so many energies in one strike was because he felt one energy may not be strong enough to cancel out an energy-attack possessing earth adept-rank power.


    Therefore, he combined multiple energies into one attack so that it power would be able to match up to the destructive power of such an attack or even surpass it in damaging capacity.


    Then Alex tried to talk to Coldmoon.


    He wanted to apologize again as he felt that any of the two of them would get gravely injured if the exchange continues.


    But before he could speak, Coldmoon''s cultivation stage shot from the initial-phase earth adept stage to the peak-phase earth adept stage.


    Alex''s eyes widened again in great shock.


    "The hell? What is true her cultivation level? Why does it seem to have no boundary?"


    But he didn''t think too much about it as Coldmoon had sent out an energy-attack at him.


    This attack possessed great power. Alex could feel it were he stood. He knew that even if he combined all of his energies into one and transformed it into an attack, it still wouldn''t be able to withstand such powerful attack. It would instantly shatter apart and this would result in great injuries or instant death for him.


    Not thinking further, Alex instantly deployed a more powerful battle-technique called [Nine Mountains Desolating Profound Tyrant Fist]. It was one of the numerous supreme-rank battle-method of the A-grade duality methodology he used to cultivate strengthforce energy.


    The instant he did, his fist began to emit an intense golden light. Then the air around his entire body began to tremble.


    He straightaway punched out and a massive golden fist of strengthforce energy shot out from his clenched fist.


    The moment this enormous fist of energy that was emanating a brilliant golden radiance shot out from the fist he punched into the air at Karen''s attack, it caused the earth below to instantly cleave. It was like a large, invisible axe was swung hard into the earth.


    This was because of the great degree of pressure emanating from the attack as it carried a great might and produced a feeling that it would sunder mountains.


    When it fired off his fist and shot towards Coldmoon''s energy-attack, the air for thousands of meters around it began to roil because of the unbridled power of might continuously emanating from it.


    The air affected became so turbulent that it seemed a vast, destructive storm with great magnitude which would collapse buildings and bring states to ruin had appeared.


    BOOM!!!


    A great boom sound resulted from their collision and this caused the earth to tremble violently and shatter in the next instant.


    Then accompanying the earth-trembling explosion sound was a wave of tyrannical energy which rushed into the distance with a deafening roar-like sound that seemed like that of a raging primordial dragon and wreaked havoc wherever it went.


    The earth below the point of impact turned into a massive crater with large amount of dust heaved into the air by the force-wave that surfaced from the clash of the attacks. While the dust thrown into the air partially darkened the area.


    But this partial darkness didn''t last for long as the golden brilliance emitting from the golden energy fist Alex sent out illuminated the area.


    "What?!" Coldmoon shouted in shock at what she saw.


    The massive golden fist of energy didn''t have a single crack in it structure. And the golden light emanating from it didn''t reduce one bit in intensity. It was still as luminous as before and this meant it hadn''t lost any of it energy.


    She quickly produced a treasure-weapon and used it to send out a heaven adept-level energy-attack at the incoming fist of energy.


    Boom!


    The attacks collided and a terrifying wave of energy resulted from their impact.


    Coldmoon''s attack shattered apart while that of Alex''s dimmed with thousands of cracks appearing in it structure.


    Yet, the energy-fist which had cracked in many places like it would fall apart very soon and had lost part of it astonishing momentum still went on like it was the unstoppable fist of a divine god and struck Coldmoon, launching her many feet into the distance at great speed.


    But she had worn a protective armor before the fist struck her or she would have exploded into a mist of blood.


    Crashing into the earth many feet away, Karen coughed out several mouthfuls of blood and her vision became blurry. She spat out blood because of the impact shock that transmitted from the armor to her body when it was struck with an exceedingly immense weight by the fist.


    Alex became worried about her. He hoped he hadn''t killed her with that attack. But he knew it wasn''t his fault, he did that only to protect himself or he would have been killed by Karen''s energy-attack.


    Then he dashed towards where she was.

 Chapter 111: Killing intent erupts

    By the time he would get there, he didn''t see her.


    "Huh? Where''s she?" He asked inwardly as he looked around.


    Then he heard something whistle towards him very fast. He quickly turned, and instantly condensing in his hand an energy-blade which he infused with strengthforce energy, he slashed out at the object shooting towards him.


    Clank!


    A wave of tyrannical energy was unleashed and this shoved Alex far into the distance. The energy-blade he condensed in his hand had shattered and breaks could he seen in his arms with blood spurting from those breaks in his palm.


    Alex''s hands were trembling from the collision with the object that shot towards him.


    At the moment, he was horrified at the turn of event, he quickly produced an healing pill which he swallowed. Then his cracked and broken hands began to heal. But the trembling didn''t stop.


    He looked on to see Coldmoon standing far in the distance with a cold look in her eyes. Her beautiful, attractive smile had disappeared and was replaced with a fierce, killer look. Alex could detect unbridled killing intent from her gaze. She didn''t try to conceal it.


    Then very soon, her cultivation stage raised again. She began to emit the pulse of power that can only be emitted by a saint stage cultivator.


    Alex eyes widened in shock.


    "Surprised?" She asked.


    Alex couldn''t respond because he was deeply shocked. It was now he realized he had abused a powerful cultivator.


    He quickly stood and said "Please forgive me. I never knew you were a high-rank cultivation expert. I beg you. Please."


    "Well, I have to kill you now. You almost killed me. Remember?"


    "No. I tried to defe¡ª"


    Before Alex could finish what he wanted to say, Coldmoon sent out a powerful attack at him.


    Alex quickly produced a full-body armor which instantly appeared on his body.


    Bang!


    The armor was struck heavily by the attack and was shoved hard into the distance at a speed many times the speed of lightning.


    Crashing into the earth several thousand feet away, Alex coughed out blood within the armor.


    He was able to survive from the attack as he was wearing a peerless-grade saint-rank armor which didn''t shatter from the impact or he would have exploded into pieces. Not even a crack could be seen in the structure of the armor. And it helped absorb a lot of the impact shock or Alex''s organs would have turned to mush and thousands of cracks would appear on his skeletal framework.


    Although, if he activated the armor, it would absorb the entire shock. But he didn''t as he wasn''t sure he could withstand the aura of power that would emit from the armor.


    Quickly, he produced many peerless-quality earth-rank healing pills which he swallowed at once.


    This turned into large amount of healforce energy which began to heal any injury that he might have sustained from the powerful impact.


    Then he stood from the ground. The instant he did, he saw Coldmoon flying towards him from the distance.


    Alex''s face turned solemn and shook his head in gloominess. He didn''t mean to offend her. But now, he had to fight with all the might he had or he may not come out alive from it.


    Alex didn''t try to beg again as Coldmoon was really pissed off at him. He believed no amount of begging would persuade her to not attack him again. And so, he got ready for yet another tough battle of his life. A battle with a saint stage expert.


    He believed there was no other way to fight her than to summon physiques as they would allow him possess the power of a saint level expert. And only in this way would he be able to fight Coldmoon.


    Then he unleashed the emotions of anger he kept buried in his heart.


    Stimulated by Alex''s emotional fluctuations, the protoforce energy in Alex''s soul opened the door to the dimension of sovereign realmbodies.


    Then abstruse symbols of power that constituted a random type of super-powered body in this realm was attracted by the energy and moved into his soul or more precisely the figment of his consciousness, his mind.


    The instant these symbols moved to his mind, the protoforce energy circulating within his soul decrypted the mysterious symbols. It deciphered the mysteries of the symbols to a level of comprehension that stopped at the saint stage.


    As it deconstructed the profundities of the methods of the physique, massive amounts of information at the saint level of understanding appeared in Alex''s head.


    [Great Infinite Strength Goldenblood Titan-Physique]


    Once this information appeared in his head, Alex didn''t think too much about it. He quickly deployed it transformation method.


    The instant he utilized the method to transform, his body turned black in colour and began to lustre like metal. While the muscles on his body began to increase in size. Also at the same time, his body grew in size. It rapidly grew from a height of five feet and nine inches to approximately twelve feet and yet still increased.


    The muscles on his body kept on growing like there was no limit to their growth. For instance, his biceps. It size could now be said to be equal to that of a watermelon when contracted.


    While his body''s weight increased in direct proportion to his infinitely-growing body size and mass. His weight had shot up from seventy-five kilogram to a thousand and two hundred kilogram and still increased.


    He became a giant full of oversized steel-like muscles.


    Then hundreds of veins could be seen all over his body as they bulged from his tough shiny flesh that resembled polished metal. Then in these veins could be seen a glowing golden liquid which looked like molten gold.


    Coldmoon would have fired an energy-attack at Alex, but she paused as she was dumbfounded by the physique Alex just produced. It was giving out pulses of power of an expert in the saint stage.


    She wondered how that was possible.


    The occurrence before her then slightly dampened her killing intent.


    "Is this the reason why master wants him?" She asked inwardly.


    If before she wanted to kill him for touching her in her erogenous zones, now she didn''t try to do so as she remembered her master''s instructions. Besides, she was seriously impressed with him. When she leaves the academy with him, he would be like her brother in the organization. So the will to kill him dissipated.


    But she still wanted teach him a very good lesson that he would never forget for the rest of his life.

 Chapter 112: Becoming fun for her

    Then large amount of coldforce energy began to discharge from her palms in large quantities, enveloping her figure.


    "Ice daggers barrage" She said.


    Then the large mass of ice-energy that had engulfed her figure rapidly condensed and shaped into thousands of daggers that emitted intense cold which caused the earth hundreds of meters away to become encrusted in ice. Even the air to an altitude of three thousand feet became very cold. The moisture suspended in it turned to snowflakes and fell to the ice-layered earth.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Immediately the ice daggers formed, they shot out like an arrow towards Alex.


    Seeing the ice daggers shoot towards him at high speeds, Alex got ready to defend himself.


    Using a battle technique of the physique, he punched into the air. And the instant he did, the air for thousands of feet compressed rapidly instantly.


    This compaction came as a result of the invisible ripples of might that was released into the air from his fist.


    The unseen ripples carrying his saint-level power of mountain-shattering devastating might caused the air to compact to a degree that it exerted so great a pressure that would fragment hundreds of mountains and cause them to shatter into smithereens.


    Boom!


    Then the compressed air exploded outwards, producing a wave that carried great power of destruction. While the invisible ripples that were discharged into it infused the destructive power that constituted their form into the blast wave, augmenting it earth-rupturing capacity to extreme degrees.


    A large swath of earth for several thousand feet was stripped away by the force-wave that was produced by the explosion of the air. While the daggers, when they entered the blast range instantly shattered into pieces.


    Coldmoon quickly enclosed herself in a sphere of energy to protect herself from the explosion. But her shield was knocked flying into the distance by the wave when it struck it.


    Alex who was starting to feel dizzy quickly dashed towards her. Despite his immense weight, he was still able to run at a very high speed. In a short time, he had reached where she was. Then Alex punched the earth with all the strength he could gather.


    [Havoc Wreaker]


    Boom!


    The moment Alex''s large, metal-like fist struck the earth with a powerful might, a wave of tyrannical energy was unleashed and the earth shattered for thousands of feet in a ripple-like fashion.


    The tall, rampaging seismic wave struck Karen''s protective energy shield and caused thousands of cracks to instantly appear in the shield''s structure.


    Then with a loud bang, the shield shattered apart in the next second and the wave resulting from Alex''s fist impacting the earth hurled her far into the distance.


    He didn''t want to give her a direct punch. He felt he would kill her.


    When Alex saw that he had knocked her away. He willed his body to return to normal. Then he produced many soul invigorating pills which he swallowed at once.


    These turned into large amounts of soulforce energy that refreshed his soul. He felt good.


    Then focusing again, he got a transformation method for a random physique.


    [Divinity-Cleaving Seven Tyrant Clones Physique]


    He immediately utilized the technique. But his body didn''t change in form. It remained as usual.


    But the moment he employed it, large amounts of four different forms of glowing, colored energies exuded from his body. These then fused into one and partitioned in seven places with these partitions transforming into exact copies of himself. There were seven of them.


    These replicates that stood around him were formed from fusion of four types of energies. One was cloneforce energy and the other three were animateforce energy, bladeforce energy and metalforce energy.


    The cloneforce energy which was also called body-duplication energy was an energy that allowed one to create copies or replicates of oneself. While the animateforce energy, also called sentience bestowal energy or energy of animation gave one the power to animate non-living objects. That is, it gave life, consciousness or awareness to non-living things. The bladeforce energy was the energy of sharpness. Then the metalforce energy was metal-transforming energy. Anything infused with this energy would possess the attributes or characteristics of metal.


    These clones looked at Karen who was in the distance with eyes that gave the feeling of complete awareness.


    Karen saw this spectacle and she became interested. At this point in time, the killing intent that had engulfed her heart had totally vanished. What was in there was great impression. She was impressed to the extreme by Alex''s abilities.


    She then believed she had discovered the reason why her master, Lord Shadowslayer sent her to get to Alex. It was because of these physiques he was manifesting. She had never seen or heard anyone with the ability to produce three physiques which emitted pulses of power that would match that of a cultivator in the saint stage while at the condensation stage.


    Then she felt jealous and envious at the same time. He was actually gifted than all of them.


    She at the moment doesn''t have a bloodline ability which was physique evocation. She was from a mortal family that were wiped out by a crazed human cultivation expert who raped her mom and her two older sisters and whom he later ruthlessly killed by slashing them in halves and chopping them to pieces.


    This expert also bared his fangs at her but she was rescued by Lord Shadowslayer who then took her as an apprentice and taught her everything she knew.


    Lord Shadowslayer being a non-human found it incredibly hard to cultivate any of the realm-energies. So he made her learn the energy-harmonization and gathering techniques of the cultivation methodologies he got from many of his adventures, and because he discovered that she was blessed with a good cultivation gift.


    She had a worldking-grade cultivation talent which was a tier below supreme worldking-grade cultivation talent.


    This was one of the reason she was able to cultivate many energies. She had cultivated nine realm-energies and showed tendency to surpass that limit to become a Beyonder.


    She looked at Alex and then at the energy-clones that shone like they were metal and gazed at her like they were real, sentient beings.


    Karen knew Alex was trying his best to survive, and so he would make him feel that way so he would show more to her. She believed there was more to Alex.


    Then this became fun to her again.

 Chapter 113: Fortune Stealing Physique

    Quickly, she sent out a serious energy-attack that possessed her saint-level power.


    This attack was a solid palm of pyroforce energy.


    As it shot towards Alex, it continuously emitted heat waves that caused the ground beneath it to instantly melt.


    Giving off intense heat radiation that affected the atmospheric temperature of this region, the degree of hotness of this area rapidly shot to extreme levels.


    Alex where he stood could feel the heat. It was unbearable. It was like he was at the heart of a volcanic mountain.


    The solid brown earth for thousands of feet couldn''t withstand the terrifying heat produced by the attack, it instantaneously turned into molten earth, becoming a fiery red-hot liquid which instantly appeared on the earth surface as the massive glowing palm of energy traversed over it towards Alex.


    Alex quickly readied himself to defend. Then he deployed one of the battle techniques of the physique.


    [God-cleaving Twin Blades]


    The instant he utilized the technique, two of the seven clones by his side began to emit an astonishing power of tyrannical sharpness.


    This sharpness-power manifested as a vast aura of resplendent radiance around the both of them.


    The brilliant colorful auras which were phenomena resulting from the laceration power emanating from the bodies of the clones caused the air and earth for hundreds of feet to slash apart in thousands of places.


    The slashes in the air were visible to anyone as the pitch-black void were revealed in each of them.


    The unbridled release of the power of sharpness had caused the spatial layer of this area to be slashed apart in thousands of places to reveal the emptiness realm of this world which was the pitch-black void.


    Alex pointed at the palm coming towards him and the two clones shot into the air towards the palm attack.


    As they shot towards the palm, the image of a massive violet blade with hundreds of mysterious symbols appeared, enclosing their figures. This colossal sword-image enveloping the clones exerted a pressure that caused the earth below it to rent.


    Boom!!!


    The earth shook when the attacks clashed into one another. Destructive waves of violent energies surfaced and moved into the distance with devastating might.


    But the energy-clones weren''t affected in any way by the impact. They cut through the attack like a hot knife through butter and moved on towards Karen with power to slash all pieces.


    "Nice!"


    Karen said as she nodded her head.


    Then she flicked her fingers at the two clones and two pencil-sized rays of sage-level energy shot out of it towards the clones.


    Boom!


    The clones instantly shattered apart. They couldn''t withstand an attack carrying sage-level damaging power.


    Alex quickly willed himself back to normal. With more soul invigorating pills in his hand, he swallowed it all.


    This time around, he focused on having a specific physique.


    Then he placed his concentration on the word ''control'' which he chanted in his head as he tried to make a physique manifest by recalling all the things he had gone through which made him irk.


    [Fortune Stealing Physique]


    Huh?


    Alex became surprised. He didn''t know what kind of physique this was.


    Then he became worried that he had summoned a useless physique. And so wanted to will his body to revert. But then he stopped.


    Since he wanted to control the battle, his mind wouldn''t play a trick on him and give him a physique that would be useless to him at the moment.


    So, it would give him what he asked specifically for. He was sure of this as he had done it several times in the last.


    Therefore, he didn''t think too deep about it again. He quickly used it transformation technique.


    But his body remained as usual. There was no change in his body''s form. Except that a type of unseen power rippled from his body.


    "Star Wrecking Fireball"


    Karen said and aimed her palm at him. Then an excessive amount of pyroforce energy erupted from it which rapidly condensed and shaped into a super-sized ball of fire that spanned thousands of feet in size.


    "No" Alex said as his eyes widened in horror.


    He felt Karen wanted to destroy him totally now.


    He only hoped in his heart that the physique was a useful one.


    [Luck Stealer]


    He quickly deployed a technique.


    Then the unseen rippling power discharging from his body wrapped around everything in here and to a distance of several thousand feet.


    Alex suddenly felt connected to all.


    Actually, he was connected to a type of energy called luckforce energy. It was one of the invisible energies that continously emanated from all living things.


    This energy actually affected their fortune or more precisely, their luck.


    Since he was connected to this energy that came from all living things and gave him the ability to affect reality around them, he would be able to control their fortune or luck. With this energy, he could turn people''s luck from good to bad or bad to good.


    Then something freaked him out.


    This was because he suddenly discovered that he was connected to the exceedingly large, flaming ball of energy. And this wasn''t an attack unleashed by him.


    While Karen where she stood was completely flabbergasted. She found out that she wasn''t linked to her own energy-attack anymore.


    Alex had knocked her away and took control over the energy-attack.


    But then, Alex felt that it was an effect caused by the luck stealer technique he casted.


    ''Haha! Such control'' He said inwardly.


    With a victorious smile and a snap of his finger, the energy-attack decomposed and the energy that constituted it returned to the realmverse.


    No amount of words would be able to describe Karen''s astonished state at the moment.


    Then she tried to send out another attack.


    Alex became tired of the battle and so quickly unleashed an attack at her.


    "Fortune Burying Fist" He said and punched out.


    The instant he shot his fist out at her, a dark mass of energy shot out of it.


    But immediately the pitch-black energy erupted from his fist, it vanished and in the next moment it appeared before Karen who couldn''t evade on time.


    The energy shot into her body and she found out that she couldn''t sense any of the energies she cultivated.


    She had been reduced to an ordinary mortal at the moment.


    Alex who was starting to feel dizzy dashed towards Karen who had a stupefied look in her face. Then when he got to her front, with his body returning to normal, he went to actually hug her and tight at that.

 Chapter 114: Like this?

    When Alex''s super-powered body returned to normal, the mass of dark energy that saturated Karen''s body lost it connection to the physique and so left her body returning to the realmverse. Then Karen got control over her own energies. But she couldn''t do anything as she froze where she stood.


    Alex embraced her and said into her ear.


    "Please stop all these. I am sorry if you felt I took advantage of you. I thought you liked me because you always gave me those smiles and winks. But I guess it wasn''t so. Please, I beg for your forgiveness. Besides, am tired of these battles, I would like to leave now. I have been gone for too long"


    Then he pulled out of the embrace and walked away with hope in his heart that Karen wouldn''t try to unleash more attacks at him.


    He had walked far a bit when he heard her voice


    "It''s okay. I was just the one taking things too far. Actually, I like you. Because of your naivety. You are so simple, innocent and sweet. You are like a river that has not been contaminated with the filth of this world." She said.


    Alex unexpectedly froze in his movement. An astounded expression could be seen in his face. Then he turned to look at her.


    Once Alex turned to face her, she gave a smile and continued "You are a simple-minded person and a really attractive one. It is these attributes of yours that drew my attention towards you, I think. And you are pretty powerful. I have never seen someone possess more than two physiques. But you exhibited three and this deeply amazed me"


    "Okay. So you have forgiven me now?" He asked.


    "I think" Karen replied with a smile.


    Then Alex said "The condensation stage isn''t your real stage. You are in the saint stage."


    Karen smiled as she had let out the cat out of the bag. But she wasn''t fazed.


    "Maybe." She said.


    "Why did you hide it?" Alex asked


    "Well, for nothing really. I just wanted to experience school life again" She said.


    "Hmm. How were you able to do it?" Alex asked like his interest was piqued.


    "I was only able to do this through an energy called obscureforce energy. I used it conceal my actual cultivation base. It would obscure all senses from detecting my true cultivation base" She said.


    "Okay. But that''s a very good way to successfully infiltrate an organization. Since you are at the saint stage but lowered your cultivation level to the condensation stage using obscureforce energy, you must have a motive in mind. Maybe you actually came for me because all you ever did was try to grab my attention." He said as he put himself on guard and slowly backed away from her.


    Karen smiled.


    "Hmm. You are smart. Anyways, don''t think like that. I only came to relive school because I missed school days. Though I am not from this institution, I only came to experience it again. You know, all the fun and excitement. So don''t tell anyone. I would also keep the secret about your ability to produce three physiques. We can be good friends that would go on adventures together and even fall in love" She said in a teasing tone with a playful smile appearing on her face.


    Alex was astounded. But not lowering his guard, he asked in an unbelieving tone.


    "Why should I believe you?"


    "Because I would have killed you or would have dragged you to places you would not like to be. But I didn''t" Karen replied.


    Then she continued "Another reason is I am impressed with you. You defeated me in the many battles we had. No man has ever beaten me in battle before. Not even expert of higher cultivation stages. And I once made a vow to myself that only the man that can beat me in battle would I truly belong to. So, that''s why I now like you very much and want to be your good friend. Until you can defeat me in battle at the same cultivation level would I become yours to handle anyhow"


    Alex became dumbfounded because of what she said.


    Not discussing further on what she said.


    He asked "How were you able to defeat expert of higher cultivation stages?"


    "Like this" Karen said with a wicked smile.


    She saw this an opportunity to do what she had always wanted to accomplish since the beginning of their battle.


    Swoosh!


    She vanished from where she was and appeared before Alex.


    Alex who was shocked tried to move away from her. But before he could, a finger that glowed in violet-crimson shot towards his chest.


    This finger emitted that color because it contained a particular energy.


    Once it penetrated through his chest and into his body, she released the glowing energy contained in the finger into his body.


    She pulled out the finger and looked at Alex who had begun to tremble as a result of the energy moving in his body.


    Alex began to shake as a great sexual urge took over his body.


    He had no control over this overpowering feeling of sexual desire that pervaded his mind and made his body very hot from sexual excitement.


    Then veins bulge all over his body as he tried hard to resist the booming, unceasing chant of ''sex'' by hundreds of different voices in his head.


    Then in his vision was a paradise-like place. This place looked like the kind of place deities would live in. It could simply be described as an heavenly realm.


    But in this place could be seen hundreds of naked busty and voluptuous women that stood at the apex of beauty. They were greatly bewitching. Presenting their large busts and bush to him in a sexy dance, the urge in his body intensified and a red color appeared on his flawless white skin which spread and grew deeper in tone. His brain signal also started to misfire.


    At this point in time, the organ at his groin region had stood very firm and had began to leak out a sticky liquid.


    "That is how I was able to kill those powerful experts. The energy moving in your body and causing you to have this feeling is sexforce energy. As an energy that causes great sexual excitement, it would turn males into sex-thirsty crazed beings. They would never be able to think straight until they lay with a female. And a good thing about this energy is that they would never be attracted to the person who put the energy in them. Except that person want to have it with them. So, it''s an energy that enables a female to overpower a stronger male. Tyrannical right? Haha. But what''s really surprising me now is that you haven''t surrendered to the energy. You are pretty strong. Well kid, It''s best you succumb to the interminable chants of sex rocking your soul to it depth or you would run mad and go after members of the opposite sex whom you would ruthlessly rape to satisfy yourself. And there would be no cure for the madness once it comes up. It''s eternal insanity and extreme insatiable lust for anything female-looking"


    Karen''s voice suddenly rang out.


    After Karen said this, Alex then knew that the only way to cure himself of the feeling was to do some dirty things. But he wasn''t fine with that option. He felt he was still young to do such a thing. And who would do it with him?


    "Any other way? I beg you!" He cried out.


    "Another way you say. Well, that''s left to you to find out." She replied with a grin.


    Alex still trembling felt the heat in his body climb up again. His entire organs at this moment started to burn within.


    He screamed in pain but tried hard to withstand the intense heat that seemed to want to immolate all his organs, and at the same time resist the urge and voices that incapacitated his body and mind.


    But there was nothing he could do against the effects produced by the energy as his body was totally paralyzed and his soul continuously barraged with dirty thoughts that prevented him from thinking straight. Every nerve of his body was flooded with titillating sensations.


    "Would you like your body to return to normal?" She asked.


    "Yes please" Alex hurriedly said. The pain he was experiencing because of no outlet to release the sensation that had built up in his body as his body burned within was too much for him to bear. It was unbearable and traumatizing.


    "Okay. There are only two ways to remove this energy. One is by kissing. Since it is my energy, I am linked to it. I will take it out of your body through your mouth during the kiss. Second is to have sex with you. So which do you go for?" Karen asked.


    "The first option" Alex immediately said.


    Karen smiled. She was enjoying the way Alex''s body trembled and twitched from the intense sexual urge that pervaded his senses and entire body.


    "Well, you are far too younger to me. I can''t go with that." She replied


    Alex became gloomy. He didn''t know what to do again.


    Then he resumed his fighting against the urge which could turn him into a ravenous sex-hungry wolf anytime soon.


    He wanted to regain control of his mind and body without her help.


    He just couldn''t go with the last option. And he didn''t know the reason why.


    Very soon, the burning sensation he felt in his body intensified greatly.


    He couldn''t take it anymore.


    "Second option!" He roared


    Karen''s brow raised.


    "What? Me with you? That''s even worse. I can''t have sex with someone who is far younger than me. So that''s another no. I guess you would have to deal with it yourself." She said with a grin and began to walk away from the place.


    Alex became speechless at this. He didn''t know what to do again.


    He could start to hear voices whispering random things in his head. Then he began he feel that he was going insane.


    "Well, I can''t leave you like this in this place right?" Karen''s voice rang out again.


    Suddenly, Alex felt an unseen force wrap around his body. Then this force lifted him towards Karen who stood in the distance.


    Once he got in front of her, the unseen force that enveloped Alex''s body vanished and then she took her lips into his.


    She tried to retrieve the energy she put into Alex''s body through kissing.


    With her link to the energy, she forced the energy strands wherever they were to move up Alex''s energy meridians to his mouth.


    But to her shock, she found out she couldn''t. And so the kiss became a long one.


    With their lips interlocked together, she focused on the energy and compelled it to leave Alex''s system. But there was an invisible influence in his body that prevented her from doing so. The influence was so strong she couldn''t gain control over her own energy in his body.


    Not long, her link to the energy broke apart and the energy went into his energyhouse where it began to circulate in there like it was his own energy.


    Karen was deeply astonished.


    "What was that?" she muttered inwardly.


    Then when she came back to reality, she realized Alex''s lips were still locked to hers. And this was for like fifteen minutes when she struggled to remove the sex-inducing energy rampaging in his body.


    She quickly removed her lips and pushed him away to the ground.


    "I think you are fine now" She said with a light of marvel in her eyes. She still couldn''t believe what just happened. A small fraction of her sage-level sexforce energy was already revolving under some influence in Alex''s energyhouse.


    At this point in time, since the energy generating those urges had left his body and had gone into his energyhouse to settle, his body rapidly recovered. The burning sensation as well as the numerous compelling voices in his head vanished.


    A second later, his body became fine as the whiteness of his flawless skin returned.


    Alex stood from the ground and said "Thank you"


    With a smirk in her face, she said "Hey, don''t get any ideas because I kissed you that long. I am not into kids. In fact, anything male-looking"


    Then with a smile blossoming in her face, she continued "Well, your lips were yummy. So I think I enjoyed the kiss and may come for it another time. I am leaving now. You should leave too and go take a nice, long shower. You look disgusting"


    Then she left by flying away.


    Alex looked at himself and smiled wryly. His trousers was very wet. It was like he peed on himself.


    But this was because of the continuous secretion of liquid from the organ at his groin region which was made erect by the things he saw and the intense sexual excitement he felt which caused great pleasurable sensations to surface in his body and cause it to tremble and twitch without stop.


    He produced Nojraagon and said to it "Play time is over Nojra. We gotta return. Someone came and ruined the party. Sorry. But we would get another place to train again very soon."


    The beast didn''t growl. It just gazed at him.


    Alex couldn''t understand the gaze but took it as a look of unhappiness. So he just smiled and returned Nojraagon into the beast bag. Then he prepared to leave this place.


    He focused on the earth and transformed. Then he shot back to the academy''s field from under the ground by rapidly creating large tunnels which he passed through.

 Chapter 115: Competition

    When Alex got back, he immediately made way for his room.


    He saw Jake still cultivating and smiled. Then he too sat in the cross-legged position to cultivate.


    This they did till the next morning.


    Next day.


    When the sun rays came in, Alex''s and Jake''s eyes snapped open. Then they stood from the ground and went to take their bath to prepare for class.


    When they were done, they wore their uniforms and got ready for class.


    Chime!


    Suddenly they heard the loud chime of a bell.


    Alex and Jake became surprised.


    "What in the world is the bell being rung for now?" Jake asked Alex.


    "Dunno" Alex replied.


    They knew that anytime the bell was rung, it was used as a medium to alert the whole students so that they could gather at the assembly ground for an important information to be passed to them.


    Since the bell had been rung, they didn''t waste time. They quickly left their rooms and went to the assembly ground.


    In just a few minutes, thousands gathered at the assembly ground.


    Then principal Jennifer appeared in front of them. She scanned the crowd for Alex and when she saw him, she smiled at him. Alex also smiled back when he saw her.


    She then spoke to the crowd.


    "Alright everyone, I gathered you all here because I have an information to pass. It''s about a competition for the condensation stage that is starting in a weeks time. The competition is not the type done on a battle stage. For the competition, this academy and the others participating would transport the students to a place where the competition will take place. The duration for this competition is a month. During that time, the people I will select to go for the competition will help each other in there against the geniuses of other academies. Many academies would be participating, so there would be a large number of challengers. So, I will select two people that would represent our academy for the competition."


    Jennifer looked at a tall boy among the crowds. He had a short black hair and looked seventeen.


    "John, come forward." She said.


    Immediately the boy heard his name, he stepped forward.


    Then Jennifer looked at where Alex stood.


    "Alex, come forward." She said.


    Alex too stepped forward.


    Surprisingly, no one grumbled at Jennifer''s selection. John was extremely strong and so was Alex. They had come to accept that Alex was very strong. He couldn''t be looked down upon even if he had a lower cultivation base.


    As Alex walked to where Jennifer stood, an instructor came to Jennifer''s side and said in her ears.


    "Are you sure Alex is okay for the competition? He is the initial-phase condensation stage. Would he be able to handle the geniuses of other academies that are at the peak-phase condensation stage?"


    Jennifer smiled.


    "I think he is more than okay. Don''t underestimate him because of his lower cultivation stage." She said


    "Hmm. Okay." the instructor said and returned to where he stood.


    Alex and John got to Jennifer''s front who told them to face the crowd.


    Then she said.


    "Now, I have chosen these boys to represent our academy for the competition. They would then select three other people that would make up their teams."


    Looking at John and Alex, she said "Alright boys. Call out the names of the people you want in your teams"


    Alex and John nodded.


    Alex searched for Elena in the crowd and called her out. Then he called out Jake and Draco when he saw them. John also called out the names of the people he wanted in his team.


    Then Alex looked around in the crowd with furrowed brows. He was searching for Karen but he couldn''t find her. He felt she was probably in the room since she wasn''t here.


    "Alright. You have chosen your team members. You can now go back to the crowd" Jennifer said to John and Alex.


    Then she continued "By next week, the five of you would be taken to the site of the competition. So for now, you can skip classes and go prepare."


    Alex and John nodded, then they went back to the crowd of students.


    "Dismiss" an instructor came forward and said.


    Then the crowd of students left the gathering ground and went to their various lecture blocks.


    Since classes had been canceled for them, Elena, Jake and Draco went to meet Alex.


    "Alex, you chose me for the competition. Thank you" Draco said appreciatively.


    "Come on. We are friends already. Besides I need someone like you in my team" Alex said.


    "Alright" Draco said.


    "Yea. So, welcome to our team" Alex said.


    Draco nodded.


    "When do we begin our training?" Elena asked.


    "Now is okay right?" Alex asked them.


    "Sure. The earlier the better." Jake said.


    "Alright. Let''s head to the battle training room" Alex said.


    They all nodded in agreement and left for the combat preparatory room.


    Since it was for a competition, they were allowed to enter the battle training room so early in the morning and without payment to use the room.


    They chose the top-tier battle rooms for the condensation stage and went in.


    When Alex got in, he saw five rows of puppets. The puppets in the rows had varying sizes and colors.


    The ones at the front row had copper-like bodies, the ones at the second had bronze-like bodies, the third had silver bodies, the fourth had golden bodies and the fifth black bodies.


    It didn''t take any time at all for Alex to know that the colors of the puppets from the first row to the fourth row corresponded to the initial-phase, mid-phase, late-phase and peak-phase condensation stage.


    He also had an idea about the black-colored puppet which was in the fifth row. He felt it must be a puppet for the half-step earth adept stage. And he was right. The puppet was there to push the peak-phase condensation stage students beyond their limits.


    An instant later, the puppets who had dim eyes suddenly had their eyes begin to glow brightly.


    Then with a roar, one of the copper-colored puppets in the first row dashed towards Alex in the distance.


    Alex immediately got ready.


    .......


    "What battle room did those students choose?" Jennifer asked.


    "Principal, they chose the top-tier one." Someone in charge of the battle rooms replied.


    "What? The top-tier ones? And you gave it to them?" Jennifer asked.


    "Well, I had to. He''s your boy." The man replied.


    "No. They could get injured in there." Jennifer said. And before she could speak further. An instructor who came with her said.


    "It''s not too bad. It''s not like they are in a war zone. It''s just training. They would leave the room themselves when they see that the power of the A-grade battle puppets is way beyond theirs"


    "Hmm. You are right" Jennifer replied with a nod.


    She wasn''t sure if Alex would last in that room for a long time as he had the lower cultivation base of the five that went in. But she felt he should as he had always given her surprises.


    "Should we go watch their battles?" The instructor asked with a smile.


    "Yea. That''s right"

 Chapter 116: Training I

    Then they left to a room to go watch the match between Alex''s team and the puppets.


    - Battle room -


    The instant a puppet got to Alex''s side, it sent out a fist at Alex. Alex who was sure of his body''s toughness felt it shouldn''t be too hard to meet the fist of an initial-phase condensation stage, body-cultivation battle puppet.


    Boom!


    A loud boom sound rang out with a wave of energy erupting from the point their fists collided.


    Alex was knocked into the distance for many feet through the air while the puppet which remained where it stood dashed towards Alex who was being shoved through the air at high speed by a backwards kinetic force.


    With a great movement speed, it got to Alex who was still being shoved through the air. It jumped into the air towards Alex and grabbed him by the feet.


    With a roar, it swung Alex heavily to the ground.


    Bang!


    Alex smashed into the ground hard and the air in his lungs was knocked out of him. A gigantic web-like crack could be seen on the ground where his body heavily crashed into.


    Not giving Alex a breather, the puppet once it landed rushed towards where Alex''s body was and with a leg lifted up, high above it head, it swung it down hard towards Alex who just recovered from the impacts.


    Seeing the leg come at him with a tyrannical force, Alex quickly rolled away from there and pushed himself to his feet.


    Bang!


    The leg struck the cracked earth with immense weight and the earth shattered apart in a ripple-like fashion.


    Alex quickly re-organized himself where he stood.


    But in his eyes was marvel. He couldn''t believe the puppet was powerful and tough to this extent.


    Alex recalled when he struck it fist. If he didn''t have a tough body, his hand would have exploded into a mist of blood.


    He quickly switched to using energy-attacks.


    The puppet dashed towards him and Alex punched out.


    "Wind Fist" He said and punched out.


    Then a large mass of a cyan-colored windforce energy erupted from his fist which instantly condensed and shaped into a fist that spanned many feet in size.


    The second it formed, it shot towards the puppet which sent it fist out towards it.


    Boom!


    A wave of tyrannical energy was released when the puppet''s fist struck the glowing, cyan energy-fist and this caused the ground beneath the point of impact to shatter apart.


    The energy-fist cracked and shattered in the next instant when the puppet''s fist struck it. While the puppet was launched into the distance by the powerful destructive force the fist of energy came with.


    When it would stand back to it feet, one of it arm was gone. It had exploded into bits from the impact with Alex''s energy-fist.


    Since it had lost an arm, another puppet came forward from the first row.


    It now made two puppets that Alex was going to fight.


    Alex wasn''t fazed. He just prepared himself.


    With a roar, they dashed towards him. Alex too also dashed towards them.


    They sent out their fist at him which Alex evaded by doing a flip above them. And while in the air, he twisted his body that his head was now facing them.


    "Burying Wind Palm" he said aiming his palm at them while upside down in the air.


    A large mass of windforce energy gushed out from his palm rapidly. Then it immediately condensed and shaped into a massive, crystalline cyan palm that struck the puppets at high speed, pressing them very hard into the ground.


    Bang!


    The instant they were pressed into the ground with great force, the earth shattered in a ripple-like fashion for dozens of feet.


    Alex who had already landed from his flip looked towards the puppets and saw that they had shattered into pieces.


    He nodded his head and awaited the other puppets to come battle him.


    When Alex destroyed the two puppets, five puppets came forward.


    Alex looked at them and identified that these were energy-cultivation battle-puppet.


    Why he felt so was because he could see voidstones affixed in their chest. And voidstones which have arrays stored in them were used to generate energies. So he felt these imitated energy-cultivators.


    ''The hell''


    Alex said inwardly when he saw three to four voidstones plugged into the sockets in the chest of these puppets.


    This meant that they could discharge attacks of three to four energies. And he was facing five of these.


    Alex quickly got ready.


    He channeled speedforce energy to his eyes and his perception of the speed of objects increased greatly.


    With mechanical voices, the puppets uttered the names of their attacks.


    "Ice Dragon attack"


    "Moon-incising Sword strike"


    "Profound Earth Shattering Fist"


    "Great Mountain Strike"


    "Mighty Sundering Spear"


    ......


    Immediately they said their attack names, they discharged the corresponding energies from orifices in their palms.


    These energies instantly condensed and shaped into a snow-white dragon, silver sword, yellow-colored fist, dark brown mountain peak and azure spear which shot towards Alex at great speed the instant they formed.


    Since Alex had moved speed-perception energy to his eyes, he was able to see the energy-attacks move towards him in slow motion.


    In his vision, It took the attacks few minutes to cover a distance of one inch as they blazed towards him from the air.


    They appeared slow in his sight and so he was able to quickly prepare himself against them.


    He moved large amounts of different energies from his energyhouse to his energy channels and stored them in there as compressed lumps of energies.


    He had never done this before. He just thought it up on a whim since many attacks were shooting towards him.


    He was surprised he could do this. But he felt everyone else should be able to do it.


    But he was wrong about that. Only he would be able to do this as he had special energy meridians that would accommodate the flow of any quantity of energy through them.


    Although this would cause them to stretch to a great degree, they wouldn''t snap, break or ruin.


    So by compressing the energies into lumps, he would be able to shoot energy-attacks very rapidly to destroy the fearsome energy-attacks cutting through the air towards him


    Then moving a lump of windforce energy from the ones he had compacted and stored in his meridian to his clenched fists, he said and punched out.


    "Wind Fist"


    The lump upon reaching his hand turned into a large mass of cyan-colored windforce energy that instantly gushed out from his fist the second he punched out.


    Then this huge mass of energy rapidly condensed and shaped into a solid cyan fist that shot towards one of the puppet''s attacks at a high speed.

 Chapter 117: Training II

    "Desolating Fire Fist"


    Immediately Alex shot out an attack composed of windforce energy, he shot out another which was composed of pyroforce energy in the next second.


    This he did by moving a large lump of pyroforce energy to his palm and firing it off immediately after he discharged the lump of windforce energy as an attack.


    "Fiend Termination Ice Spear"


    "Destroying Radiance Strike"


    "Splintering Blazegod Fist"


    He fired out three energy-attacks immediately after he fired the second one in rapid succession.


    The other four attacks which were formed from pyroforce energy, radiantforce energy and coldforce energy took the shape of a spear, a solid beam and fists.


    Once they congealed into these forms, they shot towards the attacks that the puppets unleashed.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!...


    Loud boom sounds rang out five times when the attacks Alex sent out struck the ones produced by the five battle-puppets. And the instant the attacks collided into one another, waves of violent energies were instantly produced from the point at which the attacks impacted one another.


    But Alex''s energy-attacks, being attacks that were formed from energies which contained slivers of divineforce energy, shattered the puppets'' energy-attacks and shot towards them, striking them with a solid and hard impact.


    Bang!


    The puppets were blasted away by the energy-attacks and were sent flying into the distance where they crashed into the other rows of puppets.


    When Jennifer and the instructor saw what Alex did in the room they where watching the battles from, they became shocked.


    Jennifer was slightly surprised since she expected this while the other instructor that followed her in was greatly shocked.


    Alex was able to shatter the energy-attacks of top-grade battle-puppets and knock them backwards.


    The puppets, being top-grade battle puppets were formed from high-quality minerals and rare metals that gave them great toughness and strength for close-quarters combat. Also, they had a good energy-conduction mechanical artery for movement of energies from voidstones to an highly-efficient energy-discharge orifice in their palms which would quickly release huge amount of energies that would turn into an attack and shoot towards opponents.


    So they were surprised at how Alex''s attacks were able to shatter the puppets'' attacks.


    Then they looked towards the other rooms and saw Elena and Jake being in dire straits as they fought the battle-puppets.


    The puppets were simply overwhelming in their attacks.


    Only Draco was able to stand them as he smashed their energy-attacks apart with his bare fists alone and shattered their limbs when his fist connected to theirs.


    But still, there was a limit to which he could do these. Slowly, they overpowered him and he ended up in dire straights just like Elena and Jake.


    Not very long, they left the battle rooms they were in after a few moments of intense battling.


    They left because they felt that they would be greatly injured if they didn''t leave the battle rooms at once.


    Immediately they left, they inhaled deeply.


    It had been very tough in there for them. They weren''t given a breather. The puppets just came coming as they knew nothing about combat fatigue.


    At this point in time, many bruises, cuts and other kinds of wounds could be seen on their bodies.


    Only Alex continued to battle them.


    Although he wasn''t facing the type they were facing.


    Since Jake, Elena and Draco were in the peak-phase condensation stage, they fought the gold-colored battle puppets which had the power of a cultivator at the peak-phase condensation stage. While Alex fought those that matched his cultivation level. He would only be able to fight the other higher-rank battle puppets once he can defeat the ones he fought with.


    The bronze-colored battle puppets stepped out to face Alex. These were in the mid-phase condensation stage.


    Alex''s eyes still contained speedforce energy and this gave him the uncanny ability to see in slow motion since it affected his perception of speed of things.


    So he saw in slow motion the bronze battle-puppets move out from the rows they were in to shoot energy-attacks at him.


    Since they appeared slow in his eyes, before they could launch energy-attacks, he fired off the lumps of energy he had kept in his energy meridians.


    These turned into large amounts of energies that transformed into powerful attacks and knocked away the bronze battle-puppets just before they could unleash their own attacks.


    Not giving them a breather too, and like he was a rapid-fire mechanical attacking system, he sporadically fired off the lumps of realm-energies he had stored in his energy meridians.


    The energy lumps that shot off his hands as streams of colored energies transformed into fierce offensives that struck the puppets with high damaging power when they became infused with Alex''s comprehension of supreme-rank battle-methods.


    Bang!...


    The puppets exploded into bits.


    Alex knew it wasn''t over. There were still more puppets to fight.


    So he continued to create more lumps of energy which he moved to his energy channel and stored in there.


    But he was happy and excited that he came to use the battle room or he wouldn''t have discovered another means of battling which would make him domineering to his opponents since he wouldn''t give them a breather. And this power of domination he now felt he had was because he could rapidly fire energy-attacks.


    He then decided to keep it as a surprise card when in a serious battle.


    Alex grinned excitedly because he had just added a new surprise card to the ones he already had and refrained from using unless in life-threatening situations.


    Then he thought of what to call this battle skill he just developed.


    ''Continuous Fire Cannon'' he said and then named the lumps of energy ''Energy Shells''


    He agreed at the names he called them and got ready to attack.


    Sensing that Alex''s attack power was higher than what the bronze-battle puppets could handle, the puppet-controlling array activated the silver-colored battle puppets.


    These were the ones with power that would match that of a cultivator in the late-phase condensation stage. But their body''s toughness, because of the excellent mineral and metallic materials used to forged them made them much more powerful than a late-phase condensation stage cultivator.


    With eyes that glowed brightly, they sent out energy-attacks at Alex in the same instant they uttered the names of the attacks.


    The attacks spanning dozens of meters in size shot towards Alex at a great speed.


    Seeing the attacks come at him, Alex suddenly had an idea.


    He unclenched his fist and sent his palm out towards the incoming attacks with a shout of battle technique he formed on a whim.


    "Great Furious Barrage!"


    The solid lumps of energy that he called energy shells were sent to his palms one after the other where they discharged from them as large streams of energies that transformed into many attacks and shot at great speeds towards the puppets'' attacks and the puppets, smashing into them with tyrannical force.

 Chapter 118: Training III

    Bang!


    The puppets were struck by the energies and were sent flying for many feet through the air like arrows.


    Where Jennifer watched the battle, she was surprised as her eyes glittered in awe.


    ''He actually beat back the late-phase condensation stage battle puppets?'' She asked inwardly.


    Although she knew Alex was gifted as he was the product of incredibly powerful experts, but as she had never see him fight, she felt he would be surely overpowered by the fierce silver-colored puppets. But they were shoved far away in just a single exchange of attacks. With the puppets being top-grade ones at that.


    Then she wanted to see how he would do against the gold-colored battle puppets. The instructor who came with her was shocked too and wanted to see how Alex would fare against the gold-colored battle puppets.


    A few moments after the silver-colored battle-puppets were blown away by the frightening barrage of fearsome attacks that Alex unleashed, the gold-colored battle puppets were activated.


    Then they stepped out to face Alex who got himself ready for the insane battle that would soon occur.


    He knew it would be very difficult for him to fight these puppets. He knew this because of the high degree of their body''s toughness and because of their ranking.


    They would possess battle-power that would surpass that of the peak-phase condensation stage. Their strength could be almost half-step earth adept stage.


    With cautiousness in his eyes as there were five of them in front of him. He prepared himself.


    Suddenly, with a roar like beasts from hell, they dashed towards Alex. The five of them actually dashed towards Alex.


    Alex whose eyes were saturated with speedforce energy could see them move in slow motion. But this time, these puppets moved much more faster than the earlier ones. So they moved at normal speed in Alex''s vision.


    This simply meant they had great movement speeds.


    Alex was astonished by this. The speed the puppets moved at canceled out the slowing effect of the speed-perception energy that permeated his eyes.


    Multitasking himself, he quickly condensed many of his energies into lumps that he named energy shells.


    Then sending his fully spread palms out at them, the lumps of energy in his energy veins moved towards his palms at great speed and discharge from them as masses of energies that solidified the next moment, becoming terrific attacks when they became infused with Alex''s comprehension of deity-grade battle-methods and shot towards the puppets at great speeds the instant they transformed into powered offensives.


    Seeing the energy-attacks shoot towards them, the puppets sent out their clenched metallic fists at them.


    Boom!


    A deafening boom rang out and was instantly accompanied with frightening ripples of energy which spread out into the distance.


    The puppets were knocked backwards for many while Alex''s energy-attacks shattered apart.


    The puppets'' arms would have shattered into bits upon their collision with Alex''s energy-attacks. But because they were made of high-quality materials, they didn''t shatter. They withstood the destructive force Alex''s energy-attacks which contained slivers of divineforce energy impacted them with. This just showed how durable their body was.


    As they shot backwards through the air by the backwards shoving force that acted on them, they finally overcame it and twisted in the air, landing to the ground many feet away.


    Alex looked at the puppets where they landed and his face became solemn.


    His face turned serious because the voidstones in the chest of the puppets had begun to glow. Since the voidstones were glowing, it meant that they were producing energy which the puppets would unleash as energy-attacks at him.


    Then with mechanical voices, they uttered the names of their attacks and shot the attacks at Alex where he stood.


    Alex using the cultivation percipience ability that every cultivator would gain when they broke through the barrier between mortal and cultivator could sense the level of power of the attacks. They had the power of an earth adept-stage cultivator.


    Realizing their damaging powers, he knew he couldn''t face them head-on. The only way he could was to fuse many energies together so that his energies which contained divineforce energy would achieve a damage-power multiplication effect. And this, he felt he could only do for one attack. But there were five of these attacks.


    So he decided to evade. With eyes that glowed brightly in cyan and with leg muscles that emanated a golden glow because they were permeated with strengthforce energy, he leapt hundreds of feet into the air to evade the massive, solid attacks of energies.


    Whoosh!


    He shot upwards through the air like an arrow evading the puppets'' attacks. Then at an altitude of many hundred feet, he employed the wind elixir technique.


    The instant he did this, a thin sphere of air materialized and enclosed his figure within. Then a large column of air surfaced around the air sphere that enclosed Alex''s figure and began to revolve at a high speed. Using the power of air, he began to float at that altitude. But this quickly drained his mental power.


    Windforce energy moved from this swirling wind column into his body in excessive amounts.


    The wind elixir technique was the only method he could used to achieve endless energy recharge. With the technique, he could continuously absorb unfathomable amounts of wind elemental energy. The technique could be seen as an infinite energy-recharging technique.


    Alex''s body, upon employing the wind elixir technique began to emit a dazzling cyan light. The cyan radiance his body emitted was because of the cyan-colored windforce energy that flowed into his body and permeated his entire body tissues.


    Floating at that height in the air, he sent his palm out at the puppets who were about to jump towards him from the ground.


    The moment he stretched his palms out towards them, an alarming amount of windforce energy erupted from it.


    The great amount of energy he discharged was because he released all the energy his body had absorbed from the moment he deployed the wind elixir technique. And by continually infusing the huge stream of windforce energy floating before him with the wind elemental energy that continously entered into his body, the energy stream increased greatly in size.


    The enormous quantity of wind energy in front of Alex which appeared as a huge cyan cloud gave out a brilliant cyan light that dyed the floor of the massive battle hall in it color.


    "Burying Wind Palm" Alex said.


    Then the huge cloud composed from wind elemental energy transformed into a gigantic, crystalline cyan palm that spanned hundreds of feet in size.


    Swoosh!


    It shot down from that height in the air at a great speed towards the puppets who were about to evade the palm.


    Bang!


    Coming down with great momentum like it was the unstoppable palm of a furious gigantic god, it smashed everything in the battle arena deep into the ground.


    The instant the enormous palm struck the ground, the ground shattered apart in a ripple-like pattern. Then large amount of dusts was thrown into the air and saturated it. This lead to a partial darkening of the large battle room. While where the palm struck the puppets into the ground could be seen a huge and deep crater.


    When the palm struck the ground with immense weight and cratered it, it caused a slight tremor to run through the entire battle hall. People in there which were the staff began to wonder what caused the tremor.


    Seeing the degree of destruction he had caused, Alex said "Oh my, I have destroyed everything in this place"


    Then he stopped utilizing the wind elixir technique. The instant he did, the column and the sphere of air that enveloped his figure vanished and he dropped from that height to the ground.

 Chapter 119: Cultivating

    Jennifer was highly surprised from where she watched his battle. And so was the instructor with her. They couldn''t believe Alex was able to produce such great amount of energy which could possess such destructive capacity.


    But Jennifer quickly got over the shock. She knew that Alex would have a great number of deity-grade methodologies as she knew what family he was from. And she was right. Alex had so many A-grade trinity and duality methodologies. That''s why he had so many battle-methods that could produce tyrannical power since they were methods created by terrifically powerful ancient powerhouses.


    Alex left the room and went to see his team members who were already waiting outside for him.


    "Alex, don''t tell me you had it easy with those damned puppets? How come you were able to last long in there? We have been waiting outside for you to rush out with fear in your face. But you didn''t. Instead you calmly walked out." Jake said.


    Alex smiled.


    "I didn''t want to. But it was very tough for me in there. I couldn''t do much except run from those metal-bodied mechanical beings from striking me. I was frightened by their large-area vacuuming punches. They really are powerful. Guys, we have got serious work to do" Alex said seriously.


    "Oh really? And principal Jennifer chose you to be the leader of the team. I think she made a mistake. We have to replace you with someone else. Draco or Jake should be the leader." Elena said with a tease in her tone while staring at him.


    Alex looked at her and only smiled wryly. From what Elena said, he felt she didn''t believe what he said.


    "Draco, I guess you were be able to shatter those damned puppets into bits." Alex said.


    Draco nodded.


    "It was very tough for me in there too. At first, I was smashing them apart. But they kept coming till they eventually overpowered me" Draco said.


    "Alright. This is what we would do. Let''s go cultivate. Then in three hours time, we would return here to fight again." Alex said.


    Everyone of them nodded their head showing they approved what he said. Then they split and walked towards their residences.


    Elena came to Alex''s side and curled an arm around his neck. While Jake gave an envious smile from the spot he stood. But he was happy for Alex. Alex was slowly growing into a man because he was in a relationship. Then he thought of himself. He hadn''t gotten that girl he wanted yet. Then his resolve became strong. He vowed to get the girl after their competition which would last for two months. What he wanted to do now was train very hard and bring the first place prize to their school. At that time, if things worked out well, he felt his reputation would be restored and even be better than before. At that time, getting the girl he adored shouldn''t be too hard.


    Haha!


    He grinned inwardly.


    "Alyssa, Jake''s coming for you very soon."


    When the trio got to Elena''s hostel block, Elena uncurled her arms around Alex''s neck, gave him a kiss on the cheek and went in.


    Alex smiled while Jake got more envious. Then they both continued to their quarter.


    ......


    Alex could be seen sitting on the ground in the cross-legged position to cultivate. Same with Jake who sat at the other side. They had started cultivating.


    In front of Alex were numerous cultivation pills. His plan was to upgrade ten of the fifteen energies that he cultivated.


    The pills before him were earth-rank pills and were each about fifty in number. Alex produced pills of such rank because only an earth-rank pill would be able to provide the energy that he needed to upgrade his energies from the initial-phase to the mid-phase.


    He knew that condensation-rank pills wouldn''t be very effective in raising the density and quantity of his energies from the initial-phase to the mid-phase.


    Then the reason Alex produced such large numbers of pills was because he felt that even ten pills wouldn''t give enough of the energies he needed to achieve an upgrade for each of his energies.


    He knew that the condensation stage cultivation layer for him couldn''t be compared to that of others. He needed incomparable amounts of energy to be able to smash through from one cultivation layer to the next. Even without using a cultivation-receptacle, his energyhouse behaved like one as it required great quantities of energy before it could allow Alex step into the next cultivation boundary.


    So, Alex''s plan was to use pills to upgrade ten of his fifteen energies. Then the other five using the energy-synthesis formation in the cultivation hall.


    He took a pill that emitted a glow of red light and strong heat. This was an earth-rank pill meant for production of pyroforce energy.


    He swallowed it and braced himself for the intense degree of pain he would be having soon.


    Once the pill got to his stomach, it dissolved and released a huge amount of pyroforce energy.


    Alex clenched his fists hard and began to rapidly move large bundles of wisps of fire elemental energy from his stomach to his energyhouse. Then he infused them into the pool of fire elemental energy in there.


    If one looked at him, one would see him covered in sweats. It was like he just came out a pool. This was due to the sweltering heat that emanated from the pyroforce energy in his body.


    Also, green veins bulged from all over his body and he gnashed his teeth hard that they could almost shatter. This he did just to withstand the serious excruciating pain he felt.


    His stomach organ began to burn due to the intense heat continuously discharging from the pyroforce energy in his stomach.


    The way he felt was like his stomach was filled with molten magma.


    When his body detected what was happening to his stomach which had turned black because it was being burnt by the powerful heat rampantly emitting from pyroforce energy, it kicked up his reactive adaptation ability.


    Once the passive, adaptive recovery ability of his body was activated, slowly, the many seriously burnt parts of Alex''s stomach fell off and were instantly replaced with new tissues that hardened to withstand the intensity of the heat produced by the fiery energy. The new tissues became more resistant to the heat and so the physical unbearable pain Alex was going through decreased a lot. So, he was now able to focus more on his cultivation.


    Not long, he moved away the entire fiery energy in his stomach to his energyhouse.


    Alex then looked at the pool of fiery energy in his energyhouse and saw that it had increased only a bit in volume.


    "Just a bit? After all those pains? What a curse" Alex said disappointedly.


    But he didn''t let this faze him. He knew well about his body and it uniqueness.

 Chapter 120: Violet Temple

    So, he swallowed more pills. Earlier he swallowed just one, but now he swallowed four at once.


    When they got to his stomach, they turned into excessive amounts of pyroforce energy. The amount was exceedingly large that it caused Alex''s stomach to bulge out even after it had undergone compression in his stomach. Besides, due to it quantity, it began to leak out from his stomach into other part of his body and cause him pain.


    Alex gritted his teeth in agony but he focused on his cultivation. Then because of the great degree of pain that racked his body, he was able to push his energy circulation ability to the maximum.


    He began to quickly move enormous bundles of wisps of pyroforce energy to his energyhouse. These he infused into the fiery energy pool which began to quickly grow in volume.


    When he was done moving all the energy to his energyhouse. He swallowed another four pills.


    A few moments later, his pyroforce energy had grown in quantity and density that it could now match that of a mid-phase condensation cultivator.


    But he couldn''t be seen as one in that stage yet as his other energies also needed an upgrade in quality and quantity. Only until they all matched in characteristics could he step into the next phase or layer.


    Not wasting time as he wanted to finish what he was doing before the three hours he gave them was up, he swallowed many ice-energy pills and prepared himself for the extreme pain that would result from his tissues and blood being frozen by the gigantic amounts of coldforce energy that would surface from the dissolution of the ice-energy pills he swallowed.


    ...


    Two hours and forty minutes later, Alex''s eyes snapped open. He had achieved what he wanted to achieve. He had upgraded all the ten energies. Now it remained the other five energies which he didn''t have pills for.


    After their whole training for the day, he would use the energy-synthesis formation in the cultivation hall to upgrade the rest of his energies.


    He stood to his feet and looked to where Jake was. He was still cultivating.


    Alex then looked at himself. Seeing how sweaty and smelly he was, he went into the shower room to have a nice shower.


    When he was done, he came out looking fresh and smelling nice. Then he sat on his bed with a thoughtful gaze in his eyes.


    Alex suddenly felt there was no need in using the battle room. He felt so because his augmented energies, which contained slivers of divineforce energy made him powerful and domineering during exchange of energy-attacks. Only cultivators in an higher stage which is the earth adept stage were his true opponents.


    When he is done with the competition, he would leave the academy for two years like he once said in the past and go to many states to search for legacies of experts. He wanted to battle stronger opponents. He wanted to develop more battle skills like he did in the battle room.


    Many minutes later, Alex called out Jake''s name. Jake was jolted from his cultivation state and stood to his feet. He knew it was time for another round of intense battling.


    Together, they left the residence and went to the battle hall. The others would join them there.


    ........


    - Smith City -


    "Sir, when is Alex coming back?" A beautiful, young girl that looked seventeen asked Houston. This girl was Kate. One of the kids of the workers in the Houston house. She was Alex''s childhood friend.


    "Well, it would be a long time. He went out to develop himself." Houston replied.


    "I just hope he is safe" Kate said worriedly.


    "Don''t you worry yourself over his safety. He is safe and doing fine where he is. I am certain of that" Houston replied calmly.


    Kate was astonished by what Houston said. So she wanted to ask more questions, but before she could, Houston said with a smile "Alright Kate. I would like to get to something. But don''t worry about that naughty and very disobedient boy. He is safe where he is. Believe me"


    Kate was awed. She didn''t know why Houston was so sure Alex was safe.


    "Okay" She nodded. Then she left the room.


    Once she left, Houston''s face turned solemn.


    This was because he could perceive powerful energy fluctuations from a very faraway place that was nine hundred thousand miles away.


    He wondered what was giving off those terrifying energy pulses. Then he decided to go check it out.


    Swoosh!


    He arrived at that place through spatial warping. Once he got there, remaining afloat in the air, he saw something that made him furrow his brows. Then his face turned sour upon perceiving the future events that would start just because of the appearance of the thing before him.


    What he saw was a large rectangular temple that floated high in the air. This temple that seemed to be purely casted from metal and was dark violet in color spanned thousands of meters in size; both in length and breadth. Then thousands of mysterious engravings and inscriptions could be seen on the lustrous, dark violet metallic walls of the enormous temple.


    Above the temple could be seen a massive multicolored cloud that stretched for thousands of miles. Then flowing from a side and over the mountain-sized temple to the other side was a vast, dazzling silvery river. This river simply formed an arch over the temple. And this was no illusion, it was real. Except the river was not a river of water but a river of silver-colored sword-energy.


    Frightening power of sharpness continuously emitted from this river and caused the air to slash widely, revealing the pitch-black void.


    "Silver-Violet Sword Banisher? What the hell is his temple doing in here? Is it even time?" He asked inwardly.


    Then he recalled something.


    "How time flies. Damn! But why and how is his temple here in this small mortal world?" Houston asked inwardly in an unhappy tone.


    The Silver-Violet Sword Banisher was a powerful expert of the way of the sword that lived in the Sword God Greatverse. The Greatverse, a grand world, was actually named after him.


    He was a genius of the way of the sword that possessed the terrifying power to cut even large worlds apart.


    He used twin swords he called ''The Silver and Violet Banishing Sword''.


    Being a man of principle, he differentiated between families, friends, enemies and fiends.


    After ruling for a very long time, he got old and prepared himself for death since he couldn''t break through into the last stage of cultivation.


    He was able to reach the penultimate stage of cultivation because he only cultivated and comprehended swordforce energy.


    But he got old after countless eons of years because he couldn''t break through into that last stage where one needed to be a master of all the energies in the realmverse. It was only at that stage one would achieve eternal life or become a true undying immortal.


    So before he died, he hid away his temple that contained his wealth. Then he announced to every world a time when his legacy would surface again. And that he only gave permission to the cultivators at the saint stage to enter his temple and fight for his legacy. Any other rank would be awfully destroyed by the sword-bound arrays he placed at the entrance.


    He did this to give the saint cultivators a chance to possess great world-lacerating power since they would become sword gods.


    "Aii... Saint cultivators from far and wide will arrive here soon. Especially those haughty ones from grand and major worlds. They would mess up this small world." Houston said inwardly. Then he continued "How I wish that brat was already in the saint stage. He would have been able to fight for this legacy. Well, if he can''t fight for this, he would fight for others."


    Then he vanished from that spot.

 Chapter 121: Mid-phase condensation stage

    - Evening -


    Alex and the rest finished the day''s training. So they went to their different apartments to rest. But Alex didn''t return with them. He still wanted to cultivate. So he bade them bye and went to the cultivation hall.


    He chose a top-grade cultivation room and this caused the staff there to marvel at how Alex was carelessly spending Jennifer''s money.


    When Alex got in, he immediately made way for the energy-synthesis array and sat down at the center.


    Once the array activated, after he had infused the central energy-gathering column with the comprehension of the five realm-energies he wanted to cultivate, the four energy-accumulating columns at the four corners of the square platform began to draw the five energies from the world.


    Realm-energies, also called world-energies were energies one would have to harmonize with. That is, one would have to attune one''s senses and perception to the frequency they vibrated in before one would be able to perceive them and cultivate.


    Alex projected his understanding of the five energies that he wanted to cultivate into the array and this made it able to draw in those energies from the surroundings, based on the information Alex transmitted to it.


    Not long, being an highly-efficient, top-grade cultivation array, a multicolored fog of energy appeared around Alex. This fog totally shrouded his figure.


    Alex then began to absorb the energies into his body. Because he was moving large bundles of wisps of the energies into his body, he experienced great pain.


    The intense pain he experienced was because of the large bundles of threads of energies that entered into his body through his pores.


    Because of their large sizes, they caused his skin pores to expand that it tore and began to bleed from various places. Despite his tough skin, the pores actually tore from expansion by the realm-energies when they moved into his body.


    Alex continued to grunt within him as he tried to withstand the intense pain that flooded his senses. His eyes were red from pain and veins bulge from all over his body. His face looked pale and he was bleeding from his teeth as a result of gritting them too hard just because of the pain that racked his body.


    Three hours later, the pool of energy belonging to his strengthforce energy, darkforce energy, speedforce energy, phantasmforce energy and radiantforce energy increased in volume that they now matched the others in quality and quantity.


    Then Alex''s eyes snapped open. A smile appeared in his face. He had finally broken through to the mid-phase condensation stage.


    He stood from where he sat on the platform. Then he stretched himself and cracked his bones. But he couldn''t go out just yet. He was bloodied and people would still be around. So he decided to wait for the sky to get darker before leaving to go have his bath. He removed the cloth he wore and used it to wipe off the blood stain on his body and on the ground. Then he wore a new cloth.


    Since there was nothing to do and feeling idle, he sat back on the ground in the cross-legged position.


    Then he thought of Karen. He hadn''t seen her since. He wondered where she went to. Then he remembered their battle. He recalled that he had to switch on and off his physique transformation ability to be able to fight her. And why he did that was because he wanted to swallow soul invigorating pills to refresh his soul, to give it energy. And he felt that although Karen was really angry at him that day, she didn''t really wanted to kill him. If it was a serious life-or-death battle, he wasn''t sure he would still be alive. He knew that in a real battle, no one would allow him to take pills to energize himself after he had reverted and then try to re-transform. It would be an insane, fatiguing, deadly battle. And the time to remain in his physiques was very limited. Just about a minute and he would suddenly blank out.


    "I have to work on my soul. I have to cultivate it." Alex said. He felt that only by cultivating his soul would he be able to last longer in his transformed state.


    Then he looked into his dad''s necklace and scanned the vast storage space for any book that had information on cultivation of the soul.


    He saw many of such books, about thousands of it. He nodded his head with a smile. Then with a thought, he made one to appear in his hand. This was larger than the rest and had a more attractive cover.


    He looked at the book and saw ''Soul Cultivation'' boldly written on the front cover.


    ''Nice'' Alex said inwardly.


    Then he opened it to read.


    "Introduction: Soul is the sentient, formless entity that resides within the body. It''s what is responsible for life apart from the vitality in blood. No soul and the vessel it resides in which is the body becomes dead, lifeless.


    But the formlessness of the soul only applies to mortals. While for cultivators, it''s only formless till they reach the heaven adept stage. At that stage, the soul gains a substantiated form that completely resembles the vessel or the body it resides in. That is, it takes the same form as the body it inhabits.


    The soul can be found in the soul-dwelling region of the body. This region can also be called the soul inhabitation realm and it is found in the head.


    One doesn''t need to reach the heaven adept stage before gaining ability to see the soul and make out it form. Through cultivation of it, one would gain the passive ability called ''soul-vision''. This is the ability to look into that region to see the soul.


    Also, cultivating the soul comes with many other abilities such as:


    1. Compulsion: a soul cultivator gains the ability to compel others to do things for him or her. Also called mind-coercion, anyone under this power would be forced to do things that is against their will.


    2. Soul-slaying ray projection: one can shoot rays of soul-energy to wipe out the soul of another.


    3. Vessel hijacking: one can take over the body of another and reside in it for as long as one desires.


    4. Illusion casting: one can project illusions into an opponent''s mind to make them run mad or to distract them and kill them in battle.


    5. Soul absorption: a soul cultivator can absorb other people''s soul to enhance his or her soul. Coupled with the vessel hijacking ability, this would birth an ability called ''Death-evasion'' or ''quasi-eternal existence''. This is the ability to evade or defy death by leaving a body which is growing weaker due to being unable to break through into the next cultivation realm to another body, and absorbing their soul to increase his or her soul-existence period; the amount of time a soul can exist before decomposing and the energy that constituted it returning to the realmverse.


    "Cool" Alex said with glittering eyes. Then he continued "This is awesomely great. So one can achieve false eternal life? Why didn''t I cultivate my soul all this while. The powers one would gain are way tyrannical."


    Then he paused in his thought to think of something.

 Chapter 122: Cultivating the soul

    "This is getting confusing now. I don''t know which is stronger again between soul cultivation, body cultivation, energy cultivation and bloodline cultivation. For me, bloodline cultivation which have to do with physique conjuration is limited in power. Just one or two physiques and some abilities. That''s all. It''s many times useful in battle, but it''s very useless in front of a soul cultivator. Unless that person can produce a physique related to the soul. Then body cultivation which is strengthening the body to become nearly indestructible, to the point where one''s body would become even more resilient than a peerless-quality, god-tier divine armor is only useful in battle too. One would have vast physical strength and can desolate worlds with their power of might. But still, they are useless in front of a soul cultivator. Also, despite their powerful bodies, they would still die. Although their flesh wouldn''t decay as it has become like a supreme, deity-rank primordial artifact, their soul would cease to exist when their soul-existence periods runs out. They can''t achieve Immortality with this technique." Alex said and exhaled.


    "Then that brings me to energy cultivation and soul cultivation. For energy cultivation, one have to cultivate all the energies of this world to have just that one chance at true Immortality. But that is nigh-impossible as the amount of time one''s soul can exist would run out and one would die. Only soul cultivation would give one that chance at gaining eternal life. Even if it seems evil as one would snatch people''s bodies and absorb their soul, it gave one the ability to simply exist forever. That is the strongest. To be undying and unaging. Haha!" he said and grinned.


    Then he brought his attention back to the book and continued to read.


    "To cultivate the soul, one have to enter into harmony with soulforce energy. This energy is an ethereal energy that abounds around us. But it is an energy that''s very difficult for one to attune one''s perception to as it extremely elusive. It vibrates from one frequency to another. It doesn''t have a fixed frequency. It is ever-changing. That''s why there are not much soul cultivators in the world. To give an example of it rarity, in every hundred thousand cultivators, there would be only two to five soul cultivators."


    "Damn!"


    Alex shook his head. This was getting more interesting to him.


    "And to cultivate the soul, one must have cultivated any form of realm-energy. It is a prerequisite to cultivate soulforce energy. Then when one achieves attunement to this energy and absorbs it, one instantly gains the ability to see the area in their head where the soul is. Then they can move the absorbed soul-energy into the soul inhabitation realm where they would infuse their soul with it. So with time, one''s soul would change from it formless state to a corporeal state. It becomes like a tangible body that can be felt and touched. This stage directly tallies with that which happens when one breaks through into the heaven adept stage. In this stage, one would gain soul-sense ability which is a type of field-scanning ability related to the soul. Also, one can split one''s soul into many parts to create soul clones. These can hijack bodies of humans, beasts and non-humans and turn them to one''s armies."


    Alex''s eyes sparkled. He felt he was right about soul cultivators being the strongest. They could create armies that would be under their absolute control. They don''t need to fight. Their armies would do the fighting for them.


    Alex who had become very excited because of what he read skipped the introduction part and went to the soul cultivation technique part.


    He read it many times over to understand it. When he felt he had understood the technique, he stowed the book back into his dad''s spatial necklace.


    Still sitting in the cross-legged position on the ground, he closed his eyes and focused on his surroundings.


    Then he began to recall all that he read about the soul and soulforce energy.


    "Soul is formless and soulforce energy is ethereal. The soul of a person is an embodiment of life that lacks true form and resides within the body of such person. Since soul makes us exist since without it, we can''t live. Then soulforce energy can be called subsistence-energy or existence-energy. It continues our existence unlike lifeforce energy which gives us vitality and regenerative ability..."


    He contemplated the soul and soulforce energy in his mind. He tried to understand it essence so that he could perceive the frequency it vibrated in. But as an energy with ever-changing frequency, it was very difficult to attune to. It was very elusive.


    Alex didn''t mind this. He just continued to comprehend.


    Few hours later...


    Alex''s eyes opened and he inhaled deeply. He stood from the ground and left the cultivation hall to the residence he and Jake shared.


    On getting to the room, he saw Elena and Jake discussing. He just smiled at them and rushed to the bathroom to shower.


    When he came out, Jake had gone.


    He wondered were Jake went to.


    "Where''s Jake?" He asked Elena.


    "He went out. He didn''t mention were he was going to too me" Elena replied.


    "Oh. Okay" Alex said.


    Then he sat on the bed beside Elena.


    Being someone with poor communication skills, he became quiet. But in his mind, he was trying hard to think up a topic to discuss with Elena.


    And unfortunately for him, Elena knew about this too. So she just waited with a smile in her face for Alex to talk. She didn''t want to be the one to raise a topic they would discuss on.


    After a while, Alex managed to produce one.


    "Uhm, Elena.. Have you ever had a boyfriend?" Alex asked.


    Elena was surprised by the question.


    "Well, yea..." She said and before she could talk further, Alex suddenly cut in with an "Oh! You once had a boyfriend?"


    "Yes. And his name was Danny. But our relationship didn''t go that far. This was because his family moved to a higher world. We were once the two strongest family in the state. But one time, his great grandfather made a breakthrough to a higher cultivation realm and so, because of more cultivation resources to be able to break through to higher cultivation stages, he made his entire family move to another world where cultivation resources would be abundant for their continuous and smooth breakthroughs. I am sure Danny must be in the peak-phase earth adept stage or even the heaven adept stage now. And we were once in the same cultivation stage." Elena replied in a melancholic tone.


    "Oh. Do you miss him?" Alex asked.

 Chapter 123: A wonderful time together

    "No, I don''t. Our relationship didn''t go that far. So that affection isn''t there. I don''t miss him in any way. But one time, my dad passed a message from him to me. And the message was that he would come get me when he''s done with what he''s doing there. That he still loves me and so would come for me so we could go on adventures together and cruise everywhere as lovers." Elena said.


    "Really?" Alex asked in a shocked tone.


    "Yes." Elena replied with a smirk.


    "When he comes back, would you go with him?" Alex asked.


    "No way. When I already have someone who is very charming and who is a spectacular genius." Elena replied.


    Alex smiled.


    Elena then looked at him in the eyes. Then she carried her two hands and placed them on the sides of his face.


    "Your skin, it''s beautiful like a polished pearl and smooth like a mirror. That''s why every girl that would come across you would have their heartstrings instantly tugged by you. You are so beautiful." She said with a smile.


    Alex gave a wide smile.


    "Am flattered." He replied.


    Staring into Elena''s eyes, he thought of what Jake would do if he were him. Then he got an idea and began to zone in on Elena.


    Seeing Alex come towards her, with a smile, she also moved closer to him.


    When their faces were very near to the other, their eyes shut with their breaths brushing one another''s faces. Then when their lips touched, they locked into one another and so Elena and Alex began to kiss passionately.


    Alex wrapped his hand around Elena''s waist while Elena clasped Alex''s head with her dainty hands.


    Soft kissing sounds continually rang out as their lips sucked against the other.


    Alex then lowered his back to the bed with Elena on top of him. Her peaks pressed against his chest as her upper body rested on his. She then took her left hand and used it to grab Alex''s left arm which was on her back.


    Then with a slight push, she moved his left hand from her back to the top of her bubble butts.


    Alex then felt he was giving the authority to go wild. So he carried his right hand and placed it on her butts.


    He didn''t know were the instinct came from, he suddenly found himself pressing Elena''s butts.


    Elena stopped kissing him and raised her upper body from the lying position. Still on top of him, she removed the shirt she wore to appear only on bra. But her flawless, snow-white body and cleavage were revealed to Alex.


    Alex''s eyes glittered.


    He felt his body''s temperature rise and blood rush to the organ at his groin region which slowly got firmer and stiffer.


    Elena felt his rod, but she ignored it. Then with a smile, she lowered herself to resume kissing Alex.


    They kissed for a long time before she stopped. But she didn''t get up from him. She rested on him with her busts pressing against his chest.


    Alex''s hands were still on her butts. But he had stopped pressing them. A moment later, he slowly dragged his hands which were on Elena''s butts to her smooth, bare back.


    When he got to her back, he could feel it smoothness and softness. Then he began to move his hands around it to enjoy the linen-smooth feel of her back.


    But he later got bored of doing that. Then his eyes glittered when he recalled something. He recalled the peaks on Elena''s chest. He didn''t know if Elena would allow him but he decided to give it a try.


    Taking his hands away from her back, he brought them to her chest.


    Elena''s busts, although covered by the bra she wore had flattened because it pressed against his chest. But now, they were been slowly fondled by by his hands at some angles.


    Elena felt Alex''s hands caressing the area of her busts not covered by the bra, then she raised herself back to gaze at him.


    Alex''s hands froze where it was. An embarrassed smile could be seen in his face. He wanted to say something when Elena said with a smile "You naughty boy. I gave you an inch, but you want to take a feet. I never knew you were this bad. So naivety and innocence doesn''t come into play when stuff like this occur right?"


    Alex shook his head. He wanted to talk when Elena placed a finger on his lips and gave a shush! Then she carried Alex''s palms and placed them on her chest.


    Once Alex''s hands were made to grab Elena busts although were covered by the bra she wore, his eyes seemed to produce fire and the signals in his brain went on rampage. They simply became chaotic.


    When he got back a hang of himself, he began to press Elena''s busts which the bra hid. And this caused Elena to moan softly.


    She then began to slowly rotate her waist around Alex''s groin while in the sitting position on top of him, and groaned in pleasure as Alex hands played with her chest.


    Not long, maybe because the wonderful sensation got to her head, Elena unfastened her bra which she slowly removed and dropped to a side of the bed to reveal her busts to Alex.


    Alex''s eyes glowed.


    Elena''s breasts were beautiful and attractive in appearance. She had large breasts that despite their sizes, they didn''t fall and pointed down. Instead, they stood firm and pointed straight. Her breasts were white-skinned and this matched the color of her shirtless, snow-white upper body. Also, her breasts had beautiful, bright pink nipples that would cause a great explosion of sexual desires and hormones to go off in one''s body.


    His hands then moved up to grab Elena''s enticing melons which he began to knead gently. He pressed and pinched the nipples softly and these actions caused Elena to moan.


    After sometime, she stopped the rotation of her waist on Alex''s groin and said "Feels like torture right?"


    Alex was taken aback. Then he understood what she meant.


    He nodded his head while Elena gave a smile.


    "I would like to do it too. But I am still a virgin. The only time I would allow myself be deflowered by any man is when I reach the sage lord stage." Elena said.


    Alex''s eyes widened in surprise.


    "Okay. I guess same goes for me too." he said with a smile.


    Elena nodded. She kissed a cheek of his and got off him. Then she wore her bra back and her shirt.


    Immediately she got off, Alex''s male sex organ was standing fully erect. Alex didn''t feel embarrassed this time. He let it advertise itself.


    Elena smiled. Then she said "Your stiff serpent is looking for a hole to shoot into. By the way, you need to shower again. Your trouser is wet. I guess it''s all sticky in your trousers now."


    Alex smiled wryly. He couldn''t follow her like that. So Elena left by herself to her hostel before it got too dark.


    Although Elena too was wet, it was hidden by her skirt. Only her underwear was wet from the sexually exciting exercise they both carried out.


    When she left the residence, a large violet eye in the sky was looking at her as she walked away. Then it placed it focus back on the residence Alex was living in. It began to stare down at Alex in the residence. This gigantic divinely eye was invisible so no one could perceive it.


    "Hmm." A mesmerizing female voice sounded out from far.

 Chapter 124: Day of competition

    Alex came out of the shower room looking good. There was a smile in his face that gave one the feeling that it couldn''t be erased by anything and would last for eternity. His smile broadened when he recalled all that he did and he couldn''t believe that was him doing those things.


    "So I was that bad? I have been hiding my beast all this while. Haha. But man, that feeling and those sensations were blissful and wonderful. How would I really feel if we actually did that thing?" Alex asked himself with a puzzled tone.


    "No wonder Jake is always after girls. Since he has done that thing numerous times like he told me in the past, he knew the joy in doing it." Alex said.


    Then he shrugged.


    "Well, I can''t possibly be like that pervert. Instead of going to them, they should come to me. I know my worth. I am greatly good-looking and amazing." He said and gave a smile.


    Then he thought of Karen.


    "I wonder where that ridiculously beautiful, fun-loving expert is. Perhaps because her secrets were exposed to me, so she doesn''t want to face me. She might feel I would look at her as a powerful saint-level expert and not as a peer. That we wouldn''t be able to relate or interact well due to our known differences in power. But she is so, so, damn gorgeous. Imagine I did those things to her too. I would be full of happiness. How I wish I didn''t go to that area that day. I would never have discovered that she was a saint expert and I would have been able to do those delightful things to her too." He said and grinned.


    Then he brought his mind back to what happened between him and Elena and his smile reinforced.


    "Having many beautiful girls in one''s arm isn''t a bad thing. In fact, it''s life. It''s the best thing that could happen to anyone. But they would have to come to me, not me going to them." He said firmly.


    But his resolve wavered when he thought of Jennifer and Michelle. Those were two powerful female experts that wouldn''t look in his direction. He knew he was young and too weak for them. Every female experts would only look up to someone who is more powerful than them. Not someone who is far lower in cultivation stage to them. He believed that when he got to a stage where he can darken skies of thousands of continents in the blink of an eye, only then would they look at him. Although he knew Jennifer likes him very much, she might see him as a brother or something. But he liked her. Ever since he was young, he had always admired beauties.


    "Well, I shouldn''t be thinking about women. They should be the one thinking about me. I have to resume my comprehension of soulforce energy. Only with it would I have a sight chance of lasting longer in my transformed states." He said as he became serious, putting the matter of women aside.


    Then he sat in the cross-legged position to comprehend the essence of the soul and soulforce energy.


    All while he was saying this, an exceedingly beautiful girl was smiling at his speeches from a far away place.


    In her eyes were bright violet pupils that matched that in the gigantic but unseen violet eye in the sky that was directly but far above Alex''s residence.


    And surprisingly, she was able to hear all that Alex said.


    "Oh really? Girls would have to come to you and you not going to them. Well, you are right about that. But you saying that you wanted to do those things you did to Elena to me. Haha. In your dreams pretty boy. You would have to go through agonizing pains to be able to do that. He actually thought lewdly about me. He has profaned my pure body in his mind. He just did the same thing I taught him a lesson for back there. Well, for committing a sacrilege to this holy and sacred beauty in your mind, I will do all it takes to deal with you. Perhaps a better one is knocking you out of that competition you would go to represent your academy." She said with a mischievous smile in her face. Then she flew away.


    .......


    Alex and his team members continued to train using the battle rooms.


    In this manner, they trained till the week ran out. Even their weekends was used for intense training.


    Jake''s and Elena''s battle proficiencies had gone up. Although they weren''t able to defeat the gold-colored battle puppets, they could fight them to a stalemate. There was no winner or loser. There was only a tie as their strength matched equally. While Draco smashed everything in his path to bits. The golden-colored battle puppets had pushed him to his limit and so he could put more smashing power into his punch. The only one he couldn''t defeat was the black-colored puppets which were half-step earth adept-stage battle-puppets. But he could fight them to a draw. He too had his battling capacity augmented beyond his limit.


    As for Alex, he once fought the black-colored puppets and totally destroyed them. So he lost interest in fighting the battle-puppets and tried going to the battle room for the earth adept stage to fight the earth-adept battle-puppets. But the staffs there refused to allow him in. Although it was Jennifer that gave them the instruction that they shouldn''t allow him in.


    Since there was nothing to fight, he focused on his soul cultivation. He did this from morning to night for days. Yet, he couldn''t perceive soulforce energy.


    But Alex didn''t give up. Rather, it strengthened his zeal to enter into harmony with the energy and cultivate it.


    ........


    One day In the morning, Alex and his team entered into an ultivehicle. Same with John and his team members. They also stepped into the ultivehicle that Alex and his team entered.


    Today was the day for the competition, so they got ready to move out to the site where the competition would be taking place.


    An hour later, they got there.


    When their ultivehicle landed, Alex, John and their team members stepped out of the ultivehicle to the ground.


    Then around them were many ultivehicles where students from different academies stepped out from to the ground.


    There were fifty ultivehicles here and that made fifty academies that came for the competition. They were not all from the Skytrident state. Only twenty-five academies were from the states. The others were from neighbouring and faraway states.


    When every students had descended from the ultivehicles they came here with, they heard a loud booming voice from the distance.


    "Everyone, welcome. Now, I believe we are all here to represent our schools for the competition. This competition requires no battle platform or arena. Instead, you would journey to the Three Treasure Land. If you ask me what land that is, it''s a vast area of land far below the one you are standing on. You can only go in through the large hole farther up in the distance." The voice said.


    Then the booming voice continued "the Three Treasure Land is a land where a heaven-rank artifact was buried. And buried along with it were firmament-rank and earth-rank artifacts. These artifacts are supreme-grade artifacts. To win, one would have to get at least one of these artifacts. So, only three people from different schools would be able to win the competition. And if you think you are strong enough, you can snatch the three artifacts all for yourself. This competition will last for two months as you would search for where the treasure-artifacts are buried in. Good luck to you. You can go into the hole now"

 Chapter 125: Split up

    Once the voice said they could enter into the hole, all the student here dashed towards the hole farther in the distance.


    Since there were fifty ultivehicles here and in each came eight to nine students. Then that meant there were more than four hundred students here for the competition.


    When they got to where the hole was, they didn''t jump in as hesitation shone in their eyes. Their hesitations surfaced because they saw how the hole looked like.


    Although large, it was dark and it gave a feeling that it was very deep. Then they thought how they would land without breaking their leg bones. They couldn''t fly and land softly to the ground. So, this made them hesitant to jump in.


    "Jump in. Don''t be scared. Since you can''t fly, a force will help you land gently to the bottom"


    Since they were assured by the voice, they jumped into it.


    The voice wasn''t lying to them. When they jumped in, they suddenly felt a gentle force encompass all of them. Then they slowly floated towards the bottom of the hole.


    This force was generated by a gravity-dampening array. So the force produced by the array made them levitate slowly to the ground.


    Few hours later, they got to the bottom of the hole. But it wasn''t really a hole. It was a tunnel to another land below the surface of the earth which was vast in size. It was a subsurface land with great dimensions. This land was hundreds of kilometers wide and long.


    When the students were still floating towards the bottom, they felt that the place must be really dark and that they would need to use the radiance of their energies to see.


    But they were wrong. The vast subsurface land was illuminated by a light from a distance. This light came from an object that floated high in the air in this place. It was so bright that it gave the feeling it was a fraction of the sun that was here. It was when they got nearer to the bottom they saw the intense lighting.


    Then the voice that spoke earlier to them said "Now, this land isn''t all solid earth. There are static and flowing bodies of water here and there in this place. And these, I mean by pools, streams and rivers. I mentioned this because the artifacts could also be hidden in these bodies of water. And there are many water bodies in this place. That''s why you are going to spend two months searching for them. Also, there are a few hills and mountains scattered here and there in the far distance. Look in them too. They could also have the artifacts in them. You can start now. Good luck to all you"


    Every one of them inhaled deeply. They knew that whoever saw the treasure would have to keep mute about it or one would have to self-withstand hundreds of attacks from many of their competitors.


    But how wrong they were.


    "Should we split up?" Jake asked Alex.


    "No we can''t. Let''s try looking for the artifacts together" Alex said.


    His team members were surprised by what he said.


    "But we would waste time like that. We wouldn''t be able to to cover much places to search for the artifacts." Elena said.


    "Yea. Elena''s right. If we split up, we would be able to cover more ground and any one of us may have a chance at finding the artifacts" Draco said.


    "No. I am certain it''s not as easy as that. There are hundreds of us here who are looking for the treasure-artifacts. If any one of us fortunately finds an artifact, am certain that the artifact once it is unearthed would produce a large pillar of colorful light that would signal everyone here about it discovery. Everyone would dash towards that person and force to him surrender the artifact. It is that stage the real competition starts. Terrible life-threatening battles might ensue from there. So one person can''t do this alone. If we search as a team, we would have each other''s back. Even probably against the hundred of competitors in here." Alex said.


    "Hmm. You may be right Alex. But, since this wasn''t mentioned by that voice, then it certainly wouldn''t happen. I say we search individually. We would be able to cover more grounds like that. Look at the others. They have all gone to search for the artifacts individually." Jake said looking around. He could see everyone go find the artifacts themselves. It was more like an individual thing than a group thing.


    Alex shook his head.


    "Alright. We would search for the artifacts individually. But be careful. In case you find one of them and the numbers of competitors that would gather around you are overwhelming. Don''t be stubborn thinking you can escape or fight your way through, just surrender it." Alex said.


    They all nodded. Then Draco and Jake set out to random places to go search for the buried artifacts. Only Elena remained behind.


    With a smile that made the radiance of the moon pale in comparison, she came towards Alex and gave him a kiss on the lips. She stroke his long, straight, womanly hair and said "You be careful too"


    Alex nodded with a smile.


    Then he reciprocated her intimate action. He moved his head closer to hers and gently clasping it, he gave her a deep kiss. His tongue reached deep into her mouth and began to roam about her mouth''s interior where their saliva mixed.


    A few minutes later. He stopped. He removed his lips from hers and said "You should come with me. I don''t want you to be hurt. I am afraid of these guys. If they see a pretty girl alone, they could gang up against her and do terrible things to her. I don''t want such evil to befall you."


    Elena gave a beautiful, radiant smile.


    "My knight in shiny armor. Thanks for thinking deeply about my safety. I know such can happen. So I would try to be careful. But we have to win this competition. So I would have to set out too and search myself. Don''t be worried about me. Nothing will happen" she said while cradling Alex''s face.


    "Okay. But please remember to be very careful. If in case you ever run into any form of trouble, just shout out my name." Alex said.


    Elena was taken aback. Then she nodded.


    She would do anything the boy in her heart instructed her to do. She then left to go search for the buried supreme-grade artifacts.

 Chapter 126: Elena In trouble

    When she left, Alex deployed his enhanced hearing ability to the maximum.


    And the instant he did this, sounds from many kilometers away was perceived by him. His hearing ability had increased when he broke through to the mid-phase condensation stage.


    Then he moved to a random place to search for the buried artifacts. And buried meant that it could be buried six to twelve feet in the ground.


    ....


    Hundreds of portals appeared in the sky and these caused the mortals in the Smith city to be shaken to their core. They were frightened at the sight of these portals.


    Very soon, lot of people began to come out from these portals. They were all at the saint stage.


    These people were from greatverses, oververses and underverses and these were great worlds, major worlds and minor worlds respectively.


    The one Alex lived in was a planeverse which was a mundane world or a mortal world. There were also cultivators at that cultivation stage who also came for the legacy from Alex''s world.


    These people came to acquire the legacy of the Silver-violet Sword Banisher.


    There were tens of thousands of these saint cultivators. They gathered like armies of ants before the massive, metallic violet temple that floated high in the sky and rippled with the power to cut apart both air and space and reveal the pitch-black void.


    But they couldn''t enter just yet. The gigantic doors into the temple haven''t opened yet. Besides, they didn''t hear any voice that would give them instructions on what to do. So, they were only here to marvel at the temple of the Silver-violet Sword Banisher and at his power.


    Then they left to go set up camps or rent inns that they would stay in till the time the temple''s doors would open and would be given permission by some archaic voice to enter.


    - Houston Mansion -


    "Those haughty bastards have arrived. Hmm... Well, they had better not bring any of their trouble to my abode or I won''t fail in instantly obliterating them." A tall and handsome, short-haired man said. He was Houston.


    With his eyes closed, he could see everything that happened at that faraway place.


    .....


    Alex, where he knelt at a random spot placed his hand on the ground. He did this to feel the composition of that portion of earth. But it was mainly to know if there was any treasure-artifact buried deep within it.


    If he detects any vibration or pulse or fluctuation, he would guess it must be from an artifact since an ordinary ground wouldn''t produce pulses of power or fluctuations of energy.


    Why Alex did this was because of his trust in his perverse physical senses.


    His skin could perceive field-scanning power-senses and react to them. This was done by the hairs on it standing at their ends and producing a sharp sensation which indicated an invisible presence in the surrounding. Then he had powerful far-seeing vision, vast hearing abilities and enhanced olfaction or smell. He could detect smells from far distances. He also felt that his taste organ would be enhanced. It was just that he did not know how to use it yet which he would find out soon.


    Since his sense organs which were his organ of vision, hearing, touch, smell and taste were powerful than others, he felt that an energy from that Beyonder must have altered their characteristics and heightened their functions to shocking levels.


    So he believed in his organ of touch which was his skin. By placing his palm on the ground, he tried to feel any form of vibration or pulse or fluctuation moving or flowing in it.


    With his eyes closed, he pushed his sense of feel to the maximum. But he could not perceive any form of vibration or fluctuation.


    "Well, maybe there''s nothing here or I just couldn''t sense it." Alex said inwardly and stood to his feet.


    Then he walked for another thirty minutes to a new place. He knelt and placed his two hands on the ground and deployed his sense of feeling to his limit. With his eyes closed, he tried to detect any form of strange vibration emission in the earth. After a while, he removed his hand since he couldn''t detect anything.


    "This would be difficult. I wonder how those guys are gonna do it." He said inwardly as he looked around.


    Then he stood from where he was and moved on to another location.


    The search continued for weeks until one day, a large beam of resplendent shot upwards, illuminating the entire land in it prismatic color.


    Everyone were alerted by the dazzling, multicolored beam of light that suddenly appeared. Then they dashed towards the place where the beam of light surfaced from. They knew someone had discovered a place where a treasure-artifact was buried. So they rushed there to snatch the treasure-artifact from the person.


    Alex too was surprised when the massive pillar of chromatic light appeared. He knew someone had discovered a treasure-artifact. But he didn''t bother rushing there to try and snatch it. He believed it was that person''s luck and that he would find one for himself using his powerful senses.


    He believed it was just that he had gotten to the place where any of the other two treasures would be buried.


    Just as he would turn to leave, he heard a scream of his name from a very far distance.


    He unexpectedly froze where he stood. Then his eyes narrowed before it coldened. He then infused his leg muscles with strengthforce energy and this caused them to emit a golden light. Also, his eyes abruptly turned intense cyan the instant he deployed his wind manipulation power to it fullest.


    Swoosh!


    Then he ran at dozens of times the full speed of a cheetah to the place where his name was shouted from.


    He was incredibly fast he left after-images of himself behind. Also, an unusually fast gust of wind could be seen behind him. This swept lot of dust into the air that became a massive, thick brown cloud which drastically reduced the brilliance of the light emitting from the object that provided illumination to the subsurface land.


    .....


    "And who the fuck is this whore calling? Your boyfriend? Is he that strong that he can handle everyone of us? Haha! You make me want to laugh. I am sure your boyfriend is somewhere hiding. Too scared to reveal his face. Bwahaha. Anyways, I have spoken enough beauty. Give me that treasure-artifact in your hand or you would loose something very precious to you today. That''s if you still have it" A boy said lustfully and dozens of males from other academies laughed.


    The beauty they were referring to was Elena. She had discovered a treasure-artifact buried in the earth using her power of earth through cultivation of terraforce energy.


    Cultivating earth-energy enabled her to detect unusual and strange vibrations in the ground.


    But instead of being happy and excited, her gaze became frosty and radiated with sadness.


    Her gaze was ice-cold because of all that the boy said and an expression of gloominess was plastered in her face because she would have to surrender the treasure-artifact to the male in front of her.


    She looked away from them to the distance but she saw no one that resembled Alex. Instead, she saw more people, both males and females from different academies dashing towards her at a great speed.


    Thinking that Alex was just blabbing earlier, she decided to give the male the treasure-artifact.


    Just as Elena was about to, Alex appeared thirty feet away from where she stood. Then with a hard stomp against the ground resulting in it fissure, he shot into the air like an arrow that was furiously fired and landed between her and the male in a few seconds.


    Then with unbridled anger in his eyes, he looked at the male and barked "I dare you to repeat what you said earlier!"


    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


    Hello dear readers.


    I am happy that you guys are following my book. So, if you want more chapters, vote for this book and you would get extra chapters every Friday.


    Here are the numbers of power stones for extra chapters:


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    Thanks for reading, commenting and voting.

 Chapter 127: Against hundreds I

    Everyone''s eyes widened in marvel because of the astonishing feat Alex pulled. They wondered who could jump so high like that. They didn''t have such strength to achieve such such an insanely high, long-distance leap.


    The male who said those things to Elena was also shocked by Alex. Then he braced himself for he felt he had offended someone strong.


    But when he used the cultivation percipience ability that one would gain when one broke through to become a cultivator to perceive Alex''s cultivation stage, his widened before he exploded into a raucous laughter.


    "Gosh. I am so stupid. You in the initial-phase condensation stage actually succeeded in frightening me, a cultivator of the peak-phase condensation stage. I guess you used all your energy to produce that astounding jump so we would fear you. But how daft you are. You better tell that whore to give me that treasure-artifact or I will so deal you and her no one would be able to recognize you. Not even your parents" The boy said.


    Alex''s eyes became extremely chilly. He stepped forward to go meet him but he was unexpectedly held back by Elena who had a worried expression in her face.


    She held him back because she didn''t want anything bad to happen to him. Also, she felt that even if Alex was a genius, there were many genius here as well and they have cultivation stages far than his. They could ruin his cultivation if they ganged up against him.


    When Alex felt a soft, warm hand grab his, trying to prevent him from moving towards the boy, the anger in his eyes disappeared. Then he turned his head to look at Elena who clasped his hand with a worried expression in her face. He looked at her with a loving gaze and with a reassuring smile.


    Elena didn''t know what came over her. The smile Alex produced gave her confidence. It made her feel like there was nothing in his path that he couldn''t sunder. So she loosened her grip on his arm and looked lovingly at the dashing boy in front of her.


    At the moment, Alex was emanating an heroic aura. He stood tall amongst many men. He gave a feeling that he was a mountain that will remain on it ground even if the most powerful flood in the world came violently washing over.


    When Elena unclasped his arm, he turned his head back to look at the boy in front of her with an angry gaze.


    "You actually called my girlfriend a whore, again. You must want to be buried here" Alex said angrily.


    "Haha. Do your worst son of a bitch" The boy said and gave an unbridled laughter.


    Alex''s eyes suddenly erupted killing intent. This was because the boy just insulted his mother. He would never take that from anyone. Not even from a god.


    He suddenly dashed towards the boy that he got to his front in a second. Then he gripped the boy''s neck and lifted him high above the ground. He applied force on his grip and this caused the boy to begin to suffocate.


    The boy''s colleagues became angry at what Alex was doing. Then killing intent also erupted from their eyes.


    With voices that sounded like that of demons from hell, they bellowed in fury "Drop him you bastard"


    "Okay." Alex said calmly.


    Suddenly, his arms began to emit a soft golden glow. But this glow was hidden by the long-sleeve uniform shirt he wore.


    Then with a turn, he flung the boy far into the distance.


    The boy was thrown hundreds of meters into the air and then crashed heavily into the earth sixty meters away.


    The boy was shot away like an arrow that in an instant, his figure had vanished from their vision.


    ''What?''


    ''Body cultivator?''


    ''Such physical strength. Damn.''


    Several thought about Alex''s horrifying physical strength flashed in the minds of everyone. They were shaken to their core by the feat Alex pulled again.


    "I have dropped him" Alex said looking at the boys.


    The boy''s colleagues looked at Alex with fear in their eyes. They now became terrified of his strength. Like that, they backed away slowly.


    Just when they would leave, they heard a cold snort.


    "Why are you guys backing off? His strength is nothing to be frightened about. Don''t tell me you guys think he can withstand full-power energy-attacks from the hundreds of us here." An ice-cold feminine voice rang out.


    Alex and everyone turned their heads to look at the person that spoke. Then they saw a slim, tall and fair girl dressed in a uniform that made her look beautiful.


    This girl came forward and looked at Alex with frigid coldness.


    Alex was taken aback. He didn''t know what caused the girl in front of him to look at him with such frosty gaze. It was like they were enemies that couldn''t leave under the same sky. Alex felt her cold gaze pierce into his heart and mind and cause them to freeze over.


    "Yea. The genius of our Ice Phoenix academy has said it all. He may be strong but he definitely can''t withstand attacks from the hundred of us here. Let us get that treasure-artifact from that whore behind him" A girl came forward and said.


    Immediately the girl finished speaking, the anger in Alex''s heart exploded. His eyes became red and he clenched his fist so hard they produced a loud cracking sound.


    If his anger materialized into flame, it would burn everything to ashes.


    Then he looked at Elena and said "Give me the artifact and leave here"


    Elena was shocked by what Alex said. Did he actually want to face them all by himself? She wanted to say something when Alex came forward and collected the artifact in her hand.


    Since he had collected the artifact and had told her to leave, Elena turned to leave the place very quickly.


    She ran far away from there. But she stopped at some place to observe the battle. There was intense worry and fear in her eyes.


    Then she thought of going to find Jake and Draco so they could come help Alex. But she decided against it in the end as they could be anywhere in this vast subsurface land.


    When Alex saw that Elena had gone far, his eyes began to emit an intense cyan light. Abruptly, a thin sphere of air materialized around him. Then a massive wind column appeared. It enclosed the thin spherical barrier that protected Alex''s figure.


    In the next instant, Alex''s body began to glow intensely in cyan.


    Everyone became shocked by the phenomenon Alex produced. Except the girl from the Ice Phoenix academy who looked at him with a smirk.

 Chapter 128: Against hundreds II

    "Attack the bastard" A frosty female voice rang out.


    Once people heard that, their hands began to glow. Then they launched massive energy-attacks at Alex.


    When Alex saw that they were about to attack him, he released in an instant all the windforce energy his body had absorbed. The energy he discharged from his body was great in quantity that it gave everyone here the feeling that he was a top-grade energy-synthesis array in the form of a human.


    Seeing the astonishing amount of energy come from his body like a surging, violent flood and without a stop, with awe filling the abyss of their eyes, they all backed away for many meters lest they be struck by the raging energy flood discharging from his body.


    Shrouding his figure completely and flowing into the distance, it produced the feeling that he was immersed in a large, cyan-colored river. Then in the next instant, the vast quantity of energy instantly condensed and shaped into a massive cyan dome of great thickness and solidness.


    When the energy transformed into a dome, numerous attacks suddenly appeared and struck it. They had already been launched by the student.


    The dome only trembled slightly from the impacts. It didn''t break. Not even a crack could be seen it structure. It was like a defense that would deflect even the earth-sundering hammer strike of a divine battle god.


    Seeing how solid and powerful the dome stood like it was the aegis of gods, many more attacks came in and impacted the dome with great destructive force. But the dome only trembled. It didn''t receive a single crack from the flood of furious energy-attacks that clashed with it.


    Then everyone paused in their attacks. Great shock could be seen in their eyes. They began to wonder how an initial-phase condensation stage cultivator could produce a single powerful defense that could easily withstand hundreds of attacks unleashed by hundreds of peak-phase condensation stage cultivators.


    But they wouldn''t know that the composition of Alex''s windforce energy was different from theirs. Although it wasn''t pure as it contained another energy, it was that energy that gave it more resilience and denseness than other energies. And this meant that Alex''s energy could achieve earth adept-rank energy quality. It was even far better in quality.


    Elena where she stood had her mind and head swell with admiration. She couldn''t believe what she was seeing. Only Alex by himself withstood the attacks of so many opponents. Then she became very happy and delighted that the one person she loves deeply was one hell of a genius. He was simply unparalleled amongst them. Of course, there were lot of geniuses here too but they couldn''t even shatter a single defensive energy dome produced by Alex. Her eyes sparkled with great adoration and love.


    Then a frosty voice rang out again "Don''t tell me you guys can''t destroy a barrier put out by someone lower in cultivation to you. You all should be ashamed yourself. Don''t fire attacks individually. Let''s focus our attacks on a spot."


    The brows of everyone furrowed. Then they agreed.


    Calling out the names of their attacks, they sent them at a spot of the dome. It was impacted but it stood solidly like an unyielding divine mountain.


    But unknown to any of them including Alex, there was a pencil-sized ray of energy that was hidden in the large stream of myriad energy-attacks.


    Once the attacks impacted the dome, with a loud bang, it shattered apart. The bang sound it produced temporarily deafened their ears and caused the earth to tremble.


    Since the dome was composed from air elemental energy, when it shattered, violent currents of air rushed out and swept everyone far in front of Alex to the ground in the distance. It was like a powerful blast of air.


    Elena at the far distance she stood was also deafened by the explosive sound the massive energy dome produced upon shattering. But since she was very far away, she wasn''t impacted much by the powerful sound waves that was generated upon explosion of the towering energy dome. She quickly recovered from the deafening effect of the blast.


    But then, intense fear and worry set into her heart. Without thinking about the amount of people that would attack her if she appeared before them, she rushed forward to where Alex was with healing pills in her hand.


    When she got there, she saw Alex in the kneeling position. With a knee pressed deep into the ground, he clasped his ears hard with his palms. Veins appeared on his forehead and he gritted his teeth hard.


    The extremely loud, ear-aching sound resulting from the explosion badly affected his eardrums. Since he had powerful eardrums because of his enhanced hearing ability, they were most shaken by the blast sound waves. Also, he was at the heart of the explosion. This caused him severe pain that his ears bled and ached really bad. At the moment, he couldn''t even hear anything. But in the next moment, the bleeding stopped and the intense aching pain vanished. Then his hearing returned.


    Alex stood to his feet when Elena came to his side.


    "Are you okay?" She asked worriedly.


    "Yes, I am fine." Alex replied.


    He then wondered how they were able to destroy the gigantic, protective dome barrier he congealed from his augmented windforce energy to defend himself from the multitude energy-attacks.


    He was confident of his energy-shield earlier but now his confidence had dropped a bit. He now felt it wouldn''t be able to withstand many attacks, like from lot of formidable opponents. But he was still very confident of his offensive power.


    With Elena behind him, he turned to face the people in front of him.


    "What now? You thought your fancy dome would be able to withstand so many attacks. I am surprised your ears were able to heal so quickly without recovery pills" The girl from the Ice Phoenix academy coldly said.


    Alex smiled. But the smile he produced gave them the chills. It radiated evil.

 Chapter 129: Against hundreds III

    Suddenly, his hands began to emit a golden light. It was like his hands were forged from gold. The instant his hands emanated the golden radiance, the air around them began to tremble. Invisible waves of the power of might continuously emitted from the mutated strengthforce energy Alex saturated his hands with.


    Making sure Elena wouldn''t be affected by what he was about to do, he suddenly dashed towards them.


    When they saw him run towards them at a great speed, they quickly launched energy-attacks at him. This was because they became fearful of the golden glow emanating from his hands. Despite where they stood, they could feel their blood churn violently. It was like they wanted to burst out of their bodies. Also, they felt a great suppressive pressure directly act on them. Besides, they didn''t know what he wanted to do. So they quickly fired attacks at him.


    Alex saw the attacks coming but he wasn''t fazed. He clenched his hand into a fist, then he sent them at the attacks that appeared before him.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!...


    Multiple loud boom sounds rang out with waves of energies erupting from the point of impacts. But Alex wasn''t shoved away by the force-waves and violent release of air that were generated by the fearsome energy-attacks when his fist smashed into them with superhuman hardness. He surprisingly withstood the powerful waves of energies with his body alone.


    Then a moment later after he felt he had given enough distance between him and Elena, he jumped high into the air towards them.


    Appearing at a great altitude above them, he brought his hands together to produce a powered clap which he directed at them.


    Boom!


    The instant he brought his hands together with force, a terrifyingly loud sound rang out from the point of impact.


    The frightening boom sound which was generated from the clap appeared as sound waves of high-amplitude that was instantly accompanied by a violent discharge of air that possessed the power to reduce mountains to rubbles.


    Produced when his palms slammed hard into one another, the terrific thunderous sound released caused the air for hundreds of feet around them to suddenly possess shocking concussive power.


    This air shot off from his glowing, golden palm like ripples and spread in all directions to a distance of several hundred feet. Then they were all blown away into the far distance by the violent discharge of devastating air currents when it struck them.


    Then Alex landed to the ground. Since he had shoved them away, he went to meet Elena who also walked towards him from afar.


    There was a beautiful and proud smile in her face. She was glad that she didn''t fall in love with a wrong person.


    Alex kept giving her surprises of his strength. First was his astonishing defensive power and now it was his attacking power. Just a thundering clap and they were all flung away like small, thin pieces of wood in a furious gale of wind.


    When she got to his side, she held him by the palm and pulled him away to a new location.


    "Hmm. You have grown stronger. But who exactly are your parents? I feel like you are one of those offsprings from super-families that consist powerful experts who live in grand worlds or major worlds. You aren''t from around here. Being a child of such people is what makes your battle power too overwhelming for your peers." A beautiful girl said at a very far distance. She watched with an impressed smile plastered in her face as Alex left with Elena to another location.


    "Perhaps he is out to gather experiences and return to his family later. Oh my, I have been terrifying such a kid. They could be watching from far and come save him when he gets into trouble he can''t solve. Anyways, I will pretend I haven''t discovered anything great about him. I will only stop after I have dealt with him. No one desecrates the body of this saintess and get away with it."


    .......


    Somewhere in the vast subsurface land in an artificial cave dugged into a mountain, two young people of the opposite sex could be seen seated on the ground.


    "Alex, you are extremely powerful. I am very proud of you" Elena said.


    Alex smiled. Then he said "I won''t take it from anyone insulting my mother and my woman. I had to give them a piece of my mind"


    Elena smiled radiantly when Alex said that speech in a possessive tone. He ''owned'' her. That was enough for her.


    She came to his side and rested her head on his shoulder.


    "You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I am delighted principal Jennifer forcefully brought you to our academy or I wouldn''t know you and would have loved someone else instead." Elena said. Then she wrapped her arms around his waist.


    Alex smiled.


    "I am also glad I came to know you." He said.


    After a slight pause, Alex spoke "Elena, I want to tell you something. Uhm... I would be leaving the academy very soon. Not that I am leaving totally, I just want to leave for sometime. It''s for something important. But I would surely return"


    Elena was first surprised then became instantly morose when Alex said he was leaving. But her heart that was injected with sadness became filled with bliss when he said it was for sometime and that he would return soon. She initially thought he was leaving and that he wouldn''t come back.


    "It''s okay. I would wait for the love of my life." Elena said. Then she continued as she questioned "So how long would it take for you to come back?"


    "Now about that. I don''t know exactly the time. But in two years time I should return." Alex replied.


    "Hmm. That''s pretty far. You would be gone for so long that I would feel very bored" Elena sadly said.


    Alex smiled.


    "Come on. Don''t feel that way. I even wanted to ask you and Jake to come with me but I felt it would be waste of your time since this concerns me alone. So, just focus on your cultivation and await my return. When we graduate from the academy as saints, we would journey with our friends to worlds and conquer territories together. We will spread love to people who deserve to be loved and punishment including execution to those that deserve it" He valiantly said.


    All while Alex was speaking, Elena was looking at him with unbridled love in her eyes. Day after day, her love for him grew stronger.


    As she gazed at him lovingly, there was a question that surfaced in her mind. This question was if she would be the only woman he would ever love. But she knew the answer to her own question which was no.


    She knew that she wouldn''t be the only woman he would ever love. Which female wouldn''t want such a dazzling young man. Also, he was a genius with great battle proficiency. Along the way, in his journey to continents of different worlds, he would come across single ladies that stood at the peak of power and beauty. They would be enticed and charmed by his personality and ability. Besides, they lived in a polygamous cultivation world. If wealthy mortals could have many wives, then what about cultivators? Especially the genius ones who are monstrously talented? They would surely have more than three. But anyways, she was glad she was his first love. It was she who brought him to the world of love and romance. She had made him bad. And she would continue to make him bad.


    When she arrived at this junction, she grinned inwardly.


    Then she forced him to the ground and climbed atop him.


    "Huh?" Alex was taken aback. And before he could say anything, Elena''s index finger pressed against his lips. This instantly quietened him.


    Then with a wide, naughty smile appearing in her face, she lowered her upper body to rest on his and locked his lips with hers. Soft kissing sounds rang out as their lips sucked against the other.

 Chapter 130: Soon to be feared by all

    "Elena, we have to move together now." Alex said.


    "If you say so. But I know what your motive is" Elena said with a grin.


    "Huh? What motive is that?" Alex asked scratching his head.


    "You plan to use me to get your own treasure-artifact" Elena said with a smile.


    Alex shook his head with a smile hung on his face.


    "Well, that''s a part of the reason why I want us to move together" He said in a teasing tone.


    Then he brought out the treasure-artifact that he collected from Elena from his spatial necklace.


    "Here. It belongs to you" Alex said, stretching the treasure-artifact at Elena.


    "Nah. I can''t take that. It belongs to you now. You deserve to have it in your possession" Elena said with a lovable smile.


    "What? No. Don''t say that. It''s yours." Alex said waving the treasure-artifact in her face.


    Since Alex strongly refused to accept ownership of the treasure-artifact, she took it from him and stowed it into her spatial ring.


    "Happy now?" She asked with a faked angry expression.


    "Yes" Alex nodded with a smile. Then he softly pinched her cheeks and curled an arm around her neck as they continued to walk into the distance.


    It was Elena that chose the direction they should go in. Then they began to chat on the way. They weren''t in a rush like the others. They had found one artifact and there was still lot of time before the competition would come to an end. So they moved at a leisure pace and chatted like couples. Students that came across them were dumbfounded. They were like who are these people? Are they actually here for the competition?


    Many moments later, they arrived where a pool was. They saw many students also gathered here. The students had the plan of jumping into the pool and swimming to the bottom to see if they would find any of the treasure-artifact.


    They came up with this plan since they had been hinted by that voice that they could discover any of the artifacts in static or moving water bodies.


    Seeing the crowds of students and how solemn they were, Elena said to Alex "I guess we would also have to jump in and swim to the bottom"


    "I guess that is the only thing we can do" Alex said. Then he continued "But it won''t be that easy. There have been no difficulties lately. Apart from the battle that would take place when one discovers a buried treasure-artifact, there have been no other thing that we would struggle against for acquisition of the artifacts. But that might not be so. There would be elements put in place which we would battle with to get the treasure-artifacts wherever they are hidden"


    "Hmm. You are right. Then that means there might be things like beasts in the pool if a treasure-artifact is in it?" Elena asked.


    "Yea. If there is" Alex replied.


    "Okay. I was thinking of diving in to search for the treasure-artifact. But I guess I would have to leave it to you now" Elena said and winked at Alex.


    Alex smiled. Then he looked back at the pool.


    He wouldn''t jump into it to search for the treasure-artifact like the others since he had an ability no other person had. And this ability was his telescopic vision.


    Possessing a powerful far-seeing vision, he was sure he could see to the depth of the pool and also know if there were things like beasts or puppets or even cultivators hiding in the pool which they would have to battle and defeat before acquiring the treasure-artifact if truly there was any located in the pool.


    Although he had an enhanced sight, little did he know that why he could see to vast distances was because of the heavenly mystery revealment eyes or star-gazing eyes.


    Looking straight into the pool, Alex willed his augmented vision ability to come up.


    Then in an instant, golden abstruse patterns appeared in his eyes. Suddenly, he could see the bottom of the pool.


    The entire stretch of the pool''s bottom appeared in his eyes. But he couldn''t see anything like a treasure-artifact on the pool''s bottom surface.


    Slowly, a smile appeared in his face.


    He had actually guessed right.


    There were things in the pool! Those were there to give them a tough time.


    But there wasn''t any treasure-artifact at the bottom of the pool. He then began to wonder why those elements were there. Then he came to a conclusion that these elements would be everywhere to inhibit them.


    He felt they were concealed deep in the earth and were waiting to come out of their stealth positions to combat them if anyone of them unearthed a treasure-artifact. But Elena had exhumed one and they didn''t appear. Then he felt it wasn''t time for their appearance yet. She was lucky. He guessed.


    He looked at Elena and said "Let''s go. There''s nothing here. We would only be wasting our time"


    Elena''s eyes widened in shock.


    Now, she was surprised beyond what any word could describe because of what Alex said.


    She looked at him and asked "Are you sure? How do you know about that?"


    "I have this gut feeling that there''s nothing here." Alex said in a tone that portrayed unbreakable confidence.


    "Gut feeling?" With her brows wrinkled, Elena asked in an extremely puzzled tone.


    But she recalled something.


    She remembered Alex telling her to shout his name if she were in trouble. Some moments after she did that when she was faced with many combatants, he came running over.


    She wondered how he was able to hear his name despite being very far from each other.


    She looked at him with a light of mysteriousness in her eyes. Alex had been doing some really impossible things. Now he was saying that there was nothing here and that they should go to another place. She wondered if she should believe him or not. But she had once decided in her heart that she would do whatever Alex said.


    With a smile in her face, she nodded.


    Once she nodded without further questioning him, Alex smiled back. He thought Elena would ask him to explain how he arrived at that conclusion that there was nothing in the pool.


    When Alex told Elena that there was nothing in the pool, a boy who was far from their side heard what he said. He could as he cultivated soundforce energy. Despite Alex saying it in a way that only Elena would hear and no else could, he still heard it. He detected the sound waves in the air.


    With a smile, he focused his hearing on them and continued to listen to their conversations. Then when they turned to leave, the boy shouted "Yo man! Wait up"


    Alex felt that the shout was directed at him. But he didn''t stop walking. He continued to walk, ignoring the person.


    Then all of a sudden, a powerful, visible wave of sound-energy shot towards him at a great speed.


    The hairs on Alex''s skin instantly stood on their ends. They were reacting to the intense vibrations of the air caused by the sound-attack shooting towards them from the far distance.


    Quickly, Alex wrapped his left arm around Elena and jumped away from the path of the sound-energy attack.


    Boom!


    The sound-attack impacted the ground where he initially was. It left a deep crater in it.


    When Alex landed from where he leapt to, he removed his arm from Elena''s waist and gazed at the boy in the distance.


    The sudden attack attracted people''s attention. They looked at the boy that produced the attack and at Alex and Elena.


    "Wow. What sharp senses." The boy said as he began to walk towards them.


    "How did I offend you?" Alex asked.


    He was angry, but he concealed it.


    "When I talk to people, they listen to me. What do you mean by ignoring me? I told you to wait up. You heard but you ignored and kept on walking. This hurt me as it made me feel like I was talking to air" The boy said in a furious tone.


    "Oh. Then I apologize. Now, what''s it you want from me?" Alex asked.


    "I heard what you said. About nothing being in that pool. How did you know?" The boy questioned.


    "Oh. You were actually eavesdropping on our conversation. Well, it was only a gut feeling. I am not sure" Alex replied.


    He wasn''t in the mood to fight.


    "And you turned to leave? I find that very hard to believe. You must know something. Who knows, you could be cheating by using treasure-instruments that would enable you know if there is a treasure around" The boy said.


    Feigning lack of knowledge of such instruments, Alex asked "So there are such instruments?"


    "Haha. There is. Stop pretending like you don''t know such exists. I will advise you to surrender it or you would be in trouble" The boy said.


    When the boy ended his speech, someone who wore the same uniform as him came to his side and said something into his ears.


    The boy''s eyes narrowed before it was filled with marvel.


    "Gosh! He is that strong?" He uttered inwardly in a deeply astonished tone.


    Then he left with that person and walked away without looking back.


    Everyone were expecting some action. But they saw the boy turn around and leave with his fair-skinned face now sheet-white in color. Then they began wonder to what that person told the boy to cause his sudden paleness.


    Seeing that the boy had left, Alex then left too with Elena. He heard what that person said to the boy with his powerful hearing ability, so he began to smile inwardly.


    Then he thought that very soon, everyone here would know and fear him.


    Few of the people who fought Alex earlier were also in the crowd. Then they began to say to others how mighty Alex''s strength and battle proficiency was. Some even exaggerated it, making it seem like Alex was on a whole other level.

 Chapter 131: Feel-sense

    Many days later, Alex and Elena arrived before a mountain.


    The mountain was so enormous that it caused them to marvel. It was very large in size as it spanned thousands of meters in size.


    Elena looked at Alex and asked.


    "Is this mountain natural?"


    Alex shook his head.


    "I don''t think so. It could probably be formed by the mountain-generating power of some cultivator that cultivates terraforce energy just like you."


    Elena nodded her head.


    "Should we go in?" She asked looking at a cave that was at the foot of the massive mountain.


    "Yea. Let''s go in" Alex replied.


    Then they entered into the cave.


    But it was dark. The light coming from that object that illuminated the vast subsurface land couldn''t enter into the cave.


    "It''s way too dark. How are we even going to see?" Elena asked.


    "I think I can do something about that" Alex said.


    Then he looked into his energyhouse and moved radiantforce energy to his palm. The energy discharged from his palm and condensed into a large energy ball that emanated brilliant light, providing luminance to the cave.


    "Awesome" Elena said with a grin.


    Alex smiled.


    Then he released more illumination-energy from his palm which condensed into many, small, crystalline energy orbs of light that emitted great brilliance.


    Since they were linked to Alex''s mind as they were formed from an energy that he had connection to, they floated towards Elena and surrounded her figure. This made her look like a fairy of light. She appeared exceedingly beautiful as she was bathed in their luminescence.


    Elena chuckled and shook her head.


    "Alex, be serious" She said.


    Then the light energy-orbs sorrounding her figure shot forward into the distance where they suspended in the air far from each other in the cave. This gave the feeling that they were magical lamps as they floated in the air.


    Then Elena got to work.


    She removed her shoes to directly stand on the ground with her bare feet. She then closed her eyes and tried to sense any unnatural vibration in the earth.


    Since she cultivated terraforce energy which was earth elemental energy, it would give her an ability to discern between natural seismic vibrations and vibrations produced by something entombed in the earth.


    Alex''s eyes shone with understanding. He didn''t think in this direction at all which was to remove his shoes and stand with his bare feet. It just never occurred to him.


    Once Elena took off her shoes and closed her eyes, she began to walk into the distance. There wasn''t any fear in her mind. Alex was with her. This gave her great confidence.


    Alex decided to copy what Elena did.


    He took his off shoes and closed his eyes.


    Now standing bare-footed on the ground, he released his entire enhanced sensory abilities to the fullest. And the instant he did, he could suddenly perceive many vibrations in the earth.


    But these were natural ones. They were vibrations generated by tiny or near-microscopic living organisms moving in the earth. These creatures had fully adapted to the conditions of living in this subsurface land. And there were many different types of them here.


    Alex smiled.


    "This is beautiful" He uttered in awe within.


    He said this as the organisms appeared in his mind in different shapes and colors.


    After a few moments of marveling at the wonders of nature, he stretched his ''feel'' sensory ability to the distance.


    When he tried to extend that sensory ability, he became greatly shocked when he discovered that it was like the coverage range of this particular sense had no limit. It kept on going and going, scanning deep within the earth for all forms of vibrations which it sent back to Alex as mental images.


    After the ''feel-sense'' reached nine hundred meters, it stopped. Not because it had reached it limit, but because Alex saw in his mind a three-feet staff that had voidstones in it.


    That was a treasure-artifact!


    The voidstones were glowing since the arrays in them had been activated. So these caused the staff to produce pulses of power.


    If the arrays weren''t activated, it would be difficult for Alex to know there was a treasure-artifact there.


    Alex smiled. Then he opened his eyes.


    He looked at Elena who had gone far into the distance.


    Elena at the moment had her brows furrowed. This was because after walking such a long distance, she still hadn''t discovered anything.


    Then she felt that there was no treasure-artifact here. She stopped and opened her eyes. Then she turned around to go meet Alex in the distance.


    When Alex saw her coming over, he went to meet her.


    "You discovered something?" He asked her when he got to her side.


    "No I didn''t. I don''t think there is anything here. We should return" Elena replied.


    "Well, why don''t we just continue searching. Let''s get to the end of the cave. Who knows, luck might be on our side." Alex replied.


    "What luck is that?" Elena asked with a smirk. Then she continued "Such don''t exist. We would only be wasting our precious time. I say we leave this cave and go somewhere else to continue our search"


    "Come on. Don''t give up so early Elena. Let''s get to the end of the cave. Then if we discover nothing, we would leave." Alex said.


    Elena exhaled deeply. Then she looked at Alex with a gaze that gave him the feeling that if they get there eventually and discover nothing, she would deal with him to the best of her ability.


    Alex smiled wryly.


    "Okay." Elena said.


    Then she set off into the distance without waiting for Alex. As she walked, the energy orbs producing radiance followed her.


    A long time later, she got to the area where Alex''s feel-sense stopped at. Then her eyes abruptly snapped open. Great shock could be seen in them.


    She sent terraforce energy to a hand and this caused that hand to emanate a deep yellow light. Then she placed that hand on the ground.


    In an instant, large cracks appeared on the ground surface before a solid column of earth shot upwards from within through it.


    On this column could be seen a treasure-artifact in the form of a staff.


    Her eyes glittered with astonishment.


    A moment later, the artifact shot upwards a powerful, resplendent beam of energy that penetrated through the colossal mountain.


    Everyone far away from the mountain were alerted by the colorful, radiant energy beam. With greedy eyes, they began to dash towards the mountain.

 Chapter 132: The Thunderclapper

    After producing the luminescent beam of energy for a long time, the treasure-artifact stopped.


    Alex came over and took it. Then he stowed it into his spatial ring.


    Elena whose eyes were still filled with awe looked at Alex who was smiling.


    "Alex, I don''t think this was caused by any luck. You must know the treasure-artifact was in here all along. You were just pretending to me" She said.


    "No, I wasn''t" Alex replied. Then he continued "I''m just a type of guy that love to finish what I start. I felt that since we are already here, we should rummage through the entire cave and be sure nothing was here before leaving. It is far better than stopping halfway and regret later."


    Elena shook her head and smiled.


    "You always know how to defend yourself. Keep on pretending to me. I will catch you one day. I am certain of that" She said.


    Then she spoke again with a smile hung on her face "Brace yourself. Competitors have been alerted. They would arrive here very soon"


    Just as she finished speaking, crowds of students rushed into the cave.


    Alex sensed when they entered using ''feel sense''. Then he broke off his connection to the light orbs.


    In an instant, the energy orbs lost their form and the radiance-energy that formed them returned to the realmverse.


    The cave was suddenly thrown into total darkness.


    Alex''s eyes began to emit light like a torch. This was because he permeated them with radiantforce energy. Then he grabbed Elena by the waist and instantly, a thin spherical layer of air materialized around both of them. The second the air sphere formed around them, astonishingly strong winds appeared out of nowhere and propelled it out of the cave. The super-strong winds blew away everyone in their path.


    Many moments later, after Alex had left the cave''s mouth, he was suddenly greeted by several dozens of fearsome, elemental energy-attacks.


    But in an instant, large quantity of cyan-colored windforce energy discharged from his body. It rapidly condensed and shaped into a towering and thick rectangular shield.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!...


    Many attacks struck the shield but it didn''t shatter. It was surprisingly highly-resilient. It didn''t even tremble talk more of crack.


    The shield was solid and extremely tough despite being created on a whim. It achieved a very high degree of density and hardness.


    The defensive power of his rapidly constructed energy-shield caused his attackers to marvel.


    "Who is this person?" They asked inwardly in a shocked tone.


    These attackers were new set of people who didn''t know of Alex''s battle proficiency yet. Although they have heard rumors of one particular person called ''The Thunderclapper'', someone being able to fend off attacks of hundreds of people and shove them all away with a single thunderous clap, they didn''t know it was that nicknamed person they tried attacking.


    These people remained outside the cave to ambush whoever would run out it. They believed that whoever does so would surely possess the treasure-artifact or he or she wouldn''t run out of the cave in a hasty speed.


    Then more people came over from far distances and from the cave, increasing the numbers of people surrounding Alex to hundreds from their few dozens.


    But some shook when they saw Alex. With bittered minds, they complained inwardly why it was Alex that would get a treasure-artifact. That was a second one in his possession and they resented him for that since they couldn''t fight him.


    In the next second, they broke off from the group of people facing Alex and went far away into the distance. To them, it was like they were trying to battle a mid-stage earth adept cultivator. He was too powerful and overwhelming for them.


    They wondered how someone lower than them in cultivation phase could be so powerful to that extent. Then they believed that he was one of those epic or legendary geniuses who have no peers at any cultivation rank they were in regardless of phase.


    So, instead of wasting their time to battle and be terribly beaten in the process, they left to go search for the last treasure-artifact. They prayed in their heart that they should be the one to discover it.


    Only little of the people who knew of Alex''s overpowering combat strength still remained.


    They remained because they felt that Alex may be defeated this time. Their numbers now were more than when they fought him many days ago.


    Besides, they guessed that there should be some geniuses in this large group. Their great attack-powers, combined with that of the hundreds of students here, they believed that they would be able to take Alex down this time.


    A moment later, astonished gasps rang out from some people that just joined their numbers. Then the words, ''The Thunderclapper'' were uttered by these people. One could perceive fear and reverence in the tones of the people that said it.


    The dozens of students who attacked Alex when he came out of the cave heard the moniker. Then their eyes widened in shock.


    "You are The Thunderclapper?" One of them asked.


    Alex was taken aback when he was asked that question. Then he quickly figured that they had formed an alias for him.


    With a smile and a serious look in his eyes, he nodded.


    "Yes, I am the one." He said.


    Then he thought of making that move a signature move. He decided to call it ''Sky-clearing Thunderclap''. He named it so because he could disperse the clouds in the vast sky with this move and at the same time produce a frightening boom sound that would seem to come from dozens of furious, terrifying thunderbolts that struck out at once.


    "Hmm. Although you may have offensive and defensive power that would match that of an earth adept stage cultivator. In the end, you are still an initial-phase condensation stage cultivator. I will suggest you release all the treasure-artifacts in your hand or be faced with the wraths of everyone here. There''s nothing you can do against the hundreds of peak-phase condensation stage cultivators here." The boy that spoke earlier said.


    "Well, they are mine now. If you have the strength, come and get it."

 Chapter 133: Prismatic God Hand of Punishment

    Everyone''s ears twitched. It was like they didn''t hear right. Such confidence.


    "Good. Then I would like to see you evaporate from this realmverse" The boy said with a wicked grin. Then he turned to face the crowd.


    "Everyone, this sucker thinks he''s way more powerful than all of us here. True that he''s powerful, but can he beat all of us?" The boy angrily asked.


    "Of course he can''t!" Many people shouted in wrathful tones at once.


    "Good! Then I beg you to not hold back. Unleash your full-powered energy-attacks at him. And if you run out of energy, use your treasure-weapons. Since we weren''t stopped from bringing them in, I suggest we attack him with them. Release all the energy they contain for an attack and reduce this bastard to nothing. If they ask us how he died, we would say that he died during a battle for the treasure-artifacts. That he was a weakling and wasn''t supposed to be here in the first place" The boy said in a sinister tone.


    When the boy finished talking, many colors of light flashed as treasure-weapons appeared in their hands of the large numbers of students here.


    Elena''s eyes shone with fury and killing intent.


    "Haha. Ruler of hordes of beasts. I know what your motive is. Your plan is to use everyone here to kill him and get the treasure-artifacts all for yourself" She said.


    "Whore, please move away from the battlezone or risk getting wiped out along with your stupid boyfriend" The boy replied in a loud tone.


    Alex who had been quiet throughout said to Elena in a soft tone "Elena, don''t worry yourself too much over me. And don''t try to get in the way of attack to feed me recovery pills if you see me injured. You don''t need to. I can rapidly heal. I said this so you won''t you be struck by one of their attacks. It would be very fatal for you. I can handle this myself. You can go into the cave and watch from there. Don''t come out. It''s time I respond to these people."


    Elena nodded.


    "Please be careful" She said.


    Then she began to walk towards the cave. She would go watch from there so she won''t be impacted by the waves of energies that would result from the collision of Alex''s energy-attacks and that of the large crowd of opponents before him.


    A few moment after Elena left Alex''s side, hundreds of attacks that spanned many feet in sizes suddenly shot towards her at great speeds. They had been shot off from the treasure-weapons they now wielded.


    Alex''s eyes widened in horror before it radiated unbridled anger.


    These people had decided to attack Elena instead. The destructive energies could get her seriously injured or even kill her.


    Since he hadn''t deployed the wind elixir technique which he always used to achieve near-boundless accumulation of wind elemental energy, he discharged many of the realm-energies in his energyhouse in an instant.


    These energies gushed out in great quantities from his body like raging floods towards Elena. They moved at astonishing speeds that they got to her side in an instant. Then they abruptly mixed and condensed, shaping into a massive, extremely solid, multicolored orb of myriad energies that enclosed her delicate figure.


    The flood of energies that discharged from Alex''s body could achieve such speeds because they were imbued with speedforce energy. It accelerated them.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!...


    Loud bang sounds rampantly rang out as multitudes of powerful energy-attacks struck the protective orb. They impacted it with the force that would leave deep craters in the earth. But the orb which possessed great thickness, hardness and vast resilience because of the augmented strengthforce energy which was one one of the energies that composed it structure didn''t tremble. It stood there solidly, receiving the impacts like the attacks were just weak blasts of air.


    Everyone''s eyes shone with intense amazement. They couldn''t believe what they just witnessed.


    The hundreds of full-powered offensives they unleashed from their fusion-weapons or condensation-rank treasure-weapons couldn''t even cause as little as a mark to appear on the orb. It was like a peerless, god-rank, defensive treasure-artifact.


    Also, they were amazed at how Alex could rapidly release such enormous amounts of different energies from his body.


    They cultivated just an energy while he cultivated many as they saw some moments ago. Besides, his body didn''t crash or explode from the alarming amounts of energies he released abruptly.


    If it were them, they would blast into bits or have their energy meridians snap, resulting in them becoming cripples. Also, their bodies and innards may be damaged beyond repair.


    They were brought out of their deeply surprised states when Alex''s body began to release tremendous amounts of energies. These produced the feeling in everyone of them that Alex was a reservoir of energy.


    ''He still has these amounts of energies within him?'' they all asked inwardly in a shocked tone.


    The energies he discharged from his body were colossal in amounts. They weren''t sure if their fusion-weapons could release energies that would match up to the amounts of energies that erupted from Alex''s body.


    Alex was a cultivation-aberrant. That is, he needed more quantity of energy than others to break through into the next realm. He could require hundred to a thousand times the amount of energies others would need for a breakthrough. That was why he had such a slow cultivation speed apart from cultivation of so many energies.


    As they continued to marvel at Alex who still produced energies from his body like he had infinite amounts of them, a realization dawned on them.


    They quickly shot away from him at high speeds using their movement techniques.


    It was this time that Alex spoke.


    "Going somewhere?" He asked with a smirk.


    Then he uttered "Prismatic God Hand of Punishment"


    Alex actually formed a name for this move at a whim.


    Once he uttered this, the vast amounts of energies that enveloped his figure, mixed, compacted and shaped into a massive, extremely dense, crystalline palm that shone with many colors and emanated great constraining pressure.


    Just before they could move very far, the palm appeared above them and emitted a pressure that caused them to remain fixed in their position. It also caused the blood in their bodies to churn violently and breaks to appear on their skins and cracks on their skeletal frameworks.


    "What?! You want to kill us?!" The boy that addressed the crowd managed to shout at Alex from far in a questioning tone.


    They could have escaped from Alex, but the pressure emanating from the gigantic, solid palm composed from various energies produced a restraining pressure that locked them in their positions. The pressure was actually emanating from little slivers of strengthforce energy that was present in the energies that made up the palm.


    "Haha!" Alex laughed raucously.


    "No. But to teach you guys a lesson you would never forget for the rest of your lives and would pass down to to your unborn generations"

 Chapter 134: No treasure in the land

    Seeing the large palm descend towards them, they all briefly shrieked in terror and then drained themselves of every energy in their energyhouses regardless of the consequences.


    These turned into large, protective screens of energy that floated above them.


    Bang!


    The large multicolored palm of mixed energies smash into the hundreds of them with immense heaviness. And like the hand of a god, it shattered their shields and pressed all of them deep into the earth.


    Their skeletons shattered and blood spurted like fountains from breaks in their skins. This blood formed pools around them.


    The sight was really gruesome.


    Alex did this because he couldn''t take it anymore. He had been provoked to the point he had to deal them all heavy damages that they wouldn''t forget in a very short time.


    Then the enormous defensive orb composed from many energies which protected Elena decomposed and the energies that constituted it returned to the realmverse.


    Alex then went to meet her who also walked towards him and past him.


    She looked at where the palm pressed into and could see a deep and large crater there. And when she got to the edge of the crater, she saw hundreds of students in it screaming in agony.


    They had bones jutting out from their entire bodies and their blood forming a small pool around them. They were conscious but their eyes were red from excruciating pains. Their faces were were pale and green veins bulged from their heads.


    Elena shook her head in pity for them. But she was awed that Alex could single-handedly defend himself against their attacks and smash them into the earth. It was like they were ants before him.


    With a smile in her face, she went to meet Alex and said "Let''s leave here"


    Alex nodded.


    As they left, someone stood far away watching.


    That person was Karen. She too was awed.


    She was heavily surprised at how Alex could discharge shocking amounts of many energies from his body in an instant. Also, he cultivated so many energies.


    She who cultivated nine and just one more she would step into the Beyonder realm, Alex had long entered it.


    Karen then knew that she was absolutely right about what she speculated about him days ago. That he wasn''t from a family from this world but from ones that possess the power and strength to reside and flourish in great worlds or major worlds.


    She shook her head and decided to go back to her organization. Her mission this time around won''t be a successful one.


    She felt so because if she made the child of such powerful experts come join their organization, out of wrath, his parent could appear and wipe them all out to retrieve their child. They sent him out there to train himself and not become a part of an evil organization. So she thought.


    Karen suddenly felt depressed and melancholic when she realized it was impossible for Alex to join as him joining would yield devastating results for them. They would risk an all-out obliteration.


    What caused her sadness was because she had always thought she would have an inferior who she can terrorize as Alex was a sweet and powerful creature. She was hoping to transform him with her ways when he joined their organization and became her junior in rank.


    She looked at him as he went far away into the distance with Elena. Then she suddenly felt like she had lost something precious to her.


    She didn''t know why she suddenly felt like that. She then realized that she had attached herself way too much to Alex. And she had never been this attached to anyone.


    All those curiousness about Alex and the impressions he gave her had caused her to become emotionally attached to him.


    After a while, she forced herself to not think she had lost anything. Then she regained control of her mind.


    "Well, bye kid. We shall see again." She uttered and vanished from the spot she was in.


    "It''s time for us to unearth the last treasure" Elena said with pride in her tone.


    With all that she had witnessed, it was certain that they were going home with all the artifacts.


    Alex nodded with a smile.


    "But where to go now? We have been ''lucky'' two times. I don''t think luck would be on our side for the third time." Elena said and looked at Alex with a gaze that felt, ''Alright, perform your magic.''


    Alex saw the gaze and smiled wryly when he understood what it meant.


    Elena really wanted to see how he always did it.


    "Elena, let''s go in any direction. We might be lucky again you know." Alex said.


    Elena smiled.


    "You think I am a fool? You are doing something that''s making you know if there''s a treasure or not in a place. First was at the pool where you said there was no treasure. And second was in that cave where we exhumed a buried treasure. Those are strong evidences that indicates you are doing something that would make you know for sure that a treasure-artifact is around. And it''s not related to luck in anyway. So do your thing and let''s get over with this competition." She said and lightly hit him on the shoulder.


    Alex nodded with a smile. There was nothing he could do again other than search for the last treasure. Besides, he wanted to leave here and start his adventure.


    He closed his eyes. Still bare-footed, he stood firmly on the ground and deployed his feel-sense.


    The primordial senseforce energy or sense-enhancement statute energy responsible for the vast augmentation of Alex''s physical senses began to produce the unbridled power of sensory perception.


    Since it had permeated and fused with Alex''s sense organ of touch and feel which was his skin, it increased it sensitivity to unbelievable levels and the range to which it could cover.


    Then his feel-sensory awareness spread out from his feet and reached out into the far distance. It stretched so far that it covered the entire subsurface land.


    Alex didn''t hold back this time. He completely released the perception-power of his feel sense.


    Besides, it was so fast it didn''t take him few seconds to feel all the vibrations in the earth.


    But he detected no strange and unnatural vibrations in the earth.


    Then he furrowed his brows. Something was wrong. He was supposed to detect the treasure in the earth. But he couldn''t.


    He began to make hundreds of deductions in his head why this was so. Then his eyes opened and shone with a light of understanding.


    He looked at Elena with a smile and said "There''s no treasure buried in the entire land."

 Chapter 135: This guy again?

    Elena was shocked by what Alex said.


    With eyes that glowed with intense astonishment, she asked "Did you mean that there''s no treasure-artifact buried around the spot we are or in the entire land?"


    She asked to be sure of what Alex said.


    "The entire land. There''s no treasure-artifact buried in it." Alex replied.


    Elena''s eyes became filled with great surprise.


    "Alex! How do you know that? Don''t tell me you scanned the entire place in such short amount of time with some I-don''t-know senses. It is impossible for you to achieve such a feat!" Elena told Alex with a loud voice in an unbelieving tone.


    "Well, anything is possible with me" Alex said with a proud smile.


    Seeing how Alex was sure of himself, Elena then became quiet for a long time. The shock Alex gave her this time around was immense.


    Some moments later, she asked "Where do you think the treasure would be or there has been no third treasure?"


    "Look at that light-generating object in the air. That should be the third artifact" Alex said.


    Elena''s eyes narrowed.


    "Are you sure? That is just to provide light to this place" She said.


    "Yea, I am sure. That''s it purpose El. It''s the supreme-rank, firmament-grade treasure-artifact that voice told us about. The last and ultimate of the three" Alex replied.


    "Then why did the voice tell us that the three treasures would be either buried deep in the earth or hidden in mountains or in water bodies?" Elena asked.


    "Maybe they don''t want us to discover it. Perhaps they only wanted us to discover the earth-rank and sky-rank treasure artifact" Alex replied.


    "Hmm. That might be. We have actually done the impossible" Elena said and gave a proud grin.


    Alex smiled.


    "So how are we going to get it?" She asked in a serious tone.


    To get such rank of treasure-artifact at the cultivation stage they were in would be extremely difficult. If the treasure-artifact wasn''t activated, it would be easier to take. But now that it self-floated, emitting the powerful presence of an heaven adept stage cultivator, it would be very difficult to get.


    "Let me think." Alex replied.


    Then when he figured something out, he said to Elena "Give me some space"


    Elena nodded and moved back for a few feet.


    Immediately after she gave Alex the small space he wanted, his legs began to emit a golden glow.


    This glow was seen by Elena since Alex wasn''t wearing his shoes. And this surprised her a lot as his feet now resembled solid, pure golden metal and emanated waves of power of might which caused the earth for dozens of feet around him to deeply crack.


    The earth cracked in such manner because the power of mountain-shattering godly might was concentrated around it. So it therefore caused the earth for many feet around Alex to cleave and rupture.


    Elena quickly moved further away from Alex as some of the deep cracks in the earth rapidly extended towards her like the large tentacles of some primordial monster that lived in the earth.


    Alex squatted a bit and then shot into the air like an arrow.


    Swoosh!


    He pierced through the air towards the object.


    Once he got to the position of the object, he tried to grab it. But the object produced a frightening pulse of power that shoved him back to the ground with a powerful force.


    Bang!


    He smashed hard into the earth with the air in his lungs knocked out of him.


    Alex grunted and stood back to his feet.


    Elena quickly came over and asked "Are you okay?"


    "Yes I am" Alex replied.


    Then he tried to go at it again. But this time, he didn''t jump. He decided to deploy his wind elemental power.


    The instant he did so, his eyes began to emit intense cyan light. Then a thin sphere of air materialized around him which was instantly accompanied by a tall column of air that enveloped the sphere he was in.


    As soon as the column of air appeared, it began to revolve at an extreme speed. While the sphere enclosed by the furiously rotating windy column quickly moved up to the top of it.


    In a few minutes, Alex got to the position of the self-floating treasure-artifact and reached out with a hand to grasp it.


    One could see that particular hand emit a golden glow. He had saturated it with strengthforce energy and this made it look like the hand of a gilded tyrant god of battle.


    The shocking pulse of power continuously emanating from the treasure-artifact tried to repulse Alex with a great, strong force.


    But since his hands contained a powerful energy which was enhanced by a type of primordial energy, his glowing, golden hands effortlessly withstood the mighty, repulsing aura of power discharging from the artifact and clasped it. Then he withdrew it forcefully from it floating position.


    He stopped using his wind manipulation power. Then he landed to the ground from that altitude and walked towards Elena to show her the treasure-artifact.


    The brilliant light emitting from it had greatly reduced and so was it powerful presence. It had been partially retracted.


    Now, Elena could make out it form without the bright light blinding her eyes. She saw that it was an orb.


    Alex didn''t straight away keep the treasure-artifact in the spatial ring he wore. It was because if he did, the whole place would descend into thick darkness.


    But since the intensity of the light discharging from the treasure-orb had decreased, it caused partial darkness to engulf the subsurface land.


    Students in other places were shocked by the sudden partial darkness of the land, then they began to rush back to their starting point. In this group of people were Jake and Draco who were amazed by the abrupt, decreased luminousness of the underground region.


    Then when they got to where Alex was, some of the students that saw him could nearly faint.


    They could almost black out from either great shock or serious anger when they saw a treasure-artifact which they felt was the last one in the hands of the person they fearfully called ''The Thunderclapper.''


    "The hell!" Some who still had clear minds shouted inwardly and outwardly.


    "Why this guy again?"


    "No, no, no... This can''t be... This can''t be"


    Lot of utterances which would portray in one''s heart and mind great degree of sadness and unhappiness could be heard.


    The few ones who didn''t know of Alex''s combat strength yet, heard the pained and sadness-filled words the students around them muttered. Then they began to slowly realize who Alex was. That he was someone with peerless strength and not a person to be messed with.


    But the shocked and delighted ones among them were Jake and Draco.


    Jake was like, ''This bastard actually got the best of the treasures''. If he knew that Alex was in possession of two of the treasure-artifacts and that Elena was with one, he would be crushed by surprise.


    Draco was delighted for Alex. He smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up.


    Then they went to meet Alex to congratulate him when the heart shook and in the next instant, they could hear the solid earth crack in like thousands of places at once from far distances.


    These numerous cracks sounded like crackling of fierce thunderbolts.


    Alex gave a knowing smile.


    They had come out!

 Chapter 136: Battle I

    Many moments later, they saw statues run towards them from far. These had bulky sizes. But one shocking thing about them was that their large sizes didn''t inhibit them one bit from moving at shocking speeds.


    Alex''s eyes widened in awe when he saw the statues. He was astonished by their sizes. The statues had towering figures that the one with the least size was twelve feet tall. Then the arrays operating in them, which gave them energy to move, produced an aura of power that matched that of someone in the half-step earth adept stage.


    When everyone figured out the strength of the puppets using their cultivation percipience ability, they moved back with horror in their eyes.


    There were many of these statues that they seemed to number in the thousand. As they dashed towards Alex and his team members, they radiated with the power of an half-step earth adept stage cultivator. Also, they produced light from parts of their colossal, rock-like brown bodies. This light released from radiance-arrays compressed into them gave intense illumination to the partially darkened subsurface land.


    The other students including Jake and Draco didn''t know the reason why these statues appeared.


    But Alex and Elena knew the reason. These rocky statues had come out to recollect the treasures from the both of them.


    While everyone shot backwards at high speed like they had just seen what would slaughter them mercilessly, Alex, Elena, Jake and Draco stood where they were.


    Draco and Jake remained because they felt it was Alex''s discovery of the treasure-artifacts that had provoked the appearances of the statues. Since they were team members, they would definitely assist him in the battle about to ensue.


    It also didn''t take long for the other students to arrive at the fact that Jake and Draco arrived at.


    "Elena, I think you should move too. The battle that''s about to happen might be lethal for you" Alex said.


    "Well, remember I fought top-grade battle puppets back at the academy. I can do this. I don''t want you impressing me every time. It''s my turn to do so" Elena said with a smile.


    Alex nodded with a smile.


    "Okay." He replied. Then he continued "Let''s battle"


    Not that there weren''t geniuses in other academies. It was just that it wasn''t their cup of tea since it was Alex that got the treasures for himself. Now that he got a problem, he should deal with it himself.


    They all smiled at his misfortune.


    Peerless battle genius right? They shall see to the degree how peerless his genius is.


    As they thought bad for him in their minds, Alex could suddenly perceive the negative emotional energies that began to emanate from them as they wished him evil in their heads.


    These negative emotional energies were invisible ripples of emotion-energies or heart-energies which he detected when his heart-sense abruptly came up.


    Then through the emotion perception ability that manifested all of a sudden, he was able to realize that all the students in the distance were gloating and rejoicing at his misfortune.


    "The damned ability has come up again" Alex said inwardly in an unhappy tone.


    It was an ability that came on and off by itself. He wished he had figured out how to use his emotion-sense just like how he used his powerful physical senses anytime he liked.


    Alex then turned to look at the crowd of students far in the distance and smiled at them. The smile he showed them gave them the absolute feeling that Alex knew they were rejoicing delightedly in his misfortune.


    They were surprised when Alex looked at them with that I-know-what-you-are-thinking gaze.


    Alex then turned his head to face the gigantic statues dashing over.


    Then he suddenly shot towards them.


    Seeing that Alex had dashed towards them, Draco, Jake and Elena also rushed forward to support Alex. It was a team battle now. Not an individual battle.


    Alex was the fastest of the four.


    When he got to a distance of fifteen feet in front of them, he brought his hands which had begun to emit golden light and hit them hard together.


    "Sky-clearing Thunderclap" Alex said at the same time he brought his hands together to produce a deafening thunderous clap.


    Boom!!!


    Ringing out like the unified strike of hundreds of frightening thunderbolts, a powerful, tyrannical wave of destructive sound energy was unleashed the instant he clapped.


    The tyrannous sound energy wave caused the air for hundreds of feet to suddenly gain a shocking devastating power as it stripped away a vast, thick layer of earth and in the process, impacting some of the gigantic statues and shoving them dozens of meters into the distance with a destructive force that gave one the feeling that it would splinter all to smithereens.


    They smashed hard into the earth and left craters in it. Gigantic web-like cracks could be seen around the craters they made in the part of the earth they crashed into under the influence of the shoving force that acted on them.


    It was at this moment that Elena, Draco and Jake got to Alex''s side.


    "Alex, throw me!" Draco whose eyes were glowing with astonishment at the amount of destructive power Alex generated shouted.


    He jumped towards Alex who grabbed his left arm and launched him like a spear towards some statues dashing over from the distance.


    Whoosh!


    His body shot through the air at a great speed towards the targeted statues.


    Boom!


    Boom!


    Boom!...


    Draco smashed through several of them with his iron-like, diamond-hard fist. And when the momentum he came with ended, he grabbed the leg of a statue before him with both hands and flung it towards the other statues running towards him.


    Bang!


    They were struck by it and were blown many feet into the distance.


    Alex shot from where he was towards the statues like he was catapulted. When he got to one, he raised his two fists above his head and smashed down hard at the head of that statue.


    Bang!


    The statue shattered apart and Alex landed to the ground.


    All while they were fighting, the students from other academies were shocked.


    "Who the hell are these guys? What cultivation academy are they from?" Those were the questions that rocked their minds. They found it hard it to believe what they were witnessing.


    They couldn''t help but be shocked by the attack power of these guys. Especially Alex and Draco. They were like invincible body cultivators. They smashed everything in their path using only their fist.


    "But body cultivators are exceedingly rare because of the great pains they always go through anytime they want to level up. How come this academy has two of them? And terrific ones at that?"


    This particular thought pervaded and rocked their minds.


    Then they continued to watch the battle with amazement filling the abyss of their eyes.


    A statue punched with immense force towards Elena. But it earth-sundering punch was blocked by a large, solidified column of earth that suddenly shot up from the earth surface.


    Elena utilized the earth element-manipulation power that she gained through cultivation of terraforce energy to generate a massive, extremely compact, column-shaped barrier of earth.


    Boom!


    The barrier shattered apart with a loud blast. But it successfully terminated the momentum of the fist and eliminated the force it came with.


    Then before it could unleash another punch, Elena punched out towards it and discharged earth elemental energy from her fist after she uttered "Sky-rupturing Earth Fist"


    The energy she released transformed into a massive, deep yellow fist that shot at great speed towards the statue she targeted.


    Bang!


    It struck the statue with a tyrannical force and shoved it away into the far distance.


    Although her energy-attack didn''t possess much destructive power, the statue was sent flying for dozens of meters by the immense force the enormous yellow fist of energy impacted it with.


    Alex looked at where Elena and the others were and felt that they would soon be overpowered by the statues if the battle continued. Then he decided to end it quickly. He didn''t want them to get injured or sustain life-threatening wounds.


    Where he stood, he began to release great amounts of numerous energies from the energy pools in his energyhouse.


    These energies exuded from the pores in his skin like colored smokes and began to spread out into the distance. As they extended into the distance, they radiated fierce pulses of power and dyed the earth below them in the colors of light they emanated.


    Despite not using the wind elixir technique, a rapid accumulation-technique he always utilized to gather near-boundless quantities of wind elemental energy in his body, he still had much more energy in his energyhouse to use.


    Alex wasn''t surprised that he could still produce such amounts of energies. He had always known it was a passive ability of cultivation-deviants which he was one of right from birth.


    Cultivation-deviants, also called cultivation-aberrants were cultivators who could simply accumulate much more energies than others.


    If Alex couldn''t release more energies, then he would feel that something was definitely wrong with his body as he had consumed hundreds of peerless-grade, earth-rank pills in which just one would produce nearly a thousand times the energy that would be obtained from the consumption of many condensation-rank pills. So it was right for him to continually unleash more amount of energies than everyone here.


    This time in this ongoing battle, he didn''t use the wind elixir technique. He only liked to use it whenever he wanted to intimidate his opponents as he could produce raging, torrential floods of windforce energy with it.


    As the energies continuously erupted from his body at a quick rate, he flash-recalled when he said that it was a curse because he couldn''t break through very quickly like the others since he first had to gather enormous amounts of energies before he could achieve a minor breakthrough. That is, from one cultivation phase to the next.


    He looked at himself and smiled deprecatingly.


    Now he looked awesome and formidable to everyone because of the seemingly endless eruption of energies from his body. But to him, no matter how amazing and terrifying he might look, the inborn ability that made him a cultivation-deviant was still a curse.


    The peculiar ability of vast and immense energy possessions by cultivation-deviants was a blessing to them. It was an ability of unmatched energy storage which would make them domineering and dreadful in battle since they could continue to release energies like they had inexhaustible amounts of them.


    Just like Alex for an example. Despite releasing alarming quantities of various energies from his body, he still had much more to produce. He hadn''t even used three-tenth of any of the energies stored in his energyhouse. So he could still release much more and not worry over the amount of energy discharging from his body. He was like an energy crystal in treasure-weapons.


    But in the end, it was a curse because of exceedingly difficult breakthroughs. So Alex felt.

 Chapter 137: Battle II

    The energies continued to expel from his body like there was no end to them. Dozens of feet of space around Alex was occupied by the energies coming from his body.


    When Alex began to release the energies from his body with the intention of reducing the statues around him to bits, everyone were alarmed and then shot far away from him with eyes filled with horror.


    Even Alex''s team members had to back off instantly.


    The statues in a thirty-feet space around Alex were blindfolded by the shocking quantities of myriad energies that Alex produced. It was like they were in an extremely thick fog.


    An instant later, many long and wide cracks rapidly appeared in the tough-looking structure of the towering bodies of the statues before they exploded with loud bangs into smithereens.


    The rapid manifestation of cracks on the bodies of the gigantic statues and their explosive splintering were caused by numerous slivers of augmented strengthforce energy being released with a couple of other energies from Alex''s body.


    The slivers emanated the power of might which was enhanced to a high degree by a form of mysterious power emitting from an unknown primordial energy that had fused with the strengthforce energy.


    The might-power radiating from the slivers was actually imbued with desolation-power.


    Manifesting as invisible ripples, they moved in all directions with the other energies and exerted a colossal force to crush all in their paths into bits or fragments.


    After Alex destroyed the statues around him, he willed the energies to float high above his head.


    The energies which had completely enshrouded his figure and even the space for many feet moved to a certain height above him and gathered into a gigantic multicolored cloud where they began to emanate dazzling resplendence and a great constraining and crushing pressure.


    Then in the next moment, the cloud-like mass of mixed energies condensed and shaped into a palm and then shot towards the great number of statues running towards him.


    Alex was using the ''Prismatic God Hand of Punishment'' technique again.


    When the massive palm appeared dozens of meters above them, he swung his hand down and the palm swung down too, smashing into them with unparalleled tyranny.


    Boom!!!


    The land shook and this resulted in fissures that extended far into the distance. Also, a towering, devastating wave of violent energy swept out with shocking damaging power.


    As it swept out at high speed, it caused large amounts of dust to be thrown into the air and contaminate it.


    It suddenly became hard for every students far away to breathe properly. They began to choke.


    But in the next instant, the dust vanished. They were cleared away by a wind that mysteriously appeared. It was Alex that produced the wind using his wind manipulation power.


    Alex looked into the distance and saw a deep crater.


    That was where he smashed the statues into bits and deep into the earth.


    But he wasn''t proud of this achievement as he knew it were ribbons of strengthforce energy that he infused into the palm to make it possess such destructive capacity.


    Everyone became very quiet. But their minds were roiling from what they witnessed some moments ago.


    "Such a terrific body and energy cultivator. Who is he?"


    "He''s the Thunderclapper. He''s very powerful. Men, what a terrifying battle genius!"


    They began to whisper amongst themselves.


    Then a booming voice sounded all of a sudden.


    "You have come to the end of the competition. Time to leave."


    Suddenly, a powerful, immobilizing force wrapped around everyone of them and carried them up through the hole back to the normal land surface.


    Once they got to the ground, the students went to meet their instructors.


    As Alex and his team members went to meet the instructors from his school, Alex could feel many angry gazes on his body. His highly sensitive skin was reacting to their intense gazes.


    Alex didn''t turn to look at them. He only smiled wryly as he went to meet the instructors from his academy.


    He knew they would be angry. He had grievously injured the students of their academies. They would need to be administered many healing pills before they can recover to their usual self.


    Their recovery would take a long time with other type of body regeneration pills. Only with a perfect-quality healing pill would they instantaneously recover. And if the injuries were too serious, their healing would be accelerated.


    But perfect-quality cultivation pills were nonexistent in this world. It was only common-quality, average-quality healing pills and some other types that they had here.


    The common-rank healing pills and average-rank healing pills contained great amount of impurities. For the common-rank, only a percent of it total composition would turn into healforce energy. While only five percent of the composition of the average-rank healing pill will produce healing-energy. The remaining ninety-nine and ninety-five percent composition of the common-rank and average-rank healing pills respectively were impurities.


    The other types which were good-quality and rare-quality healing pills would give a better recovery power than common-quality and average-quality healing pills.


    These types would be found in academies. But to give that to students would cost them a lot since they had to contract pillmakers to synthesize the pills which was a costly thing to do.


    Suddenly, a cold snort rang out and this caused the blood in his body to churn violently. Instantly, his face turned pale-white and his head began to ache badly. It was an attack by an instructor who was at the saint emperor realm.


    "Kid, why did you do this to my students?" The instructor who did that asked in a chilly tone.


    They had been watching every student through an enormous projector screen in a massive room. They had seen all that Alex did and were shocked. While the ones who saw what he did to their students became filled with wrath.


    They were envious of Alex as he could put out that kind of devastating power at his cultivation stage. They wish he came from their academy or that their students had such highly-destructive attack power.


    Now his team had all three treasure-artifacts. This fact alone made them envious and angry.


    "Good day senior" Alex respectfully greeted. Then he said "They tried to harm him me and my team member. But since I gained the upper hand in the battle, I paid them back in their own coin"


    "Haha. You paid them back in their own coin right? Good. It''s only a competition anyways. So you are lucky I won''t pursue this matter." The instructor said.


    Then an invisible, shapeless force wrapped around every students from his academy and lifted them into the ultivehicle they came with.


    "Well, if the instructors from the blue hornet academy won''t do anything, then I will" An instructor coldly said.

 Chapter 138: Incoming future tribulation

    It was this time that the instructors from Alex''s academy spoke.


    "Hey! The boy did nothing wrong. Were you watching another screen? Well, if you were, then it''s right for you to spout trash. Anyways, I would tell you what I watched since it seems you were watching them from a wrong screen. Your damned students wanted to harm my boy and his team member. So because he is way stronger than them and gave them the necessary punishment they deserve, you want to pursue the matter. I would like to see how you would give it a pursuit" An instructor spoke, trying to defend Alex.


    He was proud of Alex''s strength and at how decisive he was. He lashed out without holding back.


    Just when the aggrieved instructor would speak again in retaliation to what the instructor from Alex''s academy said, a voice boomed out.


    "No arguments or fights here. I believe you saw what happened in the screen. They tried to harm the boy and the girl. But their scheme backfired when they picked on someone who possesses battle power greater than the hundreds of them combined. So, don''t try to cause a problem here or you wouldn''t like how it would end. Competition is over. All of you should leave here this instant and return to your academies"


    Now that they had been given the order to leave, the instructors from other academies who wanted to participate in the action just because of what Alex did to their students began to move together with them to their ultivehicles.


    The instructor who spoke still looked at Alex. There was bone-chilling coldness in the way he gazed at him. Then he said in a wicked tone "I saw that you cultivated many energies. At least twelve of them. For you to be able to do that proves that you are a genius. But you are very foolish. You are trying to do something forbidden in cultivation. You want to become a Beyonder. The Master of hundreds of world-energies right? Haha! I wonder how long you would last in this world. That''s if you can even survive the unique tribulation that would afflict you when you try to break through into the heaven adept realm. Aii... Another genius that might shake higher worlds will die in five hundred years time. What a pity. haha!"


    After he said that, he and the other instructors that came together left with their students.


    "Don''t let that get to you. You will survive every beyonder-type tribulation that the world would throw at you. I know you can" The instructor in front of him said confidently with an assuring smile.


    Alex nodded and returned the smile.


    That statement the instructor made to shatter Alex''s cultivation-heart simply did nothing. He knew he was special and unique. And that he was someone who would rise to the height no one has even risen to since he was called by the world for a purpose. Then that he was gifted vast, astonishing abilities just for that purpose. So it was only left to him to fulfill that purpose.


    But he knew that it wouldn''t be easy as his own road to the zenith rank of cultivation would be filled with more tribulations than the others.


    Terrifying tribulations would manifest and seek him to destroy him anytime he wanted to achieve a breakthrough to higher cultivation stages after the heaven adept stage, just like how the instructor said.


    This was what beyonders always went through as he was lectured by his uncle when he was still in the mansion. And it was the same path they walked that he was also treading. Not that he wanted to, he was born with the ability. But he wasn''t terrified. Since it was like this, he would absorb the tribulation-energies that composed the tribulation-attacks which would seek him to ruin him or destroy him.


    Tribulation-energies, also called Judgement-energies or Executioner-energies were special energies that are produced by tribulation clouds, a type of vast, phenomenal, mystical cloud that would appear when one was breaking through into specific realms. Only by surviving tribulation-attacks could one be said to have officially entered those specific realms.


    These tribulation-energies share similarities with the five elemental energies which are air, water, earth, wood and fire elemental energy. But they are more deadly. Like ten to a thousand times more. Actually, their degree of deadliness depends on the cultivator being afflicted. Some could undergo tribulation at ten percent power. While others could undergo tribulation at a thousand percent power. Then the percentage of deadly power of beyonder-type tribulations could range from a million times to a billion times. It was vastly greater than that of ordinary cultivation tribulations.


    The beyonder-type tribulation-energies possessed such fearsome killing power because they contained the living and sentient, overpowering profound will to ravage, to destroy, to bring to extinction and to obliterate from the system of the realmverse. They were conscious energies that possessed vastly powerful destruction intents.


    Huuuu!


    Alex took a deep breath when he flash-remembered all that is uncle told him back then before he set out for his adventures.


    But he wasn''t fazed!


    "You contain the intent to seek, eliminate and destroy? Then I will absorb you instead" Alex said inwardly in a confident tone.


    He knew he had a rare and legendary body that would absorb every energy it came across or was exposed to as he was once told by Houston.


    Since there was no name for his body as this was the first time it would ever appear in the cultivation world. He decided to give it a name "Grand Dominator Myriad Energy Devouring Body".


    Alex named it so because it was the most supreme body and one that absorbed or devoured all forms of energies which it contained perfectly without them leaking out or returning to the realmverse.


    But little did he know that his normal body which he just named was an actual physique. It was one that accumulated and stored all energies. Nobody ever realized this. Not even his super-powerful parent and friends. And just like any other physique, it had it abilities which Alex would discover later in future.


    So Alex felt with great certainty that his grand dominator myriad energy devouring body would give him a greater chance at withstanding beyonder-type tribulations and even absorb the elemental-like deadly energies that composed their cascading attacks.


    "Let''s head back to the academy" Alex''s instructor said.


    Alex and his team members nodded their heads. Then they stepped into their academy''s ultivehicle.


    Swoosh!


    It shot at a great speed like a rocket into the distance after floating in the air and stabilizing itself for some seconds.


    John and his team members were looking at Alex with awe. They saw all that he did and couldn''t help but be amazed. Alex had branded an indelible impression in their minds. He was overpowering and overwhelming.


    "I shouldn''t be called a genius. You should" John said to Alex in a friendly tone.


    "Come on. Will you stop spouting rubbish?! Of course you are a genius. If you weren''t, principal Jennifer wouldn''t make you go for this competition. This meant that you gave her a good impression of your battle-power and skills. So don''t deprecate yourself just to praise another person. We are both geniuses. We are still growing. With time, we would become epic genius experts that would shake regions and continents with our gazes alone. Just continue to train hard and be diligent in your cultivation" Alex replied, trying to raise John''s esteem, morale and cultivation-heart.


    John smiled.


    "Thank you." Then he continued "I know we are not familiar with each other, but can we be friends? I want to become friends with someone like you. It''s not because of your great battle prowess but because of your personality. You are not proud and haughty like me who can''t boast of anything in front of you"


    Alex smiled and shook his head.


    ''This guy'' He said inwardly.


    "Of course you can. And stop lowering yourself. Not even in front of more powerful experts. You said you couldn''t boast of anything in front of me. But I tell you now that you can boast of something. You are in the peak-phase condensation stage while I am at the mid-phase condensation stage. You would certainly enter the earth adept realm before me." Alex said with a smile and gave him a thumbs up.


    John nodded and kept quiet after giving Alex the ''perfect'' hand sign.

 Chapter 139: Filled with pride

    An hour later, they arrived at the academy.


    Chime!


    When they arrived, the school''s massive announcement bell was rung.


    Moments later, students began to to rush out of their classrooms. They knew why the bell was rung. That the students selected for the competition had returned.


    Jennifer flew out of her office towards the gathering ground.


    There she met Alex, John, their team members and the instructors that accompanied them.


    But she didn''t go forward to stand on the platform. She left it to the instructors to address the students.


    "Alright everyone. Our school did really well at the competition ground. Our school was blazing that we came back with all three positions. We brought back the first, second and third positions with us. How amazing is that?" An instructor asked in an excited tone.


    Everyone''s eyes fully widened in shock and amazement. They couldn''t believe what they just heard. Their school actually won all three positions. Then an uproar of excitement broke out. The news got their mind spinning.


    Now, they would be more proud of their school. They would raise their heads and shoulders high anytime there was a large gathering for an event in which many other schools would partake.


    The Three Treasure Land where the competition took place was a platform for mega-competition amongst only the genius students. It was mega as it only showcased the strongest and the valorous.


    For a single treasure-artifact, one would have to fight hundreds just to possess it.


    Anyone who could do that was absolutely amazing. That meant that person had great combat prowess, doggedness, unflinching determination and tenacity.


    In all the competitions carried out in that region for the past thirty years when it was initiated, their school had never won anything. Not even third place. But now, they brought back all the positions. The news was just too wonderful to them.


    They had been laughed and mocked at by peers from other academies that their cultivation institution doesn''t produces geniuses. That it produced only weaklings.


    But now was not the case. They would be able to behave like kings and queens among the assembly of tens of thousands of students from many academies.


    The instructor then continued after seeing that the excitement in the atmosphere had calmed.


    "Alex, Elena. Do step forward." He said.


    Alex and Elena did as they were told. They came to the instructor''s front.


    "Now, these two got us the three positions. Alex took the first and second place for himself. While Elena took the third place for herself" The instructor said.


    The other instructors who had flown out to the gathering ground just to know the fate of their academy at the competition were hit by the information and got deeply amazed. It was not just just them. The entire students too were astonished. They looked at Alex with unbridled awe in their eyes. It was like they heard something that was nigh-impossible.


    How could someone in the mid-phase condensation stage hold his ground against hundreds of peak-phase condensation stage cultivators? Only attacks unleashed by several of them would land Alex in fatal conditions, talk more of a hundred of them. Yet, he was right before their eyes. Doing fine and giving a glamorous smile. It became highly mysterious to them how he was able to accomplish such an incredible feat.


    Then the instructors wished they had left the academy to go watch the battle between him and the rest. They felt pained that they had actually missed the most spectacular battle ever.


    But they would ask their colleagues who went with Alex''s team to describe in details how the competition took place and how Alex was able to get two top positions without coming back missing some body parts and looking like he was one leg into the grave.


    Only Jennifer gave a knowing smile.


    How would they defeat the son of experts that once flourished in a greatverse?


    Then when they were done with the announcements, Jennifer flew forward to the platform where announcements were made from.


    She landed and walked to Alex''s side. She smiled at him and said. "Hey kid. You did well"


    Alex smiled and nodded at the same time.


    She then turned to face the crowd.


    "I waited for these students to return before giving out this new piece of information." She said scanning the faces of the tens of thousands of people before her.


    Then she continued "This information is actually for our students in the saint stage. There''s an ancestral legacy now available for you guys. This legacy was rumored to have come from a higher world to our world. I don''t know the reason why. But what I know is that it''s a good thing for you all. Now, if you believe in yourself that you are strong enough, come and meet me to register your name as people who would be going for the legacy. Only interested ones who think they are strong enough to battle saint cultivators from higher worlds should come to me"


    The moment Jennifer finished saying this, the eyes of the saint-stage students began to erupt battle intents. They would definitely go for the legacy. Acquiring the legacy of such an ancient expert was a one-step ladder to power, wealth, fame, veneration and dread by all.


    Alex''s eyes shone with excitement and zeal for battle when he heard ''Ancestral expert''s legacy''.


    But when he remembered he was still at the condensation stage, his excitement and zeal instantly vanished.


    Then a thought struck him.


    ''Of course I can still go. Haha. Just a little bit of trick would grant me passage into the legacy acquisition ground. I would see instructor Jennifer after this to ask for permission to leave the academy for two years.'' He said inwardly in a delighted tone.


    "Alright. Back to classes everyone. As for the competitors who just returned, go to your hostel block to relax. Your classes would start immediately after tomorrow" Jennifer said.


    After she said this, everyone began to return to their lecture blocks to resume their lectures.


    Draco left since he was heading to his hostel block. Only Jake and Elena remained with Alex.


    "See you later Alex. I am dying for a good bath" Elena said.


    "Alright" Alex responded and nodded.


    Then he turned to face Jake, "You should go wash yourself and relax too. I want to see principal Jennifer for something important" He said.


    "Okay." Jake replied without questioning him further. Then he left, heading to the student resident apartment he and Alex shared.

 Chapter 140: Child of fortune

    Alex then went to meet principal Jennifer in her office.


    Kom!


    He knocked on the door.


    "Come in" Jennifer said from within.


    Alex entered and closed the door behind him.


    "Hey Alex, what are you here for? Here to disturb me? You should be in your room relaxing. Classes would start in two days time. So use the free time to relax and cultivate" Jennifer said.


    "Thanks principal Jennifer. Actually, I am here for something kind of important. I want to request for permission for it." Alex replied with a smile.


    "Okay. Then spill it out." Jennifer said.


    "C¡ªCan you please give me like two years to leave the school? But I would be back before the two years is over" Alex said with slight difficulty.


    Jennifer''s eyes widened in shock.


    "What? You want two years off the school? Where are you going to?" She asked.


    Alex knew she would ask. So he said with a smile "My uncle would be worried since I have been gone for too long. And I think that he might have started searching for me. So I wanna go home to see him. When he sees me, he would put his mind at ease that I am safe and doing fine. I just want to remove the fearful thought of me being missing or abducted from his heart. Besides, I want to do a whole lot of things at home."


    "Hmm." Jennifer muttered.


    She couldn''t be sure if Alex was lying.


    She recalled that it was her that brought him here to help her win the three-piece treasure. Then Jennifer felt that perhaps that time she brought him to the academy, he was out of his uncle''s house to develop himself.


    After thinking for some time, Jennifer agreed.


    "Alright Alex. Permission granted." She said. Then she continued "Make sure you you avoid troubles. Never try to immerse yourself in one. Just go home, do your thing and come back"


    Alex nodded.


    Then he asked with indifferent eyes, "Instructor Jennifer, where exactly was the inheritance rumored to have surfaced?"


    He didn''t want her to know he had interest in it. So he asked like he was just curious about the location of the legacy.


    Jennifer fell for it as she replied "Well, some place in Smith city"


    "Oh. Alright." Alex said.


    But his mind was full of joy. It was actually the city his uncle''s mansion was based in that the legacy was reported to have appeared for acquisition by the strongest saint stage cultivator.


    With indifferent eyes, he bade her farewell and headed for his residential apartment.


    When he got there, he saw Jake cultivating. He nodded and went to have his bath.


    After he finished bathing, looking all nice and clean, he sat in his bed and began to go through again all that was in his dad''s storage-treasure.


    He built up a small heap of treasures for the journey he was about to set out for. Doing this took him many hours as he went through their abilities and functions and picking what he felt was best for the journey. Also included in this heap were many types of pills.


    After he was done, he sat on the ground in the cross-legged position to cultivate. But he wasn''t trying to cultivate energy. What he wanted to cultivate was the soul. Only with a powerful soul would he be able to last longer in the physiques.


    But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t harmonize with the energy. It was too elusive.


    But he didn''t give up, he continued to do so.


    Many hours later, he stopped when Elena came by.


    "So when are you leaving?" She asked.


    "Very soon" Alex replied.


    "I am going to miss you" Elena said.


    "Yea. Me too" Alex said with a smile. Then he continued "Uhm... Elena, I would like to give you something. It''s a cultivation manual which I discovered in an underground cave during one of my adventures before I was brought here by principal Jennifer. It matches the elemental energy you currently cultivate." Alex said.


    Elena''s eyes glowed with surprise.


    "Really? You aren''t kidding me right?" She asked.


    "Sure I am not." Alex replied.


    "Wow. Alright, let me see it" Elena said.


    There was a flash of light and a book appeared in the air.


    Alex caught it in his palm and handed it to Elena whose eyes radiated with amazement.


    Her eyes were full of astonishment at just the appearance of the book. It was large in size and the cover was really high-quality.


    But what she saw next almost made her head explode.


    "Earth Cultivation Manual. A-grade Duality Methodology"


    ''Wow!'' She said loudly in an unbelieving tone.


    Cultivation manuals like this were exceedingly rare. They were something that could only be found in the highest of worlds and this was the Greatverse or great world. But now, Alex had casually pulled it out from his storage-treasure and gave it to her.


    Still surprised by the immense fortune that accompanied Alex and made him found this, she asked, "How exactly did you come across this?"


    Elena just found it hard to believe. Such extremely rare and priceless book was in Alex''s hands. She then felt that Alex was getting mysterious day by day. He now became something that she wouldn''t be able to understand as he comes up everyday with all kind of things which would deeply amaze her.


    Responding to her question, Alex said "Like I mentioned earlier, I found it in an underground cave. But it wasn''t just lying on the ground as that would be the greatest of insult to such a top-quality, god-tier, duality methodology manual. I discovered it when I was practicing with my powerful senses. It was hidden deep inside the crack of a cave wall. Whoever hid it there did so in haste or I would have never been able to find out about it. So, I am just fortunate. I am a child of great fortune."


    After he said that, he gave a smile while Elena shook her head.


    "Alex, you are indeed one fellow accompanied by good fortune. Just imagine." Elena said with an astounded gaze. Then she continued "But you really thought much about me by giving me this. I don''t know if I should accept it. Haha! Why would I do such a thing? It would only be my loss if I did such that would be seen as the ultimate of foolishness. I really appreciate it Alex. Thanks so much for putting me in consideration."


    Alex grinned.


    "No need for thanks between us. What you should do is learn how to efficiently deploy the terraforce energy cultivation technique. With such a powerful energy-accumulating method, you would be able to reach the earth adept realm very fast. And don''t forget to practice the battle techniques. It''s very important. You would possess greater attacking and defending power. Also, as a warning. Never cultivate in your student apartment room. Instead, you should use the cultivation rooms. This is because you would attract lots of attention when you begin to utilize the energy-gathering method. Students of higher stages and even instructors would suspect that you are using a unique manual and may order or threaten you to produce it. So you need to be very cautious." Alex said.


    Elena nodded seriously.


    The technique in the book would produce astonishing amounts of earth elemental energy by drawing it in great quantities from the realmverse. This would generate powerful energy fluctuations that would attract everyone.


    "Alex, I will do my best to grow stronger. Who knows, I might even reach the sky lord stage before you even reach the peak-phase condensation stage" Elena said in a teasing tone and stowed the cultivation manual in her spatial ring.


    Alex smirked.


    Then he stood and said "Elena, I am leaving now."


    Elena nodded. She then stood to her feet and gave Alex a long, tight hug before she released him from her embrace.


    Then he left the room with her and continued towards the school gate, while Elena headed to her room. Little hints of sadness and loneliness could be detected in her eyes.


    But these emotions disappeared from her eyes in the next instant as she made up her mind to diligently cultivate to achieve breakthroughs into the other stages.


    Alex didn''t give Jake a cultivation manual as he didn''t know what he might decide to do. He might even try to accompany him in his journey.


    But Alex doesn''t want anyone, not even Jake to know of his plans. But when he is back, he would surely give him a sword cultivation book since Jake cultivated swordforce energy. It would help break through into the earth adept stage quickly.


    Then he smiled as he imagined Jake''s explosive reaction after Elena tells him that he had left the academy for two years. He could visualize Jake scream ''Alex, you are a bastard!!! You will die wherever you are'' in anger and bitterness.


    When he left through the school''s gate after giving the permission note to the gateman, he said in an excited tone "Finally, I am out for another adventure."


    He had been held up in the academy for many months. Now he had space to do whatever he likes.


    After walking for a long time, he left the school vicinity and arrived at a particular street.


    The street was bubbling as people moved here and there. There were simply lot of crowds doing their things. There was trading everywhere. Some even called Alex to come buy stuff. But Alex politely declined with a wave and a smile.


    After asking for directions to an ultivehicle garage, he arrived there.


    Alex chose to go with the large-size ultivehicle used to transport large crowds of people. He preferred to do this as people who have the intents to rob and harm wouldn''t look in his direction. It was better to enter this than move with small-size ultivehicles that would attract hordes of nefarious cultivators.


    When he paid the conveyance fee which was cheap since they would realize more profit by transporting thousands of people, he rented an inn to stay till the time the large-size ultivehicle seats would be fully booked by flight customers and then move to desired location which was the Smith city.


    But the time for the seats to be fully booked would take months.


    So Alex hoped that the door to the ancient expert''s legacy bestowment ground wouldn''t open till he got there.


    He didn''t want to miss out on such a legacy. He had the Azure Beastsman''s legacy, but he still wanted more. Alex had always desired to build his own collection of treasures.


    Sitting in the cross-legged position on a bed in the inn, he closed his eyes and tried to cultivate his soul.


    He needed to advance his soul so that his plan to enter the legacy ground and acquire the primeval expert''s inheritance wouldn''t rebound. In there, he would be up against thousands of saint stage cultivators. So he needed to be able to last for many minutes in his physiques.


    That was Alex''s plan. Since the cultivation stage requirement to enter the legacy ground was saint stage, he would produce a physique that would enable him possess the power of a saint stage cultivator.


    He knew that soul invigorating pills wouldn''t help him in any way, so he would try to perceive soulforce energy in this new environment and absorb it so he could support his soul with it. He believes that through constant channelling of the soul-energy into his soul, his soul would be able to withstand the pressure exerted on it by the physiques. Therefore, he would be able to last longer in his super-powered form.


    - Many hours later -


    Alex, still in the cross-legged position had an unhappy look on his face as he hadn''t detected soulforce energy. He wondered what was wrong.


    But he didn''t stop. Not being able to perceive the energy only strengthened his resolve to enter into harmony with it.

 Chapter 141: In need of money

    He was in the cross-legged position for many days, but his effort at trying to perceive soulforce energy was futile.


    Since he couldn''t, then he stopped. There would be no sense in cultivating for such a long time. One should take breaks in between during long periods of cultivation.


    When he stopped, he decided that in an hour or two hours time, he would resume his cultivation.


    So he went out to receive fresh air and to calm his mind by observing the scenery of the new environment he was in.


    When he came out, he went into the street and began to walk around. He walked for about twenty minutes before he stopped at an inn where fruit wines and unadulterated alcoholic wines were being sold.


    Alex then went in to have a fruit wine. But he demanded for one that had little percentage of alcohol in it. He wanted to feel like a man, to behave like an adult. After he sat relaxedly on a seat, he began to drink the wine he was given.


    He gulped down a cup that made him feel intoxicated. But it was only for a second as the intoxication effect generated by the fruit wine vanished.


    He became surprised.


    Then he realized his body had rapidly eliminated the intoxication effect produced by the alcohol.


    He took another cup and downed it. But he felt no intoxication this time as his body had it resistance to the intoxication effect of the alcohol increased. His reactive adaptation ability had come up.


    He needed to drink a larger volume of the alcoholic fruit wine before he can feel intoxicated again.


    Alex shook his head unhappily.


    ''What a body. Sigh'' Alex said and sighed inwardly.


    Just as he would continue complaining about his body, someone came forward from a room and said in a loud tone "Hello customers, we are celebrating an event today. So we want to give out money as we celebrate this event."


    Then someone on a seat asked excitedly "What event is that?"


    "Our anniversary. We are now sixteen-years old in this wine-selling business" The person that spoke earlier replied.


    "Haha. Nice one" Someone sitting at a corner grinned and said.


    Then loud applauses rang out from every corner of the inn. Alex also clapped too. Then he continued to drink his wine which felt like he was drinking an ordinary fruit juice.


    "You mentioned you would be giving out cash. For what exactly?" Another person asked.


    "Since we celebrating our anniversary today, our management have decided to thank you our loyal customers for being with us all through the years. Now, a competition would take place and anyone who wins the competitive event that would initiate soon will win a cash prize of fifty thousand yellow sapphirstones." The man said.


    Then after a slight pause, the man shouted "Roll out the barrel." He then turned to face the people on the seat "Please everyone, let''s move outside for the competition"


    Everyone then stood and left the inn. They arrived outside and saw some people roll over a large barrel from a store pretty far away.


    The people rolling the barrel stopped at their front and made the barrel stand.


    "Now this is what we will do. Anyone that can drink at least fifteen wine jugs wins. Simple as talking right? So if you are interested, go to that table." The man that announced the competition said and pointed at a large table.


    Quickly, several hefty men left the large crowd that had gathered and appeared before the large table that was pointed at.


    On this table could be seen so many large jugs of wines. They were being filled by the workers who discharged alcohol into them from a tap fixed into the large, alcohol-containing barrel. There were sixty of these jugs at the moment and were being filled to the brim.


    Alex looked at the men and shook his head. This guys wouldn''t be able to drink more than six jugs. He thought.


    His reason was because the jugs were large. If one poured the content of a jug into a cup, it would fill more than twenty cups. That was a pretty large quantity of wine they were about to consume. But such quantity shouldn''t be much of a problem to cultivators.


    Why Alex reasoned that the people who wanted to compete for the cash prize wouldn''t drink more than six jugs was because with his powerful sense of smell, he could perceive that the materials used in making the wine in the jugs was strong.


    When he compared the one he drank earlier to this, this was like a hundred times more stronger. It could simply burn their chests out if they drank too many of it.


    He then felt that these men would be hospitalized for months after this event as the heat that would be produced by the alcohol upon drinking a lot could badly affect their throats, vocal cords, stomach and other organs in their bodies.


    This should be a wine only expert at the earth adept stage should drink. But these men who were cultivators were at the entry stage. They would be seriously harmed. Then he began to think of what to do to stop them from drinking the wine.


    He then decided to participate in the competition.


    His reason for this was that when he wins the competition and the cash prize goes to him, he would have yellow sapphirstones in his hand.


    It was safer to spend yellow sapphirstones which were low-quality sapphirstones than spend peerless-quality sapphirstones which could put him in serious trouble.


    He didn''t want to be chased about because he was spending god-tier sapphirstones that had great monetary value.


    Alex only had peerless-grade and supreme-grade sapphirstones which he inherited from his parent, friends and from the Azure Beastsman. And he couldn''t spend such in his journey or his life would be threatened as he would be tracked by several nefarious cultivators.


    So he decided to participate as he needed the low-quality sapphirstones for the two-years journey he was going to embark on.


    Just when they would take a jug to drink, Alex shouted stop. Then he came forward to the table where the wine jugs were placed on.


    Everyone looked at him and were confused. Who is this kid? Where did he come from? Is he here to make trouble?


    Alex looked at them and said arrogantly, although he was faking it. "Hello people, I also want to partake in this competition. I am The Devourer in case you don''t know and I have won many of this kind of competitions. So I am here to win the prize money by consuming all these wines."


    Hahahaha!


    Muhahaha!


    Loud, unbridled laughter rang out from the crowd and from the men around the table.


    "Who is this young-looking fool? Where is he from? The Devourer? Never heard of such. Haha!" Someone said and grinned, then the intensity of the raucous laughter intensified.


    It was like the atmosphere was saturated with a strong laughter-inducing gas.


    "Are you done? Are you done laughing you fools? How dare you look down on The Devourer? You know how that title came to be? I have drank a small pool of wine many places in the past. That was why I was nicknamed so. You have never heard of me because I journey across states just to sample all kinds of wine. I have tasted over four hundred and five alcoholic wines in my lifetime. Now, I am in your states to do the same thing. Since there is a competition of wine-drinking here, why don''t I participate and show you how glorious and tyrannical ''The Devourer'' title is. Let me create a legend here before I leave. Haha" Alex said arrogantly with indifferent eyes and chucked.


    But he wasn''t sure if his body could handle the large volume of wine he was about to drink. But he had to try anyways as he had a powerful body with an astonishing healing rate. Also, he had millions of peerless-quality recovery pills. So he wasn''t worried. He was doing this to protect the men who were totally ignorant of the greatly damaging liquid substance they were about to imbibe.


    Once he said that, everyone''s eyes widened in awe before it was replaced with an intense glow of mockery.


    "Haha! Kid, shut the hell up. You are uttering trash from your trashy mouth. The Devourer? I believe you formed that title yourself. How could someone as young as you drink a small pool of wine? You surely made that up. Please get away from here and go find a way to make money." One of the men surrounding the table said.


    Alex shook his head.


    He was trying his best to protect these men. But they were giving him a tough time. It seems until one was taught a lesson before the others would back off.


    Alex didn''t reply to what the man spoke. Instead he said "Do you know what ''The Devourer'' title entails? I can discern a strong wine from a weak wine from distances away. With that kind of ability in distinguishing strong wines from weak wines, I can say with hundred percent confidence that the wine before you is a strong wine. Your bodies and their components would crash."


    "Haha! What a useless, good-for-nothing kid. When others are busy developing abilities to rule over territories, yours is to know a strong wine from a weak wine from faraway places. Your nose is incredibly powerful but you are too useless to use it for something better." A man grinned and said. Then everyone broke into mockery-filled laughter.


    Alex wasn''t bothered by what the man said. He had a plan in mind and he would slowly realize it till it became successful.


    "Well, this is a strong wine I tell you. You can drink and see for yourself" Alex coldly said.


    The man gave a mtcheew.


    Then he went forward to take a jug. Now holding the jug in his hand, he opened his mouth and poured the wine in it into his mouth.


    Gugugugu!


    That was the sound of the wine as the man gulped it down his throat. He drank the entire content of the jug and then smashed the empty jug on the table.


    Then he took another and continued to drink.


    Many moments later, he emptied a sixth jug.


    But in the next instant, the wine in his stomach after accumulation evolved an intense heat.


    The man''s body reddened from the powerful heat that could incinerate his stomach and fell to the ground with tears in his eyes and blood streaming from his nose.


    The blood that oozed from his nose was releasing hot vapor. One could imagine what the heat would have done to the man''s innards. They could have been deeply fried or cooked by now.


    While on the floor, he began to roll about like he was being possessed by hordes of demons.


    He clutched his abdomen and wailed loudly as he scattered apart the sand on the earth with his feet. His eyes were completely red from the agonizing pain he felt and green veins could be seen bulging from the sides of his temple and from his forehead.


    Alex shook his head. He wasn''t happy with what was happening to the man.


    "Well, there goes what you deserve for not listening to me. When you are healed which might take month, you would listen to whatever any person says regardless of age. Even to what a little child says"


    The crowd witnessed what was happening to the man and became really sorry for him. His condition now looked pitiful.


    The men who were around the table quickly backed away when they saw saw what happened to the man. They became exceedingly glad that they didn''t drink the wine.


    A man then came out. He was tall and was quite handsome. But at the moment, he looked ferocious because he was angry.


    Alex looked at this man that was walking towards him and detected that the man was in the mid-phase earth adept stage.


    "Kid, what do you mean by this?" The man asked.


    "What do I mean by this? Of course nothing! I want the cash prize for myself. It was just the man''s fault that he couldn''t take in more than six wine jugs without his body crashing from the effect of consuming lot of alcohol." Alex replied haughtily. Then he continued "Let''s have a bet. The fifty thousand yellow sapphirstones is kinda little. Raise it to a hundred thousand."


    Exasperated gasps rang out from the crowd.


    ''What was he about to do now?''


    "Why? Why would I want to have a bet with you?" The man asked in a surprised tone.


    "Well, I want to create a legend here like I usually do in every place I go to. Then I want to win cash to do stuffs. Haha!" Alex said proudly and grinned.


    "You want a bet with me? Fine! So what would you stake with for the bet?" The man asked.


    "Nothing. The damage that would be caused by drinking a lot of this strong wine is enough for a stake" Alex replied.


    "Haha!" The man laughed. Then he said "Well, for such amount of money, you must drink all the wine jugs. You must empty their entire contents into your mouth. You don''t do so, no cash for you, The Devourer."


    Alex nodded indifferently.


    Then he went to the table radiating pride and confidence. But his heart palpitated slightly from fear.

 Chapter 142: Wins the bet

    When he got to the table, he looked up and saw the crowd looking at him. They were looking at him with awe in their eyes. Alex understood their gazes. He knew that they were wondering if he could actually drink such an alcohol and not suffer.


    Gugugugu!


    He picked up a jug and drank its entire content.


    The wine moved down his throat to his stomach. Then he took another and drank it. Like that, in a short breath of time, Alex had drank more than six jugs.


    Before he could move to take another jug, he suddenly felt hot within. But the heat generated by the accumulated wine in his stomach couldn''t compare to the heat generated when he swallowed dozens of peerless-grade pills for pyroforce energy cultivation.


    Although he felt hot within for sometime, the heat quickly vanished when his reactive adaptation ability came up.


    A victorious smile appeared in his face.


    Then he picked up another jug to drink.


    Gugugugu!


    He happily downed the content and moved to the next jug.


    Like that, Alex drank more than twenty-five jugs. He was moving to his twenty-ninth wine jug.


    As Alex drank, everyone around him looked at him with awe in their eyes. They had been waiting for the reddening of his skin when he reached the sixth or seventh jug. But the red coloration of his skin didn''t manifest and he was on the twenty-ninth jug.


    Many minutes later, precisely thirty-five minutes, Alex had entirely emptied the contents of about seventy jugs.


    "So my prize man" Alex said arrogantly looking at the man he made a bet with. Then he gazed at the crowd and said "You feel me now? I told you that ''The Devourer'' title isn''t a child''s play. Now that I have created my unparalleled, wine-consuming legend here, my alias The Devourer would go round the entire state and put you flimsy wine-drinkers to shame. Haha!"


    While Alex was talking haughtily, the crowd shook at the realization of Alex''s ability. He was someone that emptied many dozens of wine jugs and stand his ground without feeling intoxicated or be harmed by the high concentration of the alcohol in the wine. Then they applauded him and began to shout his self-given name.


    Alex laughed with great pride and spread his hands out like he was a king basking in the shouts of praises by his slaves and servants.


    Then he went to meet the man who he made a bet with.


    "So where''s my damned prize. Bring my baby to me." Alex said, not caring about the cultivation stage the man was in.


    The man gazed at Alex coldly.


    Alex was disrespecting him who was a senior in cultivation to him. But he couldn''t bring himself to do anything to Alex as he felt Alex was just a naturally proud bastard. Also, since he won the bet, it was right for his arrogance to shoot up to extreme levels. If he didn''t pay the boy, he would loose customers as people would no longer trust his business.


    He was still shocked at Alex''s ability to drink so many wines without feeling discomfort. But he wasn''t perturbed. He would give Alex the money to show everyone that he is a worthy person to associate with, but he would retrieve his money from Alex''s corpse. He smiled inwardly at his evil plan.


    The inn manager snapped his fingers. Then someone walked towards him from the inn with a spatial ring in his hand which he handed to him.


    The man then gave Alex the ring.


    Alex looked at it and sent a sliver of his perception into it to count the number of sapphirstones. When he saw that the man gave him the right amounts of sapphirstones which was a hundred thousand yellow sapphirstones, he left, ignoring everyone as he walked back to the room he rented in an inn.


    When Alex was leaving, the inn manager looked at him as he walked far into the distance and gave a smile.


    ''Be proud as you like, you will die soon. Idiot''


    ......


    Alex got to his room and went to have a shower.


    When he was done, he sat on the bed and thought back to what happened earlier. He was surprised that his body allowed him to drink that kind of quantity and not feel discomfort whatsoever. He didn''t even sweat despite the astonishing amounts of the intoxicating liquid he imbibed. But he felt full of energy. Little did he know that his body transformed the entire liquid into energy for him. The alcoholic liquid was completely metabolized and energy was produced in the process.


    After thinking about it for sometime, he sat on the ground in the cross-legged position and tried to cultivate his soul.


    Since Alex was good at multitasking, he deployed his powerful sense of hearing.


    Why he did so was because he knew he had offended the inn manager just by behaving haughtily around him despite him knowing that he was a cultivation senior, and taking a small part of their entire wealth. They would surely want to recollect it. They just wouldn''t let him walk away like that with their money.


    As he sat on the ground trying to comprehend the mysterious attributes of soulforce energy, a cultivator far away who had stealthily tracked him to the inn he resided suddenly shot an arrow at him.


    This cultivator was a skilled tracker. He was paid to trace Alex to wherever he stayed, kill him and bring back the money he won from them.


    Alex suddenly heard something whistle towards him from far using his powerful hearing sense, then his eyes snapped open. He knew they had sent someone.


    An instant later, the arrow pierced through the wall towards him. Just when Alex would punch at it with his fist that had begun to emit golden light, the arrow suddenly picked up speed and turned invisible.


    Alex''s eyes widened in fear.


    The arrow that was shot at him was no ordinary arrow. It was a treasure-arrow that absorbed invisibility-energy and speed-acceleration energy from the realmverse.


    But before the arrow could penetrate through him, everywhere suddenly paused. That is, the flow of time abruptly halted. Everything came to a standstill.


    Alex at the moment could feel an intense tingling and warm sensation at the region between his eyebrows.


    Then his field of vision changed as he appeared in a new place. He was in a completely white dimension.


    Alex became surprised. He didn''t know why he was brought here. But he remembered the sensations he felt. He had always felt those before in the past whenever he felt a threat to his life or a threat to the life of someone he cared about. It was like it always warned him of danger. But he couldn''t explain what brought about those sensations. Since he was here now, he felt would understand why he always felt those sensations that seemed to be signaling him of danger.


    As he looked around, he heard "Son"


    His mind shook. Then he turned hurriedly to see who said that.


    When he turned, his jaw dropped as he saw two celestial-looking and extremely gorgeous people.


    These people were Alex''s parent!


    In an excited tone, Alex shouted "Mom, Dad." Then he dashed towards them to hug them but he passed through them.


    His parent chuckled.


    "Alex, calm down. I know you are happy to see us but these aren''t true bodies. They are bodies composed from our soul energy. We split off a fraction of soul so that we could pass a message to you. Look at you. All grown up and looking very handsome." His mother said and smiled affectionately.


    Alex wanted to talk, but he just couldn''t. He was overwhelmed with excitement. Although these weren''t true living bodies but bodies composed from wisps of their souls, he was still immensely glad to see them and talk to them. He felt fulfilled.


    Then he asked after he regained control over his overly excited mind. "Mom, dad. Where is this place? A pocket dimension compressed into a treasure?"


    "Yes son. How intelligent you are. This is where we are now. In a spatial dimension compressed into a treasure. The treasure is something we placed at the center of your brows when you were little. It''s a danger-detection-and-warning treasure forged by your mother. It scans the environment and warns of immediate, potential threat to your life. But it is our doing that you are here since we want to communicate with you and pass a couple of information to you." His father, Max said.


    "Okay." Alex nodded with a light of understanding in his eyes.


    Then Alex''s father continued "Son, I know you are under pressure now because of this invasion. But you don''t need to push yourself too far just because you want to protect everybody. Defending the whole realmverse is an impossible task to do by yourself. So if you have friends that you deem worthy to be your blood-brother and blood-sister, you can give them cultivation books and cultivation pills that matches the energy they cultivate. You can''t do this alone. You need friends to support you. Now, to you. You have a type of body that no one would ever understand. When we thought we have understood it, you will do something that will upturn everything that we think we have learnt and knew about you. You should try to discover more about yourself child. Also, as someone from two major super-families, you have their blood flowing in your veins. Our blood child. In this blood contains our physiques. Mine is the ''Great Chaos Originator Starry Realm Celestial Physique'' while your mom''s is the ''Blood Rebellion and Metal Calamity Divinity-Slayer Physique''. You should discover them and comprehend their mysteries to be able to unlock and deploy the astonishing powers you would gain from summoning them."


    "Hmm. Okay dad. I will do so now that I know about them" Alex said.


    His father nodded. While his mom, Lucy spoke "Alex, there is also something I want to bring to your notice. There are two treasures that we want you to seek for. They are called the ''Absolute Zenith Sovereign-Creator Alpha Library System'' and ''Ancient Multiracial Overlord-Maker Gene System''. The former also called ''Beyonder Library System'' is a system that infuses your memory with the comprehension of profoundness of energies whenever you achieve tasks set by the ancestral developers of the system. While the latter which is the gene system infuses your blood with genes of ancient races whenever you accomplish missions assigned by the creator of the system."


    Alex became surprised. Then he asked "What are those systems? Are they treasures?"


    "They are treasures. But we refer to them as systems. The ''Beyonder Library System'' was something that was created when thousands of Beyonders gathered for a common goal. This goal was to forge someone into an unparalleled powerhouse ¡ª the ''Ultimate Beyonder''. This is a cultivator who would have comprehension of the mystifying attributes of tens of thousands of realm-energies. So for this objective, they passed the entire comprehension of all the profundities of the energies they ever cultivated into the treasure. Anyone in possession of this system-treasure would receive transmission of profound understanding of energies when he or she completes a certain task." Alex''s father, Max said.


    Alex became dumbfounded.


    "Dad, what are these tasks?" He asked.


    "The tasks are simply things that the Beyonders couldn''t achieve in their lifetime. So if one wants comprehension on a certain energy, one must fulfill those tasks sets by them. You help them complete the tasks, the system infuses your memory with their comprehension. This particular system is like a library that possesses complete understanding of thousands of world-energies." Max replied.


    "Hmm. Okay dad" Alex replied. Then he asked "What about the gene system? It''s the same thing too right? One has to complete tasks to receive genes of ancient races?"


    "Exactly child. It was created by a particular ancient cultivator called the Chaotic Realm Lord. He was the first to achieve half-step Supreme Alpha Eternal cultivation stage. Now, a great calamity was going to befall the ancient races but this cultivator helped them ward it off. So as gratitude, the chiefs and rulers of these races gave a drop of blood which contained their powerful primeval genes to him. He had about hundreds of these which he stored in a treasure he named the ''Ancient Multiracial Overlord-Maker Gene System''. So to acquire these genes, one must accomplish random missions generated by this cultivator" Max replied.


    "Wow." Alex said.


    He was extremely awed.


    So such things existed?


    Why hasn''t he come across them with all his reading?


    He looked at his parent and asked. "So these systems, where are they?"


    "We don''t know too. But it could be in any world in the realmverse. Anyways, they are still exceedingly far from you because of your cultivation stage. So we have decided to help you in your adventures. We know that you would want to build your own collection of treasures and gather your own wealth. But you don''t know exactly how to go about it. Where to go to acquire them. Therefore, we have prepared a map which we would transmit to you soon. The map gives locations of only supreme-grade and peerless-grade treasures starting from the earth adept stage to our stage. Also, there are locations of divine beasts, monster pets, pills, cultivation books, pill-making scrolls, array-laying scrolls and so on in the map." His mother, Lucy replied.


    Alex nodded.


    His parent looked at him for sometime. Then his father said "Normally, for every cultivation stage, there are a number of years it would take for one to enter the next realm. For example, the Sky Lord stage. It could take five hundred to a thousand years just to enter the Sky Lord stage from the Earth Adept stage. But this also depends on the cultivation speed of the cultivator. But for you who is a cultivation aberrant. It would take you more than that. At least, tens of thousands of years to achieve such a breakthrough. So no need to pressure yourself. I know you are trying your best. Continue to do so. But don''t forget to do things that you enjoy. Comprehend, cultivate and have fun. That''s the triangular life you should live."


    Max paused for sometime, then he continued "But if in the end you fail, it was never your fault in the first place. You were just born very late, in the time when the invasion is near, not giving you time to grow at all."


    "Honey! Don''t say that. He can do it. I believe my baby can do it" Lucy refuted.


    Max sighed and nodded. Then he looked at Alex and continued "Before we go, I want you to know that this treasure is infused with our divine power. It contains my ''Origin Astral Explosion'' power and your mom''s ''Desolating Nine Worlds of Invincible Death-Instruments'' power. These powers exist as cores in the treasure. These cores are each formed from the condensation of billions of years of our divine powers. Whenever you are faced with an exceedingly powerful opponent, you can unleash the power. But mind you, you can only use each of our divine power seven times. That means you have protection against fearsome powerhouses for a number of fourteen times. Never waste this protection-attack power on small fries. It''s only when you are in grave danger should you release the power."


    "Okay dad. I would just as you said" Alex replied.


    "Good." His father replied.


    Then Lucy spoke "I know that your uncle Houston would have told you this. But I will say it again. This cultivation world apart from being a polygamous one is a ruthless one. You have to be merciless to survive. No matter how your enemies plead for forgiveness, you have to destroy them. If you aren''t ruthless enough, they could come back and cause you harm. Slay anything that seems like a potential threat to you. Forgive no one. Not even the friends that may betray you or insidious beauties that would cause the minds of deities to spin. But also note, you should distinguish between friend and foe. You should be able to discern between friends that you can rely on and those that would bring destruction your way. I repeat again, in your journey to become the strongest cultivator, slay every adversary that would come your way without batting an eye. Be kind and generous to those that need it. But be cold, ruthless and wicked to those that deserve it. Be a dazzling light of solace and hope for those that are weak and oppressed and a dark cloud of judgment and destruction for those who are sinister and evil."


    Alex nodded.


    Then a fierce glow shone from his eyes.


    All that his parent mentioned caused his eyes to emit an intense light of ferociousness.


    Seeing Alex''s new mindset, his parent''s bodies transformed into motes of energy that penetrated into his body.

 Chapter 143: Second kill

    Once they entered his body, they turned into strands of energy of varying thickness which flowed to his head and into the soul-dwelling region in his head where they infused into his soul, strengthening it and passing great amount of knowledge about so many things to him. Also, he got a vast map that gave locations of legacies of dead ancient experts, caged or slumbering divine beasts, dormant eggs of monster pets, buried fearsome treasures and so on.


    He then thought of the systems his parent mentioned to him earlier. Especially the ''Beyonder Library System''. He felt that with the system, when one acquires comprehension of thousands of energies and cultivate them, one would achieve the Supreme Alpha Eternal stage.


    The Supreme Alpha Eternal stage which can only be reached by comprehending and cultivating tens of thousands of realm-energies and then fusing them can be accomplished with the library system. So Alex felt.


    Once one successfully cultivates the tens of thousands of world-energies and combine them to produce the ''Omega-energy'' or Genesis Realmforce Energy'', one is said to have achieved the Supreme Alpha Eternal or ''Master of Realm'' stage.


    He nodded his head happily.


    When he was stronger, he would journey across worlds to search for the two systems. With the systems, he would be able to reach the ''Master of Realm'' stage faster. Although he would have to complete thousands of tasks before he could receive transmissions of comprehension of mysteries of the vast numbers of primordial energies in the realmverse.


    As he looked around in this dimension thinking of how to leave, he heard a feminine voice ring out from nowhere in the vast white dimension that he was in.


    "Young Master. This is the artifact spirit of this treasure. My name is Ashbolt. I am pleased to meet you."


    Alex was initially surprised, but he quickly recovered his state of mind. It was right for powerful treasures to possess artifact-spirits or treasure-spirits.


    "I am also pleased to meet you." Alex replied.


    "Young master, I possess the keys to open the large numbers of vaults and locked stores in your father''s treasure-palace. But I have been ordered by your parent to not give you the keys until you get to a certain cultivation stage. But if you need help like consultation on something, strategy, information and so on, you can enter this treasure''s pocket dimension to contact me" The treasure-spirit, Ashbolt said.


    "Hmm. Okay. So how do I leave here?" Alex asked.


    "Alright, I will take you out now" Ashbolt said.


    The instant Ashbolt mentioned that, the space in here distorted and Alex''s consciousness was returned to his body.


    Although his awareness had returned, space and time were still paused. This was because the treasure between his brows radiated power that froze space and time.


    Then Alex quickly produced an armor that appeared on him.


    Once the armor appeared on him, time and space continued. The arrow which had turned invisible struck the armor but it couldn''t penetrate through it. An average-grade, earth-rank treasure-arrow wouldn''t be able to pierce through a peerless-grade, earth-rank treasure-armor.


    It shattered upon impact with the armor.


    Alex then kept the armor away and rushed out of his room. And by focusing in the direction the arrow was shot from with his powerful vision, he saw a masked man very far away.


    Although it was night, he could still see clearly.


    When he saw the masked man who was deeply shocked at how he was able to survive his stealth attack, Alex channeled strengthforce energy to his leg muscles and dashed towards the man at a shocking speed.


    Seeing Alex dash towards him, the masked man quickly shot many arrows at him.


    Moving speedforce energy to his eyes and saturating them with it, his perception of the speed of things around him heightened. He could see everything move in slow-motion.


    An instant later, the dozens of arrows shooting towards him suddenly accelerated and turned invisible.


    Alex expected this. He knew his attacker would be using the same arrow again. He could see clearly from where he ran from how the arrows absorbed cloakforce energy; an invisibility-energy from the surrounding and slowly faded away from vision as the cloaking energy permeated their entire structure.


    The instant they became unseen to the eyes, Alex leaped high into the air towards his masked attacker, evading the arrows shooting towards him in the process.


    While in the air, he quickly produced a peerless-grade, violet-colored treasure-spear in his hand and threw it at the man with all the strength he could muster.


    Swoosh!


    The spear pierced through the air at great speed towards the man.


    Although he quickly produced an energy-shield, the spear being an heaven-rank treasure-spear and moving with great momentum penetrated through the energy-shield the man hastily created, impacting him hard. And since it came with a lot of kinetic force, the spear which had penetrated through the man''s body lifted him off the ground and into the distance where it impaled him to the earth.


    Alex landed and ran towards where the man''s body laid. When he got there, he saw the pitiful condition the man was in. But Alex didn''t feel pity for him.


    With eyes radiating frostiness, he coldly asked "Who sent you?"


    Although he knew, he still asked.


    The man coughed out blood and said "I saw that you won a hundred thousand yellow sapphirstone from a drinking competition back at that wine inn. So I tried to kill you and take the money for myself."


    "Oh really? You don''t want to speak the truth right?" Alex asked.


    The man coughed out blood again and said "That''s the truth."


    Alex nodded and produced a sword.


    The man''s eyes widened in horror.


    "What do you want to do? Please forgive me. I beg you." He cried out.


    Alex smiled.


    "Why do bad people always beg when they see their death? If I were the one in your position, would you let me go? Enough spoken. Time for you to head to the death-world" He said with intense coldness radiating from his speech.


    The man''s face turned pale-white from terror. His heart began to beat wildly that it could almost jump out of his chest. And out of great fear for the inevitable death coming his way, the man began to cough out blood. Blood welled from his mouth unceasingly.


    When Alex got to where the man''s body was pinned to the earth, he raised the sword in his hand and swung it down.


    Slash!


    He cut off the man''s head with force and this caused the head to shoot into the air and roll for sometime before falling back to the ground.


    Alex then knelt by the side of the man''s headless corpse and began to tremble. He actually forced himself to do what he did. It wasn''t easy for him as it would be his second time killing. He shook for sometime before he got a grip on himself.


    He stood from where he knelt and looked at himself. The cloth he wore was covered in blood. They came to be when he slashed off the man''s head from his neck.


    He took a deep breath and exhaled. Then he took another. After his breathing regularized, he pulled out the treasure-spear that pinned the man to the earth and cleaned off the blood on it with his cloth. Then he returned the spear and the sword after cleaning it too into his mom''s spatial ring.


    He then took the man''s spatial ring and the man''s head which he stored into an empty spatial ring. And before he left, he discharged fire elemental energy on the man''s headless dead body, burning it to ashes.


    Now that it had gotten to this point, Alex decided to eliminate the wine inn manager and whoever was involved in this deed they tried to carry out.


    Then he took off in the direction of the wine inn.


    ....


    - Wine inn -


    "Blackblood should have returned by now. It shouldn''t be too difficult to track and kill an haughty, mid-phase condensation-stage brat." The wine inn owner said worriedly.


    He didn''t want the task he gave the guy to go sideways.


    "Brandon, relax man. Of course, Blackblood would have eliminated that brat. Your money would be returned to you soon. But remember, we take forty percent of the money." A man seated before the wine inn owner named Brandon said and smiled. He was in the peak-phase earth adept stage unlike Brandon who was in the mid-phase.


    As they discussed, Alex who was very far away heard all that they said and gave a ruthless smile.


    When he got to the inn, he didn''t go in. Instead, he removed the head of the man he killed and flung it with force into the place in the inn where Brandon and the man sat and spoke.


    The bloodied head hit the ground and rolled towards where they sat and discussed.


    The sound attracted the attention of everyone at the place where Brandon and the man were seated.


    Then they looked towards the source of the sound and saw the head of Blackblood. Shock filled the eyes of everyone that saw the head. Then anger replaced them. They quickly rushed out to see who threw the head in and saw Alex.


    But Alex was no fool to show his face to them. He had wore the bloodied mask Blackblood wore and had changed the clothes that he wore during the competition which blood had also splashed on when he beheaded Blackblood.


    He wore one that was dark black in colour. Then coupled with the blood-stained black mask and his chilly gaze, he simply looked like a ferocious, cold-blooded assassin.


    They couldn''t recognize him when they saw him. But their wrath intensified.


    "Bastard, you did this?" The man who was speaking with Brandon came forward with Blackblood''s head in his hand and showed it to Alex.


    Immediately the man asked the question, Alex whose eyes were permeated with speed-perception energy produced a spear and threw it at the head in the man''s hand.


    Before the man could react, the spear which was thrown by Alex who had a faster reaction speed under the influence of the speedforce energy he cultivated, pierced through Blackblood''s head and pulled it off the man''s hand, impaling it to a wall.


    "So, do you still need to be told?" Alex asked coldly and gave a sinister smile.

 Chapter 144: Battle I

    "Bastard, you will pay for this." The man angrily said.


    Then he looked at his men.


    "Bring me his head" He said coldly.


    Once he uttered that, the masked men who came with him to the wine inn rushed out from they were towards Alex.


    As they ran towards him, many flashes of light of different colors appeared. This was because they summoned their treasure-weapons to their hands.


    Then using the physical strength available to them at their cultivation stages, they leaped high into the air and launched attacks from that height.


    Seeing the multiple, large and fierce energy-attacks shooting towards him, shocking amounts of myriad energies abruptly discharged from Alex''s body. Then they mixed together, condensed and shaped into an extremely thick, protective dome of mixed energies.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    Numerous loud bang sounds rang out as the energy-attacks struck the shield. But the shield stood solidly. It didn''t tremble from the impacts. It was like a mountain in the path of a raging flood.


    The men that sent out attacks at Alex became deeply shocked after they landed.


    Such resilient energy dome!


    That was the thought that flashed in their minds which then caused fear to surface in their hearts.


    They were shaken by the fact that the dome could easily withstand many attacks sent by them using their treasure-weapons.


    Then what if he produces his own attacks. It could severely injure them.


    Without thinking further, the twenty of them quickly got into formation and produced a disc each which they then threw into the air.


    The twenty discs thrown, self-suspended in the air and produced a ray of light that connected to the other. Then in a few seconds, the self-floating discs fully connected with one another.


    The instant the connections were completed through linking rays of light, abstruse symbols appeared on the surfaces of the rings. Then they began to revolve.


    Alex who was still in his thick, shielding dome of mixed realm-energies watched all that was happening. This was his first time seeing opponents enter into formations. Then he waited to see what they wanted to perform.


    As the rings hovered in the air and spun at great speeds, they suddenly shot large columns of light into the sky. This caused the area to brighten up that it became like day. But this bright illumination only lasted for some seconds before everywhere darkened again.


    Then rapidly, a form of energy began to discharge from the furiously rotating rings.


    "Helm of Primal Godqueen"


    The person at the front of the formation said.


    Once the person uttered that, the energy that erupted from the rings transformed into square-shaped, thin screens of energy. Then they moved to surround them.


    All this didn''t take long to happen. It only took a few moments.


    Once they were surrounded by the screens of energy, they quickly changed the voidstones in their weapons to one with more powerful arrays.


    Then from within the energy screen-generating formation, they sent full-powered attacks out at Alex.


    Alex who was in his dome of energy now understood what they were doing in the first place. The formation they got into was to align themselves with the defensive formation-treasure.


    As the energy-attacks shot towards him, more energies that composed the protective dome he produced erupted from his body and infused into the dome enclosing his figure.


    He did this because this time around, he was facing experts at the initial-phase and mid-phase earth adept stage. His opponents this time were unlike the ones he faced and overwhelmingly defeated in the Three Treasure Land.


    Alex knew that the combined destructive power of hundreds of condensation stage cultivators, regardless of phase equaled that of a single earth adept stage cultivator. And now, he was facing twenty of them. So it was like he was facing more than four thousand condensation-stage opponents.


    This would be a tough battle for him. But he wasn''t fazed.


    He had his grand god-eyes of true destruction and his mutated strengthforce energy which he could use to produce attacks that would possess damaging power that can match that of a peak-phase heaven adept stage cultivator.


    He smiled wickedly when he reasoned all this.


    When the attacks got to where he stood, they impacted the dome he was in with tyrannical force.


    The dome shook greatly like it was going to shatter apart the next moment. While intensely loud bang sounds that could partially deafen one''s ears even if one was many meters away rang out as the numerous energy-attacks collided with Alex''s energy dome.


    As the frightening attacks continued to impact the dome, a moment later, the dome suddenly cracked in many places.


    But the numerous cracks that had appeared in the structure of the dome rapidly healed as Alex continued to infuse it with energy.


    Alex wasn''t worried about depleting his energy, he had excess of them to use for this battle against the earth adept stage cultivators.


    But the cracks continued to appear at a faster rate since the dome was being struck relentlessly. Alex then felt that if this continued, his energy dome would shatter and he would be exposed to the unceasing attacks which would result in great injuries for him.


    So he discharged strengthforce energy which was golden in appearance from his body.


    His aim was to reinforce the dome of energy he put out to protect himself from the flood of aggressive attacks.


    The strengthforce energy fused with the dome and increased it resilience and durability to extreme levels. And because of the supreme quality of Alex''s energies and that of his strengthforce energy, when the enhanced strength-amplification energy merged with them, the dome became like a peerless-grade, firmament-rank (heaven-rank), god-tier, defensive treasure-dome.


    Now emanating an eye-catching golden lustre like it was forged from real gold, the dome radiated power and gave the feeling that it was the most supreme defensive treasure in the world.


    Alex could have worn one of the many peerless-grade armors his mother forged for him to protect himself from harm. But he chose not to do so because he simply wanted to develop his battle proficiency.


    He wanted to become adept at transforming his energies into shield to guard himself.


    He didn''t want to rely on his parent''s defensive treasure but on his ability to protect himself.


    Armors could fail one day, but his energies won''t as they are a part of him and they were something that would grow powerful in leaps and bounds as he grows.


    Alex''s attackers paused for sometime.


    They paused because they were astonished by the intense golden hue Alex''s multicolored energy dome had taken. Also, the instant the dome became golden in appearance, they felt a godlike power emanate from it.


    This power they felt made them believe it was a godly power. The power to move mountains, part oceans and tear apart the sky. That was the power of might they were feeling which continuously emitted from the slivers of strengthforce energy that permeated the structure of Alex''s protective dome.


    After pausing in their unrelenting attacks for sometime as they were immersed into a state of astonishment, they resumed their barrages of attacks.


    Alex''s energy dome didn''t tremble this time. It perfectly absorbed the destructive force produced by the attacks when they struck it.


    Like that, the full-powered attacks of twenty earth adept stage cultivators couldn''t cause a single crack in the structure of Alex''s energy dome.


    "You bunch of bastards and incompetent fools! Don''t tell me you can''t finish off a flimsy mid-phase condensation stage cultivator." Someone shouted. This was their boss shouting at them in an infuriated manner. Although he was surprised at the resilience of Alex''s energy dome, he still believed that the joint attacks of twenty earth adept stage cultivator should be able to shatter the dome.


    "Master, we are trying our best. It is so difficult to break his protective energy dome" The person in the leading position in the formation said.


    "Hmm. If it''s like that, use the ultimate defense-breaking attack of the formation and bring me the annoying brat''s head." The man said.


    Once he had given them the permission to do that, the rings which were connected to each other by rays of prismatic light, began to spin the more.


    A second later, the rings grew larger and larger till each ring were about thirty feet in size. Also, more profound symbols appeared on their surfaces and began to glow brilliantly, producing many colors of light in the process.


    Then the beams of light being produced by each ring converged at a point. At this point, a type of energy from the universe started to gather until it became a small pool. Yet, it quantity continued to increase very rapidly.


    When they felt that the ring had generated sufficient amount of energy. The person at the front uttered "Sky-shattering pillar"


    Then the energy that had collected into a large pool shot out towards Alex who prepared himself against the incoming attack.


    Emitting dazzling light that dyed everywhere in it color, the large pool of energy condensed and shaped into a massive pillar. This pillar formed from compacted energy gave the feeling that it was a pillar of utter destruction. One that could cause the sky to collapse.


    Boom!!!


    It struck the dome and a deafening blast sound rang out. Then because of the highly destructive impact of the pillar with the dome, a tyrannical wave of violent energy was produced and this spread out in the form of a ripple into the distance.


    It was good that the wine inn was situated a bit far away from the places densely populated by people or the berserk wave of powerful energy that was released would level residential buildings.


    The men in the defense-formation were protected from the violent rippling energy. Likewise Brandon and the man that stood together with him. They were protected by the energy shields they put out.


    But after a few seconds of being struck, the shields shattered and they were both launched far away with a tyrannical force.


    Brandon''s wine inn at the moment had been levelled to the ground by the powerful wave. Likewise the residences that were far away in the distance. But they didn''t collapse. Instead, dozens of large cracks could be seen in their structures. But they weren''t beyond repair. The buildings were still repairable. That is, the cracks in the buildings could be sealed.


    The men within the defense-formation looked at where the dome was. Then shock filled their eyes. The dome was still standing. Except that it had cracked in numerous places and seemed like it would fall apart any moment.


    While Alex who was within the protective dome looked sheet-white in appearance. He coughed out a mouthful of blood and then gazed at them.


    "My turn" He said coldly.


    Since he was still linked to the energies that composed the towering defensive dome, with a thought, the cracked energy dome turned back into different energies that recondensed, shaping into a massive golden fist that was spotted with colors.


    Then it shot out at a great speed towards the defensive formation the twenty men were in.

 Chapter 145: Battle II

    Bang!


    The multicolored fist of energy smashed into the formation and a wave of energy was released from the point of their collision. But the defensive formation the men were in withstood the attack. It didn''t shatter from the impact.


    Then the men prepared another attack.


    Abruptly, a large pool of energy appeared at the point where the beams of light emitting from the rings converged at.


    "Pillar of desolation!"


    The man at the front in the formation cried out and pointed at Alex. Then the pool of realm-energy that had gathered shot out towards where Alex stood.


    As the large quantity of energy shot through the air towards him, it rapidly condensed and shaped into a large, solid pillar.


    Alex quickly discharged large amount of pyroforce energy that was mixed with strengthforce energy from his body.


    Then the enormous mass of pyroforce energy which had slivers of strengthforce energy in it condensed and shaped into a palm.


    The palm formed from dual realm-energies which were pyroforce energy and strengthforce energy was golden-scarlet in colour. It radiated a perverse might that made it seem it would sunder mountains and emitted extreme heat that would turn large rocks into magma.


    The instant it formed, it shot out at great speed towards the attack produced by the men in the formation.


    Boom!!


    The attacks collided and a deafening thundering sound rang out which was instantly accompanied by a powerful, tyrannical wave of energy.


    Alex''s attack shattered apart while the energy pillar continued towards him.


    Seeing the pillar shoot towards him, he quickly produced a thick, golden screen of energy to shield himself from the pillar and from the rampaging energy wave that was produced upon collision of their attacks.


    Bang!!


    His energy shield exploded into smithereens when it was struck by the pillar.


    Although the momentum of the pillar reduced drastically when it collided with the golden energy shield Alex produced, it still sent him flying into the far distance when it impacted him.


    But before he could be struck by the pillar of energy, Alex quickly produced an armor which appeared on him and slightly protected him from the killing might of the energy pillar.


    Then at the far place he landed, he coughed out several mouthfuls of blood. His face was sheet-white and blood could be seen thinly streaming down his nostrils and a side of his lips.


    The pillar had transmitted a powerful shock to his body upon impaction and caused his blood to churn and some of his organs to tear from several places.


    Very quickly, he produced a healing pill which he swallowed. This turned into healforce energy that moved round within his body and healed the injuries he had sustained from the terrible impact.


    In an instant, the injuries vanished and he stood to his feet.


    Alex now knew that no matter what he did, he wouldn''t be able to shatter the energy shields generated by the defensive-formation the men were in or even exchange attacks with them as the attacks produced by the formation were too powerful for him.


    Even if he used the strongest of his offensives which was the ''Prismatic God Hand of Punishment'', as it was an attack composed from nearly all the realm-energies he cultivated, he wouldn''t be able to to do anything to the energy-barrier generated and self-maintained by the defensive-formation.


    But he understood that he was being held back by his low cultivation base. Or he would produce a greater power that would demolish the barrier.


    Still, it was astonishing enough that he could battle twenty, earth adept stage cultivators who amplified their unified strike using the attack enhancement function of the defensive-formation they were in.


    Alex looked at the barrier and thought that although the barrier of energy seemed durable and powerful, it would surely have certain weaknesses in it structure.


    Energy-barriers like this wouldn''t have a perfect form as they were produced by average-grade, defense-purpose, treasure-formations. Only supreme-grade and peerless-grade, defensive treasure-formations could put out energy barriers which wouldn''t have a fault or weakness in their structure. Only with absolute strength and power could one shatter them.


    Alex felt that to get the weakness or the fault in the structure of the energy barrier enclosing the men would be exceedingly difficult. And he didn''t want to run away and come back another day. He had to finish them off for what they tried to do to him.


    Just like his mom had said, he must wipe out everything that antagonized him and leave no root behind. He must exterminate everything. If he left now, he might not know what would happen in future.


    Besides, these guys were plain bad guys. They could cause problem in the society in future. He didn''t want to be responsible for the death of many people because of his inability now to destroy them.


    Thinking in this direction, his will and desire to destroy them grew to an inferno from a small fire.


    He recalled he had ''many god-eyes'' just like how his uncle told him when he was still learning new things about himself back at the mansion.


    Alex wasn''t sure, but he believed he would have a god-eye that would enable him detect the faults in the structure of the energy barrier enclosing the men.


    Then he gazed at the barrier of energy with only one thought in his heart. This thought was to see the weakness in the structure of the energy-barrier.


    As he stared intently at the barrier of energy, abstruse symbols appeared in his eyes. These patterns surfaced because of the ''Heavenly Mystery Revealment Eye'' had appeared which it manifestation was due to Alex''s summoning.


    As soon as the mysterious patterns appeared, the barrier of energy became a grid in Alex''s eyes.


    He could now see how thousands of lines of energy connected at thousands of points and crossed each other to form the energy barrier the men were in.


    When the barrier became a grid in Alex''s mystery deciphering vision, he detected many points at which the lines of energy didn''t connect well. Those were the many faults in the structure of the energy barrier.


    He smiled inwardly in a wicked manner.


    The men in the formation who had prepared to attack Alex again sent out a larger and more powerful offensive this time.


    As the attack shot towards him, Alex who still had his godly, mystery-revealing eyes on, saw in his vision how the energy-attack shooting towards him became like a grid.


    He could see how millions of lines of a type of realm-energy connected together at thousands of points to form the solid structure of the dense energy-pillar.


    But he detected lot of faults too in the structure of the energy pillar. This meant that the structure of the pillar-shaped energy-attack produced by the formation was not perfect too since it had many areas of weakness in.


    He sent his palms out and abruptly discharged large amounts of strengthforce energy. Then following the advanced technique for creation of energy-weapons, he rapidly compacted and shaped the mass of strengthforce energy before him into many large golden blades that gave out an intense blue light.


    The dazzling, blue-colored brilliance the large golden blades began to emanate was because they were being quickly infused with colossal amounts of novaforce energy; a type of realm-energy that increases the destructive power or damaging power of energy-attacks by multiple folds.


    This energy which was also called attackforce energy was drawn from the surrounding in large amounts by the profound, energy-gathering mystical symbols Alex inscribed into the golden blades using his mind.


    "Lesser Hundred Golden Nova Blades" Alex said as he formed a name for his new attack on a whim and pointed out at the pillar shooting towards him.


    Then the dozens of golden blades floating in the air and emitting a brilliant blue light shot out at great speeds towards the weak areas of the energy-attack which was in the form of a pillar.


    BANG!!


    A thunderous bang sound rang out when the large blades simultaneously struck the weak areas of the energy-pillar attack with tyrannical force.


    Then since they had broken the points at which the lines of energy connected to form the pillar, more faults rapidly in it structure.


    Very quickly, the energy-attack lost it pillar form and the energy that constituted it returned to the realmverse.


    Shocked gasps rang out from the men in the formation as they became extremely shocked.


    Alex had just nullified their attacks.


    ''What sorcery is this?''


    They asked inwardly.


    They just couldn''t understand how Alex was able to decompose their energy-attack.


    The men didn''t think further. When they came out of their astonished states, they decided to launch as many attacks as possible.


    Alex too knew what they would try to do next. Not wasting time, he discharged great amounts of strengthforce energy from his body which quickly transformed into hundreds of energy-blades that produced a blinding blue radiance from their long, sharp edges as he utilized the advanced technique for creation of energy-weapons.


    "Greater Hundred Golden Nova Blades" he said.


    Now that he produced hundreds of the blades, he named it so. Unlike the previous one which were less than hundred.


    The blades shot out at tremendous speed and heavily stabbed into the faulty areas of the structure of the energy barrier.


    Then with a loud bang, the energy barrier explosively splintered with the formation-discs that generated the barrier quickly reducing in size and falling to the ground.


    Since the formation they operated exploded with them within, they received a destructive feedback that caused them severe internal injuries.


    Their faces became pale-white and blood streamed down their nose and mouth. Some who couldn''t settle or calm the blood violently seething within their bodies coughed out many mouthfuls of blood. And because of the excruciating internal pain they were going through, their eyes were red and green veins could be seen bulging out from their faces.


    Very quickly, they produced healing pills which they swallowed. But low-quality healing pills wouldn''t assist them in recovering from their injuries on time. Besides, they had to take many of it to accumulate the one-percent healing energy that they would get from it consumption.


    Alex knew this, but he was still in a rush to quickly slay them. He wanted to give nothing chance.


    He pointed at them with a finger from where he was and began to erupt windforce energy from it. Then in the next instant, the energy condensed and shaped into small blades that shot out at great speed towards the men.


    Puchi!


    Puchi!


    Puchi!...


    Many piercing sounds rang out as the blades pierced through the heads of the men.


    The instant their heads were pierced through by the blades, their eyes became void of life. Then their now lifeless body collapsed to the ground with blood spurting out from the large slits in their heads.


    Alex took a deep breath.


    He had just achieved a multiple-kill which was his third kill.


    Then he turned his head in the direction of Brandon and the boss of the men that he just killed.


    When they were struck and hurled far away by the tyrannical energy wave, they didn''t return. It seemed they felt Alex would surely kill their men and then kill them since he seemed powerful and could hold numerous battle cards that would bring about their miserable ends. So they tried escaping from him with hope that his men would delay him and give them time to escape. This was Alex''s thought.


    Then he began to wonder what direction they would have taken. He had to kill these people. Not possibly for his sake, but for the sake of other people who these sinister-hearted men would dish out their anger and vengeance on for what he had done to them.


    Also, since it had come to this, he had to kill them and pillage them of everything they had. He needed their low-quality sapphirstones and their treasure collections. Since they tried killing him to repossess what he legitimately won from them, then he had no choice than to slaughter them instead and ransack the wealth on them.


    This was the way of this cultivation world. Alex was quickly getting used to it.


    As he contemplated what to do next, he arrived at some thoughts. He had thought up a few ways to track the two men down.


    Then after removing the spatial rings of the men and stowing them away along with the formation discs on the ground into his mom''s spatial ring, he removed his shoes and tried to use his feel-sense. He now wanted to trace the men to wherever they were.


    Standing bare-footed on the ground, he released his powerful sense of feeling and touch.


    The instant he did, a vast power of perception spread out from his feet like ripples into the far distance. Then every vibration generated in the earth by every living thing were detected by him.


    Alex deployed his feel-sense to perceive the location of the men. If they were running, they would generate vibrations in the earth as they ran which was because of their feet hitting the ground.


    But he detected nothing. Then he arrived at a conclusion that they had gone to hide.


    Alex then switched to using his powerful sense of smell. With a powerful, augmented smell-sense that would enable him to distinguish between various body smells and scents exuding from things, and detect smells and scents from far distances, Alex was then able to perceive different body smells in the air.


    He knew who the body smells belonged to. It belonged to the men he just killed. But he then sifted out the different smells to acquire two which he believed belonged to the two earth adept stage cultivators.


    Allowing the smells to lead him, he dashed at high speed towards the location where he would find the two earth adept stage cultivators.


    While Alex battled with the twenty, initial-phase, earth adept stage cultivators, an old, emaciated man looked on with glittering eyes at Alex from where he floated in the air. He was with a large number of other young and old men who floated in the air.


    There was no way the loud booming sounds produced by Alex and the twenty earth adept stage cultivators during their intense battle would not attract cultivators.


    Many had flown from faraway to come watch the fight when they saw Alex, someone in the mid-phase condensation stage put up a fight without any attacking or defense treasure against twenty earth adept stage cultivators who increased their damaging power using the offensive power of their formation-treasure.


    They saw how he erupted colossal amounts of various energies from his body at a shocking rate. His body didn''t blow into bits because of the great quantities of myriad energies been quickly discharged. Instead, it was perfectly fine. And this was impossible even for them who were at the Great Saint stage and Saint Emperor stage. It was either they burst into mists of blood or have their cultivation ruined permanently which would be accompanied by severe chronic diseases. Also, the quality of his energies was astonishing. It was far greater in quality than that of even a late-phase, earth adept stage cultivator. But they wouldn''t know Alex''s energies had divineforce energy in them which increased their quality (density) to astounding levels. It was for this reason Alex''s true opponents were from the mid-phase, earth adept stage and not condensation stage that he was in. As he grew older and cultivated more, the quality and quantities of his energies would leap greatly.


    Then they began to wonder if he practiced a type of methodology that allowed him to do those things he did. Such cultivation book could exist. But they weren''t sure. Anyway, they still decided to ask him how he was able to achieve the amazing feats.


    Alex of course knew that his battle with these men would attract lot of cultivators who would come to check out what was happening. And that they would focus more on him since he did things that would be near-impossible for a cultivator even in the immortal stage to do.


    The miniaturized treasure in his head between his brows had long signaled him of danger. Besides, his heart-sense ability came up again because this time, the emotions were intense.


    Then using his emotion perception ability, Alex could discern the type of emotion coming from these people. It was the emotions of unbridled greed radiating from them.


    Pretending like he didn''t know they were around, he finished off the twenty men and sought for the two that escaped from him.


    What he knew was that if they tried to harm him, he would simply unleash the devastating power stored as cores in the treasure between his eye brows.


    He decided to do this because there was no one who would help him ward off the cultivators who looked at him with intense greed. Also, using his vast heart-sense ability, he could detect more than ninety emanations of emotions of greed. This meant that there were more than ninety cultivators around him who floated at a great altitude in the air masking themselves from him in the night sky.


    "What a nice body. This is what I have been searching for. This body is simply a gem. Hahaha! Now that my body is drying up because of the sickness I was afflicted with by the Deatheyes Emperor. I will absorb your soul and take over your body. Then I would have my revenge. How sweet"

 Chapter 146: Harnesses Power of Destruction I

    Following the body smells of the men and dashing at a speed enhanced by his strengthforce energy which gave him the peak speed at which an heaven adept stage cultivator could fly in the air, a moment later, he got to where they were.


    The two men had actually hidden themselves in an abandoned house that was dilapidated. The house looked very old and many cracks could be seen in it structure.


    Since his Heavenly Mystery Revealment eyes was still on, and now that he understood how to apply the ability of the eyes, he willed the eyes to see through the walls. Then the eyes produced a form of power that caused the walls to fade away in Alex''s vision. Not that the walls faded away, they were still there. But they disappeared in Alex''s vision, allowing him to see into the building.


    Once he did and saw the men hiding in there. He gave a smile.


    ''You think you can escape from me The Punisher?'' Alex said inwardly.


    Then his mind shook at what he just called himself. He had subconsciously given himself an alias which he called ''The Punisher''.


    He wondered why that kind of name came to his head.


    Alex then recalled what his mom said "... In your journey to become the strongest cultivator, slay every adversary that would come your way without batting an eye. Be kind and generous to those that need it. But be cold, ruthless and wicked to those that deserve it. Be a dazzling light of solace and hope for those that are weak and oppressed and a dark cloud of judgement, tribulations and destruction for those who are Sinister, vile and evil."


    He smiled.


    "The Punisher it is"


    Alex liked the name and agreed with himself.


    Then refocusing on the task before him, strengthforce energy began to erupt from his palms. As the energy discharged from his hands, they gave out the power of might. This caused the building which had an initially weak structure to abruptly collapse.


    Bang!


    It collapsed upon the two men in the building.


    But before the house collapsed on them, the two men rapidly generated energy shields to protect themselves from the collapsing walls of the building.


    A few moments later, they pushed away the rubbles that had gathered on their overhead energy shields and stood to their feet.


    They knew that the collapsing of the building was unnatural. When they were in, they suddenly felt a type of power that gave them the feeling that it could split the sky and sever the seas. They had once felt this type of power back when Alex fought with the twenty earth adept stage cultivators. They had witnessed that power then. And now that they felt it again, they knew who produced that power.


    With gloomy faces, they pushed away the large heaps of rubbles around them and walked forward to meet Alex.


    "You are the quite the tenacious one, aren''t you?" Brandon asked.


    "Well, you tried to kill me. Since you failed, It''s my turn to kill you." Alex replied.


    Brandon''s eyes widened with shock.


    "You are that The Devourer?" He asked.


    "Yes. Enough spoken. It''s time for you pricks to go on an unending journey in the death-world"


    Scoff!


    The man beside Brandon scoffed.


    "Unending journey? Who the hell do you think you are? Master and Ruler of the Deathverse?" The man asked.


    "No. I am The Punisher. Anybody The Punisher sets his eyes upon is doomed for total damnation" Alex replied with great confidence radiating from him.


    "Haha! I see" The man responded.


    Then there were flashes of colorful light as treasure-weapons appeared in the hands of both Brandon and the man beside him. Then the long, sharp-edged weapons grasped in their hands began to glow as the arrays in the voidstones affixed into the bodies of the treasure-weapons began to generate some forms of realm-energies. Then they tried launching the energies that had gathered in them as attacks at Alex.


    When they initially produced the treasure-weapons, they began to move in slow motion in Alex''s eyes. This was because Alex''s eyes were now saturated with speedforce energy. It heightened his perception of the speed of everything around him. So they began to move in slow motion in his eyes.


    Just before they could send energy-attacks at him, the strengthforce energy that Alex had produced which he used to bring down the abandoned, dilapidated building abruptly turned into dozens of energy blades that began to give out a blinding and beautiful, blue splendor from their sharp-pointed edges.


    "Lesser Hundred Golden Nova Blades" Alex said, uttering the name of his newly created attacking technique.


    Swoosh!


    Swoosh!


    Swoosh!


    ...


    The dozens of blades shot out at great speed the instant Alex uttered the name of the attack and rained in on the men from head to toe.


    Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!...


    Since the blades moved with great momentum, after pelting the two men, they lifted them off the ground and into the distance where they were impaled them to the earth.


    Then when Alex broke his mind-connection to the blades, they lost their solid form and shape and the energy that composed them returned to the realmverse.


    Alex, when he saturated his feet with strengthforce energy, jumped towards the place where the heavily gashed, lifeless bodies of the two men were.


    When he landed, he immediately removed from their spatial rings and stored them into his mom''s spatial ring.


    Then he looked up at the sky and said with a smile "Ladies and gentlemen, I think it''s high time you stop hiding yourself away in the night sky and appear before me like people of dignity and valor"


    "What a sharp mouth!" A voice boomed out from nowhere, responding angrily to what Alex said.


    Then many people, close to a hundred appeared very high in the air and looked down at Alex like he was an ant.


    "Who are you to talk to us anyhow? Do you know who we are?" A middle-aged woman asked in an infuriated tone.


    Hahaha!


    Alex grinned haughtily.


    Although he was faking the raucous, haughty laughter of his, he did it so well they wouldn''t know he was acting it. He was simply a good actor.


    The people floating in the air then looked at Alex with intense coldness in their eyes. They didn''t like how a junior in cultivation was lordly before them. He didn''t even try to respect them for who they were. One would know this from the way Alex laughed away what the middle-aged woman said in an haughty manner. It simply showed he had no respect for his seniors in cultivation.


    Then they waited for his response to know where he is from and if it was right for him to speak at them in such disrespectful manner and laugh at them like they were nobodies.


    "You want to know where I am from? I am from the Punisher society." Alex said proudly.


    The people in the air furrowed their brows. They had never heard of such before.


    "I have never heard of this society befo..." One of the people floating in the air was talking when Alex rudely cut the person off, saying arrogantly "How will you nonentities know of such a prestigious society. It''s a stealth organization that eradicates evil in the world. We mustn''t see or hear evil. We would simply annihilate it"


    The person cut off by Alex felt terribly embarrassed and then seriously angered. Just when he would act against Alex, someone beside him told him to hold up. Then this person gazed at Alex with a cold glint in his eyes and said "Is that why you should be rude to your seniors? Since you weren''t trained properly by your organization. We would train you here. But before we do that, I have a question to ask you. Many moments ago, we saw you fight twenty earth adept stage cultivators with your flimsy cultivation base which is in the mid-phase condensation stage. You overwhelmed them and killed them. But one spectacular thing we noted about you which deeply amazed us was that you were able to put out great amounts of different energies instantly. How were you able to accomplish that?"


    Muhahaha!


    Alex cackled like a demon.


    "What''s your damned, inglorious business with my supplement-battle method? Since you want to know, I will tell you. It''s a method we call the ''Unmatched Energy-Erupting Geyser, Body-Transformation'' method. It''s a rapid-energy discharge technique formed by the terrifying founder of our great Punisher Society, Lord Alex, who is also known by us as ''The Grand Celestial Golden Tyrant Punisher''. So do you dare to ask me to produce it?" Alex replied in an haughty manner and grinned.


    He hoped his lies and acting got to them. He didn''t want to use the vast-scale devastating powers his parent prepared for him on this people. He felt that he would be simply wasting it.


    Alex wanted to use them on immortals or divine-class cultivation experts. And not on some great saint and saint emperor stage cultivators. That would be a tremendous waste of his parent''s mighty, multiple-continents disintegration power.


    He hoped that they would fear him and the unreal society he claimed to come from and back off.


    The people in the air thought deeply for sometime. Then they observed and scrutinized Alex well for changes in his body. But they didn''t detect anything wrong with him. He simply wasn''t scared. Rather, he radiated haughtiness and extreme pride. Also, his confidence seemed to be towering. Then they felt that, although they hadn''t heard of such society, it was real and that it had really powerful members they didn''t want to annoy or aggravate.


    Just Alex being a mid-phase condensation stage junior was enough to prove that point to them, that the society would have terrific and fearsome senior cultivators as Alex, a junior with such low cultivation base could put up a good fight with twenty higher-staged cultivators and still overpoweringly kill them. It showed how excellent and frightening the higher-rank members of the society would be.


    But they wouldn''t know that Alex''s confidence which continually increased without bound was because of the exceedingly immense, destructive divine power his parent left for him. Also, he had the grand god-eyes of true destruction.


    He had known one of many things about this particular god-eyes from studying the vast information the old man he met in the eye-pocket dimension passed to him.


    Alex realized this when he was busy organizing things for the adventurous journey he was going to embark on. He carried out all these preparations to have many protections against experts he can''t face which he would meet in his two-year journey.


    So back then in his student residential apartment when he was preparing himself for his adventure, he discovered that the god-eye contained a planet-sized treasure-weapon that could unleash a vast and near-boundless power of absolute ruination and destruction. Also, he had figured out that it was a ''Marvel-Weapon''. It was one of the most spectacular offensive treasures in the whole realmverse. But right now, the entire power of devastation that could be produced by the weapon was sealed. He wouldn''t be able to unleash them.

 Chapter 147: Harnesses Power of Destruction II

    But what he could unleash was the divine power of destruction of the eyes itself. Being the mutated/enhanced eyes of such a powerful, godly expert, the eyes would be able to discharge the calamitous, ruining power it contained because of one of the primordial or highest-ranking realm-energy which was ''Destruction Originforce Energy'' had permeated to a great degree the entire cells of the eyes and had irreversibly fused with them.


    So apart from his parent''s condensed, offensive-protection power, he had another option which was the inherent devastating power of the grand destruction god-eyes. But he wasn''t sure if he wouldn''t be severely injured when trying to release the immense destruction-power it possessed. But he would have to since he didn''t want to use the attack-power his parent kept for him.


    So all these factors caused his confidence to continuously swell without faltering.


    The man Alex rudely interrupted earlier was still angry. He didn''t want to back off just like that. Alex had trampled upon his dignity and seniority, and he must be dealt with. He just couldn''t let it go. He wanted to inflict Alex with multiple severe injuries before he left.


    "Kid, take off your mask" The man said.


    Alex then looked at him and said coldly "If I do that, be rest assured that your present and unborn generation will be wiped out from the system of things of the realmverse. How dare you demand to see my face? You want to know my identity? You wouldn''t live long for what you just said. My seniors would come to obliterate you and your entire household"


    Although Alex tried his best to repel and shoo these people away by acting haughtily and speaking offensively, they just wouldn''t back off like that. They wanted the technique he mentioned to them earlier.


    This cultivation universe, apart from being a polygamous one and a ruthless one, was one where nearly everything was driven by lusts and greed. The greed to have something better which other people have, and then forcefully acquire it and use it to develop oneself to become powerful and be feared or revered by all.


    Now, one couldn''t say Alex was wasting his time as he too knew this fact. He only didn''t want to use the protective-attacking power his parent kept for him, or the power of destruction of the destruction god-eyes as he wasn''t sure if it wouldn''t blow his head off into bits since he wouldn''t be able to handle it power with his present, extremely low cultivation base.


    The man who said Alex should take off his mask just only mentioned that. That was never his real intention. He lusted after the technique that Alex mentioned. Likewise the others.


    Alex suddenly noticed a strange quietness. He then knew these people were communicating with one another using their mind-conversation ability; an ability one would gain at the heaven adept stage.


    He then prepared himself for what was going to happen soon. He knew they would have decided his fate which was to kill him, take the technique scroll or book from his corpse and burn his body to ashes. They would definitely not leave a single hint or clue behind which the unreal members of his unreal society could utilize to track down everyone of them involved in the act.


    After these deductions sprung up in his mind, a powerful, unseen, immobilizing force suddenly engulfed his body.


    Alex knew it was time.


    "What?! What are you nobodies trying to do? Don''t tell me that you want to hurt me? If you do, you all would be destroyed. Your family members won''t be spared. They would be slain too" He said frostily.


    "Shut up!" a voice infused with a certain power rang out from the crowd of people surrounding Alex.


    It caused Alex''s body and soul to shake violently. The instant he was hit by the voice-attack, blood rapidly streamed down his nose and mouth as his blood churned and rampaged within. His ears deafened and his sight grew very blurry. He could nearly fall unconscious as the voice rang out like millions of furious thunderbolts that struck at once in his mind.


    Since he was the only one targeted, only he was affected by the power put out by a saint emperor stage cultivator in the crowd of experts floating high in the air before him and unrestrainedly emanating the aura of deep arrogance.


    Then they scanned Alex''s body and saw nothing like a storage-treasure on him.


    "Where''s your spatial ring?" One of them asked him.


    Alex gave a smile.


    "Why don''t you all suck my cock and I would tell you" He still replied haughtily.


    "Speak no nonsense again!"


    That same power-imbued voice rang out again and caused Alex''s soul and body to tremble hard. Then he coughed out mouthfuls of blood in the next second. His face became sheet-white like he had lost lot of blood while many of his organs tore from the impact.


    "One last time. Where''s your ring?"


    Alex whose sight was blurry gazed at them and replied with the intention to annoy them "Alright. Let me make it easy for you guys. Since you can''t suck my cock, bring your wives and daughters to come do it. Then I would tell you where I hid it."


    Buhahaha!!


    He then cackled like he was possessed.


    The middle-aged and old, male and female cultivators that surrounded Alex became incredibly frustrated.


    They looked at each other and nodded.


    "Let''s kill him."


    Then the constraining force put out earlier to immobilize him suddenly gained in strength. Such if applied on a mountain would simply crush it into dusts.


    But before the suppressive force could increase in strength to a great degree, Alex''s body began to emit pulses of power that would belong only to a saint stage cultivator. Then in the next instant, space distorted around Alex and he vanished from the spot where he was appearing far away.


    The time that he was immobilized by the invisible force, he focused on a particular thought in his mind which was ''Teleportation''. Then stimulated by his intense emotions of rage and fury, the protoforce energy, also called myriad physique-summoning energy which resided in Alex''s soul-dwelling region, acted on the thought he produced in his mind and executed his order.


    He received a physique called ''Supreme Space-Dimension Godly-Manipulator Physique''. Then he used the teleportation ability of the physique to escape from their invisible, killing confinement.


    Appearing far away from them, the cultivators became shocked. Then fear replaced the deep shocks in their eyes. They had to kill this boy or if he escaped and the members of the society he came from were informed about the ordeal he went through in their hands. They could come for reprisals.


    Alex could have teleported far away to evade them. But doing so wouldn''t make sense as they would be able to track him down using their emperor-level, field-scanning saint-sense. He, who was temporarily at the saint stage wouldn''t be able to evade them once they deployed their powerful senses. They would catch him and it would be disastrous. So instead, he teleported to a safe place and without thinking twice, he unleashed the power of the grand god-eyes of true destruction and simultaneously roaring "Dieeeeee!!!" in rage.


    When Alex deployed the destruction-power of the eyes, what he actually released was a dark-black, spherical zone of the power of destruction that spanned hundreds of feet. Not it apocalyptic-level damaging power.


    The second it appeared and Alex screamed out, ''Die!'', it amplified the shout to the level it would turn numerous states into dusts.


    It was good Alex was directing his shout into the air at them since they floated in the air. If it were targeted at the earth, the entire state and neighboring states would have turned into irreversibly damaged lands that would be void of any form of life and would give the feeling of complete ruin and desolation.


    As Alex shouted ''Dieeeeee!'', the soundwaves produced by him upon shouting actually became visible. But they were black in colour and emitted the frightening, grand power of vast-degree destruction.


    Although the exceedingly-powered, black-colored sonic waves moved high in the air, they caused the earth far below them to cleave widely for hundreds of meters, with the cleave continuously stretching into the distance, following the waves as they moved.


    It was like a great-magnitude earthquake in the middle of the night. Houses began to collapse no matter how durable, strong and resilient the material used in building them were.


    One of the people who had sent out an attack at Alex to kill him had his attack disintegrate by the inky-black, destruction-bearing soundwaves that moved towards them.


    Then before they could teleport away to evade the waves, their bodies exploded apart just from the power of destruction rippling from the waves.


    .........


    The waves continued on to the end of the continent wreaking havoc in it path before it eventually ran out of energy and dispersed.


    At the moment, Alex was lying on the ground unconsciously. His body had broken apart in many places. Web-like cracks that extended from his eyes to the rest of his body could be seen. Blood spurted from these cracks like a small fountain and flowed like a stream from where part of his body had shattered apart or had broken off from his main body.


    Space warped and an old, emaciated man appeared.


    "Nooo. My body! My body has been destroyed" He cried out in sadness and fury and then vanished.


    A miniaturized palace-treasure shot out from Alex''s mom''s spatial ring. This was the Azure Beastsman''s palace. Then it produced a dazzling, strobing purple light which encompassed the area Alex''s badly damaged body was in.


    There was a slight spatial distortion, and Alex''s body along with his broken body parts and the spatial rings of nearly a hundred great saint and Saint emperor stage cultivators appeared in the palace hall. Then it shot at great speed away from here.

 Chapter 148: Guilt

    While the black-colored sound waves shot forward in a particular direction, a tall and handsome young man floated very high in the sky. He saw all that happened.


    Then he vanished.


    .....


    In a particular forested region that wasn''t affected by the vastly destructive sound waves Alex generated using the grand destruction god-eyes, a treasure-palace could be seen very high on top of a tree. It was well-hidden from view by the large canopy of the tree.


    Then in the large, empty hall of this treasure-palace could be seen Alex, lying unconsciously on the ground. If one looked at his body, one would think that it would scatter apart the next moment. Then around his cracked body could be seen part of his body and about a hundred spatial rings.


    The palace-spirit used it power to move Alex''s body part to the sections they broke away from. After doing this, a pill appeared in the air. The pill was green in colour and emitted radiance and power of vitality.


    Just when it would put the pill into Alex''s mouth, the handsome man that was observing everything that went on earlier and vanished from the altitude he was at in the sky, appeared before the tree''s massive canopy.


    Then he became a thin ray of light that shot into the now small-sized, treasure-palace hidden from view by the large, bright green canopy of the large tree. Then he transformed back into a human when he appeared in the large hall of the treasure-palace.


    The palace control-entity was shocked to see the man and just when it would use the various offensive power of the hall to attack him, the man''s voice rang out "Wait. Don''t attack. I am his uncle. I saw everything that happened and I am here to help him"


    The control entity was surprised.


    So Alex had such an uncle? It never knew.


    Then it felt that because it had been slumbering too much to regain some energy and preserve them, it had missed out on a lot of things that it should know about.


    It greeted Alex''s uncle respectfully as he had a cultivation rank that was higher than it own.


    "Hmm" Alex''s uncle nodded and replied in a friendly tone.


    When Houston saw that Alex was surrounded by nearly a hundred cultivators who were many ranks above his in cultivation, he had appeared to shield him from harm and repel them while simultaneously inflicting serious injuries. But he waited to see what Alex would do. And surprisingly, Alex who had studied how to release the power of the grand destruction god-eyes back at the black dragon academy was able to generate an attack-amplification field which infused the sound waves he produced upon shouting with the power of cataclysmal destruction.


    Houston was impressed by Alex''s decisiveness. Not caring about what would happen, he dished out the power.


    But initially, he was scared that the power would reduce Alex to bits.


    Alex was smart. He could have unleashed the power of destruction when he was confined by that unseen force. But he felt that he might die if he did so. Then instead, he conjured up a divine physique which would give him the power of a Saint stage cultivator, enabling him to withstand the aura of destruction-power much more than when he was in the condensation stage and might explode into mist of blood.


    "You can give him the regeneration pill. I would give him this" Houston said and the palace control-entity nodded.


    Then a radiant, crimson pill appeared in the air which floated towards where Alex''s badly broken body laid in. Then it went into his mouth after the vitality restoration pill produced by the palace-spirit entered.


    These pills dissolved into energies that began to rapidly heal the grievous, internal and external wounds Alex had sustained from the devastating power he put out.


    The part of Alex''s body which had broken off rejoined the part it was ripped away from and healed without scarring. Likewise the others. Not long, Alex''s body was made whole again.


    A moment later, the weapon-spirit of The Purifier''s sword appeared before Houston. It form was blurry as it was phasing between visibility and invisibility.


    "Houston. I am sorry that I wasn''t able to protect the kid." The weapon-spirit said.


    "It''s okay. Looking after the boy till he grows powerful enough to fend for himself isn''t only your job. It''s mine too and every other artifact-spirits that would join later." Houston replied. Then he paused as he looked at the blurry form of The Purifier''s sword-spirit which faded in and out of vision. "I can see that your form is unstable which means that you haven''t being able to recover your energy. You can go back to your energy-preserving state. I think you would be able to recover some of your energy very soon when this boy reaches the Silver-Violet Sword Banisher''s temple"


    The entity was surprised.


    "Silver-Violet Sword Banisher?"


    "I don''t think you would know about him since you and your master have long been cut off from the society because of secluded cultivation. The Silver-Violet Sword Banisher is a cultivator of the sword. Just like your master. He was one of the many supreme cultivators. He even has a Greatverse named after him just to tell you how powerful he is. But right now, for some reason, his entire legacy is in this Mortalverse and only cultivators at the saint stage can acquire it" Houston replied.


    The sword-spirit looked at Houston weirdly.


    "Saint stage cultivators? But the boy is only in the condensation stage. If he isn''t slaughtered by the numerous saint stage cultivators who have gathered for the legacy, he would be slain by the restriction devices put in place by this supreme sword-cultivator which would be installed at the entrance into his inheritance bestowment ground. It''s too risky. He should just keep growing. And when he''s ripe to set out for famed ancient legacies like this type, then he can go without no one worrying about his safety. Remember that I haven''t repossessed even a sliver of energy. I wouldn''t be able to protect him in there." It said in a refuting tone.


    Houston smiled.


    "Well, I myself thought in this manner too. When the legacy first appeared, I felt bad that he wouldn''t be able to fight for it. But later, I saw that he left the academy he studied at and was heading back to his city, where the legacy surfaced from. So I arrived at a certain deduction that he was heading for the legacy ground. I know he''s weak as he has a low cultivation base. But Alex has this mystifying ability to summon near-innumerable types of physiques which grant him the power of a Saint stage cultivator. So I think with this, he would be able to trick whatever restriction the Silver-Violet Sword Banisher put in place and gain entrance into the legacy ground" He replied.


    The entity became astounded by what Houston said.


    "He has that kind of ability?" It asked.


    "Yes." Houston replied. Then he continued "Therefore, he can use that form of ability to enter there. But where the danger which would be a great threat to life lies in is his inability to last in the physique for more than a minute. Anymore than that, he would suddenly go unconscious. And this could be deadly for him as he could be killed by whatever saint stage cultivator he would battle with for the legacy. That''s where my only worry is since I wouldn''t be able to go in to monitor what happens in there."


    The sword-spirit thought for sometime. Then it said "It''s okay. He can go. From what I have observed so far, he has many ways of protecting himself. Since he has decided to go for the legacy that only Saint stage cultivators should go for while in the condensation stage, he wouldn''t do it without preparation. He knows where his ability lies in. So he would be careful, strategic and smart with whatever he does in there."


    Houston nodded.


    "I will return." He said to the sword-spirit. Then he thanked the palace control-spirit for also looking out for Alex''s safety.


    Space warped around him and he vanished.


    Then the sword-spirit faced the Azure Beastsman''s palace control-entity.


    "Thanks for looking out after the boy" It said.


    The palace-spirit in it corporeal form nodded and gave a smile.


    "It''s my duty to protect the boy. He has my master''s legacy. So I have to protect him or my master''s legacy would be lost forever." It replied.


    "Hmm." The sword-spirit agreed. Then it continued "I am going back to rest. I want to preserve my energy"


    Then it vanished from the palace hall and reappeared in the vast spatial dimension compressed into The Purifier''s sword.


    Not long, Alex''s eyes sprung open. He quickly stood to his feet to leave. But then, he realized that he was in the Azure Beastsman''s palace hall.


    Then he saw the palace-entity standing before him with a smile.


    "Young one. You have finally woken"


    Alex nodded with a smile. Then he asked "What about those proud bastards. Did I successfully wipe out them out?"


    "Of course. Nothing can withstand that kind of terrible, destructive power you put out. I am not sure cultivators at the immortal stage would be able withstand such. Even if they do, they would be severely injured. When you leave here, you will see the vast destruction you caused. You have made many mortals and low-rank cultivators homeless." It replied.


    Alex''s eyes widened with surprise and then shone with guilt. He had actually made a lot of people homeless. He thought that the power he would generate should only be powerful enough to kill the greedy cultivators who circled him. But he had used it to destroy more than thousands of properties.


    Then he wanted to see for himself the degree of damage he had caused.


    He looked at the palace-entity and said "Take me out. Let me see for myself"


    The palace-entity nodded. Then with a slight spatial fluctuation around Alex''s body, Alex vanished from where he was and appeared on the tree top. The miniaturized palace-treasure shot back into his spatial ring and Alex jumped down from the huge, tall tree.


    Then with a powered-dash, he stopped dozens of feet away from where he fought the near-hundred cultivators who surrounded him many hours ago.


    Using his augmented sight, he looked into the distance from where he stood and saw the amount of destruction he caused by putting out that power.


    He shook his head guiltily as he could now hear sorrowful cries of people over their properties from far away using his enhanced hearing.


    He was sad for sometime because of what he witnessed, then his eyes began to radiate intense coldness.

 Chapter 149: Arriving at Smith city

    Alex''s eyes became cold because of the feelings of guilt and anger that had surfaced in his heart. Guilt at causing such massive-scale destruction and anger at the cultivators that forced him to unleash the power.


    He had told them then that he would obliterate their families if they carried on with the evil thoughts in their minds. And since they did, their families he shall wipe out.


    Like he once told Brandon and the boss of the assassins that he, who is The Punisher will slay every targets he sets his eyes upon. That every creature he gazes at with killing intents is doomed for eternal damnation.


    But right now, he has a low cultivation base. So he can''t do anything to them. But later in future, he would come back to fulfill what he promised.


    He left where he was and headed back to the inn. Luckily, the inn wasn''t in the path of the destructive sound waves. He has glad.


    When he settled down, after forcing his mind to become calm, he began his cultivation of the soul.


    With eyes closed, he tried to perceive soulforce energy. But he couldn''t. It was very difficult.


    After many hours, his eyes snapped open.


    "The hell! How am I supposed to cultivate soulforce energy. This is bad" He said sadly.


    Not giving up, he closed his eyes again and then stilled his mind. Then he sent his awareness out into the world. But just like before, after many hours, he detected nothing.


    With a deep frown, he opened his eyes.


    "Well, I would cultivate the soul later. Let me get to other things" He said.


    Then he went through the near-imnumerable, enormously-sized heaps of treasures he inherited from his father.


    As he scanned the storage-space using his consciousness, a sliver of it arrived before a beautiful, silver-colored sword. He looked at this sword for a moment and couldn''t help but be amazed.


    The sword was giving out a faint, rippling power of sharpness. He looked closely at the sword and saw that it didn''t have any voidstone affixed in it. He became surprised.


    ''How''s this possible?''


    With no voidstone plugged into any socket which was absent in the sword, it was able to produce a slight, palpable aura of sharpness. He wondered why this was so. Then he arrived at a deduction that the materials used in making the sword were probably perfect-quality, extremely-rare materials; minerals to be precise which are able to give out the raw power of sharpness. That they must have been saturated with primordial swordforce energy (sword originforce energy) which transformed them into the material used to craft the sword.


    Then with a thought, the sword appeared in his hand.


    He recalled that this was the sword his uncle gave to him then as ''gift''.


    The sword in Alex''s hand was The Purifier''s sword. He had always ignored it whenever he went through his dad''s massive, treasure-artifacts heaps for one thing or the other.


    But today, he looked at it and was deeply impressed by the exotic materials used in making the sword. He didn''t know the kind of materials used in making it, but he believed that it would be exceedingly rare to discover.


    "But why did he give me as a gift?" Alex asked inwardly.


    Sometimes, his uncle usually behave mysteriously to him. Now he couldn''t fathom why he gave it to him.


    "Well, since he said it''s a gift. Then it must have some really special things it can do. My uncle wouldn''t give me some useless items as gift" Alex said as he thought deeply.


    He grasped the sword and waved it.


    Slash!


    The unseen but perceptible aura of sharpness continuously put out by the silver-colored sword clasped in his hand caused the air before him to slash apart.


    The part where Alex slashed at became dark. This was because it was now devoid of matter such as air molecules and dust. The sword had created a dark-colored vacuum zone.


    "Cool." Alex said with glittering eyes.


    Wielding the sword, he felt he would be able to slash apart any attack sent at him.


    Then he really felt like cultivating swordforce energy. Of all his energies, only the strengthforce energy was exceedingly tyrannical as a type of primordial realm-energy had blended with it and increased it destructive output.


    He thought that if he studied, comprehended and cultivated swordforce energy, he would have another tyrannical energy to use for an attack.


    Being an energy that has one of the greatest offensive power in the world, he felt that once he cultivates it to a very high stage, he would be able to tread everywhere in the near-endless sea of worlds in the realmverse. No one would be able to stop him as he would slash apart divinities and demons in his path. All would tremble and bow before him.


    But he laughed when he thought of this.


    He laughed because he thought of the increased reduction in his cultivation speed. Just trying to cultivate a new energy would radically lower his cultivation speed.


    Alex wouldn''t dare cultivate another energy now. He was okay with the ones he had cultivated. The only ones that he wanted to cultivate which wouldn''t have a negative impact on his cultivation speed were soulforce energy and duraforce energy, also called treasure-armor body-transformation energy.


    Since they were of different types of cultivation. He could cultivate them independently and not experience a reduction in his cultivation speed as the former was for cultivation of the soul while the latter was for cultivation of the body.


    He returned the sword into his dad''s spatial necklace and added it to the small heap that he had built which he would use for the danger-filled adventure he was about to set out on.


    Then he closed his eyes and began to cultivate.


    - Few weeks later -


    Alex who sat with a closed eyes and a still mind as he tried to harmonize with soulforce energy was in a large-size ultivehicle that was flying towards Smith city.


    The ultivehicle has had all seats occupied. So it had finally taken into the air.


    As it flew, Alex who could multi-task tried comprehending the mysterious soulforce energy which he couldn''t harmonize with yet and listened to the discussion of the people in the ultivehicle. He was doing two entirely different things at once.


    But he wasn''t strained. In fact, he could do more.


    He listened to the conversation of these people and smiled inwardly. But when he remembered the thing he did which put a lot of people out of homes, his smile vanished and was replaced by killing intent.


    The people around him and to the rear of the ultivehicle were talking about the calamitous power that wreaked havoc in their states and even in other states. It was something as mortals that they had never experienced before.


    "Two gods were fighting" One said confidently.


    "How do you know?" Someone asked with a smirk.


    "Because I was fucking there." That person that spoke earlier replied. Then he continued "I hid slightly far away during their battle so I could witness their epic fight and recount it to people. It was a really intense battle. They were simply out to kill each other. Then one that wore a blue cape embellished with seven crowns used his ultimate attack I think. He pointed at the god he battled with and released a terrific, divinity-slaying, dark power. That god couldn''t stand the power. He exploded into pieces. While the god that unleashed that devastating power vanished back to the heavens. I guess"


    "Sharrap! Your story is complete bullshit! I was there when that phenomenal power was unleashed. It was two demonic experts fighting over a rose-red, crystal cube. The stronger one who looked tall and wore a black robe released that dreadful power against his opponent, annihilating him mercilessly" another said.


    In this manner, many versions began to ring out from people and this caused Alex who was initially brooding over his actions to laugh inwardly.


    These people were simply wonderful and funny.


    He couldn''t believe all that he was hearing.


    If he wasn''t the one that produced the power, he would certainly believe them. They were so good at crafting false stories. But he was enjoying it.


    ...


    A few days later, the ultivehicle arrived at Smith city.


    "Finally. I am back" He said excitedly.


    He had missed home.


    But Alex wouldn''t go home to see his uncle. It wasn''t time yet. He was just here for the legacy and then he would leave to continue his journey.


    When he came down from the ultivehicle which had landed in an ultivehicle garage, he marched happily into the street.


    Then with eyes that shone with unbridled curiosity, he asked some cultivators in the entry stage whom he met standing somewhere and discussing.


    "Hello guys. How are you doing?" He asked.


    "We good." One of them replied amiably.


    "Cool." Alex said. Then he continued "I just arrived from a faraway state. I am a rogue cultivator like you guys. While I was in the ultivehicle, some people were talking about some primeval expert''s legacy. What legacy is that and where is this legacy? I want to know about it"


    "Oh! That legacy. It has been up for weeks now and hasn''t even given sign of availability. Many Saint stage cultivators have gathered round it, awaiting the day it would become available to everyone of them. But now, they feel highly frustrated and very vexed since the doors to the legacy acquisition ground hasn''t opened yet. No one knows what is causing the delay. And for you to know, many of them are not from our world. They are from higher worlds who have come to fight for the legacy. But just holed up in this world which has nothing to satisfy them with made them pretty angry. They are taking this anger out on people. They have turned the mortals into their slaves and are oppressing the many weaker cultivators of our world that live there. Lot of people have migrated away from that area for the time being out of fear of being killed by these higher-world, saint-level cultivators as their impatience which have now turned into fury is continually on the rise. These guys could lash out at any of us and kill us in the process. And no one would dare try to say anything. Not even our states-master" one of the five people Alex went to meet to ask for the location of the legacy replied.


    "Really? That is truly bad for the people leaving around there. I better steer away from that place. Maybe I should mind the business I am here for. But folks, in what direction is this legacy? Please pardon me. I am just the inquisitive type" Alex said.


    "Well, it''s west of here. But it''s thousands of miles away." Another person replied.


    "Hmm. Thanks folks. Those proud guys should continue with their despicable ways. All I know is that the divine god of punishment would visit them soon. Then they shall pay for what they did to those mortals." Alex said.


    Then he gave his gratitude and left this group of people.


    As he walked away, his heart became filled with the emotions of anger.


    These people were actually slaving the mortals in his state? Then he would teach them a lesson.


    Alex doesn''t know the people who were now slaves to those saint stage cultivators. But because he grew up in this state, he loved it and everything in it. So he wasn''t happy with what they were going through.


    Besides, being an empathic person, he could understand what those people were going through. He felt really bad for them.


    If Alex became a pretty powerful person in future, it was this state that he would guard the most because it was the state he was brought up in.


    Alex then decided in his heart that when he went there, he would try to know those cultivators who indulged in the filthy act of forcing people to become something that''s against their wish.


    Although he wouldn''t do anything to them whilst still outside the temple. When they got into the temple, he would try his best to punish them for their wicked acts. He would try to inflict serious injuries on them using the treasures he had gathered. He knew wouldn''t be able to to do much with his one-minute, super-powered body transformation. But with multiple, deadly treasures, he would make sure they forever have the fear of ''The Punisher'' in their hearts.


    "You terrorize and oppress people because of your cultivation stage and identity? Then you fiends should be ready to be showered with severe punishment. For ten thousand years to come, you wouldn''t forget my name. And if my name is mentioned before you, you would cough out blood in fear and terror"


    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


    Author Note:


    Hello dear readers.


    I want to beg you for something.


    --] Could you guys please give me a review?


    A reader of my book gave me a review. Although it was quite harsh, it was tremendously helpful. I was able to know what the flaws in my book were {= In the chapters before the premium ones}.


    The criticism has helped me a lot. And using it as reference, I will try to remove the flaws in my work by altering some things in the previous chapters.


    The thing is I as a writer can''t detect the flaws in my own book. I don''t seem to have that ability. Even if I go through it as a reader, I would still see it as good or perfect. The flaws it would have would become invisible to me because it''s my author brain working.


    Therefore I can only leave it to you readers to help me point out those flaws and help me make the book a better one.


    So using the points of what the reader complained about, I will change some things in some of the previous chapters {the unlocked chapters}.


    *~*~*~*~*~*


    I''m sorry for putting this announcement in the chapter itself and not in the author''s note. This is because the author''s note wouldn''t be able to contain half of all that I mentioned above.


    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


    Thanks for reading and for the love and support you all shower upon me. I feel very blessed to have you fantastic guys around me.


    - Thank you, and remember to keep safe!


    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


    By the way, the new books I mentioned about in the previous chapter are now visible on my profile. You could check them out if you want.


    --] Please, don''t forget to to vote.


    Gracias!

 Chapter 150: Killing intent surfaces

    Since he now had the direction to where the legacy was located, Alex walked for a few hours to a place where no one was. Then using his rage to stimulate the appearance of a physique, he transformed.


    Now emitting ripples of power that belongs to a Saint stage cultivator, Alex shot into the distance towards where the legacy was located. Alex had summoned a speed-purpose physique called ''Ten Thousand Divine Cheetahs Grand Speed Physique''.


    Then emanating waves of power of speed after he transformed, everything slowed to the barest minimum in his vision while he accelerated to the point that he was ten folds faster than a lightning bolt.


    Swoosh!


    He shot through the air on feet towards the location of the legacy. Moving at such a speed, he covered half of the distance. Then he stopped somewhere when he started feeling dizzy. He had ran up to a minute and was starting to suffer from the pressure exerted on his soul by the mystical symbols that produced the speed physique.


    Alex produced many soul refreshment pills and swallowed them all at once. A few moments later, after the intense dizziness he was immersed in and pain inflicted on his soul temporarily vanished, he continued running into the distance.


    Not long, he got there. But he didn''t go to the area where they were gathered. Instead, he stood in a place that was many feet away from the area they assembled at, awaiting the opening of the temple''s door.


    Then Alex moved far away from there so they wouldn''t discover him using their field-scanning saint-sense as they could suddenly release it to scan the environment. But it was very unlikely that they would do that. Still, Alex chose to be careful. He can''t beat them or run from them with his current strength if he got caught. So he had to strategize and plan with all the things he had.


    Then where he stood from, he willed his eyes to zoom in. Like a telescope, everyone of them where they were directly appeared in his vision. He could see what they were doing. Then he furrowed his brows as he could see tens of thousands of them gathered. But it was right for them to be up to that amount since they all came from many worlds for the legacy.


    Till now, Alex still doesn''t know what the legacy is about. But to build his own collection and wealth, he had to acquire the legacy by any means even if he doesn''t have the strength.


    Then he looked at the temple floating in the air. He couldn''t help but marvel at it grand, majestic look. It looked like the temple where high gods worshipped a supreme god.


    Looking incredibly beautiful in appearance and giving out the aura of an unfathomable, dreadful power of sharpness and mysteriousness, Alex''s eyes couldn''t help but glitter brightly like stars. He then felt that this temple must belong to a near-omnipowerful, ancient sword expert. One that definitely ruled over a Greatverse or a multiple number of it.


    Thinking of this reinforced Alex''s conviction to do his best to acquire the legacy using any means available to him. He knew that he would certainly near death or oblivion in this place during his numerous battles for the legacy, but how would he grow into a fearsome expert if one didn''t have near-death experiences. He must be bathed in blood and be engulfed by an aura of death to become a powerful and terrific cultivator.


    After being amazed by the grand majestic aura and terrorizing power the temple gave out, he looked back at the Saint stage cultivators. He looked in a particular direction and saw a young man who wore a blue robe sitting on a seat. This man exuded the aura of aloofness and he seemed very arrogant. Like he was the most supreme expert in the world! This arrogance could be as a result of the family he was from.


    Then around him were a large number of middle-phase saint stage cultivators. These people were the man''s boys. They looked at him with awe and respect in their eyes. Then before this blue-robed young man who was at the peak-phase, saint stage cultivation realm were a number of mortals who knelt before him with fear in their eyes. They exuded the aura of sorrow, anguish and suffering.


    Alex who had an empathic ability could feel all these. Then he felt like jumping out towards the young man and unleash an insanely devastating power at him. But he held himself back.


    ''We shall see in the temple. You can continue being rude and arrogant. I will teach you a lesson for doing this to the mortals.'' Alex said inwardly.


    "Please forgive us. The meal we prepared for you is all we could afford. I am not a wealthy person. I used up all the sapphirstones I have to produce this one expensive meal. Please I beg you" An old man who had a wrinkled face and showed that he was about eighty years of age knelt before the aloof young man and said in a pleading tone.


    "What a trash! Get this fool out of my sight" The young man said now looking at his subordinates.


    One of the many mid-phase, Saint stage cultivators surrounding him nodded. Then he went to the meet the old man with a cold look in his face.


    "It wasn''t wise of you to displease our Lord''s son" This person said arrogantly.


    Then he delivered a kick to the old man''s chest and the old man was sent flying like an arrow into the distance. Upon crashing into the earth with a caved-in chest, the man coughed out blood and fainted from the severe pain that racked his mind and body.


    "Grandpa!!" A young boy shouted out in fear and tried dashing towards the place where his grandfather was. But before he could move, a heavy, resounding slap was delivered to his face.


    "Argh!" The young boy screamed in pain as he was flung away by the kinetic force the slap delivered to his face. He landed to the ground in the distance and directly fainted.


    His face was bloodied as the skin there had torn off. That part of his face caved in from the slap. With his mouth open and blood oozing out, one could see many of his teeth missing. They had either cracked or ejected from his mouth because of the heavy force sent to it by the palm strike.


    Alex''s fury was growing where he was. Seeing them do this heartless things to these mortals made him very sad and angry. He wished he could just dash out and beat them up. But he had to be tactical about it or he could get himself killed since his strength was inconsequential at the moment.


    Not able to look anymore, he sat in the cross-legged position on the ground at the location where he was. Then he closed his eyes and tried to comprehend the soul. He did this to stop witnessing the ruthless things being done to the mortals. He had memorized the face of the young man and the two men that hit the old man and boy and a couple of other excessively arrogant, saint stage cultivators who manhandled and maltreated the mortals like they were nothing, like they weren''t humans, like they were things that needed to be treated with extreme disgust.


    Many hours later, a bell sound rang out.


    Chime.


    The bell sound that rang out was soft. Despite not being loud, it traveled very far into the distance. This chime was no ordinary sound. Carrying a subtle feeling of mysteriousness, it moved far into the distance that everyone in the state and in many other states heard it.


    Once the bell rang out, Alex''s eyes sprung open. He knew the door to the temple was about to open. But his eyes when they snapped open radiated intense coldness. Killing intent could even be detected in them. He didn''t conceal his murdering intent. But a moment later, the frostiness and intent vanished and were replaced with competitive passion and battling intent.


    He stood to his feet and waited for the temple''s door to be opened to them.


    Likewise the others. They were exceedingly glad. After many weeks of awaiting the opening to the entrance of the legacy ground, they had become frustrated and angered. But now that it would open. They would be able to acquire the legacy and leave this world. They hated it. They felt seriously irritated living in it. It was like a shit world to them.


    When the bell rang out, many students at the Saint stage who had returned to their academies suddenly had a feeling that it was a summoning bell that rang out. That it was the ancient expert''s legacy summoning them. It wanted to give every saint stage cultivator a chance at the legacy. Then without wasting time, they requested for airlift from the founders or principals of their academies which they granted.


    Some moments later, many ultivehicles, close to a thousand of them shot into the air towards the area where the temple floated at.


    About thirty minutes later, like the legacy was giving them time to arrive and prepare themselves, the silver-colored river of swordforce energy stopped flowing over the temple. Then it converged at a point before the temple.


    After gathering at a particular spot, the vast amount of swordforce energy as it was initially a large-sized river condensed into an extremely solid and thick, silver-colored sword that was massive in size. Once it compacted and took a sword shape, it appeared as a real one. One made from metals and certain minerals.


    Then this silver sword floated towards the roof of the temple and began to emanate a dazzling aura of power. It was terrifying and at the same time marveling. The enormous sword which was formed out of sharpness-energy looked like a peerless sword that the Supreme King of High gods used, like the type a sword-loving, Great Overlord who ruled over a boundless realm of gods would possess. It produced a feeling of unparalleled sharpness-might; the unmatched godly might to cut or slash everything into halves.


    Once the energy transformed into a gigantic sword, an ancient voice rang out.


    "The legacy of the Silver-Violet Sword Banisher is now available. But this legacy is unlike the others. It is only available to the strongest and the most ruthless. Therefore, there is a condition to inherit this legacy. The condition is thus, to acquire it, you must slaughter a thousand opponents. And if there are some of you who have nearly the same number of opponents slaughtered, then you would face each other. Only the strongest would remain. If this is too much for you, I advice you that back off"


    Once it finished saying this, everyone''s eyes narrowed. Such wicked conditions.


    Still, there were very many whose eyes radiated unbending confidence and extreme brutality. These were the ones who felt that they were strong and powerful enough to slaughter all others and acquire the legacy.


    When the conditions were laid out, many people began to back out.


    This was just too much!


    The ones that began to back out were the ones from academies situated in many states in this Mortalverse. They were sad that they wouldn''t be able to acquire anything.


    Actually, they didn''t come for the legacy as they didn''t have the strength and will to fight cultivators from other worlds who studied insanely formidable battle methodologies and used better or consummate cultivation resources. They had come to fight amongst themselves for the little cultivation resources or treasures they would get. They only shook their head in sadness and sighed as they backed away. They knew that this was why the disparity in their strengths always increased in leaps. They would never be able to measure up to them. They would never be able to catch up with them unless they were met with a great fortune.


    Although the voice said this, it didn''t actually mean it. Why would it cause them to kill each other over the legacy? That would be plain too much!


    Actually, they had started the first phase of the trial for the legacy. The spirit who owned that voice was testing their confidence and determination. But it was disappointed that the blazing confidence of so many instantly died down. Anyways, the legacy wasn''t meant for everyone. It thought.


    Once a lot of people backed off to remain six thousand from the tens of thousands of Saint stage cultivators that had initially gathered, the massive sword which hovered above the temple launched a thousand kilometer-wide, resplendent ray of silver-colored laceration-energy.


    SLASH!!!


    A loud slash sound rang out like a vast, thick curtain was suddenly cut with a massive sword. This was space incising apart to reveal another dimension.


    "Go into the spatial slit for your trial by blood and fire" The voice said.


    Since the people here were cultivators who possessed the power of flight which was a passive ability that would be gained when one entered into the Saint cultivation stage, they shot into the sky using their supersonic flight power towards the slit made in it at a very high altitude by the beautiful silvery sword.


    Alex who had changed into a red-colored caped robe that had a large hood which was pulled over his head and was wearing a black mask, focused on his rage emotions and on a particular thought which was ''Flight''.


    ''Nine Skies Traversing Crimson-Lightning Flight-Physique''


    He abruptly received the transformation method for a random flight physique.


    Then utilizing it, his body transformed as it began to pulsate with crimson-colored electricity that gave out crackling sounds like large, dry woods that exploded in a blazing fire. Also, some of these electricity would shoot off his body into the distance as lightning bolts which gave a deafening explosive boom. Thousands of deep crimson electricity could be seen arcing in his eyes. He simply looked like a terrifying God of thunder at the moment. Even his hair had turned crimson and zig-zag lines of electricity could be seen moving up and down them.


    Once Alex Transformed, quickly using the ''Heavenly Ascendance Lightning Bolt'' flight technique of the saint level-physique, he too shot to the sky and into the slit. He was exceedingly fast that he crossed the distance between the spatial gash and the ground in a matter of seconds.


    ......


    They wouldn''t enter into the temple to fight for the legacy as everyone of them thought. Only the last remaining candidate who appears to be the best in terms of power-skills and combat fierceness would enter into the temple to receive the legacy.


    Few moments ago, the spirit made a path in the fabric of space into another region where the competition would take place. When the strongest has been realized, only he or she would gain the right and privilege to enter the temple to take the resources which was gathered in it for them as they were the ultimate legacy disciple, and then receive full memory-transmission of the expert''s cultivation and battle methods.


    While Alex shot into the slit, he was been gazed at by the spirit in the palace with intensely amazed eyes.


    "What?! Who is that kid? My goodness! How is that possible? I have to monitor him closely."


    Then space warped and distorted around the immense temple and it vanished with the sword that floated above it.

 Chapter 151: First encounter at the legacy ground

    Once Alex appeared in the region where the competition would take place, he flew in a direction no one took. He took this particular direction because he wanted to give gap between himself and the other saint stage cultivators.


    Using his powerful vision to look far into the distance to know if there was no one in there, he continued to fly at many times the speed of sound till he felt dizziness and an intense aching pain racking his soul before he stopped flying and quickly willed his body to reverse the transformation.


    At least, for the moment, he had given a lot of distance between him and the Saint stage cultivators. Then he produced pills which he swallowed. Instantly, the dizziness and pain he felt vanished.


    Not long after the slit closed, the ancient voice rang out again.


    "Let the slaughter begin"


    Once it said this, the eyes of everyone that had entered shone with fierceness and brutality. They glowed with the towering intent to kill all in their path. That was the way of an expert. Climbing up the corpses of thousands of opponents to the top and reign as supreme.


    Alex''s eyes was full of killing intent. He remembered the many faces he memorized. These faces he clearly recalled belonged to the people that seriously pissed him off due to the way they treated the mortals.


    But now was not the time to set out for them. There was still time as thousands had to be slaughtered. Besides, they could be anywhere in this vast region. Only when the numbers have greatly reduced and the remaining had gathered at a place for the battle to be the ultimate inheritor of the legacy would he be able to see them. That''s only if they made it to the last stage. Alex thought.


    So in the meantime, all he could do was search, pillage and destroy. He hadn''t forgotten one of his goal which was to build his own collection of treasures and wealth of sapphirstones. Therefore he had to become a marauder in this place. He would seize their possessions and make it his.


    Alex knew that majority of the cultivators here were from higher worlds. All the ones from lower worlds had backed out when the voice said everyone of them had to be slaughtered to get only the last challenger. So since many of them here were from higher worlds, they would have at least rare-level treasure-artifacts and good-quality sapphirstones. Thinking of all this made Alex smile blissfully.


    ''I would certainly become rich in this place'' He said inwardly in an excited tone.


    Then he began his hunt for any saint stage cultivator. But he knew in his mind that he was powerless against them. The only thing to do is to transform and quickly finish them off before he fainted or he would be the one to be killed here.


    Anyways, he had built up a small pile of both defensive and offensive treasures. These were what he prepared when coming here and for the rest of his two-year adventurous journey.


    Like the red-colored caped-robe which had a large hood that he wore, was an highly-defensive, treasure-outfit crafted by his mom. It was made from cloth-like materials that possessed a great degree of resilience and toughness. Initially, it was too large for him. As in it was oversized. But when he wore it and activated the shrinking-array in it, the robe''s array absorbed shrinkforce energy from the surrounding and reduced from it oversize to a moderate size on Alex''s body. While the full-face mask he wore would protect him from illusion since it had an illusion-breaking array that was stored in a spatial dimension compressed into it. Not forgetting The Purifier sword amongst others which was forged from natural, rare materials that gave out the power of sharpness since they were permeated with pure sword originforce energy.


    Also, he had created many battle-moves for himself just using his visualization and perception. Utilizing his vivid imagination coupled with his ultra perception state; a state he normally enters which heightens his senses by many folds and his mental faculty to a high degree, he was able to imaginatively combine different energies to produce many tyrannical attacks which he named. Although these skills were produced using his visualization which was powered by his vast-scale, absolute perception state, he was sure they would come out just the way he imagined them.


    Now wielding The Purifier sword and a ruby-colored halberd in his hand since he was ready to slash and hack, he moved into the distance to find his first kill.


    Although he was searching for them, of course they would be searching for him too. Not really him, just the opponents they needed to slaughter to get points and advance forward in the deathly competition that they were participating in.


    - Few hours later -


    As Alex walked bare-footed into the distance and deployed the full power of perception of his feel-sense just to detect the degree of nearness of an opponent to him, he suddenly heard something whistle at a high speed towards him from afar.


    He knew that the object which was shooting towards him would be a sharp-pointed projectile launched by a saint stage cultivator who floated in the air many distances away since he wasn''t able to perceive the vibration generated by the expert on the earth using his feel-sense.


    With a quick turn, he smashed the halberd''s sharp blade into it and a loud boom rang out. Then a wave of tyrannical energy instantly erupted from the point of impact and impacted Alex, causing him fly into the distance.


    While shooting backwards through the air, since he had excellent maneuverability skills, he forced himself to turn in the air. Then he landed. But the force still acted on him as he still staggered backwards for sometime before regaining balance.


    He looked coldly at the Saint level expert that produced the projectile-attack and grasped his halberd-weapon tightly, ignoring the trembling of his hand.


    The hand which wielded the halberd trembled from the impact with the projectile. But surprisingly, it didn''t shatter or even have bones jut out from it. It only trembled for some moment before the shakiness vanished.


    Actually, that hand was supposed to burst into mist of blood from the extremely heavy clash with the projectile. But it didn''t. And this surprised the Saint stage cultivator very much. He couldn''t believe what he just witnessed as Alex''s hand didn''t blow into pieces. He wasn''t even shaken, talk more of being injured by the damaging force of the wave that resulted from the impact, despite not wearing an armor. But he wouldn''t know Alex''s caped robe was a highly-defensive armor in the form of a robe.


    If he could see Alex''s hands which were covered with armor gloves, he would see that they gave a soft golden glow. These glows were given off by the strengthforce energy he permeated the bones in his hands with.


    As an energy that had it quality (density) augmented to a shocking degree by a type of originforce energy that had merged with it, therefore, when infused into Alex''s bones, it would transform them to imitate the hardness of a peerless-grade, firmament-rank (heaven-rank) treasure-artifact. That is, it gave the bones of his hands the toughness and resilience of such kind of treasures. So with such a high degree of durability and imperviousness of his bones to impact-shocks and damage, they wouldn''t shatter from the immensely heavy impact with the projectile unleashed by the Saint stage cultivator.


    The Saint stage cultivator who flew towards Alex from afar was greatly surprised. Firstly, it was on how Alex was able to enter this place. A place where only Saint stage cultivators should only be able to enter. Yet, he who was in the condensation stage was able to enter without being obstructed by the restriction that would be put in place to prevent illegal entry. This became a mystery to him. He couldn''t understand no matter how hard he thought about it. Secondly, it was on how Alex was able to deflect a projectile-attack imbued with his saint power without suffering a great injury or even dying.


    When he got to Alex''s front, he asked not caring the age of the person he was speaking to since the person was lower in cultivation to him "Brat! How did you get into this place?"


    Alex looked at him frostily and said "Well, you should have asked me politely in the first place instead of attacking me. If I had died, would you ask my corpse such a stupid question?"


    The Saint stage cultivator eyes narrowed before it radiated intense coldness and even killing intent.


    "Brat, I will ask for the last time. How did you get into this place? How were you able to fly into this dimension and even go about undetected by the legacy-bestowing spirit? What treasure did you use? Hand it over to me if you want to see the next day" He ordered in a threatening tone.


    Haha!


    Alex laughed inwardly.


    "Senior, I don''t know what you are talking about. I was sleeping back at home when I suddenly awoke in this place. It''s a mystery to me. Maybe it''s by the hands of destiny that I am here." Alex said in a faked respectful tone.


    The Saint stage cultivator gazed at Alex coldly.


    "You were sleeping when you suddenly woke up here? Brat, do you think I am a fool? Listen to the trash you are uttering. Is what you said possible in any way? So one could just wake up in a legacy ground from sleep? Haha! I have heard enough. If you don''t provide a answer to my question, I will get my answer from your corpse." He stated in a threatening tone.


    Haha!


    Alex laughed arrogantly.


    "Senior, why bully a young boy like me? I am nothing to you. Why don''t you go slaughter the others for your points instead of picking on me who is in the condensation stage." He said. Then he continued "But since you are so bent on having some fucking treasure which I don''t possess, you can come at me, your daddy for it."


    The eyes of the Saint level expert then narrowed with unbridled killing intent.


    Just before he would shoot towards Alex with his right hand clenched into a fist, Alex''s eyes turned completely blue and inverted yellow triangles appeared in them. In these triangles were three profound green characters.


    Once these strange-looking eyes appeared, Alex''s body began to emanate an aura of power that belonged only to a Saint stage cultivator.


    He had transformed and was ready for a battle that he had to finish very fast. And he  hoped he could as he was taking a great risk.

 Chapter 152: Missed

    Alex had actually summoned an illusion-producing physique called ''Myriad Illusions-Casting Dreamverse Grand Ruler Physique''.


    With his eyes giving off unbridled power of reality warping and deep mysteriousness, he produced a thousand meter-wide, invisible sphere of illusion-power.


    This sphere which was a circular field of illusion-immersing power expanded forth from his body to a distance of nearly one thousand meters. Alex had quickly deployed an illusion-based, supplement battle technique of the physique called ''Great World of Thousand Chaotic Dreams''.


    If Alex reached an insanely high comprehension of the physique''s power, he would be able to expand this unseen, reality-distorting power-sphere so much more that it would swallow up Greatverses and put everyone in it into an unending dream.


    The saint stage cultivator flying towards him became enclosed in the unseen sphere formed from the power of illusion.


    He didn''t need to look into Alex''s eyes to enter into an illusion. Just the sphere produced from the power of illusion was enough to do this.


    As he shot towards Alex, he suddenly appeared in a vast and very strange area. The sky here was green and cloudless and he could see a large number of twelve-winged, monolithic, hideous green-skinned monsters. Pillars of scarlet fire that connected to the green sky could be seen in the far distances. Beautiful and ridiculously tall, red-skinned, naked women possessing three breasts and armed with dazzling silver swords could be seen. And attached to the back of these strange-looking women were small men who had tattooed blue skins. They had large mouths and fangs and long, purple-colored, scaleless snakes as tongues. They were also armed with weapons and these were large yellow skulls connected to a ruby-colored wood.


    The Saint stage cultivator''s eyes widened when he realized from his shock and amazement that he had been placed in an illusion. And illusions were very deadly. Once one couldn''t break out of them in time, that would be the end of that person.


    Not dilly-dallying, he quickly punched out and fired a hundred meter-sized, red-colored, solid fist of pyroforce energy in the direction he remembered Alex was.


    Alex knew that he would do this once he realizes he is now in an illusion. So he had long moved away from the path the Saint stage cultivator would probably throw an attack in.


    After some moments, the enormous, fiery energy-attack which was in the form of a fist shot off in the direction Alex initially was. But since it impacted no one, it continued into the distance.


    Alex whose feet and fists began to emanate a golden glow but were covered with armored boots and armored gloves respectively, leaped towards the place in the air where the Saint stage cultivator looked confused and frightened. Then when he got to where the Saint stage cultivator was, he sent an immensely-heavy, might power-infused punch to the chest of the Saint stage cultivator.


    BANG!!!


    Ringing out like the simultaneous claps of hundreds of frightening thunderbolts when Alex''s super-hard and extremely heavy fist because of permeation by strengthforce energy struck the chest of the Saint stage cultivator, the body of the Saint stage cultivator shot backwards like a furiously-fired arrow through the air and into the far distance; for roughly four hundred and sixty feet.


    Unknowing to Alex, the Saint stage cultivator was wearing a good-quality, saint-rank defensive armor under his robe. So he was completely protected from the immense splintering force of the fist that was delivered to his chest which Alex intentionally threw there with the aim of causing the man''s body to explode into pieces.


    So as witnessed by Alex to his shock, he saw that he didn''t succeed in his aim to slay the cultivator in one punch. He had now realized that the male, saint stage cultivator was able to withstand his instant-obliteration punch because of a particular armor worn under his clothes. He knew that the armor had fully absorbed the peak heaven adept stage-damaging power of the punch he sent out, thereby, protecting the Saint stage cultivator from even sustaining injuries.


    When Alex landed, he quickly made a powered-dash to the place the body of the Saint stage cultivator crashed in. Then on reaching there, with a hard stomp of a foot against the ground, he shot himself high into the air, about three hundred feet.


    Now clasping the handle of The Purifier sword with both hands, he exuded the aura of fierceness and his eyes shone with unbridled killing intent. A cold glint surfaced in his eyes and with all the strength he could muster, he hurled the sword at near-supersonic speed towards the Saint stage cultivator who was about to stand up, using the peak-phase, heaven adept stage-strength granted to him by the strengthforce energy which had fully permeated his entire arm muscles.


    Swoosh!


    In less than three seconds, the sword reached where the male saint stage cultivator was. Then because of the momentum it came with and the great sharpness it possessed, the sword smoothly and effortlessly pierced through the saint-rank armor he wore, pinning him to the ground and stabbing deeply into the earth.


    Then Alex landed from that height and made a dash for where the Saint stage cultivator was pinned to by The Purifier sword.


    Arriving at his side, intense coldness radiated from his eyes, then a colorful light flashed and a ruby-colored halberd appeared in his hand. He had returned this to his dad''s spatial necklace when he conjured a physique.


    At this point in time, since he was able to finish the battle very quickly, he willed his body to reverse the transformation.


    Alex had being able to end the battle very quickly; he had finished the battle in about forty-five seconds. So he wasn''t strained and stressed as he was only in that super-powered form for a very short period of time.


    When Alex removed the spatial ring of the Saint stage cultivator and stowed it away, along with The Purifier sword that stabbed deep from his chest into the earth, he lifted the halberd firmly grasped in his hands and swung down with great force to behead the Saint stage cultivator.


    Bang!


    The blade of Alex''s halberd struck the earth heavily, then the force produced upon the halberd''s blade impacting the earth hard caused it to shatter in a ripple-like fashion into the distance for about forty feet; raising large amount of dust into the air and scattering thousands of small fragments of earth everywhere.


    Alex had actually missed beheading the Saint stage cultivator since the halberd''s blade struck the earth.


    Before Alex could behead him, the Saint stage cultivator who was still aware of his surroundings and only suffered from the intense, excruciating pain that flooded his senses, since a sword had pierced through his chest and impaled him to the earth, quickly used the teleportation ability available to them once they broke through into the Saint stage cultivation realm to vanish from where he was to evade the Alex''s beheading strike.


    Then appearing very far away, he quickly produced good-quality healing pills which he swallowed all at once. These turned into large amounts of healforce energy that spread throughout his entire body and healed the wound in his chest instantly in the process, and without scarring.


    Alex''s eyes shone when he realized he had actually missed his first kill. Not wasting time, he produced about twenty soul refreshment pills and throated them.


    Of course, how would Alex easily kill a Saint stage cultivator from a higher world who indirectly claimed himself to be a battle-genius since he could come here for the legacy despite the inheritance-acquisition condition announced by the legacy-bestowing spirit that they would all battle and slaughter themselves till only one Saint stage cultivator was remaining.


    Alex understood this. That''s why he took a tactical approach in quickly eliminating the Saint stage cultivators he would encounter in this place.


    So by firstly placing them in an illusion and smash-punching them into bits or using The Purifier sword to slash them into halves, he would be able to end the battle quickly and without noise which might attract other saint stage cultivators that might be close to his proximity. That was his plan as he knew these people would certainly do anything to seize the opportunity presented to them which is to kill the combatants who are greatly weakened and perhaps injured after a long, intense battle.


    But now, he had no choice than to engage the saint stage cultivator in a noisy duel to the death.


    The Saint stage cultivator where he floated in couldn''t believe a condensation-stage cultivator could almost kill him.


    His voice boomed out as he spoke; he was now using his saint-level power to amplify his voice.


    "I can''t imagine that a condensation-stage cultivator could nearly cause my demise. The feat you pulled few moments ago was marveling and brilliant. It shows that you are simply one of those monstrous geniuses since you could place me in an illusion I couldn''t quickly break out from despite being in a cultivation stage four steps higher than yours. But it''s a great pity that you would die here without a body and your legend wouldn''t be made outside there in worlds"


    Alex''s eyes shone with battle intent.


    A true battle was now necessary. And he would use absolute strength to conquer and slay this his opponent.


    Shouting from where he was, he stated "Are you sure? Then bring it to your daddy!"

 Chapter 153: Battle

    This infuriated the Saint stage cultivator very much. He didn''t like the way Alex referred to himself as his daddy.


    "Blazing Fiendkiller Palm"


    Sending a palm out and uttering that at the same time, he discharged large amount of fire elemental energy that abruptly condensed and shaped into a bright, red-colored palm that gave out intense heat which was in excess of several thousand degree celsius. Radiating extreme-degree heat in all directions, the palm moved forward at a great speed towards Alex.


    Alex at the moment had already transformed.


    At the center of his forehead could be seen a star which gave out a colorful brilliance. Then on his entire body which now seemed like it was forged from real, solid metal and was now looking taller by many feet, were hundreds of anciently, profound symbols that emitted visible ripples of astral power.


    A dazzling, multicolored aura of unprecedented power continuously emanated from his now super-powered body and this caused the air for hundreds of meters around him to churn.


    From the rampantly appearing hundreds of air swirls, violent gale sweeps to the extremely chaotic, rampaging movements of destructive air currents for about hundreds of meters around Alex, made it seem Alex was the primordial god of wind and summoner of storms.


    This phenomenon was generated by a particular physique which Alex produced when he focused on summoning a super-powered body that controlled and manipulated astral energy. It name was "Supreme Fate-Rebellion Doom-Preaching Starry Physique"


    The instant he transformed, the great-intensity heat emitting from the massive, red-colored palm in all directions reached his side. But it did virtually no harm to his now solid, metal-looking, tall body.


    Just only witnessing this, one would have the feeling that Alex''s metallic body had an unfathomable degree of imperviousness to any form of physical damage since the entire earth around them for hundreds of meters and hundreds of feet deep turned into bubbling, boiling magma in a flash.


    Alex who had changed from his normal human form to a seemingly godly form upon seeing the Saint stage cultivator decide to attack, now floated calmly above the unnatural magma produced by the vast-degree temperature emanating from the fearsome, fiery attack of the Saint stage cultivator which was purely composed of saint-tier pyroforce energy.


    Although, only by virtue of the flight-power available to a Saint stage cultivator which was now available to Alex because of his peak-level, saint-tier physique could he hover in the air with unfaltering confidence.


    Then spreading his hand wide as his eyes radiated extreme coldness, he sent out his own attack at the massive, red-colored, fiery palm-attack shooting towards him at a great speed.


    "Rebelling Hundred Stars Sky-Cleaving Palms" Alex uttered, deploying one of the many god-level battle techniques of the supreme-class, saint-tier physique he evoked.


    The instant he mentioned the technique, like it were a powerful magical spell, tremendous amount of starforce energy that seemed to want to connect to the heavens and stretched in all directions into the far distance, instantly appeared around Alex, enshrouding his figure which floated above the magma.


    This shocking quantity of energy had actually been drawn from the realmverse''s vast astral layer by the rapid, near-boundless, energy-gathering passive ability of the physique. It was behaving like a top-grade energy-synthesis array. But more, since it was a supreme-class one. So it was right for it to instantaneously produce a seemingly boundless sea of astral-energy.


    When the energy surfaced in an astronomical quantity, with each slivers that constituted it colossal volume emanating blinding brilliance and marveling power, it mysteriously instantly partitioned and rapidly condensed into a hundred solid palms of astralforce energy which spanned a thousand meter in size.


    Then when they formed, they shot towards the incoming attack and collided into it heavily; with a momentum that would produce the feeling in anyone that they wanted to shatter all in their path to smithereens.


    Boom!


    The fearsome attacks met and a loud boom sound rang out which was instantly accompanied by a destructive wave of energy.


    Since Alex''s attack was produced from one of the most powerful energy in the realmverse and was powered with the comprehension of the god-level battle method, it possessed far greater power.


    Shattering his opponent''s energy-attack, the hundred enormous hands formed from energy shot towards the Saint stage cultivator at great speeds.


    Frightened by the powerful attacks which were cutting through the air like cannonballs towards him, the Saint stage cultivator wrapped himself with his energy which he quickly discharged from his hands. Then he shot into the hot magma to the far depth of it. He did this to evade the tyrannical palm-attacks Alex sent out. To him, it was better to suffer in the large pool of magma than be struck by the palm-shaped energy attacks that would cause his instantaneous death.


    His evasive plan worked as the palms shot over the magma and into the distance. But since Alex was mind-linked to them, he made the hundred energy-palms loose their forms as their perfect, solid structure instantly developed many faults in accordance to his will, then they cracked and exploded into smithereens, with the energy that composed them returning to the realmverse.


    He decomposed the energy-palms so they wouldn''t attract too many saint stage cultivators as the palms could continue shooting forward into the distance, and would only disperse when they run out of energy.


    Seeing that the saint stage cultivator had dived into the massive pool of magma to evade his overwhelming attack, Alex who was starting to feel intense dizziness and a head-splitting type of pain rack his soul quickly shot up to an altitude in the air and aimed his palm at the pool.


    "Widowmaking Rebellion Palm of Oblivion" Alex muttered. He was using another of the many physique battle-techniques that were available to him.


    The instant he mentioned that, the physique produced a summoning power that drew a vast amount of energy from the realmverse''s astral layer. Then it abruptly condensed and shaped into a massive, extremely solid palm that spanned hundreds of miles wide.


    Immediately the energy transformed into an enormously-sized, crystalline palm that gave out great brilliance, then driven by Alex''s will and intention, the solid palm of starforce energy shot down to the pool the Saint stage cultivator was in.


    Bang!


    The palm which was many times larger than the pool smashed into it with with a great momentum; a momentum that gave one the feeling that it was the palm of a furious divine god as it seemed to want to smash and reduce everything to bits.


    The earth trembled violently from the impact and large volumes of magma splashed very high into the distances, then landing on the earth in those faraway places.


    The palm had pressed deep into the earth with nearly unstoppable force at that targeted spot that a thousand feet-deep crater could be seen. Then a gigantic web-like crack could be noticed around the massive and deep crater. Hundreds of deep cracks which blossomed from the colossal web-like crack that resulted from the tremendously powerful impact of the palm with the earth, extended into the far distance, about thousands of feet away.


    When the palm struck the earth, Alex who was managing to endure the intense, agonizing pain inflicted on his soul by the mystical, physique-producing symbols, and tried hard to maintain his clarity of mind till his powerful killing move would successfully annihilate his opponent, suddenly blanked out.


    Then he fell from the air into the crater which was more than a thousand feet deep.


    Bang!


    His unconscious body smashed into the earth very hard and all the bones in his body broke, leading to severe fractures and dislocations.


    If not for the defense-purpose robe that protected his body as it absorbed many of the impact-force generated upon Alex''s body colliding into the deeply-cratered earth, he would have blasted into bits with the ferric smell of his blood lingering in the air.


    ............


    When a tremor shook the land as a result of Alex''s super-strong battle move, many saint stage cultivators who were in that area noticed this and flew insanely fast to where the tremor happened.


    Their plan was to slay the deeply exhausted and battle-worn saint stage cultivators, then get points which they would use to draw closer to the final or last stage of the deathly competition for inheritance of the ancient expert''s legacy.


    Actually, they all thought it was a death-involving competition. But it wasn''t.


    Before the huge palm Alex produced would smash into the Saint stage cultivator who went to temporarily hide at the bottom of the magma pool, just for the sake of evading Alex''s first overpowering, absolute-annihilating strike, a spatial transference power manifested in the depth he was at as space warped and distorted around his figure, then he vanished from there to a safe, non-battle zone. This simply meant that he was out of the competition.


    A moment later, the numerous saint stage cultivators who were alarmed and hurried down to where they felt an intense battle to the death was taking place, got to where the crater was and flew down to it depth. Then upon reaching the depth, they could only see a single unconscious body.

 Chapter 154: Destroy his body

    Upon seeing only a single body, the Saint stage cultivators furrowed their brows. Since there was only a body here, then this meant that the other had been slain. As in, his body had been reduced to small fragments. But they weren''t also sure if this body before them was dead.


    It was just that Alex was unconscious. If he wasn''t, and they sensed the cultivation stage that he was in using their cultivation percipience ability, they would be shocked beyond any word would be able to describe. So now that he had blanked out, his body didn''t produce pulses of power that would enable them to know that he was in the condensation stage.


    So they thought that he was a saint-level competitor like them. And from the robe he wore, they could see that it was very expensive, judging from the quality of the material used in making it, therefore they inferred that he was a rogue cultivator.


    Since the name of any family he could be probably from wasn''t inscribed into the robe or embroidered on it, they could only conclude that he was an unaffiliated cultivator; one not belonging to a family or an organization or an academy.


    But they respected him for his courage, bravery and strength since he could still come here even when he was not from an organization.


    Despite the harsh condition given to inherit the legacy, he still tried to fight over it with them. It simply meant that he was a powerful saint-level expert. And from the degree of devastation caused to this place, they could gauge his strength. So they saw him as one mighty battle genius, one not to be messed with.


    "Is he dead?" One of the Saint stage cultivator asked the many others who were looking at the deep crater Alex made in the earth using his astonishingly powerful move.


    If it were them, they wouldn''t be able to produce such crater. With awe in their eyes, they wondered who his opponent was. Maybe another powerful genius.


    "I think so. But to make sure that he is truly dead, let us destroy his body" One of them said.


    Then the others nodded, agreeing to what the person spoke.


    There were about seventy of them here. So with colorful flashes of light, treasure-weapons appeared in their hands.


    They uttered the name of their battle-moves and expelled numerous, low-powered, energy-attacks at Alex''s body.


    BANG!


    The massive, torrential attacks simultaneously struck Alex''s body and it simply vanished from that spot. It had been utterly destroyed; reduced to bits by their fearsome energy-offensives.


    When they saw that Alex''s body had been reduced to nothing by their attacks, then they spread out to face each other.


    With the aura of both battle intent and killing intent coming out of their bodies, and intense coldness radiating from their eyes, they looked at each other and got ready to attack one another. Their treasure-weapons had begun to glow as the arrays in the voidstones had begun to produce energies.


    Just when they would attack each other with their strongest moves, someone spoke "Wait!"


    Everyone then paused and turned to look at the person that spoke, waiting for an explanation on why they should wait.


    The person that spoke earlier, after seeing that he had grabbed their attention, then continued "We can''t fight in here. This wouldn''t be a good battle. We are choked up here. We need more space for a fulfilling battle. Let us ascend to the sky and fight there to our satisfaction. We are not body-cultivators, we can''t do close-quarters combat"


    "Hmm"


    This rang out from everyone of them. They actually agreed with the cultivator that spoke. He was simply right with what he said. Then they shot into the sky to begin their multi-opponents battle.


    Not long, frightening booms rang out as hundreds of different colors lit up the sky and dyed the earth below.


    .....


    When the massive attacks were launched towards Alex''s unconscious body, before the legacy-bestowing spirit could do anything, the Azure Beastsman''s palace had actually appeared. Then concealing itself in another layer of space which they wouldn''t be able to detect in any way, it produced a spatial transference power that pulled in Alex''s body into the palace.


    To the attackers, it was as if Alex''s body had been reduced to nothing. Whereas, his body just vanished from the spot it was by the space-manipulation power given out the Azure Beastsman''s treasure-palace which the palace-spirit finely controlled.


    Then it moved through the spatial layer it concealed itself in to a very far distance. After reaching a place no Saint stage cultivator was in at the moment, it came out of the layer and shot into a crack in the earth to hide in it. The palace was able to hide in this small crack as it was now in a greatly miniaturized form.


    Within the palace''s hall could be seen Alex''s body. This would be the third time the palace-spirit would bring Alex into this place to protect him from harm. Not that it was complaining, it would do so a thousand times if Alex was ever in grave danger. He was the legacy-disciple of his master, anything happens to him, that would be the end of it Master''s legacy continuation.


    Besides, apart from being a legacy-disciple, from what it has witnessed so far about Alex, Alex was a super-battle genius that might probably reach the Supreme Alpha Eternal stage which was also called the ''Master of Realm'' stage, the stage which no Cultivation-deviant, Life-deviant and even Beyonders have ever reached; It was a theoretically and practically impossible stage to reach. And even if he doesn''t attain it, he would surely possess the strength that would be available to one in that realm. Only he could ever achieve such an impossible feat.


    So it couldn''t let a genius that would shake worlds with his gaze alone and bring damnation to god-like beings with just a whisper die just like that.


    Therefore, it would do absolutely everything in it power to protect Alex. Till this moment, the palace-spirit was exceedingly glad that it came across Alex. If it had given it Master''s legacy to another person and then came across Alex, it would surely, everlastingly regret it action.


    A body recovery pill appeared and entered into Alex''s mouth. Then it turned into a large amount of healforce energy that flooded Alex''s body and healed all the cracks and breaks in his bones and the severe wounds that his organs had sustained from that body-exploding fall.


    After sometime, Alex''s eyes sprung open.

 Chapter 155: New move

    When his eyes opened and he saw where he was, his mind calmed. Then he remained on the ground. He was deeply fatigued from the fight. One could say that he had exhausted his soul-energy just to make sure that the move he put out would slay his opponent.


    He thought that he had developed a tactical approach to easily and quickly slay the Saint stage cultivators in his path. But from what he witnessed, it didn''t work out well. So he needed another approach if he wanted to have his hands on the legacy.


    If Alex lost this, he would be very unhappy with himself. So he would do everything in his power to beat the other saint stage cultivators and acquire the legacy. He needed it; he needed the numerous battles to develop himself and the expert''s inheritance to build his own collection and wealth.


    As he was thinking, he looked around in the Azure Beastsman''s hall. Amazed by it majestic look, he thought ''When would I be able to have my own mansion, palace, temple and my own acolytes? Haha! I really have a long way to go''


    Just as he would stop thinking about the grand, stately beauty of the palace, he suddenly recalled something. Then his eyes shone. A thought had suddenly struck him when he was marveling at the greatly impressive look of the Azure Beastsman''s palace interior.


    ''Would it work?'' He thought.


    He couldn''t be sure. If it doesn''t work and he engages in some form of battle with a saint stage cultivator, he could be killed.


    Then he decided to try it.


    Focusing on a thought and on the anger that had accumulated in his heart. His body transformed.


    His new body began to give out ripples of power that belonged to a Saint stage cultivator. Once he transformed, he concentrated on his blood.


    To his amazement and bliss, he could actually sense it.


    Haha!


    He laughed happily. He had just created another tyrannical battle-move for himself.


    Then he reversed the transformation.


    He then recalled that the cultivators who were drawn to the place he battled the Saint stage cultivator would have seen the outfit he wore. So he decided to change it as he didn''t want intensely curious eyes to concentrate on him.


    Becoming naked as he removed the defense-purpose robe he wore to reveal his amazingly built body, he produced another one. This one didn''t have a cape. But it had a large hood and was grey in color. He chose a grey-colored one because he didn''t want one that would make him stand out too much.


    Then he sent a sliver of his awareness into the robe to know it abilities.


    Name: Mom''s dazzling pride.


    Stage usage: Condensation stage


    Defense Power: Can protect wearer from several full-powered, saint-tier attack.


    Craft Material: Three-eyed Cosmic Greyworm grey silky-thread (one of the strongest and resilient cloth-like material in the realmverse. {Rarity level: only one can be found in six Greatverses})


    Defense Suitability Degree: Suitable for defense till Great Saint stage (Reason: Single-weaved. {Others: Double-weaved: suitable till Sage General stage; Triple-weaved: suitable till Celestial Adept stage; Quadruple-weaved: suitable till Great Immortal stage})


    Embedded Array: Blackstar Ominous Flameburst Array (Type: Offensive-array; Level: Monarch-level array; Ability: Unleashes emperor-tier, black-colored flame; Temperature: Degree of hotness can reach seventy-thousand degree celsius. Other: Vast amount of flame that would be unleashed is mixed with gloomforce energy (a sorrow-drowning realm-energy; This would deeply immerse cultivators from the earth adept stage to the Saint stage in intense, near-unbreakable sadness once exposed to the ripples of forlornness-inducng power that would emanate from it once discharged).


    Wearer''s protection to array-produced attack: globe of supreme-quality, emperor-tier energy envelops the wearer.


    Alex then removed his perception.


    He smiled.


    His mom really put him into consideration. Everything she did was for him; for his growth, development and safety.


    He wore it and pulled the large hood over his head.


    Then he produced a mask which he sent his perception into.


    Name: Faceless


    Stage usage: Condensation stage


    Ability: Changes wearer''s face (Shapeshifting; limited only to face).


    Embedded Array: Appearance-Warping Array {Absorbs morphforce energy [Form-alteration energy] from the world and reconstructs wearer''s face with it}).


    Huuu!


    Alex took a deep breath.


    Not wasting time, he put it on.


    On activation upon wearing it, the mask began to emit a brilliant blue light as it sank into Alex''s face and then melted in with it. Then Alex''s face began to give a purple glow as the skin on his face began to stretch and twist, and bones began to snap and move to another position.


    Argh!!


    Alex screamed out in pain and continued to do so as the facial alteration occurred.


    When it stopped, Alex fell to his knee with a grimace look in his face. He couldn''t believe that was what he was going to go through.


    "Mom, you should have put a warning or a notice!" Alex complained bitterly in a loud tone.


    Then he stood back to his feet.


    Right now, his face had changed.


    He looked hideous as scars could be noticed everywhere on his face.


    Alex was actually using the face of the boy from the Scarlet Flame Academy whom he fought back then at the Red Lotus cave.


    Then he got ready for yet another battle. But this time, he was sure that he would be able to beat every one of them that would come his way no matter the degree of their ''Genius-ness''.


    After strapping The Purifier sword to his back and looking like a sinister, sword-wielding cultivator, and grasping the ruby-colored halberd in his right hand, he set out.


    "Palace-spirit, I am ready to roll out" Alex said.


    "Okay" A voice sounded out from every direction.


    Then in the next instant, space warped around Alex''s body. He then vanished from that spot he stood at in the palace and appeared in the legacy-acquisition battle ground.


    Once he appeared, his body began to emanate an aura of killing intent while his eyes gave off a frigid look.


    Then he deployed his powerful hearing ability to perceive vibrations in the air. If there were any cultivator around and floated in the air, he would be able to sense them and guard against them on time.


    Pushing his hearing-perception far into the distance, he sensed five saint stage cultivators flying from far away towards him at speeds greater than the speed of sound.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    They appeared many feet in front of Alex and gave a cold look which was then replaced with intense amazement.


    They became shocked beyond what any word would describe.

 Chapter 156: Let me see who can stop me

    "Hello, folks" Alex said with a smile.


    They ignored him, then of one of them asked "How exactly did you get into this place with your condensation-stage cultivation realm?"


    Mtcheew!


    Alex gave a mtcheew and asked "When you chickens first arrived, I greeted politely. But you ignored my greeting like it was a nonentity that greeted you. Now, you are asking questions from that nonentity. What does that make you? You all are simply something lower than a nonentity."


    The Saint stage cultivators narrowed their eyes which began to radiate killing intents.


    "I dare you to repeat what you said!" One of the five saint stage cultivators spoke in a loud, threatening tone.


    Alex laughed arrogantly. He had resumed his acting. He started to behave like all was beneath his feet.


    "Repeat what I said? Sure I would for you five chickens. What I said was, quote me, something lower than nonentities" Alex replied.


    Hahaha!


    One of the five Saint stage cultivators laughed in a sinister tone.


    "I can see that you don''t even cower before us. You must rely on some insanely powerful treasure right? Anyways, whatever that is, I would get it from your corpse. Let''s kill this disgusting thing in our sight and move on." he said.


    Just before one of them would unleash an attack, Alex''s body began to emit double pulses of saint-level power. Then these caused the eyes of the Saint stage cultivators to widen in shock.


    They couldn''t believe what they just witnessed. How possible was it for a cultivator in the condensation stage to suddenly enter the Saint stage? It was highly mysterious to them.


    At the moment, Alex had actually produced two physiques called ''Thousand Primordial Roars Beast-Taming Immortal Physique'', and ''Myriad Creature of Chaos Great Celestial Summoner Physique''


    He was able to do this by producing a thought of ''dual-physiques'' which centered on beasts and monsters in his mind.


    Alex was improving further on how to use his physique-evoking power as he could now conjure two at once.


    But now that he had generated two physiques, the one minute he had, now became thirty seconds. So he must finish what he wanted to do in thirty seconds.


    The instant he transformed, he looked into his blood and detected the bloodline-power of the Azure Beastsman. This was the power that he received when a red crystal melted in his blood back then, giving him the power of the Azure Beastsman and the various bloodline abilities of the hundred divine beasts the Azure Beastsman forcefully extracted blood essences from.


    He wasn''t supposed to perceive this power even if he was at a stage that was six steps higher than a saint stage cultivator. But because of the two physiques, he was able to. They gave him a vastly-powered percipience which enabled him to detect the Azure Beastsman''s bloodline ability in his blood. And this was because the ability was related to beasts! It matched with the beast-conjuring power they are able to produce. And what was the Azure Beastsman''s ability? It was the ability to produce astronomical amounts (nearly a thousand billions) of highly-developed beasts which were either greatly evolved beasts or vastly-mutated beasts. These kinds of beasts were stored and bred in an enormous, spherical place the Azure Beastsman named ''Beast Continent''.


    The Beast Continent was many times larger than even the largest continent that would be found in any Greatverse. It was a strange realm which was a vast expanse of rocky land that supported beast life and produced airborne and edible solid substances which caused vast degrees of cellular alteration and evolution to only beasts.


    So one could expect the beasts in this region to be highly intelligent despite not being divine beasts, and possess far greater attacking power than even the beasts at the same stage with them. One could see them as supreme-grade or peerless-grade beasts; depending on their level of mutation or evolution.


    Once Alex perceived the power, he deployed it. Then a spatial connection was instantly established to this Beast Continent.


    When the space transference link was formed between Alex and the Beast Continent, a huge portal appeared behind Alex. And stepping out of it were five beasts that towered to the skies.


    These beasts which had just appeared were saint-tier beasts. They had heights that ranged from ninety feet to a hundred and fifty feet and spanned roughly sixty-feet wide.


    Normally, a saint-tier beast can only achieve a height of sixty feet. But these had more than that.


    The skins of these fearsome beasts were very thick and looked like metal. Their brightly colored eyes gave off extreme fierceness.


    They simply looked like creatures of doom!


    Some were winged or double-winged, some were bipedal or quadrupedal, some were covered in a form of energy which continuously exuded from their bodies.


    With thick mists coming from their nostrils and them moving towards Alex to stand behind him, they caused the ground to tremble. Every place on the earth that they stepped on cracked, only because of their tremendous weight.


    The Saint stage cultivators who were continually, greatly shocked by what was happening recognized the beasts. But these looked way more tyrannical than the beasts in the same category the ones before them belonged to.


    They looked dreadful and super-strong. Just from their hides, heights and morphological features, one would know these were different and that they would possess extreme attacking power.


    "Attack" Alex gave a mental order.


    ROOAARR!!!


    The terrifying, towering beasts roared at the same time and these caused the earth to tremble. Then they shot towards the Saint stage cultivators.


    The Saint stage cultivators who had gathered some feet before Alex, when they saw the beasts fly with rage towards them instantly shot away at astonishing speeds. But the super-sized beasts which tried to chase them caught up to them as they had faster flight speed. Then with their large jaws open, they wanted to entirely swallow the Saint stage cultivators.


    Great fear gripped the heart of the Saint stage cultivators when they saw the massive beasts appear behind them with their huge jaws wide open. Then instantly, they turned and abruptly fired enormous energy attacks at the beasts.


    Bang!


    These attacks impacted the beasts. But they didn''t cause the beasts wounds as they had super-tough hides. It only knocked them a few feet backwards.


    Upon receiving the attacks, the beasts became frenzied as their rage increased. Then they shot towards the Saint stage cultivators.


    The largest beast among the five of them opened it mouth and discharged an utterly massive, spiked energy ball of violet-blue electricity at the Saint stage cultivators.


    Just when the mighty attack composed of dual-colored electricity would impact the Saint stage cultivators, a spatial transference power surfaced as space twisted around them, then they vanished.


    Since the ball-shaped attack of electricity didn''t impact them as they had vanished, it continued onward into the distance.


    Alex who had reverted his transformation stood where he was with mouth opened wide. He was gaping at what just happened.


    ''What?''


    ''So the Saint stage cultivator I thought I killed then didn''t actually die? He was only moved away? That''s just... Damn!.'' Alex thought inwardly.


    ''Gosh! This is bad. They have witnessed my abilities'' He said inwardly in an unhappy tone.


    ''Well, they don''t know my real face. Since it''s like this, let me quickly end the competition and acquire the legacy then.'' Alex said inwardly as he now made up his mind to finish off everyone and receive the legacy.


    There was no point in doing it slowly again since they wouldn''t be killed.


    Once Alex thought this, his eyes began to radiate battle intent and chilliness. His intention, move unobstructed and uncontrolled in this place with the beasts he had summoned and evict everyone.


    "Let me see who can stop me, the Ultimate Beast Tamer" Alex said and grinned.

 Chapter 157: Dark Bringer of Dimensional Entropy

    Then he produced another random two physiques so he could summon the beasts back to where he stood. Because without the summoning power the beast-related physiques would make available to him, the beasts wouldn''t return and would continue to fly forward.


    When he changed, with his body giving off the ripples of saint-level power, he sent out a wave of telepathic power from his head.


    This invisible wave carrying telepathic power moved into the distance in all directions.


    When it got to the beasts and the message that Alex wanted to pass to them flashed in their minds which was to return, they shot back towards him.


    Alex was simply their master. He was a Beast tamer and a Summoner because of the physiques.


    The saint-tier beasts which were highly intelligent beasts quickly flew back to where he stood. The beasts just had no choice than to obey him and return when the mind transmission wave impacted them.


    If he hadn''t transformed, he wouldn''t be able to recall them. It was possible that they even attack him once they noticed that he was in the condensation stage and had no right whatsoever to order them about.


    With great flight speed, they got to where Alex was and landed to the ground before him.


    Alex who had changed as he now looked taller and had glowing tattoos of all forms of beasts all over his body, walked up to them to rub their extremely thick hides.


    The beasts which looked fearsome and tyrannical just because of their immenseness and great fierce form were actually docile before Alex. They were like little kids who had their just met their mother and needed her love who then showed them the affection they wanted.


    It was an unbelievable sight.


    Then Alex quickly got back to business, although he still had many seconds more before dizziness and pain would strike him.


    He concentrated on his blood and deployed the inter-dimensional beast storage ability of the Azure Beastsman in his blood once he detected it, since his perception was now heightened to incredible degrees by the beast-calling and mind-manipulating physiques.


    The instant he did this, a spatial connection was established between him and the Beast Continent again.


    Then since their respective domains had linked, a spatial tunnel appeared which connected both dimensions together. Then a vast, summoning-telepathic wave swept out in this colossal continent. It message, ''Ten thousand saint-tier beasts should come through the tunnel to the other side''.


    Upon receiving the command, all forms of saint-tier beasts; winged, double-winged, triple-winged, quadruple-winged, bipedal, quadrupedal, hexapedal... Just basically all forms, upon receiving the summoning call shot into the dimension-connecting spatial tunnel. There was no orderliness. And surprisingly, the spatial tunnel was flexible as it stretched to accommodate the massive number of saint-tier beasts flying through it.


    Then they all came out through a massive, infinitely-stretching portal that had appeared behind Alex.


    There were ten thousands of these beasts as they gathered around Alex, hiding the sky from him because of their incredible mountainous sizes.


    But the amazing thing about this was that they appeared very docile. They did not give off their aura of ferociousness before Alex.


    Then not wasting time as every seconds counted, Alex, using the physical strength now available to him since he was now temporarily in the Saint stage cultivation realm, jumped onto the back of the largest beast which produced the tremendously massive, spiky ball of violet-blue electricity the other time during it battle against the five Saint stage cultivators.


    He then sat down in the cross-legged position on the beast''s back and gave another mental command.


    "Journey far and to the end of this place. Everything you see which seems to have life or vitality, DESTROY it! And protect me with all your strength from reprisals by these living creatures. Set out now!"


    Then the beasts after receiving the command, roared to the sky and caused the earth to shake so violently that it cleaved, resulting in a wide and deep chasm.


    The beasts roared because they had entered into a frenzied state. They were actually brought into this state by the ruthless command Alex gave them.


    When they stopped roaring, with their enormous colored eyes now radiating fierceness and absolute devouring intents, they shot high into the air to every direction in large groups.


    The beasts were out for slaughter and destruction!


    But Alex knew that no one would be killed here. They would only be moved away from the path of danger by a space-manipulation power that would be deployed by the legacy-bestowing spirit.


    So instead, he would evict everyone and acquire the legacy for himself.


    While on top of the largest beast which had also shot into the distance in a random direction at a great speed, Alex decided to name this move which needed enhancement by his beast-related physiques. He named it ''Dark Bringer of Dimensional Entropy''.


    .....


    When the five saint-tier beasts that attacked the five Saint stage cultivators many moments ago roared ragingly to the sky because they were struck by energy-attacks, many of the Saint stage cultivators scattered about in far places in this region, looked in the direction of the exceedingly furious roars.


    Then they shot towards there to check it out since they were surprised by how and why thunderously loud, beastly roars would suddenly surface in this place. So they decided to check out what was happening just to understand how the angry roars came to be.


    Few moments later as they were flying in this direction, they heard roars again. And this time, the roars seemed to come from a vast multitude of beasts. Then they became confused. They just couldn''t comprehend what was happening as deeply perplexed looks sprung up in their faces.


    So not dilly-dallying, body armors began to appear on their bodies and treasure-weapons in their hands, and which began to glow as energies were being produced in them.


    Then they shot towards the direction the roars came from.


    While all these were going on, the legacy-bestowing spirit was more than impressed with Alex. Such a valorous young boy.


    Despite not being able to last in his transformed state for more a minute, he could still come into this place to fight saint stage cultivators for the legacy.


    The spirit was simply impressed by Alex''s bravery and courage.


    But what made it to be overly impressed with Alex was because of his ability to seemingly, endlessly produce physiques. It couldn''t understand how Alex was doing it.


    The spirit could end the competition and give Alex the legacy. But it didn''t wanted to disobey it Master. It could only allow the competition to continue till only one cultivator was remaining.


    But the legacy bestowing spirit was sure, from what it had seen so far, that Alex would be the last challenger standing.


    Which battle-genius would be able to stand an overwhelming horde of gigantic, berserk beasts?


    Of course no one!


    Shooting in the direction the deafening roars sounded out from at speeds greater than the speed of sound, they saw a large swarm of large beasts flying towards them.


    Then they became shaken by the numbers. It was simply overly excessive! One couldn''t blame Alex, he was fully out to evict everyone using great sizes and immense numbers.


    To him, it was time to end the competition since his marveling ability had been known to some people who he thought were dead. So since they knew about it already, why not make it known to everyone of them then, and use it throw all of them off the platform so he could receive the inheritance as he would become the only challenger remaining?


    ''Heavens! Where did these come out from?''


    This was the thought that appeared in the minds of the Saint stage cultivators.


    Looking at the large beasts that flew towards them from far in the distances, it was as if their numbers had no end. They simply dotted the skies as they hid it with their vast numbers and astonishing sizes.

 Chapter 158: All slain!

    But this won''t make the saint stage cultivators back out. Especially the ones from super-families. They had peerless-grade treasure-weapons, treasure-armors and knew a large number of battle-techniques with insanely high destructive power. So with all these, their fears lessened as they prepared for an an epic battle with the beasts.


    Activating their treasure-armors, the massive, defensive array-networks contained in the voidstones plugged into the sockets of the armors they wore produced a resplendent sphere of energy that enveloped them. These were attack-deflecting, spherical force fields!


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!...


    Swooshing sounds rang out as they all charged towards the beasts at shocking speeds.


    Hundreds of beasts in front of the larger beast Alex rode upon opened their massive jaws, then out of it came immensely powerful, elemental-offensives.


    One of the beasts shot off a massive, solid pillar of red lightning at a Saint stage cultivator, but being ready, the Saint stage cultivator fired a huge, black-colored palm of pyroforce energy at the attack.


    Boom!


    The attacks collided and a thunderously loud blast sound rang out which was instantly accompanied by an astonishing amount of electric current which swept out like a wave into the far distance. Also, when the attacks clashed, a black wave of fire elemental energy swept out with tyranny. It was like it was out to reduce everything to bits and incinerate all to cinders.


    In another of the thousands of battles going on, a large ball of crimson-purple flame was shot off from within the jaw of one the beasts towards a female saint-stage cultivator.


    But upon noticing the incoming attack, the female saint stage cultivator produced a majestic-looking, tremendously-large golden dragon which was rapidly composed from the golden-metalforce energy that she cultivated.


    Bang!


    A deafening bang sound rang out and two highly destructive waves of energies rushed out into the distance in all directions. One of the wave was crimson-purple in color, while the other was golden. These ferocious energy waves spread into the distance in all directions at great speeds, knocking both the female saint-stage cultivator and the beast that were in it path backwards.


    The female Saint stage cultivator, although was protected by a circular, defensive-energy field as she didn''t sustain injury from the exchange, was knocked far away by the energy waves. While the beast was shoved backwards for some meters.


    Regaining it balance very quickly, the beast shot towards the female cultivator who was still being pushed through the air by the backwards-shoving kinetic force produced by the waves upon impacting her.


    Then with a loud bang, the protective, spherical layer of energy enveloping her figure shattered into smithereens when the powerful jaws of the beast shut on it.


    But before the female saint stage cultivator would be bitten into halves by the immensely strong, armor-piercing fangs of the beast, like time stopped, she was teleported away from the jaw of the beasts to a safe, non-battle zone.


    Only a second late, and she would have become a thing of the past!


    Numerous battles happened here and there with the beasts winning. Since they were too much, once a cultivator was blown away by an attack, one of the saint-tier beasts would dash towards this person and use their extremely powerful jaws to shatter the person''s defensive force-field with the intention to swallow them. But the person would be quickly teleported away from harm''s path.


    All while the beasts engaged the Saint stage cultivators, the beasts which had super-tough hides couldn''t be injured by the fearsome attacks unleashed by the Saint stage cultivators. Only a cultivator who was a step higher than them; the Great saint stage could probably be able to cause them wounds.


    So apart from their vast numbers, this was one of the reason they were able to overwhelm the saint stage cultivators. They couldn''t be killed by the attacks as their hides were nigh-impervious to the damage that would be caused by the saint-level attacks. But if it were other beasts at this stage, they would quickly be slain by the cultivators.


    Alex who sat on the largest beasts gave a knowing smile. He knew the Saint stage cultivators would be slaughtered like chickens. He could see many of them disappearing. Then he laughed as he said "Time to inherit the legacy"


    Just then, an unseen, massive silver sword, formed from silver-metalforce energy suddenly shot from high in the sky towards him at a speed that was hundreds of times the speed of sound.


    The treasure at the region between Alex''s eyebrows quickly signaled him of danger, and possessing an extremely fast reaction speed, Alex leaped away from the huge beast which was more than one hundred and fifty feet tall and was hundreds of feet above the earth, to the ground.


    The moment he left the beast back, the massive sword struck the beast and cleanly divided it into two. Then the beast''s body halves fell to the ground with a loud boom and the sword making a five hundred kilometer-long, deep gash in the earth as it stabbed deeply into it.


    That was one utterly massive sword composed from metalforce energy. This was not the power of a Saint stage cultivator, but of someone at a far greater cultivation rank.


    "Sword Rain of the Silver Death God" That person said and pointed at the beast in the distance.


    An illusionary figure appeared behind this person and made some hand seals, then in the next instant, tens of thousands of massive silver swords composed of silver-metalforce energy appeared and shot at the beasts.


    Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!...


    Thousands of this piercing sound rang out as the beasts were penetrated deeply by the swords when it struck them despite their amazingly tough bodies, then cutting them smoothly into halves in the process.


    The swords mysteriously avoided the humans and went for the beasts. In the next moment, there were no more beasts in the sky. They were all on the ground, in halves, with their large quantities of blood dying the entire earth as it flowed like a river.


    Alex''s eyes became red from deep sorrow and great anger. This person had just used a form of high-rank cultivator power to slay all the saint-tier beasts he summoned to help him in his cause.


    Anguish and deep bitterness filled his soul at the amounts of beasts he just lost. He wasn''t expecting this.


    With regret in his eyes which had began to glisten as tears welled up in them, he looked murderously at the person that produced that power and saw that same guy who he had marked for punishment because of the way he treated those mortals.


    Then an exceedingly great wrath surfaced and began to blaze in his heart!


    He was simply tempted to use the power of destruction of the grand destruction god-eyes. But he withstood the temptation as he asked the young, male saint-stage cultivator in the air.


    "Do you know what you have just done and brought upon your damned self?"


    The person Alex asked this question didn''t reply. He only looked at Alex coldly.


    But he was deeply amazed within at how Alex dodged the immensely powerful, invisible killing move his father prepared for him.


    But he wouldn''t know that something in Alex''s head warned him beforehand of extreme danger.


    The other attacks he unleashed were also prepared for him by his father when coming here. It was for his protection. But he had just used it kill all of Alex''s saint-tier beasts.


    Now that there were no more beasts to battle with, the remaining saint stage cultivators who were now less than hundred from the thousands that had come in here, looked at Alex coldly and with towering killing intents in their eyes.


    Alex gazed at them just as they gazed at him.


    It was him against hundreds now!

 Chapter 159: There is something I can help you with

    Alex, since he was now surrounded by hundreds of Saint stage cultivators developed a tactical approach to this.


    As they looked at him coldly and with perplexity in their eyes, their brows suddenly furrowed as their eyes now began to give off strong hints of shock and amazement.


    Alex at the moment had transformed again. This time, by focusing on the thought of ''Unmatched Evasion'', and using his emotions of rage as a catalyst, he was able to produce a physique that was related to his thought. And the name of the physique was ''Illusionary Speedburst Empyrean Firmament Movement Physique''. Then employing one of the many evasion methods of the physique called ''Shadowless Blur Evasion Method'', he shot away from the six hundred saint stage cultivators.


    Alex was so fast that his speed was hundred times the speed of a peak saint stage cultivator. Very quickly, he had crossed a large distance that he even disappeared from their visions.


    "What?!"


    The Saint stage cultivators who weren''t expecting Alex to do this exclaimed loudly in deep shock.


    "After him! Don''t let him escape!"


    One of the Saint stage cultivators hurriedly said, then the rest came out of their shocked states and tried to chase after Alex, employing the best movement methods known to them.


    But while they were about to do this, a Saint stage cultivator suddenly unleashed a type of high-level cultivation power; the power didn''t belong to the cultivation stage that he was in. Everyone of them could know this because of the frightening aura it put out using their cultivation percipience ability


    As soon as he produced that power, a large, blue-colored disc, composed from speedforce energy appeared below the feet of this cultivator.


    That was the power the Saint stage cultivator unleashed.


    The power of Speed!


    But it was a power that belonged to an higher-stage cultivation expert. It was probably prepared for him by the powerful cultivators from the family or organization he came from to escape from danger or from a deadly chase. But now, he had deployed that power to chase after Alex.


    Once the disc materialized below his feet, and now emitting the power of speed which permeated his body, it affected his perception of everything. His awareness of the movement-velocity of everything around him heightened to an extreme degree. He could now see in ultra-slow motion.


    After being amazed by the power for sometime, the saint stage cultivator said "Go!"


    Then the disc, like it was sentient, shot forward into the distance at a speed that was ten thousand times the speed of sound.


    The saint stage cultivator was so supposed to reduce to nothing for moving at such a speed that was too extreme for his cultivation stage, but the disc that he was on produced an invisible force field that shielded him from the effect of moving at such a tremendously-high speed.


    So being protected from intense air friction, he blazed through the air without any form of worry.


    In the next instant, he met up with Alex who was flying in a straight line, trying his best to give a really great gap between himself and them so he could have enough time to think of what to do next.


    Alex''s eyes narrowed when one of the Saint stage cultivators appeared directly behind him like he had teleported. Then he stopped and turned to look at this person who was now looking at him with haughtiness and a mocking smirk. And at this moment, Alex was starting to feel slight dizziness and pain.


    Not wasting time as he knew a battle was required for him to continue onward, The Purifier''s sword appeared in his hand which he grasped tightly. Then he shot towards the Saint stage cultivator on the floating, blue-colored, movement disc of speed-acceleration energy.


    Alex''s aim was to fly speedily towards the Saint stage cultivator and slash him apart using The Purifier''s sword, but he didn''t know that his speed was just too slow in the Saint stage cultivator''s sight.


    Before Alex could even move an inch towards him, the saint stage cultivator abruptly sent out an energy attack at Alex.


    Bang!


    Alex was struck by it and was knocked heavily away that he lost control of the flight ability the physique gave him and plummeted to the ground from that altitude.


    Boom!


    He landed to the ground very hard and coughed out blood from his impact with the hard earth.


    Right now, he was struck by extreme dizziness.


    Alex couldn''t dodge the attack or respond in time to it as the attack was super-fast. It speed was augmented to the extreme by the power of speed emanating from the disc, making it impossible for Alex to try to block it or evade it.


    The robe he wore protected him from the damaging power of the attack, but because he crashed into the earth from that altitude with his back, the air in his lungs was forcefully expelled from it, while blood spouted from his mouth due to the shock transmitted to his body from the heavy impact with the solid ground.


    The disc lowered to float some feet above Alex who was on the ground with his back in a small crater he made into the earth from his high-altitude plummet.


    Now looking at Alex, the Saint stage cultivator asked in a curious tone "His did you get into this place?"


    Alex only ignored him and stood to his feet. Then suddenly, a constraining force appeared and acted on his body. Alex now felt as if he was bound up in a shackle that was wrapped over his body a hundred times. If not that had had a tough body, he would have exploded into mist of blood.


    The Saint stage cultivator put out this amount of suppressive force to compel Alex to tell him the process by which he was able to enter this place.


    He believed that some treasure was what Alex used in gaining a successful, stealth entrance into the legacy acquisition battle-ground they were on. And that if he could get it, he would be able to use it to enter every legacy place in the realmverse.


    Thinking of this made him laugh inwardly. But he couldn''t help but be amazed by Alex''s luck. That was a golden, custom-made, tremendous luck Alex had, for him to be able to acquire such treasure.


    "Tell me how you did it or you will die!" The Saint stage cultivator demanded in a threatening tone.


    Alex simply ignored him again.


    It was like the Saint stage cultivator before him was nonexistent.


    Then the invisible force acting on him increased in power, causing Alex to scream out in pain and fury.


    "That''s it!" Alex said coldly and with unbridled killing intent in his eyes.


    Then he activated the Blackstar Ominous Flameburst array contained in a pocket dimension compressed into the robe he wore.


    Upon activation, the grey robe glowed in a black light and gave out a heat that would turn tons of thick, solid steel into molten steel in an instant. Then in the next second, a massive burst of black-colored flame discharged from the robe and swept out with an astonishingly powerful, concussive-like shattering force into the far distance in all directions.


    Carrying a heat that was more than seventy thousand degree celsius and moving with a kinetic force that would cause mountains to shatter into bits, the earth directly below it, and for a thousand feet cracked from the immense destructive force acting on it. Also, the large area of earth affected by the devastating force also turned into molten magma because of the vast-degree temperature emanating from the tremendous burst of black flame.


    The Saint stage cultivator who was directly in front of Alex once he noticed the abrupt, astronomical increase in temperature of his surrounding quickly shot away. If he were half a second late, the fast-moving, gigantic burst of exceedingly-hot fire would engulf him and reduce him to nothing. He would simply vanish into thin air.


    Seeing that the Saint stage cultivator had shot far away for fear of his life, Alex who was enclosed in a resplendent globe of energy that shielded him from the super-inferno burst that was discharged by the offense-purpose, flame-releasing array of his robe quickly put pills into his mouth.


    Then after having his soul refreshed and gaining some energy, he quickly focused on a thought and produced a flight-purpose physique.


    When he transformed, he shot away before the others would arrive.


    More than forty seconds later, Alex stopped at a place and reversed his transformation. Then he sent his awareness into the Azure Beastsman''s treasure palace.


    "Palace spirit, please bring me into the palace hall"


    Immediately he said this, the Azure Beastsman palace shot out from his mom''s spatial ring and produced a spatial transference power.


    Space warped around Alex and he vanished from the spot he stood at and appeared in the hall of the palace.


    Then the Azure Beastsman palace also vanished from the spot in space it floated in. Actually, it was still there. It only entered another spatial layer to conceal itself from the Saint stage cultivators.


    Once Alex appeared in the palace, he gave a ''Whew!'' sound as he collapsed to the ground and remained there, stretching himself.


    "Damn it! All these bastards have one core of power or the other given to them by powerful experts from the family or organization they are from. Now, how to beat these bastards who are doing their stupid best to search for me? Damn! Just damn! Beating them by my power is going to be impossible. I can''t beat these assholes. It would be tremendously difficult for me. Or do I forget about the legacy? Nah, I can''t do that. But how would I get it now that they are all after me? Can I use treasures to solve this?" Alex thought.


    Then he shook his head. He couldn''t go with that.


    The aura of power that would be produced by the advanced weapons for higher-stage cultivation experts would simply tear him apart before even the legacy-bestowing spirit would be able to save him.


    "Young Master, I have observed your abilities and now understand it. There is something I can help you with" A feminine voice suddenly rang in Alex''s mind. This was the voice of Ashbolt, the artifact-spirit of the danger-signaling treasure in the region between Alex''s brows.

 Chapter 160: Sovereign-level physique

    "Huh? Ashbolt, how would you be able to help me?" Alex asked in a surprised tone.


    "Actually, I am about to help you cheat. I am not supposed to do so, but seeing your intense struggle against the Saint stage cultivators, I can''t just seat back and do nothing. I want you to acquire the legacy. So, the help I want to render is a particular pill which I want to give to you. The name of the pill is Golden Revolution Soul Powering pill. It''s actually a pill for high-level soul cultivators. Therefore, it makes me not comfortable in giving you the pill. But I would give it to you. But remember, if you feel that it''s too powerful for you to imbibe, don''t force yourself to do so" Ashbolt replied.


    "Hmm." Alex nodded


    "Let me see it." He said.


    Then the empty space in front of him distorted and a large, golden pill appeared. As it appeared, it began to release bone-chilling, palpable waves of soul power; just from the power coming from the pill, Alex knew that he shouldn''t try to swallow it or he could simply die.


    As the pill self-floated in the air and continually produced dreadful waves of soul power that even caused the air around it to churn, Alex began to ponder over many things in his mind. One of them was if his body could handle it. Not really his body, but his soul. He wondered if his soul would be able to withstand the immense amount of energy that would be produced by the pill once it dissolves after he had swallowed it. Just thinking of the violent flood of energy that would rush into his soul-dwelling region sent chills down his spine. He was simply terrified by the power coming from it.


    With deep contemplation which went on for more than thirty minutes, Alex decided to take the pill after reinforcing his belief in his body and soul''s resilience.


    He walked closer to the pill that self-floated in the air and stretched out his right hand to grasp it. But to his shock, he found out that he couldn''t grasp the pill. The waves of power coming from the pill made it so that Alex''s hand couldn''t close around it.


    "What?" Alex said out loud in a shocked tone.


    "How to take it and swallow?" Alex questioned in his mind.


    Then Alex began to make some calculations in his head.


    "Well, that can only be the way" He mentioned inwardly.


    He closed his eyes and focused on some words. He wasn''t sure if he would get what he wanted as that was the thought in his mind, but he had to try anyways; for the legacy.


    The words Alex focused on were ''Strongest, Unparalleled Physiques''.


    Although there could be nothing like that, he had to give it a try.


    The protoforce energy residing in his soul was stimulated by his emotions as it began to revolve in it. And as it revolved, it yielded a realm connection power. The power which was a dimension-bridging power linked Alex''s soul to the strange, arcane realm where near-countless congregations of mystical symbols which appeared in form of spectacular and terrifying, illusionary powered-bodies were.


    Once it did, Alex when he opened his eyes saw himself in that dimension; but with widened eyes because of intense shock.


    He saw himself in front of ''bodies'' that were overly huge. But they were each enclosed in extremely massive spheres that prevented their vast calamitous powers from emanating outwards.


    Alex then looked at one of the bodies which were exceedingly tall and colossal in size with deep awe and veneration in his eyes. He couldn''t help but marvel at the power erupting from it.


    Alex was like a small dot in front of these massive bodies. One could compare his size to that of the Bodies as a grain of sand to a tall mountain. That was the degree of their hugeness. Actually, these bodies were as large as a small world. And a small world was a Mortalverse (Planeverse), the smallest cultivation world that mortals lived in. Just like the one Alex inhabited presently. That was how large the bodies were.


    "No! I can''t do this" Alex shook his head.


    Judging from their sizes, Alex felt that they shouldn''t be the kind of power that he should borrow. He felt that it wouldn''t only wipe out his soul, his body would burst into mist of blood.


    Just as he wanted to try to leave the realm, a thought came to his mind.


    Then with irregular breathing resulting from deep fear, Alex asked inwardly ''would it work?''.


    He was very fearful for his safety at the moment.


    Then after going through his plan well for hours in this realm which wasn''t affected by time, he nodded his head as he said "For the legacy".


    His soul which was in the actual form of his real body approached one of the spheres. He touched it with soul-hands, then instantly, his soul got pulled into the sphere. Then the world-sized, illusory body of seemingly boundless divine power changed into it true form which were billions of ancient symbols and fused with Alex''s soul-body. Then Alex''s soul was returned to his body after a successful fusion.


    The instant he appeared in his body which looked like he had just be gone for half a second, without utilizing the transformation method of the physique, his body rapidly changed.


    Seeing the transformation going on, Alex didn''t waste time. Very quickly, he shot towards the self-floating, golden soul pill and took it into his mouth without care and fear of the frightening waves of power continuously emitting from it.


    Since he had now transformed, his mouth could handle the rippling pulses of palpable, fearsome soul-power that was endlessly discharging from the pill.


    Then with a swallowing action, the pill went down his throat to his stomach and turned into a vast amount of soul energy that instantly shot to his soul-dwelling region. It was like a towering, highly destructive, raging flood as it moved to Alex''s soul-dwelling region. From the amount that it produced and the tyranny it moved with, it gave Alex the feeling that it simply wanted to destroy his soul. But he hoped that this wouldn''t happen.


    When the symbols fused with Alex''s soul-body, a name appeared in his mind.


    ''Grand Primordial Apocalyptic Lightning Tyrant Sovereign-Physique''


    Alex had actually chose to produce a lightning-generating physique. And unknowing to him, he had chose a sovereign-type physique.


    A moment after he swallowed the pill in his transformed state, astonishing amounts of electricity suddenly discharged from his body and this caused the Azure Beastsman palace-spirit to quickly evict Alex.


    Appearing outside the palace, the palace then shot into his mom''s spatial ring.


    At the moment, Alex''s entire skin was dark scarlet in color and his body was covered with dark violet electricity. Then as a sovereign-type physique, the dark violet arcing about on Alex''s body actually formed into an armor that had a cape which mysteriously fluttered in the absence of wind. A dark violet crown formed out of dark violet electricity could be seen floating atop his head.


    His long black hair had turned into strands of dark violet electricity and if one looked into his eyes, one would see dark blue electricity arcing within it.


    He simply looked majestic, divine and dreadful. Anyone who looked at him would think he was an unaging, immortal God of Thunder. This was the way he would be portrayed to anyone that saw him.


    Then behind him was the image of a gigantic, illusory figure that sat on a large, ruby-colored throne. The figure was utterly massive that only it head would completely overshadow an entire mountain range. So one could imagine how large the body would be. And astonishingly, the figure had the hideous, scarred face of the student of the Scarlet Flame academy that Alex morphed his face into to conceal his identity. If Alex didn''t change his face, it would be his peerlessly handsome face that would appear in the face of the mighty-looking figure behind him. At this moment, the figure''s gaze was ice-cold and it exuded an aura of aloofness and lordliness. It was like all were ants before it as it seemed like a Peerless Divine Ruler over gods and demons.


    Then on this figure could be seen an armor and a crown. The armor which was shiny black in color had dark violet electricity and dark blue electricity pulsate about on it surface. Then the crown which was black too in colour and had two horns by it sides also had two-colored electricity arcing about on it glowing black surface, giving off loud crackling sounds. Then floating behind it as it seated on it enormous, ruby-colored throne were two massive, blood-colored halberds which were crossed. All these gave one the feeling of unmatched barbarousness and heaven-warring tyrannical strength.

 Chapter 161: Overpowering!

    Few moments later after Alex transformed and was quickly evicted from the Azure Beastsman palace by the palace-spirit because of the vast number of lightning bolts that suddenly, uncontrollably discharged from his body, his skin which was in this marveling form actually began to crack and rip apart. It couldn''t withstand the tremendous pressure acting on it. As it tore apart, it caused Alex great, unbearable pain as he groaned, gnashing his teeth hard that they could almost shatter. Also, his bones weren''t spared from this crushing pressure, they began to crack one after the other that Alex''s skeletal framework which was cracking and breaking very fast began to sound like hundreds of crackers that were lit with flames. Even his organs had turned to mush. Except his heart which was protected by an enveloping force field that continuously emanated from his dad''s spatial necklace which had sank into his body.


    The cold look in Alex''s eyes at this point in time had vanished and was replaced by look of misery and intense agony.


    He surely wouldn''t be able to endure this for long.


    Alex should have collapsed to the ground. But because of the flight power of the physique, he remained afloat in the air and tried his best to endure the pain just so he could do what he wanted to do next.


    What he deduced in his head actually worked out well. Alex''s soul was actually able to withstand the vast consumption of soul energy by the physique that he produced.


    The pill that he swallowed acted as a seemingly inexhaustible source of soul energy as it continuously powered the astronomically powerful form Alex had taken; the physique although was a saint-tier physique because Alex''s comprehension of it profoundness stopped at the saint stage cultivation realm, it power was actually far greater than that as it approached the sage-level cultivation stage. So summarily, Alex''s understanding of it mysteries stopped at the Saint level, but the power of the physique approached that of a very high cultivation level. It was right for this physique to have such power as it was a sovereign-type physique, one that ruled over all. One could only imagine the power of the physique if Alex''s comprehension stopped at a cultivation stage that was higher than the Saint stage. That was simply why Alex''s special body couldn''t handle the power produced by it.


    Therefore, because of the immense amount of energy produced by the pill, Alex''s soul was spared from having his soul sucked completely dry of it energy and possibly dispersing in the process, resulting in his unfortunate death.


    The pill he swallowed gave the physique the energy it needed. Yet, despite the great amount of energy it yielded, it was quickly getting depleted. And this was a pill that would be enough for a high-level soul cultivator to cultivate the soul from the fundamental phase to the zenith phase. Right now, in a mere couple of seconds, the soul energy which was produced by the pill upon dissolution had rapidly reduced that it was now three-tenth of the original quantity that was initially generated.


    Not long, despite in this form, part of his body began to burst into mists of blood and this caused Alex great pain as he screamed out loud in misery and agony.


    ...


    When the illusory figure appeared behind Alex, because of it towering form, the whole six hundred saint stage cultivators scattered about in the legacy acquisition-battle ground in search of Alex saw the colossal, lofty figure and became exceedingly amazed.


    "What the hell is this?"


    "Where did this come from?"


    Then after recovering from their deep amazement, they shot towards where the figure was at great speeds.


    So flying at great speeds, in a few moments, they arrived in front of Alex, but many feet away. In their eyes could be seen intense marvel which also radiated fear.


    Once they arrived, Alex didn''t waste time. It was good that they had all gathered. And being an excellent multi-tasker, he simultaneously deployed four of the battle-methods of the physique.


    ''Nine-Layered Clouds of Deity Extermination''


    ''Thunderworld Expansion''


    ''Devouring Ripples Of Chaotic Fury''


    ''Realm-Collapsing Electricity Geyser''


    Once he utilized the battle-methods, in an instant, four tremendously powerful attacks surfaced.


    The first was a vast nine-layered cloud. It was so enormous in size that it seemed to span the sky. But this cloud was mystifying as it was dark violet and blue in color. It did not have the usual white color of normal rainclouds.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!...


    Deafening peals of thunder rampantly rang out from this multi-layered cloud, and each peal caused the earth to tremble and the blood of the Saint stage cultivators to churn.


    As soon as the layered cloud appeared and the peals rang out, enormous, cylindrical columns of dual-colored electricity discharged from it. These columns which were violet-blue in color and were thirty-feet wide struck the earth with tyranny. It was like they wanted to penetrate to the center of the mortal world. So one could only imagine the amount of destructive power they would each produce.


    The second was a vast-sized sphere of electricity that appeared in front of Alex and expanded outwards at a great speed, encircling everything in an instant. This sphere nearly enveloped everything in this place. Then the air became mysteriously charged with electricity. One couldn''t inhale it or one would feel a terrible sting in his nostrils and lungs. And like a thundercloud in the form of a sphere, nearly-countless lightning bolts which were twenty-feet thick surfaced and shot about within the sphere, in a criss-crossing manner. These bolts actually emerged from the surface of the sphere and shot about within it, trying to annihilate everything in their path.


    The third attack were large, visible ripples that spread out in all directions from Alex''s body. These ripples were purely composed from electricity and moved with a kinetic force and solidness that would level mountains when they are struck by them.


    And for the last was a seemingly boundless amount of lightning bolts that exploded outwards from Alex''s body.


    These four types of lightning-based attacks struck out at once, impacting the Saint stage cultivators with an overwhelming will to destroy and slaughter all in their path. There was simply no path of escape for the Saint stage cultivators. Besides, the phenomenal attacks appeared too sudden that they couldn''t produce any form of defensive barrier of energy to protect themselves from the onslaught. But they weren''t killed in the process as space distorted around everyone of them and were instantly teleported away.


    While they kept vanishing as the attacks would nearly impact them, Alex''s body suddenly froze. Then it turned pale-white and collapsed to the ground with his front. He smashed his face, chest, groin and knee into the earth. But that wouldn''t be much of a pain for Alex as he wasn''t too high in the air. But at the moment, Alex''s entire arms were missing. They had probably exploded into bits. Even his legs, from his knees downwards had vanished. Blood gushed out unstoppably from Alex''s shoulders and knees which looked like his forearms and legs were ripped away from them.


    Why Alex''s body suddenly stiffened was because when he released the attacks just so he could evict the saint stage cultivators, the physique which needed energy to do that, instantly sucked away all the energy available to it. It instantaneously, entirely devoured the soul energy produced by the pill and then Alex''s own to a great extent. So there was little to no energy for Alex''s soul to continue existing. At the moment, he looked dead as the remaining part of his body were very stiff and cold. But his heart was still slowly beating.


    The Azure Beastsman''s treasure palace appeared as it shot out from Alex''s mom''s spatial ring. Then it quickly produced a spatial manipulation power that brought Alex''s badly damaged body into the hall of the palace. In the next instant, a regeneration pill appeared above Alex''s mouth and entered it. Then it turned into a large amount of healforce energy that quickly healed Alex''s body. Also, a soul recovery pill and vitality pill appeared and entered Alex''s mouth to help him recover his soul energy and fill him with vitalforce energy just to keep his body working.

 Chapter 162: Enjoyment self-reward

    - Two months later -


    Alex''s eyes suddenly snapped open. When he saw himself in the Azure Beastsman palace hall, he calmed. Then after a while, he tried standing to his feet, but an intense aching pain suddenly manifested and racked his head.


    He held his head with both hands and grunted in pain.


    "Relax kid. You are safe here. You have done a great lot. So continue to relax" A gentle, masculine voice rang out from everywhere.


    Alex nodded.


    Then he lowered himself back to the ground.


    The pain that suddenly afflicted Alex was because his soul was still recovering. It was near the brink of disintegration and dispersal two months ago when he produced the sovereign-type physique to use overwhelming attacking power to evict all the other competitors.


    "Palace spirit, can I get something more comfortable than the tiled ground?" Alex asked.


    Once he mentioned that, space twisted around his body. Then it vanished and appeared in a large room on a huge bed.


    "Haha!" Alex grinned.


    "So comfy!" He spoke.


    Then in a curious tone, he asked "Is this the Azure Beastsman bed?"


    "..."


    There was no reply as the palace spirit simply ignored him.


    Alex didn''t bother to push his question till he got an answer. He simply laid in the enormous bed and enjoyed the comfortability.


    After a while, Alex spoke "Palace spirit, this place is kinda cold. Can you make it warm? Please"


    The instant he mentioned this, the slight coldness of the atmosphere of the room instantly vanished and was replaced with warmth.


    Some minutes later, Alex asked "Palace spirit, how many weeks was I on the ground for?"


    "Two months" A voice rang out from everywhere.


    "What? Two months? Damn! Palace spirit, I am hungry" Alex said rubbing his stomach.


    "Hmm! So, what would you like to eat?" The palace spirit asked.


    "I want a really good fruit wine and lots of well-roasted meats that would produce oil when bitten and chewed" Alex said with a smile.


    "Alright"


    Then a short while later, a table appeared before the bed. And on this table was a big bucket of oily, deep-roasted meat and several large bottles of supreme-quality fruity wines. And expectedly, a force acted on Alex as it raised him to sit upright on the bed so he could eat.


    Since he was supported by this soft force, Alex only experienced a little aching pain in his head.


    "There, wash your hand" The palace spirit said as a small bowl of a colored liquid appeared on the table.


    Alex nodded and dipped his hand into it to wash away all the stains on his hands. Then he brought out his hands which instantly dried and sparkled as if they were polished gemstones.


    Looking at how clean his hands were, he nodded his head. Then he took one of the many large meats and bit on it.


    Chump!


    He bit off a portion into his mouth and started to chew.


    The meat which he held stained his hands and lips with oil. And the small portion that he bit into his mouth produced oil as it was being chewed on in Alex''s mouth.


    "Hmm!" Alex said inwardly.


    He was enjoying the highly tasteful, seasoned meat in his mouth as he chewed and swallowed.


    Chump!


    He tore off another portion from the meat held in his hand with his teeth and began to chew at a calm pace. With oil-stained lips and hand, he gave a serious enjoying look in his face.


    Then with his other free hand, he took a bottle that contained fruity wine and poured it into a small goblet.


    Gulp!


    He drank the wine in the goblet at a go.


    The wine was really sweet.


    "Nice!" Alex said inwardly.


    Alex was enjoying himself at the moment. He knew that he had evicted the other challengers, so it was right for him to reward his hard work with a kingly enjoyment.


    With his tough struggles against the saint stage cultivators, he eventually beat them and would now have the legacy for himself. This brought him joy, delight and gladness. It was a great feat that he had performed and would definitely narrate to his kids.


    With a broad smile in his face, he picked up the goblet which was now filled with a different fruit wine and raised it up into the air, possibly at the palace-spirit.


    "Cheers" He said.


    Then he took the goblet to his mouth and downed it content at a go.


    Many moments later, Alex consumed the whole bucket of meat and several bottles of wine.


    What a voracious appetite he had.


    After sitting for sometime to let the food digest as he knew he had a faster metabolism, he laid back in bed. He was supported by the soft force so he wouldn''t experience pain in lying back on the bed.


    With his back now pressing against the large, soft bed and his head rested against a pillow, Alex went back to sleep.


    .........


    This continued for weeks.


    It was only after a month that Alex came out of the palace. Right now he had fully recovered. He didn''t experience the intense aching pain he usually felt whenever he wanted to sit or stand. Also, he wasn''t in a rush. The legacy was for him and wasn''t going anywhere.


    Once he appeared, he saw the amount of destruction he caused in the earth.


    ''What a powerful and deadly physique. I will never try to summon it again or it would kill me'' He said inwardly as he remembered the ordeal that he went through when he produced the physique.


    A moment later, a voice rang out from everywhere. The voice this time spoke in a gentle manner. It no longer spoke in the harsh tone it used to talk to them during the competition.


    "Young one, you are the only competitor remaining. So since you are the last which signifies your unparalleled battle strength and amazing valiance, then you are the one the legacy would go to. Congratulations"


    Alex nodded his head with a smile.


    He was glad too.


    Extremely glad!


    "What''s your name?" The legacy-bestowing spirit asked.


    "Alex" Alex responded respectfully.


    "Hmm. Alright, I think you can remove your mask now. No one is here to see your true face"


    Alex smiled and nodded.


    Then when he gave a command to the face-altering, concealing mask to return his usual facial look, he began to groan in pain as his skin stretched and twisted, and his bones snapped as they returned to their initial locations.


    A moment later, his usual but unparalleled handsome look returned. Then with a brilliant flash of blue light, the paper-thin, extreme-lightweight mask appeared on his face. It had re-emerged from within his face''s skin since it sank into it to fuse with it a long time ago.


    Once it materialized on Alex''s face, Alex removed the mask that almost felt like air in his hands from his face and stowed it away into his mom''s spatial ring. The mask was a peerless-grade, concealment-purpose treasure crafted for him by his mom. If not that the legacy-bestowing spirit had seen Alex''s face before he entered the legacy acquisition battle ground, it wouldn''t know Alex''s true, epic look.


    "Good!" The spirit said. Then it continued as it questioned Alex "Are you ready for the legacy now?"


    Alex nodded excitedly.


    Then space warped around him and he appeared within the Silver-Violet Sword Banisher temple which floated in the air.


    When Alex appeared in the temple, he couldn''t help but be amazed by the interior of the temple. It was enormously spacious and simply beautiful. Alex then wondered the amounts of supreme-quality or peerless-quality sapphirstones that the Silver-Violet Banisher paid out to treasure-forging, god-grandmasters to forge the treasure-temple. Alex''s eyes glowed interminably in deep marvel.


    "Go on! Just don''t stand there kid" A voice rang out.


    Alex was knocked out of his marveling state and continued to walk till he appeared some feet before a massive, shiny statue formed from metal.


    The statue before Alex belonged to the Silver-Violet Sword Banisher. It radiated power, strength, fearlessness and the feeling that it would sever all in it path.


    "The statue that''s before you is in the image of my highly famed master. And what I mean by highly famed is that he was known in almost all the worlds. Right from the Planeverse, a mortal world to the Greatverse, a grand world. I know that a lot of cultivation experts would be deeply wondering why my master chose this world for his legacy to appear in. But there is no suspense or mystery behind this as he was from this particular Planeverse" The palace spirit said.


    Alex''s eyes widened in shock from what he just heard. His eyes basically screamed of intense astonishment.


    Then Alex shook his head after he came out of his deeply amazed state.


    Now he understood why the legacy of such an expert would appear in this world.


    Then Alex began to think.


    He thought of all the struggles the Silver-Violet Sword Banisher would have gone through to possess the fearsome power he had. Alex then shook his head again as he couldn''t imagine what he could have gone through just before he could reach the high cultivation stage that he attained.

 Chapter 163: Sword Cultivation, successful at first try

    If Alex knew he that he was in a cultivation stage that was just below the Supreme Alpha Eternal stage, he might possibly faint from shock.


    How many consummate resources would he use to bring his cultivation to that level? How many obstacles would he face just before he could reach that stage? The depth of his perseverance was simply fathomless.


    Then the spirit continued, "I know that you are thinking of the amount of hardships my master would have probably gone through just so he could reach the cultivation stage that he attained. Don''t just think too much about it. Actually, my master, when he was very young came across an ancient sword methodology. It was so profound that even at the apex cultivation stage that he was in, he could only comprehend about seventy-five percent of it profundity. So since he fortunately got the methodology from this mortal world, then he too tried doing the same, by leaving his legacy behind in the world he came from with the hope that a cultivator born and bred in it would acquire his possessions. Fortunately, my Master''s wish came true. Alright. Enough has been spoken. It''s time for the legacy methodology transmission."


    Alex gave a broad smile and nodded joyfully at the same time.


    ''So because the Silver-Violet Sword Banisher got an extremely profound, ancient sword expert''s sword-cultivation methodology from this world, he too then decided to leave his inheritance in this world for the cultivation experts of the younger generations. How generous and considerate of him.'' Alex said inwardly. Then he continued'' Silver-Violet Sword Banisher, thanks for the immense opportunity that you have given me to become stronger. I promise that, I, as your successor won''t drive your name into the mud.''


    As Alex was thinking, his chain of thoughts was broken when the voice of the legacy-bestowing spirit sounded out.


    "Step on the raised blue platform in front of you"


    Alex nodded and walked forward to step on an elevated, blue-colored platform that was a few feet in front of him .


    A second after he stood on the platform and the platform sank to level with the tiled ground, the center of the statue''s forehead began to glow. Then a thin ray of light shot forth from it towards the center of Alex''s forehead. The ray penetrated into his head and turned into memories. Some of these memories contained images of the Silver-Violet Sword Banisher, while the rest turned into information on plethoric pill-making techniques, formation grandmaster-level array-laying methods, weapon-crafting methods, and ultimately, the sword methodology he developed using the ancient sword methodology as reference, the ''Banishment Sword methodology''.


    Alex whose eyes were closed as he received the transmission shook his head in awe.


    The Banishment Sword methodology was a Supernal Battle Entity-grade (A-grade) trinity methodology which contained large numbers of techniques that possessed great offensive power and astonishing movement techniques.


    Many hours later, he completely received the entire transmission. The content of the methodology was simply too vast. Not only that, the information about other things that he received were huge in size.


    When the ray of light thinned out as it ceased transmitting, Alex clasped his fist before the silver Violet Sword Banisher statue and gave his thanks.


    "Good. Now, the next thing is to cultivate swordforce energy." The voice of the legacy-bestowing spirit rang out.


    "What? No! Senior, I don''t think I would want to cultivate swordforce energy. My cultivation speed is just too slow as I am a Cultivation-deviant. Therefore, if I try to cultivate a new realm-energy, my cultivation speed would decrease again and this wouldn''t be too good for me. You are a senior that possesses knowledge of myriad of things. So senior should be able to understand why I can''t cultivate swordforce energy." Alex immediately said.


    He wouldn''t want to cultivate swordforce energy as it would terribly lower his already slow cultivation speed.


    "Hmm" The legacy-bestowing spirit said. Then it continued, "Well, I understand your plight. But there would be no point in having the legacy''s methodology since you won''t cultivate the realm-energy related to it. Anyways, I can help you. There is a time-control room somewhere in this temple. In there, time is slowed down to a great extent. A day in there is three months in the outside world. You would even be able to increase the time ratio between here and the outside world when you understand my master''s sword methodology to a high extent." The legacy-bestowing spirit said.


    Alex''s eyes narrowed.


    "Senior, there is a time control room in this temple? And the sword methodology, is time related to it?" He asked with hints of shock and curiousness radiating from his tone.


    "Yes, Alex. The room has a time-control array. The array is a temporal acceleration array that reduces the flow of time. So once you can understand the methodology, you would be able to increase the time ratio between this temple and that of the outside word using the array. And to your other question, yes! The Banishment Sword methodology involves both cultivation of time and sword. At an advanced stage, you would have to cultivate chronoforce energy which is also called temporal manipulation energy" The legacy-bestowing spirit replied.


    ''Damn cool!'' Alex said inwardly.


    "Alright, senior. In that case, I will cultivate swordforce energy" He said.


    "Good" The legacy-bestowing spirit said.


    Then Alex''s body vanished and he appeared in a large, marble-walled empty room.


    When he appeared in the room, he saw no array and began to wonder where the array would be. Then he looked at the ground and made a guess that the array was beneath the tiled floor.


    As soon as he guessed the location of the array, he suddenly felt strange. This was because the flow of time suddenly increased. If it were other people, they wouldn''t notice the huge rise in the rate of flow of time. But Alex was able to because he had a powerful perception. He could sense the sudden, massive increase in temporal flow.


    He then knew that the palace-spirit had activated the time-control array. So he sat in the cross-legged position on the tiled floor and began to contemplate the sword and it properties; that is, it characteristics.


    ''What is the sword? The sword is a flat instrument that''s broad or thin and possesses sharpness. With it sharpness, it can be used to cut everything. So this makes it an instrument of tyranny, fearsomeness and death. People''s thought of the superphysical power of sword is that it can be used to slash all in their path and reign supreme, but mine is to lacerate everything in my path to liberation. It''s my key to freedom from all forms of shackles. With it, I will sever everything that obstruct my way. With it, I will use it to gain freedom from all kinds of oppressions and walk the vast earth and soar the sea of firmaments with unstoppable momentum and insurmountability. With the sword, I will liberate myself and the ones I love and care about from suppression and limitation. That''s what the power of the sword is to me. The power of freedom!'' Alex said inwardly.


    This was Alex''s understanding of the sword.


    Every sword cultivator in this realmverse had their own peculiar understanding of the way and might of the sword. But this was Alex''s comprehension of it. He understood the sword as an instrument of liberty, as a tool to freedom from enslavement or captivity. And since nothing can restrain him or hold him back; shackles, cuffs or binds, then he is a government of only himself and for himself. He is a sovereignty. One who is an existence not ruled over by any being. He would be under no entity. He would be someone who cannot be subjugated by any means since he has the power of freedom and liberation; no one can limit him.


    Now in possession of an absolute, deep understanding of the mystical power and arcane capability of the sword that was unique to only him, he suddenly began to hear acute, keening sounds.


    ''I actually did it'' Alex said inwardly.


    Then he opened his eyes and could see ribbons of a golden-colored energy around him. Since he had now tuned his physical senses, perceptions and cultivation-sense to the frequency of swordforce energy, he could see and perceive them. He could hear whistling and keening sounds continuously emitting from them, and could feel their power of sharpness on his skin. His eyes shone with intense amazement and extreme gladness.


    The spirit where it was observing Alex had it eyes glow with shock and marvel. Since it was a sword-cultivating treasure-spirit, it could see the ribbons of energy circulating around Alex. But what made it deeply amazed was the color Alex''s swordforce energy had taken. It was golden!


    Alex''s swordforce energy was golden in appearance because of his heaven-severing conviction; which was to cut everything in his path into halves, even the heavens and the gods that dwell in it if they try to stand in his path. And then because of his resolution which was to be free from all forms of restraints and soar across the vast skies of the sea of worlds independently.


    The sharpness-energy (swordforce energy) Alex actually attuned his senses to was the one that possessed a sovereign-will and a liberation-will. These were the will to exist as a government under no government, to be a sovereign, a ruler and dictator of oneself and the will to liberate everything from incarceration and oppression respectively.


    Alex then employed the absorption method of the Banishment Sword methodology.


    Very quickly, large bundles of the energy began to flow into his body through his pores and along his energy meridians to his energyhouse.


    Alex grunted in pain as they cut apart his skin and entered into his vastly-elastic energy channels which accommodated the great quantity of swordforce energy which flowed in a rampaging manner in it to his energyhouse.


    Like that, Alex was covered in blood and began to groan miserably as he cultivated the energy.


    He wouldn''t be covered in blood if he used the Sword Beginner-rank cultivation method. But because he was using the Supreme Sword Paragon-rank cultivation method of the Banishment Sword methodology which was a fast-rate, energy-gathering method, it immersed him in agonizing pain as the large amount of energy that had materialized cut apart his skin from the pores to enter into his body.


    Alex was doing this to rapidly cultivate swordforce energy even if there was a temporal acceleration factor which was generated by the time-control array.


    - Two months later -


    Groaning in misery, with reddened eyes and green veins popping from the temples of his head, Alex struggled to cultivate swordforce energy from the initial-phase entry stage to the mid-phase entry stage.


    Another two months passed and he upped his cultivation of swordforce energy from the mid-phase entry stage to the late-phase entry stage.


    ........


    Four more months went by and Alex''s cultivation of swordforce energy reached the half-step condensation stage.

 Chapter 164: Devourer of energies, rapid cultivation growth

    But now, he had problem in advancing his cultivation of swordforce energy to make it step into the condensation stage.


    Just like the others, he now needs pills for the cultivation of swordforce energy. And not entry-rank or condensation-rank pills, but earth-rank pills as only them would give him the great amount of energy he needs to step his cultivation of swordforce energy into the condensation stage.


    But where would he get pills that would yield swordforce energy for his continued cultivation of it?


    That was Alex''s problem at the moment.


    His eyes snapped open as he said out loud in an unhappy tone.


    "Temple-spirit, I now have problem with cultivating swordforce energy"


    "Hmm... I will see to that" A caring, all-directional voice sounded out.


    Then few seconds later, a large vase appeared in front of Alex. The vase had a diameter of twenty feet and and was more than forty feet tall.


    Once it appeared, with abstruse symbols inscribed into it entire surface, Alex''s eyes began to shine with amazement.


    ''What a huge vase'' He mentioned inwardly.


    Then he asked "Temple-spirit, what''s this vase?"


    "The vase in front of you is an energy storage vase. There are many of this type of vase in this temple. This one is the lowest in size of them all."


    "Cool" Alex said inwardly. Then he questioned again "What energy do they store?"


    "Swordforce energy" The temple-spirit replied.


    "What? How is that possible?" Alex asked in a surprised and curious tone.


    "Well, anything is possible in this cultivation world once you can set your mind to it. So like I mentioned earlier, the vase is an energy storage vase. The swordforce energy it contains was discharged into it by my master. Since he would die as death is inevitable, it would be a great waste if the swordforce energy contained in his energyhouse leaves his body through his pores and returns to the realmverse. So he devised a method to preserve the energy. And the method was pumping the entire swordforce energy that he cultivated into storage vessels, for the use of his legacy-inheritor." The temple-spirit said and this caused Alex''s to glitter with light of marvel.


    Alex didn''t know that this was also possible. He then felt that he only knew little of the infinitely vast cultivation multiverse and the ways or the methods of beings inhabiting the millions of worlds.


    Then the spirit continued "Alex, the swordforce energy you attuned your senses to was an hegemon-rank swordforce energy, one that cannot be conquered by anything or be restricted in any way. I believe that you noticed it golden color. That color symbolizes the highest tier of government, a government that is above all other governments, its actions cannot be questioned. It''s one that will allow you to sever all forms of bonds and cut all in your path as it possesses the will to liberate from all oppression and constrains. With the energy, you will traverse the firmament and walk the earth fearlessly because you are an overlord. Your path cannot be hindered or obstructed...."


    Alex''s mind shook because of what was being mentioned by the temple-spirit.


    So that was the tier of swordforce energy he tuned his perception to. The highest and strongest of them all. He was simply amazed and glad. His journey to becoming the strongest was being slowly realized. He nodded his head with a broad, joyful smile.


    "... So where am I driving at with this? The energy stored in the vase is different from yours. It has it own properties. Therefore, if you try to absorb it, they might conflict and cause harm to your cultivation. But this has been thought about by my master and he has done something about it. The energy in the vase and in the other vases have been purged. That is, they have been purified. So before you start to absorb after you have resumed your cultivation, I want you to check your memory. Thee is a methodology called ''Profound Principle Rebirth and Transformation'' methodology. With the methodology, you can change any purged form of cultivation energy into the ones you have attuned your awareness to. Enough has been spoken! It''s time for you to resume your cultivation."


    Alex nodded as his shone with seriousness and determination.


    The lid of the vase opened and a silver-colored energy emanating power of tyrannical sharpness that cleaved the air apart began to discharge outwards from within the vase in the form of a gas.


    This energy which was in the gaseous phase saturated the entire room, enshrouding Alex''s figure completely in the process.


    Still seated in the cross-legged position on the ground, Alex resumed his cultivation as he employed the method of the methodology the temple-spirit told him about.


    The energy which had engulfed his figure, totally concealing it from view began to move into Alex''s body through his pores, wisps by wisps, but at a fast rate.


    So by utilizing the method which would allow the silver swordforce energy gain the properties or characteristics of his golden swordforce energy, they began to change, also becoming a golden-colored swordforce energy.


    Following what was described in the methodology, which was to firstly infuse his unique, profound comprehension of the way of the sword into each and every strands of silver laceration-energy entering his body, then allowing them to merge with the golden swordforce energy in his energyhouse since they now possess the same attributes which were the characteristics of bondage-breaking and salvation or deliverance, they too then turned into golden swordforce energy.


    Then they too would merge with the other incoming strands of energy which already contained Alex''s deep understanding of the capability of the sword, transmuting them in the process.


    So it was by this process that the silver swordforce energy that flowed into Alex'' body turned into golden swordforce energy.


    Although it seemed like it would take a very long time, but it was very short for Alex. It was very fast for him.


    Rapidly, the strands of silver-colored, sharpness-energy that entered his body turned golden.


    Alex at this point in time had become like a black hole as his body which was a physique devoured all the energy around him very quickly, at a rate that even godlike experts who nothing can amaze again since they have seen and understood myriad of things during the countless eons of years of their existence would look at Alex with sharp, glittering eyes.


    His body actually produced an attractive power that pulled all the energy around him into it and then along his energy meridians (force-arteries) to his energyhouse.


    The temple-spirit that was observing Alex was deeply shocked by what it was witnessing. It then began to wonder when Alex would stop giving it surprises.


    All the time Alex had spent here, he had given the temple-spirit too many surprises that the temple-spirit began to feel that many of the things that it ever knew were now obsolete; outdated. It felt like majority of the knowledge it possessed about so many things were now invalid.


    Looking at Alex with a light of astoundment in it wisdom-filled eyes, it noticed how the energy which existed in the gaseous phase and concealed Alex''s figure disappeared very quickly. And this amount of energy that enveloped Alex, shrouding him, was one that would take more than a hundred cultivators many months to fully absorb. But now, it vanished very quickly like it was some meagre amount of energy. This gave the feeling that Alex wasn''t human but a primordial beast with a fathomless appetite.


    "What a phenomenal cultivation ability" The temple-spirit said in a deeply amazed tone.


    It too was glad that it was Alex that inherited its master''s legacy or it and its late master would have suffered the greatest, irrevocable loss.


    At the moment, Alex''s body which was a physique had mystifying patterns all over it. These patterns glowed as they produced the power that pulled in the energy very rapidly into Alex''s body.


    Alex actually didn''t know what was going on as he fully concentrated on the task at hand. He was using his unmatched, multi-tasking ability as he infused each and every wisp of silver swordforce energy with his unique comprehension to make them fusible with his golden swordforce energy. Any other person doing this would spend years doing it. But Alex had spent only few hours because of his unparalleled ability at multi-tasking, which was further augmented by his ''Ultra Perception State'' that gave him an extreme degree of concentration. Therefore, he wouldn''t be aware of what was happening, of what his body was doing. He missed it or he would have discovered something new about himself.


    But as he utilized the method to change the silver swordforce energy into golden swordforce energy, he saw that his energy level; the quantity of golden swordforce energy in his energyhouse was rising too fast. Also, he felt really good in the form that his body had taken. He didn''t experience pain like before. Instead, he felt a wonderful sensation wash through his body and bring him peace, calmness and a feeling of harmony; oneness with the world.


    Since he was exceedingly glad at the way energy rushed into his body and without causing him heart-rending pain in the process, he subconsciously muttered ''Devour'' inwardly.


    Then the entire, strange symbols on his body produced a brilliant, resplendent light that dyed the ground in it color and put out a power that pulled in a larger amount of energy into his body. And because of this, the massive vase began to tremble as the astronomical-scale suction force produced by the physique acted on it. Although it wouldn''t fly towards Alex as it was enormously weighty, the entire energy stored in it exploded out, resembling a gigantic mushroom cloud. Then this huge mass of energy shot towards Alex like an exceedingly furious, destructive flood. Like it simply wanted to disintegrate him.


    Very quickly, since the swordforce energy cultivation had reached the condensation stage, it rapidly shot up from the initial-phase condensation stage to the mid-phase condensation stage. Then to the late-phase condensation stage in an hour, and finally to the peak-phase condensation stage after a few hours.


    But Alex didn''t stop there. He continued to cultivate till his swordforce energy reached the half-step earth adept stage after many days. Twenty days to be precise.


    It was here that Alex stopped. Since he had gotten to the half-step earth adept stage, he wouldn''t enter it till he brought all his other energies to this level before he could officially enter the earth adept stage.


    ''This is nice'' Alex said inwardly in a happy tone as he opened his eyes.


    By now, the patterns on his body had vanished since he had subconsciously given his body the order to stop since he wanted to end his cultivation. Not really end, he still wanted to cultivate his other energies. So, since there was a time acceleration factor, he would use it to his maximal satisfaction.


    In the next moment, hundreds of different, peerless-grade, earth-rank pills appeared before him on the tiled floor on ten, large, flat plates. These were only for the ten of the sixteen energies that he cultivated. The remaining five which were strengthforce energy, phantasmforce energy, radiantforce energy, darkforce energy and speedforce energy didn''t have cultivation pills. So he could only use an energy synthesis array to upgrade them. But the Silver-Violet Sword Banisher didn''t have such as he focused on cultivation of only one energy which was swordforce energy. This was a major drawback for Alex, but he wasn''t worried. He believed that soon, he would step into the earth adept stage.


    Then like candies, he grabbed a handful of pills for a type of cultivation energy and threw it into his mouth. This turned into large amount of energy that made him feel bloated and caused him intense pain. But he endured the pain as he gritted his teeth that they bled and then directed the energy to the pool of that energy in his energyhouse, quickly raising it quantity to high levels by massive leaps.


    In this manner, Alex cultivated ten of his sixteen energies to the half-step, earth adept stage. Then he ended his cultivation at this junction and stood to his feet.


    "Temple-spirit, I am done cultivating" He said.


    "Good!" The temple-spirit responded, concealing the shock in it tone.


    Then Alex vanished from the room and appeared in a new place.

 Chapter 165: You want it? Then go take it

    Alex appeared in a large circular room. In this room which was round in shape and was enormous in size could be seen about thirty large golden doors.


    "Temple-spirit, what''s this place?" Alex asked.


    "This is my master''s treasure vault. The doors you see are doors to rooms filled with certain types and amounts of treasures" The temple-spirit nodded.


    "Nice." Alex said. Then he asked "Are they open? Can I go in to see them?"


    "No, you can''t. Well, since you are in the half-step, earth adept stage, I can unlock the door to the room containing earth-rank treasures."


    "Thank you" Alex said with a smile.


    Then a door opened and Alex walked into it.


    The instant he entered the room, Alex then felt like he was in another world. It was simply vast. It was so long and wide that Alex couldn''t see to the end of it. Although he wasn''t using the far-seeing power of the star-gazing eyes, only his powerful vision. But even if he used a vast-range, distance-looking ability of the eye called ''Inter-Planetary Vision'' which wasn''t available to him yet until a certain cultivation stage, it would take him quite a while to see the end of the room. It was like the room was another planet on it own.


    Alex then saluted the treasure-forging grandmaster that compressed such a vast expanse of space into the room. His eyes then suddenly narrowed when he thought of the sizes of the other rooms which were filled with treasures for higher cultivation stages. He only shook his head and left the thought.


    He began walking forward in the massive room which the sky was the ceiling. Beautiful, colorful birds could be seen flying about and chirping playfully. And with his powerful hearing, he could hear the flow of water. There were moving bodies of water like streams, rivers in this place. Alex shook his head in awe. He then felt peace and calmness in here.


    ''Beauty and serenity'' He muttered inwardly.


    This was a place he could come reside in if he wanted to stay away from the noises, pollutions and evils in the world.


    Millions of trees were planted here and there. These trees had large canopies which were composed from colorful leaves.


    As Alex walked forward in the room, he enjoyed the scenery of this place. It immersed his mind in calmness.


    Then a thought flashed in Alex''s mind.


    ''Where''s the treasure?'' He asked inwardly.


    Then he proceeded to ask the temple-spirit what came to his mind.


    "Temple-spirit, there is no treasure here"


    "Look clearly and carefully"


    That was what the temple-spirit said.


    ''Look clearly and carefully?'' Alex questioned inwardly.


    Then his eyes shone.


    With an understanding of what the temple-spirit just said, he uttered "Let all illusions be gone" as he employed the illusion-dispersing power of the Heavenly Mystery Revealment eye.


    The instant he did this, the scenery of the room vanished and he saw himself surrounded by a shocking amount of treasures.


    Alex became awed.


    Then he looked up and still saw the sky there. He began to wonder if that was a persisting illusion or a treasure-artifact


    He then decided to do something.


    "Temple-spirit, I want the sky" He said with a mischievous smile.


    "You want that? Remember, I will only allow you to pick only ten treasure-artifact. When you have an achievement, only then would I allow you to pick ten more treasures" The temple-spirit said.


    "Really?" Alex asked in an unsatisfactory tone.


    He thought that he would have everything available to him. He didn''t know that it was because he was the son of god-level experts that he could have the massive wealth he had.


    At the moment, Alex wasn''t happy with what the temple-spirit said. That was why he came here, to build his own collection of wealth.


    But he wasn''t too sad. Why? Because the temple and everything in it were his. He would get them sooner or later.


    Thinking in this direction, he gave a smile.


    Then he asked "The treasures in here are all peerless-grade treasure-artifacts, right?"


    "How dare you belittle the taste of my master?" The voice of the temple-spirit boomed out.


    "I am sorry. I was only asking" Alex said with a knowing smile. He had predicted the reaction of the temple-spirit. But he actually said this to offend it. Then he asked "Is there like a list for all the treasure in here? I want to pick the best and most suitable ones for me?"


    "Yes" The temple-spirit said.


    Then a prism appeared before him in the air, and in the next second, the prism which had begun to glow in a resplendent light shot a thin ray of light into Alex''s head.


    Once the ray penetrated into his head, it turned into a massive amount of information. The information that appeared in his mind were the names and abilities of all the treasure-artifacts in here, whether attack, defense or for other purposes


    After going through about a few hundreds from the hundreds of thousands of names of treasure-artifacts that had appeared in his mind, he selected ten. But choosing these ten was extremely difficult for him as he saw a great lot that attracted him in the few hundreds that he came across. So he sadly chose ten, but with the thought that sooner or later, they would all belong to him.


    "Okay. I have selected the ten I want" Alex said.


    "Alright. Mention them" The voice of the temple-spirit rang out.


    ........


    When Alex finished mentioning them, the treasures were given to him, including the one that seemed like the sky. He stowed them into his mom''s spatial rings.


    Since he was done here, he was teleported away again by the temple-spirit.


    Alex then appeared far in front of the massive sword composed from a large river of swordforce energy. He saw the mighty sword and couldn''t help but be awed again. It looked like the largest mountain in the realmverse. It was very enormous; about nine hundred thousand meters tall, five hundred feet thick and eighty thousand meters wide. So one could imagine the size of the temple if the sword could be as large as that. Although the temple wasn''t as large as this from the outside, but the interior was extremely large that it would take up many mortal worlds and still have space for hundreds of others. The forger of this treasure-temple was a grandmaster of the power of space expansion and compression.


    The sword which looked crystalline as it had solidified, emitted a space-ripping, mind-numbing power of sharpness.


    From the far distance he stood, Alex asked "Temple-spirit, why are you showing me this? Am I also going to take this into the outside world?"


    "You want it? Then go take it" The temple-spirit said with a strong hint of mockery in it tone.

 Chapter 166: Awaiting appearance of inheritor

    Alex only smiled wryly.


    Then he replied saying, "The aura of sharpness is strong, I can''t go near it. Can you reduce or hamper it? And bring it to the ground level instead of just floating high in the air? I can''t fly"


    "Hmm!" The temple-spirit uttered.


    Then in the next moment, many massive metal parts appeared and floated towards the compacted, highly-dense, energy sword. Once they got to it, they attached to the smooth surface of the energy sword and joined together. Then the lines at which they joined rapidly faded away as they fused becoming one whole part.


    When they merged, forming a case for the energy sword, abstruse symbols appeared on the body of the sword-shaped case for the energy sword, then the seemingly boundless power of space-tearing sharpness emanating from the sword totally vanished as it was completely blocked from coming out. The symbols acted like enchantment spells to restrain the astronomical power of laceration continuously emitting from the energy sword.


    "Alright. Its continuously rippling power of sharpness has vanished. Go take it since you want it" The voice of the temple-spirit rang out with a sense of mockery in it.


    Alex said with a smile. "Well, I was only joking. I am not a mountain-overshadowing giant. But I seriously want it" Then he said further "Is this sword the Silver-Violet Sword Banisher wields?"


    "Well, one of the three he uses" The temple-spirit said. Then it asked "Do you know why my master is called the Silver-Violet Sword Banisher?"


    "Because he wielded two similar swords which were each colored silver and violet?" Alex asked.


    "Yes Alex, you are right. He wielded twin swords which were each colored violet and silver. They are the Silver and Violet Banishing swords which are treasure-swords as they have voidstones plugged into sockets in them. While the one before you is another weapon he utilizes apart from the twin swords. It''s called the Fiendbuster Heaven-Expulsion sword."


    "Wow!" Alex said in a surprised tone. Then with curiosity in his tone, he asked "But it''s too huge. How does he wields it in battle?"


    "He used the vast telekinetic power available to him at that stage to wield the sword. He would release an invisible, astronomical-length, matter-movement field. Anything in this field; just about any form of objects enveloped by it can be moved about using the power of the field which he could control with his mind. Therefore, employing the power of this telekinetic field, the sword would be moved and used to cut opponents or structures." The temple-spirit said.


    Alex nodded.


    Then looking at the sword, he marveled at it great size. When he thought of it weight as the Silver-Violet Sword Banisher would use his mind to lift it and move it about, he couldn''t help but be astonished.


    ''What degree of telekinetic power!''


    To Alex, the shadow of the sword may probably overcast a massive, mountainous island which would have about thousands of mountains resting upon it. Then when he thought of the weight, judging from it size, he couldn''t fathom it. He believed that it would be unimaginably heavy.


    The sword which was formed from a vast river of swordforce energy was not really swordforce energy, it was sword originforce energy, a type of primordial realm-energy that only cultivation experts from the immortal stage would be able to sense and cultivate. And at the stage the Silver-Violet Sword Banisher reached, the density of the energy would be very high. Only a sliver of it would crush an entire mountain range with only the pressure emanating from it.


    Trying to know how the heavy the sword was, to scale the telekinetic power of the Silver-Violet Sword Banisher, he asked "Temple-spirit, how heavy is the sword?"


    "Hmm. Well, due to it density and the amount used to form it, it should weigh more than a small planet" The temple-spirit replied.


    Alex became speechless.


    So it was simply a world the Silver-Violet Sword Banisher threw about. Alex was deeply amazed and incredulous at the same time.


    "What of the Silver and Violet Banishing sword? Can I take one of those with me?" Alex asked still not giving up yet.


    If Alex could see the temple-spirit where it was, he would see it looking at him with a gaze that meant ''Why is this damned kid so stubborn?''


    But when the temple-spirit thought of some things since it was as an entity that possessed great wisdom, it realized and understood why Alex was behaving like that. Then it spoke "I know that you want more treasures as you have gone through a lot of struggles which almost even resulted in your death. But the whole thing is for you. Everything in here is yours. After some time, at certain stages, the achievement scoring thing to get treasures would be removed and you would get treasures to the fill of your heart that it would overflow. Happy now?"


    Alex nodded with a smile.


    "Alright senior, when would I be able to I leave here?" He asked.


    "Are you ready to leave?" The temple-spirit asked.


    "Yes, but those guys. Wouldn''t they be waiting outside for me? You can''t teleport me outside. You would have to teleport me far away" Alex quickly said with fear in his heart before the temple-spirit would move him away using it space transference power.


    "Of course, that''s what I am going to do. I can''t expose the inheritor of my master''s legacy to harm. I would take you far away from here" The temple-spirit replied.


    .........


    At the moment, thousands of fearsome powerhouses had arrived in Alex''s world. They had come here from the major worlds (Oververse) and grand worlds (Greatverse). They were actually called upon by the Saint-rank challengers who were returned to the outside world from the safe, non-battle zone they initially were in the temple.


    So surrounding the temple, they awaited the inheritor to appear.


    If one looked into their eyes, one would see that they shone with extreme curiosity. Their lordly gazes were filled with intense curiousness because they got information that someone in the condensation stage was able to mysteriously produce a saint-level power. So they were here to see that person and take him with them for study or research purposes.


    It was simply amazing. The person''s unparalleled unique ability.


    But they had the knowledge that they wouldn''t be able to take away the inheritor of the Silver-Violet Sword Banisher''s legacy without a deadly battle. So they were ready. They had prepared many massive, spatial-trapping formations just to prevent the temple from moving through a different layer of space to evade them.


    Then they waited.

 Chapter 167: Battle

    As the powerhouses waited, along with the Saint stage cultivators that came from the organizations they were from for the legacy, a large, silver-colored sword suddenly appeared.


    When it appeared, the powerhouses furrowed their brows with fear setting in their heart. This was because they knew the sword. Although they hadn''t seen it with their actual eyes before as the Silver-Violet Sword Banisher was a cultivator of the very old generation as he had existed countless eons of years before them. But his legend had been passed down from that time till now. So they knew about the three swords that he used.


    As soon as the sword appeared, a large beam of swordforce energy shot forth from it into the horizon.


    BANG!!!


    The now invisible, spatial-trapping formations that the powerhouses had set up to prevent the treasure-temple which would have a control-entity from escaping trembled heavily, then shattered in the next instant.


    That was an attack of the Silver-Violet Sword Banisher called "Barrier Banishing" attack.


    Once the formation shattered with a sky-shaking explosive sound, another ray of swordforce energy shot into the sky.


    Pccch!!


    A gashing sound rang out as a large slit was made in space. Then the temple shot into the slit at a speed many times greater than the speed of sound with the enormous silver sword directly following behind it.


    The instant the numbers of formations the powerhouses laid to restrain the Silver-Violet Sword Banisher''s temple shattered into smithereens in one strike and then shot into it to make an escape from them, they too then shot into it to chase after it before the gash made into the fabric of space would heal or they would definitely lose it.


    They too flew really fast as they chased after the temple and began to send attacks. But the temple which was a treasure forged by enlightened, venerable grandmasters of treasure-artifact forging would definitely possess powerful defense and offense-purpose mechanisms.


    The large temple began to emit a colorful light which enveloped the temple and transformed into a resplendent sphere of sword originforce energy. Then the mouth of a massive cannon appeared from a large orifice at the center of the temple''s rectangular-shaped base and shot off an enormous, solid beam of focused sword originforce energy; about hundreds of thousands kilometers wide, a billion times denser than steel and moving at a speed that approached three-fourth of the speed of light at the powerhouses. So one could imagine the amount of destructive power that the concentrated sword-energy would unleash.


    Seeing the massive sword energy shoot towards them, so as defense, they produced treasure-weapons and launched colossal, solid beams of various cultivation energies at the beam shooting towards them.


    BOOM!!!


    Once the beams collided, many massive spheres of brilliant, colorful light surfaced before vast, rampaging floods of destructive, colored energies rushed out from their point of impacts in all directions.


    Since they were too many, about thousands of them, not all the energy beams they sent out were canceled. Many weren''t impacted by the accelerating, enormous beam of origin sharpness-energy and therefore, they moved onward at great speeds to collide into the temple.


    BANG!!! BANG!!! BANG!!!....


    This sound rang out rampantly as the massive attacks struck the visible, sphere-shaped energy field put out by the temple, causing it to tremble hard. Although it cracked in numerous places, but the cracks rapidly healed. The mechanism producing the defensive energy field was powerful, but there was an extent to which it could withstand the torrential attacks.


    Many moments later, with a loud bang, the shield shattered and the unceasing attacks unleashed by the cultivators impacted the temple, causing it to shake.


    The beam discharged by the temple''s energy cannon shattered all the attacks in it path and continued into the distance. It could have killed multiple cultivators, but them being veterans that had gone through a lot of battles, evaded the beam before it would strike them and continued flying at tremendous speeds towards the temple. They couldn''t let it escape from them. They wanted to leave with the person they were told about and learn how he was able to do that. They believed that the key to many secrets of the realmverse lied within the person''s body. And of course, the temple-spirit would do it best to evade them so it would escape with Alex.


    Hot on the tail of the temple, they launched fearsome attacks at the temple. Sounds rang out and the temple shook like it was going to shatter apart the next moment. But the temple was one that a lot of rare and excellent, durable materials was used in building it. So it wouldn''t shatter or crack from the massive number of energy beams that impacted it.


    Alex who was within the temple was frightened to his core by the intense trembling of the temple. He was greatly worried that the temple would blow into smithereens because of the rain of powerful energy-attacks and he would be killed in the process or if he doesn''t die, he would be taken away. And this was a battle he couldn''t partake in. It was way above him.


    Actually, the cultivation experts after him were not true powerhouses of glorious establishments and organizations in Greatverses, Oververses and Underverses. They were people from vassal forces or simply errand boys, sent by people who could be referred to as Ancients, people who possessed calamitous power; power to totally ruin multiple small worlds with a wave of their hands. If these Ancients came by themselves, it would be nigh-impossible for the temple-spirit to escape.


    However, Alex chose to trust and believe in the treasure-temple''s imperviousness to damage and it evasion ability. It was the temple of a great primordial expert in which millions of rare, extremely tough mineral resources and near-indestructible metals would be used in forging it. Besides, the cultivators weren''t that powerful to cause any form of damage to the structure of the temple. Even a slight mark on the surface of the temple wouldn''t result from their attacks.


    The massive sword which was following behind the temple began to glow, then it suddenly discharged thousands of three hundred meter-wide, silver-colored beams of sword originforce energy at the thousands of myriad energy-beams that were shooting towards the temple, unleashed by the cultivators'' treasure-weapons.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Many loud bang sounds rang out as the opposing energy attacks clashed. But the beams of sword originforce energy, which were actually one-fifth the size of the opposing energy-beams actually shattered the attacks they collided with and continued onward into the distance towards the cultivators.


    Despite having insignificant sizes, they disintegrated the energy attacks they clashed with. For primeval cultivators, size sometimes don''t really matter, it was their stage of comprehension of profundity of an origin realm-energy and it quality (density). The beam of sword originforce energy shot by the sword possessed the understanding of the way of the sword up to the Primal Cosmic Exalt level; a stage just below the Supreme Alpha Eternal stage. Therefore, it continued forwards, towards the cultivators with extreme damaging power.


    The cultivator''s eyes narrowed as they quickly dodged the beams shooting towards them like bolts of energy released by an unparalleled god of destruction. And since their concentrations had been broken, they didn''t know when the treasure-temple produced a spatial displacement power which manifested in the form of ripples that caused space to distort and enable it to vanish, appearing in another continent in an instant.


    The thousands of cultivators as they chased after the temple suddenly sensed great threats to their lives.


    Suddenly, they saw a massive, blue fireball shoot towards them. It was like the sun as it was unimaginably massive in size. This was the power of an Ancient!


    With great frights screaming off their gazes, very quickly, they produced energy attacks that they shot at the fireball and backed away very quickly at the same time.


    BOOM!!


    The blue fireball exploded and a tremendous amounts of blue pyroforce energy swept out with a great destructive force; the kind to desolate large worlds. Only the blast wave released from the explosion was powerful as it knocked the cultivators thousands of meters away. But they were wearing defense-purpose clothing or the powerful blast wave released from the explosion of the enormous fireball would have reduced them to bits.


    Then when they regained their balance, they saw a man in the far distance looking at them coldly.


    This person was Alex''s uncle, Houston.


    Seeing that the temple was having issue with throwing the cultivators off it tracks, he decided to appear.


    The cultivators didn''t know who he was, but since he had tried to attack them, they would retaliate. Their numbers and treasure-weapons gave them great confidence. Therefore, energy gushed out from them in great amounts. Then the enormous masses of myriad cultivation energies which had discharged from their palms rapidly condensed and shaped into massive swords, halberds, spears, staffs and so on. The instant they formed, the attacks which were as large as continents shot towards Houston at extreme speeds.


    While the others that studied battle methodologies which imitated beast forms had their energies transform into massive beasts with fully-stretched wings which were so large that they seemed they would wrap around a mountain several times. When these formed from the energies that they cultivated, they shot towards Houston at astonishing speeds and with the power to pulverize quarter of small worlds; one-fourth of mortal worlds.


    Abruptly, the image of a gigantic, dark blue cauldron appeared behind Houston. Then vast amount of energy gushed out from his body and converged in front of him, abruptly turning into a massive, blue-colored cauldron that emitted waves of terrific heat and a pressure that might reduce continents to dusts.


    "Firmament Burning Cauldron strike" Houston said inwardly. Then instantly, the cauldron shot towards the attacks launched by the cultivators in the far distance.

 Chapter 168: Sees an old face

    Boom!


    Once the attacks collided, enormous amounts of energies exploded outwards. Also, at the same time, tyrannical waves of energies were released. These waves of energies were powerful that their collective, destructive mights could be likened to the devastating power of many gigantic, exploding stars. The force-waves struck the men and swept them away into the far distance.


    Houston didn''t relax on his attacks. The instant his attack swept them away, he aimed the fingers of his right hand at them, then five enormously huge pillars of dense, bright blue fire shot out. Once these pillars appeared, they bathed everywhere in their colour, dying everywhere and everything in it blue. There was only dazzling blue for a distance of hundreds of millions of kilometers. And as they shot towards the cultivators, they continuously produced heat that would cause small worlds to incinerate to ashes in a flash.


    When the cultivators regained their balance, they became exceedingly shocked as they could feel the heat from the far distance they were knocked to by the waves.


    They quickly produced enormous attacks that they sent at the pillars. The attacks they sent were actually great risks to their cultivation as they could cause crippling or stagnancy in their cultivation.


    Boom!!!


    The thousands of attacks collided with the five massive pillars of blue fire elemental energy and exploded, releasing great amounts of colored, tyrannical energies.


    The intense, colored lights that they released seemingly dyed everywhere in space in their various colors.


    When the attacks collided with Houston''s overwhelming attacks and exploded, numerous mighty waves that caused small worlds far away to shake terribly were released. If it where in the worlds such explosions happened, they would have been brought to total ruins.


    It was then that the cultivators realized that they shouldn''t mess with this person or he could kill all of them with one attack.


    His attacks were simply powerful and overpowering. They lowered their weapons and returned it to their spatial rings


    Just then, a voice rang out in each of their minds "Go back to the worlds you came from, don''t cause trouble here."


    That was Houston''s voice which boomed in their minds like thunder.


    When he saw their actions, he too ceased fire and communicated to them telepathically, using transforce energy which was also called mind-transmission energy.


    They nodded their heads and very quickly, they vanished from where they were.


    Houston only repelled them. He couldn''t kill them as they would all have one Ancient or two from the establishments they were from. He was an Ancient too, but he wouldn''t be able to fight more than three at his best, using powerful weapons. Then talk more of thousands. So it was wise to chase them back with the reason that they shouldn''t cause trouble in the mortal world.


    When they vanished, Houston vanished too.


    The cultivators that vanished appeared where the Saint stage cultivators that came from their organizations were. And before the curious Saint stage cultivators could ask them anything, they said ''Let''s leave first, you would know more when we get to the organization"


    Then they produced spatial vehicles from their spatial rings which they all stepped into. Not long, the ultivehicles produced a spatial power which manifested as ripples that caused space to distort. As soon as the ripples appeared as a result of the deployment of their spatial displacement power, the ultivehicles vanished, appearing in other worlds; Greatverses, Oververses and Underverses, and then moved on to the organizations or establishments they came from.


    When they left, Houston vanished too, appearing in his mansion. But he didn''t have a clue where the temple teleported to. However, he knew that the temple would protect Alex from harm. Also, it would return him from where it vanished to as it only teleported to a great distance to evade the powerful, vast-range, field-scanning senses of the cultivators that were chasing it many moments ago.


    He was right.


    Many moments later, the temple vanished from the state in the continent it surfaced in and reappeared at a random place in Alex''s state.


    Then it brought Alex out of the temple and shot into his mom''s spatial ring.


    When Alex appeared, he quickly tried leaving the place where he was.


    Where Alex was in at the time was a large jungle. That was where the temple-spirit returned him to, a random place very far away from where it was initially.


    When he left the jungle and walked for about an hour, he came across a small village that was far in the distance. He saw it using his powerful vision. He would have continued walking, but something caught his attention.


    He saw four aggressive-looking, earth adept stage cultivators. They were in the peak phase. But that wasn''t what caught Alex''s attention. It was the enticing figure of a beautiful, young lady who reminded him of someone, and when he saw the face of this person that caught his attention, his mind couldn''t help but lit up like a candle, even a cold windstorm wouldn''t prevent this candle from burning. At the moment, Alex''s eyes was full of astonishment. He couldn''t believe what he was seeing.


    He looked intently at that face which he had always yearned for and saw in it, a smile that would reduce the beauty of a starry, night sky, and in it were eyes that if one looked into it, one would appear in a world full of colorful roses; a world full of beauty.


    "Olivia" Alex muttered subconsciously.


    "B-But what''s she doing here?" He asked inwardly.


    Then he looked away from her to the men in front of her.


    "What are those men doing in front of her? What do they want?" He thought.


    Then he waited to see what was going on.


    "Do you think you can fight the organization we came from? It''s one established by a great saint. I will advise you to do as you were told or you would regret it!" One of the three earth stage cultivators said.


    "Oh. I am scared. But do you know who I am? Do you know where I am from? You just do anything stupid and you shall have your heads severed from your necks and fed to the beasts of the wildernesses. Anyways, you have said enough and I have heard you. It''s time to leave" Olivia said coldly.


    "Haha!" One of the three earth adept stage cultivators laughed. Then he continued "Of course, we know who you are. You are the popular, Great Holy Daughter of the Immovable Mountain academy. One of their grand geniuses. It''s an extreme surprise that you are here. Let me guess, you are out for adventure too, right? To hone your battle and life experiences? Haha! Let me tell you something, you are all alone in this place. Although you are a genius and you are in the peak-phase, earth adept stage and study some perverse, fire and earth element duality methodologies, you are just one person. Can one person go against an organization? You will only die or worse, become a sex puppet for my six masters. Guys, let''s leave this foolish bitch to continue thinking she''s important and powerful. She is doomed already"


    Then they turned around and left.


    While the man was talking, Olivia''s eyes had turned cold and killing intent began to erupt from them. Anyway, she didn''t mind them as she turned around to go back to the crowd of people behind her who now had the look of gloominess in their faces.


    "It''s alright. You can return to your huts. I have threatened them with my identity. I don''t think they would come back here." She said, trying to calm the people whose face seemed pale white from intense fear and worry.


    Alex was awed and happy. Then he wanted to go meet her, but he decided against it since doing so would make him feel highly embarrassed of himself as he was deeply ashamed of his cultivation level.


    He was both in the peak-phase condensation stage and mid-phase condensation stage because of the varying levels of the myriad energies he cultivated. While she was in the half-step sky lord stage. They were now worlds apart. And from the way things looked to him, it seemed she had long forgotten about him. Since he never appeared, she would have moved on.


    Then he decided to leave but with unhappiness in his heart. He guessed it was time to close her chapter in his life. So he continued walking without looking back. An aura of dejection could be noticed around his figure.


    Alex moved away because there was no point in seeing her again. They had only met for a day and it has been many months now. So he believed she would have long forgotten about him and focus on other things that are far important. Besides, it was not like they were romantically attached to each other. Then, she was only impressed with him because of his great battle proficiency.


    Alex could have waited to help her, but she was the Great Holy Daughter of the Immovable Mountain academy. If she was ever in a form of trouble that she wouldn''t be able to handle, she would surely have a way to signal the instructors of the academy. So his help wouldn''t be needed. Besides, his cultivation level was far lower to hers, she might look at him with disdain. What help would he be able to render with his lower cultivation level. Jumping in there to provide assistance would only bring about mockery for himself.


    Just before he could move very far, he heard bloodcurdling screeches in the far distance. Then he turned his head to see what those were. When he did so, he saw large, winged beasts in the air. There were about six of them. And on these beasts were dozens of humans.


    The beasts when it arrived a few meters in front of the village lowered to the ground and the people on top it jumped off it to the ground.


    There were three expensively robed men who were at the front of these people, while the others walked behind them. The people at the back of these three men gazed at their backs with reverence in their eyes.


    The three men at the front were deputies of three of the six masters that presided over the organization they were all from. These men were in the sky lord state and aura of arrogance and balefulness emitted from them. One would know that these men had done a lot of bad things in the past because of the ominousness radiating from them.

 Chapter 169: Olivias battle prowess I

    Olivia heard the bone-chilling screeches and her brows furrowed. She knew that those were the sounds of beasts. She began to wonder why those beasts screeches stopped before the village''s gate. Then a realization dawned on her.


    "Those bastards are here again"


    The villagers who had gone to their huts to continue eating and talking had worry and fear set into the hearts again. And this time, because of the screeches, their bodies shivered unceasingly and were sheet-white from fright.


    Olivia exhaled heavily. Then she stood up and walked towards the village''s entrance gate.


    After getting there, she saw three sinister-looking, expensively robed men and asked.


    "The hell are you guys doing here again?" She asked.


    "You know why we are here. Give her to us now" One of the three men said.


    Olivia ignored the man that spoke and asked "How were you guys able to arrive here so quickly?"


    "Well, we have been around. Seeing that you refused to do our bidding, we came here to force you to surrender the girl." Another of the men spoke.


    "And how would you force me to do so?" Olivia asked.


    "Well, when we slaughter a few of the villagers, you would be forced to do our bidding" One of the men said in a sinister tone.


    Olivia''s eyes turned cold.


    "I see that you guys won''t give up on the girl. If that''s the case, it can only be a battle. You come here in three and make the aura of a sky lord burst out from you. Do you think that will frighten me?" She asked.


    "Well, it won''t as you are a genius and would have studied some tyrannical battle methodologies. But you are just one person and we are many dozens. Only you by yourself can''t handle the three of us, talk more of everyone of us here" Another man spoke evilly.


    Olivia''s eyes began to radiate battle intents. Then she asked and said in a proud tone "Why won''t I be able to handle all of you? I am one of the grand geniuses of the immovable mountain academy and a daughter of Firecloud Family."


    When she finished speaking, with the aura of battle now exuding from her body, she said "Come force me you frogs."


    Then her eyes turned intense orange and her hair orange. She had activated her family''s bloodline power; the Great Infernobringer Firecloud Physique.


    The three men smiled.


    Of course. A bloodline power.


    They thought inwardly.


    Now in her physique form, a red octahedral crystal, the shape of a diamond could be seen at the centre of her forehead. It glowed, emitting pulses of power.


    Then a pair of large, flaming orange-colored wings sprouted from her back. The wings that had sprouted from her back were actually condensed from pure orange flame.


    The men''s minions backed away very quickly or the strong heat that had begun to emit from Olivia''s body would harm them. Same with the villagers. They backed away as far as possible.


    The three men then flew towards Olivia to quickly subdue her.


    Seeing them fly towards her, Olivia quickly unleashed large, compacted streams of orange flames at the three men from her palms.


    As the large flame columns shot towards them, the three men quickly produced their own energy attacks which they fired at the columns.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Three loud explosive sounds rang out as the attacks impacted the massive flame columns. Then spheres of energies surfaced before devastating floods of energies rushed out in the next instant.


    Noticing the waves of energies raging towards her, a massive orange flame erupted from her body and like it was sentient, it wrapped around her body several times to protect it from the tyrannical energy waves.


    The energy waves engulfed her figure, but because of the enveloping orange flame, they couldn''t do anything to her. The flame which had now condensed and emitted strong heat withstood the energy waves and burnt away the energies that composed the rampaging energy waves.


    It was good that the huts were far behind or they would have blown to pieces. But the village''s wooden fence and gate couldn''t withstand the waves'' destructive power. They shattered into bits.


    Olivia then decided to unleash another battle technique.


    "Inferno Swirl" She said.


    Aiming her palms at the three men who were now floating high in the air, pyroforce energy gushed out from them and transformed into a gigantic, orange fire whirlpool. It was hundreds of feet tall and surprisingly swirled in the air, not on the ground. It was a profound, fire-element battle technique.


    The instant this colossal, swirling funnel of orange fire appeared, it exerted a strong pull at everything and radiated terrifying heat. Then Olivia who was still in her powerful form had one of her eyes change from orange to violet. Also, half of her orange hair turned violet. Then a powerful fiery aura shot out from her body. It was great in size and emanated terrible heat. She became like the sun at the moment because of the vast-degree temperature emanating from her aura.


    Then a pool of light appeared in front of her and transformed into a large sword. It was violet in colour and erupted powerful violet flames. Golden abstruse characters which glowed could be seen on the body of the sword.


    This was a weapon called Nine Skies Burning sword. It had shot out from her spatial ring. The moment it appeared, she grabbed it, ready for a great battle. Then she flew into the air using the large, flaming wings that had sprouted from her back. Her objective was to move far away from the village so that the men''s attacks and hers wouldn''t spell doom and destruction for the villagers.


    To achieve levitation, Olivia was using the ''Winged Flight'' ability of her fire-form physique. And even as she was high in the air, wasting away a lot of energy to achieve her high-altitude floatation, she still tried to observe the acolytes of the men for any movement. Once she notices any movement from them, she would rain attacks at them.


    The acolytes of the three deputy masters left them to handle her. There was nothing they could do in a battle between such powerful cultivators except enter into it and die. They would surely be killed off by the destructive waves that would erupt from the collision of their attacks. So instead, they focused on the villagers who looked pale from dread and worry, and then at a larger hut where they felt the person they were after might be at.


    The men who were facing Olivia slashed out at her. They had also produced treasure-weapons when they saw that she did so.


    The instant they slashed out, massive beams of energies shot out towards her at great speeds. These beams carried tremendous devastating power. Therefore, as they moved, the solid earth directly beneath them cracked due to the immense pressure emitting from them.


    Seeing the three powerful, killing energy beams shooting towards her, Olivia aimed her two palms at the beams and fired off massive, straight-line, focused streams of violet-orange flame at them. As the streams of fire moved through the air, they caused the air to heat up to great levels.


    Boom!!


    The attacks collided producing an earth-trembling sound. But surprisingly, Olivia''s''s attack, although now faint, still moved towards the three men like they were a stream of unstoppable divine flame.


    It took two other beams from the men to cancel out the attacks. Then their minds were sent reeling in awe. What kind of bloodline power is this?


    They wouldn''t know that this young lady was the last and most talented of the Firecloud family and had the blood of a mystical, ancient race that produced flames that devoured other forms of realm-energies. Only a stronger type of energy can surmount the overwhelming, devouring ''will'' in the flame. That was why Olivia''s attack could disintegrate their offensives as it absorbed the energies that composed their attacks.


    Not giving them time to rest, pyroforce energy erupted from her body and condensed into a large number of dense, violet-orange blades.


    "Blazing Blades of Divinity Doomsday" She uttered inwardly. Then the blades of dual-colored, fire elemental energy which orbited her figure shot towards the three Sky Lord stage cultivators.


    Swoosh!!!


    They were like a stream of arrows as they whistled, cutting through the air at great speeds towards the three men. There were more than six hundred of the blades that shot at the men.


    When the men saw the attacks shooting towards them, they quickly produced screens of energy.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Continuous explosive sounds rang out as the blades rammed into the energy shield.


    Due to the momentum the dense energy blades came with, although the shields generated didn''t shatter, the Sky Lord stage cultivators got knocked back multiple times when the rain of solid, energy blades impacted their shields.


    But numerous cracks could be seen on the shields of energy that they generated. Just before they could reinforce their shields, to make it harder and seal up the cracks, the blades which had mysteriously grown larger smashed into them with tyrannical force.


    Bang!! Bang!! Bang!!


    The shields finally shattered and the blades smashed into the men. But before the blades could hit them, an armor quickly appeared on them.


    Bang! Bang!


    They were sent flying for dozens of feet when they got struck by the blades. But luckily, they didn''t sustain much injury. They only coughed out blood due to the shock they received from the collision of the blades with their armor.


    Their eyes then shone with fury and unbridled murdering intent.


    What an insult from someone who is far younger to them and lower in cultivation too.

 Chapter 170: Olivias battle prowess II

    If they didn''t want to kill her before because of the institution that she was from, now, they wanted to. She had hurt and harmed their pride.


    The instant these intentions surfaced in their minds, large masses of myriad energies began to erupt from the men.


    One of them produced a large amount of frostforce energy which was light blue in colour. This was a type of realm-energy that can be utilized to create ice, frosts and bring about changes in the surrounding''s atmospheric temperature; it can cause snow to form rapidly and fall. While the other two Sky Lord stage cultivators produced large amounts of demonforce energy and slaughterforce energy. The demonforce energy, also called abyssal entity creation-transformation energy gave the cultivator power to give non-living things (inanimate objects) life and was dark black in color. Its ability was similar to the animateforce energy that gave objects sentience (awareness) and intelligence. Although the demonforce energy gives consciousness too, the objects permeated or infused with this energy takes on hideous forms and have a berserk, violent and baleful aura emanate from them. They would seem and feel evil or demonic. While the slaughterforce energy, also called butchering energy, gave a cultivator the power to reduce opponents into pools of blood and bits of flesh. Once struck by the energy, one would turn into pieces. It was like a wisp of this energy consists of vast, indeterminable amounts of unseen, boundlessly-sharp blades.


    The massive mass of frostforce energy condensed and shaped into a massive, blue-colored crystalline claw. The instant the energy formed into a claw, it shot towards Olivia at a high speed.


    As it cannoned towards Olivia at a distance in the air, it left a wide trail of frost in the air. Then these fell to the ground as ice crystals. Even the ground below the trajectory path of the attack gradually became encrusted in ice.


    When this energy first appeared, it brought about an excessively cold temperature. The temperature of the surrounding instantly plummeted to a very low degree.


    Olivia where she stood didn''t perceive the great decrease in the surrounding''s temperature. She couldn''t detect it because of the flame that protectively enveloped her body.


    While the mass of demonforce energy that had gushed out from one of the Sky Lord stage cultivators caused a large area of earth below it to crack, then they were pulled in large amounts towards it. The energy surprisingly partitioned, condensed and shaped into fourteen large, corporeal statues, after they have fused with the large fragments of earth that had gravitated towards them. These statues were sentient, but unspeakable volumes of evil screamed off their dark-colored eyes. Also, they yielded a dreadful, ominous aura. They seemed like bloodthirsty creatures from the bottomless abyss. Erupting the intents to end anything that possesses life and immerse everything in chaos and absolute darkness, they looked towards Olivia and gave off shrieks that seemed like the cries of banished evil souls filled with resentments for the living, they shot towards her in the air at amazing speeds. If one looked at them, one would see that these dark black statues had ancient inscriptions in them. These inscriptions pulsed with a fearsome power of demonic rebirth and spawn.


    Then when the slaughterforce energy erupted from the last Sky Lord stage cultivator, Olivia suddenly saw nothing but blood in her vision. Also, she felt an overwhelming painful sensation that seemed like thousands of knifes were stabbing into her bodies. And this was just by looking at the blood-colored energy.


    These men didn''t actually exercise constraints in the discharge of the powers they gained from the cultivation of the realm-energies they cultivated. They knew that their men were around, but because they were furious and wanted to kill Olivia, they released their powers without restraint.


    Many of their men who were scattered about watching their battle and waiting for an opportunity to rush into the village to go grab who they were after couldn''t withstand the invisible waves of power emanating from the energies that were released by the men. They froze, both in body and soul, becoming solid ice. Because of the power of the demonforce energy that invaded their bodies, they became completely black in color and frenzied that they seemed like angry and berserk, dark-skinned, bloodthirsty humanoid creatures from hell. While the power of slaughter of the slaughterforce energy instantly reduced them to bits of flesh and mists of blood.


    Once Olivia saw the fearsome, myriad energy-attacks materialize and shoot towards her, she quickly stretched out her hands at them. Then more pyroforce energy gushed out from her in great amounts. This condensed into massive blades and wings that shot like arrows towards the incoming killing attacks.


    Olivia had employed an attack called "Slaying Wings and Blades of Fiery Chaos"


    Boom! Bang!...


    The massive attacks unleashed by the Sky Lord stage cultivators were impacted by the blades and wings. When they clashed, waves of energies erupted and traveled into the distance in all directions.


    Olivia and the three men were knocked backwards by the powerful waves that were released upon collision of their attacks.


    Olivia smashed into the earth far away and produced a muffled groan. Not only her, the men too were launched away like spears into the distance and crashing into the earth at the distance.


    Olivia quickly flew out of the hole she had made into the earth from her fall and quickly delivered an attack at the Sky Lord stage cultivators.


    ''Ancestral Violet Emperor of Burning Skies''


    Olivia quickly employed a powerful battle method of her powerful, fire-elemental physique. Her body began to glow and a crown appeared above her head. Also, a figure appeared behind her. The illusory figure was majestic and grand in appearance. Once she activated the blood-related ability, she uttered "Heaven Burning Destruction Stomp"


    While still afloat at a great altitude in the air, she raised her left leg and stomped the air with it.


    When Olivia raised her left leg, the enormous violet-robed figure behind her raised it left leg too. Then when she stomped that leg at the air, the figure did the same, smashing its enormous left leg into the air. It imitated what Olivia was doing.


    The enormous figure behind her was behaving like a sentient entity. It was actually the figure of the founder of her Firecloud family and resides in her blood as a power of her physique. Not only she had this ability, the other members of her family also had this ability too. They could summon the image of the Ancestor of their family, and once it appears, it gives all their attacks a tremendously great buff.


    It incomprehensibly knew what Olivia was was about to do and so mimicked her.


    Boom!!!


    A loud explosive sound rang out as Olivia''s leg and the figure''s gigantic leg stomped the air. The earth which was about eighty feet below her actually trembled because of the power produced. It intensely trembled and then cracked.


    When Olivia stomped the air, a thirty-feet tall, orange-violet wave of earth-melting flame which possessed a great scale of ruination power surfaced.


    This wave of energy, moving with a kinetic force to reduce mountains to rubbles, swept out towards the Sky Lord stage cultivators and caused the earth in its path to turn into magma.


    When the Sky Lord-level experts saw the wave, they quickly produced energy screens to protect themselves from it.


    Bang!! Bang!! Bang!!


    Their shields shattered and they were sent flying by the terrific wave. They were knocked far into distance and collided into the earth, cratering it. Still, they dragged along the cratered earth into the distance.


    Since they were wore powerful armors, they were protected from the mountain-crushing energy wave. But their organs suffered the most from the kinetic, solid impacts and from high-degree serious burns. Large cuts could also be seen in them. These were caused by the shocks transmitted to them when the wave impacted the armor they wore, causing grievous internal wounds.


    But as experts at the Saint stage, their fast recovery powers kicked in and then their wounds began to heal up.


    The wave lost it power as the energy that constituted it dispersed, returning calm to the region. Except that great amount of dust filled the air which had erupted from the cracked, large area of earth. The whole place darkened as sunlight couldn''t get through.


    The figure possessing great power as it had the degree of comprehension of Olivia''s ancestor when he was still alive, the battle-method she used had it destructive power multiplied by an enormous factor.


    Alex at the moment couldn''t help but be deeply astonished.


    Still floating in the air, Olivia had green veins bulge from her temples and blood stream down her ears and nose. But she endured the agonizing pain and focused on it instead.


    Right now, she was in a state of urgency. She needed to quickly end this men.


    Then she deployed some of the powerful techniques of the physiques which she had understood.


    [Godly Flaming Whirlpool]


    [Raging Dance of the Burning Heavens]


    [Blazing Sovereign Slash]


    The remaining several hundreds of large fiery blades floating in the air came together and began to move in circles at a great speed. It formed something like a whirling funnel. Then it raged towards the men producing the feeling that it would cut and shred everything in its path to bits.


    The wings which were now a thousand times their initial weight shot through the air like arrows towards the men, but in a rather chaotic manner. Their form was disorderly. There was no pattern except that they just shot from every angle and at different speeds. This was the second battle-technique.


    Then for the third, a large, luminous, dense blade of fiery energy which had quickly formed shot out like a cannonball towards the men.


    As the blade shot through the air, it unexpectedly transformed into a massive, compacted beam of fire elemental energy that was thousands of feet wide.


    The moment Olivia deployed the various battle-methods of the physiques, she grunted as a crushing headache suddenly inflicted her.


    This was because she greatly overstrained herself throwing out those terrifying attacks.


    When the Saint-stage cultivators saw the numerous frightening attacks coming at them, their faces turned grave.


    With a thought, treasure-weapons appeared in both hands. Then they totally discharged all the energies in them.


    At the same time, with an understanding that what they were about to do next could pose a great problem to their cultivation in future. They drained themselves of every energy in their energyhouses and channeled them along their energy meridians to their palms.


    It was a risk they were taking because their energy meridians could rupture or ruin due to the overwhelming amounts of energy suddenly moving through them. This could prevent them from continuing their cultivation in future.


    The energies that erupted from their energyhouses and treasure-weapons transformed into massive fearsome attacks that blazed through the air towards the attacks unleashed by Olivia.


    Boom!!! Boom!!! Boom!!!


    The attacks collided and multiple explosive sounds rang out. These sounds were instantly accompanied by massive rippling energies that moved in all directions, ravaging everything in their path. These huge energy ripples possessed high degrees of devastating power. Then spreading far and wide in all directions with great destructive capacity, they engulfed the three Sky Lord stage cultivators and reduced them to bits.

 Chapter 171: A little girl

    Alex waited and watched the battle from where he was. He didn''t want to jump out and rush to the battleground since it seemed like Olivia would be able to handle the ongoing battle herself. He would only feel embarrassed if she didn''t need his help.


    Therefore, he observed the battle and couldn''t help but be astonished at Olivia''s insane battle power. And from the way she fought; her battle power and the techniques she used, he could infer that she was from a family that purely cultivated fire and resided in a Greatverse (Great World) or Oververse (Major World). With the battle strength she showed, it was unlikely for her family to live in an Underverse (Minor World). He felt that her family must be made up of powerful, fire-element cultivating experts.


    Olivia stood to her feet and swallowed a pill. When the pill revitalized her, she looked at the remaining men in the distance. Once she gazed at them, their bodies shivered, then they took to their feet. They tried running away.


    Olivia''s gaze which was cold became full of mockery. Something then shot out of her beast storage ring. It was a dog-like beast whose body was enveloped in dark scarlet flames. And if one looked observantly, it red hide looked like armor. Then large, curved blades that had their edges glow in a crimson light could be seen at the center of the beast''s back, along the area it vertebral column was located. This meant the blades extended out from it spine.


    When it appeared, since it was linked to Olivia''s thought, it knew her intentions. Then with a deep growl, it shot towards the men, biting off their heads from their necks with it powerful jaws and burning their headless bodies to ashes instantly with it expansible and retractable dark scarlet-colored flame.


    When it was done, it walked to Olivia''s side who squatted and began to rub it head. Even with the flame burning around on it body, she couldn''t be hurt by the flame.


    Alex where he stood took a deep breath and exhaled. Then he began to walk towards her.


    Olivia who was playing with her flaming beast pet noticed a gaze on her body, then her eyes narrowed. She looked up to see who the gaze belonged to and to know the person''s intent.


    Alex was far and she didn''t have a powerful vision, so she couldn''t see Alex''s face. She only waited for the person who was gazing at her to come close to her. And judging from the person''s pulse of power, she became confused as the person seemed to be in the peak-phase condensation stage. But in the next moment, the person seemed to be in the mid-phase condensation stage. She wondered how that was possible as she had a deeply perplexed look in her face.


    ''Is the person injured and want help?'' She asked inwardly.


    She couldn''t be sure. But anyway, the person shouldn''t be able to harm her as her cultivation level was far above the person''s own.


    Not long, Alex appeared before her and when she saw his face, her body froze where it was. An indescribable gaze could be seen in her eyes. Actually, they were filled with emotions that Alex wouldn''t be able to understand what they meant.


    With a smile hung in his face as he neared her, he said "Hi, Olivia. Really long ti..."


    Before he could finish his speech, Olivia leaped at him and gave him a tight hug. Alex who wasn''t expecting this then wrapped his arms around her waist.


    A moment later, she separated from him, then she asked in a puzzled tone "How did you get here and what are you doing in this region?"


    "I am on an adventure. I want to gather experiences about life, know about the world''s wonders and sharpen my battle prowess" Alex replied with a smile. Then he spoke again "Actually, I arrived in this region because of some things that happened. But I think it has been settled now"


    He didn''t know that his uncle had shown up to help them chase away the high-rank cultivators who were hot and furious on their track.


    "Oh!" Olivia exclaimed. Then she mentioned "Well, I am glad that you are here. But really long time". After taking a slight pause, she continued speaking "Hope you are fine?" Are you battle-weary? If you are worn-out, you could stay in this village for sometime to relax before you set out on your next adventure".


    Alex smiled.


    "Thanks for the offer, Olivia. I will go with it" He said.


    Olivia nodded her head.


    Alex then looked at the dog-like beast which was staring at him. He then approached it to rub it head.


    Olivia saw him moving towards the dog-like beast and didn''t say anything as she felt that Alex would be careful around the beast as it had hot flames burning around it body.


    Then her eyes widened in shock. Before she could shout "Stop!", Alex touched the dog''s head and began to rub it. But the hot flame burning around the beast''s body couldn''t really hurt him. His tough skin was quite resistant to the flame. Although he felt pain, but it wasn''t much.


    Anyways, Alex would be hurt if the beast wanted to hurt him. The flame endlessly erupting from it body at the moment wasn''t for offense. If it were for an offense; that is, it enters into an attacking mode, the ground beneath it for hundreds of meters long and deep would melt in a flash into magma, and the air for hundreds of meters would be heated to incredible degrees; things would burn or melt just by being in this expanse of heated air.


    Then he looked up at Olivia who had a shocked expression in her face and asked "What is it name?"


    When Olivia dispelled the shock in her heart, she replied "Kane"


    "Oh. Nice name. Your beast pet is beautiful" Alex said with a smile.


    Olivia nodded.


    Alex then stood to his feet and asked "By the way, I am surprised that you are here too. What are you doing in this village?"


    "Well, it''s a long story. Let''s go to my hut. We would discuss at length there." Olivia replied.


    Alex nodded. Then he walked by Olivia''s side to the hut with Kane following behind the both of them.


    Now, the village had no fence again. It had been demolished by the force-waves from Olivia''s initial exchange of energy-attacks with the Sky Lord stage cultivators.


    The villagers came to meet her and she told them to set their minds at ease, that nothing was going to happen to them.


    They nodded at her and left for their various huts to continue what they were doing.


    "Follow me" Olivia said looking at Alex.


    Alex nodded and continued to walk beside Olivia.


    A few moments later, the both of them arrived at her hut. Then after settling down, Olivia served Alex a type of orange-flavored drink.


    "So to your question, I am doing exactly what you are doing. I am out of the academy for an experience." Olivia said with a smile.


    "Hmm. That''s cool" Alex said with a grin. Then he asked "How did your adventure lead you to this village? I saw you fighting some men. To be honest, your were amazing. You simply overpowered them with your superior strength. But why were those men causing trouble?"


    "Well, to your first question, I ended up in this village because of a little girl. I was at a place meditating to clear my mind in preparation of comprehension of a powerful technique when I heard the growls of beasts and the terrified scream of a little girl for help. Then when I shot in the direction the screaming tiny voice came from, I saw a small girl being chased by dozens of masked men riding on ferocious beasts. I thought that they wanted to abduct her and so I sprung into action. When I killed the men, I asked her what she was doing alone in the jungle, exposing herself to harm or abduction. She told me that she was in the jungle because she had ran away from her village and into the jungle because of the men that were chasing after her. She had the idea that by running into the jungle, she would be able to hide from her abductors." Olivia said.


    "Okay. But why are they after the girl? Was she with something precious to them?" Alex asked in a puzzled tone.


    "She wasn''t with anything precious to them. The thing is that they knew about a special ability of hers" Olivia replied.


    Alex''s eyes glittered.


    What ability would a mortal have?


    So to make things clear for himself, he asked "The little girl, is she a mortal?"


    Olivia nodded and spoke "Yes, she is a mortal."


    Alex''s eyes became filled with amazement. Not able to hold back his curiosity, he asked "The girl, what ability does she has?"


    "She has the power of... Radiant healing" Olivia responded.


    "The power to heal with light?" Alex asked in shock.


    "Yes, the power to manipulate radiance to bring about complete healing. And to a very high stage, resurrection."

 Chapter 172: Nailah

    Alex''s eyes shone with perplexity. He couldn''t understand how a mortal was able to manipulate light to cause healing.


    "Can I see the girl?" He asked.


    "Okay" Olivia said.


    Then she stood and walked out of the hut with Alex following behind her.


    They got to the hut and saw a little girl, about seven years in age, sitting on a stood.


    She had short hairs and was chocolate-skinned.


    Although she sat calmly, fear was evident in her eyes.


    "There she is" Olivia said looking at Alex.


    Alex nodded and approached the girl while Olivia stood where she was. When Alex got to her side, he squatted and said "Hi". The girl responded with an "Hello". But Alex could sense fear in her tone.


    "Why are you fearful? You have got a protector. She is strong, she will defend you from any and every form of harm" Alex said, trying to eliminate the fear in the girl''s heart.


    The girl began to sob.


    "I know... I know that I have a great expert who will protect me. But if one day she is overwhelmed? She is only one person. She might not be able to repel them forever" The little girl said.


    "Hmm." Alex said.


    Then he turned to look at Olivia and asked, "Why don''t you take her far away from here?"


    "Alex, I can''t do that. If I do so, what about the rest of the villagers? They would slaughter them like birds. I will continue to protect them, all of them till the storm subsides" Olivia replied.


    Alex exhaled, then nodded.


    "Okay." He said.


    Then he looked at the little girl and asked "What''s your name?"


    "Nailah" The little girl responded.


    "That''s a beautiful name you have got there, Nailah. Don''t you worry anymore over your safety and that of the people in your village. I will join her to protect you. I am very strong too. I once fought a million people and I brought all of them down" Alex said.


    Nailah smiled.


    "That''s it. That''s the smile I want to see. The rest of your days will be full of smiles as you have gotten the strongest protector in the universe. I promise that no harm will come to you." He said.


    The girl smiled again and then nodded.


    Olivia who stood behind him beamed.


    She knew that Alex was only joking to make the girl smile. But something in her heart made her feel that Alex could do it. She still clearly remembered how he dominated their battle then at the Red Lotus cave with the beasts. He was overwhelming. And then, she was older than him and even had a higher cultivation stage. He saved her and colleagues then from the beasts and from the Scarlet Flame academy students, and now, he''s here again, to provide help. She was glad he was here. At least, she got another powerful ally to assist her. She believed in his battle power.


    Alex rubbed the girl''s hair and stood to his feet, then he left the hut with Olivia following behind him.


    When she came to his side, Alex said to her "Such a cute little girl. What of her parent?"


    "Well, her parent are no more. Her father who was the chief of the village was brutally killed by those men that chased Nailah into the jungle. Her mom too is dead. I pity her very much. But the little girl has a strong heart since she didn''t break down from the traumatizing memories of her parent''s death." Olivia replied.


    "Hmm. It''s truly pitiful. I feel for her. Do you have an idea how the bastards came to know of her unique ability?"


    "That''s what I don''t understand too. But that''s of little concern. The main thing now is to protect her so that she wouldn''t be abducted and forced to do only who knows what" Olivia said.


    Alex nodded.


    "So when you are done here, what would you do next? What''s your next plan?" Alex asked.


    "Well, continue my adventure. I have to break through to higher cultivation realms and know more about the world by visiting so many wonderful, exotic places before I return to the institution" Olivia said.


    "Cool! Well, me too. I want to break through to higher cultivation realms and know more about the beautiful and marveling parts of the world before I return to my institution" Alex said with with a broad smile surfacing in his face.


    "Alright, that''s a great thing to do. And I want to ask, why are you in the peak-phase condensation stage and at the same time, in the mid-phase condensation stage?" Olivia questioned in a bewildered tone.


    Alex smiled. He knew she was gonna ask.


    "Well, I cultivate a lot of energies. That''s the reason why. Many of them are at the peak-phase condensation level, while the few others are at the mid-phase condensation level. So as mentioned, that''s why my cultivation base appears to be in the peak-phase condensation stage and at the same time, in the mid-phase condensation stage" Alex replied.


    Olivia shook her head in awe.


    "Okay. That explains why you have a low cultivation level. But a lot of energies? You are now a Beyonder, an abomination in cultivation. You would be haunted by powerful and severe tribulations before every breakthroughs." She said with concern in her tone.


    "I know. But I am not dreadful of it. They should come. Nothing can stop me. I will sever them and absorb them." Alex said with great confidence radiating from his tone.


    Olivia''s eyes widened in astonishment.


    Those were tribulations that only one out of thousands could survive. Besides, that one person that survived it could be rendered useless or put into a vegetative state for years. Only someone with a will that can overpower the will of the world could survive those.


    Olivia didn''t speak further, she only wished him the best in her mind.


    Then she proceeded to ask him in a curious tone "By the way, how many energies do you cultivate?"


    "Well, sixteen" Alex replied with a smile.


    Olivia''s eyes shone with deep amazement.


    She shook her head and no longer asked him questions about himself.


    "Alright. Alex, let me take you to the hut you would stay in" Olivia said.


    Alex nodded and then followed her there. Some moments later, they arrived on front of a small hut.


    "Alex, this is your hut. Is it okay? I could change it if you don''t like it" Olivia said.


    "Nah. It''s okay. Thanks Olivia" Alex said.


    "Don''t mention. I have to go back to my hut to go meditate and then resume my comprehension." Olivia said.


    "Alright. Good luck with it." Alex said.


    Olivia nodded and walked back to her hut while Alex walked into the hut he was given to stay in.


    Then he sat in the cross-legged position on the ground. But he wasn''t trying to meditate or comprehend. He looked into his mom''s spatial ring and withdrew a beast storage bag. Unsealing it, Nojraagon flew out of it. It was still little, but it had grown bigger than before.


    "Hello Noj, been a while" Alex said with a smile as he communicated with the little dragon like it was a human.


    Then he produced pills, beast growth pills and threw it at Nojraagon which leaped into the air and caught it, then swallowed it.


    "Should we go out for you to practice your flight ability?" He asked


    Raagh!


    Nojraagon roared.


    Alex didn''t understand it roar, but he took it as a yes.


    Then he carried the dragon and walked out of his hut. He continued to walk forward until he had given some distance between himself and the huts of the villagers before he stopped.


    "Alright. Nojraagon, it''s time for you to learn how to fly. I am going to throw you up soon. Get ready." Alex said with a smile.


    Then permeating his arm muscles with strengthforce energy which increased their density to extreme levels and now granting him great strength, he threw the dragon many feet into the air.


    Reaching about sixty feet above the ground, the dragon then tried to move it wings so that it could fly. It was unstable in the air as it tried to control itself. But after sometime, it was able to balance itself. Then it began to fly.


    Alex was delighted seeing the dragon fly.


    During the past few months, it had grown. And it was a divine beast, so it would grow really fast. Besides, Alex always threw one or two beast growth pills into the beast storage bag to accelerate it development.


    After flying for a long time to get used to it flight ability, it flew towards Alex who caught it in his palm.


    Alex then lowered it to the ground and rubbed it head.


    With a broad smile in his face, he asked "That''s good of you, Nojra. You did well. Would you like to hunt for beasts? I know that you are still little and weak, so I would follow you to the jungle to help you hunt for beasts that you can feed on. What do you say?"

 Chapter 173: Hordes of beasts I

    Raagh!


    Nojraagon roared.


    Alex nodded his head.


    Then Nojraagon flew into the air and started to move above him in circles.


    Just as he was about to move out of the village and go search for beasts for Nojraagon to feed on, he suddenly heard low growls of beasts in the far distance. He could hear this sound because of his powerful hearing. If it was any other person, they wouldn''t detect the roars. Also, from the seismic vibrations that he perceived from the earth, he was able to deduce that a large number of massive beasts were heading towards the village.


    Then to know what they were up against, he willed his eyes to see into the far distance. Abstruse symbols appeared on the white surface of his eyes and produced a near-interstellar gazing power that gave Alex a form of telescopic vision. Very quickly, at that far distance, he saw colossal amounts of wingless and winged beasts dashing and flying towards them. The beasts were massive in size as they ranged from thirty to forty feet. Judging from their sizes, Alex could say that the beasts were earth-rank and sky-rank beasts which were equal to the Earth Adept cultivation stage and Sky Lord cultivation stage, but are far more stronger because of their monstrous sizes and tough hides.


    Then he looked at the unknowing villagers in the distance and thought of what next to do. This was because if the beasts successfully raided the village, the villagers would be entirely swallowed or bitten to bits. This was something that he couldn''t allow to happen.


    Then switching off the far-seeing ability of the star-gazing eyes, he dashed to the hut Olivia was to inform her about what he saw.


    "Olivia, we need to take the farmers away from here. I saw a great number of beasts heading towards here. It would be a massacre if the beasts succeed in raiding this village. We need to act fast or everyone of them would be slain." Alex said hurriedly.


    Olivia''s body shook and her mind roiled because of what Alex said.


    "Beasts?!! Are you sure about that, Alex?" She asked in a deeply perplexed and urgent tone.


    Although she couldn''t hear the roars of the beasts he mentioned about, but she was sure Alex wouldn''t be kidding her.


    "Yes." Alex replied with a sense of certainty in his tone.


    "Alright. But they are mortals. How would we be able to evacuate them that fast? The beasts would definitely catch up with us before we can even move a bit away from the village" Olivia asked in a worried tone.


    "I can do something about that. What I want you to do is to gather everyone of them for me so I could do what I want to do next" Alex said.


    Olivia looked at him intently and nodded her head.


    Then when she left her hut and arrived at the village''s square, she called upon the villagers who quickly shot out of their rooms with worry and fear now radiating from their eyes. They assembled before her at the village''s square ground and waited patiently to listen to what she, whom they had now taken refuge in had to say.


    Olivia looked around and didn''t see Nailah. She guessed that she didn''t leave the large, central hut she lived in.


    So focusing on the mortals gathered in front of her, she said "Those guys who are after Nailah have come again. But this time around, they have sent huge beasts that can wipe all of us out at once. So I would advise that we all leave here at once to escape from the hordes of furious beasts heading our way. But it is impossible for all of us to move very far without them catching up with us."


    Now looking at Alex, she continued "However, my good friend here has proffered a solution to this. With his help, we wouldn''t be caught up by the hordes of beasts heading towards our village right now"


    Alex then came forward to stand by the side of Olivia and said "Hello everyone, this is how I would be able to help you. I have a shelter-purpose treasure that can accommodate all of you. So I would move you all from here into the rooms in this treasure. You would feel a strange kind of force envelop you, don''t try to resist it. It''s only through this means that you all can survive the beast horde attack." Alex said with a building-like treasure in his hand.


    Then upon activation after sending a sliver of his perception into it, a spatial layer movement force erupted from the treasure in his hand and engulfed everyone of the villagers. And with a brilliant glow of resplendent light, they all vanished from where they were, appearing in one of the many vast-spaced rooms in the shelter-purpose treasure.


    When Alex did this, Olivia looked at him with astonishment in her eyes. She wondered where he got such a treasure from. Such kind of apartment-treasures could only be found in Greatverses and Oververses.


    "Alright. It has been done, Olivia. They are safe within the treasure in my hand." Alex said as the shelter-purpose treasure vanished from his hand and appeared in his mom''s spatial ring.


    "I know right" Olivia said looking at Alex with a smile.


    ROAR!!...


    Not long, the hordes of beasts which had now appeared far in front of them bellowed furiously to the sky like it was their enemy.


    "Olivia, I would go get Nailah" Alex quickly said.


    Olivia nodded as she prepared herself for the upcoming battle. However, she wondered how Alex was able to perceive the movement of the large horde of beasts.


    Alex dashed to the central hut to keep Nailah away in the same room he put the rest of the villagers in. Then when he returned to Olivia''s side, the actual forms of the winged and wingless beasts in the distance could now be vividly made out.


    Seeing the shocking amounts of beasts heading their way as they dotted the sky as they flew and raised a massive cloud of dust as they ran, Olivia''s eyes and Alex''s eyes began to radiate battle intents. And so that their battles wouldn''t cause damage to the village, Alex and Olivia, as if they had the same thinking, dashed towards the beasts at that distance.


    Olivia''s eyes turned orange, same with her hair which now seemed like it was burning. A red octahedral crystal materialized at the center of her forehead, then a pair of huge, flaming orange wings sprouted from her back. She had activated her ''Great Infernobringer Firecloud physique''.


    Then she took very high into the air using the winged flight ability of her physique and produced her sword, the Nine Skies Burning sword.


    Alex saw this and wished he could fly. He thirsted for that kind of ability. He wondered when he would be able to reach the stage where he would be able to fly. Although he could actually fly using the saint-tier physiques, it was extremely taxing to do so.


    Paying attention to what was raging towards him, he channelled strengthforce energy to his leg muscles. When they became permeated with the strength-augmenting realm-energy, his muscles became like gilded metal as they started give a golden lustre. Then with a jump, he leaped very high into the air, about sixty feet towards the winged beasts. And while airborne, he produced a peerless-grade, earth rank-armor that appeared on his body to protect him.


    Olivia shook upon witnessing the feat that Alex just performed. Her mind couldn''t help but reel in astonishment. It was totally impossible for someone even at the earth adept stage to jump this high, talk less of someone at the condensation stage. She wondered how he was able to do that.


    But she wouldn''t know that Alex''s strengthforce energy contained another form of energy, a primordial realm-energy which greatly amplified it inherent power of strength and might, and when infused into his muscles, they give him the strength of a body cultivator whose body-cultivation rank was equal to the peak-phase, heaven adept stage cultivation rank.


    "Nine Origins Dragon Twirling Annihilation Inferno" She said.


    Aiming her palms at the the winged beasts that were flying fast towards her in a frenzy, pyroforce energy gushed out from them in great amounts and transformed into nine massive, orange-colored fire cyclones. It was hundreds of feet tall and mystifyingly swirled in the air. Also, roars of dragons could be heard from the whirlpools and the shadow of a nine-neaded dragon could be seen around the nine fire cyclones. This battle technique was an extremely profound, fire-element battle technique.


    The instant the colossal, swirling cyclones of exceedingly-hot orange fire appeared, they produced a strong pulling force that tried to pull everything towards their centers.


    The winged beasts which were sky-rank beasts were pulled by the forces produced by the massive, fire cyclones. They tried hard to resist the strong attractive forces created by the rotational momentums of the cyclones, but the cyclones then gained in speed and strength and pulled everything around them towards their center like a black hole. The beasts upon reaching close proximities of the super-hot fiery cyclones, roared in pain as their tough hides caught on fire and rapidly burnt to the bone and then to ashes after entering the hearts of the cyclones.


    Then Olivia who was still in her powerful form had one of her eyes change from orange to violet. Also, half of her orange hair turned violet.


    "Darkness-Chasing Profound Violet Fiery Burst" Olivia uttered within.


    As soon as she deployed the technique, an enormous, violet-orange fiery aura blasted out out from her body. It was great in size as it spanned hundreds of meters wide and long, and emanated a great, gold-vaporizing heat. She simply became like the sun because of this technique as she dyed the earth below in the double colors of her dazzling, extremely scorching and burning aura. And because of the vast-degree temperature emanating from her fearsome blazing aura, the beasts around her and for hundreds of meters away were instantly burnt to cinders.

 Chapter 174: Hordes of beasts II

    Alex who was at another area of the battlefield noted the fire-bound destruction Olivia caused and gave a smile.


    Reaching a height of sixty feet when he jumped into the air, he brought his hands which had begun to emit golden light and hit them hard together.


    "Sky-clearing Thunderclap" Alex said at the same time he brought his hands together to produce a powerful clap.


    Boom!!!


    The sound that erupted from his palms hitting each other as he clapped rang out like the combined thunderclaps of hundreds of terrifying bolts of lightning, then a strong, tyrannical wave of destructive sound energy was unleashed the instant he clapped.


    The tyrannic sound energy-wave caused the air for hundreds of feet to suddenly gain an astonishing devastating power that it shoved many dozens of them into the distance with a destructive force that gave one the feeling that it would splinter all to smithereens.


    They smashed hard into the earth and left deep and wide craters in it. Gigantic web-like cracks could be seen around the craters they made into the part of the earth they crashed into under the irresistible influence of the strong, backward-shoving kinetic force that acted on them.


    And before Alex could land back to the ground, his eyes abruptly turned cyan. He was employing the ''Wind Elixir'' technique of the Wind Trinity methodology that he studied which always gave him seemingly boundless amounts of windforce energy. Then using the air control ability gained by utilizing the Wind Elixir technique, air quickly gathered around him in astonishing quantities and began to swirl at great speed. In the next instant, a thin, durable sphere of compacted air formed around his figure, enveloping him within the swirling mass of air. Then large amounts of windforce energy began to rush into his body through his pores like a huge flood and into his energyhouse.


    Floating at an altitude which was sixty feet above the ground, his entire body began to glow intensely in cyan light and the column of air twirling around him increased greatly and unceasingly in size. With the way the winds howled furiously around him, he could simply be described as a god of wind.


    Following the steps for "Thousand Mayhem-Wreaking Blades" technique. He pointed at the beasts on the ground and tremendous amounts of windforce energy erupted from his index finger.


    Once the cyan-colored windforce energy that seemed like a large waterfall erupted from his finger, it abruptly condensed into great numbers of huge blades which shot downwards at extreme speeds. The blades shone with intense cyan lustre. They seemed like huge metallic blades that were dyed cyan. Also, a palpable, thick and dense aura of area-vacuuming sharpness emanated from them. Alex had actually added slivers of his golden swordforce energy to the structural make-up of the wind energy blades. Then as the blades shot towards the wingless beasts running on the surface of the earth, they pulled along with them strong gusts of winds.


    Puchi!


    Puchi!


    Puchi!


    ......


    The thousand beasts targeted were sliced cleanly into halves. And the blades possessing great sharpness, after cutting them into halves made hundreds of gashes into the earth.


    In just a few seconds, he had annihilated close to a thousand earth-rank beasts. Olivia where she battled in her winged, super-powered form noted this and couldn''t help but have eyes glitter in deep amazement.


    ''Hmm. He still has his amazing battle prowess.'' She thought.


    She wondered how a peak-phase, condensation-rank energy-attack would instantly obliterate earth-tier beasts. She was able to know the rank of his energy-attacks using the cultivation percipience ability one would gain when one broke through the barrier between mortal and cultivator.


    But she wouldn''t know that his windforce energy was augmented by divineforce energy and that the blades formed from it had ribbons of golden-colored, supreme-grade sharpness-energy; the highest tier of laceration-energy in the realmverse infused into them which increased their penetration-sharpness or slicing power to marveling levels.


    When she was thinking that she was now stronger than him unlike the last time where he dominated the battleground, she was disappointed yet again as his battle power caused her mind to reel in marvel. He seemed like someone who couldn''t be measured or defined by what is used to measure or define others. No matter what stage he was in, he would always be an excellent and a formidable fighter.


    While they were fighting, somewhere, a group of sinister people were observing the situation using a form of projector screen. They were surprised at how Alex''s windforce energy-attack possessed a high damaging power. And from the way he fought, he seemed like he could exchanged attacks with an heaven adept stage cultivator. They were deeply amazed.


    "Where did she get this person from?" One of them asked.


    "I don''t know. But whoever he is, since he has decided to ruin our plans, he surely has to die" An elderly looking man with eyes emitting an evil light said.


    Then they continued to watch.


    While Alex was busy slaying the beasts, he suddenly heard the bloodcurdling roar of a beast. From it terrifying, loud bellow, Alex could deduce that a large beast had entered an extreme rage mode. And he was right. A large, three-eyed, grey-skinned beast that seemed like a cheetah and a had a pair of huge, bat-like wings that possessed sharp, glowing edges became frenzied and dashed towards him.


    Where Olivia fought, she put out her hands and they began to glow in an intense yellow light. Then directing the earth manipulation power of her terraforce energy at the earth, suddenly, a large area of earth cracked and large fragments of it were pulled to the place she floated in the air. Then they enwrapped her arm to form a huge gauntlet.


    This earth gauntlet increased in size as more fragments of earth attached to it. Then terraforce energy moved out from her palm into the gauntlet. Permeating the gauntlets with earth elemental energy, they began to glow extremely strong while their density increased to a great level.


    "Supreme Destroying Monarch Earth Punch" she said and punched out her two fists.


    The massive, yellow-glowing earth-gauntlets shot out at tremendous speed, carrying with them clouds of dusts. As they shot towards the beasts, more pieces of earth broke away from the solid brown earth and were pulled towards the gauntlets, quickly adding to their sizes. In a few moments, the gauntlets had grown from a single feet to hundreds of feet and were extremely compact. Shreds of earth were pulled towards them because the terraforce energy permeating them had the power of earth attraction. So possessing great solidness, they smashed into the winged beasts flying towards her.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!....


    The beasts exploded into mists of blood as the gauntlets smashed into them with a seemingly unstoppable momentum. Despite being at the half-step, sky lord stage, Olivia could cause great injuries to the sky-rank beasts as they were knocked backwards to earth by the cannoning gauntlets.


    The gauntlets continued on smashing into the beasts until it smashed into a very huge beast and exploded apart upon impact. However, the beast was knocked backwards for dozens of meters by the extremely solid, earth-composed gauntlets.


    But not even a mark of damage couldn''t be seen on it body. It wasn''t damaged in the collision.


    The beast then roared loudly in rage and it massive, tough body began to glow in an insanely bright violet light. Then a violet-colored, fire elemental energy burst out from it body in all directions. This energy swept out like a wave towards Olivia.


    When she saw the incoming attack, her eyes widened in fear. Very quickly, she punched out while saying at the same time "Multilayered Fiery Shield."


    Abruptly, pyroforce energy shot out of her punched fist and transformed into many thick and solid sheets of condensed flame that spanned dozens of feet wide and long.


    The instant the thick, enormous sheets of solidified flames materialized, the waves of violet fiery energy smashed into them with tyrannical hardness.


    Bang!


    The first layer could only stall for a few seconds before it shattered apart like a wall of sand that had a rock thrown through it.


    The furious, raging stream of violet fiery energy moved on with tyrannical force, smashing apart into smithereens the large, thick layers produced from fire elemental energy.


    Bang!


    It smashed into her with great hardness, shoving her far into the distance.


    .......


    Alex at the moment looked like a sun as his entire body glowed intensely in cyan light. This was because of the great amount of cyan-colored windforce energy unceasingly flooding into his body. With the wind elixir technique, his entire body became like a top-grade energy synthesis array. Also, the vortex of air around him had achieved the size of a mega-tornado. It actually continued to increase endlessly in size as winds from many kilometers away were pulled towards it. The large masses of air attracted over from far distances continuously imbued the enveloping, swirling mass of air until it became a gigantic wind cyclone. Yet, it growth didn''t end there.


    As windforce energy continued to rush into his body like a dam that had it gate smashed apart, he felt that he could explode very soon if he didn''t stop what he was doing. At the moment, he looked very pale and felt exceedingly bloated.


    Why Alex became pale-skinned was because he deployed the air control power of the wind elixir technique to the maximum. He did this to eliminate the peak sky-rank, bat-winged, cheetah-like beast flying towards him at a great speed. But that wasn''t his intention of doing so, he was actually trying to conceal his other abilities. He didn''t want the people who sent the hordes of beasts to know about his other attacking cards. He knew that they would come soon, and so, he wanted to use his other cards as surprise for them.


    Savoring the energy and it tingling, fast rate of flow into his body which then later became too much for him to contain and handle, the large cyclone that had built around him receded, quickly reducing in size, then vast amount of windforce energy erupted from his entire body. It looked like he was engulfed by an enormous cyan flame. This energy discharged from his body very quickly and like there was no limit to it. It unstoppably expelled from his body at a shocking speed and reached an astonishing size. Also, the instant this enormous amount of energy appeared, it caused extremely terrible stormy winds to surface.


    "Prime Dominator Trinity Annihilation Wind Fist" he said and he punched out.


    The wind elemental energy which unceasingly erupted from his cyan-glowing body quickly condensed into a fist, two fists and then three fists, which then shot out at great speeds towards the beasts. The fists were massive in size as they spanned from seventy feet to ninety feet in size; length, width and height, and achieved a high scale of density where they could be said to be denser than steel hundreds of times. Besides, as they shot out, they carried with them astonishingly strong gales that could heave large rocks hundreds of feet away.


    Boom! Bang!! Boom!!!


    The fists smashed into the beast one after the other with super-hardness. It only took a couple of seconds for the three sets of fists to impact the large beast and reduce it to pieces in the third strike.


    Besides, the fists continued onward into the distance, smashing the beasts in their paths into mists of blood.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    This sound continually rang out as the winged beasts exploded into pieces upon impact with the solid, energy fists.


    Not long, in the area Alex battled in, no winged beasts could be seen again. But what could be seen were pieces of the bodies and wings of the beasts on the surface of the earth which were scattered about.


    Seeing that he had cleared away the beasts, Alex stopped using the wind Elixir technique. He dropped to the ground without support from a height of sixty feet and dashed towards where Olivia was now struggling to battle the peak sky-rank beasts.

 Chapter 175: Hordes of beasts III

    Olivia had flew back to the sky to battle the beast that discharged the wave of violet fiery energy that hurled her hard to the earth.


    As she fought the beast, Alex who was dashing towards her to render some assistance suddenly became surrounded by a large multitude of beasts.


    The beasts that surrounded him were hundreds of peak sky-rank beasts. But his face turned solemn when the winged beasts produced soul-ripping screeches. He knew that these were more difficult to kill as their attacks were directed towards the soul. Besides, they could move in and out of tangibility. They could be corporeal one moment and incorporeal in the next like a ghost. With their ability of insubstantiality, they would easily evade all his attacks. Also, they could devour souls.


    Olivia''s fist began to glow in a yellow light. The sand and stones on the earth started to float due to her earth-power.


    "Thousand Palaces Demolishing Earth Pillars" She said and punched out.


    As she punched out, ripples of yellow energy blossomed from her fist and spread to the far distance. Then abruptly, towering cylindrical columns of earth, about hundred foot wide and tall shot out from the earth surface and struck the winged beasts around her. The pillars also smashed into the powerful beast that engaged her in battle. When the tall, round pillars struck the beasts, many of them exploded into mists of blood.


    Screech!


    Screech!


    Screech!


    Screeching sounds rang out from the winged soul-tearing beasts and these inflicted Alex''s soul with so much pain that his vision became blurry and his awareness to almost descend into insanity. His eyes were red and green veins popped out from the sides of his temples.


    But as he was afflicted with unbearable soul pains, he thought hard of what to do next. Then he arrived at one. Immediately he figured out what to do to slay the beasts that brought upon his soul terrible pains, his eyes suddenly narrowed before it turned dark, then a vast, dark purple aura bursted out from his entire body. This aura engulfed every beasts and deeply affected their vision that they saw only dark purple and nothing else. But Alex knew that their visions were only affected temporarily as the aura was from the phantasmforce energy that he cultivated. It was in the mid-phase condensation stage and so wouldn''t affect the sky-rank beasts for long. Although the illusion-immersing realm-energy could affect them for sometime as it illusion-producing power was augmented to a high level by the divineforce energy that had merged with it.


    Then in the next instant, the vision of the beasts changed. They appeared in a world lying in total ruins. The sky was blood-red and six massive black suns arranged at six points to form a hexagon could be found in it. These suns which were black radiated intense black brilliance that dyed everywhere black, including the earth. Also, extreme coldness seemed to emanate from them. The wind was surprisingly visible as large masses of air were inky black in colour and produced extreme, ice-cold temperature. And on the earth surface could be seen mysteriously-patterned, black ice crystals.


    The beasts actually shivered due to the unreal feelings that they had which was transmitted to them by the phantasmforce energy.


    Then in the earth in this illusionary region could be seen many, seemingly bottomless craters. Their depth seemed to go on forever. But coming out of these fathomless craters were extremely chilly, thick purple smoke which abruptly compacted and took the form of primitive giants which moved towards them like they were frenzied.


    The beasts became scared at the sight of this spectacle and quickly produced soul-ripping screeches that they directed at the giants. But they weren''t affected as they were illusionary beings. Also, their sound-based, soul-slaying attacks were simply directed towards nothing.


    Alex who was employing an illusion-bound battle technique called ''Desolate Dark Radiance Frigid World'', from a group of techniques called ''Phantasm Slaughter'' of an A-grade duality methodology named "Butchering Fiendgod Darkness Methodology", saw that the beasts were lost in the nonexistent world that he generated utilizing the power of illusory elements creation of the phantasmforce energy.


    Then seeing it as an opportunity to deal massive damage on them, swordforce energy, darkforce energy and pyroforce energy rapidly erupted from his entire body in great amounts. It was like his body was engulfed by an enormous flame that had hues of golden, dark black and crimson.


    Stretching a hand out to his side, the energies continuously discharging from his body were abruptly pulled towards it like it were a magnet where they mixed, condensed and shaped into a large, dark blade. It was dark because it had a larger amounts of darkforce energy.


    The blade was extremely dense and it was like it was something forged from real metal. The blade possessed great size and mass as it spanned dozens of feet in length and was six feet wide.


    Since pyroforce energy, swordforce energy was weaved in with darkforce energy, the black energy blade shone with a crimson light and a golden light, radiating powerful heat waves and an aura of terrifying sharpness. The heat was extremely scorching that it caused a large area of the earth illuminated by the crimson luminance given off by the pyroforce energy to begin to fume then melt, becoming magma.


    The blade that he formed wasn''t from any technique of any battle methodology. Using his fast-thinking and rapid deduction ability, he came up with a battle-move. Utilizing the method on how to form energy weapons and using his darkforce energy to generate it, then incorporating both pyroforce energy and swordforce energy into it, he created a battle skill and then named it ''Life-Seizing Night Monarch Burning Blade''.


    It only took him a few seconds to produce the blade. And this was just the time he was supposed to take as the beasts would break out from the illusion anytime soon and come back to reality.


    Then he dashed to the places where they floated a few feet above the ground. And propelled by an unusually strong wind gust, he was able to achieve great foot speed.


    Slash!


    Slash!


    Slash!


    Many slashing sounds rang out as he cut them one by one into halves. Nothing could hinder his momentum nor withstand the cutting power of the massive, swordforce energy-infused dark blade. Therefore, like a merciless god of slaughter, he cut the beasts into halves or straightaway beheaded them.


    Slash!


    Slash!


    Slash!


    Slash sounds continued to ring out as Alex cut the beasts. Not long, the large multitude of soul-attacking sound beasts quickly reduced in number to a few hundreds and to a few dozens before he totally obliterated them. He simply wielded the enormous sword skillfully like it was his second hand.


    When he was done butchering them, all that remained was their blood on his body and their halved lifeless bodies littering the earth in gigantic heaps.


    Then he looked at Olivia who was battling the remaining winged, peak sky-rank beasts. At least, he had rendered some help by slaying many of the sky-rank beasts that could attack her soul using their screeches. So she should be able to slay the rest herself. Besides, he had greatly reduced the population of the beasts.


    ...


    Clenching her fist, it began to glow in an orange light as she drew pyroforce energy from her energyhouse to it.


    "Whirling Rage Fiery Fist" she said and punched out.


    Then an enormous amount of energy abruptly discharged from her orange-glowing fist. The large quantity of flame that erupted from her fist compacted and took the shape of a fist.


    The solidness of the huge, flaming orange fist was many times more than that of a six-feet steel wall.


    Radiating great heat, it swirled at a great speed towards the beasts with fearsome might.


    Boom!


    It smashed into the beasts with great hardness and exploded into a large, violent stream of raging orange flame. Since it turned into a tremendous burst of fire, a powerful tyrannical force emanated from the blast and struck the beasts, shoving them far away. Many of these beasts as they were flung away caught on fire, burning badly and then smashing hard into the ground.


    Still in the air as beasts were dashing towards her, her fist began to glow again in an orange light. Then it suddenly changed to violet. The instant the brilliance emitting from her fist changed to violet, raging violet flames erupted from her fist.


    "Hellblazing Destruction Fire Fist" Olivia uttered inwardly and punched out.


    The moment she punched out, a flaming, violet fist of astonishing size shot out at extreme speed.


    Boom!


    The blazing, violet energy-fist smashed into many of the beasts and turned some of them into pieces, while the others were enveloped by a raging violet flame that rapidly burnt them to cinders. Despite their extremely durable hide and tough bones as peak sky-rank beasts, they couldn''t withstand the powerful heat that could seemingly flash-melt tons of steel.


    Then she flew down and returned to her normal form. She then walked towards Alex with a smile in her face.


    She looked around and saw the fearsome beasts that Alex killed with his inconsequential peak-phase condensation stage and gave a broad, impressed smile.


    ''Still dazzling and overpowering as usual'' She said inwardly.


    "You okay?" She asked.


    "I am fine. You?" Alex replied and asked.


    He too was impressed by Olivia''s battle power. He couldn''t help but be awed. She was indeed the Great Holy Daughter of the Immovable Mountain academy. With time, she would grow stronger than this.


    "I don''t think there was a need to move the villagers away. The beasts couldn''t even break past us." Olivia said with a grin.


    "Yea, but it''s cool that we moved them away. Who can tell what would happen if we didn''t move them?" Alex asked.


    Olivia nodded.


    "What to do next?" She asked.


    "Well, wait for the men that sent the beasts to come for us. I am sure they are observing everything that''s going on" Alex responded.


    "Hmm. Alright. Then we wait for them" Olivia said.


    "Remember to not kill all of them. We can keep one whom we can use to know the location of their organization and wipe all of them away in one strike" Alex said.


    "Alright" Olivia replied as she nodded.


    Just then, a spear suddenly shot at one of them at inconceivable speed from far in the distance.

 Chapter 176: Cold and killing gaze

    As Alex was discussing with Olivia, he suddenly felt a hot sensation at the center of his forehead. He knew what that sensation was. That was the sensation of critical danger, produced by the danger-signaling treasure at the center of his forehead.


    Although his hearing ability was on, it didn''t pick the sound wave generated by anything piercing through the air. Not dilly-dallying, he grabbed Olivia by her hand and pulled her towards himself. Now holding her by the waist, he leaped high into the air and far away in a random direction since he couldn''t say it was this particular direction the attack was coming from.


    A few moments after he jumped away, the spear that was launched, since there was no one to impact, continued onward into the distance, soundlessly.


    When he landed, he quickly loosened his grip on Olivia''s waist.


    "An invisible attack was launched at us a few moments ago." Alex quickly said, trying to explain to Olivia why he did that.


    Olivia looked at him weirdly and in a somewhat unbelievable way.


    "Oh really? An invisible attack? And you could sense it while I couldn''t?" She questioned in a puzzled tone. She had an higher cultivation, therefore, she was supposed to be the first to sense it. Not him. Besides, she still hadn''t notice the attack since the spear continued forward as it couldn''t impact anyone.


    "Well, something like that." Alex said with sweat beads forming in his face due to his nervousness. He felt that Olivia would think he was simply trying to feel her. Then he continued "Please take no offense Olivia. I wasn''t trying to take advantage of you. There was really an attack coming our way. But it''s the concealed type. Somehow, I could feel it"


    Olivia noticed the sweat beads forming on his face and looked at him. Then with a smirk appearing on on her lips, she said "Well, I didn''t accuse you of trying to take advantage of me. I am only curious at how you were able to sense danger, an unseen one while I couldn''t. I am surprised." She said.


    "Well, I just have this ability to sense danger from far. Both seen and concealed ones" Alex replied.


    "Hmm. Okay" Olivia said with an indescribable gaze and mentioned nothing else.


    Why Alex couldn''t sense the spear despite his powerful hearing was because the silencing-array in the voidstone plugged into a socket of the spear absorbed the sound produced by the spear. Therefore, he couldn''t perceive the swooshing sound of the spear cutting through the air towards them.


    Just then, he felt another tingling sensation at the center of his forehead.


    "These guys are persistent" Alex complained inwardly.


    With a thought, two objects shot out from his mom''s spatial ring and turned into two large, round shields that traveled in a frontal direction to intercept whatever was shooting towards them.


    Bang! Bang!


    Two bang sounds rang out at the same time as two soundless, fast-moving spears struck the shields extremely hard. And the spears coming with a lot of momentum, delivering a lot of force, caused the shields to be knocked back towards Alex and Olivia.


    If the shields impacted them, they would be seriously injured. Thinking of this caused Alex''s eyes to widen before they instantly narrowed and began to to glow in a cyan light. Then a solid sphere of air quickly formed around them.


    Infusing the air sphere with many wisps of his windforce energy which contained divineforce energy, it density was increased to an high degree.


    BANG!


    The shields struck the protective air sphere and shattered it, smashing into Alex and Olivia who already had armors on them and knocking them many feet away.


    But the shields couldn''t cause them injury as majority of their momentums had been eliminated upon impacting the dense air sphere that he rapidly generated.


    They both stood up from where they were knocked to and put their armor away.


    It was now that Olivia believed that Alex could see or hear something she couldn''t. Or if he couldn''t, they would have been pierced through by the spears. She looked at the ground and saw two spears lying there. They had lost their momentum when they struck the compacted wind shields.


    Olivia then screamed into the distance "Bastards! Only cowards stay behind invisible barriers and send concealed attacks. If you are brave, come out and fight like the brave and courageous men that you are!"


    Hahahaha!!


    A raucous laughter rang out.


    "I see. We are coming out now" A voice said.


    With a dazzling flash of colored light, many men appeared at once. It was like they had arrived here using a spatial transference array.


    Some of these men were in the earth adept stage while the others were in the sky lord stage. Then the person that spoke was in the Saint stage, and by his sides were men at the peak-phase heaven adept stage. They floated high in the air and looked down at Olivia and Alex like they were ant. Like they were something that could be matched upon to death effortlessly.


    Olivia detected the cultivation levels of these people and her brows raised. Same with Alex. Besides, there were just too many of their opponents. And they were high-level ones.


    "Handsome guy. I saw what you did. My men saw what you did. You kept all of the villagers into a building-like treasure. Nice shelter treasure-artifact you have got there. Anyways, when I kill you, I will get the treasure from you." The saint stage cultivator who appeared to be the commander of this group said and then continued" You made a very big mistake interfering in the matter that doesn''t concern you in any way."


    "Well, my good friend is in trouble. I can''t sit back and watch as only she tries to handle the problem facing her" Alex replied.


    "Haha! Good friend? Or you are here to impress her so she can spread her legs like wildfire for you" The man cackled and said.


    Alex''s eyes shone with coldness and killing intent.


    "Haha. The cold and killing gaze. I guess I must have said the right thing to bring about that kind of look from you. Since your friend is one of the Great Holy Daughters of the Immovable Mountain academy, she is one of their virgin, top female genius. So you might want to have her virgin thingy for yourself. Or don''t tell me you haven''t figured out why the Holy is in her title? Haha! I guess you haven''t. It''s simply because she''s a virgin, and the ''Great'' in the title is because she is one of their top female genius. Therefore, when I kill you, I will be the one to desecrate her holy body and pass it around like a shred of soiled rag to my men to use it to wipe off their horniness. Bwahaha!" The man said in a lustful tone and laughed evilly.


    Of course Alex had realized this since. But now, he felt incredibly bad at the way they talked profanely of Olivia''s body. They just likened her to something that can be used to ease themselves off of their horniness. Just when he would talk, Olivia asked with a sense of coldness in her tone "You pricks know that I am a top genius of the Immovable Mountain academy, yet, you still want to harm me. Aren''t you scared that the powerful instructors from my academy would come for your heads?"


    "Heads? Haha!! What heads? No one would know what we did to you." The man replied.


    "I have a way to alert them and they would instantly arrive here by teleportation" Olivia said to frighten them.


    "Well, we have thought about that and have taken decent measures against it. Try sending a distress signal and see if it would go through. Haha! I can''t wait to kill that boy beside you and have your sealed, sacred secret cave opened by me and widened further by the powerful rods of my amazingly strong men" the Saint stage cultivator said in a wicked tone.


    Alex looked at Olivia and back at the Saint stage cultivator. Anger could be seen in his eyes. But the anger didn''t cloud his senses or dampen his thinking ability. He had lot of thoughts flashing in his mind and these thoughts were on things to do from this stage that they had gotten to. He was in the peak-phase condensation stage and could face the earth adept stage cultivators using his augmented energies. And could possibly battle the sky lord and heaven stage cultivators using his mutated strengthforce energy. But what of Olivia, she wouldn''t be able to. These were humans not beasts. They would be smart and cunning and would have studied many powerful battle techniques and movement methods. She would be quickly overpowered due to their large numbers and possibly taken away with the opinion that he would come searching for her. He couldn''t let that to happen as he would have to dance to their tune. The best thing he could do was to run away dem here with her.


    But like the man knew what was going on in his mind, he gazed at Alex and said with a smile "Thinking of running away?" Then he looked at his men and said "Activate the formation"

 Chapter 177: A radiant and confident smile

    Then a large ray of light shot out from the spatial ring to the sky and turned into a massive formation. It was about a thousand feet in size. Once it appeared, it produced a giant beam of light that shot to the clouds and then spread out like a curtain in all directions, connecting to the earth to form a dome-shaped barrier.


    "This is a barrier that prevents teleportation. So don''t think some treasures will help you bypass the teleportation restrictions of the barrier" The Saint stage cultivator said.


    Alex smirked.


    ''Oh really?'' Alex said inwardly.


    Just as he was about to talk to Olivia that he wanted to do something and that she should be ready, Olivia looked at him and said "Alex, I am sorry I got you into this mess..."


    But before she could continue further, Alex interrupted as he sharply cut in and said "Hey! Stop uttering foolish words. It was my choice. And I know that I made the right choice to stay behind to help a good friend. By the way, these guys can''t do me shit. If I want to leave, I would leave"


    Olivia''s eyes widened.


    Alex then looked at her with a thoughtful gaze and said "I would have want us to leave to show these morons that nothing can hold me back. But if we leave, the little girl and the villagers wouldn''t be safe. We would always have to carry them in the apartment-treasure everywhere we go. So, the only thing we can do is to slay these men before us and go to their organization to burn it down to ashes so that the little girl can have a chance at a good and peaceful life."


    Olivia''s mind reeled in astonishment.


    Then she asked in a worried tone. "But you are in the peak-phase condensation stage. How are you going to battle them? They would take you down instantly"


    "Well, I am more powerful than you can imagine" Alex said with a smile.


    "Haha! Still trying to impress at the point of death? You really want to enter the crack of this saintess. Anyways, you will have the chance after you die and after we have struck her to death with our womb-breaking, long and fat fleshy rods." The Saint stage cultivator said and cackled evilly. Then he looked at his men and spoke in a sinister tone "Kill the hero boy and bring me the bitch."


    The earth adept stage cultivators on the ground nodded their heads at their leader and then rushed towards Olivia and Alex.


    Olivia looked at Alex with worry while Alex looked at her with a confident smile.


    She saw his smile and somehow, the worry in her heart vanished like it was never there. She couldn''t explain how that happened, but seeing that smile gave her absolute confidence too. The radiant smile Alex gave boosted her morale and confidence. All that was in her head initially were frantic thoughts on how to escape this encircling. But now, she was going to fight. Kill and kill to her satisfaction and until not one of her adversaries here was still living.


    Just when the earth adept stage cultivators were about to make a move at them, a resplendent light suddenly flashed, and with a whooshing sound, a spear that was abruptly launched, shot through the air at an inconceivable speed towards them.


    Puchi!


    It pierced into that person from the heart and carried him off the ground to a distance of twenty feet, pinning him to the earth.


    The spear had been hurled by Alex who infused his arm muscles with his mutated strengthforce energy, giving him the physical (muscular and skeletal) strength of a body-cultivator whose strength matched that of a peak-phase heaven adept stage.


    Due to the sudden, extremely quick fatal attack, the earth adept stage cultivators stopped and quickly produced an armor on their bodies. Then their eyes turned black and the tattoo of a black tiger surfaced on the faces of each of these men. It also appeared on their skins which had turned black and began to lustre like a type of hard black metal. But no one would see these as they had worn armors. As soon as the tattoos appeared, a ferocious beastly aura burst out from them and the growls of a tiger could be heard.


    When Alex saw the tattoos of a tiger on their faces, his brows raised as he muttered in a shocked tone "Animalforce energy"


    That was an energy that gave a cultivator animal-like characteristics. Also called beast-mimicry realm-energy, a cultivator would simply possess the ability of beasts. If it was the tattoo of a cheetah, one would possess the speed of a cheetah but in vastly multiple folds; since the cheetah possesses speed, they too would acquire speed that would be augmented by a factor of many large numbers. But this ability multiplication factor totally depended on their level of comprehension of the energy. So, now that these men had produced the tattoos of a tiger, they possessed the strength, bone hardness and crushing power of a tiger, and the abilities increased to a shocking level, like thousand times more. Cultivation of this energy was by killing beasts with desired attributes, absorbing the energy in their True Beast Cores and then refining it into this energy, while at the same time, comprehending it essence. But cultivation of this energy could become stagnant since cultivating it to high levels would require one to continue killing the same beast which have reached a high level too.


    Olivia looked at them and could see the shadowy figure of an enormous black tiger behind them. Also, from the tattoos on their faces, they gave her the feeling that they were nigh-invincible. That their bodies couldn''t be harmed by any means.


    She too knew where these abilities came from. From the cultivation of Animalforce energy.


    Now that they had gained the abilities of a beast called Blacksteel tiger, a beast known for it extremely tough hide and super-strong body, their bodies would become highly impervious to damage and would have astonishing physical strength.


    Alex looked at Olivia and said "Let''s take them down."


    Olivia nodded her head and then they dashed towards the men. As she ran towards them, she produced her sword called the Nine Skies Burning sword which she wielded with her left hand.


    One of the men produced an average-quality, earth-rank spear and threw it at Alex.


    On seeing the man''s action as he ran, Alex pointed his finger and a wide ray of golden swordforce energy shot out.


    This ray of golden energy impacted the spear, and surprisingly, the spear was sliced cleanly in halves, before it exploded into bits.


    Then slicing through the air like it was the conquering golden sword of an Immortal, it continued towards the earth adept stage cultivator that threw the spear.


    The man''s eyes widened with deep surprise before he quickly produced a shield to block the golden sharpness-energy ray shooting towards him.


    But with a loud bang, the shield was cut into two by it. And then impacting the armor he wore, it was sliced apart.


    Bang!


    The ray struck the man and he was sent flying for dozens of feet. When he stood back to his feet, one could see a deep cut in his body at the area the sword energy ray struck him. He had actually sustained injury in the brief exchange. Despite the high durability his body had acquired, he was still wounded.


    This was of little surprise to Alex. He felt that since the swordforce energy which he cultivated was the peerless-grade, sovereign-tier one, one that contained a powerful ''Will'' to cut apart everything which would act like binds or restraints to its freedom, it would definitely slash the spear and armor to halves. It was an energy that wanted to move across the infinite horizons unrestrainedly and independently, all because of the ''Liberation Will'' and ''Overlord Will'' in it. Besides, he had divineforce energy circulating in his energyhouse. It would increase the cutting power of his swordforce energy to an high level as it did to his other energies. But he didn''t know it would be this powerful since it went on to injure the earth adept stage cultivator, giving him a deep cut. He was surprised as he hadn''t cultivated the energy to an high level.


    Since he witnessed the penetration and cutting power of the laceration-energy that he sent out, an evil smile appeared in his face. He was now out for the butcher.

 Chapter 178: Battle

    Olivia continued to run towards them. When she got to a distance of ten feet in front of them, she did an aerial cartwheel.


    While airborne and looking down at them in the cartwheel motion, she slashed out at them with her Nine Skies Burning sword.


    Each time she slashed out, a wide ray of blue-colored compacted flame shot out and struck each of these men. But they weren''t injured. They were only blasted to far distances away.


    Their skin was harder than steel as the focused energy-ray she unleashed from her treasure-sword could punch a large hole though a twenty feet-thick steel and instantly melt it.


    She landed with a solemn face, then her sword began to emit a more dazzling blue light and heat. She was ready to discharge a more powerful attack.


    While Alex who had gotten to their front prepared for a close-range battle. He was going to use his fists and feet as his weapons. He was going to utilize a battle-technique from the Banishment Sword methodology called ''Annihilating Banishing Fists''. With this technique, he would transform his hands or fists into sharp weapons. This is done by wrapping his fists with golden swordforce energy. Also, the bones of his hands and tissues had been permeated with strengthforce energy, increasing their toughness and denseness to an astonishing degree.


    Then one of the men that appeared before him tried stabbing him with a spear.


    Alex just stepped to a side, dodging the spear. Then he grabbed the spear, and mustering strength, he lifted it along with the earth adept stage cultivator holding it, turned around and in the process, flung the man towards the others that were running towards him from behind the man.


    Bang!


    The man smashed into several of them and they were all launched further into the distance. But there were no injuries on them, not even a mark.


    .......


    Where Olivia fought, before the men she blasted away using the rays of energy from her Nine Skies Burning sword could stand back to their feet, Olivia punched the earth, amplifying the devastating force her punch could produce with the power of earth the terraforce energy that she cultivated granted her.


    Boom!!


    Once her fist struck the earth, it was like tons of bombs detonated. The earth shattered in a wave-like pattern as a strong seismic wave moved through it in all directions.


    This earth-shattering seismic wave traveled into the far distance wreaking havoc. While a wave carrying high destructive power which had erupted from her fist impacting the earth swept out in all directions in the air. It caused everything in it path to shatter into bits.


    The earth stage cultivators were knocked heavily and far into the distance, about thirty feet away by the devastating seismic wave and highly destructive wave spreading through the air.


    Dusts filled the air and saturated it. While a gigantic, ripple-like crack could be seen where she punched into the earth, spreading into the far distance


    Her fist had caused this much damage to the earth but it was all for nothing as the men shoved into the far distance simply stood up again.


    She grunted when she saw them, alive and kicking. They hadn''t sustained any injury.


    Huuuu!


    She took a deep breath, then her eyes shone with unbridled desire to slay all in her path.


    Then she activated her Great Infernobringer Firecloud physique. Her eyes turned orange, same with her hair as it began to burn like it was on fire. In this form, she looked like a goddess of fire.


    Her body then put out an enormous, fiery orange aura that seemed as if it wanted to melt everything in it path. Also, it radiated with a pressure that gave a feeling that it would crush all things. This aura of power was put out in preparation of what she was about to do next.


    After transforming, she temporarily removed a seal from the sword in her hand, then the aura of power emitting from it increased to a shocking level. The Nine Skies Burning sword was a powerful treasure-sword which had been partially sealed and given to her for her use. Therefore, reversibly opening a single seal from it caused it to begin to emit the pulse of power that would match that of a Great Saint-stage cultivator. But then, she began to bleed from the nose. She had begun straining herself to handle the power put out by the sword.


    But it was only with this power that she could do what she wanted to do next.


    "Godkilling Imperial Sword of Fire" she uttered and jumped high into the air.


    The sword which had begun to glow with an intense colorful light and grew larger that it became sixteen feet long and thirteen feet wide, and on it surface appeared hundreds of abstruse patterns that had rings of resplendent light revolve around them, she pulled the large sword with her as she launched herself into the air and lifting the sword over her head, she surprisingly launched a massive attack at the Sky Lord stage cultivators floating in the air.


    One wouldn''t be able to imagine that Olivia would actually be able to wield such a large sword. This was a sword that should be wielded by a giant.


    When the earth adept stage cultivators who had stood back to their feet from the distances they were shoved to by the seismic wave and began running towards her with their treasure-weapons now in their hands saw the new development, they came to an abrupt stop. The new development which was Olivia transforming and her sword unleashing a fearsome aura of power had instilled great fear in their heart. The sword gave them the chills.


    But they wouldn''t know that she was going to direct her attack at the Sky Lord stage cultivators.


    The attack she sent out produced a constraining pressure that came upon the Sky Lord stage cultivators.


    Once the pressure acted on them, the Sky Lord stage cultivators became locked in their positions in the air. They couldn''t move as they remained fixed at the area they floated in. Also, their blood began to to roil like it was going to burst out of their bodies the next moment. Besides, their eyes became larger, giving the feeling they were going to shoot off the next instant. Many cracks rapidly appeared on their bodies as their blood began to spurt out like fountains from them.


    The overwhelming restrictive pressure acting on them made them feel like they were tightly bound in thousands of large, invisible shackles that squeezed tighter around them with the intention to make them burst into mists of blood.


    Rmmm!


    As they were ''locked'' by the pressure, a massive, solidified beam of blue energy that seemed to outshine the sun as it dyed everywhere blue and was thousands of meters wide, radiating extreme heat shot towards them. Then moving at a great speed, it blasting into the men.


    BANG!!!


    A very loud explosive sound rang out. When the beam disappeared, nothing could be seen of the men. They had been thoroughly vanquished.


    Then she dropped back to the ground with great weakness in her body. Besides, she now looked sickly pale.


    Blood could be seen streaming down her two nostrils unendingly. She quickly brought out a white herb which she chewed and swallowed.


    After a few minutes, the bleeding stopped but she still looked very pale. Using that sword at that level of power took a great toll on her. However, she was strong enough to withstand that kind of power. If it were other people, they would be utterly reduced to pieces.

 Chapter 179: Pressed down

    Alex whose fists was enwrapped with golden swordforce energy, and bones and flesh permeated with strengthforce energy, sent out instant-penetrating, solid and heavy punches. The punches he launched possessed tyrannical sharpness and immense heaviness as they effortlessly pierced through the men''s chest and blasted them into pieces.


    Despite being in seeming armored forms, they couldn''t withstand his punches. Likewise, his punches ripped or shattered apart the energy-attacks that they launched at him.


    With his extremely fierce, one-time destroying punches, the earth adept stage cultivators backed far away from him. He was like a primordial beast that loved to tear and rip apart everything using it claws.


    When they looked at him, they became exceedingly fearful. This was because he was bathed in their blood and this made him look like a crazed and malevolent, bloodthirsty fiend.


    Seeing that they refused to attack him anymore, Alex then decided wipe all of them out.


    But just as he was about to, everywhere suddenly became colored with blue, including the earth and the sky. Then he looked up to know what caused that and saw to his amazement that it was an attack sent out by Olivia using her Nine Skies Burning sword.


    ''What a powerful sword'' Alex said within with awe.


    The others too were deeply surprised by the powerful, phenomenal attack that Olivia unleashed. Looking on with unbridled awe in their eyes, they saw how it impacted the Sky Lord stage cultivators and how they vanished. Then their minds reeled in shock and fear.


    Alex shook his head with a smile hung on his face and said inwardly ''She''s trying hard to steal my shine''


    Then he looked at the earth adept stage cultivators and said out loud "Yo, filthy losers! Eyes on your daddy. It''s time to die."


    Deploying a high-level battle-technique named ''Thousand Swords Banishing Ten Thousand Demons'' from the Banishment Sword Methodology, he aimed his palms out at them and abruptly released a great amount of golden swordforce energy from his body. In a second, he had produced a quantity that would take others hours to rapidly discharge from their bodies.


    Once this energy gushed out from his palms excessively and at a deeply marveling rate, they instantly partitioned and condensed, shaping into large swords that lustred like actual swords that were gilded. They resembled real swords that were layered or coated with gold.


    The moment that they formed in the thousands, they shot towards the earth adept stage-cultivators.


    Puchi!


    Puchi!


    Puchi!


    Piercing sounds rang out as the earth adept stage cultivators were cut through by the energy-swords. Their tough skins and armors couldn''t deflect the swords. They were pierced through like a hot knife through butter. They couldn''t withstand the penetrating power of the swords.


    Once the energy-swords pierced through them like they were air, they continued on into the distance, shooting at high speeds until they would loose their momentums and then lose their forms as the energy that composed them would return to the realmverse.


    Not long, dead bodies of the earth adept stage cultivators that fought him, including the ones that Olivia fought could be seen on the ground. One could see large slits on their chests which ran from the front of their bodies to their backs, revealing what was behind them which was the blood-covered bare earth.


    The Saint stage cultivator saw how Alex finished all of his men and his brows furrowed.


    ''What the hell'' He said inwardly.


    Alex then walked to meet Olivia. He saw how pale she looked and became worried. He knew that she had greatly strained herself using that sword to produce that earlier fearsomely powerful attack.


    When he got to her front, he asked with concern in his tone "Olivia, are you okay?"


    "Yes, I am fine" She said.


    "You don''t seem fine to me. Don''t lie to me" Alex said.


    "I said that I am fine" Olivia replied.


    "You don''t look so. Using that sword at a great power has taken a huge toll on you. I have many healing pills with me that I could give you" Alex said with a grin.


    "I already consumed a consummate herb with good healing properties. I will be fine. Don''t worry about me" Olivia responded.


    "What is this that you telling me Olivia? I have to worry about you. Can you continue fighting? Definitely not in this form. You look too pale to resume fighting." Alex said. Then he continued with a smile in his face "My offer for a pill still stands. If you want it, I will quickly produce as many as you want"


    Olivia smiled back and said "Thank you. I will be fine"


    "Why must you be so stubborn? You and I both know that you are not feeling fine. I wish I had a mirror to show you how pale you look. To be honest, you look like a corpse. I feel like I am talking to a dead person" Alex spoke without mincing words. He was trying to provoke her so she would accept what he wanted to offer her.


    Olivia looked at him coldly and turned her gaze somewhere else.


    "Still as proud and obstinate like the first time I met you at that cave. Alright, if you have pills, please take them" Alex said.


    "And what''s your business with my wellbeing? I can handle myself" Olivia said without looking at him.


    Alex shook his head with a wry smile hung on his lips.


    This caught Olivia''s attention as she turned her face to look at him. Alex looked at her and she looked back at him in the eyes.


    "What?" She asked.


    "Nothing" Alex said with a smile that made Olivia wrinkle her brows.


    Before she could say anything, Alex suddenly moved towards her. He was very fast that she couldn''t dodge in time. Once he appeared before her, he knocked her to the ground. Then pressing her down with one of his powerful arms which was now infused with strengthforce energy, he produced a healing pill which he forced down her throat.

 Chapter 180: Olivias hidden injuries

    The pill that was shoved down her throat turned into a large amount of healing energy. Then it spread to every inch of her body to heal her.


    Pressing her down and observing her body, Alex saw that it didn''t return to normal. The paleness of her body didn''t go away.


    Then he furrowed his brows as he was lost in his forest of thought. He didn''t know what was wrong. It was like the pill he forced down her throat was a useless one. He began to wonder what was happening.


    Then he arrived at a thought which seemed to be the reason for her not healing. She was injured. She was carrying an injury with her that defied healing.


    Looking at her, Alex said "You are injured. You are carrying a wound with you"


    "Will you take your hand off me?" Olivia said with a sense of coldness in her tone.


    Alex quickly removed his hand and then offered to lift her up. She simply knocked away his hand and stood by herself.


    Alex smiled wryly. He knew that she would be pissed off by what he just did.


    "Olivia, I am sorry. I thought that the pill I gave you was going to work. Don''t mind what I did few moments ago" Alex said.


    "Of course I am going to mind it. How dare you do what you did earlier? If it was another person, I would have sent an attack at him. Don''t take the fact that I know you for granted or you wouldn''t like what I would do. So please, mind your business now. I have gotten enough of your concerns" Olivia said.


    Alex looked at her and said "Alright."


    Then he turned his face away to look at the Saint stage cultivator and the heaven adept stage cultivators that were flying towards them.


    "Haha. I now understand something. That sword you used earlier is a sword that shouldn''t be found in this Mortal World. Since you have it in your possession, that means you must be from a powerful family. And such family shouldn''t be found residing in this kind of world, which is a Mortal World. They should be people that have the power to flourish in Major Worlds and Grand Worlds. But since you are here in this Mortalverse, and that you couldn''t summon the powerful experts of your families to come help you, that means your powerful family is now a shadow of their former self. With the irrecoverable wound that you have which hasn''t been eliminated, I can surmise that a battle occurred at the region your family resided in. They were involved in a serious battle that deeply affected them, with you getting injured in the process. Therefore, since they didn''t have the ability to continue living in a Grand World or Major World, they left there by some Inter-World teleportation array and arrived here" The Saint stage cultivator said.


    Alex''s brows furrowed. This man could be actually right.


    Olivia looked coldly at the Saint stage cultivator and then at Alex with a more colder and wrathful gaze. Her secret which she didn''t want anyone to know had just been exposed. And Alex was the cause of this.


    Actually, what the Saint stage cultivator said was true. It was true that she was from a family that flourished in a great world. But something happened and they were involved in a war that drastically reduced their numerical strength. A family of many powerful experts reduced from hundreds to a few numbers. Not possessing the ability to continue residing in a Greatverse, they left there and arrived at this Planeverse. But during the battle, Olivia who was still a small, little girl at that time was injured in the process. Alex made up his mind to ask her about this when their ongoing battle was over. Being a curious person, he was going to ask her what really happened.


    Olivia turned her face away from Alex to look at the Saint stage cultivator. Then she clapped for him and said "Well, you are right"


    Then she turned to gaze angrily at Alex. She spoke "And you, thanks for letting them and you know my secret"


    Looking back at the Saint stage cultivator, she said "Alright, enough with the chit-chat. let''s resume our battle"


    Haha!


    The Saint stage cultivator laughed. Then he said "You truly are foolish. Look at you, you are so sheet-white that you seem like a walking dead to me. Bwahaha. The stupid bitch can''t even heal. And she wants to fight me, a peak-phase Saint stage cultivator. Haha. Girl, just surrender. Surrender your luscious body to this god of lust. Who knows, maybe my powerful rod will work some magic on your internal un-healing wounds. The liquid that would discharge from my Faucet of Joy when it reaches into your inside has unparalleled healing properties. In no time, you would be healed, totally. So just give up your quest and follow me to where I will heal you sexually"


    "What an annoying bastard" Alex said


    "Haha. Hero boy. I haven''t forgotten about you. You were really amazing in the earlier battle. You killed earth adept stage cultivators like you were killing ants. Where did you learn to fight like that? Who trained you? That person did a really good job. It''s just that it would be a great loss to that person when I kill you. What a tremendous waste of that person''s time and resources"


    Alex then looked at Olivia whose eyes had begun to erupt battle intent and said "Olivia, you can''t fight like this. You are carrying a wound that refuses to heal. If you continue to fight, it would only worsen. Please, I will handle the battle that is about to ensue." Alex said. Then he looked at the Saint stage cultivator and at the heaven adept stage cultivators and back at Olivia and said in an imploring tone "I can handle him and them. Believe me. Although, I would be severely strained, but I will finish them off. You don''t need to do a thing"

 Chapter 181: Battle with an Heaven Adept stage cultivator

    Olivia looked at Alex and wondered where he got his confidence from. That was a peak-phase saint stage cultivator that he was about to face and yet, he was fearless about it. Despite being in the condensation stage, he was sure that he could handle a Saint stage cultivator. She just couldn''t understand where he got such a confidence from. And she that knew Alex wasn''t trying to impress her. But she was still seriously angry at him for all that he did.


    She knew the wound that she was carrying. If she continued to fight, it would only get worse. And that would spell doom and eternal stagnancy for her health and cultivation. What she needed to do now was to relax for a long time so that her body could return to normal. She was sad about this, but there was nothing she could do about it.


    She looked at Alex and nodded.


    Alex smiled happily. He was glad that she listened to him.


    Then she went far away from here which would be the battle ground.


    As she walked away, the Saint stage cultivator gave an evil smile. He looked at one of the heaven adept stage cultivator and said "Bring that bitch for me"


    The heaven adept stage cultivator spoken to nodded his head.


    Just as he was about to shoot towards Olivia, Alex suddenly unleashed an attack. This was an high-level attack from the Banishment Sword Methodology that was branded into his memory. It was named ''Heavenly Ascension of Twin Banishing Sword Dragons''


    Aiming his palms at the heaven adept stage cultivator, a large quantity of golden swordforce energy gushed out from it in large quantities. Then infusing his comprehension of the battle-technique into the swordforce energy through his mind-link to it, the energy transformed into two mighty golden dragons that spanned fifty feet in size; length, width and height. They simply resembled golden-skinned primordial dragons.


    The instant they formed, they shot towards the heaven adept stage cultivator, radiating tremendous sharpness and power of might. Alex had actually imbued the attack with strengthforce energy. He had channelled wisps of this energy into it to increase it durability, resilience and damaging power.


    Seeing the twin attacks shoot towards him, the heaven adept stage cultivator''s eyes glittered with intense amazement.


    This was because the attack gave off the power of a peak heaven adept stage cultivator. It could as Alex had sent strengthforce energy into it, giving it that level of power. But there was no way it destructive power would match that of a real heaven adept stage cultivator. His energy-attack which was an earth-rank attack because of divineforce energy was enhanced to a higher degree by the strengthforce energy that it was infused with.


    But being a veteran, the heaven adept stage cultivator wasn''t in this state of shock for too long. He immediately sent out a palm and a large, solid dragon, condensed out of scarlet pyroforce energy, a variant, fire elemental energy shot out at breakneck speed towards the incoming, twin golden dragon of swordforce energy.


    The instant it appeared, it caused the temperature of the surrounding to soar to extremely unbearable degrees. It gave the feeling that one was in a vast, exceedingly hot furnace. Only the waves of heat radiating from it caused a large area of the earth to quickly melt, becoming magma. This was a technique of a Variant Fire-Element Battle-Methodology that he studied, the Destroying Fiery Dragon Mono Seal.


    Boom!!


    The attacks struck each other and a loud explosion sound rang out which was immediately accompanied by a violent release of destructive energies. These energies rushed into the surrounding in all directions like a tide, ravaging everything in their path.


    Quickly deploying a method called ''Sword Screen'', a golden screen of energy immediately surfaced in front of Alex, same was done by the heaven adept stage cultivator who quickly produced a scarlet screen of energy to shield him from the berserk devastating energies.


    When everything returned to normal, large web-like cracks that extended into the distance could be seen in the earth. These cracks in the earth manifested just below the point of impact of the two attacks. The discharge of the tidal violent energies had caused these cracks to appear.


    With his six inches-thick protective screen which was rapidly formed out of his swordforce energy and infused with his mutated strengthforce energy to increase it degree of denseness, it protected him from the devastating energies. But only for some moments as it shattered in the next instant and struck Alex, sending him flying into distance. But he had produced peerless-quality, sky-rank armor from his mom''s spatial ring just to protect himself.


    The heaven adept stage cultivator too was launched away by the tyrannical waves. When he stood back to his feet, he looked at Alex where he was with intense surprise in his eyes. He couldn''t believe that Alex could actually exchange an energy-attack with him.


    Olivia too was shocked where she was. She couldn''t believe that Alex''s attack could cancel out the attack of an heaven adept stage cultivator.


    ''B¡ªBut how is that possible?'' She asked inwardly as her mind unstoppably reeled in awe.


    She felt that there was no logic to this, but she wouldn''t know that there was actually logic to it. Alex''s attack had the base comprehension of a high-level battle-technique of a Supernal Battle Entity-grade (A-grade) Trinity Methodology. The energy which was used to form the attack was the type that possessed a will to be an unparalleled Overlord or a Universal Principal Dictator. Also, it had divineforce energy that increased it quality to the earth-rank stage, becoming a pseudo-earth rank energy. While the strengthforce energy that was infused into it transformed it into a pseudo-heaven rank energy as it increased it quality (density) from the earth level to the heaven level.


    "You seem pretty powerful, but how long can you last against me? Anyways, I have taken a fancy to the sword methodology that you studied. I am a merciful person, give me the manual for this battle-methodology and I would let you leave with only one of your hands and legs intact" The heaven adept stage cultivator said.

 Chapter 182: Shocking transformation I

    "Haha. A hand and a leg intact? Ape, you are sick and stupid. So what if you are in the heaven adept stage? I can still put up a good fight with you, you no-good monster" Alex grinned and uttered in a confident tone.


    "Very good. Then I would get the methodology from your corpse" The heaven adept stage cultivator annoyingly said.


    His hand began to glow intensely in scarlet light and terrifying heat waves radiated from it in all directions. Then he sent his palm out, discharging large amounts of scarlet-hued pyroforce energy which rapidly condensed into two massive scarlet dragons of energy that shot out at extreme speeds towards Alex.


    The heat emanating from them flash-melted the earth and abruptly raised the ambient temperature; the temperature of the surrounding to extreme levels. This was the second phase of the technique - Destroying Fiery Dragon Duo Seal.


    Alex whose palms were giving out golden radiance had his face turn solemn. The incoming attack would definitely kill him.


    He quickly sent his two palms out, discharging nearly all the swordforce energies that was in his energyhouse. The astonishing amounts of sharpness-energy that he discharged which totally hid his figure like he was in a vast and extremely thick golden mist rapidly solidified into hundreds of enormous blades. Alex had deployed another technique called ''Thousand Menace Banishing Blades''.


    When the blades formed, they shot out at great speeds, carrying with them an unusually bright golden brilliance as they dyed the earth in their golden colour. This dazzling brilliance was from the large quantities of strengthforce energy that was incorporated into their dense structures.


    The blades that he sent out were utterly massive for someone at his cultivation stage as each of them had equal sizes of about hundreds of feet in width and length.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!....


    The earth shook intensely and cracked in many places as many loud explosions occurred at once when the attacks struck each other. Then tremendous amounts of energies that were expelled from the point of their collisions wreaked havoc in the directions they moved in.


    But their attacks canceled out with the waves of tyrannical energies impacting both of them. Alex was sent flying into the far distance while the heaven adept stage cultivator was knocked backwards for many feet before he stood back to his feet.


    Although their attacks canceled out, there were still at least two hundred blades that pierced through the air, whistling like arrows towards the heaven adept stage cultivator.


    The heaven adept stage cultivator realizing his impending doom quickly produced an average-quality heaven-rank defensive treasure-artifact.


    He activated it and the shield expanded in front of him, blocking all the blades. But it wasn''t that easy to block the sword-energy blades that contained the will to break through all restrictions in it path.


    Clank!


    Clank!


    Clank!...


    Hundreds of loud metallic sounds rang out as the blades struck the metallic treasure-shield.


    The shield was knocked heavily into the heaven adept stage cultivator by the blades and was then continuously knocked into the distance as the blades unstoppably struck it.


    The shock received from the shield ramming very hard into him and the shield rampantly struck by the blades that impacted it, caused the man to shriek in pain. But after many tremendously heavy strikes, producing tens of thousands of force each time they impacted the shield, he crashed back to the earth about eighty feet away.


    Alex stood to his feet from where he was shoved to. Same with the heaven adept stage cultivator who took into the air.


    "Fool!! How can you let an ant match upon you this much? What a nincompoop and an incompetent bastard. You have greatly shamed yourself and have highly embarrassed me. I just can''t believe that I have such a useless creature in my group. Hank, Kyle, Tom and James, bring me the head of that useless kid" The Saint stage cultivator said hiding the astonishment in his tone. He too was deeply shocked by what he witnessed. He had never seen or heard of anyone possess such a battle power. And to prevent problems as he felt that Alex would possess some cores of highly destructive power as protection, he ordered the heaven adept stage cultivators to quickly annihilate Alex before he could use them.


    Then they shot towards Alex but stopped halfway when his body began to emit three pulses of Saint-level power and three different lights.


    "What?!" They said inwardly in a deeply shocked tone.


    Alex at the moment had summoned three physiques. These were:


    [Cosmic Prime Fire-Winged Chaotic Flame Emperor Physique]


    [Mayhem-Wreaking Spirit Termination Godly Blademaster Physique]


    [Profound Nine Shadow Worlds Carnage Martial God Physique]


    He produced three physiques so that he could handle the several peak-phase heaven adept stage cultivators coming his way.


    When the three brilliant colors of light emanating from Alex''s body dimmed, one could make out three physiques.


    At his back could be seen a pair of large, feathered wings that shone like polished, tempered steel. Then floating and revolving behind these wings were thousands of flaming, small mysterious characters that exuded a suppressive pressure on all things around them.


    The solid wings which spanned about twenty-feet long and three-feet wide were actually, purely produced from greatly-compacted purple-black flames. One could liken their solidness and density to an actual metal. But they were vastly, many times stronger.


    Then formed in a way that they had feathers, gave off a mystifying feeling. And burning like they were on fire as the purple-black flame rage and roared, blazing violently around them, they radiated tyrannical heat waves that instantly melted everything in their paths.


    Half of his upper body and face had ancient, purple-black symbols on them that glowed, emitting powerful energy fluctuations that caused the air for hundreds of feet to churn.


    Then in the eye of that part of his face which seemed like complex symbols were inscribed into it, could be seen colorful, complicated patterns that radiated deep mysteriousness, while at the same time, giving off a dark purple brilliance that could cause the soul of a person gazed upon to feel that it''s on fire. This was the half-appearance of the first physique that he evoked.


    And as the transformation carried on, purple-black pyroforce energy gushed out from the pair of wings behind him and turned into six pairs of small, feathered purple-black wings. It looked like these six pairs of small wings sprouted from the larger wings. And being twelve in numbers as they came in pairs of six, they resembled blades as they had flat, tapered edges that gave the feeling of extreme sharpness.

 Chapter 183: Shocking transformation II

    Fire elemental energy gushed out from that half of his body in overly excessive amount and transformed into thousands of huge wings that had exceedingly-hot, purple-black flames burn ragingly around them and roar like frenzied, berserk beasts.


    While the other half of his upper body remained the same. It didn''t change. However, one could make out the large tattoo of an upright, blood-colored blade on his chest. This tattoo mysteriously glowed and produced pulses of power. Also, ancient patterns that seemed like they were engraved into it could be seen.


    If one looked at this part of his body, one would have the feeling that he was an entity that have been baptized by blood in tens of thousands of war. He simply emitted an overwhelming, thick aura of slaughter and a strong, stench of blood that seemed like it would linger on till the end of the world.


    Loud humming and strong buzzing sounds could be heard as thousands of huge, blood-red blades appeared and began to revolve around Alex. These blades felt like they were sentient creatures as they wheezed around his


    hegemon-like figure in a somewhat playful manner. They seemed like mischievous kids.


    The blades had actually been rapidly formed from blood-red bladeforce energy, a variant of sharpforce energy. It was this class of energy that swordforce energy belonged to.


    Then wielding a large blade in his hand that shone in a dazzling, blood-red light and emitting a vast and palpable aura of seemingly unmatched sharpness, he resembled a ruthless Godly Expert of the Way of Blades and Slaughter.


    Immediately after his body produced the second physique, an immense, overcasting shadowy aura bursted out from his body. It was like he existed in another dimension where there was only pitch-black smoke. But in the next instant, the astonishingly vast, smoke-like aura disappeared, leaving behind nine illusory worlds that blocked some of the sun rays and casted their immense shadows upon the surface of the earth in the process.


    The nine worlds which were small in size, as a result of Alex''s base comprehension which was at the saint-level, looked real. But at the same time, looked illusionary. Actually, the worlds were simply solid images that enveloped spheres condensed out of shadowforce energy. Those spheres were shadow essence worldcores. The foundation for a large shadow world.


    Like manaforce energy, an energy that could create something out of nothing; could produce solid objects out of a void, the shadowforce energy too could create things out of thin air. However, the substances that would be formed would be dark black or shadowy in appearance.


    If Alex could reach a high comprehension stage for this energy, he would be able to create solid, shadow constructs which could move in and out of tangibility or corporeality (solidness).


    Just like the illusory worlds behind him, they could grow very large to reach the sizes of Greatverses or more than that and even become real worlds that myriad creatures could live in. It would support all lifeforms, but dazzling illuminations would be needed as the world would be in frightening darkness throughout because of it nature.


    However, Alex was going to use these worlds to attack now. One should be able to imagine the amount of destructive force that would be produced from a world colliding into another world at tremendous speeds. But Alex wasn''t at that level yet. The world was still at the ''seed'' level. Besides, he borrowed it power for his use temporarily. He would have to cultivate it if he want to gain the power of limitless, shadow-object materialization.


    The nine small planets which had a spherical mass of pitch-black shadowforce energy in them which was the core began to circle round Alex. And as they moved, they unleashed a type of pressure that pushed the air away, creating several vacuums. The earth surface due to the pressure exerted on them by the profound and mystical symbols found in the nine cores of the intangibility-phasing nine worlds caused it to crack and cleave apart, resulting in a large and deep fissure. As budding worlds which possessed tremendous weights, they incomprehensibly radiated these immense weights in form of a crushing pressure that acted on the earth and on all things in every directions.


    Alex''s transformation was abrupt, as it only took a few seconds for sections of his body to turn into these.


    When the Saint stage cultivator and his men who were at the heaven adept stage cultivation saw the multiple transformations, they became deeply shocked.


    Olivia was the most shocked. Then a broad, radiant smile appeared in her face as she was seriously impressed with him. He had given her surprises upon surprises. She too then absolutely felt that he should be from a family that would definitely flourish in a Great World. She became curious about where he was from and about the rest of his seemingly unending, shocking abilities.


    Alex at the moment unimaginably had three different eyes. The three eyes each belonged to the three physiques that he summoned. One of them at the left was purple-black and had patterns in it. The other at the right was blood-red and figures of thousands of blades could be seen moving within it. Then above them, at the center of his forehead, could be seen a dark black eye. Blue ancient symbols could be seen in it.


    When the heaven adept stage cultivators gazed at his three eyes, they suddenly felt deeply pricking, extremely painful sensations, intense burning sensations in their bodies or in their souls and at the same time, all they could see was an infinite stretch of light-absorbing blackness. This made them grunt in pain and grimace in terror as they forced themselves to look away. Or they would be immersed in greatly severe pains and an unending illusion of pure and total darkness.


    But there was still deep shock in their eyes at witnessing Alex''s tri-physiques. This shock could possibly stay in their hearts till the end of time, as in all their lives, they had never seen or heard of someone capable of producing three different physiques at once. Besides, he jumped many levels. Right from the peak-phase condensation stage to the Saint stage.


    ''Triple bloodline physiques? But how''s that possible? Maximum should be two! How come this damned kid now has three?'' He thought. Then he furrowed his brows as he continued ''Descendant of God-level experts? But even if he is, he should only be in possession of two physiques. This is becoming worse than I thought'' The Saint stage cultivator said in a deeply worried tone after connecting some things together in his head.


    Then he too decided to partake in the battle as he wanted to prevent some unforseen events from happening. He had to quickly finish off Alex and leave with the girl. He felt that he had done enough and must vent out his frustrations and worries on Olivia.

 Chapter 184: Wouldnt dare think of losing him

    Noticing that the Saint stage cultivator had prepared to make a move at him, then with a thought, the blood-red blades of energy that orbited round him shot out at great speeds towards the heaven adept stage cultivators and at the Saint stage cultivator.


    Swoosh!


    Swoosh!


    Swoosh!...


    They were like a large stream of arrows as they whistled loudly, piercing through the air at extreme velocities towards the adversary cultivators.


    When the heaven adept stage cultivators saw the saint-tier attacks shoot towards them with seemingly unstoppable momentums, they quickly produced several saint-rank, defensive treasure-artifacts that abruptly produced thick and solid, multilayered, protective spheres of energy.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    Loud explosive sounds rampantly rang out as the blades rammed very hard into the energy spheres enveloping them. And from every impacts, devastating waves of energy and rippling currents of rampaging, violent air were released. But surprisingly, the spheres possessed a high degree of resilience as they didn''t crack.


    However, due to the momentums the solid energy blades came with, although the spheres didn''t shatter, but they got knocked back by hundreds of feet every time the humongous energy blades struck them.


    But not long, due to the unceasing, torrential attacks of the blades, numerous cracks appeared on the structures of the energy spheres generated by the defensive treasure-artifacts.


    Noticing the cracks, they tried to change the defensive treasure-artifact. But just before they could that, the blades smashed into the spheres with tyrannical force.


    Bang!!


    Bang!!


    Bang!!...


    The spheres exploded into smithereens, and the blades went on to strike the men, with the intents to cut them into halves. But before the blades could impact them, armors quickly appeared on them.


    But the men had underestimated the piercing and cutting power of the blades. Their armors couldn''t even withstand the laceration attack of a single, blood-red blade as it cut them into complete halves from the center of their bodies where it impacted them.


    The Saint stage cultivator who was being attacked by the blood-red blades saw the death of his men and became very angry. Then after deflecting the last of the seemingly indestructible blades, giving himself a breather, he quickly produced a summoning-type treasure and activated it.


    He had just sent a signal to the organization, requesting for more help as he felt that Alex would obliterate him soon if he ever became careless or not too careful in protecting himself.


    Although it was a disgracing and shameless act that he just carried out, requesting for more help against a boy, the Saint stage cultivator didn''t actually feel so. He just seriously cared about his life and all the Wonders and Great Joy in it. So he didn''t want to die, and by the hands of a boy that he felt haven''t tasted the fruit of ecstasy.


    Although the barrier restricted signal transmission, it didn''t restrict the one he sent out as they were both something developed for his organization.


    A few seconds after he sent out the signal, a portal appeared, and stepping out of it were two sinister-looking, saint stage cultivators.


    Alex saw the unexpected development and exhaled deeply. Gloominess could be seen in his face, but he wasn''t going to back out because of this. He would simply do his best to slay them. He had once said that only by bathing with the blood of cultivation experts could he become a peak supreme expert that can disperse windstorms with a gaze and dissipate thunderstorms with a finger. So that''s what he decided to do here.


    Olivia too where she stood at became very worried. Then she quickly produced a summoning-type treasure and activated it. She knew that it wasn''t going to work, but she had to try anyway. She couldn''t imagine loosing Alex. Although she was pissed off at him and still was, she didn''t want anything bad to happen to him. So in a simple phrase, she cared about him, deeply. She was just trying to hide her affections from him.


    She had always had a vivid image of him in her memory as his figure was indelibly branded to her mind. She once felt that she wasn''t going to ever see him again, but surprisingly for her, like some hands of fate were involved, they came across each other again. And now that they had met, she wouldn''t dare think of losing him.


    But as she tried hard to send signals using the summoning-type treasure, she realized to her terror and dismay that the signals couldn''t penetrate through the barrier.


    Then she became sad and sorrowful at the thought that Alex would be killed, or worst, be taken away and gruesomely tortured, without letting him die.


    However, when she saw the aura of unyielding confidence that was radiating from him, the intense worry emotions that filled the void of her heart vanished.


    Alex at the moment was starting to feel a strain on his soul, and this caused him pain. But it was still within his threshold for pain. Therefore, he could endure it.


    When the two Saint stage cultivators stepped out of the portal and saw the tattooed, three-eyed Alex, and then perceived the three pulses of saint-level power emitting from his body, with wrinkled brows and eyes filled with marvel and wonder, they quickly got into action as they sent out attacks to quickly eliminate him.


    "Sky-Shattering Ice Dragon Claws"


    "Seven Life-Reaping Death Scythes"


    "Obliterating Lunar Curtain"


    A large mass of frostforce energy discharged from an ice-cultivating Saint expert. Then the mass of frostforce energy condensed and shaped into a white dragon claw that spanned hundreds of feet in size. The dragon claw which was crystalline in appearance like it was molded from solid ice shot towards Alex at a high speed.


    As it cannoned towards Alex who was at a far distance, it left a wide trail of ice in the air that fell to the earth as snow.


    When the energy was initially released, it brought about an exceedingly cold temperature that caused the temperature of the environment for hundreds of meters to instantly plunge to near-absolute zero degree.


    But Alex couldn''t perceive the tremendous reduction in temperature as the strong heat emitting from the purple-black flame burning ferociously around the pair of wings that sprouted from his back instantly eliminated the extreme coldness radiating from the ice-energy.


    Then a death-cultivating expert produced an enormous mass of deathforce energy that condensed and shaped into seven large scythes that shot at great speed towards Alex.


    The scythes which were hundreds of meters in size and were grey-black in color, had seemingly ancient inscriptions in them that pulsed with the fearsome power of life and vitality absorption, and emanated power of decomposition or rot.

 Chapter 185: Eliminates Saint stage cultivators

    When this energy erupted from the man, Alex suddenly felt that his life was draining away. He could feel that his vitality was disappearing.


    Then the last attack which was a massive beam of lunarforce energy was unleashed by a moon-energy cultivating expert.


    As it shot towards Alex, it produced intense coldness too. It power was similar to the ice and frost generation power of frostforce energy.


    When Alex saw the energy-attacks materialize and shoot towards him, he quickly pointed his hands at them. Then the blood-red energy blades and flaming, purple-black wings formed from energy shot out like arrows towards the attacks.


    Boom!


    Boom!


    Boom!...


    Deafening sounds rang out as the massive attacks unleashed by the saint-stage cultivators were struck hard by the blades and wings that Alex sent out, and when they clashed, waves of tyrannical energies erupted and traveled into the distance in all directions, wreaking destruction.


    Alex and the Saint stage cultivators were knocked backwards by the tremendously powerful, havocking energy waves that were released from the points at which their massive attacks clashed.


    Bang!!


    Alex smashed extremely hard into one of the nine massive, corporeal images of the gigantic, shadowy worlds behind him and coughed out blood. While the men, since there was nothing to confine them, struggled for sometime before they regained their balances. They had been shoved hundreds of meters into the distance by the terrifying energy waves generated from the collisions of their enormous and frightening attacks.


    Since Alex had long gained his balance as the shadowy world images behind him absorbed the backward-shoving kinetic force that acted on him, he quickly used that as an opportunity to deliver an attack at the Saint-stage cultivators.


    He aimed a hand out at them and then one of the worlds floating behind him shot out towards them.


    Moving with the terrific power that can seemingly reduce chains of mountains to rubbles as it profoundly radiated a great pressure because of it tremendous weight, it caused the earth in it path to crack and sunder, resulting in a deep chasm.


    Then the shadowy world image faded into thin air to reveal a spherical, ink-black core. This core was the worldcore, the foundation of the shadow world.


    Immediately after the solid image of the world enveloping the core vanished, the core which was now exposed transformed into a violent and raging, three hundred feet-tall, dark black tidal wave that moved at tremendous speed.


    When the Saint experts saw the towering, pitch-black wave rushing furiously towards them with unfathomable devastating power, they quickly produced good-quality treasure-artifacts that projected massive energy screens to protect themselves from the incoming rampaging wave.


    Bang!!


    Bang!!


    Bang!!


    The protective screens the defensive treasures produced surprisingly shattered into bits, and when the Saint stage experts were impacted by the tall, decimating wave, they were cannoned far into the distance for hundreds of feet. Besides, the armors they wore splintered apart, with many of the pieces burrowing deep into their bodies.


    Standing back to their feet from where they were knocked to, they quickly produced regeneration pills that they swallowed. This turned into healforce energy that accelerated their rapid recovery abilities. Few seconds later, all the large pieces of armors that were sticking out of their bodies were completely pushed out, and the wounds they were inflicted with began to close very fast without scarring.


    When the wave lost it power as the energy that constituted it dispersed and returned to the realmverse, calm returned to this region except that a deep and wide chasm could be seen in the earth.


    Alex at the moment was beginning to feel dizzy. Also, he felt an intense sharp pain in his head. The pain that he felt was equivalent to that which a person would feel when such person''s head was sundered open with an axe.


    Green veins could be seen bulging out from the sides of his head and blood streamed down his ears, nose and the sides of his lips. But he endured the agonizing pain and even focused on it to do what he wanted to do next.


    Realizing that he might go unconscious anytime soon, he quickly deployed powerful techniques of the three physiques all at once.


    [Slaughtering Blade Cyclone]


    [Heavenly Decimation Grand Nirvanic Immortal Slash]


    [Unparalleled World Breaking Strike]


    [Divinity Obliteration Twin Fiery Lotuses]


    The hundreds of large blades floating in the air began to move in circles at a great speed in front of him. They formed into something like a cyclone or a furiously rotating funnel. Then it shot towards the Saint stage cultivators producing the feeling that it shred everything in its path into bits.


    For the second attack, the large, blood-red blade of energy which was held in one of his hands shot out of it like a cannonball towards the men. And as the blade shot through the air, whistling like an arrow, it unexpectedly transformed into a massive, blood-colored beam of energy that was thousands of meters wide. As it pierced through the air towards the Saint stage cultivators, it caused a tremendously wide gash of vacuum to appear in it path. Even the earth below it began to rive apart due to the power of extreme sharpness emanating from it.


    The remaining large shadowy worlds behind him shot out too, towards the Saint stage cultivators. As they pierced through the air at shocking speeds like they were catapulted, they individually produced crushing pressures that ruptured the earth.


    And for the last attack, a colossal amount of purple-black pyroforce energy erupted from his entire body. Then it condensed and shaped into two mighty lotuses that radiated an astronomical-degree scorching heat that caused the earth to instantly turn into magma. Spanning thousands of meters in size and giving off blinding purple-black radiance that colored everywhere, including the huge pool of magma in the earth in it dual colors, they shot towards the Saint stage cultivators at extreme velocities.


    The moment Alex deployed the various battle-methods of the physiques, the raging, traumatizing headache he was inflicted with by the mystical symbols in his soul which produced the physiques intensified to a great degree. The intense headache resulted from him greatly overstraining his soul to produce those terrifying attacks.


    Argh!!


    He screamed in agony as he held his head tightly. Then his bloodshot eyes became blurry and he felt incredibly light-headed and light-weighted. But he didn''t fall unconscious.


    Not wasting time, he quickly flew away with the flaming wings on his back to another place where the earth was not too affected by his numerous powerful attacks.


    When he got there, his body reverted to normal. Then he fell with his knees to the ground fully exhausted as he began to breathe hard and deeply.


    When the Saint-stage cultivators saw the numerous frightening attacks coming at them, their faces turned grave.


    With a thought, treasure-weapons appeared in both hands. Then they totally discharged all the energies in them.


    At the same time, with an understanding that what they were about to do next could pose a great problem to their cultivation in future. They drained themselves of every energy in their energyhouses and channeled them along their energy meridians to their palms.


    It was a risk they were taking because their energy meridians could rupture or ruin due to the overwhelming amounts of energy suddenly moving through them. This could prevent them from continuing their cultivation in future.


    The energies that erupted from their energyhouses and treasure-weapons transformed into massive fearsome attacks that blazed through the air towards the attacks unleashed by Alex.


    The men at the moment looked extremely pale and were trembling. It was like they had put their life into the attacks they sent out. They coughed out blood without stop.


    Boom!!


    Boom!!


    Boom!!


    The attacks collided and multiple explosive sounds rang out. These sounds were instantly accompanied by massive rippling energies that moved in all directions, ravaging everything in their paths.


    The calamitous energy ripples which possessed high degrees of devastating kinetic force spread out in all directions into the far distance. While the attacks which weren''t canceled out continued on towards the three Saint stage cultivators with a seemingly unstoppable momentum.


    Argh!!!


    They shrieked terrifyingly as the berserk energies engulfed their figures and the devastating attacks struck them tyrannically, instantly reducing their bodies into mists of blood and bits of flesh and bones.

 Chapter 186: Lets have a bath together

    Where Alex was, he quickly produced vitality restoration pills and soul invigoration pills which he swallowed. This turned into healforce energy and soulforce energy that flooded every inch of his body and soul, causing them to be healed of every strain and stress.


    Not long, Olivia arrived by his side.


    "Bastard, you have totally ruined the landscape of the village which we tried to protect." She said with a face that expressed unbridled anger.


    Alex saw the angry expression on her face and smiled wryly. He didn''t know what to say. However, he spoke "Well, we can take them to a new community or to a new village" Alex said.


    "So what was the point in protecting it in the first place? Eh?" Olivia asked with a sense of wrath in her tone.


    Alex exhaled deeply and shook his head. Ever since he got to to know about her hidden injuries, she had being pissed off at him. And it was only getting worse. So he felt.


    "I know that there is no point again since the earth here is simply gone. But I had to or the bad guys would kill me and would have taken you away. I couldn''t let that to happen. So I had to release many powerful attacks to stop kill them. And I am happy it did. Good riddance to them." Alex said with an unfaltering tone.


    Then he looked at Olivia and said in a pleading tone "I am sorry about what I did many moments ago. I was only worried about you since you looked too pale to battle. I didn''t want your extreme body weakness, which was a result of overstraining yourself to use that sword at a greater power, be what would bring about your death or abduction during the earlier battle. I tremendously worry over you Olivia. I just met you and I am not ready to miss you. I hope you can understand and forgive me."


    When Olivia was speaking annoyingly to him, she was just pretending to be exceedingly angered. However, it was just a pretence. It was a fake infuriated expression in her face. Although she was angry at him in the beginning when he knocked her to the ground and pressed her down, then forced a healing pill down her throat. She knew that he was just worried over her safety and wellbeing since she didn''t look too good to continue the ongoing deadly battle. She was just wrathful at that moment and had long stopped been vexed at him.


    She then came close to Alex who was still kneeling on the floor from his extreme exhaustion and said with a smile "I am not angry at you. You simply did the right thing."


    Then she arched her back as she kissed his forehead. She then pulled him to his feet and gave him a tight hug. Alex who wasn''t expecting this as he was first lost for some moment, got a hang of of himself back. Then he carried his arms and wrapped it around her back.


    Resting her head on his shoulder, the slightly hot breath that she discharged as she exhaled, brushed Alex''s neck and gave him a tingling sensation at that spot that was impacted by the hot breath.


    Just as Alex felt wondrous from the peaks pressing hard against his chest, Olivia too felt the same thing. From her busts pressing heavily against Alex''s chest, she could feel that his chest muscles were huge and gave her a feeling that it was sculpted.


    ''Strong'' She said inwardly.


    Then she continued to hug him.


    "Alex, I was fearful for a moment that I was going to lose you. But I am very glad that you are still here with me and doing fine." She whispered into his ears.


    "It''s okay." Alex said as he rubbed her smooth back.


    And as he ran his hands across her back, he could feel her soft and delicate skin.


    "You have got a beautiful back, Olivia" Alex said cheekily and with a smile.


    "Can you please shut up and don''t ruin the moment?" Olivia questioned loudly.


    Alex shut up lest he angers her again. Then he sank himself into the wonderful feeling that washed through his body.


    They remained like that for many minutes more before Olivia pulled out of the embrace.


    Olivia gazed at Alex thoughtfully for sometime and said "I am going to have my bath. Would you like to come with me?"


    A loud bell rang in Alex''s mind. It was like he didn''t hear right. Then he asked in a stuttering manner "Y-You want me have a bath with you?"


    "Well, yes. Anything bad with with that? It''s just a bath. We fought a completely exhausting battle earlier and we look dirty with all the dust on our faces and bodies. So we need a good bath to feel refreshed and look clean" Olivia said, looking at him puzzledly. She couldn''t quite understand why he asked the question.


    Then as she figured out something in the next instant, she quickly said "Oh, you are having dirty thoughts about me and you? Really? In your dreams pervert. It''s never going to happen"


    As soon as she finished her statement, she resumed speaking, explaining to Alex why he shouldn''t think in that direction "Although you look taller than me, I am far older than you. I should be like your sister or something. And I am a Holy Saintess which you know WHY. It would be a shame to lose such a beautiful title. Therefore, I would definitely love to keep it till ¡ª¡ª" She trailed off here.


    Then she gazed at Alex with a smile hung on her lips.


    "Pervert" She called him again.


    As soon as she said this, she gave a radiant smile and grabbed Alex by the hand. Then she pulled him with her, not even waiting to hear what he wanted to say.


    Alex only smiled wryly as he was being pulled by her to wherever she was going to.


    They walked for a long time with one of Alex''s hand clasped tightly by Olivia.


    Not quite long, they arrived in front of a wide and deep stream.

 Chapter 187: Love confessions

    "Alright, we are there now. So could you kindly turn?" Olivia asked.


    "Yea. Sure" Alex said as he turned around to face her with her back.


    "No peeking" Olivia said as she looked at Alex, observing his body movement. Then she took off her soiled clothes to reveal her flawless naked body.


    Then with a plop sound ringing out as Olivia jumped into the stream, she started to swim underwater and began to wash herself.


    Alex didn''t know whether to jump in or wait for her to come out. Then a thought struck him, that he should use his powerful vision. But he decided against it.


    As he was thinking of what to do, he suddenly heard a shout from the center of the stream.


    "Alex, jump in. What are you standing there for?" Olivia shouted.


    Alex became perplexed. He was confused now. But anyway, he did as he was told.


    He was about to take off his clothes when he remembered that Olivia was still looking at him.


    "Olivia, could you please face any other place other than here?" He shouted too.


    "Why? Strip away your clothes and come join me. I am waiting" She shouted back.


    "Come on. That would be cheating. I faced away from you when you took off your clothes. And now you want me to do the same with you still looking at me. If you don''t look away, I am not entering the stream" Alex shouted.


    Olivia smirked.


    "Alex, rip away your filthy clothes and come join me already" She shouted.


    "No. Until you face away" Alex shouted.


    "Alright. I will turn away now" She shouted. Then she turned to face another direction.


    Alex exhaled deeply as his heart began to beat wildly. He couldn''t understand why Olivia said that he should come join her. And he didn''t want to think of anything that would make him feel like a pervert.


    In the next instant, a raging and dreadful scarlet-colored fire erupted from his body and instantly burnt away his clothes.


    Then he speedily jumped into the stream.


    When Olivia heard a plop sound, she knew that Alex had jumped into the stream. Then she turned around to see where he was and began to swim towards him.


    With only their heads out and the rest of their bodies in the water, they arrived in front of each other.


    Then Alex said "Well, time to take our bath"


    Olivia nodded with a smile. And before Alex could begin to wash himself, Olivia swam towards him and embraced him. And before he could understand what was happening, she took his lips into hers.


    It was at this junction that Alex froze. He wasn''t expecting this as Olivia had told him not to think erotically of her.


    Seeing that Alex wasn''t responding as he was frozen because of her action, she smiled inwardly. Then she removed her lips from his and asked "What''s wrong?"


    "Nothing. I was just carried away" Alex said. Then he asked "Can we try that again?"


    Olivia grinned.


    "Sure, why not." She replied. Then she continued with a bright smile in her face "I was only teasing you then."


    Alex was deeply surprised.


    Then he asked with a raised brow "Really?"


    "Yea, really" Olivia responded. Then with a reminiscing gaze in her eyes, she said "After that time that we met at the Red Lotus cave, where you showed your amazing battle prowess, valor, heroic and naivety, I have always had you in my heart. You were the first boy to ever pull my stiff heartstrings. I had a cold heart because of all that happened to me. But when you came, you brought warmth and expelled all the coldness that had engulfed my heart. I was aloof like all were ant to me because of my ability and background, but witnessing your shocking combat proficiency at that age, I realized that I was just one of the ''average'' geniuses. You destroyed my pride, but made me think and plan for something bigger and better. When we separated, I was very sad and heartbroken at the thought that I wasn''t going to ever see you again. Although, I knew that you are from the Houston house, the stately and majestic house that one of the most powerful and ruthless man in the state resided in, I just knew that you wouldn''t be around as you would have definitely ventured off to train and develop yourself to grow stronger in this cultivation world. So it would be a waste of time and effort to come find you. And then I let you go, with the thought that whatever would be, would be. However, like some mysterious unseen forces want us to be together again, we encountered each other here. In this place of all places, a village. I don''t know why that happened, but I know it was for a good thing."


    She then carried her arms and placed it on his mirror-smooth face. She pinched it softly and said "Alex, You wouldn''t be able to quantify how glad I am at seeing you again. If this world was a measuring vessel, and it''s filled with the happiness in me. It would be filled with to the brim and overflow, drowning in the boundless ocean of my happiness. Right at this moment, nobody in the whole realmverse is as happy as I am. I remember that I showed some kinda cold and unconcerned attitude then like I didn''t give much fuck about you, I really do. I was extremely worried when you told me that you cultivated sixteen energies and that would face the Beyonder-tribulation. I was fearful for your life. But seeing all that you did, I can confidently say that you would withstand one of the most powerful tribulations in the world. You will do what no Beyonder and cultivator has ever done since the inception of cultivation. And I would love to be there with you, to see you as you rise to the peak, to the zenith as the Lord of all Realms."


    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


    A/N:


    Hello dear readers.


    Like I mentioned the other time, the Win-win Event has started. It''s a new event on WN in which both readers and authors can benefit. That''s why it''s named win-win. There are so many rewards to be given out.


    To participate, all you need to do is to buy my Tier 1 privilege. It only cost a coin. 1 coin. But mind you, there are still the costs of chapters. So it''s up to you if you want to purchase chapters to continue reading.


    Please, come and buy my priv. It cost only 1 coin. Help this pleb author. I haven''t gotten anything out of this novel. So you could help me with this little.


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    Thanks for your incredible support.


    Bless your hearts.

 Chapter 188: Steamy Romance I

    Alex was overwhelmed by all that Olivia said. Then with seriousness in his face, he said "And I would do my best to not disappoint you".


    Then he continued "I have always had you in my heart too, ever since that time which we met. I think about you almost everyday. To be sincere, I have always yearned to see your face. When you left the cave and me not seeing you for the last time, I was greatly sad, at the feeling that I wouldn''t ever come across you again. But luckily for me and surprisingly, we met here. And now, my heart is filled with unbounded happiness. I am glad that I left the academy for an adventure or I wouldn''t have come across you."


    Olivia smiled. Then she said "I had a feeling that you have affections for me and that you were only trying to suppress it since I didn''t show mine."


    Then she gave him a slight knock on the head.


    "Ouch! What for?" Alex said even though he didn''t feel any pain as he had a tough skin.


    "You damned asshole, I recommended my academy to you. But you didn''t come and went somewhere else to study cultivation instead. I am pained and hurt" Olivia said sadly. A fake sad expression appeared on her face.


    "No, don''t be. A lot of things were involved." Alex said. Then he drew closer to Olivia to embrace her.


    But Olivia evaded him and asked "Well, since you study at an academy, I believe you would have come across many beautiful girls, right? Tell me, you do have a girlfriend?"


    Alex exhaled deeply.


    "Yes, I do" He said.


    "Hmm. What''s her name? Is she beautiful? Is she a genius?" Olivia barraged Alex with questions.


    "Her name''s Elena. She is incredibly beautiful. And she''s a genius" Alex replied with a tone that wasn''t faltering.


    Of course, he wouldn''t tell Olivia that Elena wasn''t a genius, and that she was just an exceedingly beautiful girl with good battle prowess. Unlike Olivia whose battle prowess was extremely amazing.


    Anyways, he had given her a Supernal Battle Entity-grade (A-grade) duality methodology. That should bridge the gap between her and the other geniuses as they would be limited by the level and quality of the cultivation methodologies that they studied.


    They would be studying battle-techniques from E-grade and F-grade battle methodologies. An A-grade and B-grade battle-class methodology should be absolutely impossible to find in this Planeverse as they were methodologies created by powerful Ancients that have Greatverses named after them and rule over them as their Cosmic Dictators. Also, C-grade and D-grade should be exceedingly rare.


    Therefore, her diligently studying the supreme-quality, A-grade battle methodology would make her a quasi-genius; a false genius if she''s gathered among a group of true geniuses.


    When Alex mentioned Elena and her qualities, Olivia''s eyes sparkled.


    "Hmm." She said like she was thinking deeply of something. Then she proceeded to ask "What element does she cultivate?"


    "Terraforce energy." Alex replied.


    Olivia''s eyes glittered.


    "Really? That''s ¡ª¡ª" She didn''t know what to say again.


    It was the same energy, also called earth elemental energy which she cultivated that Elena cultivated too, and this made her speechless.


    Then she said with a mischievous smile after exhaling deeply "I see that I have gotten a competition for the grand prize. Anyways, I will fight to win you over"


    Alex shook his head with a wry smile hung on his face. "Olivia, I am... How do I say this? I am in love with her too, as well as you. No need for you guys to wrestle over me. When you meet her, you will like her. She is an extremely lovable and likable person. You guys really can coexist together around me. No need to fight over some boy. And mind you, I am not a prize. Don''t see me in that way or you would fight with every girl that I introduce to you as a friend because you would see them as your competitors."


    Olivia smiled.


    "I know that you would have other girls other than me as it is the way of our cultivation world, but I want to be the girl you would think about all the time. Is it too much to ask for? If you can love many other girls, then I can love many other men too, right?" She asked with a smile.


    Alex became sweaty. He didn''t know how he was going to respond.


    Although she was right about what she said at the end of her sentence, he really liked her, just as he would for any other girl that he is mentally and physically attracted to, have body chemistry together and has shared life and death experiences.


    As he thought of how to answer, Olivia who was observing him and saw his nervous expression gave a broad smile, then she said.


    "I don''t care about any other girl or woman you would meet along the way. You can do all that you want with them. You are simply free to do so. But what I want you to know is that, in this life, you are mine. Mine and only mine. I will share you with every other person, but your heart and soul belongs to me and me alone." Olivia said in a resolute tone.


    Alex quickly nodded his head or she might possibly attack him from the way their conversation was quickly evolving, and if he responded in way that she didn''t like.


    Now, he understood that Olivia was the extreme, dominantly possessive type. The kind that love to strongly possess something that should be shared with other people.


    If he ever built a mansion, he wouldn''t let her live together with the other wives he might have, or there would be commotion and extremely tense atmosphere every time. He couldn''t let anything happen to her and to his other future wives when a small argument between them spirals out of control. A tiny argument might possibly turn into a fire that would burn everything to ashes.


    Therefore, as he had now realized the kind of person she was, that was just the step he was going to simply take to prevent slaughter, agony and trauma in his home.


    "Can we just bath now?" Alex said.


    He was tired of the questions that don''t seem to stop.


    "Alright. I am sorry for my incessant questioning. I will stop now. I just want you for myself, all of your being for myself. I am the greedy type. You can''t blame me for that. It has always been my nature. To be the sole possessor of anything that I set my eyes upon or have interest in" Olivia said in an apologetic but resolute tone.


    "It''s a good thing, Olivia. No need to apologize. You can take back your apologies" Alex said with a smile. Then he continued "Just like me too. I want your entire substance for myself. I definitely wouldn''t share my girl with any other man. I want to be the sole owner of everything about you."


    Once Alex said this, Olivia gave a radiant smile. Then she embraced Alex once again and took his lips into hers.

 Chapter 189: Steamy romance II

    Soft kissing sounds rang out as their lips rubbed against the other.


    With her snow-white peaks pressing against his chest in the embrace, he felt wondrous as an exhilarating sensation erupted from the spots on his chest at which Olivia''s large busts pressed against.


    His hands which were on her bare back slowly rubbed the whole area of it. It was smooth and soft and felt delicate. He took great pleasure in rubbing it. And as he caressed her soft, linen-smooth back, to show that he was really enjoying what he was doing, a delighted expression could be seen in his face.


    Then he moved the hands rubbing her back down to her pear-shaped buttocks and grabbed them in his palms. Olivia trembled from having her butts grabbed by Alex. Then with an inward happy smile, she muttered within, ''Bad boy''.


    Of course, Alex wouldn''t be able to fully grab Olivia''s buttocks as they were large in size. His hands could only clasp a small area of her butts.


    As soon as he grabbed her butts, he began to feel them out. In his hands, they felt soft and smooth. And as he delightedly ran his hands across them, gently pressing and softly squeezing them, he could make out the shape of her buttocks. Now, he could say that her buttocks were shaped like a pear.


    Kissing her with his bright pink tongue rubbing every nook and cranny of her mouth, and exchanging saliva in the process, he brought his hands from her buttocks to her busts.


    As soon as he grabbed one of them with a hand, Olivia slightly trembled from the sudden, delightful sensation that flooded her body. This sensation erupted from the peak that Alex clasped in his palms. She would have let out a moan if her mouth wasn''t locked to Alex''s own as they passionately kissed.


    Alex noticed her slight tremble and smiled inwardly. He now knew another of the sensitive places on Olivia''s body that would cause her to tremble from touch or grip.


    Now grasping the bust in his hand, he began to caress it in an hardcore manner. He squeezed and pressed it like he wanted to squeeze liquid out of a melon. And while doing this, Olivia''s body continuously, softly shook from the intense massage Alex gave to her bust. She was enjoying it as sensations that she had never ever felt before appeared and rushed like a wave to every other part of her body, making her feel glad and good, and wanting her to desire more.


    Not long, Alex detached his lips from hers and then immersed his entire body into the water. In there, he saw the actual size of Olivia''s busts and could say it was larger than Elena''s own when he did his comparison. Observing further, he saw the bright pink nipples that protruded from them. They looked very enticing. With a smile hung on his face, he mentioned inwardly, ''Beautiful''.


    Still looking admirably at her large, snow-white peaks, he was surprised at their degree of firmness. Despite their huge sizes, they didn''t fall. Instead, they stood straight, pointing into every distance that Olivia would turn to.


    When he was done observing, with glittering eyes, he reached out for the nipples on both of her busts and began to play with them. He pinched them and twisted them softly. After a while of doing that, he stopped and then drew closer to one of her boobs. Then he took the thing into his mouth.


    Once Alex opened his mouth to allow the entry of one of her boobs into it, and his lips now tightening around them, Olivia couldn''t help but lift her head to face the sky and give out a low-pitched groan of pleasure and burning amorous desire. After she let out that sound, her closed eyelids began to tremble, and a seriously pleasured expression could be seen in her face


    With one of her melons in his mouth, and his tongue rubbing the bright pink nipple sticking out from it, he tried to take up more inch of the massive bust into his mouth. It seemed like he had the intention to swallow the whole thing.


    Of course, Alex wouldn''t be able to swallow up her firm, immense boobs. Only a small portion of it was able to enter his mouth. And since he had long grabbed the bust with his two hands before he took it into his mouth, he began to press it hardcore style. This action of his would give anyone that saw him an absolute feeling that he simply wanted to squeeze out sizable volumes of breast milk from it.


    He had also began to suck on Olivia''s bust which was in his mouth. He sucked hard on it like he wanted to drain everything in it into his mouth. And while he did this, Olivia, whose head was above the water, continuously gave out a sensuously excited moan that slowly increased in pitch. Also, a delighted and intensely pleasured look could be seen in her face. She totally enjoyed the feeling that she was getting from Alex sucking on her bust. And as an involuntary reflex action, she grabbed Alex''s head with her hands and pressed it hard against her boob which was in his mouth. It was like she wanted to shove that bust deep into his mouth. She simply couldn''t get enough and wanted more.


    Few moments later, Alex stopped sucking and removed his mouth from that bust. Then he moved to the other bust and began to rub around the pink region of it with his tongue. He brought his teeth closer to it and then bit gently on it. Now grabbing this too with his hands and squeezing it hard, he clenched his lips tight around it as he began to suck hard on it.


    Not long, Olivia''s eyes snapped open. Then she reached into the water with her hands for Alex and pulled him out of it towards her.


    Gazing passionately at him with a flirty smile, she took his lips into hers again. And as they kissed, one of her hands reached into the water and grabbed Alex''s firm and erect manhood.


    Alex''s closed eyelids snapped open at the instant that his fully erect sex organ was grabbed by Olivia. While at the same time that he opened his eyes, his body trembled a bit and then stopped. The trembling was due to the abrupt, soft pressure that she applied on it in the instant that she gripped it.


    Speedily stroking it a continuous fashion, Alex held back the serious urge to groan in pleasure.


    Olivia gazed at him and saw that he was trying hard to resist the urge to delightedly moan outwardly. Then with a mischievous smile appearing in her face, she submersed herself into the water.


    Now underwater, she drew closer with her mouth for Alex''s firm and erect manhood. Then on getting very close to his manhood, she took the entire thing into her mouth, with her lips stopping at the area his egg sac was.


    Alex''s eyes which were open, suddenly emitted brilliance. Then he gave out a loud pleasured groan as Olivia''s lips began to rub softly on his sex organ.


    With her lips tightened around his manhood, Olivia moved her head forwards and backwards, stroking his genital with her lips. And at the same time that she did this, she tried sucking hard on his sex organ. So in this manner, Olivia tried her best to give Alex the pleasure that he had never ever felt.


    She stroked and sucked on Alex''s reproductive organ that not quite long, because of the extreme pleasure-giving actions that she carried out, Alex''s manhood began to throb in her mouth and on hands. She could feel it trembling. Yet, she didn''t remove her mouth. Instead, her stroking speed increased.


    Alex''s genital which had begun to shake, first started out indiscernibly. Then it trembling intensity rose to a high degree. And not quite long, a thick and sticky, milk-colored fluid discharged from it.


    As Alex released this fluid, he moaned loudly and his body shook like crazy.


    As this went on, Alex didn''t know when he dipped his hands into the water and grabbed Olivia''s head, pushing it against his reproductive organ. It was like he wanted to force his staff deep into her mouth.


    After sometime, the trembling of his body ended, and so did the loud and unbridled, pleasured moaning that he let out stop.


    Realizing his deed in the next instant, Alex quickly removed his hands that pressed hard against Olivia''s head and pulled out his sex organ from her mouth.


    Olivia who was still under the water spat out the thick and sticky fluid that filled her entire mouth. Then she brought her head above the water surface again.


    Once her head came out of the water, she started to feel a strange heat in her body, and then a sexual urge that went from weak to strong to overwhelming. Then her excited and happy expression changed to that of one who was going through a series of the most deadliest means of torture.

 Chapter 190: Urge I

    Olivia began to shake.


    She just couldn''t explain what came over her. Also, she began to hear some compelling voices in her head. She tried hard to resist these voices that sounded in the hundreds, but she just couldn''t. The voices ringing loudly in her head were uttering chants in all manner and pitch of voices. What they were uttering was ''Sex! Sex! Sex!''


    Alex looked at her and could feel that she was experiencing something that he couldn''t quite understand, and that she was trying hard to resist something that seemed to be pealing thunderously in her mind as her eyelids were shut tight and her head grabbed by her hands. He looked on perplexedly, lost of what to do next as he didn''t quite understand what came over her.


    As Olivia tried hard to resist the urge for sex that shook her body, her body began to heat up. And due to this heating of her body, she became sweaty and her skin color began to slowly change. And as her body began to heat, she began to experience pain. Every area of her body was submersed in agonizing pain. Green veins appeared on the sides of her head and on her forehead, while her eyes turned red like it was dyed with blood. Not long, she couldn''t help but screech in pain.


    Argh!!


    She screamed out loud in pain.


    Once she shrieked terrifyingly, Alex who was trying hard to understand what was going on so he could help her suddenly had his heart began to beat wildly. He was deeply worried for her.


    "What''s wrong?" He asked in a seriously concerned tone. He questioned to know what was really going on since he couldn''t comprehend what was going on with her.


    "I¡ªI don''t know" Olivia replied.


    She couldn''t tell Alex that she was having this strong urge to have sex. That there were more than hundred high-pitched voices in her head chanting sex, sex, sex unceasingly. However, she spoke to tell Alex how she was feeling "There is this heat in my body and it''s causing me great pain. It''s like my inside is on fire. It makes me feel like the sun was compressed into my body. My internal organs are burning. The heat is unbearable, I can''t endure it."


    "F¡ªFire? But you are a fire-element cultivator. You should be able to withstand the heat." Alex said in a puzzled tone.


    "I don''t know why" Olivia said in a bewildered tone. She deeply wondered how the overwhelming coercive feeling for intimacy came about.


    Gnashing her teeth hard that they could almost shatter, causing her gums to bleed in the process, she continued to try her best to resist the urge that brought about the heat as a result of her resistance.


    The urge that she was having made her feel like jumping at Alex, knock him to the ground and insert his rod deep into her to satisfy herself and feel up above the clouds. But she just couldn''t bring herself to do it. Although she would want to, as Alex was someone she loved and cared about, someone that she had decided would be her husband in this life, someone that she would give her all and would support him with everything that she had, she just couldn''t bring herself to do such a thing. Why? Because she had many grand plans for herself. Besides, she just couldn''t because of her title as the Great Holy Daughter of the Immovable Mountain academy. Once it''s found out that she has been deflowered, the title she has would he stripped away from her. This would be a tremendously shameful thing that she wouldn''t want to experience. It would be like falling from the highest heavens to the eternally deep, cold abyss. And finally, which was the ultimate and strongest reason, was because she wanted to preserve her purity till she would achieve many, if not all of her objectives and after being legally married to whoever would wed her, although the person would be Alex. So for these reasons, she couldn''t leap at him and stuff his sex organ into her honeypot.


    Seeing that she was confused too, Alex said in an imploring tone "But why will some heat suddenly appear in your body? Olivia, please be honest with me, did you do something wrong during your fire-element cultivation that is now showing consequences? Perhaps it has been looming and didn''t show until now. Please, tell the truth. Only in that way would I know what to do to help you."


    "No. I just can''t explain it." Olivia said in a morose tone. And from the way she spoke, one would be able to sense that she was going through hellish pain. She had a great endurance level as she hadn''t collapsed to the ground since.


    As the pain intensified, resulting from the raised temperature of the mystifying heat in her body that seemed like it had the intention to incinerate her internal organs to ashes, she felt that she had to be honest with Alex as he was also thinking of every means to help her remove the source of pain. She just had to tell him exactly what was going on in her body.


    "Alex!" She called out, then she said "Besides, I am starting to feel a strong sexual urge. It''s compelling me to have sex. But I don''t want to do it!! Also, there are hundreds of all kinds of frightening voices sounding in my head, rampantly uttering an overwhelming chant of sex, sex, sex. It''s driving me crazy. I feel like I may go insane in the next moments. I just don''t know what''s wrong with my body. I don''t know where all these suddenly came from. It''s terrifying and excruciatingly painful. I am in pain. Alex, please help me."


    When Olivia finished mentioning all these, Alex''s brows furrowed. He began to think why she was suddenly experiencing those things that she mentioned. As he was carried away in his train of thoughts, his mind was jolted back to reality when he noticed that Olivia''s skin had changed. Upon witnessing this, his eyes widened in fear. At the moment, Olivia''s delicate and flawless, snow-white skin had turned red. This gave him the feeling that her body was burning inside. His mind became erratic, and his brain frantic, at what to do help her.

 Chapter 191: Urge II

    However, he knew that the redness of her skin which had just manifested was as a result of the great increase in the strong heat that she felt within her body. But he was simply lost of what to do.


    He quickly produced several healing pills and gave to her which she swallowed all at once. As these turned into healforce energy in her stomach, they flooded everywhere in her body, producing power of healing and regeneration. But their recovery acceleration power were useless as the pain she felt didn''t subside or totally vanish. Instead, it increased again in intensity as Olivia''s body started to tremble intensely, like she was having convulsion. Her vision became blurry and her body began to surprisingly give off vapors.


    Noticing the uselessness of the pills he fed her, Alex became extremely worried.


    "What''s wrong exactly?" He asked inwardly.


    As he was frantic but lost of what to do next, he remembered something. Then he looked at Olivia''s body again and could now liken it to when Karen injected sexualforce energy into his body back then. Also, the things that she mentioned to him were exactly the same things that he experienced then when the sexualforce energy circulated in his body. He remembered that it strongly aroused him then. And him resisting it sexual compulsion power, it intimacy coercion ability, it had brought him into the same state that Olivia was in; the hundreds of dominating chanting voices, the heat that increased in intensity by gigantic leaps, causing tremendous mind-ripping pain. The change in color of skin and the epileptic and convulsion-like shaking of the body


    "Is that what''s wrong with her?" Alex asked within in great shock. Then he asked further inwardly "But where did it come from? I don''t have such energy in my body as Karen removed it back then..."


    However, as he was thinking, he abruptly remembered the unique abilities of his body which was to absorb every energy that it was exposed to like a black hole. It was a body that would take in without problems every energy that it ever came across. Whether normal realm-energies or primordial realm-energies.


    "Oh no. This is pretty bad" Alex said as he now realized that it was the energy that was brought Olivia into this state, causing her agonizing pains.


    He had only just discovered now that Karen wasn''t successful in removing the energy in his body at that time. That it had broken out of her control and went to reside in his energyhouse, as a result of his body''s energy-devouring ability, regardless of rank or tier.


    "What is bad? Is it my body?" Olivia who had little of her consciousness left as it was descending into insanity asked when she heard what Alex subconsciously uttered. And as she questioned him, extreme agony could be sensed in her tone.


    Not hearing a response from Alex, she asked again in fright and in deep sadness, but with a loud, ordering voice "Alex, what is bad? Tell me now!"


    She couldn''t notice how she looked as her vision had been badly affected. But it wasn''t for this reason Alex muttered what he said earlier.


    "I¡ªI think I may be the culprit for what''s wrong with your body" Alex said stutteringly.


    He was actually scared of saying this. He didn''t want to make Olivia an enemy as he deeply loved her. However, in the end, he had to brave up and tell her. And he was sincere with her, he couldn''t lie to her as she was his girl.


    "What?!!" Olivia whose sanity level was rapidly declining shouted out in shock and unbounded anger.


    "But W¡ªWhy would you do this to me?!" She asked in a loud and angry tone. Her tone was filled with wrath and this terrified Alex.


    "Olivia, don''t think like that, please. I would never do anything to hurt you or harm your pride. The pain you are going through is from a type of energy that I didn''t realize was in my energyhouse till now. So it must have gotten into your body through some means that I don''t underst..." Alex was talking when he was sharply interrupted by Olivia who said in an exceedingly angry tone "Whatever, I don''t care. Rid this energy off me this moment."


    Alex exhaled deeply. He wasn''t happy at how their earlier ecstatic moment was ruined by this unnoticed and unanticipated factor. He began to curse Karen in his mind. Although it was his fault, he would still blame Karen as she was the originator. It was simply her that caused all this.


    Now, he didn''t know how to explain to Olivia that there was nothing he could do to purge the energy from her body. As it was not something not under his control. Then as he tried to understand how the energy entered Olivia''s body, he simply couldn''t comprehend it.


    Then a thought came to his head as he recalled something. But he wasn''t sure if it would work.


    Although he braved up to say this, great fear could be perceived in his tone.


    "Olivia, I have thought of a way on how to help you remove the energy causing you to feel the overpowering sexual urge, and the resultant excruciating pain that you are feeling because of your unyielding resistance to it demand for amorous deed. But the technique that I would offer might greatly upset you."


    Olivia, whose eyes were now bloodshot, with green veins appearing all over her red-colored body as they bulged out and making her seem like an insane and berserk person, shouted" Spill it out"


    The energy was starting to affect her sanity and her form. She was starting to look and sound like a mad woman.


    Alex quickly spoke "The only way is to have sex with you. But I am not sure if it would work"


    Although Olivia''s sanity was rapidly declining, she still heard what Alex said and it was like a bomb went off in her head. She became extremely angry that the quick reduction in her sanity level accelerated.


    Deducing that if he didn''t do something now, Olivia''s sane mind would be gone forever, and that she would become a crazed, male sexual predator. Alex quickly carried her with him and rushed away from the stream.


    Immediately he came out of the water, stepping on dry land, he laid Olivia''s naked body on the ground.


    Then he uttered "Olivia, I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me for what I am about to do next."

 Chapter 192: Attainment of joyful ecstasy, delighted moans I

    Olivia, who had only a little of her consciousness left, as the insanely strong sexual desire had engulfed nearly every inch of her mind, noticed when Alex spread her legs wide, and then inserted his reproductive organ into her.


    As soon as Alex''s hard and erect sexual organ pierced through into her, she fully arched her back as she screamed out in pain, then she began to moan blissfully in the next instant. And slowly, because of insertion of Alex''s sex organ into her pleasure cave, her sanity gradually returned.


    Now having a bit of a clear vision, a fragment of her sane mind couldn''t help but reel in shock from the surprising action Alex just carried out. It spun in deep astonishment from his AUDACITY.


    But there was nothing she could do about it as an overwhelming, titillating sensation flooded every nook and cranny of her beautiful and flawless body, causing her to groan delightfully.


    She really wanted to stop him, but she couldn''t bring herself to stop him. She was forced to surrender herself to the overpowering, explosive sexual feeling that greatly rocked her body and soul, making her to thirst for more. She desired more and more. Now, she wanted to reach for the highest cloud and remain there for eternity.


    However, she was like this because she was under the powerful stimulatory influence of the sexual excitement-producing realm-energy flowing in her body.


    ....


    When Alex spread Olivia''s legs widely apart, just so he could insert his hard, beefy rod into her, he noticed her clitoris, a layer of skin just above her pleasure cave; the place where a male''s sex organ was going to enter to produce mind-numbing, soul-shaking ecstasy eruptions.


    Looking at it with glittering eyes, her clitoris which was bright pink in colour, same with the folds of skin surrounding her pleasure cave, had successfully attracted his attention.


    He was deeply enticed by their pinkness and by their lovely looks. Lacking the ability to resist from touching them, he brought his fingers towards them and began to gently rub them, feeling them out in the process. It was warm and soft to touch.


    Alex totally enjoyed what he was doing. Very soon, he placed his head on the area between her widely spread legs and continued to softly pinch and caress her clit and the surrounding folds of skin.


    Then not quite long, he couldn''t help but have his eyes glow at the amount of enjoyment they would both get when he pushes his stick into her.


    He continued to romantically and playfully run his fingers around her highly sensitive private part region. Then after sometime, he stopped, ready for some exhilarating action.


    When Alex started to softly pinch and gently squeeze her clit, Olivia''s mind which was immersed in a world of strong sexual desire, suddenly arched her back and began to shake. She shook like she was being possessed by a demon.


    While arched, she began to scream in joy. Tears of extreme ecstasy could be seen unstoppably streaming down her eyes. The sex-stimulating and ecstasy-bringing energy; sexualforce energy had actually increased her body''s sensual sensitivity to the extreme.


    When Alex stopped caressing her clit, ready for some penetrative and thrusting action, he exhaled deeply. Then he took his reproductive organ into his hand.


    The instant that he held it in his hands, he felt perceptible waves of a type of power emanating from it. Surprised, he looked at it, then he could see that the veins bulging out from it were purple in color, and that some form of glowing purple energy were moving backwards and forwards in them. Then a realization dawned on him. That was sexualforce energy flowing in the veins of his sex organ. He simply shook his head and cursed Karen within. Then he concentrated on his next line of action.


    Holding his large reproductive organ that unendingly emanated astonishingly strong, repulsing pulses of mind-snapping, sexual arousal power firmly in one of his hands, he brought the fat tip of it to the location where Olivia''s pleasure cave was. Then he tried to push it into her body, through the narrow slit of her pleasure cave. But he was blocked by something that felt like a seal. That was a thin layer membrane signifying that Olivia was a virgin.


    When the entry of his pulse-emitting, glowing fleshy staff was obstructed by the membrane, Alex remembered that Olivia was a virgin. Then he mustered more courage and strength as he forced the entry of his sexual organ into her cave.


    This time, as he applied more force, he successfully ripped apart the membrane and reached deep into her cave of Joy.


    ......


    It was at this point that Olivia arched her back and screamed out in pain.


    Now that the membrane had been ripped apart by the aggressive and fast entry of Alex''s large manhood into the depth of her cave, a tear resulted from his intense deflowering action. Then in the next second, a small amount of blood slowly streamed out from the area where there was a tear. It flowed for only a moment before it stopped, when Olivia''s rapid regeneration power kicked in.


    She also stopped screaming when the abrupt intense pain, resulting from the forceful penetration of Alex''s sex organ into the depth of her Bliss Cave disappeared, as soon as her speedy recovery power started up.


    When Alex''s erected reproductive organ gained a forced passage into her body through her Pleasure Cave, Olivia whose mind, drowned in a boundless sea of intense amorous desire, and body, shook hard by a raging wave of paralyzing sweetness, wrapped her legs tightly around Alex''s back. While Alex, who after deeply inserting his Joy Staff into Olivia''s Cave, felt a wondrous sensation that he had never felt before. This seemed to have erupted from every area in his body, making him moan in pleasure.


    It was a totally different sensation that he had just felt. It was different and vastly many times better than the type that he had experienced when he kissed, hugged or had his sex organ sucked. It was a great feeling as it catapulted his mind far into the last ninth cloud of unbounded carnal bliss.


    Once he penetrated through and reached for the depth of Olivia''s cave, he began to slowly move his waist up and down. And as he did this in the missionary style, he couldn''t help but continuously moan as he lifted his waist up and lowered it back again, gently ramming Olivia''s honeypot with his firm, beefy staff.


    But not quite long, his thrusting speed picked up as he began to ram Olivia''s honeypot hard with his sex organ. He had gone from softcore to hardcore.

 Chapter 193: Attainment of joyful ecstasy, delighted moans II

    - Thirty minutes later -


    The speedy up-and-down motion of his waist while in the dominating, sexual intercourse position caused loud clapping sounds like PAH, PAH, PAH to rampantly ring out. And they rang out really fast.


    As Alex continuously did that, using his sex organ to brush against the warm and excessively wet walls of Olivia''s tight bliss cave, Olivia, whose legs were wrapped around Alex''s waist, began to tremble. She couldn''t contain the intense throbbing pleasure that erupted from Alex''s manhood trying hard to smash apart her cave of happiness.


    Her entire body began to shake hard as she then screamed out loud without care of anything in the world.


    One couldn''t blame her, she had been taken over by extreme carnal pleasure as she finally arrived at an orgasm. At this moment, she felt tremendously blissful. She felt like as if she was in the heavens, the highest layer.


    Although the orgasm was greatly intense, it was because there had been build-up of it along the way. However, she could reach this amazing climax because Alex had discharged seed-carrying fluid into her body. This fluid contained wisps of sexualforce energy. Since it was coming out from his reproductive organ, the sexual arousal energy that had accumulated in his veins infused into the fluid. Therefore, the sweetness that she felt when she arrived at a climax was raised to a degree, to a scale that she couldn''t bear by the energy. Also, apart from the seemingly unbounded ecstasy that she felt, the energy produced a body-immobilization and mind-paralyzing effect.


    If it were a mortal that experienced this kind of orgasm that was vastly enhanced by the sexualforce energy, such mortal would definitely become a physically-disabled and mentally-crippled person; an imbecile, all because of the astronomical-degree sensuous pleasure that would devastate the person''s mind and body. Nerves and blood vessels would rip apart, blood flow would be tremendously pressured resulting in irreversible bodily incapacitation; stroke. Bowels would explode, eyes would pop off, and brains would swell to the point of exploding due to the rigorous sensations of bliss, while minds would snap.


    Without removing his rod from her cave, Alex collapsed on top of Olivia, his head resting on her peaks. Yes he was shameless, but he knew well that he had just desecrated Olivia''s holy body and didn''t know how he was going to face her after this. But as he was deeply exhausted from the intense exercise that he carried out, he couldn''t think of anything intelligible. So he simply rested on her to recover his energy, and with the thought that Olivia wouldn''t be too vexed at him as she had accepted to be his woman. All he could do was blame it on the sexual-energy as it had sped things up for them, forcing him to do what they should do when they are only legally married.


    He was very unhappy about this, but he knew that it wasn''t his fault. Besides, he was glad that what he did worked out since Olivia''s mind had returned to normal. For if it didn''t work, she would have become a mad and frenzied, male sexual predator. He definitely wouldn''t bear to see her transform into that. Then he decided to know later, how he was able to transmit that uncanny arousing energy into Olivia''s body.


    Not long, like a mortal, Alex succumbed to sleep. But this was due to his extreme tiredness.


    While Olivia, who was awake and now had a completely clear mind, couldn''t help but have her mind think of a thousand things at once. She was sad and bittered over what Alex did. And as she greatly resented him for the deed he committed, her mind couldn''t help but think of so many things. And one of the things that came to her mind much more often than the rest of her thoughts was killing Alex; beheading him or stabbing him to death!


    This thought was her dominant and frequently-appearing thought as Alex had just terminated the Title that she was very proud of from doing what he did to her, which was deflowering her. Now that her title would be unforgivably stripped away from her if it was ever found that she had been deflowered, she wouldn''t be able to continue studying at the academy because of shame. She would have to drop out or go start somewhere else.


    So basically, Alex had ruined her life. But if that was all, it would have been quite better. Now, he had destroyed her purity and her holiness by committing a filthy and sacrilegious act with her sacred and virgin body which was the most precious thing to her. Although they bathed naked together and had some good fun time with each other, it was her decision to do that with him. She saw it as nothing bad in having surface intimate moments with the person she truly loves. But now, she had lost her priceless virginity because Alex pumped some strange energy into her body, and used the state that her mind and body was thrown into as an advantage to have long-duration sex with her. She simply felt that Alex took a great advantage of her, but that wasn''t the case. She had only been mistaken.


    However, just thinking of all these pained her to the marrow of her bones. That was how deep the emotional hurt she felt went. She was so hurt that she could be traumatized by it.


    Therefore, for what he had done, she felt that he deserved nothing but death. He had just committed an unpardonable act upon her body. She was fundamentally someone that would never ever give any man room to take advantage of her simply because they were lovers. If the person did what she hated with the whole of her being, she would try her best to eliminate the person and then dispose off the person''s corpse.


    So for what he had done, which was profaning her body, she would terminate him too. Just as he had terminated her title, glory and veneration.


    She would wipe out his life without hesitating or batting an eye as he had done the most heinous act. If she would remain for the rest of her life without a man, she will definitely do that.


    Then her eyes began to erupt unbridled killing intent after this train of thought ended.


    Swoosh!


    A colorful light flashed as something that emitted a perceivable and strong aura of great sharpness appeared in the air.


    It was a treasure-spear that had appeared. Then it floated to a hand. Grasping it tightly, she looked coldly at Alex who was deep in his sleep from his extreme exhaustion and wasn''t aware of what was going on.

 Chapter 194: Olivias killing intent

    As Alex was asleep, his emotion-sense suddenly acted up, as it had sensed the killing intent erupting from Olivia. And being interconnected with his other physical senses, particularly the feel-sense, the hairs on his skin stood on their ends and produced intensely painful pricking sensations. Besides, the danger-signaling treasure at the center of his forehead produced a strong burning sensation.


    Therefore, due to all these, Alex''s eyes abruptly snapped open. And with his hands on the ground by Olivia''s sides, he permeated his arms muscles with strengthforce energy. Then he explosively pushed himself into the air using his powered hands. And while in the air, he performed a Tuck, an aerial acrobatic movement as he brought his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them.


    Since he powerfully pushed himself from the ground into the air in the backward direction, his body which was now airborne in the Tuck position, rolled backwards several times horizontally before landing at a spot that was many feet away from where Olivia was.


    Once he landed, the abstruse pattern at his chest flashed a resplendent light. Then a cloth instantly appeared on him to cover his nakedness. In the instant that he did this, robing himself to cover his nudity, he looked towards the source of the danger that he felt earlier during his sleep and saw Olivia, who had also stood to her feet and was now clothed too. Then he turned his eyes away from her to her hand and saw that she grasped a treasure-spear.


    Once he saw the spear, he knew what Olivia was trying to do.


    "Olivia, you were actually going to kill me?" Alex asked in a deeply shocked and unbelieving tone.


    Olivia didn''t answer him, she only looked coldly at him.


    Then in the next instant, the treasure-spear began to glow as pyroforce energy was being produced by the fire-bound arrays contained in the voidstones plugged into it sockets. Soon, this energy erupted outwards from it in a large quantity before instantly condensing and shaping into solid fiery spear that radiated unbearable heat and blinding fiery brilliance. In the instant that it formed, it shot towards Alex at extreme speed, at the same time that Olivia stabbed out towards Alex with the treasure-spear clasped by her dainty hand.


    Seeing the incoming energy-spear, Alex quickly put his hands out, and abruptly, frostforce energy discharged from it in large quantities. Then it speedily condensed and shaped into a solid pillar that shot towards the energy-attack.


    Boom!!


    A loud explosive sound rang out which was instantly accompanied by waves of devastating, extreme-temperature energies.


    However, both attacks canceled out. But this didn''t surprise Olivia as she knew how strong Alex was.


    The spear began to glow again as energy was being generated in it, then this energy discharged from the spear in exceedingly large amount, before rapidly compacting and shaping into a spear. This was many times larger than the spear-shaped energy-attack she sent out earlier.


    Seeing that Olivia was unrelenting in her attacks, Alex moved speedforce energy to his eyes to see in slow-motion, and then strengthforce energy to his leg muscles to increase their density.


    Since his eyes had been permeated with speed-perception energy, he saw the energy-spear that was shooting towards him in slow-motion. It actually took seconds for the energy-spear to cover an inch in his vision.


    Therefore, because of his augmented detection of the velocity of the energy-spear, resulting in the drastically decreased speed of the attack in his vision, Alex jumped very high into the air, about thirty feet to evade the massive fiery attack. And putting himself into the cartwheel position while high in the air, he made his body wheel several times before landing back to the ground.


    Immediately he landed, with a swoosh, he flitted towards Olivia. He was incredibly fast that he left a small cloud of dust and numerous after-images behind.


    At this extreme speed, Alex arrived before Olivia who didn''t know that Alex was already in front of her. Then he went behind her to wrap his hands around her, binding her up with his strong arms, with the intention to lock her in place and stop her from throwing out more attacks.


    "Olivia, please stop what you are doing. One of us could get hurt. I can''t bear to hurt you. So please stop" Alex said in a begging tone.


    Olivia''s eyes that radiated emotionlessness ignored all that Alex said. Unresponsive to what he said, she activated her Great Infernobringer Firecloud physique.


    Her hair turned orange and seemed to be burning like it was on fire. Also, her eyes turned orange too.


    Alex noticed her transformation, but he didn''t unwrap his binding arms which he used to bound her in place.


    But just then, an exceedingly hot, orange-colored flame erupted from her body.


    Alex who had his arms wrapped tightly around Olivia screamed in pain when the flames engulfed him. Then he shot backwards, far away from her.


    He looked at his hands and could see serious burns. But they began to heal in the next instant.


    Alex was deeply saddened by what was going on. However, his eyes narrowed in the next instant when a dazzling resplendent light flashed, and he saw the Nine Skies Burning Sword in Olivia''s hand.


    It was now he knew that he had to fight. Or he would be seriously injured. Who knows, he might even lose his life from the exchange. So he felt.


    But he still tried speaking to her.


    "Olivia, I know that I have done something pretty awry that has caused you to become emotionless and cold to me. But please listen, it isn''t my fault. I just had to do something or your sanity would have vanished forever. It wasn''t me who put your body and mind in that state. I will never do such to you. Please forg...."


    Alex couldn''t complete his speech when a large and steel-hard, brilliant ray of blue-colored pyroforce energy shot towards him.


    Since he still had speedforce energy in his eyes, he could see the massive attack shooting towards him in slow-motion. But it wasn''t slow in his vision this time. It was actually very fast. The speedforce energy that permeated his eyes failed to reduce the velocity at which the attack moved in his vision.

 Chapter 195: Why do you keep on lying?

    Boom!!


    Alex was struck hard by the solid energy ray and he was knocked very far into the distance of about thirty feet away.


    He crashed to the ground and continually dragged along it by the backward-shoving kinetic force that acted on him.


    When the force that acted on him vanished, he tried to stand back to his feet but he couldn''t. Besides, excruciating severe pains racked his entire body.


    He quickly produced healing pills which he swallowed. These turned into healforce energy that spread to every inch of his body and began to heal him. Very quickly, all the pain that he felt disappeared.


    Then he stood back to his feet and looked into the distance. He saw Olivia there looking at him coldly. But the coldness in her eyes this time had reduced slightly.


    From witnessing this, Alex then felt that Olivia didn''t really hate him. She was only doing this out of anger for what he did to her. Although what he did was quite similar to raping, as he didn''t ask for her consent and his entry was quite forceful. But he couldn''t be faulted for that. If he knew about the energy, he would have been able to control it. But he wasn''t aware of the energy, and worst of it, he couldn''t control it. If he could, he would have drew it out of her body back into his body. Then all this wouldn''t have happened.


    Besides, from the way she attacked, Alex could deduce that her offensives were low-powered. If she really meant to destroy him, just one attack from her Nine Skies Burning sword was enough to reduce him to bits.


    Therefore, now that he understood where Olivia stood, that she was only very angry at him and not that she hated him to the bone marrow, he began to to walk towards her. Defenseless!


    He felt that maybe after she strikes him hard to her heart desires, venting out all her anger on him, she would calm down and listen to whatever he was saying.


    Then he began to walk towards her. And as he did so, Olivia unleashed another beam of energy that struck him hard again, sending him flying into the far distance where he crashed into the earth, making a crater in it.


    This attack carried a bit more power as his body was drowned in pain. His entire bones were broken from the tremendously heavy collision of the compacted ray of energy with his body, while burns that spread across his entire body could be seen.


    Alex gritted his teeth hard as he produced regeneration pills which he swallowed. These then turned into healing-energy that sped up his body''s recovery ability.


    Once he was okay again, he stood to his feet and began to walk towards her.


    Bang!


    He was struck again.


    ..........


    So in this manner, Alex continued to receive deadly attacks from Olivia.


    After the thirtieth attack, Olivia stopped and shouted at Alex who was walking towards her, covered in blood.


    "Why aren''t you attacking? Only one of us can live!" She said.


    Alex didn''t respond, he only continued to walk towards her.


    Olivia shouted again "Why aren''t you responding?"


    Alex didn''t reply, he only continued to walk towards her.


    When he got to her front, covered with his blood from head to toe. He said "I know that I have caused you unhappiness, and it''s what is making you to be excessively angry at me. Do continue to attack me to vent out your anger. I will take it as punishment for the unspeakable deed that I did to you"


    Olivia lowered her sword and began to sob.


    With tears of sadness pouring out of her face unendingly, she asked in a morose tone "Why did you do this to me? Why?"


    Alex exhaled deeply and said "I will never do this to you. Ever. Although, I know that I didn''t ask for your consent and just went ahead to insert my rod into you, making it similar to raping since my penetration was forceful. But it was for you to have your sanity which was already showing signs of thinning away to come back. I just had to. I had to try every means to bring you out of that state"


    Olivia looked at him coldly and said "Why do you keep on lying? Don''t you respect me enough to tell me the truth? Just admit that you wanted to have my body"


    Alex was greatly saddened by what Olivia said. It seemed like whatever he said now wouldn''t be taken to heart by her. But anyways, he still tried to explain.


    "Olivia, I am not lying to you, I swear. All these could be blamed upon an energy that a senior passed into my body back at the academy that I studied at. This energy is called sexualforce energy. It simply compels one to have sex. And if one didn''t do it bidding, trying to resist it compulsion, one would be afflicted with tremendous pain. Also, one''s sanity could rapidly fade and then totally vanish, transforming one into a depraved, sexual predatory monster. I begged the senior then, who infused the energy into my body as punishment, to please remove it. But I wasn''t aware that the senior didn''t remove this evil energy from my body. So, maybe when I touched your head when you were... um... sucking my thingy that I unknowingly passed the energy into your body"


    Olivia gazed at him with eyes that erupted intense chilliness.


    "So why would the energy suddenly move from your body into mine? Eh?" Olivia asked in a frigid and disbelieving tone.


    "Maybe because I was deeply aroused. You know, the movement of the energy could have been stimulated by the blissful state of mind you put me in when you did that er.. that thing to me." Alex replied.


    Olivia shook her head.


    She didn''t believe Alex.


    "Olivia, you don''t seem to believe me? Why?" Alex asked unhappily. He was sad that Olivia didn''t even try to see even a speck of truth in all that he said.


    "Why would I believe you? Everything that you said are all falsehoods. How would some energy just act up on it own? Without your influence? It was under your control. So I can''t believe you. Why I am even standing here talking to you?" Olivia said in an icy tone.


    Then she turned and walked away, keeping her sword back into her spatial ring.


    Alex remained there, radiating an aura of sadness and loneliness.


    He was simply lost of what to say or do next.

 Chapter 196: How much do you hate me?

    So he looked on as she walked away, but he just couldn''t bear to let her walk away like that. She was his girlfriend, and he had to accept whatever blame she would place on him.


    Therefore, he went to meet her as she walked. And when he got to her side, he grabbed her by her hands and said "Alright. I did that to you, Olivia. Please forgive me. Find a place in your heart to forgive me. Such would never ever happen again, I promise"


    One just couldn''t blame Alex for admitting to what he didn''t do. He just had to say this as Olivia would never ever believe that the energy was not under his control or influence. Who would believe such? How would an energy that one didn''t cultivate find it way into one''s energyhouse and remain there without returning to the realmverse? It was impossible and would sound stupid to anyone that heard it. Besides, even if it did gather in one''s energyhouse by some strange means, but since one didn''t cultivate it, how would it move and transmit into another person''s body without that person''s influence?


    But she wouldn''t know that Alex''s body was a type never before seen in any record. It had the ability to seize control or circulation of just about any energy that he comes in contact with.


    So Alex said that, trying to man up to the despicable act that he did, Olivia didn''t respond. She only tried to remove her hand from Alex''s firm grip. But she couldn''t.


    Seeing that Olivia wasn''t responding, Alex decided to ask "On a scale of ten to ten thousand, how much do you hate me?"


    Olivia finally looked at him and then said "Alex, I don''t hate you. I only intensely disliked what you did to me. Although, I did hate you moments ago when you were thrusting into me with your thing and in a selfish manner. But I have forgiven you now, as you have manned up to tell me the truth that you did that to me. But I just can''t believe that you would actually do that to me. I am all yours and till the end. Why couldn''t you exercise a bit of control till the time that I would surrender my body to you for you to pounce on and impact to your satisfaction? Anyways, apart from admitting to what you did, I just can''t bring myself to hate you. But that doesn''t mean you should be shameless around me. If you dare ask me for sex, I wouldn''t hesitate in using my sword on you. I will behead you. I am seriously capable of doing that"


    Alex only smiled wryly.


    He nodded his head, and then asked in an affectionate tone "Can I hug you? If truly that you have forgiven me, you would allow me have a simple hug, right?"


    "Why would I want to hug a rapist? " Olivia gazed at him and then asked in a disdainful tone.


    "Huh?" Alex was taken aback by what she said.


    "Come on, Olivia. You can''t call me that" Alex said in a pained tone.


    "Why?" Olivia asked with indifferent eyes.


    "Why?" Alex asked back. Then he said "Because I am your boyfriend, your lover, your future husband"


    "No, I can''t give you a hug because you are a cold-hearted rapist. You raped me. How quick that you have forgotten" Olivia said.


    Alex didn''t know what to say again.


    "But you enjoyed it and didn''t tell me to stop" Alex said.


    "What?!" Olivia asked in a shocked tone.


    She gazed at him in an indescribable manner, and then turned her eyes away. She then continued to walk into the distance.


    "Where exactly are you going to?" Alex asked as he walked by her side.


    "None of your damned business" Olivia said.


    "Olivia, you can''t be giving me the cold shoulders." Alex said in a complaining tone.


    "Haha. Why? Because I am your girlfriend? Don''t you forget what you did to me. I believe you know that you deserve more than the cold shoulders. I don''t think that you know that you have ruined my reputation and have destroyed my purity." Olivia said.


    Alex shook his head horribly and only walked by her side silently.


    He knew that he deserved more than that for what he did to her. But he could no way he blamed for it.


    Recalling something, Alex said "Um... Olivia, I believe that you know that you are carrying my.. um.. my seed. So you can''t be treating the father of your unborn child in this manner"


    Although he said this, he didn''t actually mean it. Why would he want a child when he has thousands of extremely difficult things to be done. He only said it to see what Olivia''s reaction would be. Perhaps saying that would let her realize how important he is to her. So he felt.


    Olivia eyes widened with shock from what he said. Then she gazed at him unbelievably.


    "What? You think I am going to actually produce a child for you. In your dreams, you bastard. I am going to flush your seed out. Although I would want a child, but not right now, and not from you. I have so many objectives to achieve before giving birth to a child." Olivia said. Then she continued, looking at him like she didn''t care about the painful thing that she said "And Alex, please stop following me. However, if you want to follow me, you should keep mute. I am tired of discussing stupid and meaningless topics with you."


    "Huh?! Okay" Alex said in a way that a great degree of unhappiness could be sensed in his tone. Then he turned away to walk in another direction.


    Seeing that Alex had begun to walk in another direction, Olivia asked in a surprised tone "Mister, where are you going to?"


    "Somewhere that you shouldn''t be really concerned about" Alex replied without looking at her and even increased his walking pace.


    Olivia''s eyes widened in surprise from Alex''s response, then she gave a mischievous smile.


    "Alright. Keep going" Olivia said.


    Alex nodded and continued to walk away.


    Witnessing that Alex didn''t even turn his head to look at her, Olivia''s mind roiled. He was actually walking away. Although she didn''t mean what she said, she only said that to make him feel sad and to annoy him.


    Then she called out his name and said "Alex! you are actually walking away on me? You are frigging unbelievable."


    Alex then stopped to look at her. Then he said "Well, you told me to stop following you. Or if I want to follow you, I should keep mute. I chose the former. I can''t keep mute. I am not a mute. Besides, why did you call me? You should go on your way while I go on mine" Alex said.


    Hearing what Alex said, Olivia knew that Alex was pretty angry. What she said must have hurt him to the bottom of his heart. Then she went to meet him where he stood and said, holding his hands "Alex, I was only kidding. I am sorry if what I said made you sad and unhappy"


    "It''s okay. You don''t need to apologize. I am the one who wronged you and should be apologizing" Alex said.


    Olivia smiled and nodded.


    Then she placed her hands on his face and said "Alright. So, What''s the way forward from here?"

 Chapter 197: Lets go burn it down

    "Well, the next thing is to destroy that organization that knows about Nailah. If it isn''t destroyed, she wouldn''t be safe anywhere." Alex said.


    "You are right. The organization needs to be burnt to the ground. But how are we going to do it? It would be extremely difficult to destroy an organization. There would be thousands of cultivators there who might be three to four stages higher than us in cultivation" Olivia said.


    "I know. But I possess numerous protective powers that can result in tremendous destructions. So they are nothing before me. I would wipe them all out" Alex said with great confidence radiating off his tone.


    "Wait! You mean that you actually have cores of divine power?" Olivia asked in a shocked tone.


    Alex smiled and nodded.


    Olivia couldn''t help but gape. She began to wonder if Alex was just the same as her. That his parent too were faced with a problem in a certain Greatverse and then left due to the problem. But they couldn''t make it out, while Alex arrived in this world with his uncle.


    "Okay." She said. Then she continued "What do we do about this place? You have seriously damaged the topography of the land. We have to try to restore it"


    "Yea, I think I have a way to do that." Alex said.


    "Hmm. Let me guess, you would transform your body into one of those powerful, divinely bodies?" Olivia asked, looking at him in the eyes.


    "Sure." Alex said.


    "Cool. Do it. Let me see" Olivia said with an anticipating smile.


    She wanted to see him transform.


    Alex nodded and smiled back.


    Then he closed his eyes and focused on the wrathful emotions that he kept buried deep in his heart. And as he did that, he split his concentration into two as he began to multi-task. Now, he had began to focus on a thought which was ''Earth Control''


    Alex wasn''t exactly sure if it was going to work. He didn''t quite believe that the realm would have all the physiques that he could ever think about. But he felt that anything was possible in that realm, since it had limitless bodies. Every thought that he had ever produced had a physique for it.


    Once the protoforce energy sensed his emotions, it began to revolve in his soul-dwelling region. His forced state of extreme anger had stimulated the energy to begin to circulate. Then in the next instant, it yielded a type of realm-connection power that linked that realm to Alex''s soul realm.


    Then acting on his thought, an illusory body in this realm which was strongly related to what he thought about, reverted into millions of abstruse symbols that it originally was. It then flowed from that realm to his soul region and into his soul, appearing as an overwhelming amount of information in his mind.


    ''Thousand Divine Mountains Formation Supreme Earth-Manipulation Elemental Physique''


    This was what appeared in his mind.


    As soon as the information surfaced in his mind, Alex utilized the transformation technique of the physique.


    The instant that he did this, his body burst out an aura of power that was the same as that which would be produced by a saint stage cultivator.


    Olivia who was observing Alex noticed the strong pulses of peak-phase saint-tier power discharging from his body and couldn''t help but gawk again. Although she had seen him do this during their battle then with the cultivators that were after Nailah, she just couldn''t help but be marveled again. It was something that one would be simply, continually astonished about, as it was a theoretically and practically impossible thing to do or carry out. But he was doing it, performing this world-shaking feat like it was nothing. And this drowned her mind in unbounded shock. And when she tried to think of how he was able to achieve such leap in power, she couldn''t think of anything. She just couldn''t know how he was doing it, how he was able to to achieve such impossible jump in power, if although she knew that the power came at a cost, as she had actually noticed back then.


    Alex at the moment looked many feet taller than before, sixteen feet to be precise. His eyes which radiated great mysteriousness as complex symbols could be seen in them were deep yellow in colour. Same with his long hair which had turned completely yellow, and had twinkling dark yellow runes on them. His skin which was dark brown in colour had glowing, strange patterns in them. It seemed like these patterns were engraved into his body. In this form, he simply looked like he was a tall statue molded out from clay using fine molding skills, and then dyed to taste.


    Although he looked very tall in height, he was quite enormous in size. To give an hint of his enormousness, one of his arms was nine times larger than that of an accomplished, award-winning weight-lifter.


    Then floating above his head was a gigantic cloud of dust, and swirling about him were stones of all sizes, and then, all sort of debris. Also, large amount of sand could be seen revolving around his figure, making it look like he was in a whirlpool of sand. Besides, perceptible, rippling waves of saint-level earth-power erupted from his immense figure unceasingly.


    Therefore, with all these shocking phenomena that occurred unendingly around him, he was like a divine god of the vast earth and the innumerable mountains. That was the way anyone that saw him would feel. It was also this way that Olivia who stood quite far from him felt.


    When Alex changed into this form, he quickly placed his hand on the ground. Then closing his eyes, he directed his power of earth-control deep into the earth.


    Then the earth control power which was driven by his will began to alter the way the earth looked. It began to change the landscape of the earth. All the ruined areas where they fought with the saint stage cultivators who were after Nailah began to heal up.


    About forty-nine seconds later, all the craters that were made into the earth had closed up to a great extent, giving some degree of beauty back to this place.


    Alex then stopped here and transformed back to his normal body. Then he looked at Olivia and said in a fearless tone.


    "Let''s go burn down the organization"

 Chapter 198: I would be glad, Your Majesty

    When Alex changed into this form, he quickly placed his hand on the ground. Then closing his eyes, he directed his power of earth-control deep into the earth.


    Then the earth control power which was driven by his will began to alter the way the earth looked. It began to change the landscape of the earth. All the ruined areas where they fought with the saint stage cultivators who were after Nailah began to heal up.


    About forty-nine seconds later, all the craters that were made into the earth had closed up to a great extent, giving some degree of beauty back to this place.


    Alex then stopped here and transformed back to his normal body. Then he looked at Olivia and said in a fearless tone.


    "Let''s go burn down the organization"


    Olivia nodded. Then her eyes began to erupt battle intent.


    But she asked "How are we going to do that? We have already slain all the men?"


    Alex grinned.


    "I was only kidding" He said.


    "Well, I guess we would have to wait for more of them to come?" Olivia asked.


    "I think so too" Alex said.


    Then he looked at a place where an immense treasure-artifact was and went there to stow it into his mom''s spatial ring.


    That was the treasure that shot out of the spatial ring of the Saint stage cultivator that he fought, which turned into a formation that generated a barrier that prevented signal transmission.


    Since he had slain the Saint stage cultivator, the treasure couldn''t remain afloat in the air, operating on it own as there was no longer any mind-link to the Saint stage cultivator that set it up.


    "Let''s leave this place and go somewhere else. More bastards from that organization should be arriving anytime soon" Alex said.


    Olivia nodded.


    Then as they were about to leave, an idea popped in Alex''s mind.


    He gazed at Olivia for sometime in a thoughtful manner and said "I don''t think we need to leave here. We can remain here. But hidden in a shelter-type treasure. Within this treasure, we can observe the cultivators that would arrive in this place." Then he continued "Besides, the shelter-treasure I have with me can move through fabric of space. So using this, we can trace them to their organization."


    Olivia looked at him and said in a surprised tone "You have such treasure with you?"


    "Sure. I found it during one of my adventures" Alex replied.


    "Wow. I wish I have one like that" Olivia said with a strong hint of envy in her tone.


    Alex smiled.


    "Well, you would surely get yours when you go to places where there are buried legacies of experts. When you pass the trial to become the successor of the inheritance, you will acquire the expert''s wealth and treasure accumulations" He said.


    "Sure" Olivia said. Then she continued "It''s just that I don''t know the location of any buried legacy"


    Alex looked at her with an indescribable light in his eyes and questioned "So you don''t have an idea of any place to get an ancient expert''s wealth?"


    "Well, something like that. But I believe that I am going to come across one in the near future. So I am in no rush. I can only cultivate here and there as I journey round the world to grow stronger. Then when an inheritance surfaces, I would go for it and use superior strength to seize it from others when it appears" Olivia replied in a resolute tone.


    "Hmm" Alex said within. He could sense the unbreakable resolution radiating off Olivia''s tone. Then he said outwardly "I have several of those kind places for such inheritances in mind. I can share one with you. That''s if you want"


    Olivia''s eyes widened.


    "Really?" She asked in a deeply surprised tone.


    "Sure" Alex responded.


    Olivia couldn''t help but shake her head in awe. She began to see him as someone that would definitely have a Greatverse, a Grand World named after him.


    "How did you come across that?" She asked.


    "Well, it''s a secret. Even if you are my girlfriend, I can''t tell you all my secrets. Just as you would have many and keep them from me." Alex said.


    Olivia looked at him with a faked angered expression and punched him in the chest.


    "Your punch feels like a massage. So weak" Alex said with a mischievous smile hung on his lips .


    "Oh!" Olivia responded.


    Then she struck him again in the chest, and this sent him flying backwards for a few feet. She had put in nearly her physical strength to punch him this time.


    "So what about that?" She asked from where she stood.


    "Still the same" Alex said with a grin. Then he stood up to his feet.


    Olivia gave a mtcheew and ignored him.


    Alex after standing up went to meet her.


    "So you want the location of the ancient expert''s wealth or not?" Alex asked.


    "Not! I don''t want anything from you" She said.


    Alex only smiled. He knew that she was kidding.


    "Alright. Playtime is over. Those guys could arrive anytime soon" Alex said.


    Olivia nodded.


    Then Alex sent his thought into the Azure Beastsman palace using his perception.


    "Palace-spirit, please bring me and my girlfriend into the palace" He said.


    "Alright!" A voice sounded thunderously in his head.


    Alex only smiled wryly. It seemed he had upset the palace-spirit a bit. But he didn''t feel dumb over what he did. It was for his girlfriend and for their next phase of plan. Besides, since she would spend more time with him, sooner or later, she would come to know or realize many things about him, if not all.


    The instant that the palace-spirit responded, space warped around both of them and they appeared in the palace hall.


    Olivia looked around and couldn''t help but marvel at the stately beauty of the hall. It was grandly decorated, using really expensive items that could probably costs continents.


    "Welcome to my abode" Alex said with a smile.


    Olivia bowed and then straightened herself.


    "I am highly honored, your Great Majesty" She said as she stood straight back. A beautiful smile could be found in her face.


    "Want a walk around? I can take you to many marveling places in this palace" Alex said.


    "I would be glad, your Majesty" Olivia said.


    Alex gave a smile. Then he held by the hands and they began to walk about in the palace.


    They went round a few of the rooms and halls before they stopped.


    Olivia who walked around with Alex to the rooms was tremendously wowed by all that she saw. She then wished that she had her own.


    Alex saw her gaze and smiled, after he interpreted what it meant.


    "No need to think too hard about when you would get yours. You would certainly get yours soon." Alex said.


    "I know" Olivia gave a knowing smile.


    Alex then faced in a random direction and asked "Palace-spirit, can we have a screen projection of everything that would go on outside this palace?"


    "Okay" An ancient voice sounded out from every direction.


    Then in the next second, a gigantic screen appeared before them. And in this screen was the land outside the palace.


    Alex then requested for chairs from the palace-spirit which immediately appeared. Then he and Olivia both sat on them and began to study the screen that was in front of them. And as they studied it for the appearances of the cultivators from the organization which they had the intention to demolish, they began to chat.


    "So Olivia, What''s your full name?" Alex asked. Then he mentioned "Imagine, I don''t even know my girlfriend''s full name"


    "Because you don''t really care" Olivia responded. The she gave her reply to his question.


    "Olivia Firecloud"


    "Damn! What a tyrannical name. Sounds fearsome. But why that kind of surname?" Alex asked in a cheeky tone.


    "Well, because of our ancestor. Since he created the Great Infernobringer Firecloud physique. He gave us that kind of surname. You of all people should know that the surnames of powerful families are given after the kind of energy they cultivate." Olivia said.


    "Yes, I know" Alex said.


    "What about you?" Olivia asked.


    "My name''s Alex Star." Alex replied.


    "Hmm. You must have a Starforce energy-related physique, right?" Olivia asked.


    "Yea. I have that kind of physique." Alex said. Then he continued "I actually have two bloodline physiques. The other one is related to Metalforce energy. But I haven''t discovered them. When I do, I would be extremely strong as I think that I would be able to fuse both of them together"


    Olivia looked at him and smiled.


    "You are trying to boast now right?" She asked with a grin.


    "Why? Why would I want to do that? I am not the boastful type ma''am" Alex said.


    "Whatever. But when are these guys coming? I am tired of waiting." Olivia responded.


    "Tired? Not for long." Alex said. Then he said into the air "Palace-spirit, can you please entertain my August visitor?" Alex asked.


    "Sure" The palace-spirit said.


    Then several buckets of roasted meats and bottles of chilled fruit juice appeared before the both of them.


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 Chapter 199: But first thing first, Steal!

    Several minutes later, Olivia and Alex totally consumed the meats and fruity wines before them. Then they tried to relax after such a satisfying kingly meal.


    However, as soon as they finished eating and had the intention to relax, the screen began to generate moving images. This caught Alex''s and Olivia''s attention who then directed their vision towards the screen. And when they did, they saw that the men that they anticipated to arrive, finally showed up.


    Alex then looked at Olivia with a smile who also looked back at him with a smile hung in her face.


    "The gods have finally answered your prayers. They couldn''t keep the prayer of such an enchanting beauty in queue with the others" He said.


    Olivia just ignored him and focused on the screen. But she smiled inwardly from what Alex said.


    Seeing that Olivia wasn''t going to respond to him, he too directed his vision back at the screen to observe the men''s activities.


    Looking at the screen observantly and without divided attention, they could count ten saint stage cultivators. And when they looked at their faces, they saw that the men looked pretty perplexed and angered. There was the expression of intense wrath and bewilderment in their faces.


    - Outside the palace -


    "Isn''t this the village where that little girl is supposed to be? How come the whole villagers are nowhere to be found. Even the structures of their village has disappeared. Have they long left the village and went somewhere else to hide themselves at?" One of the Saint stage cultivators asked in a perplexed tone.


    "I can''t comprehend it too. But one would know for sure that a battle took place here. Look at the earth surface. It has been torn here and there by the attacks our colleagues and their adversaries threw out" Another said.


    "This is bad. Master who is really desperate for the girl is going to be very angry." A other spoke.


    "You are right. I just wonder who had the gut to terminate cultivators from our organization. That person must be tired of living"


    "You think so? It seems the person is pretty powerful, to me. Recall that the Saint stage cultivator that accompanied the heaven adept stage cultivators urgently requested for help, for backup"


    "Yes, I remember. Then that means the person must be a powerful expert as he could slay many of our Earth Adept stage cultivators, Sky Lord stage cultivators, Heaven Adept stage and Saint stage cultivators."


    ......


    As they discussed amongst themselves, Alex and Olivia who were watching the screen smiled at what the Saint stage cultivators were saying. They could also actually hear them.


    "Come on, just go back to your organization already so we can go burn it down" Alex said. He was getting tired and bored of their discussions.


    After the Saint stage cultivators spoke for a while, they sent out their saint-level field-scanning senses. But they detected nothing.


    "This would only be a wild goose chase. There''s no one here. Let''s return" One of the Saint stage cultivators who looked older spoke. He was also the one with the highest cultivation base amongst them.


    "Alright" They mentioned.


    Then that older saint stage cultivator produced a treasure which was in the form of a disc and threw it at the ground. Then this turned into a large spatial transference array, but in the shape of a disc.


    The array was a large, round black disc. Then thousands of inscriptions could be seen on it surface.


    The instant that it turned into a large disc, the inscriptions on it lit up. Then it began to revolve at an extreme speed. And as it rotated, it drew down spatialforce energy, an energy that yields the power of space transfer.


    This energy had no colour as it was transparent, revealing everything that was behind it, and giving the feeling that it was invisible. However, one would know that it was present as the space around everything began to warp and distort.


    And as space contorted continuously around the Saint stage cultivators who had already climbed atop the disc, the Azure Beastsman palace that was hiding in a different layer of space quickly shot towards the disc, entering the spatial whirlpool that it had generated.


    Not quite long, a dazzling beam of light emitted from the center of the disc, shooting straight into the sky. Then the whirlpool expanded, and the bodies of the Saint stage cultivator began to fade away gradually.


    The spatial transference array which was an average quality array had to first build up it spatial movement power for sometime before one could teleport to a new location. Therefore, it took sometime before they all finally vanished from where they were, appearing in a new region.


    - Another location -


    Suddenly, a large, windless cyclone manifested before a large gate. Then some bodies slowly surfaced in this cyclone. When the cyclone abated and vanished, a few figures could be seen. These were the Saint stage cultivators. They had arrived before their organization using the space transference array.


    The older one then bent to take the treasure that formed into a spatial transference array from the ground into his spatial ring. He was going to return it to the treasure room that he took the array from. He was lent it by the organization for the mission that they were assigned for. So he couldn''t keep it as his, he had to return it or risk getting punished, or even get killed for crime of attempted stealing


    After he did so, he spoke to the Saint stage cultivators that came with him.


    "Let''s go in" He said.


    After he said this, the Saint stage cultivators nodded their heads. Then they followed him into the organization. However, as they walked to meet their master to tell him about their findings, unknowing to them, a miniaturized palace which hid in another spatial layer was following them behind.


    Alex and Olivia looked about in the organization as if they were trying to study it, using the enormous projecting screen before them.


    What they noted about the organization was that it was a towering building that had many floors. However, there was nothing majestic about the place. Instead, it radiated a gloomy atmosphere as it was painted in black. Then firelamps, which were on hung on the wall, were what gave light to this place. Besides, they could hear the terrified shrieks of things that they couldn''t quite understand. It sounded like the terrified screeches of humans and beasts at the same time. And these loud, frightening sounds added to the ominousness and stygian atmosphere of this place. It simply seemed like a place where a mythological god of fear and terror resided.


    Silently moving behind the Saint stage cultivators as it floated, they passed through several tall gates which led to stairs to the higher floors of this towering building.


    Many minutes later, twenty minutes to be precise, they arrived at the top floor. Then they went into a large hall in this floor to meet the founder of this organization.


    When they entered, they saw some people sitting around a large table. It seemed they were having a discussion before they barged in.


    Once they arrived before this people, the Saint stage cultivators quickly knelt, dropping to a knee on the ground and clasping their fist which was stretched out before them.


    "Speak!" Someone said in a bloodcurdling tone.


    This sounded out from a person that could be seen sitting on a black throne that was socketed with luminous gems, beautifying it in the process as they gave out colorful radiances.


    However, this person was quite young, about thirty years in age. He was in the half-step Saint emperor realm, meaning that he was in the peak-phase Great Saint stage and was only waiting for the cultivation tribulation so that he could officially step into the Saint emperor stage.


    On a side of this man''s face could be seen several long scars. It seemed like he fought a beast that marred his face, ruining his good look. And with an eye-patch worn over an eye at that same side of his face, an ominous and bloody aura continually emanated from his body, giving anyone that saw him the absolute feeling that he was a sinister and ruthless cultivator. Then observing further, he wore a sleeveless hooded robe that was dark blue in color. And wrapped entirely around his two exposed arms were bandages, making him look like a mummy. However, it seemed like the bandages were put there to block the emission of some gas or something that existed in the gaseous phase. One would think this upon noticing the tiny wisps of yellowish-green gas that emitted from his fully bandaged arms. Then hung on his back were two large blades. He was a blade user.


    "Master, we arrived there but saw that the village lied in ruins. A great battle actually took place there, resulting in the utter destruction of my colleagues as their bodies couldn''t be found anywhere." The older Saint stage cultivator who knelt with a knee on the ground said. Then he continued "Also, we scanned the whole place using our scanning senses at different areas and angles. But we discovered not the place the villagers were hiding. We couldn''t even track their footsteps. It seemed like they just vanished into thin air"


    The person that he called Master furrowed his brows after he heard all that the Saint stage cultivator said.


    "Master, perhaps we should go into the city and other cities to look for the girl. We would surely discover her and bring her to you" The Saint stage cultivator spoke again.


    "Hmm. Alright. Send many saint stage cultivators into the cities to look for the girl." The young man called Master spoke.


    "Alright, Master" The Saint stage cultivator said.


    Then he stood to his feet and left the hall, same with the Saint stage cultivators who knelt behind him. They also stood to their feet when he did and then left the hall behind him. They let him do all the talking as they couldn''t deal with the wrath of their Master if they said something wrong. They could be slain on the spot.


    After they left, someone who looked very old and dreadful asked the man seated on the throne "Jared, what do you plan to do with the girl exactly?"


    "Uncle, I didn''t mention this to you. I actually discovered a massive beast that can produce attacks using the five elemental energies of our world. It''s a great marvel." Jared replied.


    The person he called his uncle couldn''t help but have his eyes widen in awe.


    "What evil luck you have. An elemental beast. Why aren''t I as fortunate as you?" The old man asked like he was complaining.


    "Maybe you should go and bath yourself fourteen times in the River of Luck" Jared responded with a smile. But his smile would give one the chills. And coupled with the scars on a side of his face, he seemed like a demon from the cold abyss as he smiled. Then he continued "However uncle, the beast is in a coma-like state due to being grievously harmed. There were deep slashes and slits on it body that have refused to heal even after pouring regeneration powders into them. This I got from crushing regeneration pills into a powdery form. Anyways, it wounds couldn''t heal because of the quality of the healing pills. They couldn''t bring healing to the beast due to their poor grades. You know, average-quality healing pills and their low healing power because of the tons of impurities that they contain. Therefore, what I need is that little chocolatey girl. When I finally have my hands on her, I would force her to use her astonishing healing powers on the beast, so that it could recover. And when it recovers and develops, our organization would ascend to the peak. Hahaha!"


    "Hmm. I see. So that''s why you are after the little girl. But she''s too little to give complete healing to such a massive beast. Anyways, since you want her for your aim, don''t worry, I would support you in looking for her. She would surely be discovered" The man, Jared''s uncle said. Then he continued, with a sinister light and unbridled killing intent erupting from his eyes "As for that expert, I would love to meet him or her. So we could exchange points"


    "Me too" Jared said coldly.


    Alex who was within the palace laughed.


    "Clowns! Absolutely sure that you would meet me. And at that time, I would love to see the stupid and unbelievable looks on your faces when a peak-phase condensation stage cultivator appears before you and claims that he squashed your men like bugs and would also quash you like a roach" He said.


    "But first thing first, Steal!"

 Chapter 200: Beast of Five Elements

    Olivia smiled.


    Then she said in a disgusted tone "What a grand thief"


    "What?" Alex asked.


    " You heard me" Olivia said.


    "Why would you call me that?" Alex asked.


    "Why wouldn''t I call you that? Why steal? Go get your own" Olivia said with a disdainful smile hung in her face.


    "Ugh!" Alex groaned. Then he continued, as he questioned "Why must you always antagonize me, Olivia?"


    "Well, because I love you" Olivia said.


    Alex heard this and gave a happy smile.


    At least, now she said that she loved him. Not that she hated him.


    "But don''t be too happy mister. I can flip the switch real fast" Olivia threatened with a mischievous smile hung in her face.


    "Alright ma''am" Alex said and gave a salute.


    "So how exactly are you going to steal the beast without alerting them? There would surely be theft alarm systems put in place to prevent theft of their heavily prized possessions" Olivia asked.


    "I know. That is why I am not going for the elemental beast that he mentioned yet. What I want to do now is to silently enter the treasure rooms that they have and stow away all the treasures that they have kept or stored in there." Alex said. Then he continued, as he stated "Sure that they would have all sort of treasures as it''s an organization. One that I totally believe would rob wealthy merchants and raid treasure houses. So, since they can steal, I can steal from them too." Alex said.


    Olivia shook her head with a smile hung in her face.


    "Haha! Trying to justify your actions now, right? So you are seriously going to steal treasures too? What makes you any different from them? Besides, you have this palace that would absolutely have tons of at least, supreme-quality treasures. So you don''t need to steal from these guys. Although you are right that the organization would have large amounts of all forms of treasures, it would be at most average-quality treasures. So you definitely don''t need them" Olivia said.


    "Nah. You are wrong, Olivia. It''s an organization. They would have heaps and stacks of treasures and cultivation manuals of good qualities. Also, they would have piles of good-quality pills of all sorts. So, I am going to take them all because of a futuristic plan that I have in mind. Besides, this place would be leveled to the ground. The treasures, methodology manuals, other sort of books and cultivation pills that they have stored would be destroyed in the process. Therefore, taking them away is right. I am not trying to justify my action, Olivia" Alex said.


    Olivia shook her head with a smile hung on her lips.


    "Alright." She said. Then she continued "How are you going to accomplish that?"


    "Let''s just observe for now. Until the treasure-vault is open could we have the chance to steal their treasures" Alex said. Then he continued "Let''s go round the organization to study the mechanisms that they have in place. Who knows, since it''s an organization, they could have some serious arrays put in place that would give us a tough time"


    "Alright" Olivia said as she nodded.


    The palace remained afloat in the air, concealing itself in another layer of space. Then the occupants in it which were Alex and Olivia, listened to every bits of information that they would need so that they could successfully rob the organization stealthily, and then bring it buildings to the ground as rubbles and ashes.


    - In the hall -


    "Jared, come show me the beast. I want to have a look at it" An old man said.


    "Alright, uncle Liam" Jared said.


    Then Jared stood from his throne and led his uncle to a large underground room in the building that they were in. While he was doing this, the palace that Alex and Olivia was in, moved along with them to where the beast was kept.


    When they got there, they saw a tall, black gate. And on this gate could be thousands of frightful engravings. Engravings of all kinds and forms of monstrous creatures could be seen on it.


    Jared then used the telekinetic power available to him at his Great Saint cultivation stage to push a large, circular button at the center of the gate.


    Once he did so, a screen appeared before him. Then on this screen could be seen complex symbols. If one studiously observed the symbols that were on the screen, one would notice that it was a puzzle. That is, the symbols could be arranged to form a large pattern. Those were gate-entry symbols.


    Jared touched the screen and began to move the symbols to different corners and areas of it one after the other. Not long, the symbols were made into a complex pattern. Once he created a pattern using the symbols, there was a loud metallic sound that rang out as the gate swung open.


    "Alright, uncle. It has opened. We can go in now" Jared said.


    "I see. As careful as ever." His uncle, Liam said.


    Then they stepped in. When they got in and walked for some time, fifteen minutes to be precise, they came across a large beast that seemed like it was in a deep slumber.


    "Here''s the beast uncle. A beast that has control over the five elements. A marveling creature of battle. Once this beast totally heals and awaken, and then grows to a stage where it would bring about a vast storm of destruction, that day, I would be feared by all. On that day, our organization which has been in hiding for a long time would appear in the world." Jared said, looking at his uncle.


    "Hmm." His uncle, Liam nodded. Then he asked "Jared, Where did you get the beast from?"


    "Well, it was during one of my adventures. I went into a place that no man would ever think of entering. In there, I met death. But because of my will to live, unyielding perseverance and tremendous luck, I came out alive" He said, in a prideful tone. Then he continued "It was in an underground cave in a mountain. When I first entered, there was nothing there. But after walking for a long time, carefully observing my environment for hidden, dangerous or instant-annihilating elements, I entered into an unseen, membranous layer of something. I have a feeling that it was a spatial layer. My conclusion is because, the instant that I unknowingly entered it, I was transported through a vast tunnel that had all colors of light. Then I appeared in a new location that I can confidently say was another world. Although it was beautiful, the air there was toxic to me as I began to choke. Besides, I started having strange growths on my body. I guess that the air, or something which I didn''t know about that exuded from surfaces of things and saturated the air, was the culprit of the tumor-like growths on my body. It was after trying my best to stay alive as I kept walking and walking, using my energy to form a shielding screen around myself to protect my body from the harmful, gaseous-phase elements, that I came across the elemental beast in it terribly injured state. I think that it was involved in a battle with other beasts or some creatures that lived in that unknown region. Then I kept the beasts into my storage bag and moved on to find a way out for myself. Just at the point of death, as the poisonous air had filled my lungs, after decomposing my energy screen, I came across a being, a masculine non-human expert. It was he who brought me out of there. And when he brought me out using his teleportation powers, he told me that it was a place that I shouldn''t come to as will or tenacity wouldn''t help me keep my life. That I should only come there when I was powerful enough. At least, I should have teleportation powers before barging into there"


    "Hmm. So that''s how you would have died and I would be here exceedingly worried about you. Anyways, if you want to go there again, I can accompany you, since I have teleportation powers." His uncle, Liam said.


    "Haha. Certainly. I would go there again since you would accompany me. That place is much more beautiful than our world. And I have a feeling that all kinds of materials would be found there. Materials that wouldn''t be found in our own world. Just like this beast before us. Although the resources taken from there might prove to be harmful to us, but once it''s refined, and then consumed, we could experience total body transformation and even rapid jump in our cultivation levels. If my theory is right, in no time, we would dominate this state. Then the region and the continent" Jared grinned and said.


    "True" Jared''s uncle, Liam said with eyes that began to glitter upon Jared saying domination and absolute fearsome power.


    Alex who was within the palace heard all that Jared said and wished that he had teleportation powers. He actually wanted to visit that unknown region too. But he knew that he was too weak to do so.


    He had suddenly developed this thought all from the things that Jared mentioned about in that unmapped place that was like a world in it own.


    He had a feeling that he would definitely come across things in there that would absolutely help him grow at a shocking rate.


    Then he looked at the beast and couldn''t help but be astonished again.


    "What a beast" he said.


    From what he could see about the beast, he noticed that the beast was crystalline in appearance. It seemed like it was carved from ice. Except that it body was transparent as one could see within it, and it crystal-like skin was sky blue in color. Then within it crystalline body as it was transparent could be seen five different glows of light. These glows moved about it in body like shooting stars. Therefore, due to this phenomenon, the creature looked beautiful and colorful as the multi-colored brilliance emitting from it immense body made it look like it was emitting rainbow. And this would give anyone that saw it the feeling that it was a rare beast of light. A beast of colorful radiance. A beast that belonged to the divine god of luminance and infinite colors.


    Upon noticing this, Alex arrived at a conclusion that the resplendent glows emanating from it body were cores of power that allowed the beast to control the five elements. And he could guess that the elements that it could control were fire, water, earth, air and wood. He arrived at these because of the colors of scarlet, blue, yellowish-brown, cyan and green that it produced which corresponded to the elements mentioned above.


    But when he studied the beast''s exterior further, he could see wounds on the body of the beast. These wounds were deep as they ran from the surface of it body into it body.


    "Let''s leave. I have seen enough" Jared''s uncle, Liam said after being astonished for some time.


    "Alright" Jared said.


    Then they left, with the palace that Alex and Olivia was in moving invisibly behind them.


    - In the Azure Beastsman palace -


    "Now that I have memorized how to arrange the symbols into a pattern to open the gate, I have achieved one of two things." Alex said, looking at Olivia. Then he continued with an uninterpretable smile in his face "When I realize my second objective, this boy is coming for you, Elementaria"

 Chapter 201: One of two achieved

    "You have named it so fast" Olivia said.


    "Yea. Elementaria. Sounds good right?" Alex asked.


    "I think so" Olivia replied.


    "Alright." Alex said. And before he could say anything else, Olivia suddenly spoke.


    "Uhm... Alex, don''t see me as being pokey-nosey, I just want to understand something. You said that you had futuristic plans? What plans are those exactly? Start your own organization and recruit people who would work under you? I could arrive at this guess because of your motive to take these treasures. And you need to answer if you don''t want to tell me"


    "Well, I will answer you." Alex said. Then he continued "Actually, your guess is correct. That is the template of my futuristic plan that you have just laid out. I want to start an organization because what lies far ahead of me isn''t something that I can do alone. It''s something far greater than me. However, with thousands of billions of people under me, I believe that I should be able to surmount it."


    Olivia''s eyes then glittered from what Alex said.


    Although he didn''t speak deeply about what he was saying, she could perceive a sense of urgency in his tone.


    Then she said "What a beautiful and fantastic dream that you have, Alex. A dream to be the ruler of a great multitude of powerful cultivators. A dream to become the commander of thousands of experts. I believe that your dream would be realized anytime in the future. You have the potentials, the gifts. And I, as your dear wife, would definitely be there to applaud you on every step that you take as you climb to the pinnacle to become a fearsome expert."


    Alex smiled. Then he softly pinched her nose.


    "No. I don''t agree with what you just said. You would climb the ladder together with me, and we would applaud each other on every step that we take as we ascend to the zenith." He said as he continued to play with her delicate nose.


    Staring into his eyes affectionately, Olivia gave a smile and nodded her head.


    "Good" Alex said, and then he began to ruffle her hair like she was a furry kitten.


    "Stop!" Olivia barked angrily and then heavily knocked his hand off her head with her palm.


    "Sorry to offend you, goddess of Beauty" Alex said, smiling.


    "You just love making me angry. Don''t you? I will surely kill you in one of your sleep these days" Olivia said in a serious and threatening tone.


    Then she shook her head with a loving smile hung in it and turned it away to look at the screen.


    Alex only smiled.


    Then he said "So when I establish my own organization, I wouldn''t want to start giving out supreme-quality treasures or pills. Rather, I would give out only good-quality treasure-artifacts and pills. Only when the members of my organization have done something very great, or have accomplished a special and dangerous mission, would they get treasures, manuals and pills of supreme quality. Therefore, in that manner, although slowly, my organization would grow to become a powerful one, one whose power and numerical strength would in many folds, surpass that of the Absolute Governments of ten thousand Grand Worlds combined."


    Olivia this time around couldn''t help but have her mouth open wide in shock. She couldn''t believe what she just heard.


    Then she looked at him with an in incomprehensible gaze, "Alex, do you yourself understand what you just said?" She asked.


    "Definitely" Alex responded.


    Olivia then took a deep breath and exhaled.


    What Alex said a moment ago had sent her mind reeling very fast in deep astonishment.


    This was because simply being the founder of an organization that possesses a power which surpasses that of ten thousand governments that were set up by Ancient Powerhouses would simply make one an Hegemon, an Overlord. And that kind of title never belonged to anybody, since the birth of cultivation in this realmverse. So him saying that he would establish an organization that would reach that stage, simply meant that he would become a ruler of all Ancients. He would become someone that would oversee the affairs in all the worlds in the realmverse.


    Then they continued to chat about other things, while Alex waited patiently so that he could realize his second objective.


    At this point in time, he had entered into each and every rooms that the men stayed in.


    Not cognizant of the palace that was floating just below the ceiling of the rooms that they were in, the members of the organization talked about the different activities that they carried out. They talked about how they broke into treasure houses, killed the cultivators watching over the places, plundered it and burnt it to the ground. And how they stopped large ultivehicles on the way, robbed them of their belongings and even raped some mortals that looked beautiful.


    And as they discussed all this, Alex who was in the palace shook his head. He wasn''t happy with what they were saying, and he seriously felt like coming out of the palace to start beheading or slashing them into halves.


    Anyways, he felt that there was no need to do so as he needed to realize his plan first. When he does so, he would start with them, cold-heartedly slaughtering them.


    So he could only be patient till he has taken what he wanted to take before trying to annihilate every one of them.


    - Few hours later -


    As the palace floated in the passageway, a man could suddenly be seen. The clothes that he wore was covered in blood. And he even bled from his hands.


    Not long, he appeared in front of a man who stood before a large metallic door.


    The man at the gate could be said to be the guard at the door. It seemed like he prevented anyone other than him or the higher-ups of the organization from entering.


    He said to the man who had come before him with a grin "Tyler, it seems the place that you were sent to have pretty formidable experts"


    "Yes, the owners had actually hired some decently formidable experts to be the watchmen of their treasure house. All the people that came with me have all being killed. Only I survived." The man called Tyler said.


    "Hmm. So you mean all thirty-nine people that followed you have died?" The guard asked.


    "Yes" Tyler replied.


    "Alright." The guard said. Then he continued, as he questioned "Anyways, were you able to take anything from the treasure house?"


    "Certainly. Although it was a tough battle, all the experts that the treasure house hired as watchmen have all been killed. So I pillaged the entire treasure house to the ground" Tyler replied.


    "Good. I will report that to our boss. You would be handsomely rewarded. Now hand over the spatial ring that you kept the treasures into" The guard ordered.


    "Alright" Tyler said with a nod.


    Then a light flashed and a ring appeared in the air.


    As soon as it appeared, Tyler grabbed it and gave it to the guard who accepted it and told Tyler that he should leave.


    With another respectful nod, Tyler left the place and walked away. Then he went to the pill room to take healing pills that he could use on his bleeding hands.


    He had actually exhausted the healing pills that he had with him during the raid at the treasure house.


    After seeing that Tyler had completely vanished from his sight, the guard looked left and right several times. And when he was sure that no one was watching him, he touched a particular place on the gate that he was facing.


    As soon as he pressed a concealed button, a screen of light surfaced before him. And in this screen were numerous letters which he began to arrange into a long word.


    When he completed the word, the gate made a metallic sound and opened into two, giving him entry into the room.


    As soon as the gate opened, the guard quickly entered to go and stow the spatial ring that he held in his hand in one of the hundreds of shelves that had storage treasures in them.


    When he did so, he turned around to leave.


    But just then, space warped in this room and someone appeared silently behind him.


    The guard noticed the brief, strange distortion that manifested as an illusionary rippling in the room. Then he began to wonder what was going on.


    When he tried to turn around to know what exactly happened, a long blade suddenly pierced through his chest from the back to the front of his body.


    As soon as the blade pierced through him, the guard wanted to scream out in pain. But a hand quickly covered his mouth, blocking his scream of pain from coming out.


    Then another hand grabbed his head.


    Snap!


    A loud snap sound rang out as the guard''s head was aggressively turned to the back, crushing the bones of his neck in the process.


    Then the cold and lifeless body of the guard was lowered gently to the ground.


    When the body was finally dropped to the ground, the blade that had pierced through his chest area, where his heart organ was located, was pulled out, and then wiped clean of blood using the uniform that he wore.


    The person that killed the guard was no other person than Alex. As soon as he killed the guard and lowered his body to the ground, he turned around to see the shelves in the room. And to his astonishment, he could see more than hundreds of them in this large room.


    "So all these shelves are filled with spatial rings? Damn!" Alex muttered inwardly.


    Then he closed his eyes and focused on the pattern at the center of his chest. That pattern was made into his body by his dad''s storage treasure when it sank into his body.


    Therefore, by focusing on the pattern, he was concentrating on his dad''s spatial necklace.


    Olivia who was within the palace and was wondering why Alex had his eyes closed, had her eyes began to glow in astonishment when a colorful light projected outwards from his chest.


    At the moment, Alex had released a vast spatial power from his dad''s spatial necklace.


    Since he would waste a lot of time in taking out the spatial rings in the shelves, he decided to draw in all the shelves into his dad''s spatial necklace.


    As soon as he activated this power, an unseen force that manifested and began to cause the space in this room to warp, like they were moving in and out of visibility, engulfed all the shelves in the room.


    ''Take'' Alex said inwardly.


    Then all the shelves vanished in an instant, appearing in the vast storage space of his dad''s spatial necklace.


    So like that, the enormous room was totally emptied. Except for the stiff and lifeless body of the guard that could be seen on the ground.


    In the instant that Alex did this, his eyes snapped open.


    Then a wicked smile crawled up his face as he visualized the beast that he called Elementaria.

 Chapter 202: Jared rages

    Space warped around him, and he was transported back into the palace which then shot at extreme speed to the underground room where the crystalline, glowing beast was.


    On reaching there, Alex appeared again. Then using his emotions as a stimulator, he produced a physique and used it telekinetic power to push the button at the center of the gate.


    Immediately after he did this, a transparent, blue screen of light appeared before him. In this screen could be seen many abstruse symbols.


    Once the screen appeared, Alex got to work.


    Since he had seen Jared operate the entry-authorization password screen, and had studied how he did so to produce the pattern-type password to gain access into the room, he began to move the symbols, one after the other until he arranged them into a large, complicated pattern.


    Once he moved the last symbol to form the complete pattern on the screen, the screen vanished, and a metallic sound rang out. Then the gate opened wide, giving him unrestricted entry into the room.


    As soon as it opened, Alex quickly rushed in.


    In there, he saw the beast and couldn''t help but marvel again. This time, he saw the beast upfront. Not like when he looked at it from a screen. It simply looked beautiful with the numerous colorful glows emanating from it body. It seemed like the originator of rainbows.


    Then when he forced himself out of his deeply astonished state, he quickly produced a beast storage bag which he activated by sending a sliver of his perception into it.


    Once he did this, a formless power that caused space to distort, erupted from the beast storage bag and enwrapped the object that Alex targeted, which was the beast that he called Elementaria.


    Then when it was engulfed, it teleported because of the spatial transference power that enveloped it, appearing in the beast storage bag.


    Alex reverted to his normal body and was transported back into the palace. Then the palace shot away from the building, appearing outside of the organization.


    - Few moments later -


    Another member of the organization who went out on a raiding mission came to the place where the things that they robbed from people or pillaged from treasure houses were kept.


    Upon reaching there, he discovered that there was no one there and that the gate was wide open. He wondered what was happening as his brows furrowed.


    Then he silently and cautiously went in to know what was really going on. But only to discover the dead body of the guard that always stood at the entrance of the room that they were in, lying in a small pool of it own blood.


    Upon witnessing this, the man''s blood began to churn as extreme fear came over him. Also, his skin became sheet-white. Then he began to slowly back, dreading what was in the room that he couldn''t see. Then when he looked up from the corpse to look at the room as he slowly backed, he discovered to his horror that the room was empty.


    Although he hadn''t entered here since he started working at the organization, but he knew that there was supposed to be a thousand tons of treasures, cultivation resources and minerals here, stored in either storage vessels or storage instruments. But now, nothing could be found. The room was virtually empty.


    This discovery greatly terrorized him as he quickly rushed out of the room and darted to the top floor of the towering building.


    Upon reaching there, he went into the hall that the higher-ups of the organization usually held their meeting.


    But this time, there was no meeting. Only Jared who sat on the throne and was surrounded by scantily clad women that moved in circles around him, singing and dancing, shaking their butts and bouncing their boobs sideways to a music that was being played by other completely naked women.


    Then one with a large busts and butts sat on his thighs and fed him small pieces of fruits, and at the same time, rubbed his chest and pinched one of his nipples.


    Jared''s nipple was pinched hard by the woman that he moaned in pain. But he enjoyed it and then retaliated by slapping her busts and grabbing her ass which he aggressively pressed.


    ..........


    When the man that came back from a raid got to the hall that Jared was in, where he was totally enjoying himself, he pushed the doors wide open and shot into it.


    Jared''s eyes narrowed in anger and extreme displease from the sudden entry of one of his men into the hall that he was having fun. While the women who were fully nude or partially naked and danced around him in an erection-giving dance, grimaced and then shot away to their respective rooms in this particular hall.


    Once the man got in front of Jared, he knelt with a knee on the floor and brought out his fist which he clasped.


    "How dare you barge into the hall in such manner? Give me a good explanation for your action or you would lose your life here" Jared said.


    "Master, I apologize for my behavior. I just had to as it was urgent" The man said.


    "Urgent?" Jared asked.


    "Yes Master." The man responded.


    "Then speak" Jared ordered.


    "I came back not quite long from a successful raid with my colleagues. Then I went to the room where we would give the treasures and sapphirstones that we looted from treasure houses and finance institutions to the guard who would take it in and register our mission as accomplished, and for a reward from you. But when I got there, I didn''t see the guard there. Also, the gate into the loot storage room was wide open..."


    The man was talking when he was suddenly interrupted by Jared who asked "There was no guard at the door and the gate was open?"


    "Yes Master." The man said. Then he continued "When I entered to know what was going on, I saw the corpse of the guard that I was looking for, a-and... and that the room was empty"


    "What?!"


    Jared''s eyes suddenly glowed in unbounded fury from what he just heard.


    Pah!


    A loud slap sound rang out and blood splattered everywhere. This blood that splattered everywhere also splashed on him too, dying his robe red and staining his face, making him look like he showered in the blood.


    Then the body of the man that knelt before him which was now headless, and had blood gushing out of it like a fountain, collapsed to the ground. Before it could be seen bits of brain and fragments of skull.


    Jared had emotionlessly bursted the man''s head with a tyrannical slap.


    Without wiping off the blood on his face away, he got up from his throne and went to the room where his men usually kept the loot that they got from their marauding missions. And surprisingly, he didn''t seem to be in a rush. He just felt that the person who did this wouldn''t have gone too far. Besides, he had his powerful uncle who would take care of things for him.


    But as he was walking towards the room, he suddenly remembered something. Then he made a dash for the underground room. That was the room where he kept the elemental beast.


    Upon reaching there, he saw to his dismay that the room was empty too. The deeply slumbering elemental beast was nowhere to be found. Then flames of anger began to burn unbridled in his eyes.


    ARGH!!!


    He roared in fury.


    Once the furious bellow sounded out, everyone in the organization were shaken to their cores by this scream that seemed to radiate extreme wrath. Then they began to wonder who shouted in such manner and why.


    In the next second that Jared roared, space warped around his powerfully-built figure and his uncle appeared.


    Looking at Jared, he seemed like a beast that shouldn''t be taunted. His eyes were red and his expression gave one the feeling that he would do the unimaginable if provoked. Also, despite not feeling sick or being in intense pain, green veins bulged from every area of his body. This showed the degree of how angry that he was.


    His uncle knew that Jared wouldn''t reply him in this form, so he went in to see what he saw that brought him into this state that he was currently in. And when he did so, he too couldn''t help but scream out angrily.


    Then his voice shook the whole building.


    "Everyone, gather here NOW!!"


    Then like rats that were being chased by a mighty eagle, the entire members of the organization, including the higher-ups, arrived before Jared.


    They saw how their Master looked and became worried to the extreme. In this form, he could start killing them one after the other without batting an eye. And they, who were weak before him, could only close their eyes and accept their fate to be slaughtered like defenseless rams.


    Jared''s uncle, Liam, looked at them and then asked "Do any of you know about this?"


    The men looked at each other as they couldn''t understand what he was saying.


    Then one of the higher-ups braved up and asked "Ghostblade Lord, about what? We don''t quite understand"


    He asked to comprehend the question that they were all being asked by Jared''s uncle, Liam, who also went by the moniker, ''Ghostblade Lord''.


    "My boy discovered in a highly dangerous zone, a grievously wounded beast that could project powerful attacks of numerous elemental energies. It was kept here in this room, to slumber till we caught the little girl that could produce complete healing using light. But now, the beast is nowhere to be found. So I ask again, if you know anything about this, it''s best you come forward and confess, so that your sins may be atoned."


    Everyone that were gathered here had their mind reel in deep shock.


    So their master had such a powerful, formidable creature.


    But they didn''t know anything about it disappearance.


    Liam waited patiently for sometime. But seeing that no one came forward. He said "I see that no one stepped forward to say anything. I guess that we are all innocent of the accusation I made against you all"


    Then he asked in a faked perplexed tone, after taking a slight pause "So, did the beast which was born without wings, unexpectedly sprouted wings and suddenly fly away with it, even as it was slumbering? Or suddenly awoke, developed a new type of power and then vanished from here, appearing in a new region. Eh?"


    The low-rank and high-rank members now didn''t know what to say. Then they became worried and then fearful for their sweet, sinister lives.


    It was true that the wingless beast couldn''t suddenly grow wings and fly away as it was slumbering, and neither could it abruptly awaken from it deep, hibernation-like sleep and then vanish from the spot where it was, appearing in a new location.


    So what really must have happened?


    How did the beast get missing from where it was kept to slumber till it totally recovered?


    But there was no other answer except that someone must have come in to take the beast. It couldn''t be an outsider. It would be definitely one of them. One of the members of their organization. And this couldn''t be done by the low-rank members. But by the high-rank members. Only them should be able to pull such a feat because of the various methods that they have in their arsenals or at their disposals.


    Thinking in this direction, everyone looked at the higher-ups. While the higher-ups looked at each other too, seemingly suspecting one another.


    Jared who was on the ground with an exceedingly furious expression in his face, gazed at the high-rank members of his organization. A sinister light could be seen emitting from his eyes.


    While Jared''s uncle, Liam, also stared wickedly at the high-rank members.


    "I give you bastards three minutes to produce the beast, and come kneel before me to have your souls cleaned for the sinful act that you have committed"

 Chapter 203: Wheres the expert you came with?

    "I give you bastards three minutes to produce the beast, and come kneel before me to have your souls cleaned for the sinful act that you have committed" Jared''s uncle, Liam, said in a fierce tone.


    Then there was graveyard silence, and an exceedingly great fear and terror could be perceived in the atmosphere.


    If one listened well, one would hear the erratic and wild heartbeats of all the people assembled here.


    However, many minutes after Jared''s uncle said that, no one actually stepped forward.


    After waiting till three minutes was over, Liam spoke "Since no one stepped forward to confess and atone for their sins, then that means you are all innocent."


    Then he continued "But if all of you are innocent, then that basically means all of you are guilty"


    Everyone that were gathered here had their eyes abruptly glow in dread and horror.


    Then the higher-ups quickly fell on their knees and began to beg Liam.


    "Ghostblade Lord, we don''t know anything about the disappearance of the elemental beast. We never even knew that you had such a beast. Besides, we wouldn''t dare do such a thing to you. Our hearts are full of dread and veneration towards you and our Master." One of the higher-ups fearfully said. Also, a sense of total reverence could be perceived in his tone.


    Then the low-rank members also went on their knees and began to plead with the Ghostblade Lord, claiming that they were also innocent of the terrible allegations made against them.


    They mentioned that they were tiny and weak as an ant before them, and that they wouldn''t ever dare to pull such a feat that would result in their complete obliteration. Also, that they were committed to serving them, and making the organization grow to a stage where it fearsomeness would terrorize every being, and it fame would dazzle myriad creatures.


    Ghostblade Lord simply furrowed his brows.


    Now that they were all begging and claiming that they didn''t know anything about the disappearance of the elemental beast, who exactly did this? He didn''t know how to carry on with his death punishment.


    He would definitely want to slay whoever did that, but he couldn''t just bring himself to kill all his men because just one of them refused to confess. Besides, since he had a high cultivation stage, he had studied their expressions, heartbeat patterns and body temperatures using his powerful scanning sense and reached a conclusion that they didn''t truly know anything.


    Then Jared stood to his feet, after getting a hold on himself.


    He looked at his uncle and said "Earlier, one of my men came to report to me that the guard standing at the loot storage room had been murdered, and that the treasures we spent more than ten millennia gathering since you started the organization have all gone missing. The room has been totally emptied"


    "What?!!!" Liam shouted in shock.


    Then his gaze began to radiate extreme chilliness and slaughtering intent.


    "But how did all these happened without us knowing?!!" He questioned in an exceedingly angry tone.


    "Uncle Liam, it''s something that I can''t comprehend too." Jared said. Then he continued "I am beginning to have a feeling that someone broke into our organization and stole the beast, the looted treasures and resources"


    His uncle nodded agreeably.


    "You might be right, Jared. And if that''s true, then the bastard must be amongst our men" He said.


    Then he turned his head to look ferociously at the people that have assembled around him.


    - Azure Beastsman Palace -


    "That young and old bad guy are going to instantly eliminate you when they discover that you are the one that caused them great losses." Olivia said with a smile.


    "Definitely" Alex said. Then he continued "However, with what i have done, the two bosses would start suspecting their men, and even kill many of them, if not all of them"


    "Hmm. What an evil genius" Olivia spoke. Then she asked "What if that doesn''t happen?"


    "Well, it would be up to me kill all of them. None of them can be allowed to live. Even after they beg for mercy. They would all be obliterated" Alex said.


    "Okay" Olivia said.


    - Few minutes later -


    After waiting for several minutes and seeing that no killing was going to really take place, Alex spoke to the palace-spirit "Palace-spirit, it''s time I roll out to finish my job myself."


    "Hmm. Just be careful" An ancient voice rang out from everywhere.


    "Palace-spirit, wait" Olivia said hurriedly. Then she looked at Alex and said in a worried tone "Alex, let me come out with you. You need my help. You absolutely can''t do this on your own."


    "What? No way! I can definitely handle them on my own. I will start small with the small fries and go big with the big fries." Alex said with a confident grin. Then he stated further, staring affectionately at Olivia in the eyes "What if when you are dueling with one of your adversaries, then one of the big fries suddenly comes for you, and then successfully abducts you, forcing you to become their prisoner or captive? I would be simply coerced to listen to their every demands, dance to every tune that they would play. It''s something that I wouldn''t want to happen. So it''s best to avoid it. Therefore, you should remain in the palace. It''s for your sake. I don''t want anything bad to happen you, or I wouldn''t ever forgive myself. However, you could watch me kill the bastards and hail me from here. I will hear your cheering praises"


    Olivia smiled radiantly and blissfully.


    Alex was simply overly concerned and ever-caring.


    But she liked him that way.


    However, it wasn''t that Alex was overly caring. He just simply felt that he had the right abilities and weapons to finish what he wanted to start. So he didn''t want to be distracted or have anything come in his way.


    "Since you don''t want me to fight, I can only watch then. Let me see my hero look dazzling in the battlefield. Butchering fiends like he is butchering cattles" She said.


    "Alex, what would you do about the Big Fries? Don''t tell me that you would face them head-on" The palace-spirit asked.


    "Well, not really. I plan to use some apocalyptic divine powers on them" Alex said with a smile.


    "Then just use it on them already. Do it and get it over with" The palace-spirit said.


    "No! That would be cheating. Besides, that''s how a coward would fight, and I am no coward. I want to have a great and fulfilling battle. With their bloods splashing on me as I behead them and slash them into two, I would pave the way to my supremacy over every experts


    "I see. You plan to kill many men to your satisfaction" The palace-spirit said.


    "Exactly" Alex replied.


    "Hmm." The palace-spirit muttered. Then it spoke "Alright. It''s time to send you out to go do your ruthless killing"


    Immediately it finished talking, space warped around Alex, and he vanished from the hall they were in, appearing outside the organization.


    The instant space warped, Jared''s uncle, Liam, furrowed his brows. He could actually perceive the spatial fluctuations that occurred because of Alex''s appearance.


    Not waiting to explain anything to anyone, he shot out of the building towards the place that he detected the fluctuations from.


    On arriving there, he saw Alex.


    "Who are you? And how did you appear here?" Jared''s uncle, Liam, asked in a bewildered tone.


    "Well, I happened to teleport here" Alex replied.


    "Teleport?" Liam asked. Then he looked at Alex''s body from head to toe and back to his head.


    "You don''t seem like someone that should have access to a teleportation array." Liam said.


    "Why not? Because of the way that I am dressed? Haha! You know nothing, mister whatever your name is" Alex said with a smile.


    Liam''s gaze coldened and began to radiate wicked intents.


    As Liam stared intently at Alex, Jared and the members of his organization; the high-rank and low-rank members, appeared behind him.


    Then they became shocked to see the uncle of their master talking to a kid.


    Who the hell is this kid?


    Where did this kid from?


    Why is he looking fearlessly at our Master''s uncle? Can''t he notice the stifling aura of ominousness emanating from him?


    ....


    All sort of questions rocked the minds of the cultivators behind him.


    Jared floated to his uncle''s side and asked "Uncle, who is this brat you are talking to?"


    "I don''t know him too. But it was because of him that I rushed out of the hall" Liam responded.


    "Huh! Why?" Jared asked in a perplexed tone.


    "When we were in the hall, I noticed a distortion in space here. That was what caught my attention, making me to rush out so I could know what that was" Liam replied.


    Jared''s eyes then narrowed.


    He looked at Alex and gazed back at his uncle


    "So it was this boy that made you rush out?" He asked, looking at his uncle unbelievably.


    "Yes. Besides, I now have a feeling that he could be the one responsible for the disappearance of your beast and looted treasures." Liam replied. Then he spoke further "But he might have some powerful experts around him, since he could teleport here using a teleportation array"


    "Teleportation array?" Jared muttered questioningly.


    Then he looked at Alex and queried "Kid, what''s your mission here? Why did you teleport to this place of all places? Isn''t someone like you too young to be seen in this kind of region?"


    "No. I am not too young. Anyways, I teleported here because of the next phase of my plan" Alex replied with a somewhat devilish smile.


    "Next phase of your plan?" Jared asked in a surprised tone.


    "Yes." Alex replied


    "What''s it?" Jared asked.


    "To destroy your organization" Alex responded boldly.


    Everyone''s eyes widened in great shock from what Alex said.


    Jared became speechless for sometime before he asked "The next phase of your plan is to destroy my organization? Then that means it was you that took my beast and stole the accumulated looted treasures that we acquired from our raids?"


    "Exactly. That was the first phase of my plan which has been smoothly accomplished. Now, I have moved on to the second phase of my plan which is to annihilate you fiends and bring all the buildings here to the ground as rubbles" Alex replied with a brilliant, fearless smile.


    Hahaha!


    Jared cackled in an unbridled manner.


    Then he asked in a harsh tone "Who did you come with that gave you such a confidence?"


    As soon as he said this, his eyes narrowed as he thought of something. Same with his uncle''s eyes as he also began to ponder about something.


    Their brows furrowed earlier because they suddenly remembered about the expert that they said they wanted to meet, the one who they felt killed all their men back at Nailah''s village and took the villagers to a place that they wouldn''t be discovered.


    "So after keeping the little girl away from us, the expert who did so is here to obliterate us and demolish the buildings? Haha! I would love to see he or she try." Liam said. Then with a sinister light emitting from his eyes, and a thick, dense aura of slaughter and devilishness erupting from his body, he said loudly and wrathfully "Where''s the expert that you came with? Tell him or her to show himself!"

 Chapter 204: Assholes, have i been able to convince you?

    Alex smiled.


    "There is no expert. I came with no expert, because I am the expert" He said.


    Hahaha!


    Jared cackled.


    "So you mean that you little brat is here to kill us and demolish our buildings?" He asked laughingly.


    "Yea." Alex replied. Then he continued "I know about the little girl that you are after. And about the things that you want her to do for you. But anyways, you would never get your hands on her because she has been properly hidden away"


    Once Alex mentioned ''little girl'', Jared''s and Liam''s eyes narrowed.


    Does he truly know what we want the girl for or he is just playing psychology on us?


    "Shut up! I don''t want to hear any more word from you. Call out the expert or experts that you came with. Why are the fools still in hiding?" Liam shouted impatiently.


    "I said that I came with no one. There''s no expert with me" Alex responded.


    "I am done with this. You, bring me that fool!" Jared ordered angrily as he looked at one of his men that was in the earth adept stage.


    "Yes, Master" The person spoken to said with frosty eyes as he stared at Alex.


    Then he rushed out towards Alex who was waiting at the distance with a smile that gave an absolute feeling of viciousness.


    "Poor lamb waiting to be slaughtered" Alex muttered within. Then he got ready to see blood and even bathe in it.


    As soon as the earth adept stage cultivator appeared in front of him, Alex sent a powerful kick out to the torso of the earth adept stage cultivator. However, the cultivator dodged it by side-stepping to a side. But before he could do anything, the leg that Alex kicked out which he dodged, swung high and very fast that it smashed the earth adept stage expert hard at a side of his face.


    Bang!


    The leg tyrannically struck the man''s face and several teeth instantly flew out of his mouth, resulting in him bleeding from it. Also, when the leg impacted his face, due to Alex''s leg being powerful as the muscles it possessed were far denser than normal, the man spun in the air three times as he was shoved into the distance before landing back to the ground with a back-breaking heavy thud.


    The man tried standing back to his feet, although he did, his vision was blurry and his hearing completely affected. Also, serious pain racked him at his mouth region.


    So due to his blurred vision, the man didn''t know when Alex shot over with one of his legs fully stretched out for a flying kick.


    Bang!


    The man''s chest deeply caved in from the heavy strike that it flattened, and he was sent flying for many feet into the distance.


    Then when he landed to the ground, he landed as a dead man. His chest which had been completely flattened out had dozens of bones jutting out from it. Those were his chest and rib bones. And since his chest had been pressed to the point that it was astonishingly flat, his heart had been shattered to fragments in the process.


    Jared''s and Liam''s eyes shone with great astoundment and disbelief.


    How could a peak-phase condensation stage cultivator dominate a close-quarters battle with an earth adept stage cultivator?


    It was simply an incredible spectacle.


    Running out of patience and coldly snorting, Jared commanded in fury "All of you, bring me that fool!!"


    "It''s time" Alex said within.


    Then he produced a peerless-grade, earth-rank treasure-sword which began to glow in intense cyan light.


    The sword which was called ''Storm Divider'' was a flat, sharp-edged weapon that had numerous voidstones containing wind elemental energy-generation array embedded into it.


    But Alex wasn''t using the energy-generating arrays of the sword. Instead, he was powering the sword with his own energy by channelling his cyan-colored windforce energy into it. He did so because the quality (density) of his energy could match that of an earth adept stage expert as it contained wind originforce energy, a primordial realm-energy that transformed his energy into a pseudo-earth rank energy.


    The cyan light that was emanating from the sword was blinding that it dyed the ground and everything around him for more than thirty feet in cyan.


    Once the blade started to gleam, turbulent winds surfaced. This was an influence of the primordial wind energy that was present in his wind energy.


    Noticing the sudden tumultuousness of the air, the men that were about to attack Alex were deeply shocked. Their minds shook at the thought that it was Alex''s energy that caused the manifestation of the powerful violent gales.


    With air swirling around him and roaring like a raging beast, he gave a feeling that he was the divine god of wind. This was exactly how he was portrayed to his attackers who then felt dread in their hearts.


    Wielding the dazzling sword, he slashed out horizontally, then a wide, cyan-colored ray of focused, wind elemental energy shot out at extreme speed towards the men.


    Seeing his attack, they prepared to defend.


    Very quickly, they projected solid screens of energy in front of their bodies to shield themselves from the incoming wind-carrying energy-attack.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!...


    Multiple bang sounds rang out as the energy-attack struck the shields.


    Although their energy screens shattered and were knocked back for several feet, they didn''t really sustain serious injury. But their blood churned violently within. If such an attack struck them again, they would spurt blood from their mouths and have their chest cave in. However, they could withstand this attack because it was an ordinary attack. Alex wasn''t using a battle-method or if he did, they would have been grievously injured or even die from being impacted.


    But it wasn''t all of them that were struck by the energy-attack, some that weren''t in the range of the attack quickly sent out offensives which possessed degrees of profound comprehension of battle-methods at Alex.


    As they shot towards him, Alex who had permeated his eyes with speedforce energy and his leg muscles with strengthforce energy jumped high into the air, about sixty feet, evading the attacks that were shooting towards him. And as he dropped back to the ground from the high altitude that he leapt to, he slashed out numerous times very fast with the dazzling sword in his hand. His speed was actually enhanced by his speedforce energy that had also permeated his reflex and body coordination nerves, increasing his movement speed to high levels.


    When Alex first jumped into the air to that shocking height like he was wickedly catapulted, the men that were about to send out a second round of attacks became terribly astounded. How could a peak-phase condensation stage cultivator jump this high? But they weren''t in this badly astonished state for long when they noticed the killing, massive attacks that Alex sent out at them.


    Quickly producing screens of energy in front of themselves again, they tried to shield themselves from the flurries of attacks that he rapidly sent out.


    Slash!


    Slash!


    Slash!...


    Dozens of slash sounds rang out as their shields were smoothly cut in halves, and then their bodies, cleanly slashed apart by the large rays of focused windforce energy when it impacted them. Then in the next second, their bodies fell to the ground in two or three parts.


    What?


    The other attackers had their mind spin from fear and terror upon witnessing how their brothers-in-raid died. The had been simply slashed into halves by his energy-attack.


    Even Liam and Jared as they floated in the air were greatly surprised. They wondered how rays of solid energy would cut apart the shields that their men quickly put up and then move on to cut their bodies.


    But they wouldn''t know that Alex''s attacks which was cyan in color also had hues of golden in them. The golden hues present in his attacks were from his swordforce energy. Alex had actually infused his wind elemental attacks with slivers of his golden swordforce energy, with the intention to increase their sharpness. That is, their penetration power and cutting power.


    Olivia who was within the palace couldn''t help but look at Alex with surprise in her eyes.


    Looking at Alex with fear, the earth adept stage cultivators, like they were in tandem agreement with each other quickly launched full-powered attacks at Alex.


    Alex saw the incoming attacks and smiled.


    Then he dashed towards them. He didn''t even try to evade them.


    As he dashed towards the attacks shooting towards him at extreme speeds, his fist began to glow in a brilliant golden light. He had quickly moved strengthforce energy from his energyhouse to his fist. Therefore, from a distance, it looked like his fist was formed from real, solid gold. But this was because the skin of his fist shone with a golden metallic lustre.


    "Ravaging Overlord Golden Fist"


    Alex said and punched out towards a group of attacks that were shooting towards him.


    The moment that he punched out, a massive golden fist of energy shot out of his fist and collided with the attacks.


    BOOM!!


    A loud, earth-trembling sound rang out and several extremely blinding, colorful lights erupted from the point of tyrannical collisions of the attacks. Also, the dazzling multicolored brilliance and earth-shaking sound that manifested were instantly accompanied by a large storm of destructive energies. Anything that would be caught in this storm would be reduced to the smallest bits.


    Some of the experts who were caught up in this storm of violent, devastating energies were instantly crushed into pieces. While Alex, who knew the degree of devastation that the collisions of the multiple energy attacks would cause, leapt high into the air. And powerfully swinging his arms backwards as he leapt high into the air, his body was forced to move backwards. Then airborne at a height that he wouldn''t be affected by the enormous, raging tidal energies, he put himself into the Tuck aerial position. Bringing his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them, he rolled backwards many times before landing back back to the ground.


    Although there was an energy storm, but since Alex''s energy-fist attack was formed from strengthforce energy, an energy that it density could match that of a peak-phase heaven adept stage expert, it shot out of the energy storm that it was caught up in, towards the other cultivators that weren''t in the range of the storm.


    Emitting golden light that dyed the earth golden, and moving at a tremendous speed, it tyrannically struck many of the earth adept stage cultivators who instantly exploded into mists of blood, and bits of flesh and bones upon being impacted. While the others who were spared from his attack as they weren''t in the range of the fist were targeted by Alex who suddenly dashed towards them with the ''Storm Divider'' sword in his hand. And using his mutated strengthforce energy to augment the denseness of his leg muscles to gain incredible speed as he permeated them with it, he shot towards them at hundred times the peak speed of a cheetah and leaving behind cloud of dusts and after-images.


    Slash!


    Slash!


    Slash!...


    Slash sounds continuously rang out as Alex who couldn''t be seen or perceived because of the great speed he moved at, cut and slashed them apart with the gleaming sword that he expertly wielded.


    ARGH!!


    One of them screamed out in pain as Alex''s cyan-glowing sword pierced through his heart. Then in the next instant, his head was cut off from his body.


    When the others turned their heads to see who screamed, what they saw was an headless corpse that blood began to gush out from like a fountain.


    They shouted to their Masters to come help them from Alex who was like a Messenger of Death. But before they could even raise their voice to screech out for help, Alex who was seeing them in slow-motion in his vision gave an evil smile. Then tightly grasping his sword, he shot out again towards them.


    In an instant, dozens of heads dropped to the ground. And when the bodies fell to the ground, blood gushed out from their cut necks like a raging river.


    The few others were greatly terrified at witnessing all these that were happening. Therefore, since they couldn''t see what was killing them, they tried rushing back to their Masters for protection from this Grim Reaper.


    Alex who had stopped gave a knowing smile. He understood that this was what they were going to do next. As he looked at them as they scurried away like rats that had seen a giant cat, a light flashed and a crossbow appeared in his hand. He was ready to take down these ones too. There was simply no room for forgiveness. As the Punisher that he had claimed himself to be, he would slay those that deserve to be obliterated, and would viciously punish those that deserve to be punished.


    Wielding the treasure-crossbow, he looked on with a smile that gave hints of chilliness and emotionlessness.


    At the moment, if one looked at Alex''s outfit, one would see that it was spotless. One wouldn''t find a single spot of blood on his cloth. This was because he was too fast for the many blood showers that he caused to splash on the outfit that he wore.


    Ziu!


    Ziu!


    Ziu!


    Several ''ziu'' sounds rang out as Alex shot arrows from the crossbow that he wielded. And them pulsing with the power to cause decomposition and withering, they struck and pierced into the bodies of the earth adept stage cultivators that were on the run for their dear lives from the back.


    ARGH!!


    They screamed agonizingly in pain upon being impacted by the pulse-emitting arrows.


    As soon as the treasure-arrows penetrated their bodies, their bodies instantly began to emaciate. Then in the next second, their eyes became void of life before they collapsed to the ground, scattering into dusts upon hitting it.


    When Alex took them down, he asked with a smile "Assholes, have I been able to convince you?"

 Chapter 205: Killing Sky Lord stage cultivators

    Liam and Jared were badly shocked from all that Alex did.


    Only he single-handedly butchered their men like weak lambs. They looked pitiful and weak before him. It was now that that they believed that Alex was the one behind the disappearance of their elemental beast, looted treasures and resources.


    "For what reason are you doing all these? There is nothing to be obtained except torture and death." Liam said.


    Haha!


    Alex grinned evilly.


    Then he said "There is a whole lot to be obtained. When you die, when you all die, the little girl that I kept hidden would have a chance to live without fear over her life. Also, I have your elemental beast with me which I am going to heal, and when it reaches a stage where it could be said to be formidable, I would use it to wrestle and seize power from governments"


    Alex spat back their words in their faces.


    Immediately Alex finished saying that, the eyes of Liam and Jared narrowed, then they began to emit unbridled sinister light.


    However, they felt that they were too mighty to handle a kid who was at the peak-phase condensation stage. Therefore, they sent their men out against him. The ones who were in the Sky Lord stage. These had the ability to fly.


    "Black Venom, bring me that boy''s corpse or bits of it" Jared ordered without a shred of emotion in his tone.


    "Yes Master!"


    Thirty groups that each consisted of fifty Sky Lord Stage expert answered thunderously in unison.


    As soon as they replied, they shot high into the air. Then they looked down at Alex from that altitude like he was a lowly entity. They looked at him as something not worth paying any of their attention to. And from the way that they were dressed, and from the way that they moved and behaved, one could see them as elite warriors. They seemed like specially trained fighters.


    Alex too could arrive at this thought. But he wasn''t scared of them in any way. Rather, his eyes began to emanate battle intent. He wanted to kill and kill to his satisfaction.


    Then he produced a peerless-grade sky-rank armor which appeared on him.


    Liam and Jared noticed this, then they concluded that Alex was also from an organization. They first thought of this when he produced the Storm Divider sword, a peerless-grade earth-rank sword. Then upon witnessing the armor that he produced, they completely believed that Alex was from an organization. Possibly an organization that wanted to exist as the only one; take out the others and reign as an hegemonic establishment.


    Immediately after Alex produced the full body armor, which despite it bulky look was incredibly lightweight, The Purifier''s sword appeared in his hand. Then in his other hand was a sky-rank treasure-spear which appeared as soon as the The Purifier''s sword appeared.


    Alex''s eyes began to emanate the power of speed perception. This was because they were fully permeated with speedforce energy, an energy that gave cultivators the ability to detect or perceive speed of moving physical objects.


    Then his arms and legs muscles shone with a golden lustre as they were saturated with strengthforce energy. But no one would see or notice these golden lustrous glows as his arms and legs were already covered by the armor plates that he adorned.


    The Sky Lord stage experts who were floating high in the air then produced weapons which made flashes of colorful lights to appear briefly. Then in the next second, the treasure-weapons that they wielded began to emanate blinding resplendent lights.


    Various types of realm-energies began to gather in massive quantities in the weapons, but by the arrays which had started to operate upon activation by the wielder''s mind-links to them. Therefore, due to the rapid and immense build-up of energies, brilliant colorful glows shot out from from the voidstones that contained the large network of arrays that produced the energies.


    Then uttering the names of their attacks, they sent out powerful offensives at Alex who increased his perception of the speeds of their energy-attacks to maximum levels. And since his perception was amplified to a great degree, the attacks began to move slowly in his eyes.


    Swoosh!


    He unexpectedly shot forward, towards the place that the Sky Lord stage cultivators floated high in the air.


    So by doing this, he evaded all the attacks that were launched at him with the intentions to reduce him into blood mist. However, these attacks tyrannically impacted the earth and caused it to shake violently, which then cratered in the next instant and was immediately accompanied by a release of destructive seismic waves.


    Alex knew the amount of damage that would be done by the attacks upon hitting the ground. So just before the attacks could impact the earth and bring about that calamitous event that he imagined, Alex who had gotten to where the Sky Lord stage cultivators were, jumped high into the air towards them.


    But since the Sky Lord stage cultivators were well-seasoned battle veterans, they knew what Alex was about to do.


    So very quickly, they sent out colossal attacks at him.


    But Alex too knew that this was what they would do next. Therefore, before the attacks could impact him and cause him grievous harm, a mechanical wing appeared behind his back. This was a treasure-wing called ''Fairies Pride''.


    As soon as the pair of large, black-colored metallic wings appeared behind him, Alex shot high into the air with it, evading the large dozens of enormous attacks that were shooting towards him at extreme speeds.


    The wings that he produced had actually given him the ability to fly. He could now move in the air for quite a long time with it before it runs out of the energy that produced the power of flight or levitation.


    As a wing-form, sky-rank treasure-artifact, that was the mystical power that it generated because of the levitation-energy that revolved or circulated in the mechanical veins of the treasure-wings. If it was an earth-rank treasure-wing, Alex would at best, only be able to glide with it, and this would be terribly useless for him. Therefore, it was exactly this energy that differentiated a sky-rank treasure-wing from an earth-rank treasure-wing.


    Wings at the Sky level wouldn''t be able to sustain their flight-power for a very long time. This was because they rapidly consumed the flight-energy that was stored in them for the purpose of flight. However, rate of consumption also depends on the usage of the user or wielder. And to shed more light on this energy which was called ''Horizonforce energy'', was the same energy that Sky Lord stage cultivators absorbed whenever they reached the stage mentioned above. Once they attained or got to this stage, they would be able to instantly sense or perceive this arcane energy that endowed one with the power of Flight, whether short distance or long distance. However, one greatly surprising thing about this energy is that they don''t need to have any form or degree of comprehension about it before they are able to attune their consciousness to it or become aware of it. It simply, automatically surfaces before them, and enters into their bodies without them doing anything, granting them the power to fly. This energy was more like a tremendous reward for reaching that stage.


    So since the one that Alex produced was a peerless-grade one, it would definitely be able to last much more longer in the air. Besides, it would have more reservoirs of this flight-endowing energy.


    Haha!


    Seeing that he was starting to fly, he cackled inwardly.


    ''I can now actually fly'' He said excitedly within.


    At first, he thought that the wing, being a Sky-rank treasure-artifact would exert a crushing pressure upon him. But upon activating it, he noticed that the treasure-wing didn''t actually produce any stifling or crushing aura of power. It simply didn''t affect him in any way. Instead, it operated seamlessly. All these made Alex very happy and glad. Glad that he could now fly, as it was what he had always yearned for, although he was completely assisted by the wings to do so.


    However, he wasn''t in this state for even a short breath as he forced himself out of it and prepared to cause showers of blood to rush out from slashed necks or completely lacerated body parts.


    Then like a predator bird that wanted to grab a prey, he swooped down at a great speed towards one of the Sky Lord stage cultivators.


    Slash!


    He swung his sword and a head dropped from the neck of that body to the ground. Despite the person wearing an armor, The Purifier''s sword effortlessly cut through the armor like a hot knife through butter, and slashed the person''s neck open, cutting off his head and resulting in the eruption of blood from it like a fountain.


    The instant that he slashed open this person''s neck, he rushed towards another cultivator.


    Puchi!


    The spear that he adeptly wielded pierced through the heart of the cultivator, then with a slash sound ringing out as The Purifier''s sword connected with his neck, the head of this expert dropped off from the body to the ground.


    Swoosh!


    Alex quickly removed his spear from the headless body which fell to the ground from that altitude, then he tyrannically hurled it at a cultivator that he targeted.


    Puchi!


    Puchi!


    Puchi!...


    Many stabbing sounds rang out as the spear pierced through their hearts one after the other incredibly fast, resulting in multiple deaths from one strike. It had pierced from the heart of one expert and through the hearts of dozens of others that were behind him.


    The spear that Alex threw moved tremendously fast that it left after-images behind. It could achieve this frightening speed because of Alex''s throwing power was augmented to a shocking degree by his strengthforce energy that had permeated his muscles, increasing their denseness to a great level as a result. Therefore, since they couldn''t perceive the spear shooting extremely fast towards them with the intent to kill, they couldn''t dodge in time to evade it. Then like dead flies, they began to drop to the ground.


    The experts seeing how they died one after the other became very wary of Alex. Besides, they wanted to send out vicious attacks at him, but they just couldn''t. This was because Alex was in their midst. If they tried to do so, they would only kill their colleagues who they saw as their brothers.


    However, this was Alex''s plan. He descended into their midst so that they wouldn''t be able to attack him. Therefore, this acted as a constraint for them, preventing them from throwing out attacks at him, or their attacks would strike their colleagues and cause their deaths.


    Confused on how to attack Alex who dashed here and there very fast like a shooting star, cutting off heads like he was chopping vegetables, they prepared to enter a powerful formation.

 Chapter 206: Killing continues...

    Confused on how to attack Alex who dashed here and there very fast like a shooting star, cutting off heads like he was chopping vegetables, they prepared to enter a powerful formation.


    Each of them produced a disk from their spatial rings. Immediately these disks appeared, they shot high into the air and transformed into enormous discs that went to stay at different, distant points in the air. Then massive beams of light shot out from each of them towards the the other beams. These beams of light actually connected with the other beams of light. Then when they connected, vast amounts of energy shot out from each of the rings and fused into one, becoming a large, nigh-impenetrable, extremely solid dome of energy.


    The formation only took a few seconds to set up, while the energy dome formed instantly. Then they all moved into different positions within the dome.


    When the Sky Lord stage cultivators initially thought of creating a formation that would contain Alex within and put him at their mercy, what they didn''t know was that Alex also had this thought. He knew that as he was in their midst, they would surely think of setting up trapping or restrictive formations to either trap him or restrain him. So he prepared to shoot away from their midst in the next when he notices anything strange. Besides, his emotion-sense, also called heart-sense, which was linked to his other senses, especially his feel-sense, suddenly came up after detecting the intents of the Sky Lord stage cultivators, then it stimulated his feel-sense to react, by causing all the hairs on his skin to stand on their ends and give Alex an intensely painful pricking sensation. Also, the danger detection and signaling treasure at the center of his forehead which acted as danger-sense, as it continuously scanned his immediate environment for thousands of feet for hidden, lurking or looming potential dangers or critical dangers, produced a strong burning sensation.


    All these danger-warning sensations that Alex just felt, concreted his thought that they were about to do something that would seriously injure him or probably kill him.


    Then using the wings which began to consume more horizonforce energy, Alex shot straight into the sky exceedingly fast. Then far away in a random direction.


    Alex first chose to shoot up straight above the clouds to evade the constraining or trapping construct of energy that would appear from the activation of the formation that his body and detection treasure abruptly warned him about.


    Immediately after he shot away from them when he launched himself into the sky using the wings, a massive dome of light appeared, encasing everyone contained within.


    The Sky Lord stage cultivators who had put themselves into positions saw Alex speedily cannon away from them and became terribly disappointed. They thought that the dome would trap him within and that he would be at their mercy, as the treasure-formation that produced the dome would emit an energy called paralysforce energy or incapacitateforce energy, an energy which would totally immobilize or cripple him. His entire body would stiffen far beyond reasoning and comprehension, and his mind would be clouded by all sort of overwhelming negative thoughts, thereby preventing him from carrying out any mind-related actions, like completely blocking his link to every treasure-artifacts an restricting his access to his energyhouse. He wouldn''t be able to summon any energy that he cultivated to any part or area of his body.


    But Alex was nowhere to be found within the dome and this saddened them. Initially, they were glad that when Alex became hit by a stream of paralyzing-energy that would erupt from the offense-type treasure-formation hidden within the earth directly below them, and became mentally and physically crippled, they would make him live a life that he wish wasn''t born into this world.


    But even if he was caught up in this dome, if he couldn''t escape on time, the body-mind-cultivation crippling-energy that would be produced by the hidden offensive formation, would be fully absorbed by his body, and he wouldn''t experience the absolute immobilization and restriction power of the energy on his body, mind and soul.


    Since he had a special body which was actually a unique, passive physique that devoured all forms of energy that it came into contact with, the paralysforce energy that would permeate his body tissues to cause total paralysis would be strongly pulled and rapidly channeled in bundles of large wisps to his energyhouse without Alex doing anything. That was one of the abilities of his body: Contact-based Automatic Absorption. So with all this mentioned, they would have been badly shocked and more disappointed when they realize that the energy didn''t do a thing to him. It was probably then that they would dread as an Ancient Super-expert in the form of a teenager. But since Alex had left the dome, all these events wouldn''t initiate.


    "Suckers!"


    Alex screamed out from where he floated in with the pair of wings attached to his back.


    The Sky Lord stage cultivators turned to see where the shout came from, then they saw Alex.


    Still wielding the spear, he grasped it tightly. Then he powerfully hurled it.


    Swoosh!


    Piercing through the air like an arrow, and at an astonishing speed that it left behind after-images, the spear struck one of the Sky Lord stage cultivators that couldn''t dodge on time. Then he was carried off by the spear that stabbed into another cultivator, carrying them off into the distance. It would have continued stabbing into more cultivators, but the others behind them quickly shot away.


    Alex then produced more spears, good-quality, sky-rank treasure spears. These were the treasure-weapons that he took from the organization. Now, he was going to use it on them.


    Seeing things in slow motion and him being accelerated to a shocking degree by the speedforce energy that permeated crucial parts of his body, like his entire nerve network and his arm muscles, he rapidly and fiercely launched the spears as they appeared at the Sky Lord stage cultivators that he targeted. He was too fast that he hurled more than twenty-four spears in less than a minute.


    Swoosh!


    Swoosh!


    Swoosh!...


    Many swooshing sounds rang out as the spears pierced through the air like arrows toward the Sky Lord stage cultivators at insane speeds.


    Alex who had great stamina hadn''t stopped launching spears. In fact, he was enjoying it.


    Very soon, more than hundreds of spears could he seen in the air, shooting toward the Sky Lord stage cultivators at incredible speeds.


    Many of the Sky Lord stage cultivators that failed to quickly put out protective energy screens before them were viciously impaled by the tremendously-fast treasure-spears, then they were carried off by the spears that went on to stab tyrannously into others who also failed to quickly move away from harm''s paths.


    While the others who abruptly put out screens of energy just before they could be struck by the inconceivably fast spears were spared from the annihilating power of the fast shooting spears.


    However, and surprisingly, they were still penetrated through by the spears. The spears shattered the defense screens that the Sky Lord stage cultivators speedily produced and struck the armors that they wore, piercing through them and through their bodies, then out through their backs, continuing off into the distance like there was no barrier in their paths.


    Although they were pierced through by the spears, the Sky Lord stage cultivators didn''t receive much grievous injuries as the spears had missed their hearts. But some form of energy that transmitted from the spears'' tips to their bodies upon penetration caused some of their organs to shred and ribbon apart.


    Blood gushed out from that part of their body but stopped soon when they swallowed healing pills. Then their brows furrowed as deeply astonished and perplexed expressions appeared in their faces. They wondered how hand-thrown spears was able to achieve such undetectable speeds and insane penetration power. But they wouldn''t know that the packs of fibrous muscles in Alex''s arm which were powerful and dense beyond normal had their density augmented to great degrees by the strengthforce energy that had permeated every inch of them, thereby giving him the physical strength of a peak-phase heaven adept stage expert. So it was what gave him that astonishing hurling power. Then the spears possessing shocking piercing capabilities was because the spearheads were infused with his golden swordforce energy. Therefore, since they moved too fast, the Sky Lord stage cultivators weren''t able to notice the golden glows at the sharp tips of the spears. Well, except the heaven adept stage cultivators, Saint stage cultivators, then Liam and Jared whose brows wrinkled from amazement.


    They recognized the spears as their properties as they could vividly see them, despite the high speed that they moved at. However, this was possible because of their high cultivation bases. But why their brows wrinkled and eyes glowed with intense amazement is that, since they could identify the spears as their properties as they had once studied every treasures and resources that their men brought in from raids and marauds in the past, the spears that they saw now didn''t produce this kind of glow then. But they knew that the golden glows wouldn''t come from the spears. And since they didn''t come from the spears, then it meant that they came from Alex. He had probably infused them with a type of energy that increased their penetration ability to a high degree.


    Then they both looked at him and understood that he must be a battle genius from the organization that sent him here. And since he was a genius from the organization, probably here to hone himself in battle, there would surely be more powerful experts around who were in hiding, observing the ongoing battle and would only show up to protect him from harm if he was exposed to an attack that he couldn''t handle himself.


    Then a cold glint flashed in the eyes of Jared.


    A resplendent light flashed and a needle with a yellowish-green tip appeared in his hand.


    Swoosh!


    He flicked it at a great speed towards Alex.

 Chapter 207: You dont really know Alex, none of us ever will

    As soon as Jared flicked the needle at Alex, the needle which was accelerated to an extreme speed by Jared''s telekinetic power, instantly reached where Alex was.


    Although Alex was warned of incoming danger by the danger-perception treasure at the center of his forehead, he was many seconds too late in evading the needle which was shooting straight towards him at a tremendous speed.


    Alex wore an armor, but the needle pierced through it like a hot knife through butter. Then effortlessly into his body.


    Once it got into his body, the yellowish-green energy that enveloped it tip was instantly, entirely released into Alex''s body.


    Alex felt a great degree of sharp pain as the needle pierced into his body, then he screamed out in agony the next instant when the yellowish-green energy was released into his body.


    Immediately the yellowish-green energy was released into his body and flowed to different regions, many areas of Alex''s white-skinned body turned green instantly and then began to rot.


    However, no one would notice the change in his body color because of the full body armor that he wore. But they would know that something was wrong with him because of his face that was deep green in color. Besides, yellow veins could be seen bulging out of his green-colored face. So this made him look horrendous to anyone that would look at him. Also, it was with these strange facial coloration and appearance of colored veins that people would identify that he was in extreme agony.


    But that was not all that happened. A few moment after he completely turned green, numerous, frightening decaying wounds instantly appeared all over his body and began to give off powerful rotten odours that would instantly knock mortals unconscious.


    Few moments after the needle pierced into his body through the armor that he wore, and then caused appearance of large, festering wounds all over his body, Alex screeched out again in pain. His entire body racked with pain from the wounds quickly opening everywhere on his body. And if these many strongly, smelly wounds could be found on the exterior of his body, what about the interior?


    At the moment, all his internal organs had rotted. Except his heart organ, which was shielded from the actions of the energies that rushed ragingly about in his body, by an indestructible, invisible force-field continuously emitting from his dad''s spatial necklace. And his brain by the grain-sized, danger-signaling treasure in his head.


    If it wasn''t that the wings which were attached to his back continued to operate on their own, Alex would have plummeted from that altitude which he was to the ground. And there was no telling if his body wouldn''t explode into pieces upon impacting the ground hard from that height.


    The needle that Jared shot at Alex was actually infused with the energies that he cultivated, and these energies were poisonforce energy and corrodeforce energy. The former would produce poisoning that would badly affect the target''s body, while the corrodeforce energy, as it name implied, was a corrosion-energy. It would corrode anything that it enters into.


    The Sky Lord stage cultivators who had shot far away from Alex in every directions for fear of their lives and because of his relentless, fierce hurling of spears at them, stopped in their efforts to run away from him, when they noticed the sudden quietness in the initially slaughter-filled atmosphere. Then when they turned to see what was actually going on, they saw that Alex had been brought into a state which seemed like he was poisoned, and that he was somewhat injured as multiple wounds that gave off yellowish-green gases which were strong-smelling, decomposing flesh smells could be seen in his face.


    Then their eyes glowed with a light of comprehension when they realized that the abysmal physical state of Alex''s body was their Master''s doing. It meant that their master had finally stepped in to stop the butcher. This gladdened them. And as they gazed at him, their eyes began to glow with a light of wrath and vengeance.


    Jared and Liam observed the situation silently from where they floated. But they noticed to their shock and amazement that no one actually appeared to give Alex pills so that he could heal himself from the poisoning and corroding energies circulating in his body.


    Why Jared fired an energy-coated needle at Alex was to draw out the multiple experts that he felt were hiding at different places in this region using some concealing means that he couldn''t probably think off. However, since Alex who was their genius would definitely be harmed by his extremely fast stealth attack, he guessed that the experts who were in hiding and were observing everything that was going on would definitely appear out of where they hid themselves to come take Alex away for treatment which was to purge the poisonous and corrosive energy off his body.


    ''So he was all alone by himself?''


    This question rocked his mind.


    Then with a thunderously loud voice, Jared ordered "Bring me that foolish bastard"


    He just had to call Alex foolish because all that Alex had done in his sight was utter foolishness. He found it hard to believe that a kid who had no backing would just come here and run his mouth, making threats at his organization. Even if he was strong, powerful and faster than his peers, and even than experts who were a few stages above him in cultivation, since he had no powerful expert or cultivator who was watching him and would appear in the next moment when he seemed to be in danger, he shouldn''t have come here to start throwing off threats. Jared couldn''t count this as bravery or courage. Rather, he counted Alex''s action as extreme stupidity and foolishness.


    However, he still ordered his men to bring Alex to him as he had to quickly extract the poisonous-corrosive energy from Alex''s body, or if he was too late, and he died, he would lose a lot. These losses would be him not knowing the locations of the items that Alex stole from him.


    Since he didn''t know where Alex kept the little girl with the Radiant Healing power, his Other-Realm elemental beast and the looted treasures and resources that they had been accumulating since ten millennia which was ten thousands years ago, he needed to quickly remove the energy from Alex''s body and completely heal him, and then severely torture him to speak where he kept the girl and his prized possessions.


    Once their Master gave the order, The Sky Lord stage cultivators instantly shot towards Alex to bring him for their Master.


    Olivia who was within the palace saw how Alex looked from the projection screen that she was watching, then she immediately requested to teleport out of the palace to go give Alex some healing herbs to flush or eject the sinister energies running rampantly and unbridled in his body. But she wasn''t granted her request by the palace-spirit who told her that Alex would be fine. Besides, Alex had secretly told the palace-spirit never to teleport Olivia out of the palace.


    It was fine if he was the only one outside as he understood his body and it many unique abilities, and would be able to control the battle to a certain degree because of the spectacular godly abilities that he possessed. But if she came out, the battle which he felt that he would be able to control to a certain extent due to his numerous astonishing abilities would quickly slip out of his control. Things could simply go awry if she appeared, so he told the palace-spirit never to allow her out, no matter what she said. And if she was stubborn and persistent about it, then that it can knock her unconscious.


    Olivia who couldn''t continue to watch the projection screen shouted at the palace-spirit to let her out so that she could go help him. However, the palace-spirit only refused and tried to assure her that Alex would be okay. But despite the palace-spirit saying that Alex would be fine, over and over again, assuring her that Alex would definitely be okay soon, Olivia was still intensely worried. And when the Sky Lord stage cultivators began to fly towards Alex with murderous lights emitting from their eyes, Olivia''s fears and worries abruptly escalated to the point that she could start sending out attacks in every directions if the palace-spirit continued to refuse to her demand which was to teleport her outside the palace to go help Alex.


    Hearing no response from the palace-spirit which seemed like it was ignoring her, Olivia surprisingly calmed, then she asked in a loud and provoked tone "Palace-spirit, why don''t you teleport him in?! He seems poisoned and injured, and wouldn''t be able to definitely last long out there. Besides, the Sky Lord stage cultivators are already flying towards Alex to deliver him to their master. Is this how you would just stand invisibly wherever you are at and do nothing about what the heinous thing soon to happen to your Master''s one and only legacy successor?"


    She said those to provoke the palace-spirit into action. But her words didn''t achieve what she wanted she wanted to achieve. Instead, the palace-spirit after keeping silent for sometime, said "Olivia, I know that you are deeply worried about him, but what I would tell you is that you don''t really know Alex. None of us ever will. Just seat it out and watch what would happen. You would be amazed"


    Olivia was greatly startled by what the palace-spirit said. It seemed to be confident of an ability that Alex possessed which she wasn''t aware about. She thought over what the palace-spirit said again and then exhaled deeply.


    But without her worries abating and instead increasing the more, she unwillingly sat and then focused on the screen, with a blazing hope in her heart that something amazing and miraculous about Alex would happen.


    As the Sky Lord stage cultivators shot towards Alex at a leisure pace since he was already a dead meat to them, Alex, whose eyes bled blood and seemed large, like as if they wanted to shoot off the sockets that they were located at in the next moment, groaned loudly in pain. He gritted this teeth hard that they could almost shatter from the excruciating pain that he was inflicted with. Therefore, as a result of gnashing his teeth too hard, his entire gums which had been totally affected by the corrosion-energy began to bleed. Blackened blood oozed out from them. Besides, his body which was bright green in color had turned dark black like it was burning. But no one would notice this as the armor that he wore had covered his entire body. However, one would still notice this from his face that had turned completely black. Besides, cracks could be seen on his face which began to fall off in the next moment, revealing the bony framework of his face.


    Suddenly, his body which seemed like it would wither and turn to ashes in the next instant, abruptly produced thousands of mystical symbols that began to glow immediately they appeared on his entire darkened body. Then they began to radiate the power to absorb everything under the heavens.


    Slowly, his blackened skin started to regain it usual, flawless white color...

 Chapter 208: What you now know is only a drop in the ocean

    When the symbols appeared, no one noticed it as Alex was wearing an armor. However, since his face wasn''t masked, the Sky Lord stage cultivators that were flying towards him saw the symbols that had surfaced on his face. Then they witnessed to their amazement how parts of Alex''s blackened, decaying face gradually became white again. It was like the poisoning and corroding energies in his body were being ejected, causing him to regain his white color.


    Their heart shook badly from what they saw, then to prevent anything new, unexpected and uncontrollable from coming up as Alex fearsomeness and ruthlessness in battle was something to dread or be greatly terrorized about, the Sky Lord stage cultivators quickly zoomed towards slowly-recovering Alex to grab him and bring him for their Master, as per his order.


    ....


    Alex''s body slowly regained it white color because of it unique and peerless ability to absorb every form of cultivation energy that it comes into contact with.


    So, since the myriad energy-absorption and devouring abilities of his body which were really the biological-cultivation defense mechanisms of his body suddenly activated, but due to the perception of the new and foreign cultivation energies in his body, the wisps of poisonforce energy and corrodeforce energy that continuously wreaked unbridled havoc in his body were abruptly acted upon by a profound, quasi-sentient, astronomical attracting force that came from far within his energyhouse.


    As a mystifying, tremendously powerful, attractive force that would cause any non-indigenous energy in his body to resist the call or summon of even Immortal Emperor-class cultivators, that would seize control just over any form of energy, whether normal energies or statute energies (primordial energies) in his body, the sinister realm-energies causing worrying degrees of harm to Alex''s body were being strongly pulled by this exceedingly domineering mystical force from his body cells, and then channeled in large bundles to his energyhouse, actually becoming his own energy. Although they settled in his energyhouse like docile kittens, waiting to be called upon, Alex wouldn''t be able to control them until he comprehends their peculiar characteristics; entering into harmony with them and gaining the power to control them.


    Before the Sky Lord stage cultivators would reach a close proximity of Alex, his eyes snapped open and a brilliant light emanated. This light gave them the chills as it induced the feeling of great danger.


    They stopped where they were and observed Alex whose entire body, including his eyes, nose, mouth and ears suddenly erupted an astonishingly large mass of golden swordforce energy that caused the air to churn violently because of the power of tyrannical sharpness radiating from it. Then the incredible mass of golden sharpness-energy partitioned into many hundreds before instantly compacting and shaping into hundreds of blades which then shot out at extreme speeds towards the Sky Lord stage cultivators.


    ...


    When Alex''s face regained it usual white color, although the festering wounds were still present as he needed to swallow an healing pill to make them go away, but since he could overcome the Great Saint-level power of corrosion and poisoning produced by the corrodeforce energy and poisonforce energy coursing in his energy veins, Liam and Jared couldn''t help but be shocked to the extreme. Their astonishment was to the point that they were dazed beyond comparison as they had their mouths wide open and wouldn''t close anytime soon. They had never seen anything more marveling than this. While Olivia, who prayed for something miraculous to occur to Alex, became exceedingly dazed too. He had actually recovered from the corroding and poisoning effects of the sinister energies in his body without the use of a poison-expelling pill and body corrosion neutralization pill. She totally wondered how that was possible. However, her mind continued to revolve in shock without showing signs of stopping anytime soon.


    Not able to recollect herself, she remembered what Alex told her then after he raped her. It was now that she understood that Alex didn''t try to rape her. He only had to, seeing the state that her mind and body was brought into because of the movement of the energy from his body into hers, perhaps due to arousal. So it was never his fault. Then she was glad that she didn''t say or do anything that would have turned them into enemies. Also remembering how Alex slammed down on her for many minutes, she smiled affectionately and then shook her head.


    She then asked, directing her voice into the air as she couldn''t see the palace-spirit.


    "You knew about this ability of his all along?"


    "Yes." It responded. Then it continued "But don''t think that you now know all of his abilities. What you now know is equal to a drop in the ocean. There are still tons of mind-numbing abilities that he is yet to show"


    .......


    The Sky Lord stage cultivators too were immensely dazzled by the feat that Alex carried out, but they weren''t in this state for too long. And as seasoned battle experts, they immediately sent out their palms at Alex the moment that he formed swords from his golden swordforce energy and hurled it at them using his mind connection to them.


    The fire-element cultivators among them quickly grouped together. Then using a technique called ''Flame Dragon strike'', a battle-method from a fire-element battle methodology that they studied at the organization, they formed large, solid dragons out of the pyroforce energies that they cultivated.


    Once the dragons formed, they shot out at breakneck speed towards the incoming swords composed from golden swordforce energy. And as they moved at tremendous speed towards the swords, they caused the temperature of the air to soar to extremely unbearable degrees. If it was on the ground such were created, the earth around them for thousands of feet would instantly turn into magma. Besides, people that weren''t in the range of the attacks would have a feeling that they were in a furnace. The heat waves radiating from the many sky-tier fire element attacks that were unleashed were simply powerful and fierce.


    Boom!


    Boom!


    Boom!...


    The attacks struck each other and many loud explosion sounds rang out which was immediately accompanied by violent releases of destructive fire energy. These raging fiery energies rushed into the surrounding in all directions like oceanic tidal currents, trying to ravage everything in their paths. However, since the collisions which resulted in the eruptions of the devastating energies took place high in the air, there was no damage made to the surface of the earth, except for sphere-shaped regions of vacuums appearing at the many different points that the enormous and solid attacks clashed into one another.


    But Alex''s numerous sword-shaped attacks which were infused with strengthforce energy, increased the qualities of his sharpness-bearing energy-offensives to the degree that they could match up to that of a peak-phase heaven adept stage cultivator. His attacks were transformed into quasi-heaven adept stage attacks. Therefore, possessing a higher degree of density which was as a result of the infusion of strengthforce energy into them, they didn''t explode or burst into raging, violent streams of chaotic swordforce energies upon devastating collisions with the other attacks. Instead, because of their great-degree solidness, they reduced the opposing attacks they impacted into streams of energies. They had basically eliminated the dragon-forms that the pyroforce energy attacks took.


    A second later, the swords formed from swordforce energy shot out of the fiery energy storm toward the fire-element cultivators.


    What the hell?


    The fire-element cultivators saw Alex''s sword-shaped attacks shoot out of the tremendous and fierce, tidal bursts of tyrannical fiery energy that took place a moment ago and couldn''t help but have their minds reel in dread.


    Very quickly, they produced shields of energy which was a screen of energy that immediately surfaced in front of them all.


    Same was also done by the other non-attacking cultivators who quickly produced protective energy screens from the energies that they cultivated to shield themselves from the incoming, fast-shooting attacks.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Slash! Slash! Slash!...


    Many bang sounds rang out as the massive swords struck the screens that the Sky Lord stage cultivators quickly produced, shattering them into pieces. Then as attacks produced from sharpness-energy, slash sounds began to ring out as the swords lacerated the Sky Lord stage cultivators, cutting them into halves and causing bright red blood to rain.


    The Sky Lord stage cultivators that were spared from the extreme laceration power of the sharpness-bearing attacks as they weren''t in their range had their heart fill up with fear and terror. They just couldn''t understand how Alex''s attacks could be vicious and overwhelming. But they wouldn''t know that Alex''s attack was formed from a type of swordforce energy that possessed the will to cut apart every and any form of bind or restriction in it path. It was a juggernaut energy that didn''t want to be stopped or restrained by any anything once it''s in motion. Besides, it possessed Autarchy Will, the will to exist as an absolute sovereign. So, every other energy must bow to it or give way to it. Also, strengthforce energy was infused into them, increasing their denseness to a level that they were on par with that of peak-phase heaven adept stage cultivators.


    Although the Sky Lord stage cultivators started to dread Alex who seemed like an Ancient Expert in the form of a teenager, they still remained there to attack, facing him head-on.


    Gazing at Alex coldly, their palms began to glow intensely in all colors of light. Then different forms of terrifying powers began to radiate from them in all directions.


    Then they sent out their palms at him, abruptly discharging large amounts of energy that rapidly condensed and shaped into massive attacks of energies that took different kind of shapes. Once these attacks formed, they shot out towards Alex at extreme speeds.


    Alex''s face turned solemn upon seeing the great numbers of energy-attacks that the furious Sky Lord stage cultivators launched at him. He could try to dodge, but he wasn''t sure if he would successfully evade the colossal and torrential, fierce attacks that were shooting towards him at high speeds. If they were on the ground, he was hundred percent certain of dodging the attacks, just because of his movement-speed that would be tremendously enhanced by his strengthforce energy. But right here in the air, he couldn''t try to evade as he didn''t know the maximum speed that the wings attached to his back could achieve. He couldn''t take that chance or if he did so, and he was wrong about the peak velocity that the wings could attain, it could be disastrous for him.


    Therefore, he tried to protect himself from the attacks using his own energies that were augmented to a level that they would match that of Earth Adept stage cultivators by the divineforce energy that had mixed with them. This he was highly confident of.


    Then very quickly, many different types of energies discharged from his body in great amounts. With numerous colored energies continuously expelling from his body rapidly, he seemed like a top-grade energy synthesis array in the form of a human.


    As soon as the energies erupted from the pores of his body, hands and feet, his figure became completely shrouded by the tremendous amounts of energies that he released from his body. And still, the rapid eruption of astonishing amounts of myriad energies from his body didn''t come to an end. It was like he had infinite amounts of these energies.


    This spectacle deeply shocked everyone that were seeing this. Especially Jared and Liam who hadn''t recovered from the earlier shock that Alex gave them when he healed from the poisonous and corroding power of the poisonforce and corrodeforce energy that he transmitted into his body using the needle which he stealthily launched at him. While Olivia who was still shaken by the impossible feat that Alex carried out when he was poisoned couldn''t help but have her mind spin in awe again from what she was seeing from the screen that she stared at with undivided attention. Although she knew about Alex''s cultivation of sixteen energies, she just couldn''t help but be greatly astounded by what she was witnessing at the moment.


    True that Alex cultivated many energies, it should absolutely impossible for him to release such quantities of them all at once. It is a theoretically and practically impossible thing to execute. Anyone that tried to do so would simply explode into pieces, or burst into mist of blood from the rapid and enormous rush of energies. However, Alex was doing it, like it was nothing spectacular and amazing. Then it was right now that Olivia discovered another of Alex''s incredible abilities.


    "Would there be an end to his fantastic abilities?" She asked the palace-spirit.


    "That, I can''t tell." The palace-spirit responded.


    Olivia shook her head. Then she continued to watch Alex from the screen with a doting smile hung on her lips.

 Chapter 209: I am the Punisher

    Surrounded by his energies that totally concealed his figure like he was in an astonishingly huge multicolored cloud, they quickly mixed, despite their different features or attributes. And since they had mixed to form only an energy which was composite energy, it rapidly compacted and shaped into an enormous sphere that enclosed him in the next instant.


    As soon as his mixed-energies or composite energy formed into a sphere, the fearsome attacks that were launched by the Sky Lord stage cultivators appeared and struck the protective spherical shield of energy that he rapidly created.


    Bang!!


    Bang!!


    Bang!!...


    Tremendously loud bang sounds, similar to that of explosions rang out, while rippling waves of devastating strength, surfaced as the fierce, immense attacks struck the massive, protective energy sphere that enclosed Alex''s figure.


    However, and surprisingly, the sphere didn''t shatter from the seemingly unceasing, super-heavy collisions. It was astonishingly solid that cracks, and even something as little as marks, couldn''t be seen on it round surface. It was only being knocked back into the far distance by the attacks that struck it with a lot of kinetic force, great momentum and immense heaviness.


    The Sky Lord stage cultivators had their delighted facial expressions spoil when they saw how Alex''s energy sphere didn''t shatter from the exceedingly heavy and hard impacts of their torrential, fearsome attacks with it. It was like he was in a sphere-shaped, defensive treasure-artifact that was forged by a Supreme Grandmaster of Treasure-forging. It was totally unexplainable how the energies that a peak-phase condensation stage cultivator discharged from his body, which formed into a sphere, would withstand the attacks of Sky Lord stage cultivators.


    ''Who the hell is this boy? And where the fuck did he come from?''


    They couldn''t help but ask these questions within themselves.


    "W-What?"


    Jared and Liam also weren''t spared from this new spectacle as their mouth, which had closed from the earlier shock that they received about his abilities, opened wide again.


    It was like Alex was the embodiment or incarnation of Marvel as he always produced unique and astounding abilities. But as experts that had being existing tens of thousands of years ago, there shouldn''t be much ''things'' that should cause them to be so much amazed, as they would have seen and would have heard a lot of Fantastic Things during some time in their lives. However, witnessing Alex do his things that were spectacular to the extreme, they couldn''t help but be shocked.


    Olivia who was within the palace deeply wondered how Alex''s energy sphere was able to withstand the tyrannical collisions of the fast-moving immense attacks with his energy sphere and didn''t shatter from being viciously impacted continuously.


    Alex''s protective energy sphere in any way shouldn''t have been able to withstand the collisions with the incoming, devastating energy attacks, as all but one of the numerous energies that he cultivated could only achieve the quality (density) of energies possessed by earth adept stage experts. And this augmentation was as a result of the divineforce energy that had contaminated his energies. Since it had mixed in with them, it increased their denseness to the point that they touched upon the Earth Adept realm, becoming a quasi-earth rank energy. However, the energy responsible for his sphere''s ability to withstand the amounts of damages that could be dealt by the incoming attacks was his strengthforce energy, a quasi-heaven rank energy. It density leapt to the heaven-level because of a type of primordial energy that had merged with it. Therefore, it was this energy that increased the imperviousness of his sphere to a great degree, to the point that it durability and toughness could match that of a peerless-grade, heaven-rank, defense-type treasure-artifact. So, how will the attacks of Sky Lord stage cultivators do anything to it?


    ...


    The attacks that struck the sphere that Alex was in, shoved it to a distance of more than two hundred feet, with the intent to break or shatter it. However, when the fierce attacks that rained hard upon the sphere stopped, and it stabilized in the air, Alex came out from within it. Then the sphere abruptly turned back into gigantic, misty clouds of colored, pulse-emitting energies that was pulled back to the realmverse. He had broken his connection to them, allowing them to be drawn back into the realmverse


    As he was far away, he looked very small in the vision of the Sky Lord stage cultivators. But Alex could see them vividly, using the far-seeing ability of his Heavenly Mystery Revealment eye which was also called his Star-Gazing eyes.


    He could see the puzzled and astounded expressions hung on their faces. And when he saw those, he smiled inwardly. Then he decided that it was time to shower his own attacks upon them.


    Floating with the wings that attached to his back like a pair of appendages, his body began to emanate many colors of light. Then in the next instant, exceedingly large amounts of various types of realm-energies gushed out from his body. And as soon as they discharged from his body in alarming quantities, they enveloped his figure like he was in a vast storm of energy that stretched for thousands of feet. Then they mixed due to Alex''s will into a single energy, and abruptly compacted and shaped into a massive multicolored palm that spanned a great and astonishing size.


    "Go" He said as he pushed his hand out towards the Sky Lord stage cultivators that floated at a far distance in the air.


    Then the palm which radiated numerous mystical powers such as a great and tyrannical, suppressive pressure, then the Power of Might, Power of Blaze, Fire Control and Incineration, Power of Illusion, Power of Speed and Acceleration, Power of Radiance, Power of Peerless Sharpness, Power of Wind Control and so on shot towards the Sky Lord stage cultivators at a great speed. The palm actually contained all of his energies as they each emitted invisible, perceptible auras of their marveling powers. And since this energy palm contained speedforce energy, an energy that produced the Power of Speed and Acceleration, the palm was able to achieve an inconceivable speed that it crossed a distance of more than two hundred feet in an instant as it shot towards the Sky Lord stage cultivators. It was accelerated to the extreme by the speed-acceleration realm-energy present in it.


    The Sky Lord stage cultivators who had prepared to attack Alex from where they floated at weren''t able to quickly produce screens of energy to shield themselves from the incoming palm-shaped attack.


    BANG!


    A single explosive sound rang out as many of them were struck at once, instantly reducing into mists of blood and bits of flesh that were blown away by the wind his multicolored palm attack came with.


    Although many of the Sky Lord stage cultivators were spared from the instant-annihilating energy-palm that Alex sent out as they weren''t in it range, more attacks of this form and size suddenly appeared from nowhere and struck them, causing their bodies to burst into blood from the tyrannical collisions. Alex had actually abruptly produced more of the earlier attack that he sent out.


    Therefore, in this manner, he began to reduce the numbers of the Sky Lord stage cultivators very quickly, butchering them like fowls.


    Seeing how tyrannous his palm-attack was, as it instantly reduced the Sky Lord stage cultivators into spray of blood and tiny fragments of bones, he nodded his head with a smile hung in his face. He liked this new battle-technique that he came up with. Although it was simply the upgraded version of the ''Prismatic God Hand of Punishment'' battle-technique, but as this contained virtually all of his energies, and the new realm-energy that he cultivated which was Golden Swordforce energy, he decided to give it a new name. And he called it the ''All-Powerful Peerless Butchering Barbarous Palm''. He gave it such a name because it was an attack that possessed all his energies, his golden swordforce energy which had the attributes of Peerless or Unparalleled Sharpness, and finally, because of the way it barbarically killed the Sky Lord stage cultivators, like a wicked and tyrant brute.


    Then with the last one that he sent out, he unexpectedly stood atop it. He was going to actually use it as a rapid transportation system towards the fleeing Sky Lord stage cultivators.


    Possessing the power to achieve tremendous speed as it contained speedforce energy, the palm that Alex used as transportation crossed the distance of more than two hundred feet in an instant. Then when it got to the range of the Sky Lord stage cultivators who had fled far into the distance, Alex leaped away from it towards one of them.


    Slash!


    He cut off a head that resulted in a blood shower, using an energy-weapon that he abruptly created using his golden swordforce energy.


    "Rain of Bloodbringer" Alex said.


    Then seemingly limitless, decently-sized swords of golden swordforce energy, abruptly formed from the mass of sharpness-energy that continually erupted from his body, shot towards the fleeing Sky Lord stage cultivators at high speeds.


    Slash!


    Slash!


    Slash!...


    Many slash sounds rang out as the golden swords of energy that filled the air like an overcasting cloud of arrows, pierced through it like overspeeding darts towards the fleeing Sky Lord stage cultivators, cutting or slashing them into more than hundred small parts. Anyone that saw this spectacle would feel that the men were trapped in a meat grinder-type formation.


    The Heaven Adept stage cultivators, Saint stage cultivators, then their Masters, Jared and Liam, furrowed their brows, and had a cold and sinister light erupt from their narrowed eyes upon witnessing how Alex viciously slaughtered their men like rams. While Olivia, who was within the palace, had her eyes glitter brightly with astonishment and adoration. She just couldn''t help but be amazed by his fathomless dazzling abilities and battle proficiency, then she began to adore and admire him. And unknowing to her, her subconscious mind was beginning to set Alex as one of her mentors, her role models. His battle skills and power were just out of this world.


    ...


    Not long, Alex slayed all the Sky Lord stage cultivators. Not one could escape from him. He was like Death that no one could escape from.


    Then with a smile in his face, he looked at Jared and Liam who gazed back at him with an unbridled evil light emitting from their eyes.


    "Who exactly are you?" Liam asked.


    After he saw all that Alex did, he just had to ask the question. He would definitely find it hard in believing that Alex was a teenager, and not some powerful expert in the body of Alex. He could arrive at this conclusion because of his amazing abilities, and his domineering battle prowess and techniques. They were something that he shouldn''t possess at such an age. Therefore, there was some old, genius expert inhabiting the flawless body of this teenager floating before him in the distance.


    When Alex heard the question that he was asked by Liam, he gave a smile.


    "I am the Punisher"

 Chapter 210: Enters a bet

    "The Punisher?" Liam asked in a perplexed tone.


    "Yes" Alex replied with a smile.


    "Hmm" Liam uttered. Then he asked "So you have being sent by your organization to come punish us?"


    "No. I have been sent here to kill you. All of you. You people are a menace to the society" Alex replied.


    "Kill? How exactly did we offend your organization? What has my organization done to yours to bring about the whatever bounty that has been placed on our heads?" Liam asked.


    "Well, like I said earlier, I was sent here to eliminate you vile spawns. The problems that you have caused in the society has reached the brink. My organization doesn''t want you guys to exist anymore. So I am here to wipe all of you out" Alex replied, like as if he was truly from an organization.


    Olivia who was listening to all that Alex and Liam said from within the palace that still remained concealed in a layer of space, couldn''t help but burst out a laugh.


    Pfffft!


    "Organization? What an asshole! When he''s done with all these, I would love to know what organization he''s from." Olivia said still laughing.


    It sounded really funny to her.


    Of all things that he could come up with, that was what he could bring up to respond to the question that he was asked.


    She simply shook her head with a smile hung in her face.


    "And maybe it''s the name of the organization that he plans to establish in future" The ancient voice of the palace-spirit suddenly rang out.


    Olivia was taken aback by the sudden contribution of the palace-spirit.


    Then when she thought of what it said, she uttered with sparkling eyes. "Hmm. You must be right, palace-spirit"


    "Of course, I would be right" The palace-spirit said.


    Then with an agreeable nod and a smile hung in her face, Olivia said "Okay"


    ....


    "I see" Liam said. Then he spoke further "So you are truly here to wipe us all out, right? Although, you may possess the power to kill our Earth adept stage cultivators and Sky Lord stage cultivators, but that is too little to deal with our other men who are in the Heaven Adept stage and Saint stage. Then US!"


    Haha!


    Alex cackled.


    "Shall we take a bet?" Alex asked.


    "What bet do you want?" Liam asked in a surprisingly calm manner.


    "If I successfully kill all the Heaven Adept stage cultivators and Saint stage cultivators that you have, you would give me the location of that cave which you entered, that transported you to the strange region where you discovered the crystal-skinned beast with the power over the five element" Alex said looking at Jared, who gazed back at him with a sinister light emitting from his eyes.


    "Hmm" Liam muttered. Then he asked "And if you fail?"


    "If I fail, I would give you the location of the beast that I took from you, the spatial rings containing all your sweats since ten thousand years ago... and the location of the organization that I came from" Alex said. Then he questioned "Making sense right?"


    Liam''s and Jared''s eyes glittered.


    The location of the organization that he came from!


    They would really want to raid there and take all the supreme-grade and peerless-grade, defensive and offensive treasure-artifacts, then the battle methodology manuals that they studied and the cultivation resources that they consumed.


    Hahaha!


    They both grinned evilly within at the same time.


    This would definitely be their catapult to fame, and domineering ability to cast terror over other establishments and organizations.


    "Agreed!" Liam said.


    Then he called out "Leia!"


    "Yes, Ghostblade Lord!" An hooded lady responded venerably from within the large numbers of Saint stage cultivators floating in the air. Then she shot out towards him.


    When she appeared in front of him, Liam said to her "You heard what he said. He wants to fight all of you. And since he wants to fight all of you, he basically means that he want to fight even the things that you all possess to increase your battle power. Like you, what you tame and control. Haha! Release your beasts and use them against him"


    "Alright, Ghostblade Lord" The young lady who wore a large hood over her head and was in the peak-phase Saint stage said.


    Then with a wave of her hand, a bag appeared in the air. And as soon as this bag appeared, space warped in front of it and hundreds of beasts could suddenly be seen. They were teleported out of the bag by her command.


    When they appeared, her eyes then suddenly turned white. Same with her raven-black hair which was covered by the large hood that she wore. Then in the next instant, a glowing blue crystal appeared at the center of her forehead. She had actually summoned a physique.


    Then a strange form of power shot out from her transformed body in the form of an aura and engulfed all the hundreds of beasts in front of her. And as soon as they were engulfed by this power which penetrated into their bodies and permeated them, the eyes of the hundred beasts before her also turned white.


    With a vicious smile in her face, she uttered "Go!"


    Roarrr!


    Grraaa!...


    The beasts which were peak-phase, heaven stage beasts bellowed furiously. Then they shot at insane speeds towards Alex in the distance.


    Alex saw this and got ready for battle.


    Very quickly, two swords appeared in his hand. One was the Purifier''s sword which was silver in color, while the other was a peerless-grade, heaven-rank treasure-sword and was crimson in color. From the color that it possessed, one would know that it was a sword with fire-producing arrays. But Alex wasn''t going to activate the fire-sprouting arrays in the scarlet-colored treasure-sword that he had just produced, only because he wouldn''t be able to withstand the aura of the Power of Incineration and Blaze that would emanate from it. However, since it was a heaven-rank sword, the sharpness that it would possess should enable it to penetrate into the bodies of the heaven-rank beasts and cut or slash them apart into halves.


    Then apart from the two swords that he now wielded in which the silver-colored one continuously emitted large-area, air-churning, rippling waves of great and alarming sharpness, a large green halberd with a massive, blood-red blade, and an exceedingly long, blue-colored spear with a gold-violet spearhead, appeared and strapped to the back of the wings that attached to his back. Also, a gauntlet appeared on one of his arm. Then activating it resulted in the emission of a thin ray of energy to a few feet in front of him which then spread open like flowers into a massive, octagon-shaped screen of energy.


    Seriously arming himself with weapons and enhancing his perception of speed with the speedforce energy that had permeated his eyes, he got ready to slay.


    Not long, the raging beasts produced by the Saint-level lady appeared in his vision.


    With ever-increasing deafening roars like they had seen their worst enemy, they rushed frenziedly towards him.


    "Time for battle" Alex said. Then battle intent began to erupt from his eyes.


    Suddenly, a massive bolt of black lightning shot towards him from one of the beasts.


    Although the lightning-attack which was a heaven-tier attack shot at great speed towards him, Alex could still see it in a bit of slow-motion.


    Then he shot away from the energy-attack, evading it.


    But just as he dodged that, hundreds of black bolts of lightning suddenly shot towards him very fast.


    His eyes widened in shock, then he brought the arm wearing the gauntlet in front of him. As he carried that arm to block, the octagon-shaped screen of energy that was continually produced by the gauntlet that he wore on that arm was also brought to his front.


    BANG!


    Many of the faster bolts simultaneously struck the large defensive screen that he placed in front of him by bringing the arm that wore the gauntlet which produced the screen to his front. Then because of the momentum and solidness that they came with, the screen was heavily knocked backwards. This also resulted in Alex being shoved backwards for many feet by the force that the fierce bolts delivered into it upon collision. But the shield didn''t shatter, it withstood the destructive forces yielded by the bolts upon impact with it.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    More of the immense lightning bolts that were launched by one of the hundreds of soul-controlled, Heaven-rank beast, tyrannically struck the shielding screen generated by the gauntlet, and this caused Alex, who wore the defense-type treasure-gauntlet that produced the screen, to be heaved further into the distance. Then due to the unceasing impacts of the lightning bolts with the screen, cracks began to appear on it surface. However, the screen didn''t shatter. Instead, it healed as energy was being continuously produced by the gauntlet that created the energy screen.


    Not long, the collisions ended. But he had been knocked to a distance of several hundred feet.


    He gazed at them from where he was using the far-seeing ability of his god-eyes. Then he could see a mocking smile in the face of the lady that controlled the beasts. And employing his powerful hearing ability, he heard the Saint-level lady utter ''go'', then the beasts, after receiving the command, rage to the sky once more and shot towards Alex at great speeds.


    Alex this time took the initiative to go meet the beasts.


    Using the wings strapped to his back for flight, he tried to do something. Since he had the ability to erupt energy from any part of his body, he tried to discharge energy from his legs. And the energy that he chose to expel from his legs was his pyroforce energy; fire-elemental energy. Then as a wide and huge stream of fire which quickly discharged from his entire lower body at an astonishing rate, he darted like a fuel-burning rocket towards the beasts.


    The lady who saw everything that the beasts she soul-controlled saw, became shocked. But not only her, Jared, his uncle and their men became astounded too.


    It was impossible to emit energy from other part of the body other than the hands. But Alex was doing such, and that by rapidly releasing astonishing amount of fiery energy from his entire lower body to boost his flying speed.


    Olivia who had gotten enough of Alex''s surprising abilities only smiled and shook her head as she watched him perform spectacularly from the screen.


    Since he had created a method to increase his flying speed, Alex who wasn''t worried over the large amount of energy that was expelling from his body, further increased the discharge rate of the fire-energy. Then with a continuous and tremendous, exceedingly-rapid burst of fire energy from his lower body in a jet-like fashion, he shot at insane speeds towards the beasts. Besides, his flight-speed was further increased to a shocking level by the speedforce energy that produced the Power of Acceleration. As slivers of this energy erupted from his lower body, along with the unceasing, abrupt discharge of enormous amounts of pyroforce energy, it heightened Alex''s speed to the maximum, giving a great boost to the method that Alex was using.


    After crossing the hundreds of feet that he was knocked to by the earlier lightning-attacks in a very short time, he appeared in front of the hordes of frenzied beasts.


    One of the massive, heaven-rank beasts which was directly in front of him opened it mouth to swallow him. But Alex shot below it. Then with the purifier sword and the heaven-grade sword that he wielded, he stabbed into the belly of the beast and dragged them across the full length of the beast belly.


    The instant that he impaled the beast with the swords, the beast screamed out in pain, while the lady who was mind-connected to the beasts, and felt what they felt, shrieked in agony when Alex pulled the deeply stabbed swords from one end of it belly to the other end. Then blood began to gush out from the lines of incision that Alex made into it belly using the sword.


    Immediately he finished cutting the beast belly, he pulled out the swords that had stabbed deeply into it belly, and then dashed speedily away, or he would be collapsed upon by the beast that would plummet to the earth at a tremendous speed and crash into it, opening up a deep crater in it by virtue of the immense weight that it possessed. If he was caught up beneath the beast that would fall heavily into the earth, he could die along with it.


    Then he shot out again at a great speed towards another massive beast that was in his sight.

 Chapter 211: Power of Destruction

    Alex then shot towards the beast that was in his sight.


    The beast which was soul-controlled by the Saint-level lady opened it mouth wide and shot out a large, solid ball of fire from it.


    Then shooting towards him at a great speed, Alex brought his arm in front of him. And by doing so, the screen produced by the gauntlet that he wore on his arm was brought to his front.


    Bang!


    BOOM!!


    The immense ball of solidified fiery energy struck the large protective screen and then instantly exploded into a huge, raging stream of fire that caused Alex to be shot far into the distance by the destructive force that was produced from the blast.


    After being shoved back to a distance of more than many hundred feet, Alex gained his balance in the air. Then he shot again once more towards the hordes of beasts that also shot towards him with loud, angry roars ringing out from them.


    When the beasts were about thirty feet in front of him, Alex channelled golden swordforce energy to The Purifier''s sword and the peerless-grade, heaven-rank sword that he wielded.


    Then he slashed out at the same time that he mentioned a technique.


    "God Banishing Supreme Sword Strikes"


    Once he swung the two swords out at them in the fashion of a slash, massive streams of golden swordforce energy erupted from the two swords that he wielded, then they instantly condensed and shaped into two massive golden swords that shot towards the beasts that he targeted.


    Puchi!


    Puchi!


    Puchi!...


    Several stabbing sounds rang out as the two massive golden swords that he had abruptly formed from his sharpness-energy pierced into the beasts and cut across them to their ends.


    Raaa! Raaa! Raaa!...


    The beasts that were struck screamed out in pain.


    Then they dropped from the sky to the ground as halves, landing with an immense weight that caused large amount of dust to shoot into the air and caused the earth surface to crack and shatter, forming deep pits in it.


    When the beasts were initially struck and roared in pain, the Saint-level lady groaned in pain too. Although they were only mind-connected, anything that the beasts physically felt would also be felt by her.


    It was simply like torture. But the pain only lasted for half a second as it vanished totally in the instant that it appeared.


    The sword-shaped attacks although possessed peerless sharpness and the Will to cut through everything which were the attributes of his golden swordforce energy, they shouldn''t have been able to cause much damage to the beast as they were heaven-rank beasts, talk more of kill them. But because they were infused with strengthforce energy, the attack was upgraded to several higher tiers that it became a quasi-heaven rank attack.


    Once he killed those beasts, Alex who floated in the air because of the wings that were attached to his back, had his eyes turn cyan. Once they turned cyan because he had permeated them with windforce energy, air began to swirl around him. Then as air swirled around him, he also turned too.


    So while rotating at a great speed due to the air that revolved around him and caused him to turn at an extreme speed, he sent out large, curved rays of swordforce energy from the two swords that he wielded towards the mind-controlled raging beasts.


    Slash!


    Slash!


    Slash!...


    The massive, curved rays of golden sharpness-energy struck some of the beasts and cut them into halves. While some that dodged on time as they were controlled by Leia, who caused them to quickly move away from the path of harm, sustained deep wounds on their tough hides which revealed their organs, while the others suffered the complete laceration of limbs from their bodies.


    The attacks that Alex sent out was imbued with speedforce energy which increased their speed to the maximum. So this made them move so fast that Leia who saw what the beasts saw, couldn''t make the beasts evade in time and therefore, they sustained grievous injuries with some dying and then plummeting back to the earth.


    "Assemble" Leia said coldly.


    Once she gave the instruction, the beasts which had reduced in number by a few percentages gathered together and gazed at Alex with extreme furiousness. Although it was like they were angry at Alex for killing them, the expression of wrath in their eyes didn''t come from them, it was from Leia who controlled them. She really wanted to make her beasts catch Alex in their mouths, chew him hard into pieces and swallow him down to their bellies. But she couldn''t do that as they needed him alive to produce the location of the girl, beasts and the organization that he was from. However, at this moment, she just didn''t care any more about the things that her Master and the Ghostblade Lord needed. Since he had killed a few of the beasts that she took many of her time for cultivation to develop and train, she was going to kill him.


    Liam''s and Jared''s faces frowned upon the actions that Leia made the beasts carry out. Then when they realized what she was about to do, their eyes glowed in anger before they tried to shout out her name to tell her to stop what she was about to do.


    But they were a bit too late in calling her name and telling her to stop.


    Once the beasts assembled, Leia uttered "Destroy!"


    Then the beasts that were glowing in all types of colors, abruptly sent out different forms of large-sized, elemental and energy attacks at Alex. The fearsome offensives which were formed from the power of their beast-bloodline, shot off from their eyes, mouths, horns, paws, tails and even from their entire bodies towards Alex at a great speed.


    Then dying the immense earth and the vast sky in the numerous colors of light that emanated brilliantly from them, and radiating a great, suppressive pressure that caused the air for thousands of feet to roil, the massive and fierce attacks that they shot out, traveled at tremendous speeds towards Alex.


    When the beasts began to glow, Alex was able to quickly deduce that the controller of the beasts wanted the beasts to unleash many terrifying attacks at him. Therefore, as he had come to this deduction, mysterious symbols abruptly appeared on the surface of his eyes. Once they appeared, an enveloping, dark-colored spherical field of the power of devastation surfaced around him.


    Alex had actually caused his eyes to change into the Grand God-eyes of True Destruction. But he wasn''t going to use the destruction power that it possessed as he didn''t know how to unleash it yet.


    Besides, even if he could, he wouldn''t as he could bring about his own extinction because, the power which was something he shouldn''t come into contact with, even at the Sage Lord stage would simply reduce his body into something that would be tinier than mists of blood.


    So, he instead generated a destruction-amplification forcefield using a method that was branded in his memory upon transmission. And the reason he did this was to shatter and dispel the attacks coming towards him, annihilate the beasts, destroy the Heaven Adept and Saint stage cultivators, then grievously injure Jared and Liam.


    He actually wanted to end the battle and get the information that he needed from Jared. Play time was simply over as he had now decided to use the apocalypous divine power that he possessed on them. But this was also at a great risk to his own body. If one remembered correctly, he had once used this field to increase the shattering and disintegrating power of his scream when he once faced against Great Saint stage and Saint Emperor-stage cultivators. And that resulted in the near-total obliteration of his body. However, he took the risk and unleashed the power again.


    The forcefield which Alex had just generated would imbue any attack that he threw out with the power of destruction. It would increase the destructive power of the attack to a vast degree.


    The instant the sphere appeared, Alex''s hands which had begun to glow in a golden light as he had permeated them with strengthforce energy was brought together to produce a thunderous clap.


    "Sky-Clearing Thunderclap" He said at the same time that he clapped his hands together very hard.


    BANG!!!!


    It was like millions of thunderbolts which spanned entire skies fiercely struck out at once. The soundwaves that erupted from his hands hitting one another in the form of a clap was so deafening that it gave the absolute feeling that tens of thousands of world-sized giants would have their gigantic eardrums burst and profusely ooze out blood unstoppably.


    Once Alex clapped his hands to produce the alarming, thunderously loud, godly clap, the air around him and for tens of thousands of feet shot away from him to create an utterly massive region of vacuum around him. While the extremely large mass of air that was fearsomely and tyrannically pushed away from him by the sound waves that were produced upon his hands being powerfully hit together, turned into violent and raging, tremendously powerful wind currents that possessed great devastating capability. To give a hint on the destroying power of the enormously-sized, rampaging wind gales, if it were on the ground that such wild and immensely destructive currents of air moved on, a massive swath of land, bigger than many islands joined together, would be stripped off from the earth surface and heaved to a very great distance.


    Then moving with a visible, dark-black color as a fraction of the anciently power of Grand Destruction had been infused into them, the sound waves moved at inconceivable speeds towards the attacks unleashed by the hundreds of assembled beasts and radiated a type of crushing pressure that could seemingly cause continents to explode into smithereens.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    Therefore, like glasses, the solidified energy attacks upon coming into contact with the destruction-imbued soundwaves shattered into thousands of fragments, and then turned into numerous wisps of different types of energies that returned to the realmverse.


    As soon as the attacks that were unleashed by the beasts shattered into pieces, the entire horde of beasts that had assembled together also disintegrated, becoming mists of blood, just from the tyrannous suppressive pressure coming from the sound waves.


    Not long, no one could be seen in the air again, including Alex.

 Chapter 212: Looking for bodies

    When the calamitous events which was caused by the power of destruction that Alex released from the true god-eyes of grand destruction stopped, silence and absolute stillness returned to the area. However, the land was now a far cry to what it formerly was. Since the sound waves exuded a great pressure that would give anyone the feeling that a seemingly larger, invisible world was pressing hard against the vast area of land here, the earth explosively cracked, and then deeply sundered in thousands of places, resulting in large fissures and terrorizingly deep chasms. Also, the buildings of the organization which once stood tall and mighty had vanished. What could be seen at the spots that they formerly were, were craters. Deep ones. It was simply a sight that gave the feeling of complete ruination. It was like an angry god released his wrath upon this region.


    Then in some deep pits that were very far away from each other could be seen Alex, Jared and Liam. They were badly injured as parts of their bodies, such as their limbs, had been completely broken away. Especially Jared, he was the most affected. His legs and arms had shattered into pieces, and his chest had caved in. While large portions of the skin covering his entire delicate organs had been wickedly ripped away to reveal many of his organs and bones that had been ground into mush and powder respectively. As for Liam who was able to quickly produce nearly a hundred defensive treasure-artifacts to protect his body from the incoming devastating sound waves, was slightly spared from death by instant disintegration, and from the extreme-degree physical injuries that the pressure coming from the sound waves could possibly inflict him if it struck him. As for Alex, the injuries that he sustained resulted from the destruction amplification force-field that surfaced upon releasing just a fraction of the power of destruction of the True God-eyes of grand destruction.


    Actually, Liam and Jared were supposed to reduce into nothing because of the immense destructive power that the sound wave-attack that Alex unleashed radiated, just like their minions whose bodies couldn''t be found anywhere as they had turned into bits that couldn''t be seen with the naked eyes, except with the use of magnifying lenses. But because they were high-rank cultivators and could sense the alarming power of the sphere when it first appeared, they abruptly darted away, just before Alex could unleash the attack that he summoned the jet-black sphere of power for. Although they were still caught up in the vast aura of destructive power that the obliterating sound waves emanated, however, the tremendous destroying aura that encompassed them was weak as they had flown very far at an insane speed into a random direction. They did this with the thought that if they weren''t too deep or at the center of the aura, they shouldn''t be annihilated by the aura or pressure continuously erupting from it.


    Not long, Alex''s eyes snapped open.


    Once he regained consciousness, great pain racked his entire body.


    With continuous muffled groans as he endured the intensely excruciating pain that welcomed him upon gaining awareness by gnashing his teeth, he abruptly produced many peerless-grade healing pills from his dad''s spatial necklace.


    With flashes of resplendent light, some colored pills that emitted strongly perceptible power of regeneration in the form of waves that caused small volume of air to be pushed away and creating a small, vacuumed atmospheric region in the process, appeared in front of him in the air.


    He had actually produced several powerful, high-grade regeneration pills that he wanted to swallow. He did so to heal rapidly as he couldn''t tell if Jared and Liam had been totally destroyed by the overbearing attack that he sent out, or they were just badly damaged and knocked unconscious, and would regain consciousness anytime soon.


    Once the pills appeared, he quickly swallowed them. Then they turned into large amounts of healforce energy that rushed like raging tidal currents, due to their quantities, to every area of his body, permeating every inch of his cell and invoking instantaneous bodily regeneration. The amount of healing-energy in his body was too much that it made him swell like a blown balloon and therefore, causing him more intense pain in the process. However, the pain only appeared for an instant as it vanished as quickly as it surfaced, then in the next instant, all the areas of his body that were ripped away by the power of destruction emanating from the dark-black sphere that appeared, healed at an ungodly perverse rate. Very quickly, he was whole again.


    Then he shot out the deep hole that he was in to the earth surface using an enormous stream of fire that shot off his entire lower body at an astonishing rate. He was simply like a fuel-burning transportation shuttle because of the immense stream of flame that he rapidly, continuously discharged from his body.


    Then like a rocket, shooting very fast into the air at an unbelievable speed, he appeared on the surface of the earth. He then looked into the distance using his enhanced vision to search for two fearsome people. But he saw no one floating in the air or flying towards him. Then he made a guess that either Liam and Jared have both been destroyed by the attack, or that their bodies had been badly damaged by the terrifying, god-slaying pressure that emanated from the sound waves which carried a tremendous devastating might, and were possibly healing within one of the hundreds of large holes around him.


    He would want to be sure that they were both dead as he couldn''t leave his enemies alive, but there was absolutely no way that he could look into the hundreds of holes that surrounded him at once. It would be a greatly laborious thing to do. However, he still tried to do so.


    Death to all enemies... That was his conviction.


    Then sending strengthforce energy to his leg muscles, and activating the far-seeing ability of the Heavenly Mystery Revealment eye, he began to dash very quickly into the distance, along the way that the deep holes were made into. He had begun to search for them, for their dead bodies. And if they weren''t dead, he would complete his slaying mission by beheading them. Besides, another reason why he wanted to search for their bodies was because he needed to do one very important thing. And that was to take something from Jared which would possibly transform him and upgrade his abilities. He needed the information that Jared had. And this was the information to that unknown and unmapped land. Even if Jared was dead, Alex was sure that there would be a way to extract the information that was in his memory.


    When Alex produced the clap that brought about the apocalypse-like events, Olivia who was within the palace, which had shot very far away in another direction, to where it wouldn''t be affected by the aura and the pressure that would emit from the attack that Alex was about to send out, and still concealing itself in that same layer of void, became exceedingly shocked.


    ''So he possessed such a tremendous destructive power. Although he told me about it, I never knew that it was this powerful. No wonder he was confident about taking down the organization. Even if he couldn''t beat them, he could just simply use the apocalyptic power on them and end everything fast. Just damn. I wish I had a power like that on me too'' Olivia uttered within.


    She remained shocked by what she saw that she continually replayed in her head all the events that took place after he unleashed the attack.


    She thought that this was the core of power that Alex said he had. But she wouldn''t know that she was very wrong about her thought. This was no core of divine power, it was one of the most powerful, peerless treasure-weapon in the world. And as well, the powerful eye-organ of a primordial expert, which could unleash the true divine power of destruction. The sphere that she saw Alex produce, which was to enhance the destructive capability of his attack, was one of the function of the treasure-weapon contained in the eyes. Not an ability of the eyes. So she thought that the sphere was the divine power he was talking about.


    Then with glittering eyes, she asked into the air as she couldn''t see the palace-spirit "What''s he doing now?"


    "Perhaps searching for the bodies of the founders of the organization. If their bodies have been totally destroyed, only then would Alex come back into the palace." The palace-spirit said confidently. Then it continued "I feel that he also wants to know the region that Jared went to, and was mysteriously transported to that strange and exotic world"


    "Hmm." Olivia muttered.


    Then she asked "But why did he suddenly use the core of divine power that he possessed? He seemed to be controlling the battle field to an extent"


    She was actually enjoying the battle, so she couldn''t help but ask that question.


    "Well... No one can really tell what goes on in the mind of that boy. But he would surely have a reason for doing so."


    Then it spoke further after talking a slight pause.


    "Perhaps he just wanted to end the fight and get what he wanted from Jared. But I believe that the attack which he released wasn''t for the heaven adept stage and Saint stage cultivators. It was for Jared and his uncle. It was probably a surprise attack as there would be no way that he would be able to defeat them in battle. Besides, he was going to face large numbers of heaven adept stage and saint stage cultivators. Therefore, no matter what he would do, and no matter how exceptional his battle-power and fighting skills are, he could simply be wasted by them who wouldn''t give him breathing space, and could be cunning or mischievous in their battling ways. They would definitely not enter a clean and virtuous fight with him. They would rather use cheap and underhanded means to quickly take him down. And as for Alex, after probably fighting and killing to his fill, he just simply went on to exterminate all of them, using a tremendously powerful attack that they wouldn''t expect, and wouldn''t be able guard against on time."


    Olivia nodded her head with a glow of comprehension in her eyes.


    The palace-spirit was simply a wise ancient sage, able to tell possibly correct things due to the great wisdom and experience that it possessed.


    Then she continued to watch Alex from the screen... with adoration, love and awe in her beautiful and brightly sparkling eyes.

 Chapter 213: Liam wakes

    As Alex searched for them, Liam''s eyes suddenly snapped open where he was. Then he looked at himself and saw how badly damaged his body was. Anger blazed in his heart and he roared wrathfully to the sky.


    With a summoning thought in the next moment, a good-quality pill appeared before him. It had shot out of his spatial ring. Once it appeared, he took it and swallowed it. This then turned into healforce energy that began to circulate in his entire body, bringing regeneration to his body at a decent speed. However, because of his stage which was the Saint Emperor stage, his body''s healing ability kicked up, then he began to heal very quickly.


    When Jared first roared to the sky in an infuriated manner, Alex''s heart could almost jump out of his chest. His eyes then shone with fear. How was he going to beat Liam who was a Saint Emperor stage expert? Besides, from his roar, he could perceive a great sense of retribution in it. Liam would want to shatter him into pieces with an earth-breaking slap.


    Liam, who was healing at a rapid rate within the crater that he unconsciously fell down into when he was acted upon by the invisible pressure that could seemingly crush continents, which radiated from the sound wave, abruptly flew back into the sky.


    Although his body was racked with pains as he took into the sky, but because of his intense anger, he was numb to it. He didn''t feel the excruciating pain that racked his body as anger overclouded his senses.


    Then gazing wickedly at Alex at the high altitude that he floated at, he suddenly raised an arm and aimed it at Alex.


    Suddenly, a vast unseen power emanated from that hand and swept at high speed towards Alex who was very far in the distance, about a thousand and hundred feet away. There was this much gap between them as Liam had taken off at a tremendous speed into the distance to evade the crushing pressure that emanated from the sound-attack.


    When Liam appeared at that altitude, before he could aim his palm at Alex and produce the formless power that he sent towards him, Alex quickly expelled an enormous amount of flame from his entire lower body. Then this produced a great propulsive force that shot him straight into the sky, thereby evading the unseen power that was raging towards him to engulf him.


    Then at the high altitude that he had reached, and using his pyroforce energy which continuously ejected from his body as a massive stream of flame to surprisingly support his levitation in the air, he sent a sliver of his perception into his dad''s spatial necklace. As soon as he did so, the pattern on his chest flashed a resplendent light, then an object appeared which then rapidly shot into the sky.


    The instant that it reached the sky, it transformed into a massive layer that stretched into the far distance, for about thousands of feet. Once it turned into this layer, it hid the large clouds in the sky, and even blocked off rays coming from the sun. Actually, it had covered the sky in this region, becoming the new sky. Except that it wasn''t sky blue as that was the usual color of the sky. Instead, it consisted of many colors that radiated as luminescence from it. And this multicolored brilliance emanating from it dyed the earth and everything on it in their different colors.


    Liam was bedazzled by this.


    What a treasure!


    He was simply deeply fascinated.


    Then with an expression of intense mockery in his eyes, he waited to see what Alex was about to do.


    The treasure that Alex just produced, which was called ''Thunderous Sky'', was one of the peerless-grade, earth-rank treasures that he got from the vast room in the Silver-Violet Sword Banisher''s temple, where more than hundreds of millions of earth-grade treasure-artifacts and treasure-weapons were stored.


    But being an earth-grade treasure, it would make one to seriously wonder what he wanted to do with it. Same with Liam who had an expression of unbridled mockery in his face, and the palace-spirit, who with it knowledge and wisdom couldn''t really, exactly guess or fathom what Alex was about to do. It was simply was out of accurate speculations or definite deductions. This was because the earth-rank treasure should only be able to create earth-tier attacks. And such attacks would be like trying to tickle Liam as he was in the Saint emperor stage. The attack wouldn''t cause him to flinch. He would just keep floating there and withstand the attacks that struck him with his body alone. So this kept it wondering what Alex was about to do with it.


    Anyways, it was at alert, fully observing Liam''s motions. All it attention had now been placed on Liam, and on the aura of power emanating from his body. Once it notices him trying to do anything that could seriously harm Alex or cause his death, it would instantly teleport Alex into the palace, and then Liam too. Surprised? Since it was a sentient control-entity of the treasure-palace, and had gained some of it energy, it could use it to deploy and power the massive, energy-shooting cannon-weapons planted in the palace which had ran out of energystones. Therefore, it would make use of the control-ability that it possessed to utilize the planted, gigantic offensive weapons, and then power them with the energy that he had gradually regained to fight Liam, within the city-sized battle hall that it would teleport him to. It was going to do this just so it could slay Liam, and prevent an hidden problem for Alex as he grows mature.


    As soon as Alex produced the treasure-weapon which was in the form of a sky, and would discharge earth-tier, lightning bolt-attacks, in the next second, his body began to emit three pulses of power. He had actually summoned three saint-tier physiques. Using the intense anger that had always remained buried deep in his heart, he stimulated the physique-evocation realm-energy to produce three powerful physiques.


    Liam was just too far away from Alex, or he would have being shocked again, and then would quickly, decisively launch several immense and powerful attacks at Alex, with the thought of killing him and preventing any unfortunate, unexpected incident from happening.


    After his body burst out three auras of power which would match that of peak-phase, Saint stage cultivators, his body abruptly transformed.


    When the air-churning pulses of saint-level power began to emit from his body, the peerless-grade, earth-rank, full body armor that he wore glowed exceedingly bright for an instant, then thousands of cracks appeared all over it surface in a second before exploding into many small fragments, revealing the cloth that Alex wore before covering himself with the suit of armor. And as soon as the armor shattered explosively into millions of bits, rapid transformations that took only a few seconds to take place occurred on his body.


    At the moment, behind Alex''s back was a pair of large, violet-colored wings that each spanned thirty feet wide. But these wings weren''t made from flesh and bones. Instead, they were condensed out of a large amount of violet electricity that exuded in astounding amount from his body, giving the feeling that his body was being swallowed up by a formless, monstrous creature of violet lightning that had shot out from within him.


    However, the colossal wings that had sprouted from his back which were solidly formed from large quantities of lightniforce energy, or electroforce energy which was it alternate name in this realmverse, looked very corporeal as they began to lustre like real, polished violet metal. Then due to it dense crystalline appearance and metal-like lustrousness, it gave the feeling of unparalleled solidness and extreme-degree imperviousness. It simply looked extremely tough to break, talk more of shatter. However, despite it seemingly super-tough appearance, it was impossibly flexible. Then as they began to surprisingly flap like true wings at his back, tremendous bursts of violet lightning, which were gigantic, explosively fast streams of crackling, violet-colored electricity, shot outwards from them with each flap that they made.


    But that was not all about Alex''s near-instant transformation.


    The large amount of violet lightning that erupted from his body like he was a geyser of electricity, engulfed his body, then formed into a massive and solid lightning armor on his entire body that had hundreds of spikes, with glittering tips like actual spearheads, jut out from it. The lightniforce energy that gushed out from his body excessively and unstoppably had actually condensed into a spiked armor of electricity that caused terrifying peals of thunder to constantly ring out from him.


    However, the violet lightning armor, which was created from the compaction of the violet-colored electricity that discharged from his body and pulsated about on it, also contained a hue of jet-blackness.


    The dark-black color that could now be found on his spiked lightning armor was caused by the bodily emission of darkforce energy from his body which had changed into a phenomenal form, and then the fusion of it with his lighniforce energy.


    Being an energy that had the Power of Darkness, that was the color it produced.


    However, that was not all the colors that could be found on the solid armor of electricity. A dark purple color which belonged to deathforce energy could also be found on it, resulting in a tricolored armor of three realm-energies that possessed the attributes of Instant-Annihilation Electrocution, Vast Darkness Immersion and Shrouding, then Death respectively.


    As the armor now contained deathforce energy which was also called life-reaping or grimforce energy, the saint-level Power of Life Absorption, Decaying and Withering, began to emanate unceasingly from it.


    Alex had actually produced a multi-attributed physique called ''Unparalleled Heavenly Rebelling Lightning-Winged Death and Darkness Emperor Physique''


    Then as soon as this physique appeared, and since he had evoked the appearances of three physiques, the other two physiques surfaced too...

 Chapter 214: Alexs Hope

    Five gigantic, crystal-like orbs that emanated different colors of light suddenly appeared, then they began to rotate around him, just like how planets rotated around the sun.


    The colorful luminous orbs that had appeared and began to orbit around his figure, were objects that were actually condensed from five different types of elemental power, and these were the Power of Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Wood.


    They were actually solid condensates of arcane elemental power in the form of an orb.


    Alex had mimicked the ability of the exotic ''Beast of Five Elements'' that was in his possession.


    Since he was sure that nearly everything was possible in that realm where the limitless physiques were, he decided to produce a physique that would imitate the ability of the beast that he called Elementaria.


    As soon as the orbs appeared, they began to radiate their respective powers.


    A massive orb with a cyan color caused air to swirl at a furious speed, becoming an astonishingly massive cyclone of wind. Then apart from the enormous cyclone of wind that had sprung up, it also caused the manifestation of rampaging violent gales that swept about with immense destructive force. If they impacted a large rock at the speed and momentum that they moved at, they would simply shatter it.


    One of the five colossal orbs, which was olive-green and leaf-green in colour, plummeted to the earth from the attitude that Alex floated at, using the flight power that was now available to him since he was now temporarily at the Saint-stage cultivation realm.


    Plunging speedily to the earth from that height, it unceasingly radiated the saint-level Power of Boundless Wood Growth. Then when it shot into the earth, a vast transformation took place in the next instant as the entire earth surface glowed with the olive-green and leaf-green color that the luminescent, pulse-emanating, orb-shaped condensate of power that shot into it had. And as soon it cannoned into the earth, thousands of immense, exceedingly tall, green-colored vines that possessed near-innumerable, extremely thick branches sprouted out from deep within the earth. These had suddenly appeared from deep within the earth, in a land that had been probably ruined beyond recovery.


    A large orb with a scarlet-gold color radiated immense heat that could cause the sands on the earth to catch on fire and heat so greatly that it would become glass. The heat emitting from it was simply intense that it tried to expel the air around it to create a vacuum. However, since they were elemental powers produced by the same physique, they didn''t try to antagonize each other. The air which had formed into a massive cyclone still remained, while the extremely tall vines which possessed near-uncountable branches, didn''t catch fire and begin to combust. They were actually immune to the effects of the elemental power that was generated by the other.


    The fourth orb which was brown in color and radiated the Power of Earth Movement, caused large swath of land to be torn away from the earth and shoot at tremendous speed towards it. Anyone that saw these would have a strong feeling that these were not large pieces of land, but fast-shooting massive meteors. Although these enormous pieces of earth were stripped away from the vast land in this region, they didn''t affect the numerous towering vines whose root reached tens of thousands of meters deep into the earth.


    So in a few seconds, Large pieces of earth could be seen floating in the air, casting their shadows upon the land. However, because of the intense and brilliant scarlet-gold light emitting from the orb with the Power of Fire, which basically resembled a small sun, the land which was supposed to be darkened by the overcasted shadows of the floating, massive fragments of earth upon it, was greatly illuminated.


    Then the last orb which was deep blue in color and emanated the Power of Water Gravitation, began to pull water molecules from the extremely heated surrounding atmosphere, and then the ones at a shocking distance of about ten thousand feet away. It also affected the water bodies in the zone covered by it gravitational power as it drew them towards it. These water bodies which were small streams and ponds that could be found around in the area covered by the vast, arcane water-elemental power emitting from it, were rapidly pulled towards it. Then they merged and formed into a massive pool that floated in the air, with the orb emitting the power of Water Pull at the center of it.


    All these actually happened simultaneously. They only took a few seconds to form.


    The physique responsible for this was the ''Five-Element Ultimate Destruction Apocalypse Bringer God-Physique''.


    If one could see beyond the tricolored armor of energy on Alex''s body, one would notice the image of a ball of fire which looked like the sun, then the image of the ocean, the earth and the mountains, the forest and a cyclone on Alex''s body. Upon seeing these, one would have a feeling that these images were branded into his skin. They looked like tattoos. However, they were engravings that appeared when the five element control-physique surfaced. Then it would be more marveling to know that it was actually these symbolic images that generated the five orbs of elemental power that circled Alex''s figure.


    Alex who was observing his transformation was shocked beyond any word could possibly describe. He was deeply astonished by the phenomena that the physiques had caused.


    Anyways, that was the second physique that he produced. The last one which was the ''Nine Souls and Seven Lives Bloodharvesting Carnage God Lunar Physique'', caused the appearance of the image of an incredibly massive, white-colored bone scythe that had a immense blood-colored blade. Then a hooded but massive, headless being that wore a dark grey robe which had three moons embroidered on it and was stained with blood all over, like it was showered or splashed with blood, could be seen wielding the enormous bone scythe. Although it was only an image which was exceedingly lifelike, anyone that looked at it would feel great fear. it was really an appalling and terrifying thing to gaze at. However, although it was only an image, it still produced some spine-chilling physical effects.


    At the same time that the image surfaced behind Alex, radiating a pervading and overpowering feeling of extreme gloominess and despair, and an aura of bloodiness, evil and slaughter, a type of incorporeal or illusion-like black wave, which carried a strange form of coldness that couldn''t be described, burst out from within Alex''s body and swept out into the far distance. It actually reached where Liam, who had a deeply puzzled expression in his face, floated at.


    As soon as the black wave struck him and engulfed his figure. He shivered. Not physically. It was his soul-being that shivered.


    The coldness-carrying black wave that discharged from Alex''s body wouldn''t actually affect physical objects, it would only affect the soul. And to give a hint on the intensity of the coldness that it possessed; if it were acting on a physical object, even if it were one of the strongest substances in the world, it would instantly turn into ice and easily shatter into fragments upon being struck. So if such coldness with a tremendous freezing power acted on the soul, there was no coming back from it. It simply was the instantaneous death of the soul. But Alex hasn''t reached this stage at all as he didn''t even know how to apply such which involved deep understanding of some profound intricacies. Besides, he was only borrowing the power which would leave his body very soon.


    Very quickly, Liam recovered from the freezing effect of the coldness-bearing wave on his soul. Then he brought back the mockery smile which had disappeared from his face earlier, and was replaced with extreme astonishment due to Alex''s marveling transformation.


    But what he encountered was only the discharge of a sweeping wave of black-colored, soul-impacting lunarforce energy from Alex''s body upon transforming. It wasn''t a direct attack as he would come to know soon.


    Alex''s mind at the moment had split into many. He had entered into his multi-tasking mode.


    Then with a thought, the sky-imitating offensive treasure-weapon called ''Thunderous Sky'', suddenly shot thick bolts of lightning at Liam.


    Seeing the incoming, numerous lightning bolt-attacks, Liam smiled mockingly. Then he aimed a hand at them and sent out a telekinetic wave of devastating power at them.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    The numerous lightning bolts sent at him shattered into pieces upon being impacted by the invisible, solid telekinetic wave that Liam projected from his hand.


    As soon as the bolts shattered into millions of electrical sparks, the Thunderous Sky weapon began to glow. Then it shot massive bolts of lightning at Liam.


    Liam only shook his head at the sight of the incoming bolts.


    Then he waved his hand which resulted in the explosion of the lightning bolts attacks into thousands of fragments of lightning that crackled as they fell to the earth.


    Once he waved his hand and caused the lightning bolt attacks to be destroyed, shattering them into small bits, Liam said with sense of mockery in his tone "Kid, I believe you can do better than this. I am waiting for your ultimate attack. I hope it''s strong or you would be torn apart by me into pieces using my hands only"


    Although he was very far away from Alex, Alex could actually hear what he said. Not because he used his astonishing hearing ability, but because Liam used his Saint Emperor-level power to amplify his voice so Alex could hear what he said.


    Alex heard those and simply ignored him. And with bleeding, enlarged red eyes and bulging green veins as he tried to endure the agonizing pain that had begun to rack his body and soul, because of the triple saint-tier physiques that he had summoned, he got ready to unleash an attack that should injure Liam who was very overconfident in himself, and seemed to lower his guard. Then he hoped that he would succeed in what he was about to do very soon...

 Chapter 215: Alexs Hope II

    Then expectedly, the greatly numerous, massive fragments of earth that floated in the air around Alex, by the Power of the Earth Movement emitting from the brown orb which was a solid condensate of earth elemental power, suddenly shot out at shocking speeds towards Liam. And as they shot out at tremendous velocities towards Liam, the near-thousand, large earth fragments with surprisingly sharp edges because of the manner they were torn away from the earth began to glow in a brown color, and emanated the Power of Earth.


    They had actually been infused with large wisps of earth-power that shot towards them from the brown orb. So this increased their solidness and density to a great level. If they were like glass that could be shattered before, now, they were like tempered steel.


    At the same time that the enormous pieces of earth darted at extreme speeds towards Liam like overshooting meteors, the waters that were pulled from river, streams, ponds located at far distances away which then gathered around him and eventually merged to form an immense pool that floated beneath his feet, suddenly shot out towards Liam as huge spears and sky-concealing, thick arrows of ice; they actually hid a large stretch of the Thunderous Sky because of their numbers as they resembled a great cloud.


    Also, ice is usually white in color, but the innumerable ice arrows and spears that Alex transformed the pool of water into, which then shot towards Liam, were actually blue in color.


    The blue orb which was previously present, deep at the center of the massive, floating water pool, when large amounts of water were pulled from rivers and streams that were far away, and then merged to form the pool which it submersed itself into, was what produced the Power of Water which permeated each and every one of the ice arrows and spears generated from the pool, changing their usual white color to a mysterious deep blue.


    At the same time that the earth based-attack and water based-attack shot out, the other attacks shot out too.


    The massive scarlet-gold ball of fire which emanated a tremendously searing heat that could seemingly evaporate the entire water in a sea shot like a fired cannonball towards Liam. And as it shot out at a furious speed, it continually produced waves of intense heat that would give one the feeling that it was the sun that was being catapulted by some unimaginably huge, invisible God-being.


    The terrible cyclone of wind that had manifested, also moved along with the others at insane speed towards Liam. Rotating with extreme destructive power, and exerting a strong pulling force like it was a black hole that pulled in light, it roared like a berserk, mighty creature of wind as it swirled and moved at an high speed towards Liam.


    While the last of the element-based attacks that were generated which were the thousands of towering, massive green-colored vines with exceedingly numerous branches, unexpectedly fired their sharp-tipped, extremely long and thick, durable branches at Liam.


    Liam saw the multi-elemental attacks raging towards him and his face became solemn. Just from witnessing the attacks, he could tell that they possessed a great killing and destructive power.


    However, he was sure that they couldn''t kill him. He was a peak-phase, Saint Emperor-stage cultivator, and the incoming attacks, from the pulses of power emanating from them using his cultivation percipience ability, he was able to detect that they were half-step, Great Saint-tier attacks. Just one of his full-powered energy-attack should shatter them into pieces.


    As soon as the multi-elemental attacks shot out, the Thunderous Sky which was linked to Alex''s mind suddenly began to glow. And this time, it glowed excessively bright that it began to tremble, giving the feeling that it could collapse anytime soon.


    Alex was actually forcing the sky-mimicking, offensive treasure-artifact to yield all the lightniforce energy that it could generate.


    Now emitting many colors of light that dyed the earth in their colors, a single but continuous multicolored bolt of lightning that spanned the entire length and width of the Thunderous Sky, suddenly shot out from it towards Alex who was at it center and was now wielding The Purifier''s sword.


    Immediately he got struck by it, and unceasingly at that, like he was being attacked by an unending rampaging stream of electricity, the physique that he generated which could control lightning and thunder, effortlessly and painlessly absorbed the entire thousand-feet, rampant blast of electricity.


    Then the absorbed electricity was continuously channeled together with the violet-colored electricity that discharged from his body. This actually weaved around the absorbed lightning from the Thunderous Sky as it flowed into The Purifier''s sword that he now wielded.


    Also, the perceptible Powers of the Five Elements that continually erupted from the symbolic images that seemed to be branded into Alex''s body which was now in it super-powered form, were sent into the energy-space in The Purifier''s sword. In there, they fused together to become a single, solid condensate of power that emanated an unprecedented and unexplainable type of vastly destructive arcane power. Besides, astounding amounts of deathforce energy and darkforce energy were being pumped into the sword''s energy-space. It was like Alex wanted to fill up that space with the withering-decomposition-death realm-energy and the darkness-shrouding realm-energy that were continually pouring out from him into the sword. Then the last, which was the incorporeal, soul-freezing, jet-black lunarforce energy, was channeled in tremendous quantities, and at an astonishingly rapid rate into the sword.


    All these he did very quickly that only some seconds had passed, and yet, The Purifier''s sword now contained overly huge amounts of many type of energies, and a fused core of arcane elemental power that radiated a strange destructive power.


    When Alex finished what he was doing, and after studying Liam for a bit and noticing something, he unexpectedly rapidly shot towards him, using the fast, temporary flight-power that he now possessed as he was in the false Saint stage.


    ...........


    When Alex sent out the multi-elemental attacks, with a laugh of mockery at the far distance that he floated at, Liam aimed his palm at them. Then suddenly, as a metalforce energy-cultivator, a large stream of metalforce energy gushed out from his palm which abruptly condensed and shaped into a large solid palm that shone with metallic lustrousness, giving the feeling that it was a palm formed from real metal.


    As soon as it formed which took less than a second, it shot at a great speed towards the large cloud of ice arrows and spears that hid an area of the Thunderous Sky.


    BANGGG!!


    The palm struck them and they explosively shattered into bits.


    The cloud of icy arrows couldn''t even reduce the momentum that it came with.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    Still moving with the same speed and momentum that it initially shot out with, it continued into the distance, shattering all the attacks in it path. It was like the unstoppable, metal-like hand of an exceedingly wrathful god, as it smashed into tiny pieces everything that it came across.


    However, the attacks that Alex sent out were just just too many, so Liam would have to produce many more attacks if he wanted to destroy them. And if course, he would do so.


    As soon as he sent out that large, solid palm of metalforce energy, more metalforce energy began to rapidly and continuously gush out in great quantities from his two hands like raging streams. Then they abruptly compacted and took all forms of immense, solid shapes that shot at incredible speeds towards the attacks that Alex launched at him.


    Boom!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Loud booming sounds continuously rang out as the attacks were easily destroyed by the attacks of different shapes that Liam sent out.


    The exceedingly long and spiky branches of the towering vines that shot towards Liam to wrap him and viciously impale him with the tall needle-like projections that they had now grown, were instantly reduced into pieces by the unseen, destructive waves of compacted telekinetic power that Liam sent out from his palms.


    As for the large, scarlet-gold orb of fire that emitted intense heat that could seemingly vaporize a small sea, it tried in destroying the massive palm of metalforce energy that was shooting fearlessly towards it.


    Although the palm-attack gave signs of melting as it was now red-hot and began to yield tiny eruptions of slivers of metalforce energy which returned to the realmverse, it still tyrannically destroyed the crystal-like, scarlet-gold orb of blazing fire which exploded into a violent and raging, colossal stream of flame. It was simply like a small sun exploded.


    While the dreadful wind cyclone that sucked in everything towards it center was abruptly eliminated by the dozens of large, solid staffs of metalforce energy that were sent at it. They viciously struck it and caused it loose it form; the instant that it was heavily impacted, it funnel-shaped form was destroyed, then it also lost the arcane elemental power that kept it in the cyclone form, as it turned back into winds that scattered away as strong blasts of air in every directions.


    Haha!!


    Liam laughed raucously.


    He was simply enjoying how he was destroying Alex''s attacks which he once slightly dreaded earlier.


    Then recalling that, he became angry at himself for actually being slightly fearful of the quasi-half step, Great Saint-tier attacks that Alex sent out, whilst in the peak-phase, Saint Emperor stage.


    Shaking his head disappointedly, he watched to see what Alex would do next. He wanted to see if Alex could come up with an attack that would cause him to spurt blood from his mouth. He wanted to see the marveling attacks that Alex would unleash again. Also, he thought of the earlier dark-colored sphere that surfaced around Alex, and boosted the destructive capacity of his powered clap to primordial god-levels. Then he guessed that Alex had used up that power since he didn''t unleash it again.


    At this point in time, he felt very relaxed, and not in any way tense, as his attacks effortlessly shattered Alex''s numerous fearsome attacks, and still continued into the distance with the same momentum that they shot out with. Then also because of his thought that Alex had definitely ran out of that damaging capacity-augmentation, black-colored sphere of destruction-permeating power. However, what he didn''t know was that Alex could continue to unleash the power for as many times as he likes. It was just that he didn''t want to as it always shattered parts of his body into pieces. It was greatly stressing and straining to use the power that would crush his body into fragments and cause him intense pain.


    So unknowing to Liam, he had subconsciously lowered his guard, which was what Alex waited for in the distance with the new multi-attributed, fused attack that he had prepared, and was using the far-seeing power of the Star-Gazing eyes to study him.


    Then having observed him for a bit, and then felt that it was time, he suddenly dashed towards Liam.... With a blazing hope that he would successfully slay him. And by successfully, he meant that ''without him sustaining fatal injuries.''

 Chapter 216: The killing stab

    Liam who was expecting Alex to continue sending attacks at him saw Alex suddenly fly over.


    Then with a vicious smile in his face, he awaited Alex''s nearness to him. And when he saw the appalling physical condition of Alex''s body, the vicious smile in his face grew wider.


    He then had a thought that Alex was definitely suffering from using an incredible external power that he borrowed to unleash the earlier, quasi-Great Saint physical attacks that he sent out at him.


    Haha!!


    An unbridled raucous laughter suddenly rang out from him, just at the thought that he would kill, possibly the strongest genius of the organization that sent him.


    At first, he thought that Alex was some old cultivator inhabiting the body of a young boy. But looking beyond that after observing a few things, he discovered that Alex was no old cultivator, but actually a boy that possessed some insane battle-methods and perverse combat skills.


    So, floating calmly where he was, he waited for Alex to get closer to him. He would love to see the new skills that Alex would unleash in his abysmal physical condition.


    As Alex dashed in the air at a blazing speed towards Liam with a serious and mischievous gaze present in his eyes, the Thunderous Sky that concealed a large stretch of the actual sky, moved along with him. And as it moved with Alex who was at it center, it unendingly shot thick bolts of lightning like a torrential rain at Liam whose face was full of alternating calm and mocking expressions.


    Also, he noticed the different waves of power emitting from the Purifier''s sword that Alex wielded, but he didn''t actually pay it much attention. This was because the ripples of power that continuously discharged from the sword and caused the air around it to violently churn was just at the Great Saint level. And since he was at the Saint Emperor stage, the vacuuming waves of the different forms of power that unceasingly emanated from within a space in the silver-colored, saber-like curved sword that Alex tightly grasped with seemingly unshakable resolution, shouldn''t cause him to be despaired, gloomy or become solemn. He just couldn''t be frightened or seriously alarmed by the continuously emitted rippling waves of power. Besides, in his sight, Alex was just like a wounded little child that wanted to get back at a towering, vicious adult with a small knife. However, one should be able to know the end of such; only a gruesome death awaited the child.


    Besides, what could Alex do with the sword when he got in front him? Nothing exactly, he thought. He could just lock Alex up in space using his telekinetic power to restrain and restrict his movement. And then cause him to burst into mists of blood by making the telekinetic field that had engulfed his figure and limited his movement, to compress or contract, thereby reducing it area and causing Alex who wouldn''t be able to withstand the abrupt, excessive compression of the field to explode into bits of flesh and fragments of bones.


    Not long, Alex got to a few feet in front of him.


    Once Alex got to his front, Liam aimed his fully stretched hand out at him. Then an unseen force that could act on physical objects, suddenly discharged from his palm and engulfed Alex.


    Hahaha!


    He grinned evilly.


    "Don''t I have you in my trap now?" He asked.


    But Alex who was exceedingly pressed for time couldn''t respond. Then in the next instant, as the actual reply to Liam''s question, the image of the immense, hooded headless figure that wielded the white-colored bone scythe that had a blood-red blade suddenly appeared behind him. But this time, the image actually came to live. But it was suddenly. Then unexpectedly, it abruptly lifted the gigantic bone scythe whose blood-colored blade spanned many hundreds of feet above it head. Then it swung down against Liam''s head.


    Liam''s eyes widened in surprise and fear. Then he quickly fired an abruptly-shaped, solid palm of metalforce energy at the scythe that was swinging down like an ax and with a lot of force towards his head.


    However, the palm attack that he sent out surprisingly passed through the scythe. The reasons for this were because the scythe couldn''t be affected by physical objects, as it was formed from an energy called imageforce energy; a type of realm-energy that produced infinite silhouettes or images. It was an energy that could instantly create unlimited forms of diagrams, pictorial representations of anything that the cultivator imagines or visualizes.


    But for the Nine Souls and Seven Lives Bloodharvesting Carnage God Lunar physique, the image of the dreadful figure that surfaced behind Alex was permanent. It couldn''t be changed to another image or silhouette as it was the signature image of the lunar-based physique.


    The second reason was because of the numerous slivers of phantasmforce energy that it possessed. As a type of realm-energy that created near-realistic illusions, it made Liam think that the image suddenly gained life and tried to strike him with the blade of the scythe that it wielded. When actually, the image was still, not moving, as it was a solid image. The enormous scythe that was powerfully cutting through the air at a great speed towards him to seemingly cut him in halves from his head downwards wasn''t actually true. There was no scythe moving towards him. It was simply a strongly persistent illusion; as it didn''t instantly vanish before the eyes of Liam, who was at the Saint Emperor stage, while being a Great Saint-tier illusion. Although he would know about this later, but it would be too late by then.


    So, since there was no scythe as it was only an illusion, the attack that Liam sent out only shot through the air and off into the far distance, since there was no obstruction in it way, or anything solid and coming in the opposite direction in it path that it could tyrannically impact.


    All these made Liam lose his control over the telekinetic field that he produced which enveloped and constricted Alex''s figure.


    Once Liam totally removed his concentration from the telekinetic field that he projected outwards to spatially cage Alex, so that he could block or push back the illusionary scythe swinging hard towards him, Alex who was enduringly and painfully waiting for this moment, instantly sent out a rapid and continuous massive blast of soul-freezing, lunarforce energy from his entire body at him.


    The unceasing, tremendous blast of lunarforce energy that discharged from his body was like a raging and violent stream of compacted black water. That was the way it would be portrayed to anyone that observed this from several feet away.


    Once the energy struck Liam, it penetrated into his body and into his soul where it tried to freeze Liam''s soul-being.


    Although Liam could resist the absolute freezing intent of the lunarforce energy on his soul because of the cultivation stage that he was in, but because the rampaging stream of this energy that impacted him was vastly sized and unending, he couldn''t quickly break out from the effect of the energy.


    Therefore, this gave Alex the chance that he desired.


    Swoosh!


    He instantly shot towards Liam who was recovering from the freezing intent of the lunarforce energy that continually bombarded his soul.


    Although Liam noticed this, but before he could aim a palm out at Alex who was already in front of him and release the caging telekinetic field again to trap him and bring about his explosion into mists of blood, Alex suddenly stabbed deep into him with the sword, but with minimal effort as The Purifier''s sword was exceedingly razor-sharp.


    Then as soon as he wickedly impaled Liam with the sword at the left side of the chest, accurately piercing through his heart organ and cutting them into two, he caused all the stored, compacted energies, and the fused condensate of power to be entirely and violently released in an instant.


    BOOOOMM!!


    Like several stacked, massive bombs that detonated at once, numerous devastating energies exploded outwards from Liam''s body.


    The simultaneous deafening explosions were very powerful that they seemingly caused the sky to shake, and then instantly created a large spherical region of vacuum around Liam as they pushed the air for hundreds of feet in his vicinity away and into the far distance in every paths. And as the energies bursted out from the impaled sword like actual explosions from detonated bombs, they dyed the Thunderous Sky in their many colors and produced several destructive waves that swept horizontally and vertically into the far distance in all directions.


    Then if one observed the rampaging streams of energies that had now concealed the Thunderous Sky, one would see an astonishing amounts of lightning bolts that shot in every direction, illuminating everywhere in it color. It could simply be described as a small, exceedingly turbulent sea of electricity. While the other energies which were deathforce energy and darkforce energy, existed as immense clouds that had suddenly, explosively surfaced from within Liam.


    Then at the same time that those energies rushed into the air like they were extremely furious floods, a massive, five-colored, solid beam of unparalleled destructive power, shot out from within the sword and in every direction, radiating crushing pressure and the power of ruination. It simply gave the feeling that it was a devastating, rippling berserk energy that shone with a multicolored radiance and was unleashed by a god.


    Many moments later...


    Calmness returned to the air. Then The Purifier''s sword could be seen stabbing into a deep crater in the earth.

 Chapter 217: Thats how a good wife should behave

    Olivia who was watching everything that was happening through the projection screen, suddenly had her heart tighten when she saw Alex dash towards Liam. She couldn''t believe what Alex set out to do.


    Then it could almost burst out of her chest when Alex was invisibly grabbed by the telekinetic power that Liam released from his palm. And just when the palace-spirit that was also watching everything from the screen would do something, they suddenly saw Alex drive the sword that he tightly wielded directly into the chest of Liam.


    Then shock appeared in their faces. They couldn''t understand how Alex was able to pull that off.


    They couldn''t comprehend what really happened, since the stubborn and persistent power of illusion that emanated from the phantasmforce energy wasn''t acting on them, only on Liam.


    They only saw the massive dreadful image that surfaced behind Alex, but it was only in Liam''s vision that the image seemed to suddenly gain life and then tried to strike him with the massive scythe that it wielded.


    From the screen, they saw fear suddenly surface in the face of Liam who then quickly shot a palm-shaped attack into the air. Then they wondered why he would abruptly produce an attack and direct it into the air. He basically fired his attack at nothing. As this kept them wondering, the palace-spirit eyes glowed.


    It felt that it had understood the reason why Liam suddenly shot an attack into the air.


    Then when the multiple loud explosions took place, which were the abrupt, violent releases of compressed realm-energies, their eyes both glittered in astonishment.


    What alarming amount of energies!


    "Is he dead now?" Olivia asked into the air.


    She was directing her question into the air since she couldn''t see the palace-spirit.


    "He should be dead" The palace-spirit replied. Then it continued "I don''t think he would be able to withstand such multiple blasts of tremendous energies from within his body. He would certainly be killed by that"


    "Hmm" Olivia nodded.


    ...........


    Before the explosions could take place, Alex who had endured the pain to his limit quickly reverted to his normal form.


    Then losing the flight-power that he initially possessed because of the Saint cultivation stage that he was temporarily in, he made a free fall to the earth. And as he plummeted to the earth, the forces that were produced by the powerful blasts of energies that were unleashed from the sword, struck him hard where he had reached as he fell freely, and then increased his plummeting speed to the cratered and fissured earth.


    Argh!!


    He screamed out in pain when he became struck by the force-waves that were produced from the terrifying blasts.


    However, still retaining a bit of consciousness, but coughing out blood because of the rupturing shockwaves of the blasts that transmitted to his body as he wasn''t wearing a protective armor, he quickly produced another sky-rank treasure-wing which he tried to use to land slowly and safely to the earth because of his accelerated free-fall.


    But in the end, he lost the shred of consciousness that he clung on to and fainted.


    .......


    Once the destructive blasts took place, The Purifier''s sword fell to a large crater in the earth and stabbed deep into it.


    Then in another crater in this region could be seen Jared''s gruesomely wounded body. It was like the skin that covered his delicate organs were ripped away just to reveal them. It was really a greatly disturbing thing to see. But at the moment, one wouldn''t be able to tell if he was still alive or already dead.


    When Alex shot the massive, orb-shaped condensate of the Power of Wood into the earth, which then caused the mysterious, accelerated growths of thousands of gigantic vines, many of the thick branches of some vines that didn''t possess tall, spiny projections wrapped around Jared to protect his body from the various rampaging waves that might erupt from their attacks'' point of collisions. Also, when the swaths of earth were torn away from the land and pulled into the sky to float around Alex, the one that Jared was on wasn''t stripped away. Alex had left that portion alone so that Jared''s already badly damaged body wouldn''t sustain further damages that could result in his death.


    If Alex didn''t do these, Jared could have actually died, and he wouldn''t be able to get what he wanted from Jared, which was the location of the cave that moved Liam through space to a region that couldn''t be found anywhere in this planeverse that he was in.


    At this point in time, Alex was already unconscious, but he floated in the air by the Power of Flight that the treasure-wing produced.


    Then in the next second, space suddenly warped around his body, which then vanished from where it was and appeared in a hall in the palace. And as soon as it appeared in that particular hall, it began to float in the towering hall that it was teleported to.


    A telekinetic power then acted on him, pulling his floating unconscious body from the air to the floor of the hall.


    Olivia who had a slightly worried expression in her face quickly came over to his side and helped him removed the treasure-wing that tried to lift Alex back into the air.


    Once it was removed, the treasure-wing took back into the air and continued to float. While Olivia tended to Alex''s wounds by giving him pills that would heal the excessive tears and strains that he had sustained upon using the three powerful physiques that he summoned.


    Then when a large bed suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the hall, Olivia carried him in her dainty but strong arms, and placed him on the bed that had surfaced in the hall. And when she gently placed him on the bed, she looked at him lovingly for sometime. Then she requested for a bucket filled with water from the palace-spirit.


    "Oh! Do you think that this palace would actually have that?" The palace-spirit asked.


    "Palace-spirit, please! I want to use it for the sole successor of your Master''s legacy" Olivia said.


    Olivia couldn''t see the palace-spirit, or she would have seen the smirk expression in it face.


    Then in the next second, a bucket containing water appeared before Alex.


    As soon as it appeared, Olivia stripped off a small piece of the shirt that she wore. Then she immersed it into the water in the bucket. And after the small piece of cloth became soaked, she pulled it out, squeezed it, and then began to use it to wipe away the blood on his face and on his body.


    She then tore away Alex''s shirt too and used the wet piece of her cloth in her hand to clean his bloodied chest.


    It was here that she clearly saw the impressive muscular build of Alex''s upper body. When they were in the water in the stream back at Nailah''s village and were having a romantic session, she didn''t really pay attention to this. But now that she saw his chest muscles which gave the feeling that they were sculpted, and his ripped abs which would make one think that they were carved, she couldn''t help but marvel at their sights.


    "What well-defined chest and abdominal muscles" Olivia said, with eyes glittering astonishingly and brightly at what she was seeing.


    She couldn''t help but touch his chest and press it like she was pressing boobs. And if not that the palace-spirit would be watching her, she would definitely slip her hand into his trousers and touch the organ at his groin region which bulged from his trousers.


    Then a wide smile appeared on her lips, and pinkness on her face as she blushed because of what she thought.


    As she continued to wipe his face and body, Alex''s eyelids trembled for sometime before it snapped fully open.


    Once his eyes opened wide, Olivia looked at him and grinned.


    "You are finally awake. I thought that you wouldn''t wake in a very long time" She said.


    Alex only smiled.


    Then when he looked at himself, he became surprised.


    "You were cleaning me up?" He asked.


    Olivia grinned again.


    "Of course I should. That''s how a good wife would behave" She replied.


    Alex''s eyes widened in surprise.


    "So, you have accepted to be mine now?" He asked.


    "Come off that, Alex. I have long accepted to be yours. I was only angry at you then for what you did to me. But I have forgiven you and would accept any punishment that I am given by my family, and by the institution that I study at, if it was later discovered that I am no longer holy" Olivia said with a smile. But a sense of sadness could be perceived from her smile.


    Alex heard what she said and saw her smile, and then became unhappy. He too wasn''t happy with what really happened back then. He still felt guilty in his heart for what he did to her. But he couldn''t be faulted.


    Then he asked "Must you return? Why don''t you leave together with me and journey the world with me? Together, we are powerful and would surmount every obstacle that we would come across."


    It was Olivia''s eyes that widened in shock this time around.


    "No. I can''t do that" She hurriedly said. Then she spoke further "I certainly can''t leave my family. They would be heartbroken"


    Alex shook his head with a wide smile hung on his face.


    "I am not saying that you should leave your family totally. What I meant is that you should leave them for a very long time. And then later, when you are very strong, you can return." He said.


    Olivia shook her head.


    "I will think about that" She said.


    Then she gazed at the projection screen. In it could be seen Jared''s terribly wounded body.


    "So, what are you going to do about that one?"

 Chapter 218: Forcing out the information

    Alex then looked at the screen.


    "Well, I am going to find a way to get the information that he knows." Alex replied.


    "Alright" Olivia said. Then she continued "But would he give that to you? He might even try to kill himself so that you wouldn''t get the information to that place"


    "Hmm" Alex uttered. Then he said "You are right about that, Olivia. But I would try to make sure he doesn''t do that"


    Now gazing into the air in a random direction, he said out loud "Palace-spirit, please bring the body of that man into the hall."


    "Alright" The palace-spirit said.


    Then in the next instant, space warped around Jared''s body which then vanished from the spot that it was, and appeared in the palace hall that Alex and Olivia were in.


    As soon as he appeared, a telekinetic power acted on him which kept him afloat in the air and restrained his movement. Then Alex came to his side and fed him many Great Saint-rank healing pills.


    Immediately Jared was given the regeneration pills, his body started to rapidly produce cells which turned into tissues that became his skin and covered his exposed delicate organs. His hair regrew, his fingernails and toenails that had removed resurfaced, short hairs grew out of the pores of his new skin, his teeth regrew.


    While the organs in his body which had sustained damages, and the bones of his body which had shattered due to the emanated crushing force, quickly healed. They had once turned into mush, and his bones into pieces. But now, his many organs that had pulverized into bits or flattened because of the suppressive pressure, turned back into organs, while the broken and shattered pieces of bones rapidly reattached to each other like small pieces of metal that were attracted to a magnet. Then the many lines at which they rejoined quickly faded away.


    Alex noticed the quick regeneration and waited for Jared to wake up.


    Not long, Jared eyelids trembled before it snapped open.


    He saw where he was and who was in front of him, then his eyes began to radiate killing intent.


    But just when he would go at Alex to crush him with his hands, he discovered that some form of unseen force had engulfed his entire body and bound him fixedly in place.


    "Kid, where''s my uncle?" Jared asked.


    "Your uncle? Oh, so that was your uncle. Well, I am sorry. He couldn''t make it. He died by the hands of a boy" Alex said with a faked sad expression in his face.


    "Bastard, what did you do to him?! Where is he?!!" Jared asked again. This time he shouted in anger.


    "Hey stupid, keep your voice low." Alex said. Then he continued "I see you are not the very intelligent type. You must have muscles for brains. I just said that your uncle couldn''t make it. Yet, you kept bothering me with a question that I have already answered."


    Once Alex said that, Jared''s eyes glowed with a light of unbounded fury. If he could shoot off the anger burning in his eyes as energy beams, it would turn Alex into nothing and destroy the entire world.


    Alex saw the wrath in his eyes and gave a smile.


    "Damn! I have never seen anyone as angry as you before. You would certainly pounce on me and reduce me into bits if I ever released you from the invisible constraints that''s binding you in place. But why would I want do that?" Alex said with a smile. Then he spoke further with seriousness appearing on us face "Anyways, why I gave you healing pills so that your wounds could heal is because I want an information from you, which I believe you already know what it is. So, if you want me to be happy with you, just tell me the information that I want. Please"


    Gahahahahaha


    Jared laughed raucously.


    "Information? Give it to you so that you would be happy with me? Hahaha! Funniest thing that I have ever heard. You are a bastard. If I eventually get rid of the binds keeping me in place, you are doo..."


    Jared couldn''t complete what he wanted to say as a hand suddenly struck the side of his face and caused a loud wack sound to ring out.


    Alex had actually slapped Jared hard in the face.


    "Damn. It feels so good slapping a cultivation senior. Sincerely senior, it felt really good. And I would like to give more slaps like that. So, don''t give me the information that I want. Please!" Alex said imploringly and with a delighted grin.


    After Jared regained his senses from the unexpected, bedazzling slap that Alex gave him in the face, he roared in exceeding anger.


    "HOW DARE YO¡ª?!!!" He tried to question with a very loud and extremely infuriated voice.


    Wack!


    Another slapping sound rang out.


    Alex slapped Jared in the face again. And this time, a small amount of saliva and several tooth flew off from his mouth and into the distance like fired projectiles.


    "Mister, that is not the answer to the question that I asked you. And from your behavior, it seems that you are enjoying the slaps that I am giving you. I might as well increase the amount of slaps so you would have a good time" Alex said with a cheerful and generous smile.


    Olivia looked at Alex with a smile and shook her head. She didn''t say anything. She just continued to observe from the side.


    After Jared was slapped again, his eyes shone with great wrath. He really wanted to break out of the restrictive force that kept him bound in one place. He also wanted to slap Alex back for slapping him. It was really an insult that he had never ever received in his life.


    To be slapped again and again by a kid that he was thousands of years older than, and was senior to in cultivation, had made him extremely angry. Even when he was a mortal, before he became a cultivator, he had never received such things as slaps before. And this pained him to the bottom of his heart.


    Alex could exactly guess what was going on in jared''s heart. He knew that Jared would be extremely furious at him for continually giving slaps. But he just didn''t care, as within the halls of this palace, he was a king, an Overlord. Anybody that was brought into the palace would have to do his bidding. Besides, Jared was his enemy. So he basically enjoyed what he was doing to him, throwing out slaps at him like he was giving out money.


    "Mister, you are wasting my time. So for that..."


    Wack!


    A slap sound rang out.


    Wack!


    Another rang out again.


    AHHHHH!


    Jared bellowed furiously.


    Wack!


    "Keep your voice low, Mister! You aren''t in one of your halls. Shout again, I whack you hard in the face with my hand. And if you don''t give me the response that I want, I will double whack you in the face. Then if you waste my time, I will triple whack you" Alex said with a somewhat friendly smile.


    Jared''s breathing then became wild. He began to breathe like a furious dragon.


    From the way that he inhaled and exhaled, and from the intense redness of his eyes, one could say he was the most angered person in the realmverse.


    Jared was so angry that he wished his breath would become invincible iron spears that would impale Alex in the heart and in the brain.


    "Come on, just tell me what I want to know already. Stop this humiliation" Alex said. Then he asked, with an enjoying smile in his face "In what region would the cave you entered be found?"


    "Go to hell. May you die a thous..."


    Wack!


    Ahhhhh!


    "I swear, I will kill yo¡ª"


    Wack!


    Wack!


    Alex quickly sent out three dazing slaps in rapid succession using the front and back of his hand.


    "I believe that was very refreshing and energizing, right? So Mister, you were saying?" Alex questioned with a smile.


    Jared whose face was slapped hard that his head turned to look in the direction that the slap was going to, and felt like as if his cheeks were burning, could almost cry from the way that he suffered in Alex''s hand.


    Seeing Jared''s glistening eyes, Alex said "You wanna cry now?! Hahaha! You haven''t seen a thing man. Don''t give me the information that I want, and you shall immersed in a world full of brain-shaking slaps. You just continue being stubborn".


    With a sense of unfathomable furiousness in his tone, Jared asked "Do you think that your slaps would make me spit out the information? Do your possible worst, you will only get nothing. I would rather die with the information than give it to you." Jared said.


    Alex exhaled deeply and in a somewhat frustrated manner when Jared said that.


    "Well, I can only beat you till you give me what I want." Alex said. "It''s also great that you are not a body cultivator, or I would have been really frustrated"


    Then suddenly, a beam of resplendent light shot off from the spatial ring worn on his finger. And when one looked into the air to see what had come out from his spatial ring, one would see a glowing treasure-whip which Alex caught in his hand and tightly grasped. Then upon activation, blue electricity could be seen arcing about on the surface of the treasure-whip. Besides, as the whip had electricity pulsate unendingly about it, it emitted an aura of slaughter and sharpness.


    Jared looked at it and became filled with dread.


    Then when he looked at Alex and saw the type of smile that had appeared in his face, he couldn''t help but have chills move down his spine.

 Chapter 219: More wealth

    "What? You are going to whip me with that?" Jared asked loudly and with anger strongly blazing in his eyes.


    Aii!


    Alex gave a sigh.


    "I was indeed right. You have muscles for brain." He said. Then he continued as he asked "Am I going to whip you with this? Of course, I am gonna whip you with it. I am going to whip you so hard that the memories you have of your mother will leap out of you, you damned musclebrain"


    Then suddenly,


    Pa!


    A lash sound rang out as Alex whipped Jared on his bare chest.


    But surprisingly, Jared didn''t scream out in pain. It was like the whip had no pain-inflicting effect on him. However, one would know that he was suffering as his eyes became red and veins could be seen bulging from his temples.


    He was actually trying to endure the intense pain that racked his body which was as a result of being lashed.


    "Hmm" Alex muttered with a smile upon noticing this.


    "I can see that you have an astounding threshold for pain. Let us see if I can overcome that threshold by whipping you without stop." He said with a grin.


    "Don''t you dar..."


    Pa!


    Pa!


    Pa!


    Arghh!


    Pa!


    Pa!


    "How does it feel? Feels exceedingly good right? Should I continue?" Alex questioned with a smile in his face.


    At this moment, Jared''s body had begun to bleed badly. One would see many long and bone-deep wounds on his body. They had been caused by the whip that emitted an aura of sharpness and had electricity arc and crackle around it surface.


    Hearing no response from Jared for the question that he asked, Alex gave a wicked smile.


    Pa!


    Pa!


    Pa!


    Whipping sounds continued to ring out as Alex started to lash out at Jared again. While Jared who felt terribly humiliated started to scream in pain as he was lashed hard with the electrocuting sharp whip.


    After several minutes of tyrannous whipping, Jared''s body became a far cry to what it usually was.


    Many pieces of flesh could be seen hanging about on his body. Then long, frightening wounds would be noticed on every area of his chest and abdomen. While the wounds that Alex had made into his body using the sharpness-emitting whip began to ooze blood or spurt blood like a fountain. Then a few seconds later, Jared became covered in his own blood.


    Intense pain and anguish could be seen in his eyes, but he continued to endure the lashing.


    Few hours later, Alex stopped whipping him.


    "So, ready to tell me what I want to know?" He asked calmly.


    "You can go to hel..."


    Before Jared could complete his speech, Alex unexpectedly dashed towards him and smacked him hard in the face. And before Jared could gaze spitefully at Alex for hitting him in the face, Alex smacked him again with his other hand.


    Then he deeply dipped his fingers into one of his many severe, lash wounds, and applying force, he tore away a large piece of Jared''s flesh.


    Arghhhhh!!!!


    Jared screamed horribly.


    Ignoring his bloodcurdling screech of pain, Alex swung his leg hard towards Jared''s groin region.


    Argh!!


    Jared shrieked in pain again as the leg that came with a lot of force struck his reproductive organ very hard. And after Jared opened his mouth to screech in agony, Alex spat into it and elbowed him hard in the face.


    After he did this, he stopped and left Jared''s front.


    "This is how you would continue to be beaten and humiliated if you don''t give me what I want" Alex said coldly. Then he spoke into the air "Palace-spirit, take him away. Put him in a cage that a pressure that he had never felt in his life should act on him. I want him to suffer till he''s ready to tell me what I want."


    "Alright" The palace-spirit said.


    Then space warped around Jared''s body.


    Once space distorted around his figure, he vanished from the hall and appeared in a gigantic cage.


    As soon as he appeared, a great suppressive pressure that was equal to that which would be fully released by a peak-phase, Saint Emperor-stage cultivator suddenly appeared and acted on him.


    The pressure which possessed an exceeding crushing power, pressed Jared hard to the floor of the cage that in the next instant, many cracks began to appear on his bones, and numerous vicious tears on his skin.


    Jared wanted to open his mouth to scream out in pain, but he couldn''t, as the pressure acting on him was too overwhelming and tyrannical.


    Olivia who was watching everything from the side shook her head in dread and veneration.


    Alex was simply really ruthless to his enemies and to people that he didn''t like. So she felt.


    She then replayed again in her mind all that Alex did to Jared and couldn''t help but shake her head.


    Anyone who was Alex''s enemy and was unfortunately caught, such person was in it.


    Alex looked at her and she gave a smile. Although she tried to hide the fear and respect in her eyes, Alex could still sense it.


    Noticing from Alex''s gaze that he had discovered the expression in her eyes which she tried to conceal, she said "What? Why the look?"


    "Nothing. I was just admiring your beauty and perfection. You are simply just one of the many beautiful things that has happened to me." Alex said with an affectionate smile.


    Then he walked towards Olivia who blushed from what he said, and before she could say anything, Alex suddenly embraced her and abruptly took her succulent, bright pink lips into his.


    Her eyes widened in shock.


    ''Not in front of the palace-spirit, you asshole'' She complained bitterly in her mind.


    Then she tried hard to pull out from his embrace so that she could terminate the sudden kissing session that Alex had unexpectedly started.


    However, she couldn''t do so as Alex''s powerful arms were tightly wrapped around her waist, preventing her from pulling out of his embrace.


    After struggling for sometime and seeing that she wouldn''t be able to pull out of his embrace to stop the kiss, she surrendered to him.


    After a while, Alex released her.


    Once he released her from his tight hug, Olivia hit him on the chest.


    "Alex, you are too bad for my liking. I don''t love you anymore. I would rather find a man that wouldn''t be so forceful around me" Olivia said with an angry expression in her face, but deep down in her heart, she enjoyed how Alex tightly embraced her and gave her a delighting kiss.


    "Well, you should have understood me by now. I am bad, naughty, and I love forcing my way through things" Alex said calmly and with a cute smile in his face.


    When Alex intentionally said the last part of his sentence which was ''I love forcing my way through things'', Olivia''s eyes narrowed.


    She understood what he meant by that.


    Gazing at him with an eye expression that gave the feeling that she really wanted to beat him up, she said out loud "Bastard!".


    Then she left his side.


    Alex only grinned.


    Then looking into the air, he said "Palace-spirit, please use your spatial power to bring me the silver sword and Jared''s uncle spatial ring"


    "Alright" The palace-spirit said.


    Then the palace which had been hidden in a layer of void for a very long time resurfaced. And as soon as it appeared, a vast Power of Space erupted from it. This power of space encompassed the entire region. And once it did so, all the spatial rings of the destroyed Earth Adept, Heaven Adept, and Saint stage cultivators which were at the bottoms of the many huge and extremely deep craters, were rapidly teleported into the palace. Same with the Purifier''s sword and Jared''s spatial ring.


    As soon as they were all teleported away from the gigantic craters that they were in, they appeared in the palace hall, forming a really large heap of spatial rings.


    Alex saw the tremendous numbers of spatial rings and gave a brilliant smile.


    He knew what caused the rings to be way more than what he expected.


    The numerous buildings that he levelled with the destruction-imbued, powered clap-attack, actually had their own vaults of treasures in which spatial rings that contained numbers of resources from places that were raided were kept in them.


    He had only stolen the ones from just a building, and that was the main one that Jared and Liam resided in. But there were other large buildings here and they also had storage rooms where treasures and resources gotten from raids were kept in.


    Another reason why the spatial rings in front of Alex were enormous in quantities, was because of Jared and Liam both had their own rooms were they kept spatial rings that contained many of their wealth which were acquired from their thousands of marauding and pillaging operations. One must not forget that they were experts at the Great Saint stage and Saint Emperor stage. And as experts at these cultivation stages, they would have raided many places in their lifetime which were a thousand and ten thousand years respectively. Therefore, since the personal spatial rings that they would have on them were good-quality ones, which wouldn''t have much storage space or size to accommodate other treasures because of their grades, their immense accumulations would be divided amongst the other spatial rings that they kept in their personal storage rooms.


    When Alex finished thinking about that, he realized that he was more richer. However, he knew that the accumulations that he had just obtained were either average-quality or good-quality treasures and resources. Nothing to be too excited about. But he believed that some rare or exotic resources, and marveling treasure-artifacts would be found in a few of the rings, especially in those that belonged to Jared and Liam.


    After looking at them with blazing delight in his eyes, he swept them into his dad''s spatial necklace.


    Then he said in the air once more.


    "Palace-spirit, let''s return. We are done here"

 Chapter 220: New aliases

    "Alright" The palace-spirit said.


    Then the Power of Space shot out as a focused massive beam from the palace''s roof.


    Shooting into the sky, it made a large hole there.


    When the large hole which was a portal to another region was made into the sky by the fired beam possessing space-laceration power, the palace immediately shot into it before it could heal up. Then when it came out of the spatial hole, it appeared in Nailah''s village.


    A few moments after it appeared in this region, Alex and Olivia appeared. They had been teleported away from the palace which was a request of Alex.


    "We are back" Alex said to Olivia with a smile. Then he continued "Time to bring the villagers out"


    Olivia nodded.


    Then producing a treasure which looked like a miniaturized apartment building in one of his hands, he projected a thought command into it. And this command was that it should teleport the villagers it contained outside.


    As soon as the apartment-treasure received Alex''s thought-instruction, it glowed brightly for a brief period of time before rapidly dimming.


    When the apartment-treasure first produced the brilliant resplendent light, space distorted around the both of them. Then when the emitted resplendent light abated, hundreds of people suddenly appeared around them.


    These were the villagers.


    They had been teleported away from the hundreds of massive rooms possessed by the treasure-apartment that they were in.


    Once they appeared, they looked around and then at Alex and Olivia. Then very quickly, they fell on their knees and began to thank the both of them.


    Although they saw how the land of their village now looked, they just couldn''t be saddened by it. They would manage it new form for the rest of their lives. And since he had brought them out of the building-treasure that he initially kept them, then that meant he had wiped their enemies away.


    They knew of course that he wouldn''t bring them out even if just one of the people that were after them was still around.


    So, since he had brought them out, he had killed and disposed off their adversaries.


    They knew this and so fell to thee knees to thank him with all of their hearts.


    Alex smiled at what they did. Then he shook his head.


    "Hey folks, what''s this you are doing? Please, get up" He said.


    Although he said that, no one got up.


    It was like they hadn''t thanked him enough.


    "Folks, come on. I said stand up!" He said with a loud voice.


    Then it was only now that the people stood to their feet.


    Alex looked at them and grinned.


    "You shouldn''t do that. It was nothing." He said. Then he continued "I believe you know why I have brought you all out? That''s because I have eliminated your foes. They are all dead now. So you can all go back and continue to do the things that you all loved to do."


    Hearing that which was a confirmation to what they initially thought, the men nodded their heads with gladness. While the women and girls began to dance happily.


    After Alex said that, he looked at the land and shook his head.


    "Don''t worry about your land. I would do something to fix it bad shape. Even if I can''t bring it back to it previous form, it would still manageable for your various needs. Then about your homes which have been destroyed in the numerous fights, together with me, we can all fix that too." He said.


    "No need to join us to do such dirty jobs. We would create a new home for ourselves." one of the villagers said. Then the others agreed.


    Alex smiled.


    "Okay, if you say so. But I would still participate in it a bit" He said assuredly.


    "Anything you say" Another said. Then he asked "We don''t even know your name?"


    "Oh, my name''s not important. But you can call me by my alias, The Punisher" Alex replied with a smile.


    "The Punisher? What a tyrannical name." One person said adoringly.


    "Yes. He would punish thousands of gods and infernals. Nothing can withstand his power of punishment" Another said.


    "Since you are the punisher of gods, and have abilities that would definitely match that of true gods in cultivation in the nearest future, can we call you... ''The Godly Punisher''?" one of the villagers who was a matured woman asked with twinkling eyes. She was also trying with all of her heart to contribute to the name-giving session that had suddenly initiated.


    Once the woman asked Alex that, Alex''s eyes glittered.


    The name sounded more powerful than the Punisher that he gave himself. Although it was a powerful and frightening alias, it was one that would bring a lot of trouble and calamity his way.


    "Trouble and calamity, huh?" He asked inwardly.


    "Then I shall devastate you with my Way of Peerless Divine Punishment" He said with an unyielding resoluteness within.


    Once he decided that in his heart, he looked at the excited villagers and said "Sure. You can call me The Godly Punisher."


    The woman then became exceedingly happy that she had just given a name that Alex liked. She had actually just giving a name that Alex would continue to use in future. And just thinking about that made her blood heat up in tremendous excitement.


    From the unbridled joyful expression in her face, one would think that she had just accomplished a great thing that she hadn''t been able to accomplish since she was born.


    Then unexpectedly, they all fell to one knee like they were telepathically connected to each other and shouted "Woe to the ones that The Godly Punisher would come after, for their lives in this world would come to an end on that day. Before The Godly Punisher who is a divine slayer of deities and fiendgods, all storms shall cease or settle, and all darkness shall turn to light."


    "Hmm" Alex who was very surprised at their sudden, unanticipated actions uttered with a wide smile.


    Then he looked at Olivia and said "I like these people"


    Olivia nodded with a smile that a sense of envy could be perceived from.


    She was actually jealous of Alex. But what could she do? It was basically his shine. It was he who fought the numerous deadly battles alone and ended them with the many revelations of strange destructive powers that she never knew existed.


    Then she became like ''Why am I even jealous? He''s my husband. I should applaud him instead. He deserves it''


    After the villagers finished saying that, they turned to look at Olivia who also looked back at them with a smile.


    Then one of the villagers who was at the front said ''We know that you are friends with The Godly Punisher, but we would love to see you guys become a thing. What I meant by that is we would love to see you guys get married and give birth to kids. To be sincere, you two should marry. I and the entire community feel like you are made for one another"


    Alex grinned while Olivia smiled.


    "Well, even before you could think about this, we both have decided to get married. We are friends, but we have decided to upgrade our relationship status. So we would definitely marry. But our marriage wouldn''t happen anytime soon as we still have a lot of individual goals and objectives to achieve. But anytime in the future, after we have settled a lot of things, we would definitely get married. I can''t wait to be with the love of my life" Olivia said to them and looking at Alex affectionately.


    The villagers smiled happily.


    It was good that their two protectors have fallen for each other and would get married to one another. Even though they wouldn''t live to see that wonderful day as they were mortals with a very short lifespan of about 100 to 200 years, just knowing that they would get married brought happiness to their hearts.


    Then the villager that asked Olivia that question spoke again as he asked "What should we call you?"


    Olivia shook her head.


    "Anything" She said with a smile.


    The woman that gave Alex the moniker which he gladly accepted, excitedly jumped to her feet. Then she asked "Can I be given the opportunity to give an alias to the dazzling future wife of The Godly Punisher?"


    Olivia shook her head with a smile hung in it.


    "Sure, you can. I would be fine with just any name" She said.


    The woman nodded her blissfully.


    Then she said "I give you ''Mistress of Punishment''"


    "Hmm!" Alex couldn''t help but utter that, while Olivia eyes glowed fantastically.


    "That''s one beautiful nickname. Thank you ma''am. I gladly accept that." She said with an endearing smile.


    Olivia really loved the name because it had the word ''Punishment'' in it. Another reason was because the word used to form hers was also a part of Alex''s alias.


    "No, don''t thank this mortal. I should be the one to thank you instead for giving me the opportunity to talk." The woman said.


    "It''s okay" Olivia responded. Then she continued "I love the name very much. Matches that of my husband"


    The villagers all nodded.


    "Alright. Naming session is over. Men, let''s get to work. We have things to build" Alex said.


    The men nodded their heads and then stood to their feet.


    Then they left with Alex to rebuild their homes that had vanished from the destructive floods of energies that washed through their entire village during the deadly battles that occurred many hours ago.


    "We would have to go into the forest to get woods to use for the fences and roofs of our homes." A villager said.


    "Don''t worry about that. Let''s us erect a large mud home for you people" Alex said.


    The villagers became astonished.


    "But how are we going to do that?" One of them asked.


    "You don''t really need to do anything folks. Just watch and see" Alex said with a smile.


    Then he closed his eyes and focused on numerous past incidents and scenes that began to replay in his mind. In these short scenes that quickly changed as they replayed, he saw things that caused anger to swell up excessively from within him.


    And as soon as this intense wrath shrouded the entire length and width of his heart, a pulse of power that belonged to the Saint stage burst out from within him. Then this power that rippled out from him, caused the earth around him and for many miles away to tremble slightly...

 Chapter 221: Nailahs intention

    Everyone that were gathered around Olivia, felt the sudden intense trembling of the earth. Then they looked around to know what caused that.


    After looking around for sometime, a child in their midst saw Alex and then shouted "Everyone, look!"


    Then they all quickly turned their heads in the direction that the child pointed to. And when they saw Alex, a great awe surfaced in their hearts.


    Olivia smiled, while the villagers couldn''t help but have their eyes glitter like diamonds. The form that Alex''s body had taken was simply massive and frightening at the same time. He looked like a large rock that was in the shape of a human and possessed life and awareness.


    Immediately after Alex transformed, he placed his two large rock-like hands on the ground. Then he sent the Power of Earth deep into the ground which began to cause the earth to tremble more.


    From the intensity of the trembling, one would think that colossal beasts wanted to burst out from deep within the earth.


    Not long, the ground tore apart as solid and thick structures of earth shot out from within the earth.


    The structures that had shot out from the earth then began to to fuse with each other, becoming large apartments that the villagers could stay in.


    When the villagers looked at the structures, they couldn''t help but have their minds spin in awe at their sizes. The buildings that had formed from the fused massive structures of earth simply towered to the sky.


    After a while of doing that, Alex started to feel a great strain on his soul, and an intense pain racking his entire body, so he stopped.


    Immediately he finished doing that, the villagers couldn''t help but hail him.


    Alex tried to stop them, but he couldn''t stop their praises. So he accepted their praises like that.


    "Alright. Those are your new homes, go check them out and take the rooms that you like. No fighting, there are absolutely enough rooms for everyone and they are of the same space. Okay? You can all go now"


    The villagers happily nodded their heads and then rushed excitedly into the numerous tall buildings that were formed from solid earth.


    When they entered the rooms that they chose, they just couldn''t help but have their eyes glitter again in astonishment.


    The rooms were really massive in size, and they were thick and solid. It was like they were formed from concrete, sand, cement and gravel, just like the ones that could be found in the city. The floors of the rooms which they felt would be very rough, was surprisingly smooth. It was like it was tiled. Same with the wall which was very smooth in appearance.


    Haha!


    They all laughed happily in the various rooms that they were. Then the ones that chose the highest rooms and were hit by currents of fresh, cool air smiled joyfully and enjoyably.


    After Alex reverted to his human form, he6 produced a soul invigorating pill which he swallowed.


    Once the pill got to his stomach and dissolved, it turned into a large amount of soulforce energy that rushed into his soul-dwelling region. Once it entered there, it engulfed his soul and eliminated the strains that had appeared, and then energized his soul.


    Feeling refreshed and energetic, Alex summoned another physique.


    Now looking massive in size, leaf-green and wood-brown in color, then possessing numerous branches that grew out from his body, he placed his hand on his hands on the ground.


    Then he directed the Power of Wood of the physique deep into the earth.


    Immediately he did so, a power which was in the form of bright green light, totally encompassed the land of the entire region that the village was in. This power circled it like a ring.


    Then suddenly, the outer boundaries of the land experienced the rapid appearances and the accelerated growth of trees.


    The trees developed so fast that they grew extremely tall in a very short time. Then with extremely large, luxuriant green canopies and long branches, they were the type that would be found in rainforests or jungles.


    The huge forest that Alex created was made to circle the village. Then right at the center of this enormous forest that stretched into the far distance was the village.


    When Alex finished making the circular encompassing jungle, he reverted to his normal form and took soul invigorating pills to heal and energize his strained and weakened soul.


    Then moving golden swordforce energy to a hand from his energyhouse, he created an energy-weapon which was a solid construct of energy and was in the shape of a large curved sword.


    Slash!


    Slash!...


    Alex swung the curved, golden energy-sword in his hand to cut away the tightly-packed branches. He was trying to make a path for the villagers if they wanted to leave the village and go somewhere else.


    After doing all this, the solid sword of golden swordforce energy in his hand decomposed as it lost it form and returned to the realmverse as slivers of energy.


    After he did so, he headed to where Olivia stood.


    "Olivia, why are you still here? Why don''t you go take your own room?" Alex asked.


    "Take my room? Why would I do that? I would stay in the room that you take" Olivia said.


    "Oh. Alright. Let''s go then" Alex said.


    Then he grabbed Olivia by the hands and went into one of the towering buildings that he made.


    He chose the highest floor because of the scenic view and fresh air.


    "We can stay here." He said.


    "It''s nice." Olivia said. Then she continued "You have built a better place for the villagers. They would always remember you in all their lives"


    Alex smiled.


    "So, when are you going to leave here?" Olivia asked.


    "Tomorrow" Alex replied.


    "Alright" Olivia said.


    Then she produced a bed from her spatial ring and sat on it in the cross-legged position to cultivate.


    When Alex saw that Olivia had produced a bed, he became surprised.


    Still standing, he asked "You carry a bed around with you?"


    Olivia grinned.


    "Shocked? Of course I do. Just about everything that can be found in a apartment is in my spatial ring"


    "Oh" Alex exclaimed.


    Then he looked into his dad''s spatial necklace to see if there would be a bed or chair in there. But he saw nothing like that. Then he directed a sliver of his mind into his mom''s spatial ring to see if there would be a chair or bed in there. He felt that his mom''s spatial ring should have beds, as his mom wanted him to be comfortable.


    But to his surprise, he saw nothing like that.


    "Come on" Alex uttered.


    "What?" Olivia asked.


    "I wasn''t talking to you. Go back to your cultivation" Alex said.


    Olivia grinned.


    "Can''t find a bed? I can give you one" Olivia said.


    "What? You still have more beds?" Alex questioned in a surprised tone.


    "Yes. Anything bad with that?" Olivia asked.


    "No. Nothing bad. It''s really cool" Alex said.


    Olivia shook her head. Then with a thought, a large bed shot out of her spatial ring and landed beside Alex.


    "Thank you ma''am" Alex said.


    Olivia just ignored him and resumed her cultivation.


    Now sitting in the cross-legged position on the bed, Alex immersed himself into a world of comprehension. What he was trying to do was to comprehend many of the battle-methods that he didn''t quite understand how to utilize.


    - Many hours later -


    As they were comprehending, someone came to knock on the door of their room.


    Alex''s and Olivia''s eyes snapped open.


    Then Alex stood to open the door for the person. As soon as he did so, he saw Nailah.


    He was surprised.


    "Nailah, what''s up?" He asked.


    "Nothing. I just want The Godly Punisher and Mistress of Punishment to teach me how to cultivate." Nailah said shyly.


    Then she continued "I know that you seniors would leave soon, if not tomorrow as you both are done here. And if I don''t take the opportunity now to request for battle methods and training on cultivation, I believe that I would never come across such an opportunity again. I don''t want to depend on anyone ever again for my safety. I want to grow strong too and protect my people from harm."


    "That''s a great intention coming from you. Come in" Alex said with an amiable smile.


    Nailah nodded. Then she went in.


    "You were actually right that we would leave tomorrow. But I was thinking of asking you later in the evening if you would want to leave with us. You have special gifts that should be put to a great use. Besides, there is something I want you to do for me. So with proper training, you can develop that gift and use it for something that would amaze gods when you reach a certain stage." Alex said.


    When Alex asked if she would love to come with them, Nailah''s eyes glittered.


    She didn''t even think twice about it as she hurriedly said "Yes". The way that she quickly said it was like if she didn''t say yes in the next moment, Alex might possibly change his mind.


    Alex laughed at her behavior.


    "No. I don''t want that kind of answer. Think very well about it before you respond. You know, this is your place. The place where you grew in with all these nice folks. If you leave with me, you would leave these people behind who are your people, as your father was their chief before he was killed. They would definitely be sad about you leaving with me. And I don''t want it to seem like I am forcing you to go with me because of your special abilities. So, if you don''t want to come with me again, I would respect you decision. But I can make you into the powerful cultivator that you have dreams of becoming. With many A-grade battle and cultivation methods to choose from, you would grow up to become a powerful cultivator that can pluck the sun and tear apart the sky." Alex said and winked at her.


    Nailah nodded.


    Then she asked "But there is something that you want me to do for you. If I don''t come with you, how would I be able to do it?"


    "Oh, about that. Well, your powers haven''t really developed. I can say that they are still at the foetal stage. You wouldn''t be able to do really much about the thing that I want you to do for me. However, since you would be in this village, and would be cultivating, I am sure your light-based healing ability would grow very quickly. Then when I come back for your help, you would be able to use your powers." Alex replied.


    "No. I want to come with the both of you. I have made up my mind" Nailah said pleadingly.


    She was hoping Alex would grant her request.


    Alex smiled.


    ''So adamant and persistent'' He said within.


    Then trying to frighten her so that he would waver her unyielding resolution, he said "My life and hers are full of things that you don''t want to experience"


    "Like what?" Nailah asked.


    "Just constant battles that could result in one''s death if one wasn''t powerful and strong enough." He replied.


    Then he continued "Imagine this scenario. Let''s say I was faced with many powerful and wicked cultivators that would do anything to obliterate me, their adversary. Then if they later discover that you are related to me, you could simply die because I wouldn''t be able to protect you and myself"


    Nailah smiled.


    "I know that you are trying to frighten me so that I would change my mind in going with you. Anyways, to your question, if such ever happens and I am eventually killed. Well, it was my fate all along. To end there." Nailah replied. Then she continued with an intensely serious expression in her face. "Sir, nothing you would say would make me change my mind. And if you eventually don''t take me along with you, I will be become extremely unhappy and purposeless."


    Alex shook his head, while Olivia gave a smile.


    She was liking this little girl the more.


    She was not even afraid of death. Saying that if death ever came like a storm and that she was eventually washed away by it, it was her destiny all along.


    "Nailah, come here. Don''t worry, you would come with us" Olivia said.


    Nailah''s eyes glowed with joy. Then she rushed to where Olivia was.


    Alex looked at Olivia and smirked, then he said "Olivia, I was going to take her with us when we are about to leave. Why would I reject someone that wants to become a cultivator? That alone can become a heart demon for me. I just wanted her to know the kind of hardships and travails that we pass through as cultivators. I want her to know about the unending battles that we fight everyday and that she should be prepared for it. And from the resolution radiating from her, I can tell that she''s ready." Alex said.


    When Alex said this, Nailah became very glad.


    "Thank you." She said.


    "No need for that" Alex replied.


    Nailah nodded.


    "Give her a cultivation manual, Alex" Olivia said.


    "Yea. So about that. Since you can control light to bring about healing, I can say that you have a strong affinity for light, for luminiforce energy which would bestow you with the power to control and create light. Therefore, I would give you a battle and cultivation methodology related to light." Alex said.


    Then he continued "Since you have a great affinity for light, your cultivation should progress very quickly. Then if you want, I can give you a few other cultivation manuals to study so that you would have other energies to draw upon during a battle" Alex said.


    Nailah nodded her head with sparkling eyes.


    "Alright." Alex said.


    Then he produced a large manual titled ''Great Heavenlight Methodology'' which he gave to Nailah who accepted it with hands that trembled due to her excitement.

 Chapter 222: Cultivation

    "Okay, go study that Nailah. If you find some things difficult to understand, you can come to me or Olivia for explanations." Alex said.


    Nailah nodded. Then she sat on Olivia''s bed and tried to mimic her cultivation position.


    Olivia saw this and laughed.


    "Nailah, any position is okay. It isn''t necessary to copy my posture. What is important is understanding the methods mentioned and gaining attunement to the energy that you want to cultivate. But if you like my posture and want to adopt it, you can go right ahead." She said and then ruffled Nailah'' s hair.


    Nailah smiled and nodded her head.


    Then she immersed herself into the large cultivation book that Alex gave her.


    At this point in time, Alex had closed his eyes as he submersed himself in his own world of comprehension.


    Splitting his mind into many using his peerless multi-tasking ability, he began to combine several battle skills that he knew about into new skills.


    He merged this and that together to form many new battle skills. Then he tried to mentally test them using his powerful visualization and his Ultra Perception state which he entered to power his mental imageries of them.


    The ones which he felt that didn''t possess enough fearsomeness to his taste were scrapped, while the ones that possessed a high degree of fierceness and lethality were named and added to his vast, mental book of deadly battle skills.


    After many hours of doing this, he opened his eyes.


    He noticed that the room was quiet, then he turned around to see if Olivia and Nailah were still cultivating. But he saw no one.


    He thought for sometime where they could be, then he arrived at a thought that Olivia had probably taken Nailah to a place were she would be able to feel the light so that she could cultivate it.


    After thinking of this, he closed his eyes again to cultivate.


    Immersing himself into his world of cultivation, he thought of how his body always absorbed energy that entered his body. Just like the divineforce energy from his mother, the numerous primordial realm-energies from the Beyonder which altered his body on a vast scale, the sexforce energy from Karen and now, the poisonforce energy from Jared.


    He began to wonder how his body was able to to accomplish this.


    He believed that if he was able to perfectly control that absorption power, his cultivation speed would no know bounds or limits. He needed to comprehend that unparalleled, energy-based suction power of his body.


    With his eyes still closed, he recalled the attributes of the five energies that were still at the mid-phase condensation stages in his energyhouse. These energies which were Darkforce energy, Phantasmforce energy, Speedforce energy, Strengthforce energy and Radiantforce hadn''t leveled up because of there was no energy-cultivation pill for them. Unlike the rest that had pills which Alex swallowed to upgrade them, these didn''t have pills, so that''s why he suffered a setback in his cultivation progress.


    But now, he wanted to tap into that unimaginable power of his body to boundlessly and rapidly absorb every from of energy that his body would ever come across.


    Sending his powerful perception into the surrounding, he tried to pull the energies that he wanted to cultivate into his body.


    With only one word in his mind which was ''pull'', he tried hard to draw the energies that he wanted to cultivate to his body.


    Therefore, like an unceasing chant in his mind, trying to force the activation of the immense pulling power of his body, he uttered the word ''Pull, pull, pull...''


    Unknowing to Alex, as he tried to force his body to draw energy from the environment, thousands of abstruse symbols began to gradually appear on the surface of his body. And as they appeared, a storm slowly surfaced outside.


    The villagers who were already out of their homes and were discussing happily with one another saw the large black clouds that had suddenly appeared and caused the sky to darken. These large clouds that had appeared were from different areas of the sky that were pulled towards Alex because of the pulling force that continually emitted from his body.


    Olivia and Nailah noticed this phenomenon and began to wonder what was happening again.


    Olivia then suddenly felt that Alex should be the one responsible for the appearance of the large clouds in the sky. And just when the thought that she should go up and see what he was doing surfaced in her mind, strong winds suddenly appeared and began to move about in the entire village.


    When Olivia looked around, she saw to her extreme shock that the strong winds that had appeared were actually colored. And there were five of these colors, which meant that there were five colored winds.


    But Olivia who wasn''t like the mortals who kept wondering why the winds possessed colors, knew that the strong winds that moved ragingly around them weren''t actually winds, but fast-moving currents of energies in their gaseous phase. So, since the five different energies existed in the gaseous states; appearing as gases, one would think that they were winds which possessed colors.


    "Nailah, stay with me" Olivia said.


    Then she firmly grabbed Nailah by the hand, pulled her to her side, embraced her tightly and then planted her feet firmly into the ground using her Power of Earth since she cultivated Terraforce energy.


    The currents of energies were just too strong, or they would swept away by it into the distance, and this could result in multiple injuries for them.


    After doing this, she sent her


    earth-power out to keep the panicking villagers feet firmly planted to the earth, just so they won''t be shoved away by the tide-like energy currents that roared furiously in the air around them.


    Alex who wasn''t paying attention to what was happening below was deeply submerged in his inner cultivation world.


    In this world, he felt at peace with the true world. Besides, some heavenly sensations began to wash through him. And as it did so, all the filths of the world that he had accumulated in his body since he was born began to eject from the pores of his skin. However, they weren''t much as many of these filths had been expelled from his body long ago when he first started cultivation.


    Not long, the five energies that appeared and rampaged about, shot like furious gales towards him.


    Any cultivator who was in Alex''s cultivation stage or below and was in the way of these berserk energies that moved with a lot of force, would be seriously injured by them.


    But when they swept through Alex''s figure like they wanted to hurl him out of this world and into the void, his body which was like a thin piece of wood in a large windstorm surprisingly, effortlessly withstood their great ferociousness. Then they totally engulfed his figure and began to force their way into his bodies.

 Chapter 223: The descent...

    Since Alex''s body had entered into it true physique form, the violent energies that forced their way into his body couldn''t cause his energy meridians to snap or break, as they had also entered into a form that made them more powerful than even a divine overlord-grade energy meridian; a meridian which could only be found in the body of talented, supreme divine-class, cosmic-level experts. To give an inkling of how powerful his energy veins were, if the world that he was in was a solid, round-shaped core of energy that turned into a vast stream of energy and tried to enter his energyhouse all at once, although he would be greatly stressed by their enormous flow, and be racked by intense pains that even super-powerful enlightened experts wouldn''t want to go through, the meridians would greatly stretch, but they wouldn''t snap or cut. They would grow to accommodate the entire rapid flow of the energies. They were just really special meridians.


    But they hadn''t gotten to that stage yet because of Alex''s cultivation level. Besides, he needed to have a deep understanding of the profound abilities of his body which was an actual, extremely powerful physique. One that would devour all the energies in this world and the realmverse at large, and yet, not be satisfied. It was like a whale that was the size of many realmverses and had a boundless, voracious appetite.


    At the moment, thousands of glowing runes could be seen on the surfaces of the entire energy veins in his body. And these emanated some types of powers that prevented the different pulses of powers emitting from the five streams of energies flowing violently and ferociously into his body from harming his energy veins. It was actually these mysterious, splendorous runes which produced the Power of Durability and Imperviousness that increased the toughness and impenetrability of Alex''s energy meridians to shocking degrees.


    As these energies moved ragingly into his body and to his energyhouse, they entered into their respective pools and increased their quantities.


    Therefore, in this manner, the energy pools belonging to darkforce energy, strengthforce energy, phantasmforce energy, speedforce energy and radiantforce energy increased rapidly in size, that from the mid-phase condensation stage, they shot to the late-phase condensation stage, and then to the peak-phase condensation stage in less than a minute.


    This feat should be impossible by anyone, but because of Alex''s extremely powerful physique, he was able to accomplish it. His cultivation speed this time, because of the phenomenal form that his body had taken, was crazily fast that even primal gods, who nothing can ever astonish again as they had seen all the wonders and marvels in the realmverse, would open their mouth wide in great awe and deep shock. How would someone raise the cultivation levels of five different energies from the mid stage to the peak stage in less than a minute. It was totally inconceivable and outrageous that such person would be someone that zenith cultivators who rule over worlds, would fiercely fight for, just to capture him or her and perform a lot of cultivation experiments on. Such person, according to them, would be someone that possessed the key to immortal life. So, they would study these person to the fullest of their abilities.


    Once the energy pools for the five energies in his energyhouse matched that of the others in quality and quantity, another phenomena appeared outside.


    This time, the clouds disappeared and was replaced by a seemingly burning sky.


    Olivia''s eyes widened in horror.


    That was a sign of the descent of something that would wipe away every souls that always went against the law of the realmverse.


    It was the manifestation of a power that brought an end to all things that defied the heavens decree.


    Alex''s eyes sprang open in happiness and delight that he had finally brought all of his energies to the peak stage. Then when he saw the fiery light emitting from the blazing sky, his mind shook in unbridled horror.


    "What?" He shouted in deep shock and fear.


    Then one thing came to his mind, that if he didn''t leave this village very fast, everyone, including Olivia, would certainly perish in the absolute annihilation power soon to descend from a certain mysterious space in the realmverse.


    Then with a sudden, powered dash to the window, he leapt right through it to the ground. Then continuing with that speed and momentum, he shot at insane speed through the path that he made many hours ago using the golden, sword-shaped, solid construct of energy that he produced.


    Swoosh!


    He flitted, moving at a tremendous speed like an arrow that was shot through the air.


    Everyone saw what Alex did and became very surprised. It was only Olivia who knew why he did so and became exceedingly worried.


    "Nailah, stay with the villagers. I am coming back very soon. Let me go after Alex to see what''s happening" She said.


    Nailah nodded her head and went to meet the villagers, while Olivia who summoned a earth-wave using the earth movement power bestowed upon her by the terraforce energy that she cultivated, was quickly carried off into the distance by it at a great speed.


    When Alex dashed away from the village, an immense portion of the sky that was fiery in appearance, actually followed Alex. It surprisingly moved at the same speed that Alex moved at.


    It was like there will be no chance for Alex to escape today. And that there was only complete annihilation waiting for him. Only absolute nihility that would result in the removal of him from the programs or schemes of things in the realmverse was what waited for him.


    Alex didn''t stop running, he just continued to run. He wanted to make sure that when the destroying powers descended, no one in the village would be harmed.


    While as he ran, the fiery portion of the sky simply followed him at the same speed.


    Once Alex felt that he had given enough distance between himself and the village, he stopped and then readied himself.


    With a beastly roar, he bellowed to the sky.


    "Hit me with your best shot!!"

 Chapter 224: Absorb!

    Once Alex said that, like as if it was actually responding to him, a large, solid column of dark black fire descended from the fiery portion of the sky and struck Alex.


    Bang!


    Argh!


    It struck him so hard that he screamed out in pain. And because of the force that the solid column of fire came with, it caused the earth that Alex stood upon to shatter in a ripple-like fashion, creating a crater in it.


    Then if one looked into this crater, one would see Alex with a body that was badly burnt. And if one observed further, one would notice some pitch-black flames burning everywhere on his body. They were the remnants of the pitch-black fire that formed the solid, fiery column that struck Alex.


    They could be seen burning brilliantly and ferociously on his body.


    The wisps of jet-black flames were actually trying to burn him to ashes, to the point that he wouldn''t have even a body left, as they possessed the Will to destroy totally.


    Then apart from the great pain caused by the flames that burned interminably on his body, many of his bones which had broken or had shattered into pieces due to the impact could be seen sticking out of his skin.


    Arghhhhhhhhhhh!!!


    Continually screeching in pain as the wisps of destruction intent-possessing flames wickedly burned his body, he tried hard to endure them. And as he rolled about on the ground with the numerous bones that stuck out of his skin due to the intense burning pain that he felt, he quickly produced healing pills which he swallowed.


    But as soon as Alex swallowed the pills, another large, solid column of dark black fire descended from the sky at a tremendous speed and struck his body which wriggled like a worm in the crater.


    Bang!


    An explosive sound rang out as the jet-black fiery column which was many times larger in size than the crater in the earth, struck it with a powerful momentum and immense force that it caused the earth to shatter, resulting in the release of large amount of dust and a powerful seismic wave that swept outward with tyranny in all directions.


    Any cultivator below the peak earth-rank stage and was caught in this tyrannical, earth-shattering wave, would be totally destroyed by exploding into bits, or they could become extremely injured if they weren''t completely obliterated by the waves that stripped away a large layer of the earth and shoved it into the far distance. And it was this kind of devastating force that could eliminate cultivators who were below the peak earth-rank stage that struck Alex hard.


    At this point in time, part of Alex''s body had been reduced to pieces. His hands and limbs had shattered into bits, while many parts of his body were a frightening bloody mess. Only his heart and brain that weren''t impacted, since they were protected by an invisible field that enveloped them and deflected the extreme damaging force that transmitted to his body from being struck by the destructive fiery pillar.


    Therefore, because of the protective enveloping fields continuously generated by the treasures that had merged with his body, Alex was still alive, when he was supposed to be utterly destroyed by the second strike.


    Olivia who had gotten to the location where Alex received the Beyonder tribulations but stayed far away, saw how vicious the strikes were and her heart began to race wildly in fear.


    She then suddenly had a great time breathing as she wasn''t sure if Alex''s body still remained from the second strike that carried a tremendous damaging power.


    Alex''s body was still being burned by the numerous wisps of jet-black fire that had the absolute intent to reduce him to cinders.


    The agonizing and insanity-immersing pain that he was subjected to, could almost make him give up and decide to be destroyed so that he would be free from the excruciating pain, but as someone with an unyielding resoluteness, he wouldn''t give up here, even if the whole world turned into this jet-black fire and tried to burn him into nothing, he would try to endure the pain and come out with something out of it.


    Thinking in this direction, he remembered when he said within himself that if the Beyonder tribulations came, he would absorb the energies that composed the quasi-sentient energy-attacks that would shoot down at him from the mystical tribulation clouds.


    Since he had recalled this, his eyes which had supposed to shatter into smithereens but still remained in one piece because of the various god-eyes and eye-treasures that had merged with them, began to glitter.


    Without thinking too far if what was in his mind would work, and having an utmost faith and unbreakable determination in his body''s energy-devouring ability, he simply uttered "Absorb!".


    As soon as he uttered that, the remaining part of his body which was being ferociously burned by the many wisps of jet-black flames, were strongly pulled into his body through his pores, and were forced to move down his energy channels to his energyhouse.


    The tribulation-fiery energy which was simply pyroforce energy that possessed sentience and an overpowering intent to totally destroy everything that it targeted, couldn''t actually do anything to Alex''s energy veins which resisted it intention to burn them into nothing.


    They simply couldn''t be affected by the power of absolute destruction radiating from the black flames that moved down his energy veins like lavas to his energyhouse. Their grades had instantly and directly entered a tier that surpassed that of the divine overlord tier, just upon the appearances of the arcane runes that were condensed from the mystifying power of durability and imperviousness that were produced within his body which was now in it unmatched powerful form; the absolute energy and essence-devouring form.


    When the wisps of tribulation-fiery energy got to his energyhouse, the energies which blazed brightly as they tried to destroy Alex''s other energies because of the intents that they possessed, were suddenly acted upon by an unseen restrictive force that prevented them from causing damage to Alex''s other energies.


    Not long, the raging energy which possessed it own consciousness became exceedingly overwhelmed by the mysterious force that acted on it from deep within Alex''s energyhouse.


    As soon as it was totally dominated, and the false sentience that it possessed eliminated, it was made to fuse with the large, floating pool of pyroforce energy in Alex''s energyhouse.


    Then immediately after fusion, it changed the color of Alex''s pyroforce energy from bright scarlet to dark scarlet. And since it had merged with Alex''s pyroforce energy, the arcane Power of Absolute Nihility that the tribulation-fiery energy possessed, began to continuously emit from Alex''s pyroforce energy. This gained attribute would increase it destructive capacity to a whole new level.


    So within Alex''s energyhouse, each wisp of his enhanced pyroforce energy began to rampantly emanate the power of utmost destruction, which then spread to far places in all directions as ripples and waves. If this mutated energy which was now dark scarlet in color was summoned to his palms as flames, they would unceasingly emit visible, rippling waves of destruction that would turn objects into vapor and burn the air into nothing.

 Chapter 225: Absorption continues...

    Once Alex''s body absorbed the energy, the pain caused by the dark black flames that burned blazingly on his body vanished. The only pain that he now felt was the pain of his bones which were reduced to pieces due to the impact, and then many of them jutting out of his skin.


    Like as if the sky felt that the dense, flaming column that it shot at Alex wouldn''t really crush him into pieces and burn him into nothing, it changed it form of attack.


    Then the large area of the sky which was fiery in appearance, actually changed into another color. It became dark violet. And as soon as this color manifested, a kind of gale-force wind that was surprisingly visible since it was surprisingly dark violet in color, and had the power to simply reduce mountains into bits because of the sharpness attributes, incineration attributes and destruction attributes that it possessed, appeared and began to violently move about in the area that Alex received his tribulation.


    Once it appeared and began to sweep about in the area with incredible sharpness, heat emissions, and an astonishing destructive power, it shot with a beast-like roar towards Alex who was in the crater and was rapidly recovering from the injuries sustained from the tribulation-type attacks, after swallowing many peerless-quality healing pills.


    Alex would have produced a sky-rank or heaven-rank armor to protect himself from the tribulation attacks, but he couldn''t as when the realmverse perceives the pulse of power emanating from the armors which would be in the Sky Lord stage or Heaven Adept stage, it numerous attacks would upgrade in tier and Alex would start receiving Sky-level and heaven-level tribulation energy-attacks. That was something he wouldn''t want and wouldn''t be able to withstand if it ever happened. So it was better to receive the attacks with his body alone than depend on armors that would cause the attacks that shot out from the sky to increase greatly in power. It was also for this reason that the treasure-spirits of the Azure Beastsman treasure-palace and the Silver-Violet Sword Banisher treasure-temple didn''t appear to help him against the tribulations that he was facing, or if they did, the attacks that descended from the sky would suddenly possess a great destructive power that would totally destroy Alex once it struck him. That was something they wouldn''t visualize or dream of.


    When the violet-colored wind which possessed extreme sharpness, emitted sweltering heat and radiated power to destroy all things, shot ragingly into the crater in the earth, it engulfed Alex''s figure and began to swirl around it, becoming a huge, violet-colored cyclone within the crater.


    With Alex within, it revolved around him like a devastating whirlpool of air as it tried to reduce Alex''s body to pieces, and turn the pieces into cinders, while simultaneously radiating the aura of destruction that would crush Alex to death. It was simply a multi-attributed attack.


    Arghhhhhhhhh!!!


    Once this fearsome, unceasing attack initiated, Alex started to unendingly scream in pain, and that at the top of his voice. His arms and feet which had reformed earlier because of the powerful healing pills that he took were quickly being diced into pieces. Same with his body that was being rapidly shredded, lacerated and burned.


    It was like he was in a very hot furnace and was surrounded by hundreds of invisible vicious beings who were masterly skilled in the art of butchery and slaughter, and were using their large butchering knives and meat cleavers to cut apart the flesh on his body and break the bones of his skeleton.


    In the next second, the skin and bones on his arms and legs vanished. Same with the ones on his chest, abdomen and back.


    However, a new skin immediately appeared, and bones instantly formed in his body again.


    Alex who had done a mental calculation had quickly swallowed so many healing pills, just for the reason of stopping his skin from being ripped or slashed away by the sharpness-attacks, and his bones from being shattered into fragments by the power of destruction given off by the furiously swirling cyclone that engulfed his figure.


    Therefore, as his skin continuously, instantly slashed apart in many places, and his bones immediately shattering into bits, new ones rapidly appeared, preventing the rampant slashing, burning and crushing attacks of the tribulation-cyclone from totally destroying Alex''s body.


    So that was how the cycle of vicious slashing/ripping and super-quick healing continued.


    Arghhhhhh!!!


    Still screeching continuously in pain due to the skin that tore or slashed away every second, and the bones that unstoppably crushed into pieces, Alex tried to focus on his wind cultivation method.


    Once he employed the wind-energy absorption technique of the wind trinity methodology that he studied, he uttered again, with a determination and a type of faith that couldn''t be overshadowed by the dread and terror of every living thing in the realmverse over the total collapse or complete decimation of the billions of worlds that they were in.


    "Absorb!"


    Once he said this, thousands of abstruse symbols appeared on his body again. And now emitting the Power of Suppression, the violet-colored cyclone that had engulfed Alex''s figure and tried to reduce him into pieces couldn''t cause much injury to his body again.


    Then with the power to absorb everything under the realmverse and in the inaccessible spaces in the realmverse, the essence of the cyclone that revolved around Alex''s figure was suddenly drawn into Alex''s body through his pores.


    If Olivia was here, she would see a violet-colored, mist-like substance exude from the cyclone and enter into Alex''s body. And that the cyclone which was extremely large in size, beginning to rapidly reduce in size; right from the one hundred and twenty feet in height that it was at, to a height of hundred feet. But it didn''t stop here as it size continued to rapidly decrease in size.


    The suppressed essence of the tribulation-wind which flowed down Alex''s energy veins to his energyhouse, permeated the pool of windforce energy in his energyhouse and change it color from cyan to dark violet. And once it was infused with the multi-attributed essence of the tribulation wind-energy which was simply windforce energy that possessed three intents which were sharpness intent, incineration or combustion intent, and ultimately, absolute decimation or ruination intent, the wind-energy core began to emit three different waves of power. It now radiated the aura of terrific sharpness, instant-vaporizing heat, and then the aura of calamitous-scale destruction.


    Although they released these fierce and alarming auras which would invoke great fear and terror in anyone, they weren''t at that level yet because of Alex''s cultivation stage. However, his windforce energy which possessed divineforce energy that increased it quality (density) to a certain shocking degree, was now further augmented to a great degree by the infusion of the essence of the tribulation wind-energy into it. And since it density had increased, it now possessed more damaging power. Besides, it now possessed three new attributes that would increase the destruction output of his wind-based attacks.

 Chapter 226: Devour!

    Since the wind also didn''t succeed in destroying Alex, that colored portion of the sky turned blue.


    The instant that it turned blue, thousands of spears that had ancient inscriptions on them suddenly fired from it. And moving at a great speed, they emitted a type of pressure that would simply reduce things in their paths into pieces.


    The tyrannical pressure that exuded from the fast-shooting spears and acted on everything in every directions, focused on Alex who was within the crater.


    Once the great pressure suddenly acted on him, Alex coughed out a large mouthful blood, while his body quickly cracked in many places with blood spurting out from them like a fountain.


    Now being pressed hard to the floor of the crater by the emitted pressure that acted on him alone as he was the target, the spears that were moving at great speed tried to impale him. And if they impaled him, that could be the end of him.


    Which cultivator would be able to withstand the impalement of thousands of tightly-packed, fast-moving spears? Absolutely no one!


    Realizing his impending doom, then with a primordial beastly scream, he unleashed a devastating blast of tribulation-enhanced flame from his body.


    BOOOOM!!


    The earth for many dozens of meters trembled hard from the explosion, while the waves of destruction that were produced from the earth-splintering fireblast, caused the crater that he was in to widen greatly in size. Initially, the diameter of the deep crater was sixty feet, but after the powerful explosion, it was further enlarged as it became eighty feet.


    When the explosion first took place, a gigantic, mushroom-shaped cloud of dark scarlet flame abruptly appeared in the air. Then it was instantly accompanied by powerful devastating waves that swept horizontally into the far distance, and an exceedingly pressurized air that shot off from the center of the blast in every direction as extremely violent air that possessed destructive strength.


    Many of the spears that were caught in the explosion shattered into pieces, while the few that weren''t, went on to impale Alex who shrieked in pain.


    Stabbed deep with the spears in many places on his body and causing Alex pain who could almost faint from being impaled all over, the spears actually began to melt. This was because Alex''s body which glowed in a dark scarlet color which was the new hue that his pyroforce energy had taken, after being infused with the extremely powerful, Beyonder-type tribulation-flame, began to produce a powerful melting heat.


    Once the spears melted, the pressure that exuded from them vanished. Then they turned into water which floated back into the air. They weren''t actually affected by gravity. They simply ignored the gravitational force that acted on them.


    Then once they reached a high altitude in the air, continuously radiating the will to destroy all things in the realmverse as the illuminated atmosphere around them darkened because of the destruction of the air, radiations and other forms of matters around them which then resulted in a darkened area, and then the emission of a mysterious strength to crush everything under the firmament with the arcane Power of Heaviness that it possessed, the water turned into many large orbs that shot down at great speeds towards Alex.


    Moving with a lot of force and momentum to simply destroy Alex''s body, Alex who still had a clear vision despite the great suffering that he was going through, shot into the air using a rapid and continuous, jet-stream expulsion of pyroforce energy from his hands and feet, and out of the crater into a random direction.


    His speed was very high that he evaded the enormously heavy water orbs in time. But this speed that he achieved wasn''t his usual velocity, it was because of the essence of the tribulation-flame that had fused with his pyroforce energy, increasing the propulsive force that it could generate to a great level. If one compared the propulsion power that would be produced by Alex''s pyroforce energy and the tribulation-enhanced one, the latter would produce a thrust that was sixty folds more than the former.


    Alex''s healing body was immersed in great pain because of his action, but Alex would rather suffer immense pains than be struck by the orbs which could crush him to death.


    Immediately he flew out of the deep crater, the orbs shot into it and struck the floor of the crater with an unfathomable heaviness.


    BOOOM!!


    The earth for hundreds of kilometers shook, then it instantly ruptured and cleaved, resulting in kilometer-deep chasms and kilometer-long cracks that spread out from the floor of the crater into the distance, while waves carrying great destructive power surfaced from the area of collisions of the extremely heavy water orbs with the floor of the crater. As soon as this appeared, they violently rushed into the distance to seemingly annihilate everything in their paths.


    Alex was fortunate to have escaped from the decimating waves that resulted from the collisions, or he could have been reduced into bits. But could one really say that he was lucky? Or that he was just too fast as he could now cover many kilometers in a second because of the propulsive force generated by the astonishingly fast, jet-stream eruptions of dark scarlet flame from his hands and feet?


    Then firmly standing where he was and ignoring the excruciating pain that he silently suffered, he uttered with blazing determination in his red eyes.


    "Pull!"


    Immediately Alex mentioned this, thousands of glowing, profound symbols appeared on his body again. His body had re-transformed into a physique.


    Then once it changed into this phenomenal form, it produced a strong attractive force that was unmatched by any other at his cultivation stage.


    The powerful, quasi-gravitational force which was released from his body, spread to a great altitude in the atmosphere, and then into the far distance with the intention to pull everything in the realmverse towards Alex.


    Once this power swept out into the far distance to pull everything towards Alex, it drew the large orbs of water that was in the crater out of it.


    When the orbs which had greatly deepened the crater because of the amount of heaviness that they struck it with, came out of the crater as a result of the strong pulling force that acted on them, they instantly shot at tremendous speeds towards Alex who was at a distance.


    They simply had the aim to heavily impact him and shatter his body into pieces.


    Seeing the water orbs shoot towards him to bring about his destruction.


    Alex who now understood some of the powerful and marveling abilities of his godlike body, fearlessly and calmly uttered "Suppress!"


    Then suddenly, a power of suppression emitted from his body and acted on the water orbs shooting over at high speeds.


    The constraining force that emitted from Alex''s body instantly eliminated the momentum that the water orbs were coming with after it engulfed them.


    Now focusing on the water orbs which tried to break out of the limitation force that acted on them, Alex muttered "Devour"


    Then the essences that made up the water orbs were pulled out of them into Alex''s body.


    Once they got to his energyhouse, they infused into the frostforce energy in there since it was water-related. And when this permeation happened, Alex''s ice and frost-energy instantly possessed the attributes of destruction and supreme crushing heaviness.


    Once this failed too, rampant thunderous booms began to ring out from the sky...

 Chapter 227: Lightning cultivation I

    Alex heard the rampant thundering booms from the sky and his mind spun in terror.


    The ultimate of them had revealed itself, and was ready to strike him.


    Then he recalled the methodology that he said he was going to study to cultivate lightniforce energy.


    This methodology which was the ''Great Empyrean Seven-Hues Lightning Methodology'', was a very tyrannical trinity methodology as it cultivation, battle and movement techniques were simply, extremely powerful.


    It was this energy that he once said he was going to cultivate after he left the mansion for the valley so that he could hone and develop his battle skills. But since he wasn''t where thunderstorms took place to cultivate the energy which was also called electriforce energy, he simply forgot about it, and then cultivated other energies.


    The methodology, as it was named, was a cultivation methodology that allows one to cultivate electricity or lightning. And mastering the skills listed in the methodology, one would be able to shoot solid constructs of electricity, summon and manipulate electricity or lightning from the sky through the ''lightning evocation'' ability they would gain by studying the methodology.


    The methodology which was divided into seven stages which included: Lightning Adept, Lightning Reverend, Lightning Emperor, Lightning Sage, Lightning Celestial, Lightning Godlord, and Lightning Grand Venerate, were the realms or stages one would attain in the cultivation of electriforce energy using the unique methods that it possessed.


    While the ''seven hues'' in it name corresponded to the stages mentioned above. When one cultivated the specified energy, the energy cultivated takes on different hues. At the first or basic stage, it is red, and down to the last or ultimate stage, it changes from red to blue, black, purple, indigo, violet and finally to golden.


    To cultivate lightniforce energy, one must absorb it from thunderclouds in thunderstorms. That''s why the methodology, apart from being tyrannical due to it powerful plethoric techniques was tyrannical and deadly in the form of it cultivation. One could simply be destroyed from being struck by the most chaotic cultivation energy in the realmverse.


    Ninety-nine percent of cultivation experts will rather cultivate other forms of realm-energies. This was due to the fear of permanent cultivation crippling or instant obliteration by the arcing berserk energy. It could totally destroy their energy channels (force-arteries) and render them crippled or totally decimate them. So they avoided it and cultivated other energies. That was why cultivators of this energy, just like body-cultivation experts, were very few in number. Only the extremely daring and courageous ones would try to cultivate an energy that seemed to want nothing but their destruction. And that was what Alex was going to do right here in this place. He would employ the cultivation method of the lightning methodology so that he could absorb the tribulation-lightning energy and turn it into his own energy.


    If it were normal thunderstorms, it would have been easier for him to cultivate lightniforce energy. But since it was lightning that came from a Beyonder-type tribulation, it would be extremely difficult for him. However, Alex didn''t care. Difficult or not, now that there was the opportunity to cultivate the energy, he would seize the chance to do so. He wouldn''t let the incessant, tribulation-lightning attacks frighten him.


    With a calm smile in his face and radiating the aura of readiness and unyielding resoluteness, he awaited the bolts to descend from the large, black clouds that had formed in the sky and rampantly strike him.


    Not long, a single, three feet-thick bolt of black lightning shot down from the sky and struck him.


    BANG!


    Arghhh!!!


    Alex screamed out loud as the single bolt that descended from the tribulation cloud that had formed in the sky knocked him with immense hardness to the ground that it formed a deep pit, and delivered excessive electrical currents to his body which resulted in intense stinging and burning pain that racked his entire body.


    Still on the ground and loudly groaning in pain as the vicious, black electricity arcs roamed about on his body, he quickly employed the absorption technique of the deity-grade lightning methodology. Then at the same time that he utilized the methodology''s energy absorption method, he unleashed his body''s powerful ability which was to rapidly and tremendously absorb every form of energy that he targeted.


    As soon as he did all these, the electricity arcs which moved violently about on his body began to surprisingly move into his body through his pores. They were drawn by a powerful, strange force that came from the center of Alex''s energyhouse.


    Crackling like dry woods in fire, they flowed down his runes-enhanced energy veins to his energyhouse where they merged into one and condensed into a cube-shaped, black crystal of lightning realm-energy. The cubic energy crystal which was formed from the compaction of the essence of the lightniforce energy was however little in size. It was as small as a grain of sand. It would need to be infused with more lighniforce energy to be able to grow large in size.


    Not long, with dual deafening booms ringing out from the peculiar, jet-black thundercloud in the sky, two ten feet-thick bolts of black lightning descended from it and struck Alex who was in the crater in the earth.


    BANG!


    BANG!


    Strongly and heavily impacting Alex who was in the wide and slightly deep crater, the crater''s uneven floor shattered apart in a ripple-like pattern upon being hit when the bolts struck Alex. And Alex who was the receiver of these tremendously heavy, electricity-composed obliterating attacks, coughed out several mouthfuls of blood and sustained multiple external and internal injuries in the process.


    Alex''s skin should have slashed apart into pieces or totally ripped away, and his bones shattered into tiny bits due to the lightning bolt attacks that were extremely dense in form or structure. But after going through the engulfing, powerful attacks of the previous tribulations, his skin which was tough to a certain little degree was made significantly tougher.


    Just like body-cultivation experts who absorbed duraforce energy from the realmverse, an energy that strengthened and toughened their bone marrows, arteries and veins, organs, and hardened their fleshes and bones to make them extremely strong and impervious to damage, but went through a lot of pain to achieve their degrees of impermeability to physical damages, the tribulation-attacks that enveloped Alex''s figure which sought to destroy him also did the same.


    So, due to the devastating physical attacks that he was subjected to, his body''s flesh and bones became more durable and resistant to damages. The tribulation attacks that he was faced with simply made it seem like he was undergoing a body refining, strengthening, conditioning and tempering process, just like the ones body-cultivators went through which was extremely painful and traumatizing.


    Therefore, by continually tearing and grinding away the flesh of his body, and breaking the bones in his body into thousands of fragments which rapidly healed in the next instant, his body was made to gain an increase in it degree of resilience and toughness. His initially tough body was now made more tougher and harder because of the continually repeating cycle of destruction and reformation, which was the same process that body-cultivators passed through to make their bodies astronomically tough and impervious.


    Just through the continuous, cyclic process of flesh and bone decimation and their quick regenerations, which was a body tempering process, their bodies would attain a certain degree of hardness. But the toughness level of their bodies depended on how long they could last in the pain that they would be inflicted with upon body-cultivating.


    Therefore, due to his body which was greatly tempered and intensely toughened by the earlier tribulation-attacks that he was faced with, he only sustained some minor external and internal wounds. Then the rampaging, wild arcs of black electricity that pulsated about on the surface of his body were pulled into his body and channeled to his energyhouse where they infused into the black cubic crystal of lightning that had formed in there.


    When the intense stinging and burning pains that he was inflicted with instantly vanished because of the pulsing electrical arcs that moved about on his body were then pulled into it and channeled to his energyhouse, Alex, who ignored the pains from the little wounds that he had sustained from being struck by the dense and solid attacks composed of lightning, tried to stand back to his feet.


    Once he did so, he quickly produced a healing pill which he abruptly swallowed, then he got ready for the other enormous, electricity-constituted attacks that would soon be launched from the colossal, pitch-black, tribulation-lightning cloud in the sky.


    A few seconds after he swallowed the body recovery pill and experienced accelerated regeneration, three large bolts of black-colored lightning shot down from the tribulation thundercloud towards Alex at tremendous speeds. But they each shot out at different times.


    BANG!!


    Argh!


    The first one struck Alex hard that it knocked him deep into the ruined floor of the crater, seemingly trying to deepen it.


    The second one arrived and tyrannically struck Alex whose body was stuck by many feet in the damaged floor of the crater.


    BANG!


    Argh!!


    Alex couldn''t help but screech again in pain as he was impacted by the powerful, extremely dense bolt of electricity which pushed him deeper into the ruptured floor of the wide crater.


    Then the third bolt which was dozens of folds larger and more dazzling in blackness than the two bolts that went before it, struck Alex who was looking bloodied and felt totally helpless in the ground. Then once it impacted him, and since the massive, black-colored thunderbolt came with a lot of momentum and struck out with great heaviness because of the high density that it possessed, it caused the earth for many dozens of meters in a rectangular area to tremble, and then caused the eruption of a powerful, earth-sweeping wave which possessed incredible destructive force and rushed into every directions to seemingly reduce into bits all things in it path.


    This lightning bolt-attack which possessed a high degree of solidness and struck out with tyranny, simply shattered Alex''s body, but not that it caused it to explode into mists of blood. It only successfully broke all the bones in his body which then jutted out of his skin and caused Alex agonizing pain again. Then bright red blood could be seen oozing and spurting out like fountains from the places on his skin where the bones which formed the skeletal framework of his body stuck out from.


    With red, enlarged eyes due to the intense pain that he suffered, Alex who continually employed the divine-tier absorption method mentioned in the Great Empyrean Seven-Hue Lightning Methodology that he studied, and released the vast-scale pulling power of his divinely body, quickly absorbed the wild and berserk electricity arcs that moved about on the surface of his body into his energyhouse. Then the electriforce energy which constituted the black electricity arcs that flowed through his energy meridians, infused into the black lightning crystal in his energyhouse, it size increased from that of a grain of sand to that of a fingernail.


    After swallowing  a few powerful, healing and vitality pills which made him to quickly recover, he looked into himself.


    Then seeing the unencouraging, tiny growth of the lightning crystal in his energyhouse, Alex steeled himself and prepared to absorb more destructive lightning from the tribulation thundercloud.


    With a determined gaze that erupted the unbridled intent to absorb and devour the essences of all things in the realmverse, he stretched both hands out to his side. Then with golden swordforce energy gushing out like furious streams from the both of them, the large amounts of sharpness-energy that had erupted from his hands, rapidly condensed and abruptly shaped into large, curved swords.


    Now wielding the similar energy-swords like a veteran, twin swords-user, he prepared to attack the immensely-sized thunderbolts that would descend soon from the sky with insane lethal power. He was ready to slash them apart and absorb them into his energyhouse to make them his.

 Chapter 228: Lightning cultivation II

    As he waited with his energy-swords in his hands, the black thundercloud changed from black to blood-red. Just it new appearance was extremely frightening.


    Alex saw the change from it dark color to blood-red color and shook. However, he didn''t let it frighten him.


    With a deafening boom, a large bolt of blood-red lightning fired from the thundercloud towards him.


    When the thundercloud suddenly changed in color, Alex quickly moved his upgraded speedforce energy from his energyhouse to his eyes so he could perceive everything around him in slow motion. Then he infused numerous slivers of his strengthforce energy into the similar-looking, curved energy-swords that he now wielded which he formed out of his swordforce energy. This he did to increase their tensile strengths, levels of toughness and their degrees of resistance to breaking or shattering upon heavy collisions.


    Then the moment that the bolt shot down with extreme fierceness, Alex who was already looking up to observe the attacks of the cloud, saw the incoming fired bolt of lightning shoot towards him in a bit of slow motion as his eyes were already saturated with speed-perception energy, and possessing inborn, incredibly sharp reflexes, instantly made a powered, long-range back flip away from where he stood.


    As soon as he did so, the massive, blood-red lightning bolt struck the ground where he initially was with tyrannical hardness.


    Bang!!!


    Impacting the earth with a lot of force, a tremor surfaced and a deep and wide crater appeared in the earth. Also, when the bolt struck the earth and produced a tremor, a powerful wave of decent destructive power erupted from the point of collision and swept into the distance in all direction with a great degree of ferociousness.


    Alex when he landed from the flip immediately pointed at the crater that was about ten feet in front of him.


    "Absorb!"


    He uttered.


    Then a powerful force erupted from his body in all directions.


    As soon as this force appeared, acting on all things around him, the large remnants of blood-red lightning that were crackling loudly in the crater and trying to cause wanton destruction, were immediately strongly pulled towards his body.


    Then they entered into his body through his pores as ribbon-shaped wisps of blood-red electriforce energy. Immediately they pierced through the millions of pores in his skin, they moved down at a great speed in his energy veins to his energyhouse.


    As soon as this got to his energyhouse, it infused into the fingernail-sized, cubic crystal of black lightning. Then after infusion, the crystal gained a little hue of blood-red and a little increase in size.


    "The growth of the crystal is too tiny. I won''t be able to absorb a lot of electriforce energy if I don''t face the lightning bolts head on" He said within.


    Immediately he uttered this in his mind, his eyes began to blaze for battle.


    Looking at the thundercloud that continuously produced terrifying peals of thunder which then suddenly fired an enormous, fork-shaped, blood-red lightning at him, Alex who was calmly waiting for it next attack, unexpectedly power-leaped towards the massive, fork-like bolt that was shooting towards him with tremendous speed and unfathomable viciousness.


    Alex actually had the aim to intercept it and absorb it so that the solid crystal of lightniforce energy in his energyhouse could grow.


    Seeing the bolt in a bit of slow motion, he powerfully swung the two curved swords in his hands at the bolt.


    Bang!!


    A loud, explosive sound rang out as the swords connected with the solid bolt of blood-red lightning.


    Then the solid, fork-shaped bolt of lightning whose density couldn''t match that of the swords in Alex''s hand because of the presence of strengthforce energy in their structures, directly shattered into thousands of pieces. And as Alex plummeted back to the earth since he couldn''t fly yet, and had gravitational force act on him, he quickly uttered "Absorb!"


    Then the thousands of tiny, solid fragments of blood-red lightning that had scattered apart in every direction because of Alex''s heavy and sharp swords that had insanely and powerfully struck the dense bolts of lightning, were instantly pulled towards his body by a powerful encompassing force. And immediately the pieces of lightning arrived an inch before his body, surrounding it like they wanted to impale him all over, they abruptly penetrated into it from his pores and went down his energy veins as thick wisps of electriforce energy to his energyhouse.


    Once they got to his energyhouse, they infused into the cubic crystal of black lightning and made the dim hue of blood-red that it possessed become bright, while the crystal itself experienced a significant increase in size. It quickly grew from the size of a fingernail to that of a pear.


    Quickly falling back to the earth, a louder, deafening boom rang out as another large bolt of blood-red lightning shot out from the sky towards Alex.


    With eyes that glowed with courage and determination, a large amount of tribulation flame-enhanced pyroforce energy abruptly discharged from his feet in a jet-like fashion; dark scarlet fiery energy rapidly and excessively erupted from his feet in the form of an enormous stream of flame that it produced a boom sound and a great propulsive force that caused Alex to be shot back into the air at a terrifying speed.


    Then before he could be impacted by the incoming, huge, solid bolt of blood-red lightning, Alex whose arms were already glowing in a soft golden color, which was as a result of them being permeated with strengthforce energy, heavily swung the large, thick swords of golden swordforce energy that his glowing hands wielded at the bolt.


    BOOOM!!


    The instant the heavy swords met the immense lightning bolt, a tremendous boom sound rang out which was instantly accompanied by a devastating wave of violent kinetic energy that surfaced from the point at which they collided.


    However, hitting the bolt with great power using the swords, the solid bolt of lightning surprisingly shattered into thousands of pieces again like glass.


    Alex who had stopped expelling a thrusting stream of flames from his feet immediately uttered inwardly.


    ''Absorb!''


    Then the thousand fragments of blood-red lightning that had scattered in every direction, were instantly pulled towards Alex which then quickly entered into his body as wisps of lightniforce energy to his energyhouse. And as soon as they got to his energyhouse, they infused into the crystal and increased it size once again.


    The tribulation thundercloud which possessed some degree of awareness changed from it blood-red color to a dark blue color. And as soon as it changed to this color, it suddenly grew greatly in size that it now spanned two thousand feet from it several hundred feet that it initially was. Also, more extremely large clouds began to appear on top of it that they stacked and formed a nine-layered cloud. And the instant the single massive cloud became a multi-layered cloud, a tyrannical suppressive pressure emanated from it. The pressure was so much that it gave the feeling that it had exuded from the body of a god. Then alarming thunderous booms rampantly rang out from within it. These frightening booming sounds of thunder unendingly pealed out from the thundercloud. While blinding flashes of blue light that emitted from bolts of blue-colored lightning that streaked across the vast thundercloud dyed everywhere in their blue color anytime that they manifested.


    Alex saw this and his heart greatly shook. Yet, it didn''t waiver his resolution.

 Chapter 229: Lightning cultivation III

    Then abruptly, thousands of blue lightning bolts shot down from the immense, nine-layered clouds towards Alex who had once again began to rapidly and excessively discharge tremendous amounts of fiery energy from his body in the form of flames to provide him with flight.


    Alex saw this and became terrified. Then he thought of dodging, but he realized in the next instant that he was at the center of the thundercloud and would definitely be caught up in the thousands of furious lightning bolts that were shooting towards him.


    Then like he didn''t care for his life anymore, he unexpectedly shot straight into the sky with powerful flames expelling from his feet at a terrifying rate towards the thundercloud.


    In the next second, the thousand lightning bolts that had shot out from the thundercloud appeared before Alex and struck him.


    Caught up in the immense, torrential lightning, Alex was knocked back to the earth. And as he was tyrannically hurled to the earth, he became engulfed by the lightning which tried to devastate his tough body.


    Arghhhhhhhhh...!!!


    Alex began to shriek loudly and unceasingly as intense stinging and burning pains began to rack his entire body. The agonizing pains which he felt were a result of the thousands of wild and vicious, blue electricity arcs from the lightning that began to roam about on his body with the intent to either burn it to cinders or destroy it.


    While his body which had cracked in hundreds of places due to being heavily hit by the dense bolts of lightning, began to quickly fall off to expose the delicate organs that were hidden by his tempered flesh. Then the seemingly frenzied lightning arcs that moved intently and violently about on his body, entered into his body through the places where his stiffened, hardened flesh had broken off and fell to the earth. Then once they entered into his body, they began to cause unbridled destruction to his entire organs, arteries and veins, while drying up his blood at the same time.


    The arcs of electricity which had the intent to decimate Alex''s body, permeated his entire body within and began to burn and ruin his organs and blood vessels as they raged and rampaged about in his body.


    Since Alex had totally lost his mental concentration due to the great and exceeding pain that racked his entire body, the immense stream of dark scarlet flame that continuously and rapidly ejected from his leg ceased. While he was being shoved back to the earth at a tremendous speed due to being tyrannically struck by the many solid bolts of blue lightning.


    Alex smashed hard into the earth and the remaining pieces of tempered flesh that covered his skeleton and organs exploded out from his body.


    The force that transmitted to his body upon heavily crashing into the earth and with an insane momentum, caused the remaining charred pieces of flesh on his badly broken body to explosively leap away and scatter about in every direction.


    However, the lightning arcs that had filled his body within didn''t stop there. They simply continued to rampage about in his body as they tried to cause further degrees of destruction to the organs which had already been reduced to something that looked seemingly beyond recovery or regeneration.


    While Alex who had fainted from the heavy collision with the earth from his immensely accelerated fall from a certain altitude in the sky was instantly jolted awake by the extremely excruciating pain that unendingly racked his body.


    Gnashing his teeth hard, he quickly released the known, tremendous mystical power of his body.


    Then the innumerable arcs of lightning that wanted nothing but Alex''s absolute destruction, were suddenly acted upon by an unseen force that came from a large rune that was at the center of Alex''s energyhouse. If this rune was to actually appear in the realmverse, it would be a massive world of it own. It would be a Greatverse that would swallow up many other Greatverses.


    It was actually this single, planet-sized rune which was condensed from the astronomical, statutory power of Myriad Essences and Energy Devouring that always produced the exceedingly powerful forces of suppression or limitation and absorption that acted on all energies, whether normal, primordial or deity energies, and then strongly pulled them into his body. Although it was said to be an unseen, defensive mechanism of his body against berserk, strange and foreign energies, it was actually this peculiar rune that was responsible for the devourment of all energies that he would ever come into contact with.


    The power rune which was astonishingly large in size and was at the center or heart of Alex''s energyhouse couldn''t be actually seen by him. Despite it shocking vastness, it couldn''t be noticed by him. That was to show that Alex''s energyhouse was totally different from those of others. It was extremely large within that it could be simply seen as a cultivation-receptacle; energy-containing treasure-vessel that could hold from a million to a centillion times the energies of others (depending on their grades) and could perfectly replace the energyhouse that one would simply become a cultivation aberrant.


    It was also this rune that caused the manifestations of other small runes on the surfaces of Alex''s energy meridians which then increased their grades that it would far surpass that of the divine overlord grade.


    Therefore, this would leave one totally perplexed of how such a mighty rune of primal power found it way into his body and why his energyhouse was like that.


    As soon as the innumerous lightning arcs were acted upon by the encompassing, exceedingly attractive force that exuded from deep within Alex''s energyhouse, they were suddenly and rapidly pulled towards it as bundles of wisps of electriforce energy. And when they entered, they infused into the red-black crystal of tribulation lightning, increasing it size again by a few cubic feet.


    Alex couldn''t stand from where he heavily landed into. But with a thought, a powerful healing pill appeared before him and entered into his mouth.


    There was no stomach that the swallowed healing pill would dissolve in as every organ within Alex''s body had been ruined beyond regeneration. And why Alex was still alive was because of his heart and brain that were still intact and were left undamaged as they were totally protected by invisible enveloping fields that emitted from the treasures at the center of his head and from his dad''s spatial necklace that had merged with his chest.


    However, the pill still melted into healforce energy that spread to every area of Alex''s body, fully permeating it. And once it did so, it brought rapid healing to his badly wrecked body. His organs which had reduced to cinders were ignored as formation of new and more resilient organs began to take place. Then the cinders that were in his body were ejected out of it.


    At the same time that the new organs formed, the remaining pieces of old flesh were cast away and a new and stronger flesh appeared on his body, covering his exposed bones and organs.


    Alex then stood to his feet and bellowed to the nine-layered cloud.


    "You wanna annihilate me?! Give it your best shot!!"

 Chapter 230: Cultivation breakthrough

    Seemingly provoked, earth-shaking booms of thunder rang out from it.


    Then all of a sudden, an astonishing amount of blue lightning descended from the sky like a furious stream and impacted Alex who was on the ground.


    Bang!!


    The earth shook hard as it deeply cratered, while waves of destructive kinetic energies instantly surfaced which then swept out with seeming apocalyptic might.


    But the massive, terrifying downpour of devastating, blue-colored lightning didn''t stop. Instead it continued to impact Alex in the crater like it was a furious, torrential flood.


    Alex whose body had been tempered to some degree, surprisingly withstood the destructive, earth-splitting power of the unceasing, dense lightning flood. However, he still sustained many injuries from the initial terrible collisions of the solid bolts of blue lightning with his body. But they weren''t very serious ones. They were only superficial wounds. If the body of a body-cultivation expert whose physical strength matched that of a peak-phase, Earth Adept-stage cultivator was struck by such, his or her body would instantly shatter into pieces or become mists of blood. That was how stiff, strong and tough Alex''s bodily flesh and bones had become .


    Then being incessantly bombarded by the severe lightning bolts that interminably shot down from the vast, nine-layered cloud in the sky with the intent to destroy Alex''s body, Alex who was initially knocked to the ground when the bolts first impacted him, tried to stand back to his feet. And as he did so and suffered the continuous collisions of the bolts with his tempered body, he gnashed his teeth in pain, while also producing a muffled groan at the same time. Then finally standing to face the rapid and unstopping bombardments of the bolts with his body, he made up his mind to temper his flesh using the tribulation lightning.


    Why Alex decided to do so was because he could see and feel that his flesh and bones were becoming stronger. Besides, from his personal studies, he knew that this was the kind of thing that body-cultivation experts subjected themselves to, with the intentions to make their bodies stronger and more resilient or resistant to physical damages. But unlike him who was about to use tribulation lightning to do so, to increase his body''s imperviousness to a certain level, what body-cultivators used was duraforce energy. The body tempering realm-energy which was also called ''treasure armor-body transformation energy'' would continuously shatter and reform their bodies to make it durable to a degree; for as long as they can maintain the cycle of destruction and reformation.


    Now standing with his eyes closed, he let the compacted, devastating flood of blue lightning hit him. And understanding that the tribulation thundercloud possessed some level of awareness, he let his voice boom out seemingly towards the sky.


    "Hahaha! MORE!!! You good-for-nothing tribulation cloud!"


    Then being provoked again, the rate at which the flood of lightning discharged from the vast thundercloud, increased to a terrifying degree.


    Once it rate increased to an alarming level, as well it denseness to a shocking degree, the seemingly undulating flood of lightning struck Alex very hard that he, who stood with his legs firmly planted on the floor of the crater like as if he was about to carry the world on his shoulder, was knocked extremely deep into floor of the cratered earth. Besides, the tidal and violent flood of lightning which shot down with a lot of momentum, caused the floor of the crater to shatter apart in a ripple-like pattern, resulting in the deepening of the crater. Also, because of the pulverizing and destructive power possessed by the surging, huge flood of lightning, the deep crater''s uneven wall shattered apart, resulting in the expansion or widening of the rectangular-shaped crater by hundreds of feet.


    At the moment, hundreds of deep wounds could be seen on the body of Alex who tried to stand back to his feet. However, because of the intensity of the exceedingly furious flood of berserk, rampaging lightning, he couldn''t do so. Although he mustered strength, he simply couldn''t achieve his objective.


    Then allowing the lightning to continually strike him hard where he was, he focused on tempering his body with it.


    So as his flesh burned or tore away, new ones appeared, although very slowly as he hadn''t taken healing pills. Then the new ones that gradually surfaced were also quickly ripped away by the lightning that continually bombarded Alex''s body and ultimately sought for his total destruction.


    Therefore, that was how the cycle of destruction and regeneration initiated.


    - Twenty five minutes later -


    The flood of lightning that struck Alex didn''t show any sign of stopping soon, while Alex who had stood back to his feet and had his naked body glow lustrously like it were metal, felt that he had tempered his body enough and that he should absorb the rest so that he could grow his three-colored crystal of tribulation lightning.


    Then focusing on his body again, he willed it to absorb every energy in his vicinity.


    As soon as he gave the command, a powerful absorbing force bursted out from his body, then it acted on the flood of lightning that had Alex at it center.


    In the next instant, the essences that made up each lightning bolt were pulled in like a stream into his body. And rapidly flowing along his energy meridians to his energyhouse, they infused into the hand-sized crystal of lightning that had formed in his special energyhouse. Then very quickly, it size began to increase.


    Unlike the rest of his energies which existed in the liquid form in his energyhouse and would require that Alex first stepped into the core formation stage before they can gain a crystalline or solid form, the lightniforce energy that was now speedily growing in his energyhouse already existed in the solid form. It had taken a definite shape as it had turned into a solid, cubic crystal. But this was due to condensing arcs of lightning into a crystal as mentioned in the cultivation method of the ''Great Empyrean Seven-Hue Lightning Methodology''. Then as the essences of the lightning bolts continually entered into his body and flowed down his energy meridians to his energyhouse where they now infused into the three-colored lightning crystal, it growth shot up. Therefore, from the initial-phase entry stage that it was, it rushed to the peak-phase entry stage. Then it climbed up again to the initial-phase condensation stage where it rushed to the late-phase, condensation stage. Then eventually to the peak-phase condensation stage and stopped there.


    At this point in time, the discharge rate, intensity and strength of the flood of blue lightning had reduced, since the flood was slowly thinning in size, while the nine-layered cloud in the sky was gradually fading away as the cloud form it had taken was degrading and was slowly dispersing away. However, after a long time, the flood ceased as the tribulation thundercloud vanished.


    Alex had actually survived his Beyonder-type tribulations into the earth adept stage, and even came out with great benefits from it.


    But usually, tribulations of any type shouldn''t occur when one was just breaking through into the earth stage stage (which was also the core formation stage), and should only appear when one was breaking through into the Heaven Adept stage. But anyways, it did for Alex, which was to show how special he was. So, when he gets to the peak-phase, Sky Lord stage, he might experience another more totally lethal and destructive tribulation before he could enter the Heaven Adept stage.


    As soon as the tribulation cloud disappeared, with his lightniforce energy crystal now matching the others in quality (density) and quantity (amount), Alex was then ushered into the core formation stage. And what was the core formation stage? It was the stage where his entire cultivated energies would turn from their seemingly liquid form into a solid form.


    Now looking impressively within himself, he saw how the pools of his numerous energies transform into huge, rectangular-shaped, crystalline pillars of energy that stood upright. And in this solid, crystal-like form, they had qualitatively transformed. Then with the divineforce energy in them which was a god-level energy and always made them to leap in density, their quality could now exactly match that of one in the Sky Lord stage, whilst being in the earth adept stage. Just like how when he was in the initial phase entry stage and his battle power could match that of initial-phase condensation expert, making them only his true opponents. Same went for this too. Now that he was in the initial-phase, Earth Adept stage, his true opponents should be in the initial phase, Sky Lord stage. And coupled with the tribulation energies that had fused with some of his energies and far augmented their damaging capacities, it was left to Alex to find how high his battle power was.


    With a wide smile in his face, he clenched his fist, then a powerful boom rang out.


    Hahaha!


    He grinned delightedly.


    He knew now that he possessed a shocking level of power, and was left to him to discover how strong he was.


    Then with a wave of his hand, an outfit appeared from his dad''s spatial necklace and covered his nakedness.


    Now looking up from the sixty-feet deep crater that he was in, he leaped very high towards a wall of the crater without using his strengthforce energy to permeate his muscles. And surprisingly, using only his powerful leg muscles, he got to a height of forty-feet. Then when he got to that astonishing height from a single leap, his fists and feet effortlessly pierced into the crater''s wall at that level. Then exhaling as he readied himself, he powerfully shot himself upwards using his hands, and his legs to push his body high into the air so that he could leave the hole that he was in.


    Then when he landed to the earth surface, he flitted back to the village.

 Chapter 231: New Chapter of Power

    As he dashed back to the village, he met Olivia on the way.


    Then he stopped running and went to meet her.


    Olivia''s face at the moment was sheet-white. She still hadn''t recovered from the fear that engulfed her heart when the tribulation attacks fell upon him.


    She thought that he would certainly lose his life in the attacks, but fortunately, he didn''t.


    However, the attacks replayed in her head and this kept her still frightened.


    When Alex got to her side, he went to hold her hands. He knew that she would be terribly frightened by the terrifying attacks that descended on him.


    Then with a smile in his face, he asked "Olivia, I am fine. Why have your skin not recovered from this color that speaks nothing but horror?"


    Olivia exhaled.


    Then she said "I thought I was definitely going to lose you. I saw the terrific attacks and my heart couldn''t help shatter into pieces. Anyways, seeing that you are fine, it''s slowly healing"


    Alex nodded his head. Then he embraced her.


    With his lips now closer to her ears, he said "I know that tribulations are powerful and extremely deadly. But because of you and every other thing that I still want to do, I will definitely try to withstand every terrifying tribulations that would come my way. In case you don''t know, the life in this body doesn''t belong to me alone, it belongs to you and every other person that I would meet and help in future. So I wouldn''t let my life be wasted or destroyed by any tribulation, no matter how powerful and dreadful that they would be"


    Olivia nodded her head.


    "Come on, let''s go back to the village" He said.


    Then he held Olivia by the hand as they began to walk back to the village.


    Alex then looked at her said "We wouldn''t be leaving tomorrow, but next tomorrow. I want to consolidate my cultivation base"


    "Alex, I would agree with you on anytime that you want to leave" Olivia said with a smile.


    Not long, they got to the large jungle that surrounded the village.


    After going in through the path that he made, they appeared before the villagers who waited with intense worry in their eyes.


    They also heard the incessant booms and Alex''s loud screeches from that far distance, and became exceedingly fearful for his life. They thought from the terrifying screeches that Alex was going to certainly die.


    But when Alex appeared before them, the joy that blossomed in their hearts became boundless, immeasurable. Then with great happiness and excitement in their faces, they rushed towards him to warmly embrace him.


    Alex didn''t repulse them, he let them all come to embrace him.


    After a while, they all pulled out from the crowded embrace.


    One of the villagers then asked to be fully assured "Sir, are you totally okay now?"


    "Yea, I am totally fine" Alex replied.


    "Good!" The villager excitedly said.


    "Alright folks. I would love to go in to rest" Alex said.


    The villagers all nodded their heads and gave way for Alex to pass. Alex then headed for the building that he chose to stay in for the little time that he would be here.


    Nailah came to Olivia''s side and said "I want to resume my cultivation"


    "Alright. Let me go with you to help you" Olivia said.


    Then she left with Nailah to go help her in her cultivation.


    After Alex got to his room, he sat in the cross-legged position on the bed.


    Then he looked into himself, and when he saw the seventeen crystalline pillars of energy, emitting dazzling light and astonishing powers, he gave an adorable smile. And when he looked around, he saw the other energies that his body passively absorbed on it own. These were sexforce energy and poisonforce energy.


    Alex wished that he could control them, but he knew that he wouldn''t be able to do so. It was only until he comprehend them that he could control them. Besides, as the energy wasn''t his and was only forcefully absorbed, he wasn''t linked to it. But if he could understand poisonforce energy, he might be able to establish a link to them. Therefore, with that link that he had created in the light of profound comprehension, he would be able to manipulate the movement of the energies  to his desire.


    With his eyes still closed, he calmed his mind and cleared off all thoughts, then he tried to comprehend poisonforce energy.


    After contemplating in many directions about it, he still wasn''t able to achieve his aim.


    So he just gave up on it for later.


    He also tried for sexforce energy. But it was the same futile result.


    Since there would be nothing else to do, he again immersed himself in his world of comprehension.


    Focusing on the immense numbers of battle and movement techniques of tons of methodologies that had being branded into his mind upon mind transmission from his parent, the Azure Beastsman, the Silver-Violet Sword Banisher and the old man that had the eyes of destruction, he tried to comprehend them all. And to his amazement, he could do so. His mind had also been enhanced to a degree after successfully passing through the tribulation.


    Now, one could say that he had many more techniques at his disposal.


    - Several hours later -


    It was already night and so Olivia came in. She had patiently taught Nailah what she needed to know about cultivation.


    When she entered the room that both she and Alex were staying, she saw Alex on the bed.


    Then she went to him and directly lied on him.


    With her busts pressing against his bare chest, she asked "Are you done consolidating your cultivation base?"


    "Yea." He replied. Then he asked "So what of Nailah, have you explained to her what cultivation is?"


    "Certainly" Olivia replied.


    "Alright" Alex said.


    Then with a smile surfacing on Olivia''s lips, she lowered her head to kiss him on the neck. Then she rested her head on his chest.


    Rubbing her hand across his ripped abs, she asked "Alex, you really did a lot of high-intensity muscular training when you were young."


    Alex only smiled.


    What muscle training? he never did anything like that. It was the strengthforce energy which he cultivated that made his muscles spontaneously grow and develop on their own.


    Then Olivia remained like that on Alex till she fell asleep. While Alex whose eyes still shone, properly placed Olivia on the bed and stood up from it.


    Looking at the moon in the starry sky through the window, and then feeling the calm and serenity in the world at this time, the thought that of all this would be no more very soon, surfaced in his mind.


    Then his heart became heavy.


    When would he be able to ever reach a very high stage to protect his realmverse from the Sae-Uhl race that would be invading anytime soon.


    As he was thinking about this, his eyes suddenly glowed.


    "No, I don''t need to wait for them to come so I can push them back. Instead, I will try to become very powerful that I would journey across realmverses and seize their system of governments and set up mine. Instead of becoming only a Multiversal Hegemon in this world, I will become the Lord of all Realmverses. I will become the Ruler of all Cosmic Dimensions, the Peerless Monarch and Dictator of all galaxies. I will be the first and the last to unite all realms. Yes, that is my new objective" Alex said with blazing eyes.


    And, as soon as he said this, projecting himself out of this world, instead of limiting himself to it, a new chapter of power opened up in his body.


    Abruptly, a message appeared in his mind.


    [ System Initializing ]


    1%


    25%


    50%


    75%


    95%


    100%


    [ System activated ]


    [ Host has been recognized ]


    Alex then heard a male voice in his head, saying:


    "Greetings, Alex Star, I am the World Domination Ultimate Support System. I will help you accomplish your goal in becoming the Lord of all Realms."

 Chapter 232: Astria, the world that formed the realms

    Alex shook at the message that appeared in his mind.


    Very quickly, he asked the voice that spoke to him. "Who are you?!"


    "I am Johnny Cloudwalker " A male voice replied in his head.


    "Just how did you get into my mind? Are you a body hijacking soul-entity?"


    "No, I am not that. I am here to support you in your quest to becoming an invincible, supreme conqueror of worlds." The male voice replied.


    "What bullshit. I don''t even know what you are. You better get of my body or be prepared to be utterly destroyed" Alex threatened.


    "Alex, calm down please." The male voice said. Then it continued "I will make things easier for you"


    "Long before the thousands of realmverses that you know now formed, there only existed one great world we called ''Astria''. In this world, we had trillions of all kinds of tribes and races that possessed different types of abilities living together. Not that we actually existed together in harmony since we fought almost everyday for who the supreme tribe or race was. It was rather a chaotic world were the strongest preyed on the weak and hijacked or seized territories. But this world was also an highly, technologically-advanced world where powerful experts who could cultivate energies, body, soul and bloodline could seal up their consciousnesses in interdimensional items or objects, which would then act as systems for their successors. Some incredibly powerful experts that knew that they would die soon would send their powerful consciousness into vastly sophisticated technological devices. These devices which were seventeen in numbers were the Evolvers, Enhancers, Accelerators, Energizers, Object-Teleporters, Runers, Attack-Augmenters, Enchanters or Bewitchers, Evokers, Warpers, Demonizers, Mind-Controllers, Zombie-Transformers, Disruptors, Substance-Emitters, Soulbinders and Spellweavers. So, the terrific experts would send and seal up their consciousness in any of these devices. Then any of these devices that contained the consciousness of the mightiest expert in a family, would be given to the strongest and most powerful geniuses in that family." The voice said.


    Then it spoke further "However, due to the interminable chaos, our world was driven to the brink of collapse. With so many experts dying from the unceasing, world-shaking battles which resulted from the unrestrained usage of terrifying weapons that utilized voidstones and contained many terrifying arrays, our tremendously massive world shattered apart into thousands of fragments. Same with our solar system, it crashed upon itself and imploded. Now, the millions of fragments of our world that scattered away in every direction in the void were what formed the thousands of realmverses you have learnt about. The fragments had simply turned back into worlds that myriad of races could inhabit. So, that was how the thousands of realmverses that you have today formed from a single world. And if you look at how large your realmverse is, which is only but a fragment, you should understand that the world Astria, where I came from, was extremely large in size."


    Alex''s eyes glittered with shock and marvel.


    "So why are you the World Domination Ultimate Support system, and what are its functions?"


    "Good question! Now, when the chaos and disorderliness became too much. Out of fear for our world exploding into smithereens, I, as the High Chief of the Negaria race, brought many top-ranking experts of other races and tribes together. Our intention was to create a peerless system, one which was a fusion of all the devices. We wanted to create an unparalleled system that would make the host whose body it would inhabit, the most powerful or strongest in our world. We wanted this host to be the one who would use his or her unmatched, alarming devastating power to unite every territories or regions in my world." The voice replied.


    Then it continued "I know that you are surprised on how I was able to summon many experts in that chaotic world. Actually, I was able to do so because the many experts that I called, also had the feeling that our world might explode soon if the unending, calamitous battles that took place didn''t stop or cease. Therefore, after putting together all our mental and physical resources, that was how we built the system, one that would support the host in ascending to a level of power where he or she would possess the ability to unify all territories. We wanted the system to simply turn the host into the most powerful person in the world. However, many months after its painstaking creation, the world which simply couldn''t take the terrible devastating shocks that resulted from the collisions of the numerous experts'' apocalyptic-level attacks during their battles, exploded with a big bang into pieces" The voice replied.


    Then it continued "So the system whose alternate name is the ''Empyrean Sovereign Creator system'', is the fusion of the seventeen advanced technological devices which are the Evolvers, Enhancers, Accelerators, Energizers, Object-Teleporters, Runers, Attack-Augmenters, Enchanters or Bewitchers, Evokers, Warpers, Demonizers, Mind-Controllers, Zombie-Transformers, Disruptors, Substance-Emitters, Soulbinders and Spellweavers. Each of these have their specific functions. For example, the Evolver and the Enhancer. The former would allow the host whose body the system inhabits to evolve, while the latter simply increases the host''s base abilities, such as the physical senses and so on. You would get to know more about the functions of each of these devices when you start to accept and fulfill quests given by the system. You would certainly see for yourself very soon"


    "Hmm." Alex uttered with a smile surfacing in his face.


    Then imagining how glorious his future would be, he said to the voice.


    "Thanks for selecting me to be the host of this system"


    "Haha. Kid, no need to show appreciation." The voice said. Then it continued "Actually, when we finished building the system which was in the shape of a prism, and then thought of who to give the system to, we realized that there was really no one worthy of the system. Therefore, we decided to create a clone. One that was modeled after someone and then engineered to perfection. Since I was the one who brought up the idea to create the strongest system, the clone which we jointly created was modeled after me." The voice said.


    Then it continued "But the major reason why we tried to create a clone in my form was because of the astonishing powers that I possessed; because of the insanely powerful race that I was from, which was one of the top three races in the trillions of races in that world. So, as the highest-ranking member of the Negaria race, a small-populated race that possessed nigh-indestructible, triple-armored crystalline body, twelve pairs of enormous, eternally-regenerating, extremely resilient, glowing sharp wings that were formed from the life and vitality, body and soul essences of our enemies, and ultimately, the power to attract and devour the essences of everything and every energy that we came across, the clone was built in my form. However, we couldn''t get through with this as our world which was the near the brink of a total collapse, finally shattered into fragments. But just some moments before our world would blow up into bits, I, who was always ready for the worst, quickly sealed my consciousness into the prism which was the system, and then sent it out of Astria, my World, into the void. I did this with the hope that someone who was worthy, after everything that would take place, would discover the prism and activate the system after it bonds or fuses with them."


    Alex now he understood.


    Then a thought popped up in his mind that his mom should have been solely responsible for the system that was now in his body. She must have discovered it during one of her adventures through the void to the many uncharted or nigh-inaccessible regions of the realmverse, and thus was penetrated by it before settling in a part of his body.


    His eyes glowed in comprehension when this train of thought ended.


    Then before he could speak, he suddenly remembered what the voice said, ''That the race he was from was the type that possessed the power to devour the essences of everything and absorb energies, no matter their level, whether normal or primordial energies".


    Then his heart shook!


    ''Don''t just tell me that I have a power of that perverse race!'' He screamed inwardly with trembling excitement.


    So that he could clarify this, he hurriedly asked the voice "Are you the one that gave my body the power to be able to rapidly absorb and tremendously expel energies, and not be destroyed by them?"


    "Yes, I was the one." The voice said.


    Then it continued "When the device got into your body, I immediately infused my genes which were stored in the gene preservation compartment in the prism into your body. My aim was to mutate your body using my racial genes so that it would possess part of the power of my race. And to my unbounded gladness, my intention was hundred percent fulfilled when the genes that I transmitted into your body, increased the grade of your energy veins, and didn''t cause them to develop serious, irreversible problems. But apart from that, I, who possesses the unlimited arcane power to draw every energy from the world and absorb them, created runes of various powers in your body. Some I lined along your entire energy veins to prevent them from snapping or breaking due to the overly tremendous flow of energies in them. Then one which is my near-boundless power of devouring, was condensed into a single gigantic rune that can be found at the center of your astronomically vast energyhouse. It was this mystical rune of devourment primal power that helped you to absorb every energy that you would ever come across, keeping you safe from extremely dangerous energies. Anyways, that''s all I have to say. So kid, I am only here to help you ascend to the zenith. Besides, it''s your life. I won''t interrupt in anything that you do. I am only here to lead you to greater power. I have had my time which I certainly enjoyed. It''s time for yours. " The voice replied.


    Alex nodded.


    But he was tremendously excited within.


    This was a great, custom-made luck.


    Alex then asked "Why didn''t you appear until now?"


    "That''s because you weren''t ready to dominate the thousands of realmverses. You were limiting yourself, your vast potentials, to only this realmverse. But when I perceived your intent to conquer all realms, I immediately appeared." The voice replied.


    "Hmmm! Cool" Alex said.


    Then he recalled the other two systems that his parent told him about; the Beyonder Library system and the Gene system.


    He didn''t know where to get them, but he would definitely look for them. He must have them too before other people could get them.


    "The Sae-Uhl race huh? You bitches don''t know what''s coming at you."

 Chapter 233: Stats and Quests

    "So, how do you I use this system?" Alex asked.


    "Just think of menu" The voice replied.


    Alex then thought of menu. And as soon as he did so, a large screen appeared in his mind.


    -------------------------------------


    [ Menu ]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Stats ]


    [ Skills ]


    [ Astria Weapons ]


    [ Crafting ]


    [ Forging ]


    [ Pill Making ]


    [ Evolution ]


    [ Quests ]


    [ Shop ]


    -------------------------------------


    "Hmm. So how do I select the stats option?" Alex asked.


    "To select any option that appears in the screen, just think about it" The voice replied.


    "Alright" Alex uttered.


    Then he thought of the stats option.


    -------------------------------------


    [ Stats ]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Base Stats ]


    [ Special Stats ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''Hmm.'' Alex uttered within.


    Then he thought of ''Base Stats''.


    -------------------------------------


    [ Base Stats ]


    -------------------------------------


    Name: Alex Star


    Race: Human/ Negaria/ Beasts


    Type: Hybrid


    Class: A


    Age: 16


    Attack Speed: NA


    Movement Speed: NA


    Attack Power: NA


    Damage Power: NA


    Jump Power: NA


    Flight Speed: NA


    HP: 100/100


    Number of Energies: 17


    Number of Physiques: 3


    Body Regeneration Speed: NA


    Flesh Toughness Degree: NA


    Physical Strength: 15 tons


    Intelligence: 70


    Agility: 100


    Endurance: 80


    Dexterity: 100


    Reflex: 100


    Stamina: 100


    Coordination: 100


    Available Points to distribute: 5


    -------------------------------------


    When Alex finished going through the stats, he became shocked and surprised by what he saw.


    What caused him to be shocked and heavily surprised was the [Race] in the screen. It mentioned that he was half-human, half-negaria and half-beast.


    Then as he began to wonder why he was an half-beast, he recalled the red crystal that shot into his body, an item that the Azure Beastsman prepared for his successor. And when this crystal got into his body, it turned into hundreds of different types of divine beast blood essences that merged with his, giving him the abilities of the divine beasts which he couldn''t sense yet because of the cultivation stage that he was in.


    The red crystal which was simply crystallized blood essence matrix, contained the blood of the Azure Beastsman, and the hundreds of divine beasts that the Azure Beastsman forcefully extracted blood essences from after he subdued them with his astonishing beast-summoning power.


    When Alex thought up to this point, he then understood why in the screen, it mentioned that he was an half-beast.


    A smile appeared in his face as he shook his head in amazement. He simply had so many undiscovered and unused abilities, as each of the blood essences of the divine beasts which had fused with his, will provide him with the bloodline powers of the divine beast when he got to certain cultivation stages.


    Then when he saw the ones with NA, he knew that it meant ''Not Available.'' And why was it unavailable? It was because the system couldn''t put an accurate figure there until Alex carried out those things. For example, his Damage Power. It was until he threw out several attacks could it know the average damaging capability of his physical and energy-attacks.


    And, when he saw ''Number of Physiques: 3'', he became surprised.


    He knew where two of the three physiques came from. They came from his parent.


    Then so that he could know where the third physique came from, he thought of ''Number of Physiques''.


    -------------------------------------


    [ Number of Physiques [3] ]


    -------------------------------------


    1. Great Chaos Originator Starry Realm Celestial Physique [Bloodline] [Race: Human]


    2. Blood Rebellion and Metal Calamity Divinity-Slayer Physique [Bloodline] [Race: Human]


    3. Unlimited World Primal Essence Swallowing Battle-Seraphim physique [Derived from gene infusion] [Race: Negaria]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Return to Stats ] [ Go to Menu ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''Oh! So that''s how it''s. Nice!'' Alex said inwardly.


    It was now that Alex understood that his body which he named the ''Grand Dominator Myriad Energy Devouring body'', was actually the ''Unlimited World Primal Essence Swallowing Battle-Seraphim physique''.


    ''Go to Menu'' He thought.


    Then Menu appeared again in the screen in his mind.


    ''Skills'' He thought.


    -------------------------------------


    [ Skills ]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Battle Skills ]


    [ World Conqueror Battle Skills ]


    -------------------------------------


    Alex didn''t need anyone to tell him that the ''Battle Skills'' he saw in the screen were the battle methods that he had developed himself, and had perfectly mastered from the tons of A-grade and B-Grade battle methodologies that he studied.


    So he went for the second option.


    ''World Conqueror Battle Skills'' He thought.


    -------------------------------------


    [World Conqueror Battle Skills]


    -------------------------------------


    Detail: These are skills that the World Domination Ultimate Support System helps you with.


    [ Melee attacks ]


    [ Energy-based attacks ]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Back ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''Cool'' Alex said.


    ''Melee attacks'' He then thought.


    -------------------------------------


    [ Melee attacks ]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Dominator Dash ]


    [ Groundblazing Dash ]


    [ Dominator Palm strike ]


    [ Dominator Barrier attack ]


    [ Dominator Frenzied Shield Bash ]


    [ Dominator Sword slash ]


    [ Dominator Earth Decimating Halberd Strike ]


    [ Dominator Sweeping Blade slash ]


    [ Dominator Cyclone Blade Dual slash ]


    -------------------------------------


    [Special Melees]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Infernal Burial attack Stance ]


    [ Deathstormer stance ]


    [Page 1 of 200]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Back ] [ Next ]


    [ Go back to Menu ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''Damn'' Alex said inwardly.


    He was tremendously impressed by what he saw.


    Then to know what a particular skill actually entailed, he thought.


    ''Dominator Earth Decimating Halberd Strike''


    -------------------------------------


    [Dominator Earth Decimating Halberd Strike]


    [Level: 1]


    -------------------------------------


    Detail: System enhances host''s ability to perform an immensely strong physical strike to the earth using an halberd.


    At Level 1, strike will affect a 50-feet rectangular area of the target.


    [Skill Purchase Cost: 40 points]


    [Buy?]: [ Yes ] / [ No ]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Back ] [ Go to Menu ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''Awesome'' Alex muttered delightedly within.


    ''So, system, how do I get points to purchase skills and every other marveling things that I may come across and would have to buy?'' Alex asked inwardly.


    ''By doing quests and accomplishing them'' The male voice of the system replied.


    Then it continued ''When you complete or fulfill a certain mission, you would be awarded with points which you can use to buy skills, weapons, treasure crafting materials, pill making ingredients, minerals, cultivation resources and so on''


    Alex''s eyes glittered as he uttered ''Cool!''.


    ''Go to menu'' He said.


    -------------------------------------


    [ Menu ]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Stats ]


    [ Skills ]


    [ Astria Weapons ]


    [ Crafting ]


    [ Pill Making ]


    [ Forging ]


    [ Evolution ]


    [ Quests ]


    [ Shop ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''Quests'' He thought with a radiant smile in his face.


    -------------------------------------


    [Quests]


    -------------------------------------


    No of Quests available: 2


    - Daily Quests: 2


    - Major Quests: 30


    -------------------------------------


    [ Back ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''Daily quests'' Alex thought.


    -------------------------------------


    [Daily Quests]


    -------------------------------------


    Conditions to complete:


    0/2000 pushups


    0/1500 sit-ups


    {Time remaining: 18 hours 25 minutes}


    [ Will you accept this quest? ]


    [ Yes ] / [ No ]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Back ] [ Go to Rewards ]


    [ Go to Major Quests ]


    [ Go to Menu ]


    -------------------------------------


    Alex''s eyes glowed with surprise.


    ''Really?'' He uttered within.


    Then he continued ''That amount of push-ups and sit-ups? Hmm! Okay''


    And, with a smile surfacing on his lips, he thought.


    ''Go to rewards!''


    -------------------------------------


    [Rewards]


    -------------------------------------


    After completing this quest, host gains:


    +3 Base Stats Upgrade points


    +0.5 Skill Purchase points.


    +0.1 Weapon Purchase points.


    +0.1 Astria Pets purchase points.


    -------------------------------------


    [ Back ]


    [ Go to Major Quest ]


    [ Go to Menu ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''Wow! Nice rewards. But so little for such amounts of push-ups and sit-ups.'' Alex said with a grin.


    ''It''s cool anyways'' He muttered.


    ''Go to major quest''


    -------------------------------------


    [Major Quest(s)]


    -------------------------------------


    Details:


    Dominate 20 peak-phase, Earth Adept stage cultivators in a battle, and force them to sing well-composed praises of your nickname, ''The Godly Punisher''.


    -------------------------------------


    [Conditions to complete]:


    0/20 Cultivators dominated.


    0/20 Cultivators sang good praises.


    {Time limit: None}


    -------------------------------------


    [Rewards]:


    8 New Skills unlock.


    100 Base Stat Upgrade points.


    50 Special Stats Upgrade points.


    100 Skill Purchase points.


    -------------------------------------


    [ Will you accept this quest? ]


    [ Yes ] [ No ]


    -------------------------------------


    Alex didn''t contemplate twice before thinking ''Yes''


    -------------------------------------


    [Quest Accepted!]


    [ See other Quests ]


    [ Go back to Menu ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''See other Quests!'' Alex thought excitedly.


    -------------------------------------


    [Other Quests]


    -------------------------------------


    [Quest 1: Conquer 10 Sky-rank beasts and make them surrender to you as their Master]


    [ Accept Quest? ]: [ Yes ] / [ No ]


    [Quest 2: Brutally faceslap 30 arrogant Sky Lord stage cultivators. Let them know that they are frogs in a well]


    [ Accept Quest? ]: [ Yes ] / [ No ]


    [Quest 3: Build your own organization and make 100 Condensation stage cultivators and 50 Earth Adept stage cultivators become it members]


    [ Accept Quest? ]: [ Yes ] / [ No ]


    [Quest 4: Go to an academy and dominate 3 of their peak-phase, Sky Lord stage geniuses in battle]


    [ Accept Quest? ]: [ Yes ] / [ No ]


    [Quest 5: Go to a 2-star or 3-star Auction House and purchase everything to be auctioned. Then if followed by thieves or robbers, behead at least 10]


    [ Accept Quest? ]: [ Yes ] / [ No ]


    [Quest 6: Capture a paramount Sky-rank Swordmaiden and demand for the sum of 20 million yellow sapphirstones for her release from her sect or organization]


    [ Accept Quest? ]: [ Yes ] / [ No ]


    [Page 1 of 5]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Back ] [ Next page ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''Fuck!'' Alex couldn''t help but say within.


    ''The mental command given is not recognized. Please try again'' A mechanical female voice sounded abruptly in his head.


    ''Oh!'' Alex exclaimed with a smile.


    ''System, how do I close the screen?'' He asked.


    ''Just say close screen'' The voice replied.


    ''Alright.'' Alex responded.


    ''Close screen!'' He said.


    Then the screen vanished from his mind.


    ''Damn!'' That was absolutely intense.


    Alex then went back to his bed and lied in it.


    Olivia who suddenly woke from her sleep as she was a light sleeper, saw that Alex had returned to bed. Then she rolled towards him and rested her bust, laps and legs on him.


    Like that, they both immersed themselves into their dreamworlds.

 Chapter 234: 7 Quests to be achieved, really cool rewards

    - Next morning -


    Alex and Olivia woke up at the same time.


    Alex then yawned.


    But before he could complete his yawn and close his mouth, a succulent, bright pink lips suddenly encompassed his lips and began to move around it. That was Olivia''s juicy lips.


    Alex didn''t detach his lips from hers as he savored her soft and brilliantly pink lips.


    After a few moments of kissing, Olivia removed her lips from his and then hit him on the chest with an adorable smile appearing in her face.


    Then she stood up to take her bath.


    Immediately after she left, Alex got to work.


    Instantly, he dropped himself like a falling log of wood to the floor from his standing position.


    With his fingers fully spread out and his arms by the sides of his shoulders, he lowered himself till his chin almost touched the ground before lifting himself back up. And this he did at a shocking inhuman speed.


    1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9... 20... 30... 60... 90... 100... 200... 500... 1000...


    When Alex got to 300, Olivia entered the room back, looking all celestial and adorable, but Alex ignored her as he focused on the push-ups that he was doing.


    Olivia was taken aback by Alex who was doing insanely fast press-ups. She wondered when this started.


    Then with a mischievous smile appearing in her face, her towel which tightly wrapped around her body disappeared and was replaced by a very expensive cloth outfit which was a black gown with a slit that ran to her thigh.


    Now also on sparkling ruby-colored heels with a fancy black hat worn on her head, she directly went to lie with her chest on Alex''s back with the intention of increasing the difficulty of his push-ups.


    When Alex felt Olivia''s busts and soft body lying on him, he smirked inwardly. But this didn''t stop him from doing his press-ups. Instead, his push-up speed increased many times more than before.


    A while later, he reached 2000 push-ups.


    "Alright ma''am. I am done. Care to get up so I can do the other exercise that I have in mind?" Alex asked.


    Olivia grinned.


    "I don''t feel like standing up. Your back is actually way better than the bed we both slept on last night Olivia replied.


    Alex rolled his eyes.


    ''She just love making troubles'' He uttered within with a smile surfacing on his lips.


    "Olivia, I know that you have taken your bath and have dressed up. But if you don''t get off me the next moment, I am going to shove you away to the ground. And your outfit would be soiled" Alex threatened, but with false seriousness.


    Haha!


    Olivia laughed.


    "Let''s see you try!" She said, trying to dare him.


    "Really? Good! Then I would show you what I am capable of" Alex said.


    Then with an explosive push to stand straight back to his feet using his powerful arms, Alex actually used the lifting/propulsive force that his strong arms generated to fling Olivia who was on his back to the ground into the distance.


    Olivia who wasn''t expecting Alex''s action had her eyes glow with anger.


    Alex actually shoved her, his dear future wife away, and this made her mad.


    Just when she would stand up in anger and rain curses at him, Alex got to her side with a tremendously fast dash that generated a strong wind gusts. Then he carried her up from the ground into his embrace and sealed her lips with his.


    Olivia who wanted to break out of Alex''s embrace submitted herself to him when she realized that she didn''t have as much physical strength as him.


    After a long while, Alex detached his lips from hers and slowly dropped her to her feet. Then he said to her while scratching his head.


    "I am sorry"


    If he didn''t do so, he knew that Olivia wouldn''t leave him. She would just continue to lie playfully on his back. Probably to stop or disrupt what he was doing. But Alex didn''t want to be interrupted. He wanted to finish what he was doing.


    Olivia looked at him and then softly punched him in the chest.


    "Ouch!" Alex shouted.


    "Damn! It greatly hurts this time unlike last time" He said with a smile.


    Olivia just shook her head with a loving smile in it.


    She just couldn''t bring herself to be angry at Alex for any seriously annoying thing that he would do to her.


    "So, we are moving today right?" Olivia asked.


    "Yea" Alex replied.


    "Okay" Olivia nodded her head.


    Then she changed her sexy black gown to another immaculate, beautiful gown. She then went out of their room to Nailah''s room to prepare her for their departure from the village to the city.


    After Olivia left the room, Alex began his sit-ups.


    1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7... 30... 50... 80... 110... 150... 230...


    Not long, he completed it. But what was more astonishing was that he didn''t even break a sweat.


    With a smile in his face, he brought himself into his inner world.


    ''Menu'' He thought.


    Then instantly, a screen appeared in his mind.


    -------------------------------------


    [ Menu ]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Stats ]


    [ Skills ]


    [ Astria Weapons ]


    [ Crafting ]


    [ Pill Making ]


    [ Forging ]


    [ Evolution ]


    [ Quests ]


    [ Shop ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''Quests'' He immediately thought.


    -------------------------------------


    [Quests]


    -------------------------------------


    Daily quests completed!


    Rewards:


    +3 Base Stats Upgrade points


    +0.5 Skill Purchase points.


    +0.1 Weapon Purchase points.


    +0.1 Astria Pets purchase points.


    -------------------------------------


    [How should Quest Completion points be distributed?]


    [ Randomly ] / [ Manually ]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Back ]


    [ Go to Major Quests ]


    [ Go back to Menu ]


    -------------------------------------


    Alex couldn''t be bothered with self-distribution of such a little upgrade point.


    ''Randomly'' He thought.


    Once he mentally selected [Randomly], the system began to distribute the points by itself.


    Immediately after automatic distribution of the points, Alex felt just a tiny growth of power in his body.


    Although it was way too tiny, Alex could still perceive it.


    Then his eyes began to glitter like polished gems.


    ''Amazing!''


    ''Go to Major Quests'' He thought immediately and in an elated manner. .


    -------------------------------------


    [Major Quests]


    -------------------------------------


    [Quest 1: Conquer 10 Sky-rank beasts and make them surrender to you as their Master]


    [ Accept Quest? ]: [ Yes ] / [ No ]


    [Quest 2: Brutally faceslap 30 arrogant Sky Lord stage cultivators. Let them know that they are frogs in a well]


    [ Accept Quest? ]: [ Yes ] / [ No ]


    [Quest 3: Build your own organization and make 100 Condensation stage cultivators and 50 Earth Adept stage cultivators become it members]


    [ Accept Quest? ]: [ Yes ] / [ No ]


    [Quest 4: Go to seven academies in any city and dominate 3 of their peak-phase, Sky Lord stage geniuses in battle]


    [ Accept Quest? ]: [ Yes ] / [ No ]


    [Quest 5: Go to a 2-star or 3-star Auction House and purchase everything to be auctioned. Then if followed by thieves or robbers, behead at least 10]


    [ Accept Quest? ]: [ Yes ] / [ No ]


    [Quest 6: Capture a paramount Sky-rank Swordmaiden and demand for the sum of 20 million yellow sapphirstones for her release from her sect or organization]


    [ Accept Quest? ]: [ Yes ] / [ No ]


    [Page 1 of 5]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Back ] [ Next page ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''I accept all Quests!'' Alex thought within.


    ''Host, you gave an incorrect command. Please try again in this format. Quest 1: Yes, Quest 2: Yes etc'' A mechanical female voice sounded in his head.


    ''Hmm. Alright'' Alex pondered for a moment before uttering that.


    ''Quest 1: Yes, Quest 2: Yes, Quest 3: Yes, Quest 4: Yes, Quest 5: Yes, Quest 6: Yes'' Alex thought.


    ''All Quests in page 1 of Major Quests has been accepted! Here are the time limits for the quests and their rewards'' The female mechanical voice rang out in his head again.


    -------------------------------------


    Major Quests


    -------------------------------------


    [Quest 1]


    Time limit: None


    [Reward]:


    150 Base Stats Upgrade points


    350 Skill Purchase points.


    200 Weapon Purchase points.


    200 Astria Pets purchase points.


    -------------------------------------


    [Quest 2]


    Time limit: None


    [Rewards]:


    100 Base Stats Upgrade points


    300 Skill Purchase points.


    200 Weapon Purchase points.


    200 Astria Pets purchase points.


    -------------------------------------


    [Quest 3]


    Time limit: None


    [Rewards]


    200 Base Stats Upgrade points


    500 Skill Purchase points.


    400 Weapon Purchase points.


    300 Astria Pets purchase points.


    -------------------------------------


    [Quest 4]


    Time limit: None


    [Rewards]:


    700 Base Stats Upgrade points


    700 Skill Purchase points.


    500 Weapon Purchase points.


    500 Astria Pets purchase points.


    Weapon 1: Astria Helmbreaker Halberd


    Weapon 2: Astria Bee Goddess Queen Tear


    -------------------------------------


    [Quest 5]


    Time limit: None


    [Rewards]:


    1000 Base Stats Upgrade points


    500 Skill Purchase points.


    10 Water Dragon Evolving Blood pills


    1 Jade-skinned, Double-horned, flying fiery serpent.


    -------------------------------------


    [Quest 6]


    Time limit: None


    [Rewards]:


    2000 Base Stats Upgrade points


    1000 Skill Purchase points.


    1000 Weapon Purchase points.


    1000 Astria Pets purchase points.


    Weapon 1: Ravenous Wolf Star Sword


    Weapon 2: Astria Enchantment Breaker blade


    Weapon 3: Sun-shooting Golden Tiger Bow of Dark Radiance


    -------------------------------------


    [ Back ] [ Go to Menu ]


    -------------------------------------


    When Alex saw the rewards that he would get when he accomplishes the missions generated by the system, he gave an ecstatic smile.


    "This is just too damn cool. Haha. I am so lucky to have gotten this system."


    Although Alex knew that some of the missions would be trifle difficult for him because of the stage that he was presently at. However, for the sake of more power, he would try to achieve the quests.


    So, the six quests, coupled with the one that he selected earlier, made seven quests altogether which he was going to try to complete by any means.

 Chapter 235: Wrong person to talk about

    The entire villagers were gathered before Alex and were looking at him with eyes filled with sadness.


    This sadness stemmed from the fact that Alex and Olivia were already leaving.


    "Folks, come on. Don''t look at me like that"


    "Although I am leaving, I will always remember this place. As it''s the place that I met my future wife. So it''s impossible for me to forget about this place. Besides, I am taking Nailah with me. That alone has indelibly branded this place in my memory." Alex said.


    "Okay sir. We would leave Nailah in your care, please take care of her" A villager said pleadingly.


    "Definitely. You all should just keep your mind at ease. I would surely take care of her like a younger sister. See, I never had a little sister when I was growing up. So, if I have someone who I can look at as a younger sister, then that person would be taken care of by me like my actual blood sister. And now that she''s moving with us, she would grow up to become someone who can definitely protect all of you." Alex said.


    The villagers nodded their heads happily.


    Then one villager said with glistening eyes "The Godly Punisher and The Mistress of Punishment, please, you both should keep yourselves safe. We don''t want our heart broken by sad news about your deaths."


    Alex smiled.


    "Don''t worry about us, folks. We are not so foolish to think that we are very powerful. We would definitely keep ourselves safe from harm or destruction" He said.


    Then he continued "If there''s nothing else, we would love to take our leave"


    "Alright. Take care of yourselves" One said.


    Then the entire people in the village which comprised of the old, the middle-aged, teens and children, all began to wave at Alex and Olivia as they left with Nailah.


    Not long, Alex, Olivia and Nailah came out of the village through the pathway that he created in the large forest which he used his false, saint-level Power of Wood to grow.


    "Alex, we definitely can''t trek to the city. It''s very far in case you don''t know. You should have an average-rank or good-rank, transportation-purpose treasure-artifact among the millions of spatial rings that you looted from Jared''s organization." Olivia said.


    "Hmm." Alex uttered.


    She was right about what she said.


    He didn''t come from the city to this place, it was because he was being pursued by those acolytes of ancient powerhouses from Greatverses and Oververses, that the Silver-Violet Sword Banisher disappeared from this city to a city in another continent, just for the sake of evading them. And then when it reappeared in the city, since it didn''t have an exact spatial coordinate as it was moving in the void, it actually appeared in the far outer boundary of the village that he fortunately met Olivia.


    "Let me see" Alex said.


    Then he started browsing through the items stored in the spatial rings one after the other.


    He hadn''t sorted out the objects or materials in the millions of spatial rings that he plundered from Jared''s organization.


    However, after a few hours of intense searching, he came across one. And after observing it well, he brought it out since he felt that it was good, and should be strong enough to move them to the city.


    Immediately the transportation-purpose treasure-artifact shot out from his dad''s spatial necklace, it turned into a large carriage that was driven by low-grade energy crystals.


    But Alex viciously plucked out the low-grade energy crystals and replaced it with peerless-grade ones.


    This was because the low-grade energy crystals wouldn''t be able to last only an hour on the road, and Olivia after calculating how long it would take them to get back to a place in the city, calculated that their estimated time of arrival in the city should be about six hours, using the carriage whose maximum movement speed was known.


    Alex then opened the door and said with a smile in his face "Could the mistress and the little girl before her both kindly step in?"


    Olivia shook her head.


    ''What a playful guy''.


    Then she grabbed Nailah who was smiling too by the hands and stepped into the carriage.


    And so, that was how they began to move at a normal speed to the city.


    To Alex who was hundreds of times faster than the carriage on foot, felt that it was incredibly slow. However, he relaxed himself and not let the speed of the moving treasure-carriage bother him.


    With his closed, he resumed his comprehension.


    Seeing what Alex did, Olivia too entered her world of comprehension.


    Nailah noticed their actions and tried to do what they were doing, which was to comprehend.


    Then she tried to further comprehend light which she had already understood it profundity to a level.


    - Six hours later -


    They got to the city.


    Not that the carriage took them there by itself like it could read their minds, it was Olivia who inputted the regional coordinate of the place that it wanted it to go, into the area-locator in the treasure-carriage.


    After the carriage got there, they all got down from it. Then Alex returned the carriage into dad''s spatial necklace.


    "First of all, before we do anything, who wants to eat?" Alex said with a smile.


    Nailah quickly shot her hand up.


    She had never tasted city food in all her life as she had always been at the village.


    While Alex who asked this question simply had the intention to treat Nailah to the delightful, crispy and delicious food of the city.


    Olivia understood this and gave a smile.


    ''He has already started treating her as his sister'' She said inwardly.


    Then they left for an inn that wealthy mortals would be able to easily afford.


    They got a table and sat with calmness in their hearts. While Nailah who was totally excited about the meal that she would be served soon, couldn''t stop imagining the taste of the food in her mouth and salivating after it.


    Not long, she was served her meal and her delight exploded.


    Without thinking about where she was, she dived in and began to eat, chewing and munching away with joy and gladness in her heart.


    Alex and Olivia smiled at her little girl hungry attitude.


    Being a poor mortal... well, there was nothing they could say.


    Without interrupting her, they let her enjoy her food.


    "Who is that animal over there?" Someone seated on a table in the inn said to another person in front of him.


    "Don''t know. I wonder how such an animal found her way into this place. This stupid inn now allows all sort of people in, as long as they rake in their own damned cash." That person that was spoken to replied.


    "Let''s eat and leave here at once. I can''t withstand the noisy eating of that animal over there." The man who first spoke said.


    Then the other nodded.


    All while they were saying this, Alex''s hearing which was simply superhuman furrowed his brows in anger.


    Then now looking in their direction, he waved his cyan-glowing hand at them, then the soft air in the room abruptly turned into a raging one that impacted them hard and tyrannically hurled them away from their seats towards a wall of the inn that was many feet away.


    Nailah and Olivia were surprised by Alex''s action.


    "It''s nothing to be bothered about" Alex said smilingly to the both of them.


    Then now gazing at Nailah, he said softly "Keep on eating, Nailah"


    Nailah nodded her head and continued to eat.


    The people in the inn were heavily surprised. And when they realized that Alex was a cultivator, perhaps of the wind, their hearts shook in awe and fear. Then they quickly faced away from him to the people in front of them. Some cultivators were just not to be provoked, or one would not know how they ended.


    The ones that were shoved away by the compressed, violent wind currents had already fainted from impacting the wall.


    When Nailah finished eating, she said to Alex, "I am am done".


    "Alright. Let''s leave then" He said with a smile.


    Then he paid the money for Nailah''s meal and left the inn with Nailah and Olivia. And as they left, people couldn''t stop looking at his back. He was exuding an heroic aura and at the same time, the aura of ruthlessness.


    Alex turned back to face them with a smile, then all the people looking at him couldn''t help but have their blood churn violently, and their hearts to almost jump out of their chests.

 Chapter 236: The bully

    "Alex, stop frightening these people" Olivia said with a smile.


    "No. That''s not what I am doing." Alex said. Then he spoke further "I felt their gazes on me, so I turned back to look at them"


    "Oh. Okay" She said.


    Then they continued to move down the street. And as they moved down the street, people couldn''t help but look at them. Especially at Olivia, she was like a Saintess that descended from the heavens.


    Appearing so beautiful, they just couldn''t take their eyes off her. Well, it was the men that were gazing at Olivia. While the females in the street looked hard at Alex like they wanted to recreate him in their imagination.


    Alex and Olivia felt their gazes on them, but they just ignored it.


    As they were going, someone said to another "Isn''t that the Great Holy Daughter of the Immovable Mountain Academy?"


    "Of course she is. There''s no other person that can look like her. Look at her, just so majestic and beautiful" The person asked replied.


    Then the person that spoke earlier questioned "But who is that boy beside her? If not that he''s wearing male clothes and has the physique of one, I would take him for a woman, if he had a veil covering half of his face. Haha"


    "Me too. I wonder how a male would match a female in appearance. Now that you mentioned that, I don''t know who is more beautiful between him and the Great Holy Daughter of the Immovable Mountain academy"


    Haha!


    They both laughed.


    As they were discussing this, Alex heard it all. He simply smiled within.


    Then he decided in his heart that he would cut off his long, womanly hair. He would make his hair into a low cut. At least, that should make him appear more manly to anyone that would see him.


    He was tired of being compared to a woman when he was a man.


    Now that he had decided to be The Godly Punisher and the Invincible Conqueror of the Sea of Worlds, he should look more masculine and tough. Not one that would be comparable in terms of appearance, like beauty, to a woman. He knew that if he ever appeared before his enemies, he wouldn''t be taken very seriously.


    He smiled when he agreed with himself to cut off his waist-length, straight, silky hair.


    Alex then remembered one of his Quests which was: ''Dominate 20 peak-phase, Earth Adept stage cultivators in a battle, and force them to sing well-composed praises of his nickname, ''The Godly Punisher''.


    When he remembered this, he gave a smile.


    But now, he hadn''t even seen a single initial-phase, condensation stage expert, talk more of peak-phase, Earth Adept stage expert to dominate in a battle.


    He began to wonder when he would finish the seven major quests that he accepted and move on to other ones. However, he was patient. He knew that sooner or later, he would complete them, get the items and pets purchase points, and the body attributes upgrade points from fulfilling the quests.


    "What''s making you smile?" Olivia asked.


    "Oh. Nothing. I was just imagining some things in my head." Alex replied.


    "Really? Tell me" Olivia said with curiosity in her tone.


    "You really want to know? Then I would tell you. Don''t just get angry" Alex said with naughtiness in his face.


    Then he came close to Olivia and whispered in her ear "I imagined myself hammering you insanely hard and you screaming for more in extreme pleasure"


    Olivia''s eyes turned red from anger. However, she just ignored him. Then she went to grab Nailah by the hand and picked up her walking pace, leaving Alex behind.


    Alex only smiled.


    However, after a few moments, a voice suddenly boomed out from far.


    "Hey, how dare you upset such a beautiful girl? Don''t you know that what you are doing is wrong? Don''t you know how to treat a woman?" Someone suddenly questioned with a loud thundering voice from far.


    Huh?


    Alex was taken aback. Same with Olivia and Nailah who had walked a bit far into the distance.


    Then Alex turned in the direction of the person that spoke to see who that was.


    He saw the person which was a fat, twenty year-old looking boy.


    Alex looked at him coldly. And surprisingly, he didn''t reply to his questions. He just turned around to go meet Olivia who had begun to walk again into the distance, without ever looking back if Alex was following them.


    "WHAT?! How dare you ignore me, you bastard!! I asked you questions and you didn''t reply to them. Do you know who I am?" The person who was a fat boy asked again.


    People in the street heard this person that was talking and became horrified. A fat monster that terrorized them had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. They knew who this person was. He was the cousin of the city lord who was a brother to the senior instructor of an academy in this state which was Alex''s state. However, he was a no-good person as he was a great bully and a prankster, and was one that no one would dare to face because of his background. It was everyday that he would beat up mortals and cultivators alike. He was really abusing the unspoken power given to him by the powerful household that he was from


    Alex exhaled.


    Then he turned to look at the fat boy.


    "Scoffs! And who the fuck are you?" Alex asked back.


    Everyone''s eyes widened in shock.


    "Greatness! hope this guy hasn''t doomed himself with what he just said?" One person among the crowd of people who had their attentions suddenly pulled said.


    "Doomed? Never! Didn''t you notice earlier with your large eyes that he was walking by the side of the Great Holy Daughter of the Immovable Mountain academy? They are friends. And since he''s a friend to the female top genius of that academy, he too must be a genius. However, if he isn''t, his battle power should slight match up to one." Another said, trying to counter what that person spoke.


    ***


    The fat boy''s eyes turned red from being asked that downgrading and humiliating question.


    At this moment, Olivia who was walking very fast with Nailah had stopped to see the exciting spectacle that would occur soon.


    "I dare you to repeat what you just said!" The fat boy''s voice boomed out once again as he began to walk towards Alex.


    Alex scoffed again.


    "Repeat? I''ll tell ya again! Who in the name of FUCK are you?" He asked.


    Hahaha!


    The fat boy laughed.


    "Trying to impress the beautiful girl who is now looking at both of us from the distance?" The boy asked, staring at Olivia who was looking at the both of them from the far distance that she stood at with Nailah.


    "Well, not exactly impress. She doesn''t need to be impressed because she''s my girlfriend. So I would say it''s you trying to impress my girlfriend, right?" Alex asked looking at him.


    Once Alex said that, the boy''s eyes widened in shock.


    "The Great Holy Daughter of the Immovable Mountain academy is your girlfriend? Haha! I just heard the funniest thing" The boy said.


    "Oh, so you know that she''s the Immovable Academy''s holy daughter? I thought you were new in this place and didn''t know about things before commenting about them. Anyways, believe it or not. I am her boyfriend. So if you are extremely sad about that and wanna impress her by brutally beating me up, come quickly do so before she loses interest in our discussions" Alex said with a smile.


    "Good! I can definitely see that you are very confident in yourself. But I will break your stupid confidence and reduce you into a pulp. Hahaha!" The boy said and grinned.


    Then abruptly, a screen appeared in Alex''s mind.


    -------------------------------------


    [System Alert]


    -------------------------------------


    ] New Quest Available! [


    [Description: The Bullying Fat Kid]


    -------------------------------------


    Details:


    -------------------------------------


    1. Overpower the fat bully in battle with only your fists and make sure that he bows before you thirty times.


    2. Collect his possessions for trying to mess you up in front of people.


    ] Time limit: 1 hour and 12 minutes [


    Rewards:


    - 20 Base Stat Upgrade points


    - 1 Low-level Astria Stormlight Hammer.


    [ Will You Accept This Quest? ]


    [ Yes ] [ No ]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Cancel ]


    -------------------------------------


    Alex saw this and smiled.


    ''Yes'' He thought.


    -------------------------------------


    [Quest Accepted!]


    -------------------------------------


    ] Reminder [


    Finish Quest before time runs out!


    -------------------------------------


    ''Definitely'' Alex said within.


    Then he looked at the fat kid in front of him.


    "I am going to mess you up so bad that you would regret picking on me"

 Chapter 237: Battle I

    "I would love to see you try" The fat boy said.


    Then he dashed towards Alex who also dashed towards him.


    As the fat kid ran towards Alex, a resplendent light suddenly flashed in the air before two gloves and an armor appeared on his hands and on his body.


    Then after a deep inhale, he punched out towards Alex.


    "Smashing Fist of Might!"


    The glove which had begun to glow suddenly expelled tremendous amount of strengthforce energy. This then rapidly condensed and shaped into a fist that shot towards Alex like a cannon.


    "Nice! Strengthforce energy" Alex said like he was impressed.


    Recalling one of the details of the Quests which was to use his fist alone, Alex punched out towards the incoming fist formed from strengthforce energy.


    Seeing what Alex was about to do, the fat boy gave a wicked laugh.


    Boom!!


    Alex''s fist and the energy fist collided heavily, then a loud boom rang out which was instantly accompanied by gale-force winds which was initially air that violently shot off in all directions from the points that the two fists collided.


    Then because the energy fist impacted Alex''s fist with a lot of force, Alex was made to stagger backwards for some feet. Also, his blood churned within from the shock transmitted to his body upon the collision of his fist with the dense energy fist.


    When he regained his balance, Alex looked at the boy in the distance who was laughing.


    That fist definitely carried some immense force.


    Olivia and Nailah became surprised by why Alex who they knew to be extremely strong, was using his only fist. They began to wonder for what reason why he was doing so.


    When other people moving to and fro in the wide street heard the loud boom sound, they quickly rushed to where the sound came from. Same with many other traders who left their assistants or kids to stay in their shops.


    One couldn''t blame them, they loved seeing battles that resulted from a dispute between two cultivators. Besides, it had being a great while that they saw cultivators fight in the street.


    Not long, a lot of people arrived, standing by the sides to watch them battle.


    "Isn''t that the guy that was following after the Great Holy Daughter of the Immovable Mountain academy?" One asked the people by his sides.


    "Definitely! He''s the one. But what suddenly caused his battle with that fat bullying beast?" Another replied and then asked with shock in his tone.


    "That''s not our concern. If that''s your concern, good luck with that. As for me, I am here to enjoy this fucking cultivators battle. Haha!" Another bystander said and grinned.


    ***


    When Alex''s fist met the energy fist and shattered it, the fat boy who was laughing hard in the distance by Alex''s seemingly stupid action became heavily surprised.


    ''Body cultivator?'' He asked inwardly.


    Earlier, he thought that the arm that had the fist which Alex punched out towards his attack, would disappear as it would turn into mist of blood due to the crushing force and momentum that his energy fist moved with. But now, he knew that he was wrong to think that, because of what he witnessed.


    Same with the bystanders who were watching from the sides. They also had the same feeling as him. But now, with their minds greatly shook, they couldn''t believe the toughness of his body. If it was them, they knew what that meant, Instant Death.


    Once Alex gained his balance from his staggering and settled his roiling blood, he dashed towards the fat boy again.


    The fat boy who now had a serious expression in his face quickly punched out twice towards Alex.


    Immediately he sent out his fists which had treasure-gloves worn on them, tremendous amount of strengthforce energy instantly discharged from them.


    Once the might-energy erupted from the gloves in great quantities, the large streams of strengthforce energy that had expelled from the gloves, abruptly condensed and rapidly shaped into two massive fists that shot towards Alex at an insane speed, and with the power to reduce everything to smithereens.


    Alex saw the fists shooting towards him, but he didn''t try to evade it. Instead, he punched out towards them.


    Boom!


    A loud sound rang out which was instantly followed by a violent release of air that shot off from the point at which the fists collided into one another.


    Alex staggered back for a few feet.


    However, as he was staggering backwards, the second energy fist arrived.


    Alex immediately punched out with extreme hardness towards it.


    Boom!!


    A louder blast sound rang out as the fist of energy shattered into fragments upon being struck by Alex''s fist. Also, when the two fists clashed into one another, exceedingly strong currents of air manifested, which then swept outwards in all directions with decent destructive strength.


    However, Alex who was staggering backwards by the force from the first solid attack which he struck out against with, using only his fist, was lifted many feet into air and hurled into the distance by the force that was delivered to his body by the second attack.


    But possessing excellent aerial maneuverability skills, Alex performed a Layout in the air as he kept his body straight in the horizontal position, and then forced it to rotate several times in the air, about 3240 degrees which was nine full-body spins before landing back to the ground.


    At this moment, he was about twenty feet away from the fat boy who was looking at him with burning anger in his eyes.


    Alex still hadn''t been crushed by his attacks.


    Now, he would be taken as a joke by everyone here.


    Then he prepared to unleash a more powerful attack.


    ''Angry already?'' Alex questioned within himself after noticing what the fat boy was about to do next.


    Then with a smirk in his face, he suddenly dashed towards the fat boy.


    As he was running towards the boy, multiple fist-shaped energy attacks came his way.


    Seeing the attacks, Alex unexpectedly stomped a foot to the earth and was launched many feet into the air like an arrow.


    Then when he got to a great altitude in the air, he entered a Tuck position as he brought his knees to his chest and folded his arms across them.


    Immediately he entered this position, he rolled like a ball in the air towards the fat boy in the distance.


    However, as he aerially rolled towards the fat boy on the ground, he was observing the fat boy''s actions. Then when he noticed the fat boy send out another fist-shaped attack of energy towards him, he quickly untucked his leg by straightening them again.


    Now fully straightened in the air, he didn''t try to meet the boy''s attack head-on. Instead, he swung his arms backwards and bent his back like he wanted to do a back handspring.


    Although it was still a back handspring, but was one done high in the air.


    Once he did so, bending his back, the attack that was shooting fiercely towards him rapidly shot over him.


    Not long, Alex landed to the ground. And once he landed, he dashed towards the boy and entered into a full body slide towards the fat boy in the distance.


    He did this to evade the massive attacks shooting his way. Then when he got to a few feet in front of the boy, he explosively pushed himself into the air from his full-body slide towards the boy.


    With his elbow now bent and his fist clenched, he delivered a heavy punch to the torso of the boy.


    BOOM!


    A loud explosive sound rang out as the boy was shot away into the distance at a great speed. It was like he was swung into the distance by a massive, boulder-launching catapult.


    Bang!


    He crashed into the earth and made a shallow hole in it. But because of the immense force that was delivered to his body by the heavy punch, he was still being pushed in the ground into the far distance. Then after many more feet, his body stopped being dragged as the pushing force that acted on him vanished.


    However, the fat boy didn''t sustain much external injuries as he wearing an armor. But he sustained many internal injuries as a result of the shock that was transmitted into his body which then acted tyrannically on his organs and blood. Some of them ripped, while his blood churned that he couldn''t help but cough out several mouthfuls of blood.


    Then when he stood up, he saw Alex in front of him with an evil smile.

 Chapter 238: Battle II

    Boom!


    Another tremendously heavy punch was sent to the chestplate of the armor that he wore.


    Then because of the immense force that the fist impacted him with, he was tyrannically sent into the distance, for about fifty feet before crashing into the earth again and be pulled along it.


    At this moment, the fat boy''s organ had been badly shaken that many injuries could be seen on them. Also, his blood churned greatly due to the enormous shock transmitted to his body by the last heavy punch. Therefore, due to his violently roiling blood, he coughed out mouthfuls of blood many times. Then his eyesight became blurry and was inflicted with a strongly aching pain that racked his head.


    Not long, Alex got to his front.


    At this point in time, due to the amount of force delivered to the boy which sent him flying into the distance, no bystander could be seen again. Except the ones that where at the new place where the fat boy landed at. Therefore, the crowds of people that initially gathered to watch the battle excitedly couldn''t see Alex''s domineering battle again. Then they became sad. They wanted to continue watching. They wanted to see till the end. But anyways, seeing how how Alex dominated the battle, they could guess that he would definitely be the winner. They they went back to their shops to continue their selling and buying.


    The boy whose sight hadn''t recovered from it blurriness suddenly felt himself being picked up from the ground and lifted high into the air.


    He knew who was doing that so he began to beg.


    "No, don''t beg. You should know that you shouldn''t mess with everyone just because you feel that you are stronger or better than them" Alex said calmly.


    "I have taken that to heart. Please, release me. I beg you. I surrender to you. Please" The fat boy began to speak so very quickly as he begged Alex to drop him.


    Alex only smiled.


    "Now you are begging. Haha. Anyways, I would only release you when you bow to me more than thirty times." Alex said.


    "What? No way!! I would never bow to any man like me. I will only bow to gods you fucker" The fat boy said.


    Alex grinned.


    "Alright" He said.


    Clenching his hand into a fist again, he sent it with tremendous force towards the chest of the fat boy.


    Bang!


    A loud sound rang out and air violently shot out from the area that Alex punched at on his chest.


    He would have been hurled very hard into the far distance by the force, but because Alex grabbed him, he couldn''t be shoved away.


    Alex then directed another punch to his chest.


    Bang!


    A loud sound rang out and the fat boy lifted by Alex into the air couldn''t help but cough out another mouthfuls of blood.


    At the moment, his body had become pale due to the heavy strikes.


    "Are you ready to bow or suffer more punches? I believe that you can''t continue to endure all these" Alex said smilingly.


    "I will bow to no one, only go..."


    Wack!


    A powerful slap was delivered to his face which had an helmet worn on his head. But immediately he was slapped, he couldn''t help but hear many different sounds ring loud in his brain.


    Wack!


    Alex gave him another slap in the face and the sounds that had surfaced in his head started to ring louder.


    Alex then lifted him into the air with his two arms.


    With a stomp of one of his foot against the ground, he was launched very high into the air. Then reaching a height of forty feet, Alex swung him hard to the ground with all of his might.


    Bang!


    The earth for a rectangular area of twenty feet shook and cracked, while the fat boy could be seen in the ground. He seemed helpless and hopeless and was radiating the aura of despair.


    Alex who was still in the air then brought his legs together. Then plummeting back to the earth at a high speed, he directly struck the fat boy who was beneath him in the earth, causing him to be driven further into the earth by many feet. This action of Alex resulted in a crater.


    Still on top of him, Alex said:


    "Man, you better give up and bow. For if you continue to refuse, there''s no telling you might live longer. I could get seriously angry and just kill you like a lamb straightaway. So, don''t try to test me or you would be surprised at how you would find yourself among people that had died millions of years ago"


    After coughing out several mouthfuls of blood, the boy shouted, "I give up, I give up. I will bow to you. Thirty times right? I will bow to you more than that. Please!"


    Alex smiled.


    "Good" He said.


    Now grabbing the boy''s feet, he flung his body out of the crater to the ground. Alex then jumped out of the crater too and walked towards the place he threw the boy''s body to.


    Alex got to his front and began to emit the aura of viciousness.


    The fat boy quickly stood his knees and began to bow before Alex who started to count with a smile in his face.


    1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7... 15... 20... 25... 30... 40... 50... 60....


    "It''s okay!" Alex said.


    "However, I am still not pleased. Now, willingly hand over your possessions to me" Alex said with a voice that radiated fright.


    "What? I can''t do that. You told me to bow which I did. Now you are asking for my possessions. Aren''t you going too far? Do you know what family that I am from, you fucker?" The fat boy asked wrathfully.


    "Going too far? Family? Doesn''t concern me. I can see that you wanna suffer more. I will mention again. Hand over your possessions willingly" Alex said with a cold voice.


    "No. You can beat the hell out of me. I will never hand over my spatial ring to you" The fat boy said.


    "Nice. I see you wanna suffer" Alex said impatiently and angrily.


    Looking at the fat boy who was kneeling before him, Alex smashed down on his head with his two fists.


    Bang!


    Argh!!


    The fat boy screamed out in pain before he coughed a mouthful of blood. Very quickly, his eyes which were recovering from the shock that was transmitted to it by the devastating forces of Alex''s punches, quickly became badly affected as they grew totally blurry.


    Immediately the smash was delivered to his head, the fat boy immediately collapsed to the ground, continuously screeching in pain as he held his head tight like a blazing flame was burning in it.


    Alex then delivered a powerful kick to his head which had a helmet worn on it.


    Bang!


    Like a stone that was catapulted, the fat boy was launched across the street, ending at a place that was about thirty feet away from where he initially was.


    Alex then leaped very into the air towards where the fat boy was and stomped insanely hard upon him.


    Bang!


    The earth cratered as dust rushed out from the earth that the fat boy lied in.


    The fat boy simply should have fainted by now, but because of the armor that he wore which absorbed majority of the shock transmitted to his body, he was still conscious. However, he was greatly suffering.


    Besides, the fat boy was trying to rely on his armor and then endure the pain that he was inflicted with by the transmitted residual shock that acted on his organs. But little did he know that due to the immense force delivered to it every now and then, and being an average-quality earth rank armor, it was already developing cracks which had appeared all over it.


    Alex who was on top of him lifted his leg to his head, then he powerfully swung it down like an ax towards the boys chest.


    Bang!


    ARGH!!!


    The boy screamed out in pain from within the crater as Alex''s leg struck the chestplate of his body armor, resulting in it explosive shattering and many of the fragments of his armor piercing into his body.


    Small and large pieces of the armor that he wore could be seen sticking out of his body.


    While Alex who tyrannically swung his leg down, caused the boy''s chest to cave in from the impact, with many of chest bones also jutting out.


    It was good that he wore an armor which absorbed most of the force generated from the impact before finally shattering into pieces, or if he wasn''t wearing an armor, he could have died from his chest being torn apart by the immense force that Alex''s hard leg came down with.


    Still conscious but totally racked by pain, the fat boy began to beg for his life.


    Alex looked at him and his condition seemed totally pathetic. His eyes which were red like they were dyed had been enlarged from the agonizing pain that he was enduring. While blood could be seen streaming down his nose, mouth and ear. Also, blood could be seen bubbling and oozing out from the places that his pieces of armor and broken chest bones stuck out from.


    The fat boy roared in intensely excruciating physical pain as he removed the ring from his finger and gave it to Alex who accepted it with a smile.


    Then he leaped out of the crater leaving the fat boy there.

 Chapter 239: Drille

    Then abruptly, a screen appeared in Alex''s mind.


    -------------------------------------


    [System Alert]


    -------------------------------------


    ] Quest Completed! [


    [Description: Overwhelm The Bullying Fat Kid]


    -------------------------------------


    Details:


    -------------------------------------


    1. Overpower the fat bully in battle with only your fists and make sure that he bows before you thirty times.


    [Achieved]


    2. Collect his possessions for trying to mess you up in front of people.


    [Achieved]


    -------------------------------------


    Rewards:


    -------------------------------------


    - 20 Base Stat Upgrade points


    - 1 Low-level Astria Stormlight Hammer.


    -------------------------------------


    [ Collect rewards now? ]


    [ Yes ] [ No ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''Yes'' Alex thought excitedly.


    -------------------------------------


    [Rewards Collected]


    -------------------------------------


    Check inventory to see your items.


    [ Go to inventory ]


    [ Cancel ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''Go to inventory'' Alex thought


    -------------------------------------


    [Inventory]


    -------------------------------------


    - Low-level Astria Stormlight Hammer [1]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Go to menu ]


    [ Cancel ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''Go to menu'' Alex thought.


    He had the aim to distribute the points to some of his stats to upgrade them.


    -------------------------------------


    [Menu]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Stats ]


    [ Skills ]


    [ Astria Weapons ]


    [ Crafting ]


    [ Pill Making ]


    [ Forging ]


    [ Evolution ]


    [ Quests ]


    [ Shop ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''Stats'' Alex thought


    -------------------------------------


    [Base Stats]


    -------------------------------------


    [Details]:


    Name: Alex Star


    Race: Human/ Negaria/ Beasts


    Type: Hybrid


    Class: A


    Age: 16


    -------------------------------------


    [Powers & Abilities]


    -------------------------------------


    Attack Speed: NA


    Movement Speed: NA


    Attack Power: NA


    Damage Power: NA


    Jump Power: NA


    Flight Speed: NA


    Body Regeneration Speed: NA


    Flesh Toughness Degree: NA


    -------------------------------------


    Others:


    -------------------------------------


    Number of Energies: 17


    Number of Physiques: 3


    Physical Strength: 15 tons


    -------------------------------------


    [Stats]


    -------------------------------------


    [HP]: 100


    [Intelligence]: 70


    [Agility]: 100


    [Strength]: 100


    [Speed]: 100


    [Endurance]: 80


    [Dexterity]: 100


    [Reflex]: 100


    [Stamina]: 100


    [Coordination]: 100


    -------------------------------------


    Available Points to distribute: 5[+20]


    -------------------------------------


    Then the mechanical female voice rang in his head:


    ''Choose bracketed stats to allocate upgrade points to''


    ''Hmm. Alright'' Alex said within.


    Then he asked ''Format?''


    ''Say it in this format: Agility, add ten points. Dexterity, add five points'' The mechanical female voice rang in his head again.


    ''Okay.'' Alex nodded his head.


    ''Hmm. But how do I share the points?'' He asked himself inwardly.


    ''What about adding fifteen points to strength, and ten points to speed. That would increase your overall body strength and then your attack and movement speed'' The system''s voice which was Johnny''s voice rang in his head.


    It was trying to advise him on what to do.


    ''Hmm. Alright.'' Alex uttered inwardly as he agreed with the system.


    ''Add fifteen points to strength. Add ten points to speed'' He thought.


    -------------------------------------


    ] System Alert [


    -------------------------------------


    Point have been added successfully!


    -------------------------------------


    [Stats]


    -------------------------------------


    HP]: 100


    [Intelligence]: 70


    [Agility]: 100


    [Strength]: 115


    [Speed]: 110


    [Endurance]: 80


    [Dexterity]: 100


    [Reflex]: 100


    [Stamina]: 100


    [Coordination]: 100


    -------------------------------------


    Available Points to distribute: 0


    -------------------------------------


    Once the stats upgrade points were added, Alex felt his strength increase by some margin. He just suddenly felt the muscles in his body getting tighter and denser than they previously were.


    ''Awesome'' He uttered within.


    He also knew that since his physical strength had increased by some amounts, his speed would definitely increase too.


    The screen vanished from his mind and he began to walk back towards Olivia and Nailah who calmly waited for him in the distance.


    The fat boy in the crater had long fainted due to loss of blood. However, since he was a cultivator, he would surely heal. But very slowly as only pills would increase the rate of his healing.


    Few moments later, Alex got to where Olivia and Nailah were. Then he held their hands and began to walk away with them.


    The people that were in the street who were previously watching the battle but have gone back to their shops saw Alex. Then they smiled as they guessed right that Alex was going to win.


    Of course he should be able to win. They thought.


    It would only be a terrible disappointment, embarrassment and disgrace if someone that was a friend to the Great Holy daughter of the Immovable Mountain academy was beaten by some cultivator that roamed and bullied every living thing in the street, one that wasn''t affiliated to any establishment except boast of the family that he from, whereas he who was a friend to the genius of that academy should be affiliated to an organization or an establishment. So they guessed that when the battle ended, Alex should emerge as the winner.


    Besides, they were happy that Alex gave him a good beating. Although they weren''t there, they could still think this because of the fat boy''s terrified scream and the loud booming sounds that rang out in the far distance where the battle between them occurred.


    After the battle, they believed that the bullying fat boy would be more humble.


    Unknowing to Alex, someone who was watching him was recording the whole battle, the one that took place before the battle and the ones after it.


    ***


    In a large projection screen could be seen Alex holding Olivia''s hand. And when the expensively clothed person watching the screen saw the deeply affectionate way that Olivia looked at Alex with, flames of anger that could seemingly burn everything to ashes surfaced in his heart.


    With an angry roar, he asked "Who the fuck is that boy holding Olivia''s hand?"


    "Senior Drille, I don''t know too. But from the way that they interacted, they must be... Uhm.. I think lovers" The person that was asked the question who was also the same person that recorded the battle that took place between Alex and the fat boy immediately said in a stuttering manner and out of fear of being attacked.


    "Lovers? How dare he be with my love interest? You know what you would do for me, I want you to gather about ten boys to go there and beat that motherfucker up. Then humiliate him by spitting and urinating in his face, and leave a message for him that he should stay away from Olivia, that she''s the love interest of the Bone-sawing Evilchild"


    "Alright, senior Drille. Your message would be definitely well delivered."


    Then the person that responded stood to his feet to go do what the boss of their group ordered.


    The person named ''Bone-sawing Evilchild'' was one of the most ruthless seniors in the ''Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy.'' He was someone that loved beauties and would do anything to make them come to his side. Apart from loving beauties, he loved to take other people''s possessions, especially the ones that he targeted. Ninety-five percent of what he had was taken from people that he wickedly killed. He was simply someone not to be involved with as one could end up dying.


    Another reason why he was like this was because, apart from being a battle genius himself who had fought many cultivators in the past and came out victorious, he had a powerful twin brother and sister and an uncle. His older twin brother and sister were in the Saint stage while his uncle was in the Saint Emperor stage. That was what caused his arrogance to know no bounds.


    With a smile surfacing on his lips, he said "Olivia, sooner or later, and whether you like it or not, you will receive my beefy rod. Hahaha"


    "When would you leave girls alone and focus on cultivation? Now, the girl that you have placed in your sight is the Great Holy Daughter of the Immovable Mountain academy. Why are you so bent on causing a war between schools." Someone who had appeared asked.


    "Sister Lenna, I am not causing any war. I just want to have a taste of that beauty."


    Lenna who was his older sister and was one of the twins said "How soon you have forgotten that she''s the holy daughter of that academy. She''s still a virgin and can''t be touched. Unless you want to provoke the school into action for touching their student who is one of the few people that they take great pride in"


    Hahaha!


    Drille laughed.


    "And so? If they are provoked, so what? What can they actually do except be killed like bugs by the fearsome experts in our academy." He said.


    Then he continued "Sister, if you remember from history that you were taught, this academy has started thousands of years before the founder of the immovable mountain academy could even become a cultivator. We have so many experts that if a war ever took place between the academy, the immovable mountain academy would be instantly reduced to rubbles."


    "Hmm" Lenna said.


    "Well, don''t be too confident about that. True that we may have way more experts than them and who are at higher cultivation stages, and would absolutely possess better offensive and defensive treasures than them, there could be some factors that we would have unknowingly left out and which may definitely result in our complete ruin and destruction." She spoke further, trying to elaborate on her reason why he shouldn''t try to provoke the academy talked about into action.


    "What bullshit are you saying sister?" Another person that just appeared asked angrily.


    This was Drille''s older brother, Maximilian.


    "Drille, carry on with what you intend to do. The school wouldn''t let harm come to you who is one of their greatest favorites"

 Chapter 240: Separation

    Drille nodded his head head with a smile in it.


    His sister only shook her head and left both of them alone.


    - In a rented room -


    "So, what''s your next plan, Alex?" Olivia asked.


    "Well, it''s battle and cultivation." Alex replied.


    "So, Olivia, have you thought about what I asked you when we were at the village?" Alex asked.


    "Yea, and my answer is No! I am not ready to leave my family behind." Olivia replied.


    "But what if they later discover that you aren''t a virgin anymore? They would be more heartbroken than when you leave them for a long time. They would be sad at the thought that you lost your purity when you are still just at the Sky Lord stage." Alex said, trying to make her change her decision.


    "Alex, I have made up my mind. Nothing you say would make me to change it." Olivia replied.


    Alex exhaled.


    "Alright" He nodded.


    He knew what that meant, which was that Olivia wouldn''t be journeying with him.


    As Alex started to think, Olivia''s voice rang out.


    "Well, me not journeying with you doesn''t mean that you should quickly forget about me. I am your wife, your very first one. Although I lost my virginity to you, you also lost yours to me. We share something which your other girlfriends don''t share with you." Olivia said.


    Alex smiled.


    "No matter where I would be, I will always think about you." He said.


    Olivia then came closer to him to embrace him.


    Then were in this position for sometime before Olivia pulled out of it.


    "Well, I think it is time that I returned to my academy." Olivia suddenly said which took Alex aback.


    Then she looked at Alex and asked "When are you returning to yours?"


    "Well, it''s going to take a long time before I return." Alex replied.


    "Hmm. Alright." She said.


    Then she brought Nailah from the other room in the two-room apartment which they rented.


    She had put Nailah in that room so that she could have a private discussion with Alex.


    "Nailah, I would be leaving soon." Olivia said.


    Nailah gaped.


    With sadness appearing in her eyes, she immediately asked "Why?"


    "Nothing actually. I am just returning to my academy." Olivia responded.


    "Okay" Nailah nodded.


    "So I brought you in from the other room to ask if you would like to go with me or continue to move with Alex?" Olivia asked.


    Nailah became speechless.


    Before she could talk, Alex spoke "Think about it very well, Nailah. I would rather want you go with Olivia to her academy. There, would be serene and you would be able to quickly grow by battling many other geniuses of your age. While if you follow me, you will always live in fear and horror. Looking at me now, in the next few days, I am going to make a lot of enemies. Like really lot of them. And you wouldn''t want to see showers of blood and hundreds of heads rolling off to the ground from the bodies that they were previously attached to. I can say, soon, I would be the number one enemy of every cultivator in the states, regardless of cultivation level. So, I don''t want you to experience that kind of life that would be full of frights and terror. Therefore, for these reasons, I would prefer that you follow Olivia who would definitely look after you in her academy. And I would also be visiting to see how you are doing, I assure you of that. Then with time, you would be proud to say to your adversaries that your brother is The Godly Punisher, which would then deeply immerse their hearts and souls in the boundless ocean of fear."


    Nailah nodded her head.


    Then she went forward to embrace Alex who bent to hug her too.


    After a while, she released him from the hug.


    "Big brother, I would be waiting for that time where only your name will cause thousands of loud bells to ring in the heads of my enemies" Nailah said with a smile.


    "Definitely. That time is coming." Alex said with a smile, but seriousness could be felt radiating off his voice.


    Then with a flash of light, a ring appeared in his hand.


    Then he took Nailah''s finger and put the ring in it.


    "This is my gift to you as a brother. It''s right to share what I possess with my sister. I won''t tell you what''s in the ring. You just continue to cultivate. Then when you break through the barrier between mortal and cultivator, then, you would see the contents of the spatial ring." Alex said with a smile.


    "Okay" Nailah nodded.


    "Good. And don''t slack off in your light cultivation. I may decided one day to come to you so that you could help me with your power. Promise your big brother that you won''t disappoint him." Alex said.


    "I swear and at the same time promise not to disappoint my big brother. I will cultivate and grow powerful that my nickname, Executioness of Light, would awe you when you come for my help" Nailah said with boldness and confidence.


    Haha!


    Alex grinned.


    "Good." He said. Then he spoke further "I see that you want to be like your brother."


    Nailah nodded with a smile in her face.


    Alex then ruffled her hair.


    "Alright. We have spoken enough." He said looking at Olivia who went to grab Nailah''s hand.


    "Take care of yourself Alex" Olivia said.


    "You too. And please take care of Nailah" Alex replied.


    Olivia nodded.


    Then she and Nailah left through the door of the room that they were in into the street.


    Not long as they walked down the street, an average-grade, beast-drawn carriage arrived before them. Then she entered into the carriage with Nailah which then began to move down the street to another location which was really distant.


    She had instructed the middle-aged driver of the carriage to convey the both of them to an ultivehicle garage, where they would purchase air tickets for an ultivehicle which would lift both of them to her academy which was really far away from where they were.


    At this point in time, Alex had sat back on the bed in the room and was organizing things in his mind.


    "I guess it''s in this state that I would establish my Punishment Society and slowly recruit more than hundred Condensation-stage cultivators and fifty Earth Adept stage cultivators." He said within.


    This was one of the seven tasks given to him by the system for nice rewards.


    "But it''s going to be a bit difficult. Anyways, I would try to do so. And if anyone comes to bring trouble to me and try to ruin or destroy what I am building, that damned person should be prepared to be drenched in his or her own blood."

 Chapter 241: Insane costs for items

    "But it''s going to be a bit difficult. Anyways, I would try to do so. And if anyone comes to bring trouble to me and try to ruin or destroy what I am building, that damned person should be prepared to be drenched in his or her own blood."


    Then after a while of thinking of what to do next, he thought ''Menu''


    Then a screen abruptly appeared in his mind


    -------------------------------------


    [ Menu ]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Stats ]


    [ Skills ]


    [ Crafting ]


    [ Pill Making ]


    [ Forging ]


    [ Evolution ]


    [ Quests ]


    [ Shop ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''Shop'' He thought.


    -------------------------------------


    [Shop]


    -------------------------------------


    Description: Everything that can be found in ''Shop'' were items used in Astria.


    [ Astria Weapons ]


    [ Astria Pets ]


    [ Astria pills ]


    [ Astria Armor ]


    [ Astria Vehicles ]


    [ Astria Battle Souls ]


    [ Astria Wings ]


    [ Astria Books ]


    [ Astria Maps ]


    [ Astria Martial Arts Manuals ]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Go to Menu ]


    -------------------------------------


    Alex shook his head.


    He wasn''t sure if he needed anything from the system as he was full of treasure-weapons and artifacts that were given to him by his mom, dad, Azure Beastsman, Silver-Violet Sword Banisher, and not forgetting the ones in the storage space within The Purifier''s sword which Alex wasn''t aware about yet.


    However, he still wanted the items that would be dropped by the system. This was another terrific way to build his own accumulation instead of relying on his parents own. Besides, it came with a lot of tasks which would help him hone his battle skills.


    Now, he didn''t need to think about what to do next to develop his battle skills. Just the Quests or Missions generated by the system would help him to accomplish that.


    With a smile in his face, he thought ''Astria weapons''


    He wanted to see what they looked like.


    -------------------------------------


    [Astria Weapons]


    -------------------------------------


    Description: Weapons can only be purchased with 350,000 points and above.


    -------------------------------------


    [Starting cost of weapons: 350,000 purchase points]


    [Ending cost of weapons: Unimaginable]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Sleeping Blades of Doom ]


    [ Slumbering Apocalypse Saber ]


    [ Looming Calamity Chaosbuster Sword ]


    [ Fiery Tears of the Sun ]


    [ Goldenlava Blades ]


    [ Iceflame Heavenly Annihilation Greatsword ]


    [ Howling Wind Bow ]


    [ Great Shattering Solarsword ]


    [ Radiance Seizing Longsword ]


    [ Demoneyes Soulgazing Kitana ]


    [ Shattering Dragon Phoenix Blue Meteor Bow of All realms ]


    [ Nine Gods and Seven Deities Soulburning Doomslaying Origin Blades ]


    [ Empireheart Fierylotus Broadsword ]


    [ Speech of Destruction Orb ]


    [ Dusk to Dawn Sevenblades Saber ]


    [ Soulslaying Screeches of Darkness Violetcrystal Sword ]


    [ Nine Dragons Invincible Golden Cloud Sword + Defensive Armguard ]


    [ Walker of Skies Sword ]


    [Page 1 of 500]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Back ] [ Next page ]


    -------------------------------------


    Alex saw the weapons and couldn''t help but have his eyes glow in astonishment.


    ''350,000 purchase points and above? That costly? He asked himself within with terrible shock causing his mind to spin without stop.


    Then he said inwardly ''I guess I would have to kill Great Saints and Saint Emperors with my normal abilities alone to get such points. But the Quests that the system would generate for me to get such purchase points wouldn''t allow me to use my True God-eyes of Grand Destruction and other phenomenal abilities of my body. I simply wouldn''t be able to use the abilities of any of the super-powerful treasure-artifacts that has merged with my body. It would greatly limit me. However, I like it. Haha"


    After going through them, quickly, he thought ''Next page''


    -------------------------------------


    [Astria Weapons]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Breaker of Fortress ]


    [ Roaring Frenzy Blades ]


    [ Liquidmetal Crimson Blade of Gravity and Unparalleled Heaviness ]


    [ Eternalchasing Fortuneseizing Spear ]


    [ Nascent, Death and Resurrection Blade ]


    [ Fate Reversing Saber ]


    [ Blackstar Monarch Chain ]


    [ Prime Originator Blade ]


    [ Devilhound Blackmetal Sword ]


    [ Soulfission Kitana ]


    [ Star Swallowing blade ]


    [ Skullbreaker Blade ]


    [ Greymetal Devouring Blade of Gloom ]


    [ Sword of Darkness and Light ]


    [ Heavenborne Essenceflame Sword ]


    [ Wyvern Beheading Assassin Saber of Black Radiance ]


    [ Astria Gale Bringer sword ]


    [Page 2 of 500]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Back ] [ Next page ]


    [ Go to Menu ]


    -------------------------------------


    Alex was simply delighted by all that he saw.


    ''No rush, you all would be mine soon'' Alex said inwardly with excitement.


    ''Go to menu'' He thought.


    Then [Menu] appeared in the screen in his mind.


    ''Evolution'' He thought.


    -------------------------------------


    [Evolution]


    -------------------------------------


    ] Host, you are still far from evolving! [


    ] Try Quests to gain more EP to evolve! [


    [Evolution Points {EP}: 0]


    -------------------------------------


    Details:


    -------------------------------------


    [ Half-Human: Level 1 ]


    [ Half-Negaria: Level 1 ]


    [ Half-Beast: Level 0 ]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Go to Menu ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''Hmm'' Alex was surprised.


    ''Alright, let''s do this''


    ''Half-human'' He thought.


    -------------------------------------


    [Half-human]


    -------------------------------------


    Details: Level 1


    [ At Level 2, Host will evolve to become a Minor-level Supreme Human ]


    [ Increased physical senses ]


    [ Increased strength ]


    [ Increased speed ]


    [ Increased perception of the world ]


    [ micro-range Telekinesis [10ft] ]


    [Evolution Points {EP}: 0 / 1,000,000,000]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Back ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''What the hell? Just why?'' Alex complained angrily inwardly.


    ''Back'' He thought.


    Then the previous screen appeared in his mind.


    ''Half-Negaria'' He thought.


    -------------------------------------


    [Half-Negaria]


    -------------------------------------


    Details: Level 1


    [ At Level 2, Host will evolve to become a Two-Winged Negarian ]


    [ Increased strength ]


    [ Increased speed ]


    [ Armored crystalline skin ]


    [ Increased range of devouring power [1,000ft] ]


    [ Increased range of dazzling Battle Aura and suppressive pressure ]


    [Evolution Points {EP}: 0 / 20,000,000,000]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Back ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''Really?!! System, why are you so wicked with the way that you award points? First of all, the difficult Quests that I selected had no evolution points as rewards for completing them. Secondly, why is evolution to the next level for Human and Negaria sooo high? I am very certain that''s the same with beast evolution'' Alex questioned in an unhappy manner.


    ''Well, that''s how it has been programmed, host. I can''t change it even if I want to'' A male voice which was Johnny''s voice rang in his head.


    ''Damn!'' Alex muttered.


    ''Alright'' He said as he eventually accepted it.


    He just had to accept the rewards like that. But he was very unhappy about them.


    However, he knew that all he could try to do now was work hard more; cultivate more so that he would grow stronger very quickly and be able to complete much more Quests so that he could get more upgrade and purchase points, and then evolution points so that he could increase his battle power and evolve.


    ''Well, it would be fun'' Alex said inwardly as he smiled.


    Then he resumed his comprehension.


    Not long, about twelve uniformed boys could be seen moving at great speeds towards the inn that Alex rented a two-room apartment at.

 Chapter 242: Thanks for coming to me

    Immediately the five boys got to the inn that Alex was in, the leader of their group shouted.


    "We are the students of the Ancient heavenly cauldron academy. We are here to deal with someone. So, it would be best for you to try not to interfere in any way. Or you would regret it" He said.


    Everyone in the street where the inn was located heard the booming voice of this person and shook.


    They couldn''t help but be surprised why the students of the ancient academy were here. But from the way that the person who spoke sounded, they could deduce that they wanted to either beat someone up, or take this person away from the inn to their academy for proper punishment. Perhaps the person in a room in the inn who was their target had offended them, or someone more powerful in the academy as many students of the academy had gathered here.


    Alex who was comprehending heard this too and became surprised.


    ''Who are these people?'' He thought inwardly.


    However, he didn''t think that they were here for him as he couldn''t remember how he had offended someone from the academy that they mentioned that they were from.


    Then the person that spoke entered the inn and went to the apartment booking room.


    He provided Alex''s image to the person in that room who became shocked. Then the person immediately provided the room number of the person whose image was provided.


    Then this person went arrogantly to Alex''s room with the intention to drag him out of there into the street, where they would terribly beat him up and severely humiliate him in the public.


    When this person was walking towards his room, Alex who had a perverse hearing heard the footsteps and became surprised. He also heard when the person in the booking room gave this person that was walking towards his room his room number.


    However, being a smart person, he didn''t wait for anything or anyone to tell him that the group of students who said that they were from the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy came here for him.


    With a smile in his face, he waited for this person to arrive.


    The person that Alex waited for eventually arrived. Then without knocking, this person delivered a strong snap kick to the door which instantly broke away from it hinges and violently shot towards Alex who was seated on the bed.


    Alex who was now seeing in slow motion immediately sent his index finger towards the thick wooden door that had arrived in front of him with tremendous speed.


    Bang!


    The door shattered apart into pieces.


    Alex wasn''t even moved from his seat.


    Now gazing at the boy in front of him with a dazzling cyan light in his eyes, the air in the room became stormy.


    His hair fluttered in it like he was the god of the wind. And when the boy saw this phenomenon, he couldn''t help but have some amounts of fear surface in his heart.


    Then before he could do anything, Alex clenched his cyan-glowing hand into a fist, then the air behind the boy gathered and compressed.


    Bang!


    He was struck heavily from behind by a compacted wind pillar that had formed at his back, which then tyrannically hurled him towards Alex who simply caught him in his palm.


    Now grabbing his neck, and not caring who he was, Alex delivered a terrible slap to his face.


    Argh!


    The person screamed.


    Alex smiled.


    Alex then drove his index finger into his body.


    Puchi!


    Without using sharpness-energy to enhance it penetration, the finger deeply pierced easily into this person''s body.


    Once Alex did so with a smile still in his face, the person screamed out in pain.


    Alex then grabbed the person''s flesh with the finger which had pierced into his body and tore away a pound of flesh.


    ARGH!


    The person screamed out in horror.


    Alex then swung him hard towards the window of his room.


    Bang!


    Due to force that he was thrown with, the window''s burglary was broken into two, while the glasses of the window shattered into shards. Then the boy''s body that was powerfully thrown, continued into the distance for about twenty feet away before heavily crashing into the earth outside.


    Alex then jumped out through the window of his room to the ground.


    Bang!


    Where he landed cracked and caused dust to erupt.


    The others that were on the ground looked at him and became surprised, before slight fear filled their eyes.


    "Didn''t you want me?" He asked with a smile in his face.


    Then before he could go at them, a screen appeared in his mind.


    -------------------------------------


    [System Alert]


    -------------------------------------


    ] New Quest Available! [


    [Description: The Ancient Heavenly Cauldron Academy Student]


    -------------------------------------


    Details:


    -------------------------------------


    1. Beat the hell out of the thirteen students in front of you using only your Power of Wind. [Punches and Kicks are allowed]


    2. Let them tell you the name of the person that sent them and the message that they brought.


    3. Humiliate them in the most possible way that they would eternally regret assembling themselves to come face you.


    ] Time limit: 1 hour and 3 minutes [


    Rewards:


    - 30 Base Stat Upgrade points


    - 10 Skill purchase points


    - Weapon: 1 Low-level Azure Firestorm Dragonsoul Halberd [Type: Upgradable]


    [ Will You Accept This Quest? ]


    [ Yes ] [ No ]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Cancel ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''Yes'' Alex thought quickly with a smile now hanging on his lips.


    -------------------------------------


    ] Quest Accepted! [


    -------------------------------------


    [Reminder]:


    Finish Quest before time is over or you would lose your rewards.


    -------------------------------------


    Alex nodded his head. Then he shook it in awe.


    He was beginning to like this system more and more.


    Once he was confronted by challengers or adversaries, the system''s screen would appear in his mind, turning his battles into tasks that should be fulfilled, which would then provide him with rewards upon their completions or fulfillments.


    Alex looked at the boys in front of him who quickly armed themselves with treasure-weapons.


    Then a smile that radiated fright surfaced in his face.


    When the boys saw the smile, they couldn''t help but have chills move down their spines.


    Alex then said to them "Many thanks for coming to me, for I am going to use you fuckers to gain points"

 Chapter 243: Domineering battle

    Immediately after Alex said that, the boys who were in the Earth Adept stage that was also named ''Core Formation stage'' which Alex was in, quickly sent out attacks at him.


    Without using his speedforce energy or any other energy except his windforce energy which bestowed him with the Power of Wind, Alex dashed towards the attacks.


    Then before the incoming, fast-shooting, large and solid energy-attacks could impact him, air suddenly came from everywhere and wrapped around Alex''s figure. Then the air that had been pulled from every direction in this area, greatly compacted around him to form a three-meter thick column which then began to furiously spin around him.


    This technique which was named ''Cyclonic Wind Armor'', was a defensive method in the Wind Trinity Methodology that he studied. It was an earth-rank defensive method that Alex could now use as he had gotten to the Earth Adept stage (Core Formation stage).


    The attacks struck the heavily compacted, furiously spinning column of air, but they couldn''t penetrate through it as it deflected their energy attacks. And despite achieving a shocking degree of impenetrability due to it compaction level, more air still came in from far and added to the aggressively swirling dense column of air, rapidly increasing it size, solidness and thickness.


    Alex looked at one of the thirteen boys and aimed his hand out at him.


    ''Cyclone Bash''


    Then the tremendously fast, solid column of air that revolved around Alex, carried him off with it as it shot at an insane speed towards the boy that Alex targeted.


    Bang!


    The boy couldn''t even dodge in time before he was heavily shoved away by the aggressive air column that impacted him very hard.


    Argh!


    He shouted in pain and horror as he was launched away, crashing into the earth about thirty feet away from where he initially stood.


    Once Alex knocked off one of the boys, the wind column that spun crazily around him disappeared, as Alex had stopped using his Power of Wind which was granted to him by his cultivation of windforce energy.


    Now in their midst, and them now seeing it as a golden opportunity to attack Alex, the twelve boys quickly sent out attacks at him.


    With a smirk in his face as he had produced their actions in his mind before they could even think about doing it, Alex shot like an arrow towards one of them with his legs fully stretched out.


    It was a fast flying kick that Alex wanted to deliver to the person that he targeted.


    Swoosh!


    Cutting through the air like a furiously thrown spear, Alex delivered a heavy and hard kick to the chest of the boy that was in his sight.


    Bang!


    Argh!


    The boy screamed out loud in pain when Alex''s leg struck his chest, causing it to instantly cave in and his body being launched into the far distance like it was catapulted.


    Still in the air and being an highly nimble person, Alex forced his body to turn around as he delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to the face of another person that was directly beside the first boy that he sent a devastating flying kick at.


    Bang!


    Argh!


    Once Alex''s powerfully swung feet impacted the boy''s face, the boy screamed out loud in pain and agony as he shot high into the air and spun, before crashing hard into the earth of about a distance of fifteen feet away.


    Immediately Alex landed after delivering the second attack, he quickly jumped high into the air towards two other boys that were now in his sight. And immediately he landed a few feet before them, he sent his two palms out towards them.


    Like as if strong and powerful winds rushed out from his two palms, the two boys that Alex aimed at were instantly shoved away into the far distance.


    Alex had instantly employed his power of wind when he aimed his hands out at the both of them. Then once he sent his palms out, the air before them abruptly transformed into a gale-force wind that impacted the both of them and forcefully lifted them off their feet, hurling them into the distance of about seven feet away.


    However, they weren''t injured. They were only flung away by the abrupt, violent wind currents.


    But heavily crashing into the earth without protective armors, they instantly fainted. And Alex didn''t bother himself about them as he went to meet his other challengers. But he would definitely come back for them later.


    Seeing how fast and tyrannical Alex was, the remaining boys who began to dread Alex quickly gathered together.


    Then they concentrated their energy-attacks at him.


    But before they could band together and launch concentrated powerful attacks at Alex, Alex stomped a foot against the ground and was sent high into the air by the force generated by his stomping leg. And immediately he did this, reaching a height of forty feet and evading the incoming, focused energy-attacks in the process, he aimed a palm out at them and expelled shocking quantities of windforce energy from his energyhouse.


    Then the abruptly discharged enormous mass of wind-energy which resembled a gigantic cyan cloud at that height that Alex was at, abruptly transformed into a massive, crystalline cyan palm which spanned about fifteen meters. And immediately it formed, it shot down at an insane speed towards the remaining boys on the ground.


    Bang!


    A loud bang sound rang out and the earth for a rectangular area of fifteen meters cracked, resulting in a deep fissure and the eruption of large amount of dust, and a wave that swept out with tyrannical might.


    When Alex landed, he calmly walked towards the crater that had formed in the earth as a result of his devastating attack. Then when he looked into it, he could see the bodies of the boys. They were unconscious and terrible wounds could be seen all over them.


    Immediately after noticing the horrifically injured states that the boys were in, he jumped into the crater and flung their unconscious bodies out of it to the ground.


    When he was done piling up their bodies at a spot, he jumped out of the crater.


    Then he went to carry the bodies of the others which were launched into random distances by his punches, kicks and pure wind attacks.


    He also dropped them on the piles of the bodies that he had gathered.


    People who were watching the intense battle from their homes that were in the street where the inn Alex rented a room at was located, couldn''t help but be shaken at the sight of what was happening outside their homes in the street.


    They were like, this pretty boy dared to do this to the student of the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy? Wasn''t he calling for his death?


    But when they looked at him again, they had to accept that he was a battle genius.


    Without using an energy-attack which he only deployed to end the battle, he had simply round them all up using only his fists, legs and wind.


    "What a genius!" One man in a particular room said to his wife.


    "Yes, he''s a genius. I wonder who he is. I have never seen his face before. Perhaps he came from another city or state" His wife replied.


    "Hmm. You must be right. He must be from another city as I have never seen his face before" The man replied.


    However, majority of the people that were watching the battle through the windows of their homes, although accepted that Alex was a genius from other cities, but was someone that would surely die soon for what he did to the students of the Ancient Heavenly cauldron academy.


    If he doesn''t run far away after what he had done, students who were in the group or faction that these seemingly belonged to, would rush to these place to beat the hell out out of him, or even kill him and blame it on their anger. They could say that they were extremely angry at him for wickedly beating up the members of their factions and so unleashed attacks without constraint at him.


    Anyways, Alex didn''t have a plan on running far away in fear, for he had many plans to execute. And one of them which mattered to him the most was to set up his own organization he would call ''The Punishment Society''. Although he still had problem with the naming as he was thinking of naming it ''The Punishers Society'' or just ''Punishers Guild''


    One would think that it was for the rewards that would be given to him by the system. But this wasn''t actually so.


    Before he could even have a system, he had long had the dream or plan of building his own organization, which would then grow slowly till it got to a desired stage, a stage where it would exceed the power or authority of every governments in the small, minor, major and great worlds out there. And he was going to build such an organization in this city that he was from, which would then spread to other cities in the State, then slowly to other States, till he took over the Region that the thousands of States were in. Then after that, he would set up his organization or society in every other Regions in the Continent, before spreading to new locations in other Continents in this small world which was a Planeverse.


    He was simply going to do what no cultivator has ever done. Abolish every governments, set up his, and unify all continents.


    Haha!


    Thinking of this made him grin.


    But he knew the extreme difficulties and terrible consequences that lied in the road that he was taking.


    One man going against Governments? The powerful authorities that preside over every affair in their geographical jurisdiction?


    It was simply like going against the Heavens!


    Just like the Heavens, the governments wouldn''t want to be defied by any being or entity. Only total destruction would await such a person that tried such.


    However, Alex wasn''t frightened.


    Come storm, come darkness, he would sweep all of them away.

 Chapter 244: Awaiting the arrival of a bastard

    Alex didn''t give the injured students who were piled on top of each other pills, he simply waited for them to awaken by themselves, after their body regeneration abilities kicked up.


    Not long, the thirteen students began to wake up one after the other and then rolled down from the small hill that they formed with their bodies. And when they looked up after rolling to the ground, they saw Alex gazing at them.


    "Bastard, do you know what you have done? You would die for what you did" Someone wrathfully said. He was the person that Alex flung far away through the window of his room.


    Alex only smiled.


    "You are in no place to ask questions and give threats. Right now and right here, I ask the questions, while you give the answers. And if you don''t answer correctly, a terrible beating would descend on you. I am warning you now. Don''t cry out later to say I didn''t" Alex said.


    "What bullshit" The person retorted.


    "I will pardon you for that. Now, my question is who sent you? And for what reason?" Alex asked.


    "You want to know who sent us? Although I would have told you, but I would like to see if you would actually dare to touch us, the students of the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy. So to your question, it''s your irritating whore of a mother that sent us. Haha!" The person said and laughed without care for anything in the world.


    Alex gazed at this person.


    Swoosh!


    Alex moved so fast that he appeared before the person that spoke like a ghost.


    Then he grabbed the person''s neck with his hand and simply crushed it.


    Snap!


    The person''s neck gave a loud snap sound as a pressure that would effortlessly crush diamonds was exerted on his neck.


    Alex then threw his lifeless body to the ground beside him.


    With a thought, dark scarlet flames began to burn on his hand. This flame which was the manifestation of his summoned, mutated pyroforce energy from his energyhouse, formed into a ball that Alex sent at the corpse beside him.


    Then in an instant, as a devouring and highly destructive fire, the body burned to ashes which then vanished in the next moment, then a body-sized hole now appearing where the raging, blazing fire burned. The strong, fierce fire had actually burnt a hole into the ground.


    When Alex did this, he then looked towards the remaining twelve boys before him with a cold smile.


    "Anyone want to test how ruthless I am? Go right ahead and say something that would make me lose my sanity" Alex said.


    Alex knew that what he just did carried a great consequence, but he wasn''t scared.


    Of the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy or wherever he claimed that they were from? Let them come.


    Now that he was in his city, he wouldn''t even be scared of gods. And one should know the reason why.


    The others began to tremble. If this person before them could kill one of them in such a manner, he would simply kill them too in that way, or in a more painful or torturous way.


    Then not trying to know his degree of ruthlessness, one of them hurriedly said with a bow that radiated veneration.


    "It was the Bone-sawing Evilchild that sent us"


    "Bone-sawing Evilchild? Haha! What sort of shitty, stupid name is that? Anyways, for what reason did he send you to me?" Alex asked.


    "He said to tell you after humiliating you that you should stay away from Olivia" The person quickly replied.


    "What?" Alex was taken aback.


    "I should stay away from Olivia? Who the fuck is he to her?" He asked


    "Actually, h-he likes Olivia and want her to be his. He would do anything to get her and a-add her to the list of the girls that he has sexually conquered" The person said, confessing everything to Alex out of great fear.


    Alex''s eyes then shone with exceeding coldness and a strong killing intent.


    But he calmed himself as his expression returned to normal and said "Go back to that fool. Tell him that if he''s a man, he should come to this place to tell me the utter nonsense that he told you."


    "Okay" The person hurriedly stood up and wanted to leave.


    But he was stopped by Alex.


    "Where are you going to? Did I tell you to leave just yet?" Alex asked.


    "No" The person shook his head in fear.


    He thought that Alex might get angry and simply kill him the way that he killed their colleague.


    "Strip away your uniform and walk naked back to your academy. All of you!" Alex said coldly and without fear of retribution in his tone.


    Once Alex said that, the boys'' hearts shook greatly.


    Then they began to quickly beg him.


    But their pleas didn''t get to Alex who said with an exceedingly cold tone "If I count from three to one and I don''t see your stripped uniforms on the ground, be ready to be crushed to death."


    The boys became gloomy and began to radiate the aura of extreme despair.


    Then with sadness engulfing every inch of their hearts, they began to strip away their uniforms.


    Once they were done, Alex said without a shred of emotion in his tone "Alright, you can go"


    Then the despaired boys who grabbed their manhoods from showing to the public began to run at high speeds. And the movement speed that they moved at had never been achieved by them in all their lives, even when they were in danger.


    The boys who had tears unendingly forming in their eyes and falling off it had never been so humiliated in all their lives.


    Immediately after the boys left with all their hearts drowning in unbounded sorrow, a screen appeared in Alex''s mind.


    -------------------------------------


    [System Alert]


    -------------------------------------


    ] Quest Completed! [


    [Description Ancient Heavenly Cauldron Academy Students]


    -------------------------------------


    Details:


    -------------------------------------


    1. Beat the hell out of the thirteen students in front of you using only your Power of Wind. [Punches and Kicks are allowed]


    [Achieved]


    2. Let them tell you the name of the person that sent them and the message that they brought.


    [Achieved]


    3. Humiliate them in the most possible way that they would eternally regret assembling themselves to come face you.


    [Achieved]


    -------------------------------------


    Rewards:


    -------------------------------------


    - 30 Base Stat Upgrade points


    - 10 Skill purchase points


    - Weapon: 1 Low-level Azure Firestorm Dragonsoul Halberd [Type: Upgradable]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Collect rewards now? ]


    [ Yes ] [ No ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''Yes'' Alex said.


    He wasn''t happy at all that some other person had his woman in his sight. Besides, to make it worse, the person saw the girl he loved as something to be conquered and then disposed, like garbage.


    His own woman as a pile of garbage after being used?


    He just wished that the person would rush down here in anger for him. He wanted to meet this person and tell him a piece of his mind.


    Then with great unhappiness in his heart, he focused back on the screen in his mind.


    -------------------------------------


    [Rewards Collected]


    -------------------------------------


    Check inventory to see your items


    [ Go to inventory ]


    [ Cancel ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''Go to inventory'' Alex thought


    -------------------------------------


    [Inventory]


    -------------------------------------


    - Low-level Astria Stormlight Hammer [1]


    - Low-level Azure Firestorm Dragonsoul Halberd [Type: Upgradable] [1]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Go to menu ]


    [ Cancel ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''Close screen'' He thought.


    Then the screen vanished from his mind.


    Alex didn''t want to add the points just yet. He wanted them to accumulate before using them.


    Then he went back into the inn to await the arrival of the person that sent those boys at him.

 Chapter 245: The arrival

    Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy...


    - In a room -


    "That bastard killed Tony and actually told you guys to strip naked in public? And he knew that you were from the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy? Damn! So much boldness" Drille said with boundless anger in his voice.


    He was extremely angry.


    This person actually didn''t even fear his academy. He killed of one of their students like he was killing a bug.


    "Should we report him to our instructors that someone out there has killed a student of our school?" One person asked.


    These boys before they entered the school had taken money from their spatial rings to get themselves clothes to cover their nakedness. They couldn''t walk all the way from that place to their school naked. It would just be stupid of them. However, what Alex did to them had been indelibly branded in their memories. They would always remember it. It would be like one of those wounds that time can never heal.


    "No. I would do things myself" Drille said.


    "Are you going to face him? He''s quite domineering in battle, considering how he beat all thirteen of us like we were weaklings" Another person in front of him said.


    Haha!


    Drille cackled.


    "Am I going there to face him? Of course I would go there to face him. I am stronger than him if you are frightened that he would beat me up. He''s just an initial-phase, Earth Adept stage cultivator. While I am a mid-phase Sky Lord stage cultivator. I am so going to brutalize him for what he did to you guys. And I would make sure that he suffers an humiliation worse than the ones he made you all pass through" Drille said with anger in his tone.


    As he spoke, his anger increased.


    "Dismiss" He said.


    Then all the boys stood up and left for their various rooms.


    When they left, someone appeared in the room.


    "Someone actually dared to kill a student of our academy? Such boldness" Lenna said.


    "Sister, why do you always eavesdrop to what we discuss? You don''t even give me my privacy again" Drille said in a complaining tone.


    "And you want me to apologize for that?" Lenna asked.


    Drille only gave a mtcheew and stood from where he sat.


    "Sis, please don''t report anything to the authorities of the school. I plan to do terrible things to that guy. He would certainly regret what he did" Drille said.


    "When you are done torturing him, make sure to kill him in the most grievous way. And if you are able to discover any of his household family members, totally decimate them" Lenna said emotionlessly.


    Haha!


    Drille grinned.


    "Certainly!" He said.


    Then Lenna vanished from the room.


    ***


    - Moonlight Inn -


    "Sir, please you would have to leave here" A female said to Alex.


    "Why?" Alex asked with surprise in his tone.


    "Because of the nefarious things that you have done. You killed a student of the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy and stripped the others totally naked. That acts of yours is unpardonable. After you have been severely punished and tortured, you would be killed" The female who was a young girl said. She was the one that gave that person who Alex killed his room number out of terror.


    Alex smiled.


    "I know why you are saying this. You think you and everyone else would become involved in the acts that I committed? That my actions may put you people in trouble? Anyways, in case you don''t know, me leaving here would spell doom for all of you. So, it''s better I remain behind and handle my matter myself" Alex said.


    When Alex finished speaking, the female before him thought over what he said and agreed with him.


    It was true that if he left and the staffs or senior cultivation students of the academy arrived, they could become angry that they would simply kill all of them within and raze the inn to the ground.


    "B-But you would be killed" The female said.


    "Well, that''s what you think. That''s not what I think. They would be the ones to be obliterated." Alex said confidently.


    Then he continued "I will pay for window that I broke"


    "No, don''t worry about that. My boss would have it fixed." The young girl said. Then she asked "Would you be staying here for a long time? After you have been able to solve this deadly situation that you are in now"


    "Certainly." Alex replied.


    Seeing how confident and fearless Alex was, the young girl proceeded to ask "I don''t think you are from this city. You must be from another city and must come from an academy or organization whose power could match that of the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy."


    Alex was taken aback.


    "Why do you think so?" He asked.


    "Because you are exceedingly calm like there''s nothing bothering you" The young girl replied.


    "Oh. That''s because I am a naturally calm person" Alex replied.


    "Alright" The girl nodded.


    "I have to go back to my working place now. And I hope that you would be able to come out unhurt from this abysmal situation that you have thrown yourself into" She said.


    "Thanks!" Alex said.


    Then the girl left his room while Alex sat on his bed in the cross-legged position to resume his comprehension.


    - Four hours later -


    "Bastard that dared to harm the students of the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy, come out now"


    A voice boomed out from below.


    Then everyone quickly looked out through the window to see who that was. And when they saw the person that spoke in a black uniform that had the embroidery of a cauldron on it, they immediately knew who he was. Then they shook their heads at the person that was being called out. Such a terrific and handsome young man wouldn''t live past the next few hours.


    Anyways, they still continued to watch with the intention to entertain themselves. Even mortals deeply enjoyed battles between cultivators.


    When Alex heard what the booming voice said, with a ruthless smile now surfacing in his face, he went towards the window of his room and jumped from it to the ground.


    Then now gazing at Drille, Alex said:


    "Bastard, you are here now."

 Chapter 246: Fighting a deadly battle with suppressed power

    -------------------------------------


    [System Alert]


    -------------------------------------


    ] New Quest Available! [


    [Description: Strong Enemy from the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy]


    -------------------------------------


    Details:


    -------------------------------------


    1. Reduce your enemy into a bloody pulp by any means necessary, except with the usage of your mutated pyroforce energy, cryoforce energy, windforce energy, swordforce energy, lightniforce energy and strengthforce energy [Punches and Kicks are allowed in this fight]


    ] Time limit: 5 hours and 18 minutes [


    Rewards:


    [Notice: Since you have been partially handicapped as you wouldn''t be able to use your more powerful cultivation energies, more rewards would be given for the completion of the difficult task ahead]


    - 50 Base Stat Upgrade points


    - 10 Weapon Upgrade points


    - Xandorra''s Winged Blades of Pain and Agony [ Level 1, Upgradable]


    - Igor''s Orcslaying Feathered Blade of Gloom and Doom [ Level 1, Upgradable]


    - Exalted Vanquisher Sword [ Level 1, Upgradable]


    - Nine Majesties Blade of Ultimate Desolation [ Level 1, Upgradable]


    - Black Supreme Sword of Ancientness [ Level 1, Upgradable]


    - Stormcrashing Blades [ Level 1, Upgradable]


    - Stormsweeping Hammer [ Level 1, Upgradable]


    - Thunderfury Pike [ Level 1, Upgradable]


    - Radiantsteel Halberd [ Level 1, Upgradable]


    - Furiousbolt Twin Sword [ Level 1, Upgradable]


    - Micro-range Rapid Teleportation Battle Armor [Level 1, Upgradable]


    -------------------------------------


    [ Will You Accept This Quest? ]


    [ Yes ] [ No ]


    -------------------------------------


    ''I can''t reject even if I want to because of it difficulty'' Alex uttered inwardly with excitement.


    ''I guess you like the rewards this time?'' Johnny''s voice suddenly rang in his head.


    ''Certainly'' Alex uttered. Then he asked ''But you told me that you had no control over the system''s ability to give rewards. How come I am getting these much rewards this time. Deeply considered what I complained about the other time?''


    ''No. It''s just that I don''t have control over the evolution points. But I do have control over many others. So, the more the difficulty of a task, the more the rewards'' Johnny replied.


    ''Hmm. Alright. Thanks a lot, system'' Alex inwardly said in an appreciable manner.


    He was simply very glad at the amount of rewards that he would get this time after he successfully completes the Quest that would greatly limit him and try to force to him to ascend above his limit.


    If he was a normal cultivator like the others, where he didn''t have dominating tyrannical energies, he would have to utilize his intelligence and his other normal cultivated energies to battle his opponents.


    Anyways, one shouldn''t forget that all of Alex''s energies were powerful, as they had slivers of divineforce energy in them which increased their qualities (densities) beyond normal. It was only that his windforce energy, pyroforce energy, frostforce energy contained essences of the wind, fire and water tribulations that increased their destructive outputs to another level, and his lightniforce energy which was simply a cultivation energy derived from lightning tribulation. Then his strengthforce energy which contained a type of primordial energy that transformed it into a quasi-heaven rank energy. So, the system prevented him from using those to attack but utilize his other less-mutated energies for his battle.


    Alex wouldn''t complain as he knew what the system was trying to do. It was simply trying to force him to go beyond his limit, rather than just rely on some of his highly mutated energies which gave him dominion in battle over the others that were at his cultivation stage.


    But due to the limitation placed on his battle power, Alex felt that he would be seriously hurt by the adversary that he was going to face soon.


    However, he had an anger in his heart which boundlessly towered. Therefore, he would make sure to use it to pass an exceedingly painful message to the boy in front of him.


    "I can''t believe that you actually dared to kill a student of the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy" Drille said.


    "And I can''t believe that you dared to think of my girlfriend as something that you can just sleep with and dispose." Alex said.


    "Haha. Of course. What else? Marry her? Once I am done penetrating her like ten to fifteen times, she would become boring to me. Then I would dispose her off like the garbage that she was in the first place" Drille said.


    "Do you have a sister?" Alex unexpectedly asked.


    "Sure." Drille replied, then he began to wonder why Alex asked that question.


    "So what about her?" Drille asked.


    There was no reply from Alex.


    Then suddenly, Alex dashed towards him.


    Drille who was on guard readied himself to unleash an attack at Alex once he saw him dash towards him.


    "Hundred Tyrant Slashing Swords Strikes" Drille said as he sent his palm out at Alex.


    The instant that he did so, large amounts of swordforce energy abruptly erupted from his palm which then instantly condensed and shaped into hundreds of large swords that shot towards Alex to slash him apart.


    Alex who was dashing towards him stopped and quickly sent his palm out too. Then excessive amounts of radiantforce energy erupted from it.


    "Radiant Barrier"


    The energy which was also luminiforce energy; the energy that bestowed one with the ability to control light to a degree depending on one''s comprehension level, instantly condensed and shaped into a large rectangular barrier that was twenty feet high, thirty feet wide and ten feet thick.


    Alex''s dense barrier of light could achieve this size and thickness because of the tremendous amount of the radiant-energy that rapidly discharged from his palms.


    Once the barrier formed, the hundred sword-shaped attacks arrived before it and struck it with immense force and tyranny.


    Bang!


    The barrier shield of light surprisingly withstood the first attack and many others.


    However, upon the thirtieth sword hitting it, it shattered with a loud bang into smithereens which then reverted to slivers of luminous energy that returned to the realmverse.


    Once it shattered, the remaining swords went on to strike Alex.


    Alex quickly produced an armor on himself to protect his body from harm.


    Bang!


    One of the sword tyrannically struck him and he was launched into the far distance.


    He crashed into the earth about fifteen feet away.


    He was protected by the armor from the damaging power of the sword that struck him. While the shock that transmitted to his body couldn''t really do much damage to his organs. They had been toughened by the lightning tribulation that Alex used to temper his body.


    However, still mind-linked to his other attacks, Drille uttered "Go!"


    Then the swords that were floating in the air instantly shot out towards Alex in the far distance at high speeds.

 Chapter 247: Duel I

    Seeing the attacks coming towards him, Alex quickly discharged tremendous amounts of darkforce energy from his entire body. And due to the amounts of darkness-energy that had erupted from his body, it became as if he was engulfed by a gigantic, jet-black fog.


    Alex was using a technique called "Darkness Concealment", a perverse obscuring method in the Butchering Fiendgods Darkness methodology which he first studied when he acquired the entire wealth of the Azure Beastsman.


    Then as soon as the ink-black fog which was a great amount of roiling darkforce energy appeared, the mind-controlled energy swords created by Drille, using his sharpness-energy, shot into the jet-black fog that engulfed Alex''s figure to cut him into pieces.


    This fog which was formed from obscuration energy and spanned hundreds of feet, simply hid Alex''s figure completely. Therefore, not able to pinpoint exactly where Alex was, the flying energy-swords moved by Drille''s mind only shot about chaotically within the immense dark fog.


    After several minutes of doing so, he recalled the swords.


    "So, is that how you are going to hide in there like a coward? If you are a man, come out of that stupid black fog and face me, you foolish coward" Drille said angrily.


    However, he didn''t hear a thing from Alex.


    Hearing no response, Drille became exceedingly angry.


    Then he began to release swordforce energy from his hands. Many minutes later; twenty minutes to be precise, the swordforce energy that he erupted from his hands, accumulated to an astonishing amount that it engulfed his figure also like a fog which spanned many feet.


    He just couldn''t try to do it like Alex who explosively discharged shocking amounts of darkforce energy from his entire body in an instant.


    And him witnessing that, caused him to be shook to the core.


    It was like he had seen the most outrageous thing in the world. Then this made him more angry as he felt that Alex''s talent was tremendously better than his. He then vowed to eliminate Alex. But first, he must torture him severely, then kill him.


    The sharpness-energy that had appeared and concealed his figure, began to revolve insanely fast around him. Then it transformed into a furiously rotating cyclone of energy which then moved on the earth surface towards the dark fog that Alex was in. And as it moved, it caused the earth to be rived apart.


    Continuously emitting the power of Sharpness had caused the earth to slash apart. It was like a large sword had stabbed deep into the earth and was then pulled into the distance.


    Spanning a great size and revolving at an insane speed, it entered into the massive fog and tried to slash it apart.


    Few moments later, due to the sky-level power of sharpness emanating from the sword energy-cyclone, the fog vanished.


    But Alex could be seen nowhere.


    Huh?!


    Drille was taken aback.


    ''How the fuck did that bastard vanish from there?'' Drille asked inwardly.


    Then he walked towards the place where the dark fog initially was. He then looked around on the earth surface to get a clue on how Alex seemingly disappeared from within the fog.


    "Bastard, don''t tell me you have ran away! Come the fuck out wherever you are!" Drille shouted.


    "I am right in front of you, asshole"


    A voice suddenly responded from nowhere.


    Drille''s eyes widened in shock. Then before he could emit swordforce energy from his palm, a thin, square-shaped barrier that glowed in all the colours, suddenly became visible in front of him.


    Then a hand which clenched into a hard fist quickly shot out from the glowing colorful barrier that had suddenly surfaced before Drille and heavily struck him in the chest.


    Bang!


    Once the solid fist impacted him, Drille was launched away into the far distance. Then he crashed heavily into the ground of about seventeen feet away from where he initially stood.


    Alex then came out of the thin barrier which vanished in the next moment. And as soon as he came out, he quickly dashed towards the place where Drille crashed hard into.


    Alex had actually employed a powerful concealing skill from the Light methodology that he studied.


    The move which was called ''Screen of Invisibility'', would render him totally invisible. Therefore, by erecting a barrier of light and using his light-control power to allow light to pass through it, he was made totally unseen to the naked eyes.


    However, Drille should have been able to perceive details that would enable him to know that Alex was right in front of him; that Alex was hiding behind a barrier, since he was at a higher cultivation stage.


    But because Alex infused his invisibility-rendering barrier with numerous slivers of his phantasmforce energy, an energy that created realistic illusions, Drille wasn''t able to sense the barrier that was just a feet in front of him.


    Anyways, Alex still being imperceivable should not have been possible, as Drille who was at a higher cultivation stage, would have an increased power of perception of the world.


    But because of slivers of divineforce energy in them, the two energies were powered beyond normal; they became quasi-sky level energies; energies that could nearly match that of Drille''s in abilities and qualities.


    Therefore, because of wisps of divineforce energy in them which powered their abilities to a degree that made them almost almost on par with that of a Sky Lord stage expert, was what enabled Alex to achieve his invisibility, and then unleash a heavy, unanticipated attack at Drille.


    But unluckily for Alex, Drille was wearing an armor. So the immensely heavy punch that he sent out couldn''t do much damage to him or cause him severe injuries. However, Drille''s blood churned from the shock that was transmitted to his body which then settled after a few moments.


    Then with a kip-up, Drille sprung back to his feet from the ground.


    Alex who was dashing speedily towards him then stopped, immediately after he noticed that Drille had stood back to his feet.


    Then he became surprised that Drille could stand up undamaged to his feet. However, he realized in the next moment that Drille was wearing an armor.


    ''Shit!'' He said unhappily in his mind.


    He thought that the thundering punch which he delivered at Drille would make him win the deadly duel that they were having.


    Hahahaha!


    Drille laughed maniacally.


    "You are amazing bro. What a fucking genius you fucking are. Damn! You simply have so many unknown ways of winning a battle. Where did you get your all your methods from? If not for my beautiful, treasured bronze armor, I would have become a defenseless lamb waiting to be slaughtered by a wolf. Anyways, you were the wolf then. I am now. Right at this moment, you have just driven my determination to kill you to a degree that cannot be fathomed by gods themselves" Drille said with a creepy smile now appearing in his face, once he finished saying what he was stating.


    Then unexpectedly, he flew high into the air to a height of ninety feet and remained afloat at that altitude. Now staring down at Alex like he was an ant, he said "Get ready to be destroyed by me, the lamb turned wolf. Haha!"


    Suddenly, he released a great amount of swordforce energy from his hands. This then turned into hundreds of large swords that shot out towards Alex who was on the ground.


    Alex who was always prepared for unexpected, unfavorable outcomes, had already permeated his eyes and the nerves of his body with speedforce energy. Therefore, now seeing in slow motion, and being accelerated to a degree that was obviously way beyond normal by the speed-perception energy that he had infused into his nerves, he quickly executed a long-range backflip away from where he initially stood.


    Slash!


    Slash!


    Slash!...


    Hundreds of slashing sounds rang out as the swords stabbed into the earth where Alex previously stood.


    Immediately Alex landed, he quickly released terrifying amounts of radiantforce energy from his entire body which then abruptly condensed and shaped into thousands of short swords that shot at insane speeds towards Drille who had an extremely arrogant posture in the air.


    Seeing the massive number of attacks that were shooting towards him, Drille quickly forced a tremendous release of large amount of swordforce energy from his two hands, which then fused to form a single mass that immediately transformed into a large hand that began to radiate sharpness.

 Chapter 248: Duel II

    Drille had employed a method called ''Sky Cleaving Sword Lord Hand'' from the sword-based methodology that he studied.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    Loud bang sounds incessantly rang out as hundreds of the thousands of the short-sized, light energy-swords that were fired by Alex, impacted the massive palm with a momentum that gave the feeling that they wouldn''t be stopped by any force.


    Then due to their great numbers, and them being quasi-sky rank attacks, the massive palm formed from sharpness-energy tore apart into pieces, which then turned into slivers of swordforce energy that returned to the realmverse. Then the remaining sword-shaped attacks produced by Alex went on to impact Drille.


    With anger now burning brilliantly in his eyes, he shot high again into the air.


    Then at a greater altitude in the sky, he quickly released more swordforce energy from his hand which then rapidly condensed and shaped into swords that went on to impact the remaining energy swords that were shooting towards him with towering killing intents.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    More bang sounds rang out immediately after the opposing energy-attacks struck one another and produced terrifying waves of blinding, colored energies that raged into the distance at that height with unfathomable destructive force.


    Not long, when the waves vanished, no attack could be seen in the air again.


    They had simply canceled each other out.


    Drille became exceedingly angry.


    Then he produced a treasure-sword which began to glow as the sword energy-generating arrays contained in the voidstone started to operate.


    "Bastard, you fucker will die now!" Drille''s voice boomed out from the sky.


    "I see that you are terribly frustrated. But what if I come to meet you up there? I am sure you would cough out blood" Alex said back with a booming, mocking voice.


    "Meet me up here? Hahaha! I would love to see you try!" Drille said.


    "You shall see" Alex said.


    Immediately after Alex said that, a pair of enormous metallic wings appeared at his back. Then upon it activation, the Power of Flight began to emanate from the mechanical wings attached to his back. This then lifted him off the ground and high into the air, where he went to stay at the same altitude that Drille hovered at, but at a farther distance.


    "So what about now?" Alex asked loudly with a mischievous smile surfacing in his face.


    Seeing Alex surprisingly fly with the marveling treasure-wings that was attached to his back, and then coming to float at the same altitude that he floated at, Drille''s eyes began to glow with extreme furiousness and viciousness.


    Seeing Drille''s exceedingly contorted facial expression, Alex grinned and then produced two firmament-rank weapons; also called sky-rank weapons, were weapons that were extremely useful for a cultivator at the Sky Lord stage.


    Why Alex decided to produce treasure-weapons was because the system didn''t tell him to not use weapons. It only stopped him from using his high-powered energies. Since he wasn''t told not to, then he could bring out a weapon for his usage.


    Now wielding two peerless-grade, firmament-rank swords which had many voidstones plugged into multiple sockets in them, Alex looked at Drille and gave a mocking smile.


    Drille whose brows were furrowed, looked at his sword and saw only a single voidstone. Then he looked at Alex''s who was at a far distance in air. And when he saw the amounts of voidstones the swords possessed, his mind reeled in great shock.


    ''What? Where did he get the two swords that each have twenty voidstones each?'' He asked inwardly as his mind continually spun in astonishment.


    Then his resolve to kill Alex began to waver, as great fright surfaced in his heart and engulfed it totally.


    He was simply terribly scared by the damaging power of the attacks that the swords would release once they resumed their duel to the death.


    However, a great doubt rapidly manifested in his heart which then eliminated the fear that had suffused his heart.


    This doubt suddenly arose when Drille began to wonder if Alex would be able to actually withstand the aura of power and pressure that would be produced by the swords upon making them release energies from all the twenty voidstones plugged into the many sockets that they possessed.


    Then he absolutely felt that Alex was only bluffing with his action. This was because he knew of course that Alex wouldn''t be able to withstand the great power that would be produced by the swords.


    Therefore, for that reason, he knew that Alex wouldn''t try to fight him with all the energy-generating arrays in the voidstones activated, or he would bring about his doom by himself.


    ''Frighten me?''


    Hahaha!


    Drille began to laugh wickedly within.


    ''When I kill him, those marveling swords would become mine. Mine! Only the heavens know where the bastard got them from. Anyways, they would be mine soon. All I just have to do is to constantly look out for him so that he wouldn''t escape from me, or that would just be bad and saddening'' Drille said inwardly with a sly smile appearing in his face.


    Then he focused on Alex with a cold gaze that also erupted unbridled, towering killing intent.


    Why Alex produced the two multi-socketed treasure-swords was to frighten Drille and radically lower his confidence.


    However, Alex also knew that the chipping away of Drille''s battle-confidence, would only return and even grow stronger, as he could guess that Drille would think that he absolutely can''t unleash all the energies in the twenty voidstones plugged into the two swords'' sockets all at once.


    Because of this, he absolutely knew that Drille would only take his action as a bluff, and then raise his own confidence too high that he could swept away by a tiny surprise.


    Alex of course can''t unleash all the energies produced by all the arrays in each of the twenty voidstones in the two swords.


    However, there was still something that he could do.


    Now looking at Drille, he prepared to enter another battle.

 Chapter 249: Duel III

    Then suddenly, but as expected, Drille released a great amount of sharpness-energy energy from his single-socketed sword.


    What he couldn''t do with his body, he could now do it with the treasure-sword that he wielded.


    The astonishing amount of swordforce energy that was instantly produced by the sword, abruptly transformed into hundreds of large swords that spanned thirty feet each in size.


    Then as soon as they formed, they shot out towards Alex at blazing speeds.


    Alex who was ready for Drille at the far distance that he floated at, quickly released great amount of swordforce energy from one of the two treasure-swords that he wielded.


    Then the shocking amount of sharpness-energy released, instantly compacted and shaped into large numbers of huge swords that shot towards the similarly massive sword-shaped attacks unleashed by Drille.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    Hundreds of loud bang sounds rang out as the huge swords of energy collided into each other. Then as soon as they clashed, due to the same degree of solidness and denseness that they possessed, both attacks shattered into smithereens which then reverted back to slivers of swordforce energy that returned to the realmverse. However, once they impacted each other, with the intents to reduce the other into fragments, powerful waves of tyrannical, sharpness-bearing energies surfaced from the points of their collisions and swept into the far distance with great destructive might. Just about anything caught in their devastating paths would be instantly lacerated to millions of extremely small bits. Also, as soon as they collided, powerful currents of air shot off from the points at which they collided and raged into the distance like frenzied dragons.


    Once they saw that their attacks canceled out, they quickly unleashed more attacks at each other.


    Alex was actually using a sky-rank weapon to fight. If one began to wonder why he could so, that was because of his body''s new degree of toughness. Due to the tempering by the extremely destructive, Beyonder-class tribulation lightning that descended on him, his body had been refined and made to gain more hardness against physical damages.


    Therefore, in this case, his tempered body was able to withstand the aura of power coming from the treasure-sword, since he only operated a single array in a voidstone out of the twenty voidstones that were plugged to the many sockets of the sword and contained their own energy-generating arrays.


    However, Alex was thinking of making more arrays in one of the two treasure-swords that he wielded to begin to operate. He actually wanted to know the degree of his body''s toughness.


    Seeing Alex use a sky-rank weapon like he was using an earth-rank weapon, caused Drille''s mind to spin in awe.


    ''How''s that even possible?'' He asked inwardly with terrible shock coming from his tone.


    Alex should have coughed out blood by now and look exceedingly pale. But he was fine where he was.


    Anyways, he knew that Alex wouldn''t go beyond his boundary and make more arrays in the voidstones to begin to work, or he would only call for his own doom.


    ***


    As soon as their attacks shattered into fragments and resulted in the eruption of powerful waves that possessed tyrannical slashing power, and then the release of powerful and violent air currents that swept with rage into the distance, both of them quickly released more amounts of swordforce energy from their swords.


    Once the huge amounts of sharpness-energy were produced, they abruptly condensed and shaped into thousands of swords that shot at insane speeds towards the other.


    Seeing the massive number of attacks that were shooting towards him, Drille couldn''t help but be shocked.


    ''What battle methodology is this guy using?'' He thought with great shock.


    Alex had employed a powerful method called ''Hiding Cloud Swords of Banishment'', which he studied from the Banishment Sword methodology that he studied.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    Loud thunderous sounds incessantly rang out as the thousands of enormous energy-swords that were fired by the both of them, impacted each other with a momentum that invoked the feeling that they wanted to totally destroy the other. And as soon as they clashed, waves of laceration intent energies, erupted from the point at which they collided and rushed into the distance. Also, strong gales of wind that could seemingly reduce boulders and rocks into nothing, manifested from the points at which the attacks tyrannically impacted each other and swept into the distance with an howl like they were furious beasts that had broken free from their cages.


    Not long, both Drille''s and Alex''s attacks nullified each other.


    However, due to the amounts of swords of energy that Alex produced, not all were involved in a collision, as many of them went on to try to impact Drille who had a deeply surprised expression in his face. But the astonished expression in his face, vanished in the same time that it appeared, as Drille quickly replaced his armor with an average-grade, sky-rank armor that immediately appeared on his body, and then rapidly sent out a rectangular-shaped object from his spatial ring at the incoming deadly attacks.


    The instant that the object appeared in the air, it transformed into a massive, rectangular-shaped shield that shot towards the focused stream of sword-shaped attacks to impact them and possibly reduce their momentums or even totally destroy them.


    BOOM!!!


    A deafening boom sound rang out as the huge swords struck the massive shield all at once.


    Then due to their momentums, and the simultaneous, exceedingly heavy strikes that they unleashed, the colossal shield was viciously knocked back at Drille who was then shoved into the far distance by the force produced by the tremendously heavy strikes which still went on to try to annihilate their target.


    As soon as the immense shield wickedly smashed into him, Drille couldn''t help but scream out in pain.


    Although his body was slightly protected from the damage that would be caused by the shield which smashed hard into him and further shoved him at tremendous speed into the far distance, the shock that was transmitted to his body from the insanely heavy impact, caused his blood to roil greatly that it forcefully shot out of his mouth like a fountain which then spread out as it diffused in the atmosphere to color it.


    Not long, he crashed into the earth at about forty feet away.


    Alex who saw that his concentrated, enormously-sized attacks had shoved Drille far away, quickly flew towards him to deal with him.


    Swoosh!


    Flying through the air at a great speed and continuously expelling tremendous amounts of tribulation flame-enhanced pyroforce energy at an extremely rapid rate from his feet, which further augmented his flight speed, he arrived in the blink of an eye at the place were Drille was knocked to.


    Then with a thought, the treasure-wings that were attached to his back and bestowed him with the Power of Flight, disappeared from his back and appeared in his dad''s spatial necklace. So, not being supported by the wings which kept him afloat at a great altitude in the sky, he plummeted to the earth surface from that shocking height that he was at in the air. He wasn''t even scared of breaking his legs as he landed without any support from that altitude.


    Bang!


    The ground cracked when Alex landed, then he went to meet Drille who slowly stood up to his feet.


    "I see that you are powerful, but would you dare to touch me, a genius of the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy?" Drille asked.


    "Haha. Of course! Why can''t I touch you? Because you are a genius of the academy that you mentioned that you are from? If everyone are scared of touching you, I am not" Alex replied calmly.


    Drille''s eyes shone with a cold glint immediately after Alex said that. Then he said "Do you think that because you dominated the earlier battle that you think you are powerful? Remember that I am a Sky Lord stage cultivator, I can still squash you like the bug that you are."


    Haha!


    Alex laughed.


    "If I am a bug that can be squashed, then you are an ant that can be stepped upon and matched to death" He said coldly.


    Hahahahahaha!!


    Drille''s maniacal laughter boomed to the sky, causing people in the area around them to be greatly alarmed. The laughter was simply like that which originated from a Devil God that was out for slaughter and carnage.


    Then with eyes that erupted killing intent, he pointed at Alex.


    As soon as he did so, twelve enormous rays of lights shot out from his spatial ring. These then instantly turned into twelve massive, six-armed, black-silver metallic puppets that wielded immense swords and sabers.


    These puppets which were each fifty-feet tall, towered to the sky like giants, and in the process, casted their shadows upon a great stretch of the land that Alex stood upon.


    Black-silver in color, they looked ferocious and frightening to anyone that would see them. Then possessing six-arms each which wielded massive swords and sabers, they invoked the feeling of unbounded fear in anyone. Then in the next instant after they appeared, the aura of gloom and slaughter burst out from them which then spread into the distance.


    However, these puppets were only average-quality, sky-rank puppets.


    Once these appeared, seventy-two threads of light shot out from Drille''s body towards the puppets.


    These threads of light were formed from an energy called puppetforce energy; an energy called puppet-control or puppet-manipulation energy which allows a cultivator to control statues, dolls and puppets. There was simply no need to send shreds or fragments of one''s souls into puppets to control them which could result in multiple soul injuries if the puppets were destroyed or shattered. So this energy helped prevented that, and was way more comfortable and efficient than inhabiting the bodies of the puppets or dolls with one''s subsouls to control them.


    Then as soon as the threads of light connected with the bodies of the huge puppets, the large dim eyes of the massive puppets began to glow very brightly.


    Then they glared at Alex.

 Chapter 250: Duel IV

    Then one of the twelve massive puppets that were looking at Alex suddenly moved forward to strike him with the massive saber that it wielded.


    While Alex who had long permeated his eyes and other parts of his body with his speed-perception energy, saw when the puppet moved towards him in slow motion.


    Then he also struck out with the sword that he wielded towards the saber that was swinging in the air with a powerful howl towards him.


    BANG!


    A deafening bang sound immediately rang out when the sword and saber clashed insanely hard into one another.


    The instant that the two sharp-edged weapons heavily collided, a terrible wave of destructive power immediately surfaced and raged into the distance. Also, the earth directly beneath the point at which the sword and saber collided into one another, instantly shattered in a ripple-like pattern.


    When their weapons clashed into each other with tremendous colliding power, Alex was swept into the far distance by the immense force that the puppet struck out with.


    He crashed hard into the earth many feet away and made a crater in it. However, his body was still being dragged by the backward-shoving force that still acted upon his body.


    Alex''s hand should have exploded into mist of blood. But due to the high degree of toughness of his body, he wasn''t injured by the shock that was transmitted to his body when their swords collided into one another with super-hardness.


    Drille who was controlling the puppets knew the amount of force which he made that immense puppet strike out with. Then he couldn''t help but be amazed by Alex''s surprisingly tough body. He felt that his arms should have bursted into blood mist.


    At the moment, Alex''s hand were trembling from the impact, he couldn''t even grasp his swords properly. However, he willed his arms to stop shaking and clasp the swords tightly. So after a few moment, the shakiness of his hands stopped.


    Then he looked up at the puppet which had begun running towards him at the far distance that he was.


    He too then dashed towards the puppet that was running towards him.


    Then as soon as he got to about ten feet in front of the puppet, he jumped high into the air towards it head. And quickly replacing the sword that he wielded with a large halberd, he lifted the halberd above his head and swung it down with a fury to destroy all before him.


    Bang!


    The puppet was knocked staggering backwards for a few feet.


    However, it stopped staggering as soon as it gained it balance at a distance of seven feet.


    Then it gazed at Alex who had begun dashing towards it again to attack it.


    Drille smirked.


    ''Just give up and allow yourself to be beheaded by me you fool'' He said within.


    Once Alex got in front of the puppet which then powerfully struck out with it massive saber towards him, Alex immediately entered into a full body slide, evading the saber strike in the process.


    Then as soon as he slid and dodged the saber, he hit his palm on the ground which then produced a force that pushed him back to his feet. And as soon as he was lifted back to his feet by the pushing force that was produced by his hand when it powerfully hit the ground, he squatted a bit and threw himself once again into the air towards the head of the towering puppet.


    However, he couldn''t make it far as another arm of the multi-armed puppet swung hard with the massive blade that it wielded towards him.


    Seeing the huge blade that was cutting through the air towards him, he quickly produced a sword and then struck out with it towards the blade that was coming towards him.


    Bang!


    A loud bang sound rang out and a wave of destructive power immediately surfaced, which then hurled Alex into the far distance once again.


    Alex crashed hard into the earth and grunted in pain.


    His blood had also begun to roil from the tremendous shock that was transmitted to his body from the severe collision of their weapons.


    One would wonder why Alex''s weapon didn''t shatter from such an heavy impact. However, one also shouldn''t forget that Alex was using a sky-rank weapon which was of the peerless grade. It was made of extremely rare and exceedingly tough, high-quality materials.


    ''This is going to be a hard fight'' Alex said within himself.


    Then he thought of going back to launching energy-attacks instead of trying to strike down the puppet physically.


    Why Alex jumped towards the head of the puppet again was to strike it at that same place that he struck it earlier.


    At that part of the puppet''s head could be seen a large hole that was made by the halberd which Alex struck it with. So, his aim was to strike the exact same place again and possibly shatter the head of the puppet.


    But now, he realized that it would be extremely difficult to do as the puppet possessed many arms.


    Drille was grinning where he was when he saw the deep thoughtful expression in Alex''s face.


    ''Think. Think. Only for you to be impaled by the massive sword of my puppet later. Haha'' He said inwardly and laughed.


    Standing many feet away from the battle puppet, the treasure-sword in his hand began to glow in light.


    Then he slashed out extremely fast out at the puppet that was many feet away. And as soon as he did so, astonishing amount of swordforce energy was expelled from the sword.


    ''The Great Exiling Sword'' Alex said at the same time that he slashed out with his sword.


    Then the huge amount of swordforce energy instantly condensed and shaped into a massive sword that shot at extreme speed towards the battle puppet.


    Now that Alex had begun to use more powerful techniques from the Banishment Sword methodology, the attack that he sent out this time carried more penetration power.


    Once the expelled sharpness-energy was infused with Alex''s profound comprehension of a powerful battle method from the sword-based methodology, the deadly power of the condensed energy sword multiplied by many folds.


    Radiating the power of sharpness that caused the earth to cleave, it arrived at a tremendous speed before the puppet and then struck it with insane might and power. And since it possessed a greater piercing power due to Alex''s deep comprehension of the Way of the Banisher''s sword that was infused into it, after it shattered the blade of the puppet which the puppet swung towards it, it pierced through the puppet and out of it. Then it continued into the distance with the same momentum as if there was no barrier in it path.


    Being pierced through by the gigantic sword, a massive hole could be seen at the upper body of the puppet. This hole revealed clearly what was behind it.


    After a few moment, the puppet collapsed to the ground.


    Bang!


    A loud bang sound rang out as the earth that the puppet fell upon, deeply cracked in a web-like pattern, just by virtue of the immense weight that the puppet possessed, then it caused the eruption of a large amount of dust.


    Once Alex saw that his attack had done a great deal of damage as it caused the puppet to collapse to the ground, becoming totally useless to be used again, he took a deep relaxing breath.


    Then he got ready for more action.


    There were still about eleven puppet to be taken down.


    Once the puppet was cut through by the sword and then collapsed to the ground, Drille''s eye shone with astonishment.


    He couldn''t help but think of what kind of methodology which Alex studied that made the energy sword that he sent out to possess such a high degree of penetration power.


    Then he sent out all the puppet at once towards Alex.


    His aim was to overwhelm Alex and kill him.


    Alex too knew that this was what Drille was going to do.


    So, before Drille could even send out all his puppets towards him with the intention of flanking him at all sides, Alex who could think up what Drille would probably do next, made the treasure-sword that he wielded to abruptly release large amounts of swordforce energy.


    This energy which had been released, enshrouded Alex''s figure completely, making it look like he was in a fog. Then following his deep comprehension of a battle-method, the large mass of energy partitioned into seven parts which then abruptly transformed into large swords that shot at blazing speeds towards seven of the puppets.


    The move that Alex just sent out was the ''Seven Banishing Tyrant Swords''


    Once the swords arrived at the front of seven of the puppets that they were sent out to, they impacted them with tyranny.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    Seven loud bang sounds rang out as the seven energy swords viciously impacted the upper bodies of the seven metallic puppets that were targeted.


    However, these didn''t possess much penetration power like the first sword-shaped energy-attack that Alex sent out. They only struck the puppets with great heaviness and then sent them flying into the far distance, approximately ten feet away.


    While the four of the eleven puppets that weren''t struck by the energy swords arrived in front of Alex.


    Immediately they arrived in front of him, they struck out with their huge swords towards him. However, before they could do so, Alex quickly shot very high into the air, evading their fast and deadly sword strikes.


    Now at a high altitude in the air which he jumped to, he slashed out with his treasure-sword.


    In the instant that he did so, a tremendous amount of swordforce energy was abruptly discharged from the treasure-sword that he wielded. This then rapidly transformed into a massive sword that shot towards one of the four puppets that he targeted.


    Pcchh!


    A loud stabbing sound rang out as the massive sword pierced through the body of the huge puppet and out through it back. Then it collapsed to the ground with a loud bang and caused the earth it fell upon to crack in a web-like fashion.


    Alex had actually used the same powerful battle-method that he used earlier. And before he could land back to the ground from that great height that he reached from his evasive jump, he quickly produced a treasure-wing which bestowed him with the power to fly.


    Swoosh!


    He shot high very into the air.


    Then once he got to a great altitude in the air, he slashed out with his sword four times and in the process, released four gigantic, focused rays of swordforce energy from his sword towards the four puppets on the ground.

 Chapter 251: The Final Duel. Domineering!

    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Four bang sounds rang out as the huge rays of swordforce energy struck the four puppets, launching them into the distance of about twelve feet away.


    Remaining in the air, Alex quickly switched his sword to a huge hammer. And once he did so, the summoned large treasure-hammer in his hand began to glare, as a bright, harsh light began to emit from a voidstone plugged into the socket of the hammer.


    This glaring light was from a massive array in the voidstone that was plugged into the socket of the hammer. It had begun to operate.


    A few seconds later, huge amount of metalforce energy abruptly discharged from the voidstone plugged into the hammer. Then being infused with Alex''s profound comprehension of a hammer battle-technique called ''Descent of the Heavenly Warhammer Sundering Hammer strike'', A powerful variant battle-method from the ''World Breaking Golden Overlord fist'' methodology which he used to cultivate strengthforce energy, the metalforce energy abruptly condensed and shaped into massive hammer that seemed to hide the sky and conceal the earth in it vast shadow.


    Once it formed, the hammer shot to the earth, to the place where the puppets were knocked to by the four gigantic rays of swordforce energy.


    BOOOM!!!


    The earth shook and deeply ruptured. Then in the next instant, a towering seismic wave of extreme devastating power, surfaced and rushed into the distance in all directions. This wave moved with the power to shred or reduce all in it path to millions of bits.


    The four puppets that were directly struck by the huge and extremely dense, metal-energy hammer, were instantly crushed into smithereens. While the earth beneath them, shattered in a ripple-like pattern into the distance, resulting in a wide and deep crater.


    Before the powerful destructive wave could appear and sweep out with tremendous devastating power, Drille who could fathom the amount of damage that the descending colossal hammer would produce, quickly made the other seven puppets that were knocked away by Alex''s heavy sword strikes to come flank him at all sides.


    His intention was that they should encircle him and use their bodies to protect him from the destruction that would be caused by the enormous energy hammer when it tyrannically impacted the earth.


    Although he was protected from the devastating power of the destructive wave, however, he and the seven puppets that surrounded him were shoved into the far distance by the wave that swept out with a lot of force.


    It was good that their intense battles didn''t occur where people lived, or a lot of mortals would have been destroyed by now.


    Now that they were a bit far away from where the mortals resided in, the powerful shockwaves that were generated by the collisions of their energy-attacks, couldn''t really do much damage to the structures of the homes of the ordinary humans. Except the ones with weak structures which directly collapsed to the ground, injuring only a few of the mortals.


    Drille had been knocked to this location by his shield which furiously bashed into him when it shot out at a tremendous speed towards the large stream of huge swords which Alex sent at him to instantly kill him.


    Drille stood from where he was knocked to with his puppets. Then he gazed at Alex who remained afloat in the sky.


    After gazing intently at him, he took a deep breath.


    ''This guy. He''s just so well equipped. Where the hell did he get his weapons from? They are so powerful! And how the hell does he know so many types of battle-methods? Who the fuck is he by the way?'' He asked within himself.


    "Bastard, why are you launching attacks from the air? If you are a true warrior, come down here and fight me on ground" Drille'' s voice boomed to the sky.


    Alex laughed.


    "I am done fighting you on ground. If truly you are confident of your battle power, and that you are an epic genius of the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy who is worthy of not being displeased by gods themselves, come up here to fight me you stupid and foolish, fake genius" He said with a booming voice.


    Hahaha!


    Drille laughed.


    "Alright" He said to Alex.


    Then he kept the seven puppets back into his spatial ring. And Immediately he did so, he took into the air at a great speed towards Alex.


    Shooting towards Alex at an insane speed, he produced a metallic ball from his hand which he concealed very well from Alex.


    The round ball of metal which he had just brought out from his spatial ring, had a voidstone plugged into a socket that it possessed.


    Once the metallic ball appeared in his hand, the voidstone plugged into it began to operate as it generated a fiery glow.


    Not long, when he felt that he was a bit close to Alex, he firmed up his arm muscles. Then with all the strength that he could possibly muster, he hurled the concealed metal ball in his hand at Alex and then quickly dashed back to the earth at the greatest speed that he could reach.


    Alex who could perceive the movement of everything in slow motion, saw the ball of metal shoot towards him at a decelerated speed. After noticing what kind of object that was, his heart shook. Then he tried to quickly fly away from the object that was now in his proximity at the fastest speed that he could attain.


    Unleashing tremendous amounts of tribulation flame-enhanced pyroforce energy from his feet, and tribulation wind-enhanced windforce energy from his hands in a rapid and continuous fashion like that of a jet, he shot away at a great speed that would awe gods themselves.


    However, two seconds later...


    BOOOOMM!!


    A deafening explosion occurred and a wave of devastating fiery energy was released, which then swept outwards in all directions with a force that would possibly reduce everything in path to the tiniest fragments, and a terrible heat that would instantly turn all things to cinders.


    Alex wasn''t in the blast range any longer due to the high speed that he shot away with. However, the released devastating blast wave which also carried a lot of heat that could melt many tons of steel in an instant, and the highly destructive air which would instantly shatter mountains into fragments, still got to Alex despite the extreme, evading flight speed that he achieved. Now acting on him, they shoved him into the far distance with a lot of force and with a lot of heat.


    Crashing into the earth at about sixty feet away, burns could be seen all over his body. Also, hundreds of charred cracks could be seen, which then began to fall off from his body to the ground. He simply had been seriously affected by the terrific, heat-bearing blast wave produced by the great fiery explosion.


    Groaning loud in pain, he quickly produced healing pills which he swallowed. This then turned into healforce energy that spread to every inch of his body and invoked rapid healing.


    Not long, he was fine again.


    By the time he would stand to his feet, Drille appeared in front of him with an evil smile.


    ''Tyrant Beheading Ghostly Sword Slash''


    Then with an insane speed, he appeared extremely fast in front of Alex like a ghost and then greatly struck out with his sword towards Alex''s neck.


    Slash!


    The heavy treasure-sword Drille powerfully struck out with towards Alex''s neck, missed it by many seconds, as Alex who could perceive everything in slow motion because of his speed-perception energy, dodged the powerfully swung sword which now appeared extremely slow in his eyes.


    Now lying on the ground with his back, and with great shock in his eyes that Drille wanted to actually behead him, an anger surfaced in his heart.


    ''Time to end this!''


    Then he pushed himself back to his feet using only his back. Then also with an insane speed, he arrived before Drille who he caught like a rat in his powerful hand.


    Once he grabbed Drille by the neck, he lifted him up and slammed him heavily to the ground.


    Bang!


    Argh!


    Drille who didn''t have a tough body as Alex, couldn''t endure the intense pain that he was inflicted with when he was viciously slammed to the ground.


    Then with a sudden leap to a great height in the air, Alex plummeted to the earth back at high speed and landed with his feet directly on Drille''s chest with tremendous force.


    Bang!


    Argh!


    Drille screamed out in pain when Alex landed on him. However, he couldn''t scream out loud as his chest instantly deeply caved in, and the air that were in his lungs, were forcefully expelled from them because of the insanely heavy stomp upon him by Alex who was furious.


    Stepping down from his chest, Alex powerfully swung a leg towards Drille''s chest.


    Bang!


    Like a ball played with foot, he was kicked off into the far distance. Then he crashed into the earth there and sustained more internal and external injuries.


    Alex dashed towards where he landed and kicked Drille hard again like a ball to a farther distance.


    Bang!


    He was hurled into the far distance by the powerful, hard kick sent towards him.


    Swoosh!


    With a great speed, Alex arrived where he was. He then carried him off the ground and into the air.


    Now gazing at Drille wickedly, he said "The genius you are"


    He then clenched his hand into a fist and sent it at Drille''s caved-in chest.


    Bang!


    Large amount of blood shot out like a spray from Drille''s mouth towards Alex who wasn''t bothered by it in any way.


    He even loved the blood as it sprayed on him, staining him all over.


    Then he sent out a heavier and faster punch!


    Bang!


    His fist simply penetrated through Drille''s chest to the back.


    Then he removed his arm which had totally pierced through Drille''s chest, creating a fist-sized hole in it.


    "You made a great mistake secretly coming to me and without a back-up. If not that I am being hindered from utilizing my true powers, do you think your battle power can match up to mine? Your foolish arrogance, lack of proper battle preparation, and the lack of the careful study and identification of your enemy''s strengths, has resulted in your miserable death that would happen soon. Who knows, we could have been good friends, but gazing your filthy eyes upon my woman, and then having terrible and profaning thoughts about her, is something that has brought total damnation upon you" Alex coldly said.


    Then he continued with a mischievous and naughty smile in his face "If you have anything to say to your sister whom I am going to conquer, make hundreds of men roughly fuck like the whore that she truly is, and then turn her into ashes, say it now before I execute you!"


    But not even giving Drille the chance to say anything, a large blade immediately appeared in Alex''s hand which he then powerfully swung at Drille''s neck.


    Slash!


    Drille''s head was instantly cut off from his neck which then fell to the ground beside Alex.


    Alex released his grasp from Drille''s headless and cold body which then fell lifelessly to the ground.


    Then after removing his spatial ring and storing it into his dad''s spatial necklace, he set his cold, stiff body on fire which then rapidly burned to ashes by the extremely consuming destructive fire, which as it continually burned ferociously, created a deep, body-sized hole in the ground in the area that it burnt at.


    Alex then picked up Drille''s head which had an anguished expression in it and went on his way.

 Chapter 252: The rumor

    -------------------------------------


    [System Alert]


    -------------------------------------


    ] Quest Completed! [


    [Description: Strong Enemy from the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy]


    -------------------------------------


    Details:


    -------------------------------------


    Reduce your enemy into a bloody mess by any means necessary, except with the usage of your mutated pyroforce energy, cryoforce energy, windforce energy, swordforce energy, lightniforce energy and strengthforce energy [Punches and Kicks are allowed in this fight]


    [Achieved]


    -------------------------------------


    Rewards


    -------------------------------------


    - 50 Base Stat Upgrade points


    - 10 Weapon Upgrade points


    - Weapons awarded for completion of Quest have been moved to inventory


    -------------------------------------


    [ Go to Inventory ]


    [ Cancel ]


    -------------------------------------


    When the screen appeared in his mind, Alex nodded his head with a smile.


    Then he thought ''Go to Inventory''


    -------------------------------------


    [Inventory]


    -------------------------------------


    - Low-level Astria Stormlight Hammer


    - Low-level Azure Firestorm Dragonsoul Halberd [Level 1, Upgradable]


    - Xandorra''s Winged Blades of Pain and Agony [ Level 1, Upgradable]


    - Igor''s Orcslaying Feathered Blade of Gloom and Doom [ Level 1, Upgradable]


    - Exalted Vanquisher Sword [ Level 1, Upgradable]


    - Nine Majesties Blade of Ultimate Desolation [ Level 1, Upgradable]


    - Black Supreme Sword of Ancientness [ Level 1, Upgradable]


    - Stormcrashing Blades [ Level 1, Upgradable]


    - Stormsweeping Hammer [ Level 1, Upgradable]


    - Thunderfury Pike [ Level 1, Upgradable]


    - Radiantsteel Halberd [ Level 1, Upgradable]


    - Furiousbolt Twin Sword [ Level 1, Upgradable]


    - Micro-range Rapid Teleportation Battle Armor [Level 1, Upgradable]


    -------------------------------------


    ''Nice! The number of items in my inventory is slowly growing. Just a matter of time before they cross a million in numbers. Haha'' Alex said within and laughed.


    ''Close screen'' He said inwardly.


    Once he said this, the screen vanished.


    Then he looked at his bloodied cloth and at the head that he carried in his hand which had an anguished expression in it.


    He ignored it and kept on walking away.


    ***


    "Oh my goodness! Who would dare do this to the student of the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy?!" Someone who had great fright set into his heart asked the other people that were also looking at the horrifying thing before them.


    It was a head that was placed on a pole which was stabbed deep into the earth.


    "Don''t know. But it''s best that we leave here in the next moment. Who knows, if the student from that academy arrives, they might decimate all of us here out of anger'' Another said.


    Once he said that with virtually everyone hearing what he said, very quickly, they all took their heels, leaving the site before the students of the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy could appear.


    ***


    - Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy -


    In a particular room...


    The atmosphere was incredibly tense as an older man called Kale, a senior instructor in the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy, sat with morose eyes which also emitted unbridled killing and murderous intent. This was the Drille''s uncle.


    Then standing before him with gloomy and furious eyes were Maximilian and Lenna. These were Drille''s twin brother and sister.


    "Do any of you know who did that to Drille?" Kale asked.


    Hearing no response from anyone, he angrily hit his fist against his palm which caused a loud, ear-aching bang sound to ring out.


    "Talk to me!... Or, are you all trying to tell me that Drille just left like that? Without informing anyone of where he was going to? Speak if you know something!" He said with a booming voice that radiated anger and the intent to slaughter.


    "Uncle, he went to meet someone who killed a student of our school in cold blood. That person that was killed was one of the guys in the faction that he established. So, being someone who was very confident of his fighting skills, he went there by himself to deal with this person and bundle him back to our academy, with the intention to afflict this person with agonizing pains and make him experience a sorrowful life that was full of misery. Unfortunately, both he and I didn''t expect things to turn out this way" Lenna quickly said.


    Immediately after Lenna said that, Kale''s eyes shone with fury.


    "That person also killed another student from this academy? Haha! What boldness and fearlessness. Good!" Kale said.


    He was beginning to sound like a furious monster just from his tone.


    "Do you have the image of this person?" Kale asked.


    "I do sir" One of a group of twelve boys that were also in the room hurriedly said.


    "Show it to me" Kale said.


    Then the person spoken to quickly brought out an item which he gave to Kale who then sent a sliver of his consciousness into it.


    "Good" Kale said.


    Then he continued "I want all of you to go gather other students, about hundreds of you to go search for this person. When you find him, bring him to me. Don''t kill him. But make sure to cut off his legs and limbs, and you could also cut off his tongue and gouge out one of his eyes. Bring him to me in a terrible state"


    "Yes sir!" They all said.


    Then the boys immediately left the room to go execute the order that Kale gave to them.


    After the boys left, Kale gazed at Lenna and said "You must also go out there and bring that boy to me. I know that person would slaughter many of those boys that would be searching for him, so it''s up to you to overwhelm him and drag him down here to pay for what he did"


    Lenna nodded her head.


    Her venomous and unforgiving heart at the moment was full of anger.


    This person dared to kill her brother? She would make him pay severely for what he did.


    Drag him to the academy?


    She scoffed inwardly.


    She would make sure that he regrets ever coming to this world.


    After Kale spoke to Lenna, he looked at Maximilian and said "You too. Make sure you find that boy and bring him to me. But in a half-dead state. When you bring him to me, I don''t want to see any of his limbs still attached to his body. It must have been torn off before you bring him to me."


    Maximilian nodded.


    But his heart was burning in great anger. He was exceedingly wrathful and even emitted a strong vengeful aura.


    No one knows if he would do what his uncle instructed him to do, as from the thick aura of vengeance coming from him, he could simply devastate Alex at the spot.


    With a nod, he vanished from the room.


    Same with Lenna who had a wicked smile appear in her face.


    With a wicked heart that has always been full of venom, unforgiveness, and now, a boundlessly towering wrath, she thought of what to do which would make the Immovable Mountain academy the greatest laughing stock ever.


    She would also kill that person who was related to the person that she had now begun to sought after.


    Once this person have been pushed out from the academy due to the great shame, disgrace and embarrassment that she would cause them, she would come to reap away her life.


    Hahaha!


    Grinning inwardly in a devious and somewhat maniacal tone, she set out first to accomplish the venomous thing that was in her mind.


    ***


    - Few days later -


    In a particular wine inn...


    "Have you guys heard the latest gist in the city?" Someone asked every other person that were in the wine inn.


    "Huh? There''s always new gist coming up in the city from time to time" Another person who was drinking wine lazily replied.


    "Haha! This gist is the craziest one ever. All of you would be terribly shocked" The person who spoke earlier said.


    "Man, just spill out!" Another who was waiting to hear the gists impatiently said.


    "Haha. Don''t mind me. Just trying to build up suspense. The new gist in town is about the Immovable Mountain academy." The person said.


    At the mention of the Immovable Mountain academy, everyone''s eyes shone. Including someone whose heart shook and began to palpitate wildly. Then he unleashed his full power of hearing to hear clearly all that the person would say.


    With no surprise, this person was Alex.


    He had come to this inn from that one which he finally left.


    He eventually left there as he felt that him being there, could result in the total destruction of that place. And he didn''t want the bloods of innocent mortals to be on his head.


    So, although not masked as he had a higher power as backup in this city, he became a wanderer; wandering from one location to another, and feeding and comprehending in the process.


    Therefore, he happened to be at this place where a new gist involving the Immovable Mountain academy was being said.


    Listening attentively, he waited for the person that was speaking, to finally say the gist. He hoped that it wasn''t the bad news that had begun to revolve in his mind.


    "About the Immovable Mountain academy? That''s a new one. Speak man" Another said impatiently. He wanted to hear the gist. Others too greatly anticipated this.


    "Haha. I would speak. Anyways, the gist is simply a rumor about one of their Great Holy daughters having her purity destroyed. The rumor claims that the female is no longer holy, and so, once a test is conducted to know the truth, and it comes out positive, she might have that mighty, fearsome title stripped away from her. And that would definitely be a great shame that she has brought upon herself and the school. I just wonder why she would have herself deflowered by some boy. Or maybe she was overpowered and gang raped during one of her adventures into the valleys and wilderness, all in the name of honing battle skills to become stronger." The person said.


    Once this was mentioned, everyone''s faces contorted to become ugly from intense astonishment and embarrassment.


    They simply couldn''t believe what they just heard.


    Seeing their exceedingly surprised and ugly faces, the person that spoke continued with a laugh "Now, the reputation of the academy is on a stake. Many people are beginning to find it hard to believe that the others who also have that title, are still what the title claim them to be. People absolutely feel that their holiness would have been tampered with."


    The inn then became quiet. Exceedingly quiet that if a pin fell to the ground, it would be heard by everyone.


    Alex who finally heard the entire gist, felt like his heart was in his mouth.


    His breathing became ragged as he could imagine the shame and embarrassment that Olivia would go through, and the severe disgrace that would be brought upon the academy.


    ''But how would anyone suddenly know about this secret that''s between me and Olivia? How exactly did the person know?'' He asked inwardly with great unhappiness in his tone.


    He couldn''t comprehend the means by which that person could know that Olivia was no longer pure. And this pained him to the depth of his heart, as he then now felt guilty. He was the one that caused all this in the first place.


    With a deep exhale that radiated sadness, he left the graveyard-like inn.


    But he had a mission in his mind, which was to find out who created that rumor. And once he finds out who did that, he was going to drive many of his swords from the mouth of this person into his or her heart and intestine.


    ***


    "I am sure as hell that you are the one who created that insane rumor concerning the Great Holy Daughter of the Immovable Mountain academy" Maximilian said.


    Haha!


    Lenna grinned.


    "If not me, who else would it be?" She asked with am evil smile in her face.


    "Why would you do so? Is that a method to bring out the person that killed our little brother?" Maximilian asked.


    "Yea." Lenna responded.


    "Hmm. But how do you know that she''s no longer a virgin?" Maximilian asked in a curious tone.


    "I don''t know if she is still a virgin or not. Her virginity status is not of my concern in any way. I only made up that rumor to totally rubbish the academy, trample upon that stupid title that they give their female geniuses, and ultimately, push out the bold bastard that dared to kill our stubborn, little brother. And since he''s in love with the Great Holy Daughter of the Immovable Mountain academy, he would surely reveal himself soon." Lenna replied with a mischievous smile.


    "Nope. You have gotten it wrong. Only if he is really a man would he reveal himself"


    Haha!


    Lenna grinned.


    "Whatever" She said.


    Then she took off into the air and flew away.

 Chapter 253: The confession

    - Immovable Mountain Academy -


    In a hall...


    Many people, both male and female, could be sitting on a large round table. Then before them could be seen a young and extremely beautiful girl who wore an immaculate white gown.


    This girl was Olivia. She had been summoned to these place to be interrogated.


    At the moment, although her face looked like she was calm within, but that wasn''t so. Her heart was greatly frothing with worries.


    "Olivia, the rumor going around... about you being d-deflowered, is it true?" A tall, middle-aged man asked in a sad and morose tone.


    When this question was asked, the entire hall which was large, became as quiet as a graveyard at night.


    With exceedingly harsh and overly curious gazes, they all waited for Olivia to respond to the question that the principal of the school asked.


    Few minutes later...


    "Can''t you answer? How dare you keep the principal waiting for your response to his question!" A female instructor who looked forty said angrily.


    However, Olivia still didn''t respond.


    Not that she didn''t want to respond, she just didn''t know how to respond to his question.


    At this point in time, her heart was engulfed by boundless worry. She simply didn''t know whether to lie or not. But it wasn''t her type of person to lie. Since they wanted the truth, she would tell them. However, the only thing preventing her from doing so now, was the shame and embarrassment that she would be made to go through. They would look upon her as a whore and treat her like scum. Her days in the academy would simply be full of sadness and sorrow that she would have to leave, as she surely wouldn''t be able to cope with it.


    "Olivia, I am waiting for your reply. Just tell us the truth. And we would try to work something out so our names won''t be ruined" The principal calmly and softly said.


    Olivia closed her eyes. Her body was shaky and this was very noticeable. Also, sweat began to form on her body.


    Then she recalled when she first met Alex, which was at the Red Lotus cave. Then, he was young, naive but very powerful for his age and cultivation level. He was like the genius that would grow up to become a terrifying cultivator in the nearest future. Then meeting him again at that village and seeing all that he did; like killing Earth Adept stage cultivators, Sky Lord stage cultivators, Heaven Adept stage cultivators, fighting Saint stage cultivators to a stalemate, and ultimately, withstanding series of Beyonder-type tribulations, had cemented the fact in her heart that he would certainly become one of the greatest and most fearsome cultivator ever. And due to what she had witnessed, she believed that he was one who would bath in the enormous storms of tribulations like he was taking an ordinary refreshing shower. He would definitely become the strongest expert that any cultivator has ever seen or heard about. So she felt. But she actually felt that way due to his insane aspiration of becoming an hegemonic entity.


    Then she remembered Alex''s uncle. A caring but at the same time, an extremely ruthless person. His strength alone was something that should surpass the combined strengths of more than hundred academies. So she reasoned.


    ''Why am I even scared of telling these people that I have been deflowered? It''s not as if the person that deflowered me is some useless person that can''t stand in the face of great danger. My lover is an all-around battle genius whose strength and prowess is vastly incomparable to all the geniuses that they have at the academy. He even has an uncle who is a force that should be totally reckoned with'' She said inwardly.


    When her train of thought ended, she opened her eyes which then shone with brilliancy and unyielding resolution.


    With a smile in her face and an unfathomable calmness in her heart, she said to them "Yes, I have been deflowered"


    What?!


    It was like they didn''t hear well.


    Besides, their hearts shook greatly because of the response that Olivia provided to the question which she was asked by the principal.


    Recollecting themselves after a long while of being terribly astonished, a man said with great wrath in his tone "And you have the guts to give such a filthy and annoying reply?"


    "Yes, why not? It''s not that I am exactly proud of being deflowered. It was only due to some unknown elements that came into play, which then caused me to lose my purity." Olivia said. Then she continued "It wasn''t his fault, and neither was it mine. It was just simply unexpected. And I have long forgiven him for it, and have even totally forgotten about it" Olivia replied.


    After Olivia mentioned this, everyone that were here had their eyes glow with great surprise, which then changed to anger.


    "From the way that you sound, I am totally sure you are proud of being deflowered. What a great shame and disgrace that you have brought upon us. Aiii" The principal said.


    "I know, and I am sorry for the disgrace and embarrassment that I have brought upon this school by my deed. I will accept any punishment that you would mete out to me" Olivia said.


    While everyone were busy gazing at her angrily and thinking of the best way to deal with her, someone was quietly watching her.


    The person saw how calm she was and began to wonder why an atmosphere of great calmness suddenly descended upon her. Earlier, she was shaky and fearful, perhaps because of the reactions of everyone here. But all of a sudden, her trembling vanished, and she became very bold in front of them. It was like she wasn''t scared of them anymore, of what they would do do to her. Her voice gave no hints of fearfulness, and one would know with great certainty that she wasn''t faking it.


    Before the principal could talk, this person who was a middle-aged woman spoke "Olivia, I have been quietly observing you, and from what I have noticed, I can say that, although you don''t regret being deflowered, you seem to be proud of the person that destroyed your purity. I know others might associate this to love and that he was the first guy to introduce you to sex, but that''s not the case. You seem to be very proud of the qualities that this person may possess. Am I right?"


    Olivia smiled.


    So someone actually noticed.


    "Well, you are right ma''am" Olivia said.


    Everyone in the hall were now taken aback.


    "I thought as much. So what quality does this guy have to make you so proud of him? I hope he''s a matchless battle genius or you would have just let me down" The woman said.


    Matchless genius? Exactly!


    Which genius from this academy, and even from every other academy would be able to stand for a minute Alex''s battle prowess?


    Absolutely none of course!


    Thinking to here, she nodded her head with a radiant smile in it.


    "Yes ma''am. He is exactly what you mentioned. A genius who is matchless in everything"


    Everyone''s brows furrowed.


    "So, you mean that he is better than the geniuses we have in our academy" The principal calmly asked.


    "Certainly sir. He is incomparable to any of them" Olivia replied.


    "I would like to know who this young man is. Is he in this city?" The principal asked.


    "Yes sir. He''s in this city." Olivia replied.


    "Since you claim that he''s matchless. We shall put him to a test." The principal said with a smile.


    Olivia''s brows furrowed.


    "What test is that?" She immediately asked.


    "Well, it''s certainly not one that would endanger his life. You know, by the time we announce to the world that you are no longer holy, we would become the greatest laughing stock ever. The staff and students of our academy won''t be able to raise their heads in pride wherever they are. So, since you feel that he''s the strongest genius ever, I will set up a platform. And on this platform, he will battle the best geniuses from all the fifteen academies in the city. He would be made to fight every one of them, regardless of the cultivation phases that they are in. That means, whether they are in the initial, mid, late or peak phase, he would battle all of them. I want to create the grandest competition between geniuses ever." The principal said with a smile.


    Then he continued "I hope you know why I said this and can perfectly understand my reason for saying so. This is because the reputation of this school is at stake. Therefore, after we announce the truth to everyone who are seriously waiting to confirm or reject the rumor, we would then announce that we are going to set up a platform where the lover of our Great Holy Daughter, would battle the bests of the bests from every academies in the city. And anyone that can knock him off the platform would get great rewards from me."


    Olivia smiled.


    "That''s a good plan sir. I support it. You can go right ahead with it" She said.


    Immediately after Olivia said that, an instructor who had double feelings about this hurriedly spoke "Principal, that''s an excellent scheme you just made to remove our name that would soon enter the mud. But we have to plan things carefully so as not to make things very hard for us. My reason for saying that is, would Olivia''s lover really show up? What if on that day he doesn''t show up. That would be terrible, and the fame and reputation of the academy that we are trying to preserve and build upon would greatly steep. We might not even recover from it again. Besides, how much of a genius is he? I hope it''s not that he would get knocked off the platform just in the first battle?"


    Olivia smiled.


    "I know that there are so many fearsome geniuses out there, but he''s way different from them. I have seen him fight many battles and win every single one of them. Till now, I can''t fathom his strength. This is because in every battle, his opponents who always appear stronger, would simply be dominated by him in the end. He has never lost a battle to even cultivators that are above his cultivation level. He''s superior to every genius I know and don''t yet know. That''s what my mind tells me." She said.


    Then she continued with a radiant and confident smile still in her face "And since it has to do with me, my lover is going to certainly show up on that day. He would show up to prove this academy right, and to the world that he truly deserved to make me his."

 Chapter 254: The confession (Dont buy) [Bugged Chapter]

    - Immovable Mountain Academy -


    In a hall...


    Many people, both male and female, could be sitting on a large round table. Then before them could be seen a young and extremely beautiful girl who wore an immaculate white gown.


    This girl was Olivia. She had been summoned to these place to be interrogated.


    At the moment, although her face looked like she was calm within, but that wasn''t so. Her heart was greatly frothing with worries.


    "Olivia, the rumor going around... about you being d-deflowered, is it true?" A tall, middle-aged man asked in a sad and morose tone.


    When this question was asked, the entire hall which was large, became as quiet as a graveyard at night.


    With exceedingly harsh and overly curious gazes, they all waited for Olivia to respond to the question that the principal of the school asked.


    Few minutes later...


    "Can''t you answer? How dare you keep the principal waiting for your response to his question!" A female instructor who looked forty said angrily.


    However, Olivia still didn''t respond.


    Not that she didn''t want to respond, she just didn''t know how to respond to his question.


    At this point in time, her heart was engulfed by boundless worry. She simply didn''t know whether to lie or not. But it wasn''t her type of person to lie. Since they wanted the truth, she would tell them. However, the only thing preventing her from doing so now, was the shame and embarrassment that she would be made to go through. They would look upon her as a whore and treat her like scum. Her days in the academy would simply be full of sadness and sorrow that she would have to leave, as she surely wouldn''t be able to cope with it.


    "Olivia, I am waiting for your reply. Just tell us the truth. And we would try to work something out so our names won''t be ruined" The principal calmly and softly said.


    Olivia closed her eyes. Her body was shaky and this was very noticeable. Also, sweat began to form on her body.


    Then she recalled when she first met Alex, which was at the Red Lotus cave. Then, he was young, naive but very powerful for his age and cultivation level. He was like the genius that would grow up to become a terrifying cultivator in the nearest future. Then meeting him again at that village and seeing all that he did; like killing Earth Adept stage cultivators, Sky Lord stage cultivators, Heaven Adept stage cultivators, fighting Saint stage cultivators to a stalemate, and ultimately, withstanding series of Beyonder-type tribulations, had cemented the fact in her heart that he would certainly become one of the greatest and most fearsome cultivator ever. And due to what she had witnessed, she believed that he was one who would bath in the enormous storms of tribulations like he was taking an ordinary refreshing shower. He would definitely become the strongest expert that any cultivator has ever seen or heard about. So she felt. But she actually felt that way due to his insane aspiration of becoming an hegemonic entity.


    Then she remembered Alex''s uncle. A caring but at the same time, an extremely ruthless person. His strength alone was something that should surpass the combined strengths of more than hundred academies. So she reasoned.


    ''Why am I even scared of telling these people that I have been deflowered? It''s not as if the person that deflowered me is some useless person that can''t stand in the face of great danger. My lover is an all-around battle genius whose strength and prowess is vastly incomparable to all the geniuses that they have at the academy. He even has an uncle who is a force that should be totally reckoned with'' She said inwardly.


    When her train of thought ended, she opened her eyes which then shone with brilliancy and unyielding resolution.


    With a smile in her face and an unfathomable calmness in her heart, she said to them "Yes, I have been deflowered"


    What?!


    It was like they didn''t hear well.


    Besides, their hearts shook greatly because of the response that Olivia provided to the question which she was asked by the principal.


    Recollecting themselves after a long while of being terribly astonished, a man said with great wrath in his tone "And you have the guts to give such a filthy and annoying reply?"


    "Yes, why not? It''s not that I am exactly proud of being deflowered. It was only due to some unknown elements that came into play, which then caused me to lose my purity." Olivia said. Then she continued "It wasn''t his fault, and neither was it mine. It was just simply unexpected. And I have long forgiven him for it, and have even totally forgotten about it" Olivia replied.


    After Olivia mentioned this, everyone that were here had their eyes glow with great surprise, which then changed to anger.


    "From the way that you sound, I am totally sure you are proud of being deflowered. What a great shame and disgrace that you have brought upon us. Aiii" The principal said.


    "I know, and I am sorry for the disgrace and embarrassment that I have brought upon this school by my deed. I will accept any punishment that you would mete out to me" Olivia said.


    While everyone were busy gazing at her angrily and thinking of the best way to deal with her, someone was quietly watching her.


    The person saw how calm she was and began to wonder why an atmosphere of great calmness suddenly descended upon her. Earlier, she was shaky and fearful, perhaps because of the reactions of everyone here. But all of a sudden, her trembling vanished, and she became very bold in front of them. It was like she wasn''t scared of them anymore, of what they would do do to her. Her voice gave no hints of fearfulness, and one would know with great certainty that she wasn''t faking it.


    Before the principal could talk, this person who was a middle-aged woman spoke "Olivia, I have been quietly observing you, and from what I have noticed, I can say that, although you don''t regret being deflowered, you seem to be proud of the person that destroyed your purity. I know others might associate this to love and that he was the first guy to introduce you to sex, but that''s not the case. You seem to be very proud of the qualities that this person may possess. Am I right?"


    Olivia smiled.


    So someone actually noticed.


    "Well, you are right ma''am" Olivia said.


    Everyone in the hall were now taken aback.


    "I thought as much. So what quality does this guy have to make you so proud of him? I hope he''s a matchless battle genius or you would have just let me down" The woman said.


    Matchless genius? Exactly!


    Which genius from this academy, and even from every other academy would be able to stand for a minute Alex''s battle prowess?


    Absolutely none of course!


    Thinking to here, she nodded her head with a radiant smile in it.


    "Yes ma''am. He is exactly what you mentioned. A genius who is matchless in everything"


    Everyone''s brows furrowed.


    "So, you mean that he is better than the geniuses we have in our academy" The principal calmly asked.


    "Certainly sir. He is incomparable to any of them" Olivia replied.


    "I would like to know who this young man is. Is he in this city?" The principal asked.


    "Yes sir. He''s in this city." Olivia replied.


    "Since you claim that he''s matchless. We shall put him to a test." The principal said with a smile.


    Olivia''s brows furrowed.


    "What test is that?" She immediately asked.


    "Well, it''s certainly not one that would endanger his life. You know, by the time we announce to the world that you are no longer holy, we would become the greatest laughing stock ever. The staff and students of our academy won''t be able to raise their heads in pride wherever they are. So, since you feel that he''s the strongest genius ever, I will set up a platform. And on this platform, he will battle the best geniuses from all the fifteen academies in the city. He would be made to fight every one of them, regardless of the cultivation phases that they are in. That means, whether they are in the initial, mid, late or peak phase, he would battle all of them. I want to create the grandest competition between geniuses ever." The principal said with a smile.


    Then he continued "I hope you know why I said this and can perfectly understand my reason for saying so. This is because the reputation of this school is at stake. Therefore, after we announce the truth to everyone who are seriously waiting to confirm or reject the rumor, we would then announce that we are going to set up a platform where the lover of our Great Holy Daughter, would battle the bests of the bests from every academies in the city. And anyone that can knock him off the platform would get great rewards from me."


    Olivia smiled.


    "That''s a good plan sir. I support it. You can go right ahead with it" She said.


    Immediately after Olivia said that, an instructor who had double feelings about this hurriedly spoke "Principal, that''s an excellent scheme you just made to remove our name that would soon enter the mud. But we have to plan things carefully so as not to make things very hard for us. My reason for saying that is, would Olivia''s lover really show up? What if on that day he doesn''t show up. That would be terrible, and the fame and reputation of the academy that we are trying to preserve and build upon would greatly steep. We might not even recover from it again. Besides, how much of a genius is he? I hope it''s not that he would get knocked off the platform just in the first battle?"


    Olivia smiled.


    "I know that there are so many fearsome geniuses out there, but he''s way different from them. I have seen him fight many battles and win every single one of them. Till now, I can''t fathom his strength. This is because in every battle, his opponents who always appear stronger, would simply be dominated by him in the end. He has never lost a battle to even cultivators that are above his cultivation level. He''s superior to every genius I know and don''t yet know. That''s what my mind tells me." She said.


    Then she continued with a radiant and confident smile still in her face "And since it has to do with me, my lover is going to certainly show up on that day. He would show up to prove this academy right, and to the world that he truly deserved to make me his."

 Chapter 255: New look

    In the forest...


    A young handsome boy could be seen sitting in the cross-legged position on a treasure-mat that was placed on the ground. This mat had voidstones which glowed and emitted a form of energy that made this young boy feel relaxed.


    Then around him could be seen long ribbons of golden swordforce energy that began to revolve around his figure.


    Emitting brilliant golden light that dyed the earth around him golden, and emanating the power of sharpness that caused even the air at some points to slash apart, the energy began to flow into his body. And once it entered his body through the pores of his skin, it turned into wisps of energy that flowed down his energy veins to his energyhouse. Then in the instant that it entered his energyhouse, it infused into his golden core of swordforce energy.


    Several hours later, he opened his eyes.


    Then he stood up from the mat and kept it into his spatial ring.


    This boy was Alex.


    At this moment, he had cut away his long womanly hair. So what he had now was a low cut, which made him look more manly than before.


    Then, when he still had that waist-length silky black hair, he could be partially seen as a woman. But now, with that very long hair cut off, he looked like a man.


    Also, a dull red band could be seen worn on his head, but parts of his shortened hair covered it from view. While a large silver blade and a violet broadsword could be noticed hanging on his back.


    He wore a thick black jacket which was unbuttoned to reveal his impressive, well-built chest and abdominal muscles, and a thick black trousers that couldn''t hide the size of his powerful quadriceps which caused the trousers that he wore to stretch to the extreme, despite their thickness.


    Then boots that were exceedingly fashionable in appearance, and gave a tremendously costly look, could be seen on his legs.


    Those were actually treasure-boots, but they didn''t look like one.


    This was because the voidstones of the boots weren''t revealed to anyone, as they were hidden within the boots.


    Alex had changed his look and his style of dressing.


    He wanted to look more domineering and fearsome. And his previous smile had disappeared. Besides, he now looked cold and unfriendly. He looked like one who would immediately pull out his sword at the slightest provocation.


    When he was done with his sword-energy cultivation, he left the forest and headed back to the town.


    On his way back to the town from the forest, he met a group of fifteen students on the way. They were here instead of the academy to gather battle experiences.


    They saw him and began to deeply wonder why an unaffiliated cultivator would dress in a way that would invoke fear in anyone. This was supposed to be the way that powerful geniuses who came from wealthy families and studied at academies should dress, not a rogue cultivator who they fully believed shouldn''t be able to afford the fees of studying at a cultivation academy.


    "Hey, how dare you dress like that?" One of them suddenly asked.


    Alex stopped and looked at this person.


    "If I were you, I would mind my own business" He replied with seriousness in his tone.


    Haha!


    The person that asked that question laughed raucously.


    "And what if I don''t? What the heck are you going to do? As you can see, I am from an academy. So I would definitely have more powerful battle techniques than you stupid rogue cultivator" The student said and grinned.


    Alex gave a ruthless smile.


    "Oh really! So you wanna duel with me to find out?" He asked with a sense of mockery in his tone.


    "Well, I would want to. To put you in your frigging place. Anyways, I am here for something more important than dueling with you dumb rogue cultivator. I can''t bring myself so low to battle with you. So, SHOO! Go away like the chicken that you are and don''t you dare look back or else..." The student said in an arrogant manner and then ended his statement with a threat.


    Alex gazed at him with a rather vicious smile in his face.


    Swoosh!


    He appeared before the student that spoke from the distance that he was at a tremendous speed, and then used one of his hand to lift him into the air by the neck which he powerfully clasped.


    Every other students'' eyes widened from shock.


    Such insane movement speed. He simply vanished and reappeared like a ghost.


    Then they quickly brought out their treasure-weapons.


    "Drop him or get ready to be destroyed by us" One of them said.


    Alex looked at this person that spoke, and back at the boy that he clasped at the neck.


    Bang!


    He threw a hard fist at the boy''s chest and this sent the boy flying into the distance.


    What?!


    Everyone''s eyes widened in shock. Then abruptly, their swords and blades began to glow, which then rapidly unleashed great amounts of numerous types of energies that shot towards Alex as solid energy-attacks.


    Powerful offensives formed from fiery energy, wind energy, earth energy and so on, shot towards him at blazing speeds.


    Alex didn''t try to dodge the massive furious attacks shooting towards him as he sent his fists out at them.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    All their attacks shattered into smithereens, which then turned into slivers of realm-energies that returned to the realmverse.


    "My turn" Alex said.


    Then his eyes turned cyan which abruptly caused unusually strong winds to manifest.


    Then with a shocking movement speed, he dashed towards each and everyone of them. And when he got to their fronts, he sent out incredibly powerful slaps that launched them into the far distances.


    A few seconds later, the powerful gale that had suddenly appeared ceased.


    Alex then went on his way without looking back.


    ***


    - Green Coal Town -


    In a particular street...


    A group of people that were buying items from a large shop in the street were discussing with one another.


    "Finally, the rumor has been confirmed. Well, I don''t know if I should say it''s a shame or not as the academy has said that the boy who took away the purity of their Great Holy Daughter is the one that would marry her in future. And that, although what she did was quite shameful, they don''t really have a problem with it as the boy who would be her husband in the nearest future, can be said to be the best of the elite cultivators in the city, which simply means that he is a peerless genius at the cultivation stage that he is at. He is unparalleled. So they are happy at such a development and don''t really care about what everyone would think about the shameful deed that their Holy Daughter committed." Another person said.


    "Hmm. But this would spark up great wrath in every other academy in the city. Such a statement that he''s the strongest genius in this city, would simply, extremely provoke every academy. How would they just claim that he''s the strongest genius at his cultivation level? Without a battle? How stupid and outrageous is that? They are simply belittling the geniuses of other academies with the trash that they announced" Another said.


    "Well, they are also going to prove that to everyone of us by a grand battle that would take place at the city''s center." That person replied.


    Everyone''s eyes then widened in great shock from what the person said.


    "Really? They are going to do that? Olivia''s lover is going to battle all the geniuses from all the academies in the city?" Someone that was buying an item hurriedly asked with astonishment in his tone.


    "Yes. It''s going to be grandest battle that we have ever seen" That person said.


    "Damn! Is her lover really that strong? It would be a great disappointment if he''s knocked off the stage at the second or third fight" Another person said with surprise radiating off his gaze.


    "Haha. Well, I don''t know about that. We can only go to the center of the city on that day to watch them duel on the battle stage. At that time, we would know if he would be knocked off the stage at just the second or third battle that he would participate in. However, I choose to go with what the Great Holy Daughter said, that her lover''s strength is unfathomable. And because of that, he is superior to all the geniuses from all the academies in this city. Haha. Such crazy statement. Therefore, I believe that he wouldn''t be knocked off the stage at just the second or third battle" That person replied excitedly.


    Everyone''s eyes shone with awe.


    Is the guy really that strong to be seen as a superior genius in the city? They hoped so. And they hoped that Olivia wasn''t just saying these things to remove the dirt that would be attached to her name because of the shameful amorous deed that she committed.


    Then they too began to anticipate the battle.


    "So when is the battle going to take place?" another person asked.


    "Well, they are making preparations for it. And they are giving other academies enough time to prepare for the grandest of all battles ever. So, just put out a listening ear, the time for the battle would definitely be announced to everyone. Haha. I wouldn''t miss it for any damned thing in the world. I want to see the Great Holy Daughter''s lover and the rest of the fearsome cultivation geniuses in this city perform on that day. That day would simply be a day that we wouldn''t forget for the rest of our lives" That person said with great delight in his tone.


    "Absolutely. And if truly he''s what they claim him to be, a legend would be born on that day" Another person said. .

 Chapter 256: The encounter

    - Green Coal Town -


    A tall and young-looking boy wearing unbuttoned thick black jacket to reveal his chest and abs, thick black trousers that was stretched to the maximum by his thigh muscles, fancy boots that looked very costly, and had a blade and a sword hung on his back, could be seen walking down the street, ignoring all the gazes that were on him.


    Everyone that were looking at him had wonders in their eyes.


    Who is this young boy?


    Where is he from?


    Why is he dressed like this?


    Those were the questions ringing loud in their minds. However, they had no answer to it. They could only look at him as he passed by their sides, emitting the aura of viciousness and ferociousness. He was frightening.


    As he went on his way, all the people that were on the road he was on quickly moved aside to give him passage.


    He was simply like a king whose path couldn''t be obstructed by anything, whether living or non-living.


    ***


    "Lenna, have you heard what the Immovable Mountain Academy announced?" Maximilian asked his sister at the point that they agreed to converge at.


    "Yes. So the rumor which I created and spread far and wide in the city was actually true. I myself can''t believe that their Great Holy Daughter would actually have a love affair with some boy. She didn''t even worry about her reputation and that of the school." Lenna said with a smile in her face.


    "Yea. Anyways, I also believe that you heard the second announcement made by the academy, which is that the boy she committed sexual acts with, who would be her husband in future, is the strongest genius in the city at the cultivation stage that he''s in. How ridiculous and outrageous is that?" Maximilian asked.


    "Well, I don''t know about that. But I know that he''s strong, as he could kill our brother who is at a cultivation level that was one stage above his." Lenna said.


    Then she continued with intense wrath radiating off her tone "I know that the bastard would come out on that day to fight. But I swear that he wouldn''t make it to that day. What he can only do to continue living is to keep hiding from me, from all of us. For if I eventually discover him anywhere, I would make sure that he suffers a life of full of pain and sorrow."


    Maximilian nodded.


    ***


    As Alex was walking in the street towards an inn, a group of fifteen students who were dressed in uniforms embroidered with cauldrons could also be seen walking towards him.


    Not that they were actually walking towards him, they had a destination that they were going to. However, upon looking at him, and seeing his face which was the same extremely attractive face that they saw in the treasure that stored Alex''s image, the boys in this group that Alex came across suddenly had their eyes glow with great surprise, before rage took over it.


    "Get him! He''s the bastard that killed Senior Drille. Don''t let him escape." One of them hurriedly shouted.


    Then they all rushed towards Alex to surround him on all sides. They didn''t want him to escape from them. Or they would be made a laughing stock by their colleagues if they heard that the boy they were all after escaped from their clutches.


    When Alex saw this group of boys as he was walking towards an inn, he instantly knew that they were students of the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy. He could know this through the embroideries of cauldrons on their uniforms. However, he didn''t try to hide his face from them as he wasn''t scared of them.


    ***


    "What is the meaning of this? Are you trying to rob me or bully me?" Alex asked.


    "Shut your trap you bastard. You beheaded one of the geniuses of our academy, so you too must be killed in that manner. However, before we get to that, there is something that we want you to do for us." One of the students said coldly and arrogantly.


    Then with the bright flash of a brilliant, colorful light, a treasure-sword appeared in his hand which he threw it to the ground directly in front of Alex.


    Then the person spoke "Use that sword to cut your legs and then your arms. That is our method of punishment for the vicious deed that you committed"


    Alex smiled.


    "I am totally sorry. I won''t be able to oblige to your request. But if you want me to cut off your legs and your arms, I would fully obliged to do so." He said.


    Haha!


    Everyone of the students laughed.


    While they were talking, people in the street were looking at Alex. Then when they heard that he was the one that killed Drille, who was popularly known to everyone of them as the Bone-sawing Evil Child, their hearts shook.


    Then very quickly, they began to carry their goods in. And once they were done, they instantly locked their shops and hurried into their homes. While the ones who didn''t have a home in the street, left to go back to their houses which were quite distant from here.


    The mortals didn''t need anyone to tell them that a great, bloody battle was going to occur very soon between the fearless-looking boy and the angry and vengeful students of the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy. And that them being around where such a devastating battle would occur, would simply result in their death as they would be instantly killed off by the violent storms of energies that would surface from the collision of their powerful and fearsome attacks.


    The students saw how the streets became instantly empty and then laughed raucously "Why are these mortals behaving like this? They should have waited to watch an exciting battle. They should have waited to see how we were going to detach the limbs from this bastard, who thinks because of he was fortunate enough to kill our careless senior, now thinks that he can''t be dominated by anyone else. Haha"


    "Are you going to fight or just stand there to speak?" Alex asked coldly.


    "Trying to look tough now, right?" That boy asked.


    "Nope." Alex replied.


    Then he continued "Mister, if you don''t have any action to carry out against me except talk, I would love to be on my way."


    Haha!


    The student spoken to laughed. Then his cold gaze changed to a murderous gaze in the next instant.


    "Good! Tear away his legs and hands for me!" He furiously ordered.


    Then the rest of the boys in the group brought out their treasure-weapons, which then began to glow in glaring colorful lights.


    Alex who still had a smile in his face then unsheathed his sword.


    Swoosh!


    He jumped high above them and landed many feet away from his initial position.


    Immediately he landed, the boys who weren''t expecting Alex to jump, instantly unleashed powerful attacks at him.


    Seeing the energy-attacks coming at him, Alex powerfully swung the sword held in his hand towards them.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    Many loud bang sounds rang out as the sword collided into them with immense force, which then shattered them into fragments and caused the appearances of rippling waves of little destructive power that raged into the far distance in all directions, causing the buildings in the street to suddenly develop numerous cracks in their structures.


    So, upon collision with the sword that impacted them with a lot of force, many of the attacks instantly shattered into smithereens, which then turned back into various forms of energies that returned to the realmverse. While the rest that weren''t impacted by the powerfully swung sword, struck Alex and launched him into the far distance.


    When Alex eventually landed back to the ground from the powerful knock-back force that was exerted on him by the attacks, he gazed at the furious students of the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy at the distance that they stood.


    At the moment, their eyes shone with great surprise.


    This was because Alex used his body alone to withstand the frightening attacks that they sent out. And he wasn''t even scathed by their attacks. Then observing further, they couldn''t see any form of mark on his upper body which was revealed to them because of his unbuttoned jacket.


    Then they felt that they had sent their attacks at a powerful defensive artifact which was in the form of a body.


    ''Damn! What kind of evil body is that?''


    ''Is he a body cultivator?''


    ''How was he able to withstand our attacks with his body alone?''


    They began to question themselves inwardly.


    However, they weren''t in this shocked state for long as they began to unleash attacks at Alex.


    With treasure-weapons such as swords, hammers, halberds and so on, which began to glow in the colors of light, abruptly emitted huge amounts of energy which then instantly condensed and rapidly shaped into different forms of solid attacks that shot towards Alex.


    Alex gave a smirk.


    ''These guys don''t really learn.''


    ''Your attacks simply cannot destroy me. Only attacks possessing higher damaging power that has been unleashed by an higher-stage cultivator would cause me to be worried.''


    Then not doing anything like blocking, or attacking the energy-offensives shooting his way with the intention to shatter them into fragments, he stretched his arms to his sides to allow the attacks hit him.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    Numerous loud bang sounds rang out as the energy-attacks struck him, hurling him into the far distance.


    Not long, at a distance of twenty feet, Alex stood to his feet.


    When the students of the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy saw him stand to his feet again, without sustaining any injury, their hearts shook so greatly that it could almost shatter into bits.


    Then they began to have this loud, echoing thought in their heads which was that they should run with all the strength that they could muster.


    Alex who was gazing at them from the far distance that he was, suddenly had a demonic smile appear in his face.


    "Run!"

 Chapter 257: Tremendous surprise, Towering anger...

    Then as if Alex uttered an enchantment, the students of the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy instantly took to their heels, with great fear and dread now engulfing every inch of their hearts.


    Alex saw how they quickly scurried away like frightened rats and gave a smile. Then he turned around and began to walk towards the inn in the distance.


    He surprisingly didn''t run after them to do unto them, what they intended to do to him.


    Why he didn''t do so was because he now felt that he was too powerful and tough to care about cultivators at his cultivation level. Whether they were in the mid phase, late phase or peak phase, they were all insignificant in his eyes.


    Not that he was underrating their battle prowesses, it was just that he was confident of his abilities which would a hundred-percent match that of Sky Lord stage cultivators.


    This simply meant that cultivators at his level weren''t his opponents in any way, except powerful challengers who were at the Sky Lord cultivation stage.


    Also, he let them go unscathed because he wasn''t in the mood to create another terrifying gory scene. So, he let what they did today slip. But such might not happen next time if he is provoked, or if his mood to behead and slash body into halves returns.


    - Moon Wine Inn -


    Alex was getting used to drinking alcoholic wine since he enjoyed it very much. Although he couldn''t be intoxicated by wines because of his body''s reactive adaptation ability, he just enjoyed it because of the taste and the heat that would appear, which would then disappear in the next moment. So like water, he drank them. And many bottles at that which caused cultivators in the inn to be shocked by his powerful, wine-consuming prowess.


    The moon wine inn was a wine inn for cultivators, not for mortals, as they wouldn''t be able to withstand the powerful heat that would generated within their bodies, only upon taking a sip of the lowest quality wine that they made here.


    ***


    When Alex first entered the expensive wine inn, everyone couldn''t help but look at him.


    He had successfully attracted attention to himself because of the outfit that he wore. And because of the way he hung a blade and a sword on his back. He simply looked frightening.


    Then the other cultivators in the inn surmised that he must be a blade and sword cultivator.


    Not long, a male who looked twenty-three came to sit on the same table that Alex chose to sat on.


    "Friend, I am totally impressed by the way that you dressed. You simply look amazing and terrific. I could copy your style you know" This person said with a smile.


    Alex looked at him and smiled.


    "Oh! This style is nothing. You can go right ahead and copy it" He said.


    "Haha. Thank you!" The male said.


    Then he looked at Alex with deep scrutinizing eyes and asked "I don''t think you are from around here?"


    "Nope, I am from this territory. But I haven''t been around as I went to hone my battle prowess in a far away state. So, immediately after I was done, I came back" Alex replied.


    "Hmm. You must be a terrifying cultivator of the way of blade and sword?" The male asked.


    Alex only smiled, he didn''t give a response to the question. While the male seeing that Alex only smiled, took it as a yes to the question that he asked him.


    "So, what about you? You are a cultivator of what energy?" Alex asked.


    "Soul energy! I am a pure soul cultivator." The male said. Then he continued with a smile in his face "Unlike those dual or tri-cultivators that cultivate two or three energies at once, I focus only on the soul. The soul is still the strongest you know. Once I get to a stage with it, I would become a Quasi-Eternal. I would be able to live forever by inhabiting a body. Then once it becomes useless, I leave and move to dwell in another. Haha!"


    Once the male mentioned that he was a cultivator of soulforce energy, Alex''s eyes shone. That was an energy he had great difficulty comprehending.


    Then on a second and third scanning look at the male in front of him, Alex suddenly felt that he must be a powerful genius.


    This was because the male in front of him was the first soul cultivator that he would ever see or hear about since he had set out on his journey to hone himself in battle.


    Alex who understood the amazing, frightening powers that soul cultivators possessed, nodded his head in agreement.


    "So, what''s the name?" The male in front of him asked


    "Alex. You?" Alex replied and asked.


    "Just call me Soulstorm" The male replied.


    Alex smiled.


    "That''s a tyrannical name" He said.


    "Yea. So, are you preparing for the event that''s coming up in two day''s time?" The male who referred to himself as Soulstorm asked.


    Alex became perplexed.


    ''Event?'' He asked inwardly.


    He had been in the forest cultivating, so he wouldn''t know.


    "Well, I am a person who''s very serious with cultivation, so I might have possibly missed the announcement of an event coming up due to my cultivation" Alex replied.


    Then he asked "Could you tell me what event that is? If it''s making sense to me, I would surely participate in it"


    "Good. The event is simply a battle that would take place between the lover of the Great Holy Daughter from the Immovable Mountain Academy, and all the geniuses from all the cultivation academies in the city, as well as other cultivators who think they are strong enough to match up to the battle-powers of the fearsome geniuses from cultivation academies" Soulstorm replied.


    Immediately after Soulstorm mentioned that a battle would occur between the Immovable Mountain Great Holy Daughter''s lover and every other genius in the city, Alex''s shone with great surprise.


    He simply wasn''t expecting this at all!


    Then he looked at Soulstorm with a curious gaze.


    "Are you also participating in the event?" He asked.


    "Definitely. I would participate because of the massive amounts of treasures and resources that would be given to the person who''s able to knock off her lover from the battle stage. But I am participating mostly for a reward which I believe is the best of all the rewards that would be given on that day to the winner. Haha!" Soulstorm said and laughed.


    Alex was taken aback.


    Best of the rewards?


    Then he proceeded to ask.


    "And what''s this great reward that is making you very excited?" Alex asked.


    "Well, anyone who is capable of knocking off her lover from the large battle platform that they would fight on, would take the place of her lover, which is to be her legal husband in future." Soulstorm said and grinned.


    Then he continued "So by knocking the bastard who was tremendously lucky to have a one night stand with her off the battle stage, one would automatically become the Great Holy Daughter''s husband. What damned reward can actually compare to that? Absolutely none of course! Haha! By the way, have you seen this girl that I am talking about? Ugh, I guess you haven''t. But I can describe her to you with just three words which are otherworldly, celestial and beautiful. She is simply a phenomenal beauty totally worth going against all the godlike cultivators for. Haha. Forgive me for the way I sound, I am simply a lover of astonishing beauties"


    The moment after Soulstorm mentioned all that he spoke about, Alex''s heart shook badly.


    He was simply tremendously surprised.


    He hadn''t been shock to this degree before.


    First, they wore going to hold a grand battle where he was going to battle geniuses from all the academies in the city. And it was something that he must totally win, or if he carelessly or accidentally got pushed away from the stage, Olivia would simply be betrothed to someone else. And that was something he totally couldn''t afford.


    Looking at Soulstorm who was very excited about the reward, he questioned in an angry tone "But why would they do that to her? Isn''t the massive amount of rewards to be given to whoever knocks her lover of the stage enough to be a fucking prize?!"


    Soulstorm was taken aback by Alex''s new state of mind. He began to wonder what could have possibly annoyed him.


    "Well, it was her family members that made that statement to the public. When they heard that their daughter had a sexual affair with some boy they didn''t know, and haven''t even come across in all their lives, they became very angry that they announced to the world that they would give out their daughter''s hand in marriage to whoever would knock out the bastard who shared a forbidden fruit with their daughter. And then even offered lot of treasures as rewards too. I think they did that to greatly punish her for the shameful deed that she committed. You know, by her actions which was truly quite shameful, she dragged the name of the academy and that of her family deep into the mud." He replied.


    Alex''s brows furrowed.


    "Oh! So it was as a punishment for her deed, right?" He asked calmly, concealing the intense wrath in his tone.


    "Right." Soulstorm replied.


    "Okay." Alex said and nodded.


    "Now, because of the way that you described this beauty as a fairy-like celestial that is seemingly not from this world, I am surely going to participate in the upcoming battle that would determine who her legitimate husband would be. And if I have to kill every idiot that would climb up on that stage that day with the intention of getting her hand in marriage, I would kill and kill till none of them are left. Haha!" He said and then laughed in a manner that gave the feeling that he had been possessed by a demon.


    Then in the next instant, due to his towering anger because of what he was told, a strong and thick aura of ferociousness burst out from within his body, badly affecting everyone in the inn.

 Chapter 258: Arrival I

    As soon as the ferocious aura erupted from Alex''s body, it vanished.


    He had quickly retracted the aura he put out due to his anger, which had appeared because of the announcement that Olivia''s family made to the world. He was simply angered by that.


    Well, there was nothing he could do except go there, defeat every genius and become her legal husband.


    When he retracted the aura, he looked at Soulstorm and said with an amiable smile "I am sorry. I was only angry about something. I have to go now. It was nice chatting with you"


    Soulstorm who was shocked by Alex''s strong aura that radiated great anger looked at him with a light of incomprehension in his eyes.


    He couldn''t figure out what made Alex really angry.


    He only nodded his head.


    "You would be there on that day right?" Soulstorm asked again to confirm.


    "Definitely." Alex said sharply.


    Then he continued "Today, we are friends. But on that day, we would be challengers"


    Soulstorm smiled and nodded his head.


    "Practice and cultivate hard, friend. If we eventually face off on the battle stage on that day, you would be knocked off the stage in an instant by me" He said with an amicable smile, but seriousness could be felt in his tone.


    Alex laughed.


    "What a crazy confidence. Is it because you are a soul cultivator?" He asked in a curious tone.


    Then he spoke further "Well, we shall see on that day. Bye, Soulstorm"


    Alex then stood up and left the inn. And as he left, all the cultivators in the inn couldn''t help but look at him.


    Although they were all above him in cultivation; he was at the initial-phase earth adept stage, while they were at the mid-phase, late-phase or peak-phase earth adept stage. Yet, they were affected by the powerful aura that he put out. They couldn''t easily resist it. Then they began to wonder how strong he would be.


    They would definitely be there on that day to watch him perform.


    ***


    "You met him? The killer of my brother?" Maximilian asked.


    "Yes, senior." A boy in a group of seven boys hurriedly replied


    "Hmm. So where is he? Why don''t I see his terribly mangled or badly damaged body on the ground?" Maximilian asked with concealed wrath in his tone.


    "We couldn''t do a thing to him. He''s simply very powerful for us to do what your uncle actually ordered us to do." That same boy replied.


    "He''s very powerful? How powerful would he be against a group of seven boys who are in the mid and late-phase Earth Adept cultivation stage? Eh?!" Maximilian asked with intense mockery and disgust in his tone.


    Then before the boy could speak, Lenna suddenly cut in.


    "Well, Max, don''t forget that the Immovable Mountain Academy announced that the lover of their Great Holy Daughter is a powerful and superior genius, one that would be made to battle all the geniuses in the city to defend their reputation, and fight to be their Holy Daughter''s true future husband. So, I think that he must be outrageously powerful. Besides, recall that he could kill our genius brother who was at the mid-phase Sky Lord stage. Even if he used a cheap method to achieve that, since he could slay our brother, regardless of the dirty means that he might have used, that still makes him a genius" She intelligently said.


    Maximilian''s eyes shone with apprehension.


    "You are right Lenna." He said.


    Then he looked at the group of boys before him.


    "So, he fought all of you and pushed you all back? That''s one amazing battle prowess the bastard possesses." Maximilian said.


    "Actually, he didn''t even attack us. He let us all attack him and even embraced the attacks that we sent at him, which didn''t even cause as little as a mark to appear on his skin. His skin is astonishingly tough" The boy replied.


    "What?!"


    Lenna and Maximilian asked with shock in their tone.


    With deeply furrowed brows due to the surprising thing that he heard, Maximilian asked "So, without a body armor, he used only his body to withstand the full-powered attacks that you sent at him?"


    "Yes, senior" The boy replied.


    "Oh! So our future captive is a body cultivator. That is a good one. Alright. You can all go" Maximilian said.


    Then all the boys in the room left to leave Maximilian and Lenna behind.


    "Well, since we haven''t been able to catch him, I guess he has fortunately made it to that day were he is going to perform on the big battle stage" Maximilian said.


    Lenna''s eyes that emitted wrath shone with uncertainty.


    "I guess. But there''s still a day left before the day of the competition. I am definitely going to catch him. And when I do, he would screech for the rest of the hours that he has left to live in this world before he dies in an exceedingly gruesome way" She said.


    Haha!


    Maximilian laughed.


    "Lenna, we won''t be able to find him before tomorrow. But he would definitely appear at the stadium to fight his challengers. Therefore, we would go to the stadium at the city center to watch the battles so that we would be entertained. Then when the event is over, we would capture him and bring him to the academy for series of intense agonizing torture. I believe that no academy would dare to stop us on that day, even the trash Immovable Mountain Academy itself" He said.


    "Hmm. True. That''s a good plan, brother. I agree with you." Lenna said understandably.


    ***


    - A day later -


    In a large treasure-stadium that was placed at the center of the city, could be seen thousands of people seated.


    These people were both mortals and cultivators who had arrived at this stadium, which was an expansive treasure-artifact, to watch the glorifying battle between the lover of the Great Holy Daughter who she claimed to be a superior genius, and the other fearsome geniuses who were from all the academies in the city.


    This place was noisy as both mortals and cultivators discussed amongst themselves.


    One of them which was the most discussed topics was that the lover of the Great Holy Daughter might not come. That he might be frightened of fighting such a long battle and then wouldn''t come. While some who were the fans and admirers of the Great Holy Daughter hotly argued against that. They believed that the Great Holy Daughter who they adored so much because of her battle prowess and fascinating beauty wasn''t that cheap and stupid to offer her body to some fool who is also a coward, one that wouldn''t dare to even show his face in a only competitive battle between geniuses. Therefore, because of these reasons, she would definitely have a high taste for the kind of person that she can consensually offer her body to for intimacy.


    Then the second topic that was greatly discussed and was heatedly argued between them, was that her lover would be knocked off the stage in the third or fourth fight, whereas he was going to fight about thirteen geniuses, not including the ones that weren''t from academies and would show up because of the great and fantastic rewards that would be given.

 Chapter 259: Arrival II

    Then on the high table in this stadium could be seen the principal of the Immovable Mountain Academy, the principals of the thirteen cultivation academies where the other geniuses who would be participating in the event were from, then Olivia and her family members.


    "It has been twenty minute now, when is the lover of your Great Holy Daughter going to appear? Or isn''t he coming?" The principal of a school that was seated here, impatiently asked the principal of the Immovable Mountain academy.


    "Haha. He isn''t going to come. He''s scared of fighting so many geniuses" Another said and laughed.


    "Can''t you be patient? This is just twenty minute. He''s surely going to come" The principal said confidently.


    One simply wouldn''t be able to understand where he got his confidence from.


    "So, when exactly is he going to come? I can''t seat here for hours waiting for some boy to come! After an hour and he doesn''t arrives, I would immediately leave and take my students along with me. And I believe you know what that means. That''s the entry of your academy''s reputation into the bottomless abyss." Another principal harshly said.


    This was the principal of the Scarlet Fire academy, he wasn''t a very friendly person. And him, who was high and mighty, waiting here for hours for the lover of the Great Holy Daughter to arrive, had made him excessively angered.


    "Can you please be calm and patient! He would definitely come. He isn''t some coward. Trust me. Why he''s taking so much time to arrive might be because he is rounding up what he''s doing. He should be on his way here now." The principal of the Immovable Mountain Academy said.


    "Haha. We shall see then! I can''t wait to see the stupid look in your face when the damned boy doesn''t show" The principal of the Scarlet Fire academy furiously said.


    Forty minutes later...


    "What exactly is going on? Why isn''t he here yet?" A mortal asked someone that was seated beside him.


    "I don''t know too. I am starting to even laugh within. So, would all these be for nothing?" The person asked back.


    "I hope not. Or it would be a terrible thing for the Immovable Mountain Academy. I don''t think I would be able to live with such a shame. If he doesn''t eventually show up, I, if I was the founder of the school, would immediately close it and move to another region that would be incredibly far away from here" The person said.


    At this point in time, the students of the Immovable Mountain Academy were sweaty and shaky. They couldn''t imagine the terrible fate that would befall all of them if the boy they were waiting for didn''t show up. They were saddened and had all their hearts engulfed by despair.


    The other students from other academies had begun to laugh at them. They had started calling them trash, useless, rubbish, disgusting, weaklings, and all sorts of names.


    Olivia too began to wonder why Alex wasn''t here yet.


    "Or is he cultivating and isn''t aware about this event? Oh no! If that''s true, that would be terribly bad for me" She became exceedingly worried and began to hope that her assumption wasn''t right.


    Twelve minutes later...


    "I am done with this. I have to go than be wasting my precious time waiting for a lustful idiot and a coward who isn''t going to show up to appear" The principal of the Scarlet Fire academy stood up.


    But just before he would fly to the ground and lift all his students from where they were seated using his telekinetic power, someone that was very far away could be seen flying in the air towards the stadium. Then the rest of the principals all gazed into the distance to see who that was.


    Immediately they saw how he was dressed using the powerful vision that they possessed because of the powerful cultivation stages that they were in, they suddenly had a feeling that he was the boy they were waiting for, the lover of the Great Holy Daughter of the Immovable Mountain Academy who was a powerful, undefeated genius.


    "He eventually came. Haha. Good!"


    Then he sat back on his chair.


    When all the principals looked up, everyone also looked up to see what they were looking at. But they couldn''t see anything as their visions weren''t that powerful to see into the distance.


    However, after many seconds, they caught sight of the thing that captured the principals'' attentions. Then when it appeared above the stadium, they could see that the object was a human with wings attached to his back.


    Now floating in the air, supported by the glowing treasure-wings that bestowed him with the power of levitation, Alex removed them. He did this with the intention to store them back into his dad''s spatial necklace.


    Once the treasure-wings vanished from his back and re-appeared in his dad''s spatial necklace, Alex lost the power of flight that he was granted by the treasure-wings.


    Then he plummeted to the earth, landing directly on the enormous stage where an exhilarating battle between him and the geniuses from all the cultivation academies in the city would occur.


    What?!


    When Alex removed the wings and began to plunge from that great height that he was in the air to the ground, the mortals and cultivators shouted with great fear in their hearts. They couldn''t believe the deadly stunt that this person who just arrived in the stadium''s atmosphere actually pulled off.


    Does he want to break his legs?


    Who is he by the way?


    That was the question ringing loudly in their heads.


    BANG!


    A loud bang sound immediately rang out when Alex landed on the metallic platform from that altitude in the air.


    Seeing that nothing happened to this person, they became overly astounded.


    What insanely powerful legs?


    Is he a body cultivator?


    Noticing their intensely marveled and awed gazes on his body, then with a wide smile now appearing in his face, Alex said with a booming confident voice "The person that you have long waited for is here now. I am Olivia''s lover, the future husband of the great Holy Daughter of the academy hosting this spectacular event"


    What?


    So he''s the one? The lover of the Great Holy Daughter of the Immovable Mountain Academy?


    But wow! He''s damn strong. Certainly a genius. I have always known that the taste of the Great Holy Daughter of the Immovable Mountain Academy definitely wouldn''t be that bad.


    These questions and thoughts surfaced in their minds which were sent reeling in awe, and even began to spin faster upon Alex introducing himself.


    Seeing the shocked expressions in their faces, Alex who still retained the radiant smile in his face, looked up to gaze at Olivia who was smiling blissfully at him.


    Upon seeing him, the tiny spark of joy in her heart exploded into a giant inferno.


    However, she was tremendously astonished by his new look and the outfit that he wore. Then she decided to meet him after the competition was over. She was going to ask him why he cut his hair and exposed his chest and abs that only she should see to the rest of the world. She was definitely annoyed by that, but her heart melted in the next instant when Alex winked at her.


    Then facing away from her and now looking at the place where the students from all the academies were seated, Alex spoke with a loud voice that radiated boundlessly towering confidence and pride "Now, who among you dares to fight me with the intention of seizing my beautiful future wife from me. If you are exceedingly brave enough, come out and fight me, your grandpa!"

 Chapter 260: Contest I

    The students who were spoken to by Alex looked at him with fury in their eyes.


    How dare he call himself their grandpa?


    While they were looking at him in a scrutinizing manner, trying to guess his level of strength and combat prowess, other people who have met Alex before now, had their eyes glow in awe.


    It was just now that they were hit by a realization that Alex was actually Olivia''s lover.


    ''So he is the lover of the Great Holy Daughter of the Immovable Mountain Academy? How wonderful. But I should have known.'' One who had seen Alex with Olivia before in the past said within with shock.


    This news badly hit some of them that had come across Alex before today''s event. Especially Soulstorm, he couldn''t believe that the person who he informed about the event, was actually the person that he was going to challenge for the fascinating prizes that would be awarded to any person that could knock him off the stage.


    "Aii" He sighed.


    But he was still going to climb on that stage to beat Alex and any other opponents that he may face off against so as to get Olivia''s hand in marriage.


    ***


    "Wow! The taste of the Great Holy Daughter is truly not bad. Such an astonishingly handsome boy. And very strong too. Look at his chest and abs. Definitely an high-intensity body trainer." A girl from an academy said with adoration in her tone.


    "Right. He''s tall and so handsome. And he looks very strong too. Her taste is truly excellent. Who wouldn''t surrender one''s body to such a strong and cute, young boy?" Another asked naughtily.


    ***


    "Is that him? The boy that took your virginity?" Olivia''s grandma asked. While the rest of the family looked at her to know.


    "Yes, Grandma. That''s him. The boy who took my virginity." Olivia proudly said with a radiant smile appearing in her face.


    Olivia''s mom looked at her wrathfully. She still was not pleased with the embarrassment that Olivia brought to them.


    However, although she was angry, she was impressed by Alex''s look, stature, and the aura of confidence emanating from him.


    He seemed like someone that not even gods or deities would be able to coerce to bow to them.


    "What''s his name?" Olivia''s mom asked.


    "Alex, Alex Star. That''s his full name" Olivia replied.


    "Hmm. What family is he from? Is his family from around here?" Olivia''s mom questioned.


    "Well, I don''t want to tell you that yet. You would find out yourself when the competition is over" Olivia said and smiled.


    Olivia''s mom looked at her daughter and then back at Alex who was on the stage, continuously emitting the aura of indomitability and unbreakable resoluteness.


    "I see that you chose an extremely fine one. Where did you come across him?" She asked softly, gazing at her daughter who was incredibly happy at the way her mother seemed very impressed about Alex''s physical features and the aura of formidability that was unceasingly exuding from him.


    "Well, at the Red Lotus cave when we were sent by the academy to retrieve a special plant and be rewarded for accomplishing the task that we were assigned to carry out. Then, he was twelve and I was fourteen. Now that I am eighteen, he would be sixteen." Olivia replied.


    "Hmm. Not bad. But his cultivation speed is kinda slow. He''s a genius and yet he''s just at the initial-phase, Earth Adept stage. While the geniuses from the academies that he''s going to fight against are at the late-phase and peak-phase cultivation stage. How exactly would he be able to defeat them? He would only struggle to manage to fend off their attacks as the difference in their power levels is large, Daughter" Olivia''s mom said.


    Her anger was surprisingly, slowly abating.


    "True, mom. Their cultivation level is higher than his. But I want you to believe me if I say that anything related to Alex can''t be judged or scaled using normal or known standards. His cultivation level is simply, greatly disproportionate to his battle prowess. If a cultivator tries to underestimate his abilities because of his low cultivation stage, that person is surely doomed. So, mom, when the battle begins, you would realize how incredibly strong he is." Olivia said with boundless pride in her tone.


    "Hmm." Her mother uttered.


    There was simply nothing she could say again as her daughter seemed very confident of Alex''s abilities, despite him being at a lower cultivation stage which may then cause him to be greatly disadvantaged in the numerous, upcoming battles.


    "Let''s watch then" She said.


    However, she hoped in her heart that Alex would be able to win.


    Surprisingly, she now liked Alex, because of the aura of boldness and valor coming from him, and for his great, heart-stealing attractive look. If they were to become couples, his great handsomeness would compliment that of her daughter''s divinely beauty. They would simply appear as matchless, heavenly celestial couples that would invoke great adoration in all men and women, and even creatures of other races.


    ***


    - On the battle stage -


    Then sitting at a place in this stadium were the people who were going to oversee the competition. These people were the judges, and there were about five of them.


    "Alright. Ladies and gentlemen, the grand competition that we have all been anticipating is going to start now!" Someone that looked forty and was a cultivator at the Heaven Adept stage said with a booming voice as he flew onto the stage.


    Then this person when he landed walked towards Alex and asked "What should we call you, young one?"


    "Call me The Godly Punisher" Alex said with a smile, but seriousness could be felt in his tone.


    The person''s eyes shone with awe.


    "And why should I call you that?" He asked in a curious tone.


    "Well, that''s just how I want to be called" Alex replied.


    "That''s a name that could put you in serious trouble, boy" The man said.


    "I know." Alex said.


    "So, you still want to be called that? Or you have changed your mind?" The man asked again.


    "No. Call me that" Alex replied.


    "Hmm. Alright then" The man said with a nod of his head.


    Alex would have chosen to be called another name, but because of the smooth and easy execution of one of the plans that he had in his mind, he chose to be called The Godly Punisher. Besides, even if the principals of academies that were here became angered by what he called himself, they would try to touch him, possibly to force him to change what he chose to call himself, but he knew that with the appearance of someone who was exceedingly powerful, one whose shadow could be made to cover the entire continent appeared, and then ruthlessly burnt one of them to a crisp, they would be greatly frightened and immediately leave him alone.


    Then with a booming voice again so that everyone that were seated in the stadium could hear, the man said "Now, we have on stage The Godly Punisher. So, every one of you that would want to fight him should gather around. The battle will start now"


    Immediately this person said that, everyone that wanted to participate in the battle quickly left where they were seated and went to stand before the enormous platform that the intense battles were going to take place.


    Seeing the number of people that stood up, about twenty of them, Alex gave a smile that had a smirk in it and even screamed of mockery.


    "Oh really? So these guys really think that they would beat me and then have Olivia? Haha! In their damned fantasies. But my lower cultivation stage really makes cultivators to underestimate my abilities and prowess. Well, you all should have thought of the consequences of doing such a thing if your schemes didn''t work out. So, come up here to be disgraced and terribly humiliated by me" Alex said harshly within as he waited for them all to arrive.


    ...


    When the person first said that ''Now, we have on stage, The Godly Punisher'', everyone''s eyes shone with great surprise.


    So young and still weak, but daring to call himself that?


    Punisher of what exactly?


    With what strength? That flimsy cultivation base that he has?


    To what degree is he godlike?


    These questions began to rock the minds of everyone that were here. They couldn''t believe that the young boy on that huge battle stage could dare to give himself such a powerful alias, one which could attract all sorts of disasters and tribulations unto himself.


    The principals of the other academies were laughing hard where they where seated. They laughed and laughed until they started feeling pains in their stomachs like as if they were actually mortals.


    Alex whose hearing was powerful could hear their raucous laughter, but he wasn''t moved by it.


    ''They should laugh all they want'' He said in his mind.


    But he was even more surprised that none of them stood up to challenge him why he would give himself such a name. Then he felt that they would see him as a clown in their minds, and as someone wanting attention. So, they chose to ignore him and not give him that great spotlight that he seemed to be looking for.


    Thinking in this direction, Alex smiled inwardly.


    ''Fools'' He said within.


    ***


    Not long, about twenty people appeared before the massive battle platform that Alex stood on.


    "So, which of you would like to battle The Godly Punisher first?" The forty-year old cultivator who was the host for the event asked.


    Haha!


    One of them suddenly laughed.


    "I, Sky Sword, would battle The Godly Punisher first" someone who was a sword-cultivating battle genius from the Heaven Soaring Sword academy quickly said.


    "Alright. Then climb on stage boy" The man said.


    Sky Sword nodded.


    Then using his bronze-colored swordforce energy to create a large sword below his leg, and using his mental link to it to lift himself into the air, he glided in the air with the sword towards the platform.


    Then when he landed on the stage, he looked at Alex and smirked.


    "Hey, The Foolish Punisher of crackheads, you may have a tough body, but it''s useless before the swordforce energy that I solely cultivate. Prepare to be greatly wounded by my incredibly powerful sword-shaped attacks, and be knocked off the stage into the distance by it." Sky Sword said and laughed.


    "Are you sure about that?" Alex asked with a smile.


    "Sure as hell" Sky Sword said.


    "Are you boys ready?" The host asked, looking at Alex and Sky Sword.


    Both of them nodded.


    "Fight!" He commanded and then flew off the stage.


    Once the elderly man conducting the event flew down the stage, Sky Sword immediately erupted swordforce energy from his hand, which then turned into swords of myriad forms and shapes that abruptly shot towards Alex at blazing speeds.


    Alex''s eyes turned bright cyan, then he immediately sent out his two palms which also glowed luminously in cyan. Then the instant that he did so, the air before him actually compacted to form a thick and solid barrier that was as hard as a wall.

 Chapter 261: Contest II

    Alex''s eyes turned bright cyan, then he immediately sent out his two palms which also glowed luminously in cyan. Then the instant that he did so, the air before him actually compacted to form a thick and solid barrier that was as hard as a wall.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Numerous bang sounds rang out as the sword struck the six feet-thick wall of air that Alex created.


    However, being a huge barrier created from extremely compacted air, it couldn''t withstand the several energy-swords of myriad sizes that struck it hard and tried to penetrate through it.


    But in the next moment, the massive solid barrier of compacted wind turned into a powerful blast of air that raged into the distance, while the swords that reduced the barrier form of the wind to air went on to strike Alex.


    With eyes now permeated with speedforce energy, Alex saw the swords shoot towards him in slow motion. In his vision, it took the swords of different forms and sizes many seconds to cover an inch as they shot towards him. While in the eyes of others, it was super-fast.


    Then with a massive leap into the air, he evaded all the blades shooting towards him. And immediately he got to his peak height in the air, he entered into a cartwheel and then changed from that to a Tuck, which he did by bringing his knees to his chest and then rolled like a ball towards Sky Sword.


    Once he landed before Sky Sword, he immediately went into a crouch and then rotated his entire body counterclockwise on his left toes. And as he did so, he powerfully swung out one of his leg to deliver a backward sweeping leg attack at Sky Sword.


    But his leg attack wasn''t successful as Sky Sword did a back flip to evade the backward sweeping leg that was raging furiously towards him.


    However, Alex whose body was permeated with speedforce energy, was accelerated beyond normal by it. Therefore, with Sky Sword still in the air from his back flip, Alex due to his movement-speed enhancement by the speed-perception energy that had saturated his body, instantly halted the sweeping motion of his leg and rushed towards Sky Sword who was just about to land back to the battle platform from his flip.


    Swoosh!


    He got to Sky Sword''s front like a ghost and then brought his knee to his chest, which he then powerfully kicked hard out like he wanted to break down a massive, thick gate with his foot.


    Bang!


    Argh!!


    Once the powerful kick connected, Sky Sword who wasn''t expecting Alex to be that fast or to do what he did, screamed out in great sudden pain. And before he could be launched into the far distance because of the tremendous force that the feet which connected to his chest impacted him with, Alex who was still seeing Sky Sword move in slow motion because of the permeation of speedforce energy in his eyes, immediately put out his two hands to grab Sky Sword by the leg, and then pulled him back towards himself.


    Once Sky Sword''s body arrived in front of Alex because of the pull, Alex sent out an uppercut towards Sky Sword''s chin which caused him to be launched more than fifteen feet above the ground. And while shooting straight up into the air like an arrow that was shot upwards, Alex too jumped into the air towards Sky Sword.


    Then upon reaching the height that Sky Sword reached in the air, Alex forced his body to rotate and then swung out his leg to deliver a heavy kick at Sky Sword''s chest.


    Bang!


    Argh!!


    Once the kick was delivered, Sky Sword who screamed out in pain again was launched horizontally into the distance like a spear that was furiously thrown.


    Bang!


    He landed on the ground many feet away from the platform with a heavy bang sound and instantly fainted.


    Alex landed on the stage from his great jump and then looked at the rest of the boys that had gathered to battle him. And when he looked at them with a light of ferociousness in his eyes, some of them couldn''t help but have their body turn cold from intense fear.


    Few of them had become like this because of the way Alex finished off Sky Sword in only a few seconds. And who was Sky Sword? He was a genius of the Heaven Soaring Sword academy. He was a young sword-cultivator that was widely known in the city. But now, without using energy-attacks, this person they were about to battle had quickly and effortlessly defeated one of them. His punches and kicks, from the sounds that was produced when they struck out, invoked the feeling that they could shatter immense rocks and break a large area of the earth open. They simply sounded like furious dragons when they moved out to strike. They began to wonder if their bodies would be able to receive such powerful punches and kicks that seemed like they wanted to totally annihilate or completely shatter something.


    ***


    At the high table...


    "Hahaha. See how my Daughter''s lover rapidly ate your genius like the tiny, delicious cake that he is" The principal of the Immovable Mountain Academy laughed joyfully and said.


    The principal of the Heaven Soaring Sword academy gave a mtcheew and faced away. While the rest of the principals from other academies looked at the principal of the Immovable Mountain Academy like they wanted to retort. But there was nothing that they could say. They could only leave him alone to talk and laugh with great pride in his tone. However, they believed that very soon, they would be the one laughing. They would just be patient and keep observing.


    "Wow! He''s really good with close-quarters combat." Olivia''s mom said in an impressed tone.


    Olivia smiled.


    "I told you mom. His strength does not commensurate with his cultivation level. The level of his abilities simply can''t be fathomed or scaled using the standards that we already know." She said.


    "Hmm. You must be right. And he''s incredibly fast too. I don''t think I can move half as fast as that when I was at his cultivation stage. That astonishing movement speed alone makes his battle power more overwhelming. I am beginning to like your lov... friend" Olivia''s mom who was Stacy by name said.


    Olivia smiled.


    "Mom, why are you finding it difficult to accept that he''s my lover? Yes, he''s my friend. But he''s someone that I am deeply in love with. It''s better you accept the truth now." She said.


    Stacy laughed.


    Of course she wanted Alex to be with Olivia, but she was still upset with the shaming deeds that they carried out.


    "Well, that is just his first battle. He still has many more to fight. And if eventually he wins, he would still be punished by me for what he did to you. And you too, don''t think you have totally escaped punishment because of he won the battle for you. You would still be dealt with. Now, shut up and let me watch the battle. I don''t want to hear a word from you. Besides, if I see that your friend is winning the battles, then I would change the competition rules to make it extremely hard for him. I want to make it exceedingly difficult for him for messing with my daughter''s holiness" Olivia''s mom, Stacy said harshly.


    But deep in her mind, she liked Alex and had accepted him to be the husband of daughter. She was only saying those to make Olivia feel really bad for what she did. However, she was still going to carry out all that she said.


    Why she wanted to do so was because she wanted to know where Alex''s amazing abilities stopped at. She could arrive at this because of Olivia''s absolute confidence in Alex. If her daughter could trust this boy''s abilities this much, then she must find out her strong he is.


    After Stacy said that, Olivia''s mood instantly shattered. And there was nothing she could say as her mother had told her not to speak. Then after staring at her mother for sometime who totally ignored her, she turned her gaze away to look at Alex in the distance. And when she saw him, she couldn''t help but smile. The initially bright and happy expression in her face instantly returned upon seeing Alex. He was simply like the radiant fiery sun as it illuminated the darkness in her heart and vaporized away her worries. Then when she remembered what they did together in the stream back at Nailah''s village, she felt like having such an intense amorous session again with him. She giggled inwardly upon thinking that.


    Stacy saw her daughter''s bright and ecstatic expression and began to wonder why this guy was so much loved by her daughter. She even started having a feeling that if Alex was knocked off the stage and her hands was given to another in marriage, she would totally refuse and then revolt, which would then absolutely lead to many grievous injuries and even death among all the members of the parties that are involved. But she hoped that Alex would win.


    ***


    - Battle stage -


    The host who was now standing at the edge of the battle platform said "Now, which of you want to battle The Godly Punisher? If you are up to the task, climb on stage now"

 Chapter 262: Contest III

    "I, Nightfire, would battle this worm called The Godly Punisher." A student who was a genius from the Great Fire Wyvern academy said, looking at Alex with a smile that had mockery in it.


    Alex too looked at him with mockery in his eyes.


    Suddenly, Nightfire broke into a raucous laugher.


    Then he ran towards the stage.


    Whoosh!


    Once he got to a few feet before the massive platform, he squatted and jumped into the air like he was catapulted towards the stage.


    Bang!


    He landed heavily. And immediately he landed, he aimed his palm out at Alex and discharged pyroforce energy from it which immediately turned into a solid palm that shot towards Alex with seemingly unparalleled furiousness.


    Alex didn''t try to evade it.


    Clenching his hand into a fist, he sent it towards the massive fiery palm coming his way.


    Bang!


    The palm shattered into pieces and resulted in the release of powerful waves of destructive power that also radiated intense heat that would melt the earth.


    Once his fist impacted the palm and resulted in the waves of devastating power and intense heat, Alex planted his feet firmly on the floor so that he won''t be knocked far away and possibly off the stage by the tyrannical, heat-possessing kinetic waves.


    Nightfire saw what Alex did and couldn''t help but ask inwardly if Alex was a body cultivator. It was only body cultivators that could perform the feat that Alex just did.


    Then with eyes now glowing in crimson which was the color of his pyroforce energy, Nightfire sent his two palms out and quickly discharged pyroforce energy from them which transformed into a dragon and a serpent that shot towards Alex at great speeds.


    Alex smirked and ran from the side of the platform that he was towards the raging energy attacks.


    Boom!


    He punched the air and surprisingly, the air exploded to become an exceedingly strong gale of wind that swept towards the immense fiery attack coming towards him. One could compare this extremely high-velocity wind that had appeared when Alex punched out his fist to the violent air that would be released from tons of powerful energy bombs.


    The raging, devastating currents of air went on to impact the fiery attacks shooting towards him.


    However, there was no collision bang sound that rang out as the fast-moving but violent currents of air only tried to rapidly cool off the flames generated by the pyroforce energy.


    In the next second, the fiery attack reduced greatly in size because of the destructive wind gale that impacted it. All the flames that were used to create the two attacks had been cooled, resulting in the rapid reduction in the size of the fiery attack.


    Then Alex kicked one of his legs out towards the two fiery attacks shooting towards him.


    Bang!


    He kicked out against one of the two attacks which was the fastest.


    Bang!


    Then he powerfully swung that same kicking leg against the second attack coming his way.


    Therefore, in that manner, he smashed the solid energy offensives of flame into fragments using his leg. And by fragments, it meant that they scattered apart into thousands of bright tiny sparks of fire.


    However, the leg that he kicked out against the attacks caught on fire as some of the remnants of the fiery attacks became flames that began to burn around it. But they couldn''t cause him harm in any way.


    Then the soft breeze around Alex instantly became a powerful gust that instantly eliminated the flame burning on his leg.


    "Hmm. Your flesh is strong! But see as I burn it away and cause you to have extreme-degree burns" Nightfire said arrogantly.


    Then he jumped into the air, to a height of about fifteen feet.


    Alex didn''t jump after him, he waited to see how Nightfire was going to attack.


    Once he got to his peak height in the air, and now aiming his two hands out at Alex, he uttered "Fiery Waterfall" and discharged large amounts of fiery energy in the form of a waterfall of Alex.


    Possessing great pressure and emanating extreme heat, the energy that discharged from Nightfire''s hand and behaved like a waterfall rushed down with rage towards Alex.


    "Oh! That''s your move. Nice. Perhaps I could copy it." Alex said with a smile.


    Still seeing in slow motion, he saw as the fiery energy that erupted from Nightfire''s hands fell towards him like it was a waterfall. Then he quickly aimed his palms out at the large, waterfall-like attack of fire that would soon impact him.


    "Twin Ice Lotuses" Alex said.


    Then a huge amount of frostforce energy erupted from his hands and transformed into two gigantic ice lotuses that moved to impact the attack that Nightfire sent.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    The two huge, solid lotuses of ice struck the waterfall of fire and split it apart. Then it went on to impact Nightfire in the air.


    Bang!


    Argh!


    Nightfire who shrieked in pain once he was hit, was knocked upwards to a greater height in the air by the heavy twin lotuses of ice that Alex sent out towards him.


    Then a few seconds later, Nightfire who had lost control of his take-off into the air, and lacked good aerial maneuverability skills which he could have harnessed or made use of to twist his body in the air or put his body into some positions to land safely, crashed with a loud bang sound with his back to the ground.


    Bang!


    Then immediately he landed, the air in his lungs was knocked out of them, and he even coughed out a large mouthful of blood from his mouth. Also, he became dizzy from the impact of his back with the ground, with his vision blurring too.


    It was amazing enough that he hadn''t fainted from such a heavy crash.


    Alex slowly walked towards him with a smile.


    The prey was already in his trap. There was absolutely no need to rush.


    Then once he got to Nightfire''s front from his relaxed-pace walk, Alex powerfully swung his leg out towards his chest and kicked him off the stage into the far distance, where he crashed into the earth once again and dragged along it, eating sand and stones.


    Alex then turned around to look at the people that were going to battle him.


    Without waiting for the host to come back to the stage to ask if there would be anyone that would want to battle him next, he asked "Hey folks! If there is any of you that would want to battle me next, climb on stage now."


    Haha!


    Laughter bursted out from the people that were seated and were watching the match. They couldn''t believe that Alex would act like the host himself.


    Seeing that Alex had done with he was supposed to do, the forty-year old man that was hosting the event stayed back. He didn''t climb on stage as he allowed Alex to do what he was doing.


    - At the High Table -


    "Hmm. The boy is quite powerful and skillful. I see that your Great Holy daughter has a good eye." The principal of the Great Fire Wyvern academy said with an impressed smile in his face to the principal of the Immovable Mountain Academy.


    "Haha!" The principal laughed joyfully.


    He was happy that they were beginning to accept Alex''s battle prowess, and that they were also beginning to like him.


    Not all of them anyways.


    Some were angry in their hearts and even showed it. They just didn''t want to burst out now in anger as they believed that the boy would surely be knocked off the stage very soon. Especially the ones from the Heaven Soaring Sword academy and Scarlet Fire academy. Their gazes gave complete hints of anger and impatience; impatience in that they just couldn''t wait for Alex to be knocked off the stage, and then see the unbridled stupid looks in the faces of the some of the principals that were here and were beginning to like the boy that they totally disliked just for no reason.


    Well, they just couldn''t dislike him like that. There was definitely a reason. And this was because of his youngness and his totally amazing long-distance and short-range battle prowesses. They were simply, totally envious of it. Besides, he was an excellent body cultivator, and a cultivator of ice and wind.


    But they didn''t know that Alex could control much more realm-energy than that. And when they eventually discover that, they would definitely be shocked to the bones.


    However, the other principals and every other person that were seated at the high table cared less about their gazes, as they weren''t paying attention to them or to their feelings. They were only excitedly watching the battle that gave them shocks and thrills all the time.


    Immediately after that principal spoke, another who was from the Twisting Blade Dragon academy said "You are right Dylan, he''s quite powerful. The Great Holy Daughter of the Immovable Mountain academy truly has a good eye. Just look at the boy that she chose to be with. He''s quite domineering in battle. No wonder she is so confident about his combat abilities and stares adorably every time at him as he fights. Such intense love that might not be matched by any other. However, I am sure that her lover would surely be beaten very soon. When the genius from my academy climbs up that stage, the boy would definitely, quickly be defeated. It was just that those two boys that climbed up the stage to battle him are simply no genius, only normal hardworking students looking for popularity, sincerely"


    "What?!"


    The principals that were seated at the high tables had their eyes shine in astonishment, while the principals of the two boys that fought Alex and were humiliatingly defeated, had their eyes glow in serious anger.


    "Oh! So you think that your student would do better than mine? That trash-quality, absolutely useless genius of yours? We shall see then. I definitely can''t wait to see the beautiful stupid look that would appear in your face when your boy is kicked hard off the stage by the face, like it was a ball. Haha" The principal of the Heaven Soaring Sword academy harshly said and wickedly laughed.


    ***


    "Come up here fellas, don''t tell me that you little boys are scared of fighting me. Didn''t you want my celestially beautiful future wife''s hand in marriage? Therefore, since you do, jump up to this stage this moment. Or go back shamefully and disgracefully to the seat that your filthy asses stood up from"

 Chapter 263: Contest IV

    Come up here fellas, don''t tell me that you little boys are scared of fighting me. Didn''t you want my celestially beautiful future wife''s hand in marriage? Therefore, since you do, jump up to this stage this moment. Or go back shamefully and disgracefully to the seat that your filthy asses stood up from"


    Hahaha!


    One of the students suddenly burst into a loud raucous laughter.


    Then with a squat, he pushed himself into the air towards the stage.


    Bang!


    He landed heavily on the stage and looked at Alex with a light of viciousness in his eyes.


    Alex looked at him and gave a friendly smile.


    "Come!" The boy that just landed on the stage said to Alex.


    Alex shook his head.


    "Nope. I am the master of the stage. You should come to me" Alex said with the friendly smile still in his face.


    Scoff!


    The boy scoffed.


    Then unexpectedly, he ran towards Alex.


    Once he got to about eleven feet in front of Alex, he quickly aimed his two hands at him and then discharged a large stream of frostforce energy from them.


    The moment that the huge stream of ice-energy erupted from his hands, it transformed into a massive spear that shot towards Alex.


    Seeing the spear in slow motion, Alex punched out heavily at it.


    Bang!


    A bang sound rang out as the huge spear of ice shattered into pieces. Also, immediately Alex''s fist collided into it, a wave of decent destructive power surfaced from the point of their collision and raged into the distance, causing Alex to stagger backwards for a few feet when the wave produced from the impact of his fist with the energy-spear struck him.


    While Alex was staggering backwards on the platform, the boy called Ice Hawk, a peak-phase, Earth Adept stage cultivator of Ice and Frost, immediately launched more ice-bound attacks at Alex.


    He had unleashed a basic attack called ''Ice arrows''. Except that the arrows unleashed were huge in size.


    Shooting towards him at high speeds, Alex swiftly punched out at all of them.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    The numerous attacks broke into pieces with waves of destructive power appearing.


    Alex had punched out extremely fast that he destroyed about fifty large arrows with his fists alone. None of them could escape past his punching fists to impale him.


    Immediately Alex shattered the last of the huge arrows of ice with his fist, he suddenly punched out towards Ice Hawk where he was. And as soon as he punched out, a massive amount of radiantforce energy erupted from his fist which then abruptly condensed and shaped into a massive luminous fist that shot towards Ice Hawk at high speed.


    Seeing the attack that Alex sent out, Ice Hawk quickly punched out too. Then as he punched out, a huge quantity of frostforce energy immediately discharged from his fist which then turned into a massive fist that radiated intense coldness.


    The instant that it formed, it shot out at a great speed towards the radiant, fist-shaped attack that Alex abruptly sent out.


    Boom!


    A loud boom sound rang out as the attacks struck one another heavily, and resulted in the appearance of waves of deadly power.


    If not that the stage was made from a material that could endure the powerful shockwaves that would be produced from the collisions of Alex''s attacks with that of his challengers, it would have cracked and explosively shattered into pieces.


    As they continually exchanged moves on the platform, everyone''s eyes widened in awe and shock.


    What exactly is the limit of this boy''s battle power?


    Is he actually going one on one against a peak-phase, Earth Adept stage cultivator? One who is three levels above him, as he is at the initial phase, while his challenger is at the peak phase, and not be disadvantaged?


    They simply just couldn''t believe what they were seeing.


    In all their lives, they had never seen or heard someone battle a cultivator at the peak phase, while the person was at the initial phase. It was impossible, just due to the huge difference in the quality (density) and quantity of the energies that they cultivated.


    He should have been overpowered by Ice Hawk once he got on stage. But there they are, still battling it out to see who would be knocked off the stage. Besides, his body was amazingly tough, as he was shattering Ice Hawk''s large energy-attacks with his fists alone.


    It was simply unbelievable.


    Alex also was trying to reduce his power as he knew that his true opponents were at the Sky Lord stage, not the present cultivation stage that he was at, which was the Earth Adept stage. If he wanted to go all out, all of them that were gathered around the platform won''t be able to do anything to him even if they all joined together to attack him.


    That was why he was using his fists and legs to smash apart their attacks, and use his other energies to attack. Of course, he couldn''t use his pyroforce energy, windforce energy, frostforce energy, and lightniforce energy to attack, or he would simply turn them into mists of blood. And one should be able to understand the reason why he can''t use those energies, which was because they had been augmented beyond normal. They weren''t normal energies again after irreversibly fusing with the essences of fire, ice and wind tribulation-energies that possessed the sole intent to utterly destroy all existences that defied the heavenly mandate of the realmverse.


    So unbelievably strong and powerful!


    But who is this boy? How is he able to go against the genius of the Great Ice Phoenix and Sparrow academy at that cultivation phase that he is at?


    They said within themselves as they watched the battle with great awe in their eyes.


    - On the battle platform -


    "You are pretty powerful to be able to go against me!" Ice Hawk said with unbridled shock in his tone.


    Alex laughed.


    "Well, I am flattered" He said.


    "Get ready to be knocked off the stage" Ice Hawk said with total seriousness in his face.


    Ice Hawk then closed his eyes and began to release frostforce energy from his hands.


    He was trying to build up frostforce energy so that he could create a massive attack that would knock Alex off the stage.


    Alex knew this, but he however allowed him to do so. Therefore, he patiently waited for Ice Hawk''s ultimate attack.


    Not long, a large amount of ice-energy could be seen around Ice Hawk, totally enshrouding his figure from view.


    Then when his eyes snapped open within the massive fog of frostforce energy that enwrapped his figure, he abruptly aimed his palms out at Alex and sent out a shocking amount of ice-attacks towards him.


    "Exterminating Gods Chaotic Arrows of Ice"


    Then the frostforce energy that had greatly built up around him instantly transformed into thousands of glowing silvery arrows that shot towards Alex at tremendous speeds.


    Once Alex saw the deadly attacks that carried a great degree of profoundness shoot towards him at high speeds, Alex whose eyes were now glowing in cyan, quickly waved his left hand which had also begun to glow in cyan at the massive amounts of attacks that were shooting towards him with immense momentums.


    Immediately he waved out his palm, the air before him instantly, solidly condensed and shot out like it was a massive, extremely solid pillar of something that was enormously heavy, and was furiously hurled out by a massive catapulting machine.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    All the small, glowing ice arrows were surprisingly repelled as they were knocked back, while the bigger ones with larger spearheads effortlessly pierced through the astonishingly dense and large column of air towards Alex who was at a distance on the battle platform.


    Seeing that the attacks only lost a bit of their momentum, Alex then clapped out. But he didn''t apply too much strength into his clap-based battle technique


    BANG!!


    Once Alex''s hands hit one another to produce a clap, a deafening bang sound rang out which gave the feeling that many thunderbolts had struck out at once from a vast thundercloud in the sky. And immediately accompanying the terrifying thunderous sound that was generated, was a wave of high destructive power which spread out in the air into the distance and in all directions, shattering everything in it path into pieces.


    All the huge, ice-bound attacks that Ice Hawk sent out, and which also carried a certain level of profoundness, were instantly shattered into bits by the devastating wave produced from the point at which Alex''s powerful palms smashed into one another. Also, due to the wave spreading out in all directions and traveling far into the distance, Ice Hawk who was on the platform and couldn''t evade the wave that moved exceedingly swift and possessed immense fierce power, was terribly shaken by the wave as it caused numerous cracks to instantly appear on all the bones in his body, and caused his blood within to violently roil that they could almost burst out from his body.


    Besides, immediately after being inflicted with many grievous internal wounds that all instantly appeared, he was hurled into the far distance that he crashed into the earth about twenty feet away.


    Alex''s eyes shone in marvel and puzzlement.


    Despite not putting a lot of strength into his clap, he was still able to cause more damage to the body of Ice Hawk with the wave of tyrannical power that was produced from his powerful clap. As he began to wonder why, he recalled that his physical strength had been augmented by the Worlds Domination Ultimate Support System, which increased his body''s abilities with the Base Stats Upgrade Points that he got from achieving Quests.


    "I guess that''s why" He said.


    When Alex clapped and the fearsome thunderous sound rang out, everyone''s heart shook in dread. They were actually frightened by the thundering sound that was produced immediately Alex clapped.


    Also, they trembled in shock when they saw a visible wave which pushed all the air around Alex away to create a temporary vacuum zone, appear and spread into the far distance, knocking Ice Hawk to a shocking distance and inflicting him with many serious injuries.


    "What kind of evil move is that?"


    "What a move! This guy doesn''t run out of wicked battle moves. He''s too deadly and tyrannical to be one''s opponent"


    "Haha. I said it. The lover of the Immovable Mountain Academy''s Great Holy Daughter is truly impeccable and unmatched. Haven''t she said so herself? Hehehe"


    The battle they just watched got all the audience excitedly discussing amongst themselves. They were enjoying it and were totally exhilarated by Alex''s marveling performance. It was simply wonderful and astonishing.

 Chapter 264: Stepping up the battle himself

    Just as the crowd was going gaga over Alex''s impressive performance, the people on the high table which were the principals from the thirteen academies that produced the geniuses who were going to fight Alex, and also Olivia''s family members, couldn''t help but be amazed.


    Olivia''s mom, Stacy, looked at her daughter and could see the seemingly, infinitely blazing love in her eyes. This fire would simply invoke the feeling in anyone that it was something that couldn''t be quenched by anything in the realmverse, even if it was from the immortal or divine realm. Besides, this flame of affection that was seen in her eyes burned brightly with pride that couldn''t be fathomed.


    "Your lover is truly strong. He''s an epic genius. I don''t think I have heard or seen anyone like him, even from ancient history books that I have read" Stacy said to Olivia with sincerity in her tone.


    It was true, as Alex was just unbelievably powerful. Besides, she had been observing him, just like the others, and what they noticed which caused them shock was that despite all the huge amounts of energies that Alex put out to create offensives, he hadn''t taken a single pill to recover the energy he used for his battle. And this was the third battle. Yet, they hadn''t seen him swallow any pill. It was like he had within him excessive amounts of the energies that he cultivated. Another thing was that he cultivated energies that weren''t normal to cultivate. They were simply strange to the sights of almost everyone here. Well, except Olivia''s family that came from a higher world and some of the principals that had traveled to higher worlds to get cultivation resources which they then brought back to this world. Still, they were amazed. So as an example, like the radiantforce energy which he utilized to create extremely dense, light-based energy-attacks, one could ninety-five percent say that he was the only one that should cultivate that kind of energy in this world, as they were  extremely difficult to comprehend. So, cultivators would go for the elemental energies which were earth-energy, fire-energy, ice-energy and wind-energy which very common and a bit easy to apprehend. Even wood-energy which was also plantforce energy was exceedingly rare as cultivators of this energy couldn''t be found. And to top the amazing things mentioned about him, his body was amazingly durable to withstand the damaging power of a peak-phase, Earth Adept stage cultivator, as could be witnessed when he used his fist to shatter some of Ice Hawk''s ice-bound attacks.


    Hearing what her mom said with a praising tone in her voice, Olivia gladly smiled.


    Finally, her mom had accepted to call Alex her lover, instead of friend like she did twice sometimes ago. So she thought. And what this meant to her was that her mom had been greatly impressed by Alex''s amazing combat prowess during his battles.


    * * *


    - Battle Platform -


    Just before another person could climb on stage to fight Alex, Alex said with a smile in his face "Actually, all of you that have gathered before the platform can''t knock me down the stage. And this is because I am stronger than all of you. Even if all of you combine your strength to fight me, you wouldn''t be able to knock me down the stage. Therefore, this brings me to my next statement which is, you folks should go back to your seat and so that I may be declared as the winner. But if you don''t agree me with on that, you all should please climb on stage immediately so that we may get this over with." Alex said.


    Immediately after Alex said that, everyone became speechless.


    "What is he trying to do now?" One asked the people around him.


    "He wants to fight all of them is what he''s trying to do you blockhead" Another responded.


    "Wow! I simply can''t believe he actually wants to do that. This guy simply keeps on giving us surprises." A female exclaimed in shock and said delightfully.


    She couldn''t wait to see the ultimate match where it would involve the rest of the geniuses fighting against Alex with the aim of knocking him off the enormous stage.


    "Why should we all join together to fight you? Is it because you have beaten a genius at the peak-phase, Earth Adept stage?" One of the geniuses from an academy asked Alex in a harsh tone.


    "Nope. It''s simply because I am bored fighting you all one by one. In case you don''t know, which I am about to inform you all now, I have not been taxed at all by the battles that I fought previously. It only took a bit of effort from me to knock them off the stage. Therefore, so that I may enjoy the battle, you all should climb up the stage to fight me. Who knows, you could knock me down" Alex said with a smile in his face.


    Then the boy that harshly spoke to Alex turned to face the others who were behind him.


    "I know that we are all geniuses in our own right, but I want us to please climb up the stage and beat the hell out of that overly confident and proud bastard. I don''t think the fool has experienced great defeat before in his life. So I want us to make him experience that today. We shall make him learn that there is a thing called defeat. Besides, for his infuriating arrogance and esteem that seem to know no bound, we are going to severely humiliate him after rounding him up like the meat for butchering that he is."


    Sparked up by what this person said, they all nodded their heads and climbed on stage.


    Surrounding Alex on all sides, they looked at him with a cold light in their eyes.


    * * *


    "Is he really going to fight all of them?" Olivia''s mom asked Olivia with astonishment in her tone. She couldn''t believe what Alex was about to do


    Then before Olivia could reply to her question, she questioned again "I hope it isn''t that he is now overconfident? That would certainly lead to him being kicked off the stage"


    "No mom." Olivia said.


    Then she continued with a smile in her face "I can see that you are way impressed by his abilities and don''t want anything to happen to him. Anyways, he knows what he''s doing. He isn''t overconfident in his abilities. I won''t tell you anything. Just look on and enjoy the upcoming crowded battle."


    "Hmm. Okay." Olivia''s mom, Stacy, replied with tremendous awe in her tone as she looked at Olivia who turned her face away from her to look at Alex with a light of deep affection and intense endearment in her eyes.


    Since her daughter wasn''t worried about the step that her lover unpredictably took, that meant he could actually do it. Her heart then reeled in astoundment from what she thought.


    ''This boy, I am extremely sure that Olivia is hiding things from me. When they are done with the competition, I shall demand from her what family he''s from. He''s too strong to be someone from this backwater mortal world, unless he met with great fortune in his path.'' Stacy said inwardly.


    After her train of thought ended, she gazed back at the battle platform to watch the last of the battle, one that would determine whether Alex would be Olivia''s husband or not.


    * * *


    Not telling Alex anything, they all sent out attacks at him.


    Alex smirked because of their predictable actions.


    Then with great speed, but still standing on the same spot, he sent out his fists and legs at the attacks shooting towards him at high speeds.


    One could see tens of after-images of Alex''s fists and legs impacting into all the attacks that got to where he stood.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Loud bang sounds rang out as Alex''s fists and feet which moved rapidly, smashed extremely hard into the attacks that raged and roared in the air towards him with unfathomable damaging power.


    With visible ripples that possessed tyrannical power surfacing from the points at which Alex''s fists and feet smashed into the attacks, they actually couldn''t do anything to him; like knock or shove him away from where he stood.


    With only his body which he used to withstand the devastating ripples of kinetic force, and possessing feet that was planted firmly and strongly on the platform, he couldn''t be knocked away from where he stood, or off the platform.


    Therefore, in this manner, and emitting an aura of indomitability, he was like a divine mountain that couldn''t be moved away from where it was. That was the feeling that would be invoked in anyone that saw him.


    Seeing how Alex speedily reduced their attacks to thousands of fragments, using his amazingly durable and tough fists and legs, they broke their encirclement of him as they all quickly gathered before him and abruptly launched full-powered attacks at him.


    Alex looked at them with a smirk in his face, then his fists began to glow brilliantly.

 Chapter 265: Humiliation, Making enemies

    Apart from the brilliant blue glow that emanated from his fist, rumbles of thunder could also be heard coming from it.


    Then seeing the attacks in slow motion, as he had permeated his eyes with speedforce energy, Alex punched out with that fist that had terrifying peals of thunder continously ring out from it.


    "Storm Breaking Lightning Fist"


    Alex said immediately he punched out.


    BOOM!!


    A deafening explosive sound which caused the platform to shake terribly and gave the feeling that it would shatter into smithereens in the next moment rang out. Then an astonishing amount of electricity which instantly discharged from his fist and produced the loud, devastating boom sound, abruptly shaped into a dense and solid fist which continually produced terrifying thunderous rumbles as it went on at a blazing speed to heavily impact the energy-attacks shooting towards Alex.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    All the attacks sent out at Alex immediately shattered into smithereens, while the lightning-based attack that Alex sent out went on with a great momentum to impact his many challengers.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    Numerous bang sounds rang out as many of them were launched to the edges of the battle platform immediately they were struck by the lightning-bound energy-attack, while a few others were shoved off the platform and into the distance, like about four to seven feet away from it.


    If not that they had quickly worn body armor, they would have been severely injured or killed off by the attack that Alex sent out.


    However, despite wearing body armors, their skins had seriously burned from the amount of tribulation-type electricity that roamed about in the armors and on their surfaces. And because of the immense kinetic force that the immense fist struck them with, the blood in their bodies violently roiled, making them to cough out many mouthfuls of blood and even bleed from areas where pieces of their shattered bones jutted out from.


    As soon as the powerful fist condensed from arcane-level electricity destroyed the incoming energy-attacks and damagingly hurled Alex''s challengers away, the fist went on with great momentum into the distance. And from the high velocity that it moved with, it was like it met with no obstacle in it way.


    Still mind-linked to it, Alex quickly broke off his mind connection to it before it could hit the audience in it path and result in their instant deaths by shattering them into bits and instantly burning their pieces to cinders.


    Immediately he did so, the energy-attack lost it fist form and reverted to slivers of lightniforce energy that returned to the realmverse.


    "Woow!!!" one of the great multitude of people that constituted the large audience excitedly watching the battle, shouted out in great shock.


    He couldn''t believe that Alex could destroy all the geniuses'' massive energy-attacks with only an attack, knock them all away and terribly wound them in the process. And who were these people, they were all geniuses who were at the late-phase and peak-phase, Earth Adept cultivation stage.


    But he wasn''t the only one who was shaken to the core by the incredible feat that Alex just pulled. Every other person that were watching the match were extremely amazed.


    Such devilish battle prowess!


    It was simply an unbelievable sight that they all witnessed.


    And they became tremendously surprised that Alex cultivated lightniforce energy. The most tyrannical energy in the realmverse that sought for the total destruction of the cultivator that was trying to cultivate it.


    They were simply unbelieving, despite seeing with their eyes that Alex shot off lightning from from his fist, which then transformed into a huge, solid fist that looked like it was the illusory lightning fist of the juggernaut God of thunder.


    They felt it was an illusion, so they were disbelieving of what they saw.


    ***


    - On the battle platform -


    Alex didn''t do anything except stand on the platform and look at the remaining people that were still on the battle stage.


    Smoke could be seen emitting from the armors that they wore, and cries of agonizing pains and intense suffering could be heard coming from them.


    However, after swallowing healing pills which were of course, average-quality healing pills, they began to heal, albeit slowly. Also, the intense pains that they suffered slowly abated.


    Not long, they stood to their feet.


    "Still interested in fighting me?" Alex asked.


    Then he continued "You aren''t my match. If you don''t want to suffer more injuries, you should get off the stage."


    Although Alex had decided in his heart that he was going to seriously humiliate all of them for having interest in someone that was going to be his wife. However, he felt that this kind of humiliation was enough too, as for the rest of their lives, they would continue to think about him. The way that he disgraced all of them on the battle stage, like they were all trashes, would be permanently ingrained in their memories, and this would forever haunt them.


    Although this could create great enmity between them, one in which only one of them can live under the sky. But he just didn''t care about it. He would even love it if they came with the motive to kill him so that he could kill them. He could have killed them on the stage right here, but he didn''t want to be too daring. Even though he had an extremely powerful uncle, he wouldn''t want to venture into that kind of thing that would result in many ugly events.


    However, being stubborn people who wouldn''t back down until they were beaten into a coma, they all stood back to their feet. And with gazes that shone with coldness and emitted sinister light, they looked at Alex with unbreakable resolve, which was to simply take him down by any means avaliable to them.


    Alex looked at them as they gazed furiously and resolutely at him.


    "So, what''s with the look? Do you think that you can beat me?" Alex asked curiously.


    Although he sounded arrogant, he wasn''t. They were just not his match. So, he wondered why they were looking at him in that manner. Like as if there was something they could do to round him up and knock him off the stage.


    However, he didn''t break his gaze. He only continued to stare at them as they looked at him.


    Suddenly, one of them shot a needle at Alex.


    But Alex who was seeing in slow motion and was accelerated greatly beyond normal by the speed-perception energy that saturated his body, perceived the needle shooting towards him and speedily caught it with his index and middle fingers


    Then with a full spin of his body, he hurled the needle out of his fingers towards the person that shot the needle at him.


    Puchi!


    A low piercing sound rang out as the needle that was thrown with a lot of force, easily penetrated through the body armor that he wore and into his body. However, it didn''t penetrate into it deeply as it immediately lost the kinetic force and speed that it moved with upon impacting the body armor that the boy wore.


    But a substance that was used to coat the needle''s sharp tip which had pierced into his body, quickly melted into his blood and began to cause a lot of damages within his body.


    That substance which had dissolved into his blood actually released poisonforce energy, which then began to cause his organs to ruin within.


    Argh!!


    This person screamed out in pain and then suddenly collapsed to the ground. And once he fell to the ground with a loud bang, he began to roll about, as an intensely excruciating pain racked his entire body which then became green and caused steaming-hot blood to ooze unstoppably out of his mouth and nose.


    This new ugly sight caught everyone''s attention as they began to look at the genius from the Scarlet Fire academy who wriggled on the ground like a worm that was about to die.


    In the next instant, Sky Lord-stage students from the Scarlet Fire academy flew quickly to the stage from where they were seated. Then once they landed, they immediately carried off their junior with them to where their instructors were seated.


    At the moment, the principal of the Scarlet Fire academy was exceedingly furious. But he didn''t let his emotions reveal on his face. He was surprisingly calm, and even smiled at the principals that looked at him pitifully.


    After the boy from the Scarlet Fire academy was lifted away by his seniors, the rest of the geniuses from other cultivation academies looked at Alex with a light of mockery in their eyes.


    "You are doomed man. You actually dared to hurt the genius of the Scarlet Fire academy? Do you even know what those guys are? Apart from wicked rogue cultivators who behave like fiends in the society as they have nothing to lose except for their miserable wretched lives, the pupils of the Scarlet Fire academy are the most vicious student-cultivators in the city. Now, I am certain that you have been blacklisted. If miraculously you make it out of here alive, don''t expect to live long out there. Except you choose to live in the wildernesses. But still, you would be eliminated. There is no escaping from these unforgiving, fiendish guys" One said, gloating at Alex''s misfortune.


    Alex gave a smile.


    "Come tens, hundreds or thousands of them, I would slay all of them and bathe myself with their bloods." He said confidently.


    Then he continued "Do you think that because of what you just finished saying, that I would be scared of the pupils from this academy? Of their seniors or instructors? Do they think they have seen my full power? Do they know where I am from and who I am? Haha! I am simply someone that the academy wouldn''t dare to mess with once they know my origin"


    With his entire body now producing bright blue light, and furious electricity arcs which moved ragingly about on his entire body like they were violent beasts of lightning and then generated frightening peals of thunder, Alex said with an ear-aching booming voice that was greatly amplified by the rumbling thunderous sounds emanating from his body and evoked the feeling that he was a God of Great Thunderous Might.


    "So, do you still want to fight me, or you would get off the stage this moment?"

 Chapter 266: Formidable opponent

    - At the high table -


    "Hehe. How powerful would he be? Don''t tell me that he possesses the ability to fight Sky Lord stage cultivators. Also, what family is he from exactly? Are they fierce experts from Greatverses? Haha. I would like to see who your father and mother is after I detain you" The principal of the Scarlet Fire academy said in a harsh tone and cackled.


    He had simply forgotten that Alex was battling the others for who would be the husband of the daughter of the Firecloud family.


    Anyways, it was the great anger which had surfaced in his mind because of what Alex did to a student of his that caused him to entirely spill out what was in his mind. However, although he knew that he had let the cat out of the bag, he wasn''t scared of anything that they might want to do him. He was even sure that none of them would dare to stop him from carrying out his plans. He knew that they definitely wouldn''t want to experience the wrath of the extremely vicious founder of the academy where he was employed to be a principal of.


    When the others heard him, they simply smiled and turned their faces away.


    But they knew what he meant by that statement.


    As powerful cultivators who were at the Grand Saint Emperor stage or Sage stage, they possessed powerful hearing. So they could clearly hear what Alex said to the geniuses from their academies.


    Olivia''s mom looked at Olivia and asked with curiosity in her tone "Your lover says that he hasn''t even shown his full power? How true is that?"


    "Well, what he says is true" Olivia replied with a smile.


    "Hmm. Since he can knock back many peak-phase, Earth Adept stage cultivators with only a single attack, then that means his battle power is comparable to that of Sky Lord stage cultivators? That would be outrageous and difficult to believe" Olivia''s mom, Stacy said.


    Olivia didn''t reply.


    She only gave a radiant smile.


    She couldn''t tell her mom that Alex had once slaughtered Sky Lord stage cultivators, and even Heaven Adept stage cultivators. Like the time that he fought Jared''s men who were at the Earth Adept stage and Sky Lord stage, he simply butchered them like he was butchering defenseless lambs. So, she couldn''t really say anything about that, or it would be totally unbelievable.


    "So, where is he from?" Stacy asked.


    "Mom, I told you. You would know when you ask him, that''s after the battle." Olivia replied.


    "Why can''t you tell me?" Stacy asked with a strict tone.


    "Well, I can''t tell you because I am trying to be suspenseful" Olivia said with a playful smile.


    "Aii. Okay" Stacy sighed and replied.


    Then she placed her gaze back on Alex and couldn''t help but gladly smile.


    Her daughter had truly found a gem.


    ***


    - Battle Platform -


    When Alex''s challengers saw the amount of electricity arcs pulsating about on his body, they became frightened and slowly backed away in fear.


    They just couldn''t bear to be hit by the powerful rumbling electricity arcing about on his entire body like he was an actual god of thunder.


    "I didn''t think so" Alex said with a cold smile.


    With angry gazes that also erupted unbridled killing intents and unwillingness to do what they were about to do next, they jumped down the stage and went back to the seats at different places of the stadium that they all came from.


    After they jumped down and left defeatedly and sadly for their seats, Alex then turned his gaze to look at someone on the ground who was also looking at him, with a smile in his face.


    This person was Soulstorm, a cultivator of the soul that he met at the moonlight inn which he went to for a wine.


    When others climbed the stage, he didn''t.


    Why he didn''t do so was because Alex was surprisingly the person that he was going to battle to win Olivia''s hand in marriage.


    So, he waited for Alex to finish his battles with the others before climbing up the stage to fight him.


    Then after Alex was done chasing away his other challengers, a wide smile appeared in Soulstorm''s face which made him look sinister as he went up the stage to meet Alex.


    Now looking at Alex who also looked back at him with a smile, he prepared to unleash his attack.


    All of a sudden, Alex dashed towards Soulstorm. But before he could get to where Soulstorm stood, Soulstorm quickly aimed a palm at Alex and unleashed a partially-visible, ethereal energy that once it struck Alex, caused his soul to become so cold that it seemed it would freeze into ice.


    So this greatly slowed down Alex''s movement and affected his powerful thought-processes, as he felt like his mind was frozen in a gigantic block of ice that grew colder every fraction of a second. While Soulstorm who had quickly dashed towards Alex, got to his front and unleashed a powerful uppercut punch.


    Bang!


    Alex was knocked into the air for twelve feet by the uppercut punch that Soulstorm delivered at his chin. Then with another loud bang, he crashed hard unto the battle platform.


    Huh?


    This made everyone greatly surprised, including Olivia, her family, and the principals seated at the high table.


    They couldn''t believe what they just witnessed.


    Someone who they thought was invincible at his cultivation stage, had been taken down in the first exchange by this new guy that was battling him.


    With the entire stadium now deathly silent like it was graveyard, they all began to watch the match with light of suspense in their eyes.


    Alex stood to his feet and looked at Soulstorm who looked back at him and smiled.


    Then he clenched his hand into a fist.


    "Soul Punch!" Soulstorm said as he abruptly punched out. And before Alex could dodge, despite saturating his eyes with speedforce energy, he couldn''t dodge the dense but immaterial fist formed from soulforce energy in time.


    The fist penetrated into his body and into his soul-dwelling region where it delivered a powerful punch to Alex''s incorporeal soul.


    Once the fist impacted his soul, Alex staggered backwards for many feet before regaining his balance.


    When the fist-shaped soul attack struck his soul, it was like the enormous base of the handle of a gigantic axe powerfully struck him if he were a mortal. It was simply extremely concussive and intensely painful. He should have directly passed out from just that tyrannical attack that hit his soul, but because Alex possessed a high threshold for physical pain which in turn affected his ability to withstand the pain that would rack his soul that was heightened to a great degree, he was able to stop his awareness from slipping into the unconscious state.


    His eyes were red while blood streamed down his nose and mouth from that soul-based attack that Soulstorm sent out.


    His vision too was blurry, but it returned to normal a few moments later.


    With an intense aching pain that racked his head which slowly abated, Alex looked at Soulstorm and prepared to have a very difficult battle.


    He was surprised that the speed-perception augmentation effect of the speedforce energy that permeated his eyes didn''t actually have a slow-down effect on the soul-fist attack that shot his way at blazing speed and eventually struck him. Anyways, one couldn''t blame him as he had never really fought soul cultivators.


    Although he knew about the unusualness and uniqueness of their battle methods, and of the soulforce energy itself just from the books that he had read, it was just that he hadn''t exactly fought one to be able to know the level of power of the energy and what it was resistant to.


    But now, he knew that speedforce energy didn''t have a slow-down effect on the movement of objects condensed from soulforce energy.


    With deep inhales and exhales, and his mind immersed into the ocean of thoughts, he contemplated hard of what to do to conquer Soulstorm, who could easily defeat him with the myriad of soul-based battle techniques that he might possess.


    "Well, no matter how strong you are, you can''t defeat me. Because I can overwhelm your soul with my powerful attacks and knock you off the stage. I am unlike you, who is a body and energy cultivator. I am superior to you. Haha." Soulstorm said and laughed.


    Then he continued as he asked "Would you want to continue battling me and keep suffering in extreme agony, or would you rather jump down the stage and let me win the battle?"


    Alex looked at him.


    "Oh, so you because you are a soul cultivator, you think you are superior to me now?" He asked.


    "Sure. No cultivator can defeat a soul cultivator. We are the mighty conquering kings, eternals, supremes. We are just about anything absolutely domineering that you would like to call it." Soulstorm replied in a confident tone.


    "So, I would ask again before I overwhelm you. Would you jump down the stage, or you would like me to do it for you?"


    Alex''s heart was heavy from worry and fear.


    He was simply powerless against a soul cultivator, as the attacks that his challenger would release would terribly affect his soul and cause him great excruciating pains.


    He simply didn''t know how to battle such an opponent.


    It was only if he was a fearsome soul cultivator could he go against Soulstorm who was a genius-level soul cultivator. So he thought. And he didn''t want to use his tribulation-enhanced energies, or he could kill Soulstorm with only one strike, even if it was low-powered.


    ''Well, I guess I can only battle him using illusions'' Alex said inwardly.


    Then he closed his eyes.


    Soulstorm was surprised at Alex''s action.


    ''Can he create illusions too? Gosh, where is this guy from? No wonder he said he hasn''t shown his true level of power yet'' Soulstorm said within as his mind was sent reeling in astonishment from Alex''s action.


    However, he wasn''t fazed by Alex''s new method of attack as he knew that he was also going to simply defeat him in this.


    How powerful would Alex''s illusion-attacks be against that of soul-cultivating experts; cultivators who are masters of illusions as they can produce vast and realistic illusions that would directly affect the souls of people targeted and terribly impact them.


    When people saw Alex close his eyes, they began to wonder what he was about to do. Same with the principals at the high table who then figured it out in the next moment that he was about to create illusions.


    When they thought of this, they became exceedingly shocked.


    Exactly how many energies is this boy cultivating?


    ***


    Alex then moved phantasmforce energy to his hands which began to erupt from it in great quantities.


    Once this energy erupted from his hands and began to revolve around him, Alex''s eyes snapped open. Then he gazed at Soulstorm...

 Chapter 267: Frustrated, showing his power

    Once Alex opened his eyes and gazed at Soulstorm whose eyes were open, he suddenly found himself in another world.


    The great crowd of people watching them weren''t in this world that Soulstorm created for him.


    In this illusionary world that was created, Alex could see that the sky was normal. Just about everything was normal. However, a few moments later, the earth began to tremble. And from the way it shook, it was like some massive primordial beast wanted to rip out of it to come attack him.


    But Alex wasn''t frightened by it. Instead, he got ready to defend himself from what may come, as it was what caused the earth to tremble.


    Therefore, with dilated eyes, he looked on to know what was causing the intense trembling of the earth.


    Not long, dozens of copper-skinned giants with six horns on their heads and wielding large bone clubs suddenly appeared in the far distance. They were running furiously towards Alex.


    Only Alex saw this as his vision had been totally affected by the illusion power that was released by Soulstorm in all directions.


    Immediately Alex saw these giants, he tried to break out of the illusion before Soulstorm would arrive before him and impact him so hard that he would be knocked off the stage.


    He knew that one of these giants would be Soulstorm. And if he got to him, he would simply be knocked off the stage. So he tried to use his illusion-power which he derived from cultivation of phantasmforce energy to break out of the illusion. And the idea that he got of doing this was to fight illusion using illusion.


    So before the giants could get to him, Alex abruptly released an all-directional wave of illusion-power from his body. This wave which produced illusionary objects that Alex created in his mind, appeared in Soulstorm''s vision.


    Although he was affected by the illusory items that Alex created. However, they only lasted for sometime before they vanished from his vision.


    Why this was so was because the stage at which Soulstorm had cultivated his soul to, was exactly comparable to that of an initial-phase, Sky Lord stage. It was also the reason why Alex couldn''t break out of the illusion that he generated.


    Not long, the giants appeared before Alex and struck out hard with their enormous bone clubs at him.


    Alex''s widened in slight fear.


    He knew that he couldn''t be struck by any of the unreal giants, or he would be shoved away from the stage, as any of them could be Soulstorm who would deliver a powerful punch or kick that would hurl him off the battle platform. And he couldn''t use his speedforce energy on the movement speed of the giants. They would simply be unaffected by it, as they not real.


    He however tried to dodge the smashing club-attacks of the giants. But he wasn''t successful with his evasion of their alarming furious attacks as one eventually struck him hard and caused him to be launched many feet away from where he initially stood.


    In the real life, it was Soulstorm''s fist that connected to Alex''s chest and caused him to be knocked away.


    When Alex stood by doing a kip up to get back to his feet, the illusionary world that he was in quickly changed to another.


    Now, the sky was crimson and cloudless, and a large horde of winged beasts that had substances that resembled lava flowing in their veins could be seen flying about in the sky.


    Then suddenly, with deafening cries of wrath, they all unleashed solid, colored balls of seemingly frenzied fire at him.


    Of course, these weren''t real.


    Seeing the fiery balls which were furiously shooting towards him, Alex tried to dodge them, and as well be on the lookout for Soulstorm who could be anywhere and then suddenly launch a powerful stealth attack at him.


    Not long, many of the raging flying beasts that clouded the sky suddenly swooped down towards him. And with the heads straightened with the rest of their bodies, they shot towards him at high speeds to use their hard and solid horned heads to knock him off the stage.


    However, with good aerial skills and powerful thigh muscles, he was able to evade many of them. But one suddenly appeared from nowhere and struck him heavily at the back.


    Bang!


    A powerful kick was delivered to his back by Soulstorm and Alex was sent flying for a few feet before crashing unto the platform.


    Although he couldn''t be injured by the punches or kicks that Soulstorm would release as he had a tough body that couldn''t be damaged by his fists and legs, he was simply frustrated. He was being knocked here and there and wasn''t able to do anything about it.


    Not long, after he stood up, the flying hideous beasts came over at high speeds and tried to hit him again with their heads. He tried to evade the smashing head-attacks of the horned beasts in which any of them could be Soulstorm''s fists or legs. But he couldn''t evade successfully as one of the beasts'' head struck him.


    Bang!


    He was knocked away again into the distance where he landed unto the battle platform with a loud bang. But he couldn''t be injured.


    People who were watching the battle became slightly disappointed. They thought that Alex was invincible in his cultivation stage, no matter the type of cultivation that they practiced. But now, the ongoing dueling match that they were watching had proved then all wrong.


    Olivia saw how Alex was being knocked here and there by Soulstorm''s fists and feet and became astonished. Then she became worried after she saw that Alex was just been beaten here and there, and him been unable to successfully deliver his own attack.


    "I thought you said he was a genius?" A principal from an academy asked the principal of the Immovable Mountain Academy.


    The principal of the Immovable Mountain Academy exhaled. Then he looked at the principal that asked that question.


    "Well, yes. He''s a genius. Didn''t he handle the asses of all the geniuses from all the academies gathered here at once? Were they able to do a thing to him?" He asked in a harsh tone.


    Hahaha!


    The principal of the Scarlet Fire academy laughed.


    "True. True. Haha" He said and grinned.


    ...


    Soulstorm didn''t want to push Alex off the stage just yet. He wanted to ridicule him first in front of everyone before knocking him off stage. Besides, he was doing this prove to everyone that he''s the strongest, since he could easily beat the person that claimed to be extremely strong at the cultivation stage that he was in.


    With a smile in his face, he continued to dish out strong punches and hard kicks at Alex.


    "Would you surrender now?" He asked Alex who was in the distance on the floor of the battle platform.


    Alex exhaled.


    Of course he had no plan of surrendering just yet. Or it should put in this way, he would never ever surrender. Only if he was knocked off the stage would he give up the battle. But why would he want to give up the battle? Not for anything in the world as it concerns Olivia, her reputation and that of her family and the academy that she studies at.


    But he knew that he would have lost the light of fame that shone upon him when he overwhelmed every other geniuses that he fought with.


    Then he stood to his feet while Soulstorm waited for him to say his answer.


    "Bro, I am waiting for your response" He said again.


    Everyone''s gazes were fixed on Alex.


    Some had the feeling that he would definitely surrender as he couldn''t even touch Soulstorm at all. While others believed that he would continue to fight the battle till he was knocked off the stage.


    Even at this moment, he was still in that world that had a cloudless, crimson sky. But he could see Soulstorm in his vision. However, this was because Soulstorm made himself to appear before Alex so that they could communicate.


    Alex looked at him and said "Truly, soul cultivators are powerful. But do you think you have experienced my full power?"


    Huh?!


    Everyone were taken aback by what Alex just said. Except Olivia who knew how strong Alex was, but only to an extent as she couldn''t really fathom the limits and actual number of his powerful abilities.


    "What power does he still have? Hasn''t he unleashed everything?" Someone asked the people around him.


    "Dunno. Since he says he hasn''t, then he hasn''t" One replied with uncertainty in his tone.


    "Haha."


    Soulstorm cackled.


    "You have come again with your, ''do you think you have experienced my full power''. Haha. I would advise that you step off the stage or I would continue to humiliate you before I kick you off the stage. And that would make you finally lose the small amounts of fans that you have left" He said.


    "Okay. Then let''s see if you are up to the task" Alex said.


    Before Soulstorm could rush towards Alex to continue to humiliate him, Alex let out his powers. However, only one of them. And this was the power of Fire.


    A tremendous amount of dark scarlet fire suddenly erupted from Alex''s body. Immediately the surprisingly violent and raging, scarlet-colored flame discharged from his body, the air around him was pushed outwards in all directions to create a vacuum zone around Alex. Then in the next second, the intense heat that came from it caused the entire platform that they were on to glow in red. It became red-hot and gave the feeling that it was going to melt in the next moment.


    Dark scarlet flame continued to erupt from Alex''s body. And when the flame had built up to a great amount that it caused great shock to the audience and the principals watching him, it then wrapped around his body into a column that seemingly towered to the sky. It was about sixty feet high. Yet, it continued to grow in size till it reached ninety feet and stopped.


    With him within and the huge fiery column now beginning to revolve around his figure at high speed, he resembled a god of ancient divine flames.


    "Please, come in to ridicule me. I would love some of that" Alex said with mockery in his tone.


    Although there was no one around him again, everyone however knew who he was talking to. And that was Soulstorm who had ran off the platform and far away from it, or he would be turned into nothing by the immensely strong heat continuously emitting from the flame that had shaped into a gigantic column.

 Chapter 268: Chaos

    When the fire column first appeared and radiated a heat that caused the platform made of a durable material to glow like it was going to melt in the next moment, people who were seated quickly stood to their seat to run away from the treasure-stadium. The heat produced by Alex''s attack was simply too strong for them to handle, despite been very far away from the platform. It was simply like a small sun had suddenly appeared at the battle platform, emitting intense unbearable heat.


    However, the instructors from academies quickly sprung to action as they abruptly condensed protective screens from the different types of realm-energies that they cultivated. Then they used these massive screens formed from their energies to protect the mortals and the weaker cultivators.


    ...


    After revolving for sometime, the rotating column of fire suddenly exploded into millions of dark scarlet sparks of fire which then reverted to slivers of pyroforce energy that returned to the realmverse.


    When it exploded, it was like a gigantic firework. But it was beautiful as it illuminated the sky and the floor of the treasure-stadium in it dark scarlet color.


    Then Alex who had dark scarlet fire burn continuously on his body like he was on fire snapped his fingers. And all of a sudden, the flame vanished like it was never there.


    Now gazing at the people on the high table, or more precisely, Olivia, Alex gave a slight bow.


    Then he straightened himself back with the aura of indomitability erupting from his valiant figure.


    Suddenly, loud clapping sounds began to ring out.


    It was the entire audience clapping for Alex with great astonishment and unfathomable awe in their eyes.


    "Alright everyone. Now that the lover of my Great Holy Daughter has won the competition, then I can declare him as her husband" The principal of the Immovable Mountain Academy who had flew into the air delightfully said with a loud booming voice.


    Immediately after he said this, everyone began to clap again with unbounded gladness in their hearts. They knew that he truly deserved to be the one to take away her precious and priceless virginity. And this time, the claps coming from them sounded thunderously that it seemed like they were all in a thunderstorm.


    "So everyone, the exhilarating battle has ended. It''s time to go back to your homes or workplaces. But I believe that you all enjoyed the battle, right? Now, I would like to tell all of you something which is the truth. To be honest, even though I have seen a lot of things that would make me never be astonished by whatever I may see again anywhere, I just couldn''t help but be deeply astounded by this boy. I was simply totally amazed. His battle prowess, fighting skills are in one word, monstrous. I never thought that he would be able to deliver so much. He simply gave us many delightful and surprising things to see. All that he did on this battle platform, I really never expected it. From releasing radiantforce energy which is difficult to comprehend to fighting geniuses from about fourteen academies at once and knocking them away with a single attack, and then finally, chasing away a powerful soul cultivator. Isn''t that just deeply amazing? No wonder Olivia who is the Great Holy Daughter of my academy loves him so much. Anytime I look into her eyes when she is looking at this boy, I see nothing but strong, towering flames of eternal love. She may love him for his truly epic attractive look, but I am certain she likes him for his shocking strength and surprising abilities. Like she said, he''s unmatchable. And from what we have witnessed, she is right. He truly can''t be compared to anyone in his cultivation stage, as he''s faster, stronger and powerful." The principal of the Immovable Mountain Academy said with unbounded happiness in his tone.


    Now, from all that everyone have witnessed, his school''s fame would greatly shoot up.


    People would respect his students the more, and the Great Holy daughters and Sons that the academy produced.


    Although Olivia who was also a Great Holy Daughter did something that was very shameful and embarrassing, people wouldn''t really have anything to say again about it as the boy that took her virginity was one that contended with all the geniuses from all the academies in the city and defeated everyone of them.


    His battle power was simply matchless, and he wasn''t arrogant, unlike the geniuses from these academies that behave like they were gods, as they expected people to cower before them and give them anything that they demanded free of charge. Also, they expected people to bow to them when they were passing by. How outrageous.


    The principal of the Immovable Mountain Academy simply felt extremely great.


    Then continuing his speech, he excitedly said "Now, if we all remember, I once said that any one who would knock down this boy from the stage would get a massive reward from me. Well, since he has won the competition to secure Olivia''s hands in marriage, he has also won the prize which I am going to give out."


    Then with a sudden flick of his finger at Alex, a spatial ring appeared and shot towards Alex who then caught it with a smile in his face. Then he stowed it away in his mom''s spatial ring.


    When the principal of the Immovable Mountain did that, he returned to his seat that was at the high table. And the radiant smile that had long appeared in his face when he started his speech, was still seen in his face as he returned to his seat.


    "Thank you very much senior" Alex immediately and politely said after he caught the spatial ring which contained his reward for winning the competition.


    Then before Alex could leave the platform and walk towards any place that he had in mind, the principal of the Scarlet Flame academy surprisingly stood to his feet. And with towering furiousness in his tone, he questioned with a loud voice.


    "Why did you attack my student with a stealth, poison-laced attack?"


    Huh?


    Alex was taken aback.


    Why would he want to do that? He always loved to fight fair and square.


    Then to defend himself from the accusation that was seemingly, blindly made against him, Alex said without fear in his tone "Senior, I would never try to use inglorious or underhanded means to win a battle. I love to fight battles with my abilities and would never employ the use of poison-etched weapons. It just isn''t my style"


    Hahaha!


    The principal of the Scarlet Fire academy laughed raucously.


    "So how did a poisoned needle find his way into his body?" He asked angrily. Then he continued as he questioned further "And don''t tell me that you have the physical strength to hurl a needle that would pierce through the armor that he wore. You must have been aided by some treasures that gave you great hurling power. So, I would ask again. Why did you do that to my student?"


    Alex looked at this principal with furrowed brows. Then he understood that he was trying to create trouble for him, as he was sure that everyone, including him who was a powerful cultivator, would see when the genius from his academy threw a needle at him so that when he was pierced by it and was instantly greatly weakened by the poison that would be flowing in his body, he would be overwhelmed, humiliated and disgracefully knocked off the stage.


    "Sir, I didn''t try to do anything to your student. It was your student who tried to do something insidious to me. I am sure that you saw when he fired the needle at me which I caught and then threw back at him using only my strength. I didn''t make use of any throwing-purpose treasure" Alex replied.


    "Shut up! So what are you trying to say? That I didn''t know what I saw?" The principal of the Scarlet Fire academy furiously asked.


    Alex''s eyes then shone from observing the principal''s unusual movement using his powerful vision, and then his emotions from using his suddenly activated emotion-sense.


    Then before he could be hit by a devastating wave of energy that was abruptly unleashed at him, Alex readily used his amazing physical strength to leap away from the stage and unto the ground in the far distance. And once he landed, he took off at great speed in the direction of the high table. His aim was to run towards Olivia''s family as he was certain that they would protect him. He wasn''t sure why his uncle hadn''t shown himself.


    As he dashed towards where the high table was, a few of the principals began to fight the principal of the Immovable Mountain Academy and the other principals that were here. They also fought Olivia''s family members who couldn''t extend a hand of protection towards Alex as they wanted to defend themselves from their challengers'' attacks.


    So, in this manner, the whole place was thrown into chaos.


    Then very quickly, people stood from their seats and began to rush out of the treasure-stadium through the numerous exits that it had in large groups. And as they scurried away in the massive groups that they had formed to the various places that they all came from to watch the match, they couldn''t help but think why all these was suddenly happening, and even began to worry about Alex''s safety.


    ***


    "Why are you folks suddenly doing all these? I don''t understand. What exactly has gotten into you people?" The principal of the Immovable Mountain Academy asked loudly with deep puzzlement and great wrath in his tone, and this made him sound like an angered beast.


    "The principal of the Scarlet Fire academy has promised us many cultivation resources that are exceedingly rare, and tremendous amounts of sapphirstones if we can hold you back till he finishes what he plans to do." One replied with a wicked smile in his face.

 Chapter 269: The Appearance

    "What?" The principal of the Immovable Mountain Academy asked in shock and anger.


    He had understood what the principal meant by that.


    Then he continued to rapidly unleash attacks at the principal that was fighting him so that he could break away from this engagement and fly towards Alex to protect him.


    At another side of the high table...


    "What''s the meaning of these nonsense that you guys are doing?" Olivia''s mom, Stacy, asked with annoyance in her voice.


    "This is because the principal of the Scarlet Fire academy has planned something great for the boy that would become the husband of your daughter in future" One of the principals who were attacking Olivia''s family replied.


    ...


    When Alex evaded the killing attack that was unleashed by the principal of the Scarlet Fire academy, the principal became terribly shocked.


    He was shocked that Alex could predict when he was going to attack. But he wouldn''t know that Alex detected his intention with his powerful emotion-sense which had suddenly come up.


    As Alex dashed towards the high table to go meet Olivia''s family, he immediately stopped when he saw that they were being attacked by some of the other principals. Then he thought of what next to do.


    But the moment that he started contemplating the next action to take, a powerful force suddenly engulfed his body. This was a restrictive force that was put out by the principal of the Scarlet Fire academy from where he stood.


    Then the force surrounding Alex''s figure carried him off into the the air and towards where the principal of the Scarlet Fire academy floated at.


    "Well, to be honest boy, I was amazed by your abilities. If you were from my academy, you would have grown into a powerful and ruthless cultivator. But now, you would have to die. Why, because you dared to hurt a student of mine. And in my school, we teach viciousness, unforgiveness and total elimination of one''s challenger, whether they are one''s enemies or not. That''s the only way we can grow to become fearsome and be greatly dreaded by every soul in the world. In that way, we would become powerful, as the aura of viciousness and ominousness that would erupt from us would frighten all beings and weaken their abilities. So be ready to be destroyed, and your unborn generations totally erased from this realmverse. Haha" The principal of the Scarlet Fire academy coldly said and laughed wickedly once Alex appeared in front of him.


    "Don''t you dare!" Olivia''s mom''s voice boomed out in great rage from where she was.


    Then with a lift using her telekinetic power, Olivia who was enveloped by a powerful forcefield was carried off the platform that they were on. And with a strong blast of pyroforce energy from her hands, she broke away from the encirclement of the principals and speedily flew towards where the principal of the Scarlet Fire academy was. While the other principals also immediately flew after her with the intention of  stopping her.


    The principal of the Scarlet Fire academy simply ignored Olivia''s mom who was furiously dashing towards him and clenched his fist, and as he did so, the invisible restraining force that he put out which completely engulfed Alex''s body instantly shrunk and compressed. And by causing this, just about anything enveloped by this telekinetic force would explode into pieces from it extreme contraction.


    But nothing actually happened to Alex who was still suspended in the air by some force that felt gentle to him.


    Then someone who had mysteriously appeared in the sky, slowly descended to the ground. And as he descended, everyone''s attention was pulled towards him, both within and outside the treasure-stadium.


    With everyone now looking up and wondering who that was, the person floating down from the sky finally arrived a few feet above the principal of the Scarlet Fire academy in the air and then gazed at him with a cold smile plastered in his face.


    "Hello" He greeted gently. But this gentle greeting caused the blood in the body of the principal from the Scarlet Fire academy to violently churn.


    Then he continued "I have been watching the match between this boy and the geniuses of the other academies. He fought fair and square, but you said that he cheated. So in what way did he cheat during the battle? I would like to know"


    The principal of the Scarlet Fire academy who was shocked by the sudden appearance of this person became lost of any word to say.


    Also, his heart began to race way faster than normal that his heartbeat could be heard if a mortal listened to it carefully. Besides, his skin had become pale-white from the fear that had surfaced in his heart and engulfed every inch of it.


    Then to quickly reply to this man''s question before he became angry, he said in a stuttering manner which actually resulted from the dread that that had encompassed his very heart, mind and soul.


    "A-Actually, he d-didn''t c-ch-cheat. I-I was o-only trying t-to scare him. Please"


    This person that had just appeared gave a smile.


    "Okay." He said.


    Then before he could say or do anything, Alex hurriedly said "Uncle wait, I want his spatial ring"


    "Oh! Alright" Alex''s uncle, Houston said with a smile.


    When Alex called Houston ''uncle'', the eyes of the principal of the Scarlet Fire academy shone with great shock.


    ''Is he his uncle? Oh no'' He said in a gloomy tone inwardly.


    But hidden deep within this shock was intense anger. Anger that Alex was actually asking for his spatial ring.


    "Give me your spatial ring" Houston said authoritatively.


    Very quickly, the principal of the Scarlet Fire academy pulled off his spatial ring from his finger and gave it to Houston who accepted it with a smile.


    "Here" Houston threw the spatial ring at Alex who caught it as he was lowered to the ground.


    "W-Would you l-let me go now?" The principal of the Scarlet Fire academy asked fearfully.


    "Sure" Houston said.


    Then the principal of the Scarlet Fire academy quickly shot into the air to fly far away from here.


    However, before he could even move an inch in the air, a strong constrictive force suddenly came upon him.


    Then the principal of the Scarlet Fire academy became perplexed by the enveloping constraining force that had suddenly manifested around him. But realizing in the next instant who put out that force, he quickly said with a sad and gloomy tone in his voice. "But you said you would let me go?"


    The principal of the Scarlet Fire academy asked politely, but Houston could still sense the great anger and vengefulness that was concealed in his tone.


    "Yes, I promised that I would let you go to hell" Houston coldly said.


    Then with eyes that glowed in deep blue, the body of the principal of the Scarlet Fire academy burst into an inferno-sized flame.


    It was actually the heat of his body that had augmented greatly in temperature which then transformed into bright blue raging flames that began to ferociously burn his body.


    Then in the next instant, his body vanished into thin air.


    It had been burned into nothingness.


    That was why Alex quickly asked for the principal''s ring, as he was sure that his uncle would cause everything on the body of the principal to burn into nothing.


    Then when Houston focused on the people at the high table, many of the principals who felt they were guilty because of their greedy actions began to shiver and tremble in fear. And now that the battle between Olivia''s mom and a few of the other principals had stopped, she flew to where Houston was and greeted him respectfully.


    Same with the rest of her family who appeared a few moment later. They had flew from the high table towards where he was.


    Houston nodded at them with a smile in his face.


    "We are sincerely sorry that we made you appear. If we knew that you were his uncle, we would have given Olivia''s hand in marriage to him without a need for any competition to see if he''s truly worthy of her. Once again, we are sincerely sorry" Olivia''s mom, Stacy, said with politeness in her tone.


    She was really going to kill Olivia when they got back to their mansion.


    Why didn''t she tell her that the boy who took her virginity was related to Houston?


    This question that rocked her mind and soul made her greatly pissed off.


    However, she was extremely happy about this shocking news.


    The delight that had appeared in her heart which she struggled to conceal from appearing in her face knew no bound. It was simply immeasurable.


    So this peerlessly handsome and super-strong boy that took her daughter''s virginity was actually related to this man? She still felt like she was dreaming, but she also didn''t want to wake up from it.


    But she however believed that this was reality.


    Now, they needed to fear no one anymore. Every opposition and adversary would back far away from them once they hear that the boy who would be the husband of her daughter in future, was related to Houston. Just thinking about this made her immensely glad. Now, from Olivia''s actions, they have bonded to possibly the most powerful man in the continent in this Planeverse which was also a mortal world. But if she knew that Houston was an Ancient, one that ruled over a Greatverse but left it to take care of Alex because of his brother; to morally bring him up and to train him as Alex possessed literally, hundreds of astonishing gifts to start and finish what they couldn''t even dare to start, she could faint and wake many months later.


    "Good day, senior" Olivia said with a bow.


    But fear and nervousness could be detected in her tone.


    The fright and nervousness in her tone resulted from her being overly worried that Alex''s uncle might not approve of her in any way. Why she thought so was because she felt that Houston might not like the way she lost her virginity to Alex at such a young age, and so, might feel that she isn''t the right person for Alex, and that she was a whore.


    "Olivia, right?" Houston asked with a smile in his face.


    "Yes, senior" Olivia quickly replied and in a respectful tone.


    "Alright." Houston said. Then he continued, looking at Alex who looked back at him with a smile "Are you sure that this boy is really deserving of you?"


    "Yes, senior" Olivia immediately replied.


    "Okay. But if he gives you trouble, come report him to me so I may severely punish him for you" Houston said warmly.


    "Certainly senior." Olivia replied with a glad smile.


    At this time, seeing how gentle and accommodating Alex''s uncle was, the nervousness in her tone had vanished. Then she began to reply to his questions with her usual confident and beautiful voice.


    "Good. Then I shall leave you guys to talk. I have something to do" Houston said with an amiable smile.


    Then he shot a pencil-thin ray of resplendent light from his fingertip into the distance. This then turned into a large portal at the distance that it had reached. And once this ray turned into a space-portal, it immediately began to rotate and swiftly drew closer to Houston''s figure.


    Then once the portal swallowed up his figure, he vanished, appearing before the huge gate of the Scarlet Fire academy.

 Chapter 270: Enemies retreat

    After Houston vanished from where he floated at, Olivia walked towards Alex and stood by his side.


    "Hello" Alex smilingly greeted Olivia''s mom, Stacy, who then greeted back with a jovial smile in her face.


    Then she asked "What''s your name?"


    "Alex" Alex respectfully replied.


    "Good. Alex, you were amazing. I enjoyed the battle that you fought. Where did you learn to fight like that? I believe your uncle couldn''t have thought you those." Stacy said with a curious tone.


    "Well, he thought me some. While I learnt how to do many more all by myself." Alex replied proudly.


    "Hmm. You are indeed very hardworking. Continue being diligent, and with time, you would be feared by all everywhere that you may go to in the future. Alright. Let me leave you cute lovebirds to talk." Stacy said with a naughty smile appearing in her face. While Olivia shook her head at her.


    Stacy then looked at the rest of the family members and signaled them to leave, while she flew away.


    They were done here.


    Alex had won the competition and was now the future husband of Olivia. No one in this world would able to dispute that again.


    Looking at Olivia with a light of guilt in his eyes, Alex softly said "Olivia, I am truly sorry for what I allowed you go through at the academy and at your family''s mansion"


    "It''s okay Alex. No need to apologize for that. Now, my deeds which feel extremely shameful to people are non-existent, which is all because of your domineering and matchless powers and abilities. What we did is past us now, so let''s leave it far behind"


    "Alright. So, how''s Nailah? Has she broken through to become a cultivator?" Alex asked.


    "Sure. She is now even at the mid-phase entry stage" Olivia replied.


    Alex couldn''t help but become shocked at this piece of delighting news.


    "Wow. That''s quick. Well, it''s right for her cultivation speed to be very fast as she has complete affinity to radiantforce energy." Alex said with understanding in his tone.


    Olivia nodded.


    "Well, I guess you would be on your way now, right?" She asked.


    "Sure. I have many things to do" Alex responded.


    "Okay. But when would you come to visit me and your sister?" Olivia questioned.


    "Sooner than you can imagine" Alex replied with a smile hung in his face.


    "Hmm. Alright." Olivia said and nodded.


    Alex then looked at Olivia who gazed back at him with deep affection in her eyes. Then they walked towards each other.


    Now staring into each other''s eyes affectionately, Olivia gently clasped Alex''s head with her snow-white dainty hands who then also put his hands around her waist and began to savor the smoothness and softness of her beautiful and faultless skin.


    Then in the next moment, Olivia took Alex''s lips into hers and began to exchange saliva with him as their bright red tongues rubbed passionately over the other.


    With soft kissing sounds continually ringing out, Alex began to rub his hands around Olivia''s smooth and spotless back. Then moving his hands down her back to her bubble-shaped bottoms, he grabbed the small mass he could grab and began to caress it.


    They kissed for sometime before Olivia pulled her lips out of Alex''s and just embraced him, allowing her supple mounds to press hard against his large muscular chest.


    "I have to go now. See you when you come to visit us" Olivia gently whispered into Alex''s ear who then nodded with a pleasured smile in his face.


    Then she kissed his cheek and pulled out of the tight embrace. And Immediately after she did so, without looking back at Alex who stared affectionately at her back as she walked away gracefully, she walked out of the stadium and into the street where her female classmates from the academy that she studied at came to meet her and began to clap for her with awe and admiration in their eyes, and respect radiating off their voices.


    Not long, the principal of the Immovable Mountain Academy arrived at Alex''s side and said "Boy, well done. And to be honest, I am exceedingly happy to know and meet you. Besides, just by befriending one of the Great Holy Daughters of my academy, you have brought an immense unquestionable power to back us. Thank you. And I wish that your cultivation journey which would be full of odd and terrifying obstacles as you grow into a fine man would be effortlessly surmounted by you."


    "Thank you senior" Alex said with appreciation in his tone.


    "Don''t mention. Just keep doing your thing and keep shining. And I am sure that one day, the whole world would know who you are" The principal of the Immovable Mountain Academy said.


    Alex nodded his head. But within, he said ''Definitely''


    The principal then waved his hand and everyone that remained in the treasure-stadium were rapidly teleported out of it which then instantly shrunk to a smaller size and flew into the waiting hand of the Immovable Mountain Academy''s principal who stowed it away into his spatial ring.


    With all within the stadium now appearing at the city''s center as the massive stadium had been moved away, the principal and the rest of the instructors that he brought to come regulate the match flew back to the academy. While the students from the academy who were at the Earth Adept stage and Sky Lord stage walked back to the academy with Olivia at their front.


    She was like a queen while they looked like her entourage.


    Alex looked at the crowd of people that were here. Anyways, it was all the crowd that had gathered to watch the match taking place in the stadium that still remained. None of them had left.


    Actually, they all left when hell broke loose and everywhere became chaotic. They had fled for their lives as the waves of power coming from those mighty cultivators who were principals of academies would instantly turn them into mists of blood. But they had come back when someone that was popular for his ruthlessness and astonishing godly power appeared and restored order to the greatly disordered situation that had suddenly occurred.


    The large crowd of people that were gathered looked at him with awe and reverence in their eyes.


    So this extremely cute, young boy is related to that man?


    That was the question that continuously surfaced in their minds and shook it.


    No wonder he''s so domineering. If not, he wouldn''t be able to beat those genius-level, peak-phase, Earth adept stage cultivators. He has studied deity-level cultivation and battle methods. That is why he is so tyrannical and powerful.


    They all concluded with finality in their minds.


    However, what they didn''t know was that, even if one studied empyrean-level cultivation and battle methods, one wouldn''t be able to beat opponents who were much more higher than he or she in cultivation rank due to the denseness and quantity of their energies. But because Alex''s cultivated energies contained divineforce energy which was also called god-energy, their grades reached the next cultivation rank. However, it wasn''t officially in that rank. It only mimicked the density that one''s energy would attain upon reaching that rank. So one could say that Alex''s challengers were battling Alex who could be seen as a false initial-stage, Sky Lord stage cultivator.


    Alex looked at them and gave a smile. And from the way he smiled at them, some of the young girls and young ladies instantly fainted. One wouldn''t know what these would actually do if Alex actually approached them. While the men had their eyes glow with envy which also radiated veneration. They could only be jealous of his amazing stunning looks, his powerful mind-shaking abilities, and his terrifying background.


    After Alex smiled at them, he quickly walked away.


    He didn''t like being stared at in such a manner. The only time he would like that is when the female that he has affection for looked at him in that manner. And as he walked away, the large crowd of people that were gathered before him parted to make way for him to move.


    However, within this crowd were the students of the Ancient Heavenly cauldron academy, and the brother and sister of Drille, the bone-sawing Evilchild.


    They would have gone to take action against Alex, like instantly kill him or abduct him. But upon seeing his uncle who was someone that all the academies, even if they united against feared so much, suddenly appeared, they stopped in their tracks and blocked away their evil intentions from emanating from them. Or if it were sensed by Alex''s uncle, they were sure that they would become cinders in the next instant.


    Now that they knew Alex''s terrific background, they would change their plans so that they could succeed in killing him and without letting his extremely powerful uncle know about it. Or they and the academy that they were from would become a thing of the distant past.


    After gazing at Alex furiously for sometime and not emitting their killing intents, they left the crowd of people that had gathered to look reverently and excitedly at Alex, and then walked into the far distance where they wouldn''t be noticed by the people here. When they reached a spot where their next actions would be unnoticed, they took into the air and flew at great speeds back to their academy.


    ***


    Many days later...


    "Guys, have you guys heard that The Godly Punisher has established a small organization and is recruiting cultivators from the condensation stage and earth adept stage?" Someone who had ran from somewhere into their midst asked with great delight in his tone. He was their friend and had quickly come to inform them about the latest news that would soon rock the whole city.


    "Really?! That''s so frigging awesome!! Please, tell me the location of his organization. I am going there right now to join." Another said excitedly.


    "Yea. We all have to go there right now. He has limited slots for people that wants to join. He is only accepting fifty condensation stage cultivators and hundred earth adept stage cultivators. So we have to hurry down there and become members of his organization before the slots for recruitments finishes, which I believe by now is remaining only a few." The person that brought the news to them said with urgency in his tone.


    With a nod of their heads, they hurried there.


    ***


    Alex who was seated in the cross-legged position on a mat placed on the ground within a large building that was bought with a tremendous sum of yellow sapphirstones which were low-quality sapphirstones, snapped open his eyes which glowed brightly and then dimmed the next moment.


    "It''s time" He said with eyes that shone with seriousness.


    Then he brought out the miniaturized Azure Beastsman palace from his dad''s spatial necklace. And with space abruptly distorting around him, he vanished from where he was seated in the lotus position and appeared in a large, expensively and extravagantly decorated hall in the beautiful palace.


    "Welcome, young one." An ancient voice suddenly sounded out.


    Then it said further; "In a moment".


    And suddenly, a seemingly wretched and miserable man who looked like he was going through a lot of agonizing pain and had a sorrowful look in his eyes appeared before Alex in the air. Then upon seeing Alex, the look of sorrow in his eyes predictably changed to a venomous and wrathful gaze.

 Chapter 271: PAIN!!!

    "Hello" Alex greeted with a smile.


    "Brat, you are here again. What do you want? Don''t tell me that you are here because of the direction to that mysterious cave?" This person who was Jared asked with mockery in his tone.


    "Well, that is what I want and why I came here. So, are you ready to tell me?" Alex asked with seriousness in his tone.


    "Nope. I won''t tell you a thing. I repeat, a thing" Jared coldly replied.


    "Hmm. You want to be returned to that cage that has indefinitely lingering unbearable pressure and be forgotten forever in there?" Alex asked with a wicked tone in his voice.


    "Haha. You can return me there and completely forget about me. When I eventually die because of it, you wouldn''t get the direction to the cave. And that would be your tremendous loss, you fucking bastard" Jared said with a voice that radiated extreme wrath and vengefulness.


    Then he spat in Alex''s face who readily dodged it and launched a powerful, echoing slap at his face.


    Pah!!


    Once Alex''s palm struck his face, a loud sound rang out while the shape of Alex''s palm could be seen in his face.


    Alex then ignored Jared''s venomous gaze and sank his mind into his sea of thoughts as he began to contemplate tons of what to do to compel Jared to give him the location of that mysterious cave which he wanted to know so badly.


    Then a simple thought struck him. And very quickly, he carried it out.


    He abruptly sent a sliver of his perception into the danger-signaling treasure at the center of his forehead and asked the treasure-spirit inhabiting the space in the danger-detection treasure.


    "Ashbolt" Alex said.


    "Young Master. It has been a great while since you last came here to see me or to ask for my help or assistance. So what''s it that you may want my help with? But if you are here to ask for the keys into the storage rooms of your dad''s mighty treasure-palace, I am sorry for I wouldn''t be able to oblige to that kind of request" A voice that would invoke the feeling of ancientness in anyone sounded out a few seconds after Alex called out its name.


    "Oh! Not that Ashbolt. I am not here for those. What I actually want is your help to compel an expert that I caught and turned into a miserable captive to say the location of a hidden secret cave to me." Alex said with proudness in his tone. Who at his cultivation level would be able to incarcerate an human cultivation expert that is at the Great Saint stage?


    Then he continued as he started to sugar-coat his words so as to get the help of Ashbolt "And once I can get the location of this cave, I would be transported to a strange, uncharted land where I would get tons of resources that would make me grow very quickly into a fearsome cultivator, and possibly cultivate new and powerful energies that have not been recorded in the large ancient book that only possesses detailed information of just about thirty percent of the realm-energies that has been discovered and have methods to cultivate. Therefore, once I can get my hands on these, collecting the keys into the storage vaults of my dad''s immense treasure-palace from you is only a matter of time."


    "Hmm" Ashbolt said as it began to think.


    Alex''s father had told him to be strict with Alex, so he didn''t want to jump into immediately helping Alex. It first wanted Alex to be able achieve his goals or objectives without the help of anyone. But if he couldn''t, then it could assist him.


    "Alright. So how do you want me to help you?" Ashbolt asked.


    "Can I get something, like a serum that would cause my stupid captive immense pain and force him to totally spill out the truth?" Alex asked.


    "Oh that. It''s very easy. Check your dad''s or mom''s storage treasures for truth-compulsion serums. You would find them in small bottles in great amounts in their storage treasures." Ashbolt responded.


    "Nah. I can''t do that. My parent''s heaps of materials and resources are mountainous in size and nearly innumerable in quantities. Till now, I haven''t figured out a percent of what many of them can do, as I definitely can''t go through the mentally transmitted information about all of them which number in the trillions." Alex said dejectedly.


    Then he continued with a smile in his face "I would only go through all of them when I have more than one thousand clones who are above the Celestial Ruler cultivation stage"


    And before Ashbolt could say anything, Alex immediately said "Just kidding. But can you please give me that kind of serum from within the treasure that you inhabit. I know that apart from it being a peerless danger-signaling treasure, it can also act as a storage treasure. I am sure that there would be many large, hidden vaults of treasures or resources in there. So, please give me the serum. I have no time to start rummaging through the many different types and astronomical quantities of liquid serums in my parent''s interspatial containment treasures. Please" Alex begged.


    "Hmm. Alright." Ashbolt replied. Then it asked "What cultivation stage is this cultivator captive of yours at?"


    "The Great Saint stage" Alex replied.


    "Okay" Ashbolt responded.


    Then space warped in front of Alex as a small bottle that contained a thick green liquid appeared in the air before him.


    Alex immediately grabbed it in his palm and looked at Jared who narrowed his eyes with a light of uncertainty in it.


    He wasn''t sure what was in that bottle. But he was sure that it wasn''t poison and that it was something which wouldn''t cause him much harm.


    Looking at Alex, he gave a mocking smile.


    This smile gave Alex the feeling that no matter what he did, all his effort to get the location of that cave would be futile.


    Alex smiled back.


    ''We shall see'' Alex uttered within.


    Then he removed the lid from the bottle and poured the entire liquid content of the small transparent bottle into Jared''s mouth which was forced open by the palace-spirit and kept that way.


    When this liquid got to his stomach, it turned into a large amount of truthforce energy which then began to circulate about in his body. This energy, also called truth-compulsion energy or truth-coercion energy was a type of realm-energy that coerces or compels anyone whether mortal, cultivator or divine-level cultivator to tell the complete truth about something that he, she or it was questioned about. Once a lie was being said in response to the question that was asked, the person would suffer. And by suffering, it was a pain that the person hadn''t ever gone through in his or her life that he or she was going to experience. An agonizing pain that couldn''t imagined or fathomed would be what one would be inflicted with upon providing a false or incorrect response to a question. No one would simply be able to withstand the extreme aggressiveness and fathomless viciousness of the truth-forcing realm-energy once one speaks falsehoods, or didn''t give the correct or absolute reply to a simple or complicated question that was asked.


    Alex waited for a few seconds for the energy to permeate Jared''s entire body.


    Then with a wicked smile hung on his lips and a cold gaze in his eyes, Alex asked relaxedly and patiently "So, tell me the location to the cave that you entered which transported you to an unknown region"


    "Haha. I will tell you nothing." Jared laughed and said.


    Then after feeling his body for sometime, he said with a mocking smile in his face "It even seems that the trash you poured down my mouth has no effect on my bod... Arghhh!"


    He screamed out in pain in the next moment as his skin turned pale-white instantly and began to wriggle like it was been burrowed by worms which also moved across within it. Also, his eyes were bloodshot and one could see his face squirming.


    The pain that Jared was beginning to feel couldn''t be compared to anything that the greatest-ranked torturer in the world would be able to accomplish.


    His entire organs felt like they were burning and freezing at the same time. Also, it felt like they were been stretched and then cut in thousands of places at once. Besides, he felt that his body was under a pressure that could cause him to shatter into pieces. Furthermore, he felt like every bones in his body were filled with lava and then buried deep in a place that had great, sub-zero degree temperature. Although the greatly unbearable hotness and coldness that Jared felt were supposed to cancel out each other as they were extreme opposite temperatures, they didn''t. Instead, they multiplied each other''s degree of pain infliction by many folds. From this, one would think that Jared was only suffering an illusionary attack. That wasn''t so. He was truly experiencing the intense burning and extreme freezing effects that he felt acting on his organs. Then apart from the organs of his body going through these extreme temperature effects and being cut and stretched, the skin of his body began to writhe; they twisted and contorted like millions of tiny thick-skinned worms were moving in them. Also, it felt to Jared like it was being stretched. And surprisingly, Jared didn''t die from all these that he suffered.


    After sometime, all the effects that he felt in his body and on his body which caused him a great degree of pain vanished like they had never surfaced.


    "So, were you thrilled by the beautiful and admirable performance of my wonder-working serum?" Alex asked with a happy smile.


    This was definitely going to coerce Jared to give him the location to that cave.


    Alex then asked again, with patience and calmness in his tone "Give me the location of that cave."


    "I will never tell yo... Arghhhhhh!!!" Jared tried to say. But he couldn''t complete his speech as the effects produced by the truthforce energy that had suffused his body sprung up into action again, causing him to loudly shriek in pain.


    Now was worse than before as he began to feel like as if raging, uncanny electricity arcs were moving about and in his body, adding to the greatly excruciating pain that he suffered from the freezing and burning effect that he was already inflicted with. Also, he felt that his eyes were being continuously stabbed by long, acid-etched needles, and his nose, by large, red-hot needles which shot in with a lot of momentum, causing him another level of pain. Besides, he felt like dozens of small scorpions were in his mouth and were continually stinging his tongue with their caustic venom-carrying tails, and that his body was being continuously impaled by many thin swords in an instant, and his heart by flaming spears. What made the second round of pain-infliction by the truth-compelling energy worst was that the duration of the pain-afflicting effects lasted many times longer than when they first appeared. Now, they lasted for a couple of hours than the many minutes when they were first generated by the extremely vicious truth-energy.


    After the effects disappeared and his body was back to normal, Jared immediately shouted in great horror and dread "I will tell you. I will tell you. I will tell you all that you need to know. Please"

 Chapter 272: Shocking news, Schemes

    After the effects disappeared and his body was back to normal, Jared immediately shouted in great horror and dread "I will tell you. I will tell you. I will tell you all that you need to know. Please"


    "Okay. Then give me the location of the cave. I am waiting" Alex said with a smile hung on his lips.


    "It''s not in this city, nor in this state. You would first have to get to Crowell state, and then Gronoma city." Jared said with great sadness radiating off his tone. Now, he was sharing what was meant to be secret only to him to another person.


    However he continued as he couldn''t tell if those unbearable pains that he felt would act up again.


    "When you get to this city, you would have to go to the valley called Hot Sand valley. It''s in this valley that you would search in the hundreds of mountains found there for the interspatial membrane that would transport you through the void to another world." Jared said.


    "Hmm." Alex said.


    And after waiting for sometime and seeing that Jared was fine; that the truth-compelling power of the truthforce energy which had permeated his body didn''t re-manifest to force Jared to speak the truth, he believed, totally.


    "Thank you. I shall reward you for this" Alex said with a smile.


    "Palace-spirit, take him away" Alex said.


    Then Jared who before he could talk was rapidly teleported back to the cage that he was brought out from.


    However, the pressure that acted on him in there had vanished. It was only an ordinary cage now. But one he definitely wouldn''t be able to break out from. And even if he eventually did, he would instantly be eliminated by the palace-spirit who had total control over the palace''s offensive energy weapons.


    Alex then sent a sliver of his perception into the danger-signaling treasure and said "Ashbolt, thank you very much. The serum that you gave to me worked perfectly. Do you have an idea of what was used to make the serum?"


    "Yes, the revelation lotus. The liquid extracted from it would instantly turn into truthforce energy once it get into the body of anything and then force them to speak nothing the truth when asked a question." Ashbolt replied.


    "Oh. Truthforce energy. I get it. Thanks once again." Alex said.


    Then he pulled out that sliver of his mind from the treasure.


    "Palace-spirit, I am ready to leave." Alex said into the air.


    "Alright" The voice of the palace-spirit rang out.


    Space distorted around Alex''s body which then vanished and re-appeared in the building that he bought.


    Immediately he appeared in a large room in this building, he stood from his cross-legged sitting position on the ground and went out of the room.


    ***


    "Here he comes. Just look at him, so dashing and powerful" One said with a praising tone in his voice. While the others agreed to what this person said by nodding their heads. And just like that, praises began to ring out.


    When Alex got to their front, he told them to cease the praises that they were showering upon him. He wasn''t a kind of person that liked being praised. In fact, if possible, he wouldn''t let anyone know who he was, as he was the type that didn''t like being in the spotlight. But his stunning look and then his abilities were attention-stealers. They would simply pull the attention of everyone towards him.


    Immediately their praises died down, Alex began his speech.


    "So, um, I want to start an organization. And the name that I plan to give my organization is the Punisher''s Society. Why I named it so is because one of my numerous objectives is to punish every fiendish cultivator. We would seek out and destroy every nefarious or sinister cultivation expert in our lands. Therefore, to achieve this aim that could result in our complete obliteration if our enemies become angered and ally against us, I would want only the experts who I would deem very strong to be by my side and support me in my quest to punish every evil cultivator" Alex said.


    Once the people who had gathered heard this, their bodies and souls shook. They couldn''t believe what Alex just said.


    He was going to seek out and eliminate every evil cultivator and wants only the strongest to be by his sides?


    The hell!


    They said in their minds.


    These could result in their destruction.


    Although they know that there would be many benefits to be obtained, there was simply only death and destruction in the end.


    Even if his uncle was extremely powerful, he wouldn''t bother about them if problems arose. Although he would appear to protect them if troubles may arise, but if it becomes too much for him to handle as they didn''t know his degree of power, he would take Alex only with him and probably leave them behind or just take a handful of them with him.


    However, Alex intentionally said this to chase back the ones that just wanted to join because of the benefits that they might obtain and because of his uncle.


    Alex saw the shocked expressions in their faces and smiled inwardly. Then he continued "And don''t forget that I only want fifty condensation stage experts and hundred Earth Adept stage experts. However, I would accept anyone from the initial phase to the peak phase, as long you as you can satisfy my requirements. So, if you think that you are strong enough, and would love to help me achieve my objective of slaying evil cultivators, please step forward to take a simple test that would qualify you to be part of my organization. And if you can''t do so, please leave."


    When Alex said this, people began to leave one after the other with sadness written all over their previously delighted faces. They would love to join and do whatever Alex would order them to do without questioning, even if was something completely weird or strange. But they were scared of endangering their lives and that of their families. Alex''s uncle would definitely protect him when troubles that he couldn''t handle arose. But what about them? Even if they were lucky to escape from the vengeful attacks of their enemies, what about their families? All of them would be tortured beyond the extreme and then wickedly slain. They couldn''t imagine their mothers, wives, sons and daughters having their brains, hearts, stomachs, bladder and what else removed from them.


    Not long, out of the hundreds of people that had gathered, only fifty remained.


    Alex smiled at the small number that remained.


    He himself didn''t know what test to give them to know if they were qualified to be members of his Punishers Society. But since they could remain despite the frightening thing that he mentioned, then they were fit to be a part of his society. With them remaining simply proved that they were valiant cultivation experts, ones who were ready to risk it all in search of resources that would take their cultivation level to the next, as they knew that Alex would definitely reward them for achieving his objectives.


    "Welcome to my society" Alex said to the people in front of him who then nodded their heads with smiles hung in it.


    "Follow me" Alex said.


    Then they walked behind him into the organization, where Alex went to give them positions.


    So like that, Alex started his organization with only fifty members, in which forty were in the Earth Adept stage, and ten in the Condensation stage.


    ***


    Many days later, news of The Punishers society spread throughout the entire city in which all the academies and every other organization got a hang of.


    When they heard that Alex had established an organization he named Punishers Society. They became shocked.


    Was he even qualified to establish his own organization? So they thought, as Alex was just too young to be the founder of an organization. However, they felt that Alex could do so because of his uncle whose power they couldn''t fathom.


    When the news got to the Immovable Mountain Academy, they were surprised and joyful. This boy who was the lover of their Great Holy Daughter was starting to do amazing and shocking things. Also, they felt that this marked the start of the marveling things that he was going to do.


    While they were happy at these news, the students of the Ancient Heavenly cauldron academy were angry. Especially Drille''s brother, sister and uncle. They were very furious at Alex and were busy making schemes of how to kill him without his uncle who they believed to be very powerful knowing about it. They wanted their plans and machinations to be fail-proof.


    "That bastard. Let him keep enjoying himself. He''s definitely going to die soon. I would have loved to see the shock and sorrow in his face when he finds himself in hell" Lenna said with anger in her tone.

 Chapter 273: Cultivating the soul

    "So everyone. This might sound funny, but I don''t know how this works actually. I mean, how do I operate the organization. You know, roles and so on. Therefore, does anyone have an idea how to go about this?" Alex asked.


    "I have an idea on how to do that" Someone who was in the core formation stage said.


    "Oh. Alright. Go on" Alex said.


    The person nodded his head.


    Then he started "First of all, I would love to introduce myself. My name''s Tyler, but you can call me Black Eyes. Now, concerning what our boss said. We would have different departments. And these departments would be the administration department, mission department, treasure department, welfare department, and lastly, the punishment department"


    "Hmm. That''s nice. So Black Eyes, please elaborate to the others how these departments would work" Alex said.


    "Alright. Now, for the administration department. The people in there are to handle official duties. For the missions department, the people in there would generate quests which members of the organization must fulfill or complete before they can get rewards, which would be in form of cultivation resources and treasure-artifacts. For the treasure department, this would hand out treasures, resources, methodology books and manuals to members of the organization who successfully completes a quest or task that they chose to fulfill or were assigned to accomplish. The welfare department would cater for the needs of the members. Like if a member needs any kind of help, the department would first see if that member has actually contributed in any way to the success of the organization. If he or she has done so, then the organization would try to fulfill the request of this person. And if it''s a difficult request, the organization would try it best to partially fulfill it. Lastly, the punishment department. This would mete out varying degrees of punishment to members that go against the rules and regulations put up by the organization." Black Eyes said.


    "Cool." Alex said with a smile. Then he spoke further "Black Eyes, I put you in charge since you know how to run an organization. I leave everything to you."


    "Alright sir. I promise to handle it properly." Black Eyes said delightedly.


    Now that he was made the one in charge of the administrative operation of the organization, he would be able to get more resources which would increase his cultivation level.


    "Alright. Since things are now in your hands, I am leaving. I have things to do." Alex said.


    "Okay" Black Eyes said.


    Then Alex left where they all were and headed for the room that he came out from.


    Now seated again on his cultivation mat, Alex closed his eyes.


    Ever since he was humiliated by Soulstorm, he had vowed in his heart that he was going to cultivate his soul. And now that he was venturing into things that were deadly, he was sure that the powers that he would acquire from cultivating the soul would help him. It would be one of his surprise offensive cards.


    So, with his eyes closed and focused on the soul, he calmed his mind and began to contemplate again what the soul was.


    However, his soul cultivation still wasn''t successful. Then Alex was made to wonder why he wasn''t able to successfully cultivate the soul, as he was sure that he had understood the soul perfectly.


    After doing it many times and seeing that his effort was fruitless. He stopped. But he was going to do it again later.


    As he was about to come out of his soul cultivation which proved to be unsuccessful, he furrowed his brows deeply when a thought suddenly came to his mind.


    Then he closed his eyes again and brought himself into the ultra perception state. In this state, his physical senses, mental faculty and even mind-related abilities are augmented to a great level. At this level, they would be thirty to hundred folds more powerful than normal.


    Therefore, now that he had entered his ultra perception state, he felt that he should be able to successfully cultivate his soul.


    Many hours later...


    Wisps of ethereal energy suddenly appeared around Alex. And when they surfaced around his figure, they began to revolve around his body. As they revolved around him, they affected his soul, causing it to feel purified and relaxed.


    Alex then gave a smile.


    ''I finally did it'' He said inwardly.


    Then with a thought, the energy began to flow into his body, then into his soul-dwelling region where they fused into his soul. And as they fused into his soul, they caused it to slowly grow corporeal.


    From the formless mass that it possessed like it was a smoke, it slowly gained in density as the wisps of soulforce energy fused with it. And as it density increased, it shapeless form gradually changed.


    Alex could feel the great change happening to his soul, and he very much enjoyed it that he didn''t want it to stop.


    So, he continued to draw soulforce energy from the world into his body which then flowed into his soul. And as he did so, his mind became clearer. Also, his thought-process became faster. He could now think faster than before. This made him surprised, but he was however glad.


    Not long, the smoke-like form of his soul had changed into mist. It was getting denser. And as the energy continually flowed into his soul which had taken mist-form from it earlier smokey form, the mist began to thicken, increasing in density before actually becoming like liquid.


    Now forming a small soul pool in his soul-dwelling region, it began to slowly increase in size as more soulforce energy infused into it. Then from a small pool, it grew into a large pool within his infinitely vast soul-dwelling region. And within this pool was protoforce energy. This was the energy that gave Alex the ability to summon strange, uncanny, godly physiques; the physique-evocation realm-energy.


    Alex who was observing his soul couldn''t notice the energy, as he wasn''t at that level yet to see an energy that only immortal-level cultivators or divine-class cultivators could sense or perceive. Or he would have become exceedingly curious about the energy and know how to employ the grand, myriad powered-bodies invocation ability that it bestowed upon him.


    Many minutes later, as the soulforce energy unceasingly infused into his soul, it enriched his soul pool to grow larger in size that it grew from five feet to thirty feet.


    As Alex continued to try his best to expand his soul pool, a thought suddenly struck him. He had always wanted to split his soul. So, what if he could do that now. It would be far easier than splitting his soul when it has taken basically, his human form. If he did that now, there would be no pain or anything like that. But what he didn''t know was that he was embarking on something considered as a great taboo in this realmverse. It could bring upon one the Absolute Soul Annihilation Tribulation. However, even if Alex knew about this, he would still venture into it as he was the daring type and one that wanted to stand out from the crowd. So, he wouldn''t let the fear of Tribulations or Afflictions or whatever they were called to inhibit him from becoming the strongest and a deviant. And his idea of going about this was to partition the soul pool.


    So, he divided the soul pool into many parts. This meant that he formed many smaller pools from his large soul pool.


    After doing this, he infused the numerous small pools of his soul with soulforce energy. At this moment, his new aim was to grow the small pools of his soul into a large size.


    Twenty minutes later...


    The soul pools had gone from their similar small sizes to the size that Alex first grew his single soul pool to. That is, they had gone from their sizes of one feet to thirty feet. At this point in time, Alex had twenty, thirty feet-wide soul pools.


    But Alex didn''t actually stop here.


    Then with a thought and exerting his power of influence over his soul pools, the twenty soul pools that he had further divided into more smaller soul pools.


    Now, he had sixty soul pools. Then he tried to grow them to a larger size by infusing everyone of them with soulforce energy which he drew from the realmverse.


    However, their growth rate was now slow, as he had to channel soulforce energy into everyone of them. Then he began to think of what to do to increase the speed at which the soul pools grew.


    As he started to think of how to rapidly increase the pools'' sizes, he suddenly remembered that he was half-negarian, a winged non-human entity that had the power to vastly and quickly absorb all forms of energies from the world, and the essences that constituted all beings.


    Once the thought came to his mind, he believed that he should be able to employ that power to swiftly absorb tremendous amounts of soulforce energy from the world which he was going to channel into his soul.

 Chapter 274: Soul Tribulation I

    Once the thought came to his mind, he believed that he should be able to employ that power to swiftly absorb tremendous amounts of soulforce energy from the world which he was going to channel into his soul.


    Then he thought of that peerless devouring power gotten from the racial gene of the Negaria race and said intently with unyielding resoluteness in his tone ''Devour''.


    Immediately he said this, a vast attractive power instantly emanated from his body and spread out in all directions. Then it drew soulforce energy from a distance of about three hundred feet that it had reached towards Alex''s body. And since it were soulforce energy, they penetrated through his body and into his soul-dwelling region where they infused into his sixty soul pools and caused them to rapidly grew in size.


    Therefore, in just about twenty seconds, they had grown from a size of thirty feet wide to a size of hundred feet. But their growths didn''t stop there. They continued to grow, reaching a size of two hundred feet, then to a size of five hundred feet and finally to a size of one thousand feet before Alex broke through again in his soul cultivation. Then he stopped using the boundless essence and energy-attraction power of the Negaria race bloodline power in his body.


    Once the soul pools reached that size which was impossible to reach by anyone as every other person who was a soul cultivator would have their soul pools stop at about hundred feet to three hundred feet, Alex''s soul pools which were sixty in number slowly crystallized. They gradually changed from their liquid form to the solid form.


    Not long, sixty towering soul pillars that were cylindrical in shape could be seen in Alex''s soul-dwelling region. They stood upright and looked fearsome because of their immense sizes. If any of these massive cylindrical pillars appeared in the real world, they would look exceedingly tall as they were one thousand feet high, and thirty feet wide.


    Alex gazed at his fierce-looking, round soul pillars in joy. He was simply tremendously glad that he had done what no other soul cultivator had done. Although he was joyful, he was shocked by the thousands of abstruse or strange, indecipherable characters inscribed into every of his immensely tall soul pillars. He didn''t know where these came from, but he hoped that it was a good thing for him. However, if Alex knew what these were, he wouldn''t be alerted or alarmed. The thousands of symbols that had appeared on each of his gigantic, round-shaped soul pillars were from the protoforce energy that was present in his soul before it condensed from it mist form into a liquid and finally crystallized, forming shockingly huge pillars that began to radiate frightening soul power.


    Not long, violent chilly breeze appeared in the outside world. But this chilly breeze didn''t affect the physical body, but rather, the soul.


    That was the Absolute Soul Annihilation Tribulation. It had finally appeared.


    However, no one could see this Tribulation that had descended from a completely inaccessible region in the realmverse, as it was meant for the destruction or obliteration of the soul of law-defying soul cultivators. Anyways, only soul cultivators would be able to see or perceive it.


    This frigid strong wind moved about in the area that Alex was in. However, it did not affect anyone, whether mortal or cultivator, as they were not target intended to be destroyed. It had manifested only for the soul of the target that they had the intent to ravage or destroy.


    Not long, Alex perceived the intense coldness of the soul-inflicting tribulation wind, as it had gotten to where he was. The wind was simply like a sentient entity as it sought for Alex to destroy him.


    Immediately Alex felt the extremely biting coldness upon his soul, he knew what had come for him. Without being scared and in fact, excited for it appearance as he now had plans for it which he was sure would work out hundred percent successfully, he uttered out loud "Come!"


    And like that, as if it was being provoked, a large area of the sky suddenly changed into another color. It had changed from it sky blue color to purple. However, this was noticeable by everyone who then began to wonder why the sky had suddenly changed in color. Then fear set into their hearts as they quickly dashed into their homes. These mortals felt that a god was descending down from the sky. And so, they ran into their homes as they couldn''t bring up the courage to look at him, as they believed that whoever did so would be instantly eliminated to look at a prideful, primordial god of ancient.


    As soon as this color manifested, the extremely cold wind which had appeared gained in momentum, causing it destructiveness to increase to terrifying levels. Not that it now possessed a high degree of physical destructive power, the increase in it power of destruction because of the sudden great gain in momentum would only affect the soul.


    Very soon, the ethereal frigid wind swept into Alex''s room and shot into Alex''s body with a beast-like roar. Then once it got into Alex''s soul-inhabiting region, it struck with solidness at the massive round soul pillars.


    However, this towering pillars withstood the strong blast of intensely cold, soul-affecting dense wind that struck them.


    However, they rapidly froze because of the extreme-degree cold emitting from the furious and surprisingly dense, alarmingly icy wind that heavily impacted them. Now, at this point in time, they became thickly encrusted in ice. If one could look into his soul and see the thickness of the ice that had enveloped his soul pillars, one would think that Alex''s soul pillar were trapped in enormously gigantic glaciers. And since they were deeply frozen because of the many feet-thick ice that had totally enwrapped everyone of them, despite their amazing hugeness, Alex''s body began to stiffen as it instantly turned white and froze over, becoming like an ice statue. What he was actually experiencing within his soul-dwelling region was starting to have a direct physical effect on his body.


    However, Alex''s mind was still fully active as his strange soul pillars couldn''t be turned into ice.


    Alex then recalled an offensive soul technique that he studied. Then with an utter in a furious tone, he said inwardly with a great resolve ''Destroy''.

 Chapter 275: Soul Tribulation II

    Then all the soul pillars began to glow intensely before they released a devastating blast of soul power from them.


    Boom!!


    The thick ice that had enveloped them all shattered into pieces. While his body that had turned white as it had almost turned into ice changed back to his body color.


    When the white-colored frosty wind which possessed extreme coldness that invoked the absolute feeling that it would freeze all things, perceived that the columns in Alex''s soul-dwelling region resisted it deep freezing power and devastating kinetic force that would reduce things to smithereens, shot once again into Alex''s body and into the space in his body that his soul inhabited.


    Now revolving around his pillars like a whirlpool, it tried to reduce his numerous pillars to pieces, while simultaneously radiating strong freezing power that would turn the shattered fragments of Alex''s soul pillar into ice.


    Arghhhhhhhhh!!!


    Once the fearsome, unceasing whirlpool like-attack started, Alex started to unendingly scream in pain within.


    Now, he felt like he was in a glacier. The intense coldness that had permeated his soul caused his body to begin to freeze once again. And this time, his blood solidified. Same with his bone marrow and visceral organs which slowly turned to ice.


    Alex suffered greatly from the intense cold that would soon fully turn his body into ice. And not long, a sweet-sounding, pervasive and persuasive feminine voice began to ring in his mind. It spoke to him that he should succumb to the great pain that he was being inflicted with. It told him that he should forget everyone and everything that he was attached to and journey into the afterlife, where he would meet his parent and the rest of his families. It told him to leave all his pointless struggles to become stronger behind and go into the death-world, a place where his soul would reunite with that of his family.


    But Alex would definitely not listen to this voice that was compelling him to die. Why would he want to die. Although he would want to reunite with his parent, but in this way, ruining all their efforts over him. Besides, he knew that once he''s was strong enough, he would search for the Deathverse; an unseen, boundlessly vast world where all dead souls go to. And once he gets where this world was, he would fight with the Deathverse Ruler or Undead Emperor for the souls of his parent and family, with the aim or intention of reviving or resurrecting them. But he wasn''t sure if this was possible as it was all in his head. But he was going to try and do so. Therefore, he wouldn''t listen to this voice that was persuading him to surrender into the arms of death and embrace it as if he was fated for it.


    Once he arrived at this unyielding resolution, his numerous soul pillars which had frozen completely over produced sixty thunderously loud voices that impacted the sweet-sounding compelling womanly voice in his head. These thundering voices which were Alex''s furious voice began to rebuke the beautiful female voice sounding persuasively in his head. Not long, the coercing voice continuously ringing in his soul vanished, while his soul pillars that had begun to glow brilliantly in light suddenly released a powerful all-directional blast of soul power that caused all the thick ice that had formed on them to explode into bits.


    Besides, Alex had released wisps of tribulation flame-enhanced pyroforce energy which then began to circulate round his body, removing the ice that had formed in them. Being an energy that contained matchless destructive intent, all the millions of ice crystals that had formed in his blood, bone marrow, organs quickly disappeared, causing his usual skin color to immediately return.


    Alex then thought of doing the same thing that he did before he finally broke through into the Core formation stage, which was to absorb the energy afflicting him and make it his. By doing this, the destructive power of his many souls would be matchless in his cultivation level, as they would possess soul-affliction tribulation energy which possesses the strong freezing intent. Which soul cultivator in this Planeverse, which was a world of mortals would be able to withstand the terrifying freezing attribute of his soul power, if he was eventually able to fuse the intense chilliness of the soul-tribulation wind with his soul pillars? He thought no one.


    Then he set out to do what he thought in his mind.


    Now using an absorption technique that he had long learnt about as he was an enthusiastic reader of all types of books, he tried to absorb the essence of the soul-tribulation wind that had recomposed and was trying to ravage his multiple soul pillars.


    Once he employed the myriad energy and essence devourment power of his body that possessed the ability of the Negaria race, and utilized a soul-related, element-based methodology that he had studied, he uttered out loud with great determination emanating from his resolute voice.


    "Absorb!"


    Once he said this, thousands of abstruse symbols appeared on his body. And now emitting the Power of Suppression, the white-colored cyclone of intense chilly wind that had engulfed all of Alex''s soul pillars and tried to reduce them into the smallest fragments couldn''t cause much damage to them again.


    Then with the power to absorb everything under the realmverse and in the inaccessible spaces in the realmverse, the arcane essence that constituted the furiously revolving, soul-tribulation wind cyclone that revolved around Alex''s soul pillars was forced to halt it frenzied rotation. And once it revolution ceased, an ethereal, white-colored mist-like substance began to exude from the cyclone and entered into Alex''s soul pillars. The cyclone which was extremely large in size as it engulfed all of Alex''s thousand feet-tall soul pillars which were sixty in numbers, began to rapidly reduce in size. Not long, the cyclone was no more. While Alex''s astonishingly tall soul pillars became partly white from their previous colorlessness.


    The suppressed, transparent essence of the soul-tribulation wind which had permeated Alex''s soul pillars had caused them to change from being colorless to white. It made half of the pillars white. After seeing this, Alex knew that when other tribulations descended upon his soul, and their essences were devoured, the color of his soul pillars would change again, becoming multi-hued in appearance but possessing many terrifying attributes.


    Therefore, when the soul-tribulation wind essence was infused into his soul pillar, one that possessed a single intent which was to turn all souls, whether mortal or immortal, or that a revered cosmic lord completely into ice, the numerous pillar-shaped, mountainous soul cores in his soul-dwelling region began to emit a frightening wave of ice-based power. They radiated the power to freeze souls of all things that they struck or impacted.


    Although they continually released this strongly alarming wave of ice-burying, soul-bound power; one that would invoke great terror in anyone that was in the range of it attacks, they weren''t at that absolute freezing power-level yet because of Alex''s soul-cultivation stage which was the Soulcore Establishment stage. However, now that they possessed this perplexing and astounding attribute, they would be able to affect the soul of anything that is impacted, rapidly turning them into ice. But this would also depend on the soul-cultivation level of the soul cultivator. However, one mustn''t forget about the numerous slivers of protoforce energy in each of his soul pillars, which would cause Alex to be greatly astonished with his soul-beings in future.


    And since he was done with this, he awaited the second phase of his soul-tribulation.

 Chapter 276: Soul Tribulation III

    However, now that they possessed this perplexing and astounding attribute, they would be able to affect the soul of anything that is impacted, rapidly turning them into ice. But this would also depend on the soul-cultivation level of the soul cultivator. However, one mustn''t forget about the numerous slivers of protoforce energy in each of his soul pillars, which would cause Alex to be greatly astonished with his soul-beings in future. And since he was done with this, he awaited the second phase of his soul-tribulation.


    Not long, the color of the sky changed again. It changed from it previous color to scarlet red. Resembling a gigantic stretch of fire in the sky, the mortals who were hidden in their homes and were observing what was going on became scared.


    ''What''s really going on?''


    ''Is it a god or a devil that''s descending from the higher heavens?''


    A few moment after the vast stretch of scarlet-red flame appeared in the sky, a large, solid column of dark scarlet fire descended from it towards the building where Alex was cultivating his soul.


    However, no one saw this beam of fire, as it was something related to the soul. Only soul cultivators would be able to perceive it.


    Bang!!


    Argh!!


    The beam directly struck Alex''s soul pillars and caused him to scream out in pain. And because of the force that the dense column of soul-burning fire came with, it caused the massive soul pillars to shake and suddenly develop numerous cracks, giving the feeling that it was going to shatter onto smithereens the next moment.


    Although Alex was incredibly hurt, he still tried to endure the agonizing pain that had begun to rack his soul when the huge column of fire descended upon his developing soul pillars. And as he endured that which he did by gritting his teeth, he started to pull in massive amount of soulforce energy from the realmverse into his soul-dwelling region. When this energy got into his body, he quickly directed it into his soul-dwelling region and infused slivers of it into each of the sixty soul pillars in his soul-dwelling region. His aim was to reinforce his soul pillars which gave him the feeling that they were going to shatter into tiny fragments the next moment. Therefore, as Alex did this, the hundreds of cracks that had appeared on each of his soul pillars sealed up, looking new again. But apart from looking new, it had grown stronger.


    However, if one looked into Alex''s soul, one would see dark scarlet flames burning around each of his soul pillars. These were remnants of the dark scarlet, soul-burning fire that formed the solid fiery column that struck Alex''s pillar-shaped cores.


    These wisps of flames could be seen burning brilliantly and ferociously on his body. It was like they had the intent to devour the entirety of Alex''s soul pillars; the wisps of dark scarlet flames were actually trying to burn his soul pillars to nothingness, to the point that he wouldn''t have a soul left, as they possessed the will of the realmverse to totally destroy souls of myriads of things.


    Then apart from the great pain caused by the flames that burned interminably around his soul, his body began to burn like it was on fire. His blood began to heat up and burn. Same with his organs which felt like they were on fire.


    Arghhhhhhhhhhh!!!


    Therefore, Alex continually screeched in pain as the wisps of destruction intent-possessing flames wickedly burned his soul pillars and body. And as the flame burned his body and pillar-shaped soul cores, Alex began to roll about on the ground.


    As Alex rolled about on the ground because of the pain that he was being inflicted with, he quickly released a power of his soul which possessed freezing attribute. And once this power was released by his soul pillars, the intense heat that he felt which was being emanated by the dark scarlet flames greatly reduced in intensity. So, this made the pain that Alex felt decrease a lot.


    Then with a light of resoluteness in his eyes, he uttered inwardly ''Devour!''


    Once he mentioned that, abstruse characters suddenly appeared all over all his body, and also on the surfaces of his soul pillars that were partly white in color. Then a rippling wave of devouring power instantly discharged from all of them and acted on the wisps of dark scarlet, soul-burning flame burning fiercely around them.


    Immediately this wave of power acted on them, the numerous wisps of flame burning his soul pillars were pulled into them. And like that, his soul pillars which was partly white in color gradually grew a dark scarlet hue. And despite the intense cold emanating from each of them, the strong heat emanating from the soul-tribulation fire essence that had been infused into each of Alex''s soul pillars wasn''t affected. The opposite temperatures didn''t actually cancel out each other.


    Not long, another dense column of soul-tribulation fire descended from the sky and directly struck Alex''s soul pillars.


    Bang!!


    A loud explosive sound rang out as the dark scarlet fiery column which was many times larger in size than the one that previously fell, struck Alex''s soul with a powerful momentum and immense force that it seemingly caused his room to ripple. While the overly heavy impact of the large, soul-obliterating flame column with his soul pillars caused the release of large numbers of tyrannical waves which then swept outward with viciousness in all directions within his soul-dwelling region.


    Any soul-cultivator that was at the stage that Alex had reached in the cultivation of his soul and was struck by this powerful soul-shattering wave would be instantly decimated by having their souls explode into bits, or they could become extremely injured if they weren''t completely obliterated by the waves that would crack or shatter their corporeal soul-beings.


    At this point in time, Alex''s soul pillars had reduced to pieces by the immensely heavy force that the dense and huge soul-tribulation fire column struck it with. Also, they were being burned by the flames that caught on them.


    When this happened, Alex screamed out loud in pain that the people in the building who were now members of the organization that he had established heard his sorrowful cry and became exceedingly worried. They wondered why their master was screaming. They wanted to go upstairs to his room to see what exactly was happening. But in the end, they decided against it and believed that their boss was only trying out some cultivation techniques that were exceedingly harsh to his body. So with the thought that he would be fine when he came out of his cultivation, they stated back and resumed what they were all doing.


    At the moment, Alex''s eyes were completely red, and numerous green veins could be seen all over his body. But this was due to the immense pain that was racking his soul. He was supposed to even die from having his developing soul pillars shatter into fragments. But because he had a special soul that had been merged with a type of originforce energy from a Beyonder-level expert, and which were also numerous in numbers, he actually defied death. And this had caused Alex''s pillar-shaped Soul Core to upgrade. Then, it was a supreme-grade, mortal-level Soul Core. But now, it is a peerless-grade, quasi-immortal Soul Core. It couldn''t achieve immortality as Alex hadn''t reached the immortal stage yet. However, it had achieved pseudo-immortality; it was now a soul that couldn''t fully be destroyed. Alex of course didn''t know what had happened to his soul, but he would discover this later.


    While groaning in intense pain, Alex tried to mold back his shattered soul fragments into pillars once again.


    When his soul pillars explosively shattered into bits, Alex was overly horrified. He thought that he had come to the end of his life by trying out heaven-defying cultivation practices. However, seeing that he was still alive, he felt that there was till something that he could do to bring back his soul fragments into soul pillars once again.


    Then exercising his powerful will on his soul fragments, he commanded them to rearrange back into pillars.


    Although they formed back into pillars, it was very rough and would scatter back into fragments in his soul-dwelling region if it was hit by a slight opposing force.


    Seeing the dilapidated state of his soul pillars, Alex pushed his devouring power to the extreme and drew soulforce energy from the realmverse.


    Once the matchless power of energy and essence absorption was released, soulforce energy from the realmverse began to rush towards him in form of tidal currents from hundreds of meters away. And once it got to where he was, it impacted him like a tsunami and rushed into his soul-dwelling region where it abruptly infused into the worn-out looking soul pillars floating in his soul-inhabiting region.


    The instant that the energy was infused into them, his numerous soul pillars glowed. While the thousands of cracks that could be seen on each of them rapidly vanished, causing the pillar to look new again. At this point in time, the roughness that they had had smoothen out, looking flawless again.


    Although Alex was suffering greatly from the soul-tribulation that attacked him. However, if he could overcome them, many astonishing benefits of the soul would await him. Like now, his many soul pillars were looking flawless in appearance, which wasn''t supposed to be so until he got to a particular cultivation stage. Then this would mean that they were been tempered by the tribulation that struck him, making the tribulation that he faced a good thing. But if one was conquered by it, what would result to that person was the Absolute destruction of his or her soul; meaning that person''s total oblivion.


    A few seconds later, the pillars were back to normal and even radiated a powerful soul-presence that was many times stronger than before.

 Chapter 277: Soul Tribulation IV

    Although Alex was suffering greatly from the soul-tribulation that attacked him. However, if he could overcome them, many astonishing benefits of the soul would await him. Like now, his many soul pillars were looking flawless in appearance, which wasn''t supposed to be so until he got to a particular cultivation stage. Then this would mean that they were been tempered by the tribulation that struck him, making the tribulation that he faced a good thing. But if one was conquered by it, what would result to that person was the Absolute destruction of his or her soul; meaning that person''s total oblivion.


    A few seconds later, the pillars were back to normal and even radiated a powerful soul-presence that was many times stronger than before.


    Now that his soul pillars had been refined and tempered by the soul-tribulation flame, his soul radiated an overwhelming presence. But apart from the overpowering presence that it continuously emanated, his soul pillars which were partly white in color now possessed a new hue. And that was dark scarlet; the color of the soul-tribulation flame that descended upon his soul pillars with unparalleled destructive intent. Therefore, now that they possessed heat emission-attribute, a strongly intense heat that could burn the soul of myriad creatures into nothingness began to emanate from each of them. If this heat appeared in the real world, it would definitely melt many tons steel or truckload of rocks in a flash. That was how powerful the heat coming from them was.


    Since the peculiar soul-destruction flame didn''t succeed in destroying Alex''s soul pillars, that colored portion of the sky turned green.


    The instant that it turned green, thousands of arrows which were unseen to the naked eyes since they were composed from ethereal energy and had ancient inscriptions on their surfaces suddenly fired forth from it. Then moving at an unparalleled speed, they emitted a type of soul-crushing pressure that if the force acted on physical objects, they would simply be reduced into smithereens.


    The tyrannical pressure that exuded from the fast-moving arrows acted on Alex''s soul pillars with the intention to shatter them into pieces.


    The moment the great pressure acted on them, Alex coughed out a large mouthful blood, while his body greatly spasmed due to the pressure directly acting on only his tempered soul pillars with the intent to crush them to pieces. Not long, despite their tempering, they suddenly cracked in many places with slivers of soulforce energy beginning to leak out from them. And due to the pressure acting on his soul, Alex was pressed to the floor of the crater by the suppressive splintering pressure that acted on them. Then when the green-colored arrows which moved at many times the speed of lightning arrived where Alex was, they instantly pierced into his body and into his soul region where they went on to terribly impact the soul pillars.


    Boom!


    Boom!


    Boom!...


    Rampant booming sounds rang out when the many dense arrows composed from soulforce energy viciously struck the towering soul pillars in Alex''s soul-dwelling region, which because of refinement and tempering had reduced from a thousand feet in height to about eight hundred feet.


    Once they were struck, more cracks began to appear on them. And because of the rapid and unceasing bombardment of the seemingly infinite green-colored solid arrows that impaled them with great force, they shattered once again into pieces. And the unlimited barraging arrows which possessed the attributes of poison and corrosion caused the fragments of his soul pillars to begin to corrode.


    However, since the soul fragments had surprisingly gained pseudo-immortality, they couldn''t be destroyed by the extremely corrosive power emitting from the green arrows that had the absolute intent to corrode them.


    However, although they were near-indestructible, Alex was inflicted with great unbearable pain once again. Now screaming loudly in pain that caused members of his organization to be alerted and overly worried, Alex tried to endure the intense pain racking his soul by gritting his teeth and then hurriedly unleashed a devastating blast of soul-tribulation flame from the millions of huge fragments of his soul floating within his soul-dwelling region.


    BOOOOM!!


    The explosive blast that was produced by Alex''s soul fragments traveled many meters into the distance within Alex''s soul-dwelling region. While the spacious room that Alex was in surprisingly shook from the remainder of the rippling soul wave that emitted from Alex''s head.


    When the explosion first took place within his soul-dwelling region, numerous gigantic, sphere-shaped clouds of dark scarlet flame abruptly appeared. Then they were instantly accompanied by many strongly devastating soul waves that swept horizontally into the far distance within his soul-dwelling region.


    Many of the unseen, soul-slaying arrows that were formed from soul-corroding energy which continually penetrated into Alex''s soul-dwelling region and wickedly struck the many huge fragments of his soul pillars with the aim to further reduce them into smithereens were caught in the innumerable massive explosions of tribulation-fire and instantly shattered into pieces, while the few that weren''t, went on to impale the fragments of Alex''s soul pillars and caused him to shriek loud in pain.


    Puchi!


    Puchi!


    Puchi!...


    Loud piercing sounds rang out as the arrows stabbed deep into some of the fragments of Alex''s soul pillars and then caused him pain. Then he could almost faint from having his soul fragments decay because of the arrows that impaled his soul fragments all over and unendingly emitted the mystical power of corrosion.


    However, they couldn''t be destroyed by the uncanny corrosive power emitting from the arrows which had pierced deep into them.


    Groaning in pain, Alex hurriedly released fire-attributed soul power from his floating huge soul fragments. His intention was to burn away the poison that had permeated his soul pillars and was causing them to quickly corrode.


    His effort was fruitful as the soul-corroding power that had saturated his soul pillars burned away. And once this happened, the intense pain that Alex felt quickly abated. Same with his body which had started to decay. When the corroding power that had filled the entirety of his numerous soul pillars'' fragments and caused his body to decay disappeared, Alex''s body which had turned from pale green to deep green quickly restored back to his usual skin color.


    Apart from the corroding power that was burned away, the arrows that had pierced into his soul fragments also melted. Then they turned into mists and left his soul-dwelling region and finally out of his body through his head into the realmverse. Once they melted, the pressure that exuded from them and acted on Alex''s soul vanished. Then when they turned into mist which then floated out of his head and into the air, they returned back to a space in the realmverse.


    When the tribulation discovered that Alex had conquered the soul-corroding attacks that it sent at his soul, it prepared to release a stronger attack that should annihilate Alex''s soul.


    But before the tribulation would release a stronger overwhelming soul attack, Alex quickly exercised the power of his will over his soul fragments.


    ''Recompose''


    He uttered within.


    Once he mentioned that with a steely resolve, the numerous huge fragments of his soul pillars began to rearrange over each other to form his soul pillars back.


    Very quickly, they had formed back into his soul pillars. Except that they were rough.


    Alex then pushed his devouring power to the extreme and pulled a tremendous amount of soulforce energy from many miles away towards his body. Then raging towards him like a towering tsunami from the distance, they struck his body and rushed like furious hungry dragons into his soul-dwelling region where they impacted his rough soul pillars and caused the cracks and rough marks in them to rapidly disappear as the pillar-shaped soul pillars quickly absorbed the soul-energy.


    Not long, the pillars were as good as new. Now looking flawless in appearance, they began to radiate a stronger presence.


    It didn''t take too long for Alex''s soul pillars to form back into pillars. Therefore, as soon as they formed back into pillars, another tribulation descended from the sky.


    This time, hundreds of thousands of arrows which were invisible as they were composed from soulforce energy and had strange indecipherable characters on their surfaces suddenly fired towards Alex. Moving at an amazing speed, they emitted a tyrannical soul-crushing pressure that if it were to act on physical objects, they would simply instantly explode into smithereens.


    The moment the great pressure which emitted from the seemingly innumerable arrows acted on his towering soul pillars, Alex coughed out a small amount blood from his mouth, while his body shook greatly due to the pressure that directly acted on his soul pillars with the malicious intent to crush them into thousands of bits.


    However, due to their tempering, they could not crack despite the great pressure that was exerted on them by the corroding, green-colored arrows. They simply resisted the suppressive pressure acting on each of them. And due to his soul pillars resisting the great pressure that acted on them, Alex''s body couldn''t be affected by the pressure.


    Then when with his eyes now glowing with a light of resoluteness, he prepared to devour the soul-corrosion tribulation energy and make it his.

 Chapter 278: Soul Tribulation V

    As Alex''s eyes glowed with an unbreakable resolve to absorb the soul-corrosion energy, he immediately deployed the myriad energy and essence devourment power of his body that possessed the ability of the Negaria race.


    "Absorb!" He said resolutely and determinedly within.


    Immediately he mentioned this, thousands of abstruse symbols appeared on his body. And now emitting the Power of Suppression, the hundreds of thousands of corrosion power-emitting arrows that also produced a tyrannical suppressive force that was exerted on Alex''s soul pillars and tried to reduce them into the smallest fragments couldn''t cause much damage to them again.


    As soon as the symbols appeared on his body and released the power of Suppression, the terrible pressure that once again acted on his souls quickly vanished. However, it was not that the pressure totally vanished, it was the power of Suppression emanating from the mystical incomprehensible symbols on Alex''s body that suppressed it, reducing the amount of pressure that Alex felt.


    Then with his body now emanating the power to absorb everything under the realmverse and in the inaccessible spaces in the realmverse, the essence that constituted the poison and corrosion-attributed, soul-slaying arrows that was shooting towards Alex''s head with the intention to corrode his soul pillars were forced to halt in their flight. Now hanging only a few inches above his head, a green-colored misty substance began to exude from each one of them. And as the green, mist-like substances exuded from each one of the arrows and caused their sizes to abruptly reduce, they entered into Alex''s body and were drawn into his soul-dwelling region where they then infused into his towering soul pillars.


    Not long, the hundreds of thousands of arrows that were hanging only some inches above Alex''s head began to rapidly reduce in size and then vanish. They vanished because the essence that constituted every one of them had been forcefully extracted from them and absorbed into Alex''s body.


    A few moments later, all the arrows that hung above Alex''s head couldn''t be seen again. They had been completely absorbed into Alex''s body and then channeled to his soul-dwelling region where they infused into his soul pillars, causing them to grow another hue which was a third hue. Previously, it had white color which represented the bestowed Power of Intense Frost and Absolute Zero Ice Generation, and dark scarlet color which represented the gained power of Strongly Searing Heat and Blazing Devouring Fire Emission respectively. But one shouldn''t forget that these wouldn''t act on physical objects, only on the soul. They would bury the soul in extremely thick, innumerable layers or folds of ice or cause it burn into nothing completely. But Alex hadn''t reach this stage yet. So now that they had also gained a pale green hue, they now possessed the ability to boundlessly unleash corrosion and poison-attributed, terrifying soul-killing attacks.


    A few moments after Alex stopped the poison-carrying arrows condensed from the realmverse''s soulforce energy and then absorbed their essences, the unusually colored vast stretch of sky that was directly above the building Alex bought to turn into his organization, abruptly change from bright green into two colors. The two colors that the part of the sky had taken were violet-golden and jet-black. And as soon as these colors appeared, a large silvery cloud appeared below the tribulation-sky. While violet-golden and jet-black lightning arcs could be seen moving like furious and aggressive snakes within and around it. Also, exceedingly powerful booms that would shake the earth rang out. However, no one heard these booms except Alex who immediately coughed out a large mouthful of blood when the booming sound-attack viciously struck his mind.


    After coughing out mouthfuls of blood for a few times, Alex quickly prepared himself for what he would call the Ultimate Soul-Annihilation Tribulation.


    Then immediately after preparing his mind and body for it terrifying attacks, he suddenly recalled the methodology that he used to cultivate lightniforce energy. And this methodology was the ''Great Empyrean Seven-Hues Lightning Methodology'', a tyrannical trinity methodology which had astonishingly powerful cultivation, battle and movement techniques.


    Once he remembered a high-level technique from this methodology, which was for the Lightning Sage stage to be exact, Alex quickly employed it.


    If one wouldn''t be able to recall the levels, the lightning-based methodology was divided into seven stages which were: Lightning Adept stage, Lightning Reverend stage, Lightning Emperor stage, Lightning Sage stage, Lightning Celestial stage, Lightning Godlord stage, and finally, the Lightning Grand Venerate stage. These were the realms or stages one would attain in the cultivation of electriforce energy (or lightniforce energy) using the unique methods that it possessed. But now, Alex was going to attempt something more highly profound, which was to use a soul-related technique for the Lightning Sage stage to absorb the soul-tribulation lightning and use it to temper his soul pillars. His intention was to make the soul pillars contain vast amounts of soul-lightning which he would unleash anytime at any foreign soul that was going to enter his soul-dwelling region with the malicious intention of absorbing or killing off his soul and taking over his unmatched powerful body. Therefore, by doing that, they would have become lightning soul pillars. Also, by carrying out that method, his soul pillars would become more resilient that they might easily resist shattering-type attacks from high-level soul cultivators.


    The extremely profound, Lightning Sage soul-lightning cultivation technique which Alex was going to use was the ''Primordial Thunderous Soul Refinement'' technique.


    Alex knew how incredibly difficult and torturous this would be for him. But he just didn''t care, nor was he scared. If one recalled a few things about Alex, he was simply the type that would definitely not give up on anything that would make him far stronger than his peers. He had always had the aim or objective of excelling far above his peers. He had always wanted to succeed and excel in a realm where his mates or peers wouldn''t even imagine being there in the first place.


    Therefore, exceedingly difficult or not, now that there was the opportunity to cultivate soul-lightning and even infuse some of the exceedingly chaotic realm-energy into his soul, he absolutely wouldn''t lose such a chance. Seize and absorb was what he was going to do right here in this place. He wouldn''t let the incessant booms that could seemingly cause the earth to tremble and the lightning-attributed soul-tribulation attacks to frighten him.


    With a calm smile in his face and radiating the aura of readiness and unyielding resoluteness, he awaited the soul-slaying lightning bolts to descend from the large blue cloud that had formed in the sky and rampantly strike him.


    Not long, an unseen, three feet-thick bolt of jet-black lightning shot down from the cloud and struck Alex''s head. However, it didn''t cause damage to his head as the bolt instantly teleported into his soul-dwelling region upon impacting his head. Then once it appeared in his soul-dwelling region, the soulforce energy-bolt of jet-black lightning tyrannically struck Alex''s soul pillars.


    BANG!


    Arghhh!!!


    Alex screamed out in pain when the single bolt that descended from the soul-tribulation thundercloud struck his soul with an immensely heavy force and then delivered excessive electrical charges to them like as if it had the intent to burn them into nothing or vaporize them into mists. Not long, due to the heavy collision of the bolt with his soul and the massive amounts of arcing electricity that began to roam about on his soul pillars, a great indescribable pain began to rack Alex''s mind and entire body.


    Alex who had fallen to the ground and rolled about on it with his head grabbed by his hands continued to groan loudly in pain as the vicious, black electricity arcs roamed about on his soul pillars.


    However, trying his best to endure the unbearable pain that they inflicted him with, he quickly employed the profound absorption technique of the Lightning Sage stage. Then at the same time that he utilized the methodology''s soul-related energy absorption method, he unleashed his body''s powerful ability which was to rapidly and tremendously absorb every form of energy that he targeted.


    As soon as he did all these, the innumerable, pitch-black electricity arcs which moved violently and ferociously about on his soul pillars with the intent to destroy or totally ravage them, began to surprisingly flow into them. They were drawn in by the powerful, invisible pulling force that came from the center of Alex''s pillar-shaped Soul Cores.


    Crackling like woods in fire as they were pure ravaging electricity arcs, they began to flow like liquid to the center of his pillar-shaped Soul Cores. Then when they got to the heart of each of his soul pillars, the individual electricity arcs in there merged with the other to become one and then condensed into a cube-shaped, black crystal of soul-lightning.


    The cubic lightning soul crystal which was formed from the compaction of the essence of soul-tribulation lightning was however little in size. It was as small as a grain of sand. It would need to be infused with more soul-lightning to be able to grow large in size.


    Not long, with two soul-shattering thunderous booms ringing out from the invisible, blue thundercloud in the sky, two ten feet-thick bolts of black lightning descended from it and struck Alex whose eyes shone with a light of preparedness.


    Then before the two massive bolts would strike Alex, they disappeared and appeared in his soul-dwelling region where they strongly and heavily impacted Alex''s soul pillars which then resulted in the generation of rippling waves that possessed tremendous shattering force. If these waves were to appear in the outside world, a large layer of earth would be stripped away and result in a massive and deep crater.


    While Alex upon being struck coughed out several mouthfuls of blood as his soul pillars cracked again and began to slowly crumble apart.

 Chapter 279: Final Soul Tribulation

    As all of his soul pillars crumbled apart, Alex felt a great headache in his head which jumped by great leaps in intensity.


    However, before the pillars could finally crumble into pieces, Alex who gritted his teeth as he tried to endure the pain abruptly exercised his will on his crumbling soul pillars and soul fragments.


    Once he did so, the soul fragments reattached to the places that they broke away from. And using his energy and essence attraction power to draw soulforce energy from many miles away into his body and into his soul-dwelling region, which was then infused into his cracked soul pillars, the numerous cracks that had appeared on them quickly vanished. And by doing this, the energy caused the soul pillars to be strengthened and toughened once again, becoming many times solid and dense than they previously were many moments ago.


    Now, what Alex was doing was similar to body-cultivation. Through shattering and reformation, the numerous faulty areas in the structural integrity of his soul pillars which surely couldn''t be perfect from the start of the formation of his Soul Cores were being removed or eliminated, and thus, this action caused his soul pillars to become perfected. The innate flaws in them; faults that were present right from their creation, and thereby prevented them from reaching or attaining perfection, were being quickly removed by the lightning-based tempering process that they were going through.


    So, due to the devastating, lightning-attributed soul attacks that his soul pillars were subjected to, they became more durable and resistant to certain levels of destroying power or shattering force.


    So, with his soul pillars continually breaking apart and crumbling into fragments which then rapidly healed in the next instant after they had reattached to each other and were infused with soulforce energy, they gained a great increase in the degree of resilience and toughness that they possessed.


    While the rampaging, wild arcs of black electricity that crackled as they moved about on the surfaces of his soul pillars were abruptly pulled into them and to their centers where they infused into the grain-sized, black cubic crystal of lightning that had formed in each of them moments ago.


    ***


    A few seconds after his tens of thousands of shattered soul fragments formed back into towering and flawless-looking soul pillars, three large bolts of violet-golden lightning shot down from the soul-tribulation thundercloud in the sky towards Alex at tremendous speeds. However, these bolts each shot out at different times.


    So, the fastest of the three massive, violet-golden lightning bolts which appeared some inches above Alex''s head, vanished and reappeared in his soul-dwelling region.


    Bang!


    Once the bolt appeared in there, it went on to tyrannically strike Alex''s soul pillars that it caused Alex to instantly get a splitting headache. Besides, because of the force his soul pillars were struck with, Alex was knocked to the floor of his room. And immediately he crashed to the floor of his room from his standing position, the second violet-golden bolt of lightning arrived before his body. Then it vanished and also reappeared in his soul-dwelling region where it went on to tyrannically strike many of Alex''s soul pillars.


    BANG!


    Argh!!


    Alex couldn''t help but screech in pain immediately after he was impacted by the powerful, extremely dense bolt of electricity that caused the headache which he earlier felt to increase tremendously in intensity. And to give an hint on how intense the headache that he felt was, it was like when a three hundred-foot tall giant stepped on his head, reducing it into paste and mist of blood.


    Then immediately after the second bolt struck Alex, the third bolt which was dozens of folds larger and more dazzling in color than the two bolts that went before it, struck Alex''s pillar-shaped Soul Cores.


    Bang!!!


    The instant that it impacted him, and since the massive, violet-golden, soul-annihilating thunderbolt came with a lot of momentum and struck out with great heaviness because of the high degree of density that it possessed, it caused many cracks to immediately appear on Alex''s soul pillars which had being made highly resilient; due to the continuous tempering by complete mystical-level Ice and Frost envelopment, absolute devouring-type Fire engulfment, unmatched corrosion and finally lightning.


    The two soul-inflicting, lightning bolt-attacks that went before the third bolt possessed a high degree of solidness and struck out against Alex''s soul pillars with great amounts of tyrannical force. However, they couldn''t cause any form of damage to Alex''s refined and flawless pillar-shaped Soul Cores. But the third one which possessed a high level of denseness and struck Alex''s soul pillars with a force that was many times destructive than that unleashed by the first two bolts on collision with his soul only caused a certain amount of damage to his soul pillars. However, the damages were insignificant.


    So, with the absorption of a small amount of soulforce energy from the realmverse, the cracks that had appeared all over each of them instantly vanished like it was never there, returning the state of Alex''s soul pillars to their previous faultless looks.


    However, the intense unbearable headaches that he felt still caused him to groan loudly in pain. But despite his groaning which invoked feelings of great suffering, a wide smile surfaced on his lips. If one saw him now, one would think that he had gone crazy, or that he was simply a maniac and a psycho. How could one be going through this kind of torturous pain and affliction and still be able to smile? However, it was not that Alex was going insane from suffering too much traumatizing pains, it was simply because he just noticed now, how resilient his soul pillars were. Just upon seeing the astonishing degrees of resistance that they possessed towards the alarming soul-type damages that he was being inflicted with, he understood that his efforts were starting to pay off, and so, he gave a beautiful and radiant smile.


    Now, he knew that very soon, soul-lightning cores would form within each of his sixty soul pillars, while the soul pillars themselves would become nigh-indestructible; they would become too strong or tough for cultivators at his level, or for those that were two to three levels above his to shatter or demolish. That was just how he felt, as he comprehended that no soul cultivator, except probably an overpowered one that was a fearsome genius would be able to put out a devastating soul-based attack that could match the destructive power of the soul-tribulation lightning that he was being faced with.


    Therefore, with this thought, he knew that any soul-cultivator in his stage, or that were two to three stages above his, who then discovered the uniqueness of his body and tried to possess it might not be able slay his soul. Even if they were able to destroy ten to thirty of his soul-beings which would form from his soul pillars after they pass through the Soul-Tribulation that he was currently facing, they still wouldn''t be able to take over his body as he had too many soul-beings. Besides, because of the tempering, they had gained a certain level of toughness, resilience or imperviousness to soul-based damages which shouldn''t be available in any form or degree to any soul-cultivator until they got to a stage that was comparable to that of a Sage Lord. Also, one shouldn''t forget that Alex''s soul had been bestowed with quasi-immortality. So, if eventually they were all destroyed by senior-class soul cultivators, they would instantly reform back again from billions of tiny or miniscule fragments into his flawless soul-beings once again. And this was something that was nigh-impossible to do by any soul-cultivation expert, only until they reach a soul-cultivation stage that''s equal in ranking to the energy-cultivation stage called ''Immortal'' stage.


    With nose that had blood continuously stream from it, and red eyes that looked larger than normal, which was because of the intense headache that he was being afflicted with, Alex who retained his smile that radiated unfathomable gladness, immediately deployed the divine-tier, soul lightning refinement method mentioned in the Great Empyrean Seven-Hue Lightning Methodology which was a profound soul technique meant for the user of the technique that was at the Lightning Sage stage. And the instant that he did so, he released the vast-scale pulling power of his divinely body and focused them on the rampaging violet-golden electricity arcs that roamed about on his soul pillars. So very quickly, the wild and berserk electricity arcs that moved about on the surfaces of his soul pillars were rapidly pulled into them, and then channeled to the heart of each of his sixty soul pillars, where they then infused into the black lightning crystals within everyone of them.


    After he absorbed the violet-golden electricity arcs, Alex decided to taunt the realmverse.


    "Hello Realmverse, it''s me again. I see that you are trying your best to destroy me. But just why? If I may ask. Haha. I know that you can''t respond, I am only trying to pull your stinking legs. Anyways, since you are so bent on destroying this gorgeous and peculiar boy which I know and believe that you hold the power to do so, this boy would simply never give you the chance to do such a cruel and emotionless thing. So, if you wanna destroy me, I suggest that you give it your best shot!!" He uttered with an aura of confidence and indomitability emanating from him.


    Immediately after Alex said that, a determined gaze that erupted the unbridled intent to absorb and devour the essences of all things in the realmverse radiated off his eyes. Then he stretched both hands out to his side and began to push the devouring power that he possessed to the highest extreme that he could possibly reach.


    While Alex was seated in his room awaiting the final attack of the soul-tribulation, every mortal that were in their homes out of fear that a powerful and exceedingly arrogant, primal celestial god was descending from the highest heavens, saw how part of the sky in the city changed from the blue color that it had to blood-red. Then their hearts shook and turned cold and stiff. Same with their bodies that turned cold and extremely rigid out of horror due to the appearance of the blood-red sky.


    Then with a single deafening boom that suddenly rang out from nowhere and caused many of the buildings to violently shake and instantly develop massive numbers of cracks, an enormous blade that was blood-red in color suddenly appeared.


    Radiating an intense blood-red light that dyed the earth surface and everything on it in it ominous color, and also exuding a terrifying physical and soul-trembling presence, and ultimately, an overwhelming aura of ominousness, everyone, especially the mortals, suddenly felt that the world would be fully destroyed today, and that their lives would be reaped away by the terrific ominous power of a wrathful, devilish god that they believed had been unleashed upon them. And upon thinking this, all their bodies became pale-white and intensely trembled from the fear of the irrevocable doom about to fall on them.


    People in schools such as principals, instructors and students noticed this and became shocked to the extreme.


    What sort of phenomenon that looked and felt so devilish was this?


    This question rang in their minds like gigantic bells that were unstoppably rung.


    Then the principals flew out of their academies to get ready for anything. And very quickly, they activated the hidden mega-defensive formations of their schools.


    With the colossal blade now pointing directly downwards at the building that Alex was in, blood-curdling ghostly wails, shrieks and terrifying thunderous booms began to rampantly ring and peal out from it.


    When Alex heard the upsetting and disturbing demonical sounds, his heart shook in fear.


    However, his determination and resolve to absorb all things in the realmverse couldn''t be erased or broken.


    Then with a mighty bellow from him that evoked the feeling that they came from multitudes of gigantic, furious dragons, Alex shot through the high ceiling of his building to the roof.


    Now looking at the massive blade that suddenly exerted a powerful pressure that acted on both his body and soul, Alex shouted with boundless determination in his tone. "Come!!"

 Chapter 280: Soul-Entity Creation stage

    When the sky changed, Alex''s uncle appeared at the roof of his mansion and looked into the distance. He looked towards the building that was below the blood-red sky. Then when he heard the furious bellow that gave him the feeling that a horde of gigantic ancient beasts were roaring, he gave a smile.


    ''This boy'' He thought inwardly.


    ***


    - Immovable Mountain Academy -


    In a particular room that was grandly decorated like a queen lived in there, a couple of beautiful young girls could be seen standing before a girl that was peerlessly beautiful. This girl was seated on a throne and a radiant, joyful smile as she spoke could be seen in her face. Although she sat on a seat that gave one the feeling that she was in a place of authority, she didn''t exude the aura of authoritativeness, and of arrogance that was supposed to emit from her. The couple of girls seated before her who were also full of smiles and were listening to her as she spoke with her endearing, attractive voice just couldn''t help but gaze at her admirably. While a cute young girl who was chocolate-skinned could be seen sitting beside the gorgeous and beautiful girl that was seated on a throne. This little girl was Nailah, Alex''s adopted younger sister.


    Without surprise, the alluringly gorgeous girl before them was Olivia, while the group of girls before her were females that belonged to the faction that she had established before she left the academy and appeared at Nailah''s village where she met Alex.


    Her faction was named the ''Fire Goddess'' faction. So at the moment, they were having a meeting on how to make more female members join and push their faction to the peak, a peak that couldn''t be reached by any other faction in the academy, whether they were created by high-rank genius-level males or females.


    Then before they would round up their meeting, a harsh blood-red light suddenly shone in the room and dyed everything blood-red, including the immaculate white sexy gowns that they wore which became dyed in the color of blood.


    Their hearts skipped a beat.


    What the hell was this?


    They asked inwardly.


    Suddenly, Olivia got a feeling that this phenomenon had to do with Alex. Only him had a special body and peculiar mind to be able to cause unusual and frightening phenomena like this one to manifest. Same with Nailah, she knew how demonically strong and devilishly powerful her brother was.


    "Nailah, stay here. Let me go see outside" Olivia hurriedly said to Nailah.


    "No, I would like to go with you. I want to see what''s happening to my brother." Nailah said with worry in her tone.


    Once Nailah said that, the other girls in the room terribly shook from what Nailah said.


    Her brother?


    Her brother is the cause of this bone-chilling phenomenon?


    They couldn''t believe what they just heard.


    Olivia looked warmly at Nailah and said softly "Okay."


    Then she grabbed Nailah by the hand and flew out of the window of her large, excellently decorated room to the roof.


    Olivia couldn''t deny Nailah her request, as this was her first time asking for something from her. And she was the adopted sister of her future, very soon-to-become-extremely powerful husband. She therefore couldn''t deny Nailah. Besides, it was a request that wouldn''t cause harm to Nailah, or she would instantly reject it and force her to stay back.


    Now appearing on the roof of her room with Nailah and the other girls that were in her faction, they saw the female and male leaders of many other factions already on the roofs of their residences with perplexed and curious gazes in their eyes. Also, fear and horror could be seen in them.


    When they saw Olivia, they quickly concealed the fear erupting from their gazes and simply nodded at her. And who were these were people? They were people that were senior to her in cultivation. Some where in the peak-phase, Heaven Adept stage, and the others in the Saint stage. So, being engaged to someone who was related to Houston had caused them to give her more respect and admiration.


    When they nodded at her with genuine smiles in their faces, they looked back towards where the sky was blood-red. Same with Olivia and Nailah whose heart shook in the next moment when they saw a massive blood-red blade that unceasingly emanated an extremely bright, blood-red light. While the ghostly and wraith-like rebuking and resentful cries that thunderously boomed out from them caused their bodies to grow stiff from exceeding fear. Although they were scared by the sounds coming from the blade, what caused them more fear was that would Alex be able to survive such a vicious attack of the realmverse.


    ''But what sort of tribulation is this?''


    ''Is that bastard practicing an evil art?''


    ''When he is done with his perverse tribulation, I am going to finish him off with scathing words. Does he actually wants to make me a widow already?''


    These questions came to Olivia''s mind without stop. She was simply tremendously pissed off by the appearance of this Tribulation which she was exceedingly sure had manifested because of Alex was doing something that didn''t conform to the norm of their cultivation realmverse.


    ''That bastard, he''s surely going to hear from me'' Olivia said with great rage in her heart. She couldn''t wait for the tribulation to end and rush down to where he was and beat the hell out of him, even if she knew that she couldn''t physically overwhelm Alex.


    The principals of the academies in the city had activated the buried, mega-defensive formations in their academies. However, their action was totally unnecessary. But one couldn''t blame them as they were taking defensive measures. Why they did so in the first place was because of the huge fright that the huge blade gave them. It had caused boundless fear to set in their hearts, which then took over their bodies as it caused their bodies to turn stiff, cold and tremble unceasingly. However, the blade was something that could be easily destroyed by them. But one shouldn''t underestimate the arcane and colossal, soul-severing corporeal blade that had manifested just below the ominous-colored sky. If the blade appeared at the level of power that they were at, they would be instantly destroyed by just the suppressive pressure exuding from it. This was Alex''s final soul-tribulation and had appeared at the rank of power that he was at. His tribulation should have ended with the soul-lightning tribulation. But because he made mockery of the abilities of some unseen, quasi-sentient mysterious forces in the realmverse, they generated a stronger attack that should kill him. Their will was that all things must conform or bend to the rules or statutes of this world, or they should be ready to be obliterated.


    ***


    Once Alex screamed "Come".


    Like the blade was responding to Alex, a powerful boom rang out from it which caused his blood to violently roil. And since his blood was churning ragingly within him, Alex coughed out mouthfuls of blood.


    He then wiped his blood off his mouth and prepared to defend his body and soul from the blade-attack that was going to descend upon him soon.


    With a thought, strengthforce energy flowed from his energyhouse to his hands. Once this energy got to his hands, they immediately condensed and shaped into massive blades that radiated the power of Might. Then permeating his eyes with speedforce energy, he was enabled to see everything in his vision move in slow motion. Then apart from turning his strengthforce energy into solid-weapons which was impossible to do by any other cultivator since they could only shoot cultivated energies off their hands as focused beams or blast, Alex saturated his leg muscles and the bones of his arms with his strengthforce energy.


    Then once the blade in the sky shot downwards at a furious speed towards him, Alex generated immense power in his legs and leaped into the sky towards it.


    Why Alex used his strengthforce energy was because of the suppressive force that was acting on him. The force was inhibiting his movement, making it seem like he was in a body-sized cage. But upon spreading strengthforce energy throughout his body, the strongly inhibitive force that encompassed his figure and restricted his movement vanished like it was never there. The energy bestowed him with the power of Might and made his body super-strong to withstand and resist the inhibiting force coming from the blade. Also, now that he had regained his movement, his blood which also continually churned because of the great pressure acting on it and causing him great discomfort began to flow smoothly once again within his blood channels. Then the other reason why Alex created blade-shaped energy-weapons using his strengthforce energy was because it was only them that possessed the solidness and denseness to impact the tribulation-blade attack and shatter it into smithereens. Being an energy that possessed primordial or originforce energy in it, it was able to reach the Heaven Adept rank in quality (density), becoming a quasi-Heaven Adept energy.


    However, Alex knew that what he was doing was risky, but he decided it do it anyways as he was sure that this was the last attack that the tribulation-unleashing, pseudo-sentient forces of the realmverse would bring upon him. Why it was risky was that, him using strengthforce energy that radiated pulses of power which would match that of peak-phase, Heaven Adept stage cultivators, could cause his other tribulation-attacks to ascend in the level or amount of destructive power or devastating force that they could produce upon impact with his body, and at the same time, with his soul. But since this was definitely the last attack which was what he thought, he then went on to use his strengthforce energy.


    Then apart from the great suppressive force acting viciously on his body, it also acted on his soul. However, due to the uniqueness and greatness of Alex''s enhanced and refined soul pillars, they were actually able to resist it on their own. Despite the level of the suppressive force which could cause the soul pillars of others to shatter into bits, Alex''s own couldn''t even show pressure marks, talk more of slight cracks.


    If one looked into his soul-dwelling region, one would see his pillar-shaped Soul Cores looking invincible, mighty and brilliantly resplendent. Also, strange and glyphic character-inscriptions could be seen on their surfaces, increasing their level of profoundness. If these could actually appear in the outside world, they would invoke the feeling in everyone that they belonged to true divine ancient gods, and not mortals like them.


    ...


    As Alex was shooting into the sky towards the descending enormous blade like he was flying, and at the same time, effortlessly resisting the great pressure that exuded from it and acted upon him and on everything else around him, causing them to instantly develop cracks, the blade which was tremendous in size began to radiate many forms of power as it shot downwards at a great speed towards Alex. The myriad forms of power the tribulation-blade emanated were the power of Soul-Severance, Ominousness, Gloom, Slaughter, Suppression and Corporeality. The power of Soul-Severance that it produced which acted upon Alex alone, as he was the target intended to be totally destroyed, would cut everything into two or halves, bringing about their complete ruin and instant death or oblivion. No soul, whether mortal or immortal, can escape from this power that would sever the souls of all things in the realmverse; no matter how galactic or titanic they were. While the power of Ominousness, which was also called the power of Balefulness, would make the soul to be completely engulfed in blood, and prevent it from being able to release any form of soul-power. The the power of Gloom would endlessly drown one''s soul in the unbounded sea of sadness, misery and horror. The power of Slaughter which was also called the power of Butchery would cause the soul to be reduced into the smallest bits by unseen thousands of blades. The power of Suppression would produce a force that would constrict or inhibit the soul. Then finally, the power of Corporeality which would make a soul-attack become substantiated that it would be able to cut or pierce through physical things, for example, the human body.


    Not long, Alex and the massive blade appeared before each other.


    With the energy-blades tightly grasped in his hands and trying his best to resist the myriad arcane powers that emanated from the blade and acted on his body, Alex struck out at the blade with immense heaviness using the dense and solid energy-blades composed from strengthforce energy.


    Bang!!


    A thunderous bang sound rang out as the huge blood-red blade instantly developed many cracks all over and explosively shattered into fragments like glass.


    Then before the fragments of the myriad of powers that constituted the blade could dissipate away, Alex who was falling at a rapid speed back to the earth because of a tyrannical wave that was released from the explosive shattering of the blade and struck him, quickly uttered with resoluteness in his tone "Absorb!"


    Then abstruse symbols appeared on his body and released a type of power that would absorb every other power in the realmverse.


    The resplendently glowing fragments that were formed out of the arcane powers that the blade was created from, were instantly acted upon by the attraction power coming from Alex''s body and were then pulled towards it. The instant that they arrived before his body, the solid fragments of condensed power turned into mist-like slivers of power that penetrated into his body and were then pulled to his soul-dwelling region where they infused into his soul pillars and blended with it, becoming one. And so, a new color that was blood-red and represented ominousness or balefulness and menace appeared in Alex''s pillar-shaped Soul Cores. Once this hue appeared in his soul pillars, the five powers that emitted from the gigantic blood-colored blade began to also emit from each of his sixty soul pillars, along with the ripping visible power of Ice and Frost, Fire, Poison and Corrosion, and Electricity.


    The blood-red sky rapidly thinned out and completely faded away, causing the sky to return to normal.


    While Alex who had summoned a pair of treasure-wing to his back so that he could fly began to slowly float back to the ground.


    ***


    Within Alex''s soul-dwelling region, the soul pillars which were towering in size, terrific because of the numbers of waves of powers that they released, and were multi-colored in appearance, began to tremble. They were trembling as they began to gradually take Alex''s physical form, but that of when he was a baby. And to grow from their baby form into Alex''s current teenager form, a massive amount of soulforce energy would be needed.


    So, with the artifact-wings self-floating in the air and with Alex''s eyes now closed, he pushed his energy and essence attracting and devouring power once again into the far distance. And as soon as he did so, a vast amount of soulforce energy began to rage from the distance in all directions towards him like gigantic and exceedingly violent floods.


    They heavily impacted his body that soulforce energy which was incorporeal in form like that of a ghost actually caused Alex''s body to tremble like he was being hit by something. Then the moment that the raging, tidal currents of soul-energy collided with his body, they entered it and rushed into his soul-dwelling region where they infused into his energy-hungry soul pillars.


    Once the soul pillars got infused with insane amounts of soulforce energy which also seemed to be unending, the soul pillars quickly transformed into babies. But these baby forms of Alex''s soul were actually like giants as they were towering in size. Anyways, this was because of Alex''s overly huge soul pillars. Despite the seeming, intense tempering process to remove numerous faulted areas away from his soul pillars, they were still monolithic in size. And as the energy continually infused into them, the baby forms of Alex''s soul began to grow. Now, they looked like a two-year old. Then as the tremendous amounts of soulforce energy rapidly, boundlessly and interminably flowed into them, the child-forms of Alex''s soul swiftly grew to reach the exact age that Alex was at.


    When they got here, their growths stopped themselves. Therefore, no matter the amount of soulforce energy that Alex would pump into them now, they wouldn''t grow more than this. This meant that he had reached a Cultivation Limitation Boundary which he had to break through to continue cultivating his soul to higher levels. However, at this junction, Alex could be said to have broken through into the ''Soul-Entity Creation'' stage.


    Once Alex''s soul pillars transformed into soul-beings and looked exactly like him; hair color, skin color and so on, sixty extremely strong soul presences began to emanate from him, as well as intense and overwhelming waves of multi-attributed, soul-based power. But Alex quickly retracted the overpowering presences and unbridled, multi-characterized soul-power emitting from the numerous Soul-Existences that had been birthed in the vast and unbounded, soul-dwelling region in a space in his head. And once he did so, he took back control of the flight-power of the treasure-wings and flew gently to the roof of his organization''s building. And when he sat on the roof in the lotus position which was also the cross-legged position, he sent his perception into his soul-inhabiting region to observe his soul-beings. The instant that he did so, he was shocked to the extreme by what he saw.

 Chapter 281: Profound Soul-Beings; Arrival

    Once Alex''s soul pillars transformed into soul-beings and looked exactly like him, sixty extremely strong soul presence began to emanate from him, as well as multi-attributed, intense and overwhelming waves of soul-based power. But Alex quickly retracted the presence and power emitting from the unbounded soul-dwelling region in a space in his head. Then once he did so, he took back control of the flight-power of the treasure-wing and flew gently to the roof of his organization''s building. And when he sat in the lotus position which was the cross-legged position, he sent his perception into his soul-inhabiting region to observe his soul-beings. The instant that he did so, he was shocked to the extreme by what he saw.


    When Alex jumped towards the sky, all the principals from academies that were close to where Alex was having his soul tribulation saw him and couldn''t help but be astonished.


    ''What a beast this child is'' One said inwardly upon seeing Alex carry out that astonishing action.


    Then when Alex smashed the energy-blades in his hand into the massive blood-red blade and causing it to shatter, the eyes of the principals brightly glowed with amazement.


    "The hell" Whispered in shock the principal from the Immovable Mountain Academy. Then he flew to Olivia''s room to see if she saw what he saw. And when he got there, he saw Olivia on the roof of her room, along with Nailah and some other girls who he believed were members of her faction.


    Then before they could greet him, he asked "Do you have any idea what sort of tribulation your husband is going through?"


    Once Olivia was asked the question, a smile surfaced in her face.


    "Principal, I am also bewildered by the kind of tribulation that he just went through." Olivia responded.


    "Hmm. That lover of yours is extremely amazing. He would surely grow up to become an expert that would shake worlds in future." The principal said. Then he continued "Alright, I am going now"


    Olivia nodded her head at him.


    While Nailah who couldn''t see what happened but heard an explosive bang sound proceeded to ask Olivia "Is my brother okay?"


    "You should know your brother, he would definitely be okay." Olivia said. Then she continued as she questioned "I am going to meet him, wanna come with me?"


    Nailah''s eyes shone with happiness. Then she quickly nodded her head. She wanted to meet Alex and show him that she had broken through.


    Olivia saw how Nailah quickly nodded her head in happiness and gave a smile.


    ''She wants to impress him'' She said inwardly.


    "Alright. Climb on my back" Olivia said.


    "Okay." Nailah said.


    Then she hopped on Olivia''s back who then took off into the air and shot towards where Alex was.


    ***


    "Hmm. Truly a son of his father. This boy is going to become extremely powerful in future." Houston said with delight and gladness in his tone. Then he vanished from where he floated in the air and reappeared in his room to continue his comprehension that was disturbed by the phenomenon that suddenly occurred.


    At the moment, Alex who was seated on the roof of his building had his mind continuously reel in amazement. What he saw within him caused his mind to spin in awe.


    Within his vast and unbounded soul-dwelling region could be seen mighty figures that looked exactly like Alex. Without surprise, those were his soul-existences. But there were many things about them that would greatly shock anyone that could look into Alex''s soul-dwelling region and see them.


    The soul-figures which were enormous in size, causing them to look mighty, were different from the way the soul-beings of other soul cultivators usually appeared after their soul pillars have been infused with soulforce energy to bring about their transformation. Although they looked exactly like Alex, they were different from the normal or usual form that they were supposed to take.


    The eyes of his massive soul-beings had thick, jet-black and violet-golden electricity arcs pulsate about within them. Same with the corporeal bodies of his soul-beings which had the dual-colored electricity that moved about in their eyes, snake about on the armors that were on each of them. The dark scarlet, tribulation-type soul-flame that Alex infused into his soul pillars had actually condensed into invincible-looking armors on them; just from the way that they looked and felt, it was like they were actual peerless-grade armors. Although the soul-incinerating ethereal flame had mysteriously turned into solid armors, dark scarlet fire could be seen burning ragingly around each of the armors. Anyone that saw this would simply marvel. Then when one observed further, one would see pairs of massive wings at the backs of these soul-beings. Some had a pair of wing, some had double pairs of wings, some three, while some four. And if one thought of were these wings came from, they had actually materialized from the soul-tribulation frost essence that Alex devoured during his soul-tribulation by ice and frost.


    However, these were not all.


    So looking further at Alex''s soul-beings, one would see luminous haloes of dark scarlet fire on their heads. While in one of the hands of his numerous soul-beings were huge, blood-red blades that had illusory ghosts, wraiths and horned demonical creatures shoot out from within them at intervals. Then in their other hands were spears that were green in color and produced illusory green-colored mists. Then apart from these, massive illusory cyclones of white-colored wind could be seen revolving around their huge figures. While at the backs of the soul-beings within the gigantic wind maelstrom could be seen towering, unreal figures which looked majestic and had illusionary, blood-red mists twirl unendingly around them. And as the mists unstoppably whirled around them like they were conscious, they emanated the will of the world to agonize, despair, suppress, butcher and sever the souls of myriads of creatures.


    Alex wondered why his soul-beings produced all that he was seeing. And when he thought hard of the reason why, he couldn''t come up with anything that made even little sense.


    What Alex didn''t know was that his souls had appeared like this because of the protoforce energy within them, making them to exhibit terrific and unusual powers. As an energy that bestowed one with the power to summon extra-dimensional divinely physiques, it caused his soul beings to look like physiques and behave like one. If one isn''t able to recall, physiques were illusory bodies that manifested from billions of arcane symbols in an unknown realm and generated marveling illusionary powers. So by the physique-evocation power of the protoforce energy, his souls were made to copy or simulate how physiques behaved in that unseen and inaccessible, boundlessly vast plane in the realmverse.


    Alex pulled his perception out of his soul-dwelling region to the world around him.


    Then he stood from his cross-legged position on the roof and jumped into the hole that he made in it.


    When he landed to the floor of his room, he went out of it to go meet the people who had decided to join his organization.


    Immediately he opened the door to go out of his room, he saw few of the members of his organization standing before his door with fear and worry in their eyes. However, upon seeing him, their gazes which erupted the emotions of worry turned into one that emanated gladness. Radiant smiles also appeared in their faces when they saw that the young founder of the organization that they had decided to join and which they believed they would definitely benefit tremendously from was fine, and even radiated a type of power that they couldn''t quite describe or explain.


    These people were earlier worried when Alex was screaming loudly in misery. Then they couldn''t help but think that something bad was happening to him, causing him to unendingly shriek terrifyingly. And when they heard no more noise which was the time that Alex punched through the roof of his room to go face the last tribulation that was visible to all eyes as it was corporeal, they thought that he had died. Therefore, because of the fear that something terrible might have happened to him, a few of the higher-ups of his organization rushed to where his room was and assembled there. Then they waited for sometime to detect any movement. But if they weren''t able to, they would break down the door and quickly tend to Alex if they saw that he had sustained any wound or injury.


    However, upon seeing that Alex was fine and even gave off a power that they couldn''t explain what it was, they smiled and greeted him with genuine and sincere smiles. And when they looked into his room as his door was still open, they saw a large hole in the ceiling which sunlight passed through and further illuminated the room. Then they became surprised by that.


    Alex saw the puzzled looks in their faces and smiled.


    Then he closed the door behind him and said to them "I am fine everyone. You can return to your departments and continue with what you were doing."


    Once he said this, the few number of people that had gathered before his door nodded their heads and left. Then when they had gone a bit far away from his room, they began to discuss among themselves.


    "Did you see a hole in the ceiling in Master''s room?" One of them asked in a curious tone.


    "I did. I don''t know how that got there" Another replied perplexedly.


    "Maybe he was practicing a battle method that shot off in the upward direction a wide beam of condensed power from his body which then punched a large hole through his ceiling and out of the roof." One said.


    "Probably." Another responded.


    As they discussed Alex and the state of his room amongst themselves, they didn''t know that Alex who had a powerful hearing was listening to their conversations. While Alex upon hearing what they were saying simply gave a smile. Then he shook his head.


    ***


    Several minutes later, Olivia who flew at a leisurely pace arrived at the building where Alex underwent his Soul Tribulation.


    Then when she landed before the building, she gently dropped Nailah to the ground and then walked into the building through the gate which was opened for her without questioning.

 Chapter 282: Trying her healing power

    Very quickly, she was ushered into the building by the people that she met on the way to a private meeting room.


    While Alex who had begun going through the massive amounts of items in his dad''s spatial necklace and was organizing them suddenly heard footsteps that was coming close to his door.


    Then he pulled his perception out of the spatial necklace and went to the door to open it.


    Creak!


    The door creaked open with Alex stepping out of it. While the person that came to his door to call upon him quickly greeted and said "Master, you have two people here to see you"


    "See me? Can you identify them? Who are they?" Alex asked.


    "Your lover and a little girl" The person replied with a smile.


    Once the person mentioned this, Alex''s eyes shone. Of course, he would know who they were.


    "Alright. Where are they?" Alex asked.


    "In a private room that we made for you to meet with visitors." The person responded.


    "Oh. Lead me to the room" Alex said.


    The person nodded and then began to walk towards the room with Alex following behind him.


    A few moments later, they got to the room.


    The person immediately turned around and left, while Alex opened the door to the room and entered.


    Upon entering, he saw Olivia and Nailah and smiled.


    "Hello beautiful" Alex said to Olivia and then winked at Nailah who also winked back at him.


    Olivia looked at him and said "I can see that you have started your organization."


    "Yea. But I don''t have many members now. Many of them are scared of joining because of the objective of my organization" Alex replied.


    "Which is?" Olivia questioned with furrowed brows. Her brows furrowed because something came to her mind. But she decided to ask Alex first to know if what she thought was right.


    "To kill every cultivator that would bring terror and oppression to the lives of people in the society." Alex said.


    "Okay. And you think that they would join? Of course, they wouldn''t. Even those that joined are living in fear everyday. I am certain of that" Olivia said.


    Alex smiled.


    "Yea. I know that my aim is quite the one that would bring lot of disaster, but that''s just me, who I am meant to be. Since I am The Godly Punisher who would set out to destroy fiendish cultivators and tear asunder unorthodox societies and churches that would bring harm and oppression to people, my organization which is named after my moniker should also do the same thing." He said.


    "Hmm" Olivia nodded.


    Then she continued "Alright, talk to your sister. She wants to speak with you."


    "Okay." Alex said.


    Then he went forward to meet Nailah who was seated beside Olivia.


    "Hello, dear sister. So what did you bring for your big bro? Or you came empty-handed?" Alex asked with a false sad tone.


    "Well... I came with good news actually" Nailah said with a smile.


    "Good news? I like good news. So spill it out in my face" Alex said with a bright smile. He already knew the news that Nailah said she brought for him.


    "I have broken through to become a cultivator


    Now, I am in the peak-phase entry stage." Nailah said excitedly.


    "Nice! Seriously, that''s great and cool. This means that very soon, you would be able to help your brother accomplish what he has in mind." Alex said.


    "Yes, very soon bro" Nailah said delightedly.


    Then she asked with a light of curiousness in her eyes "Can I know what you want me to do? I want to know if I would be able to help you at the cultivation stage that I have attained"


    "You sure? Then let''s see" Alex said.


    With a thought, the miniaturized Azure Beastsman palace which was stored in his mom''s spatial necklace shot out from it and began to float in the air on it own.


    Once the treasure-palace appeared, Alex sent a sliver of his perception into it and said to the artifact-spirit inhabiting the palace "Palace-spirit, please bring all of us into the palace"


    "Okay" A voice telepathically rang out in his head.


    Suddenly, space warped around each of them. Then they all vanished from here and appeared in a central hall in the palace.


    Immediately their bodies materialized in the palace''s central hall, Nailah who wasn''t expecting that to happen screamed out in shock and terror. But when she saw where they had appeared in, she stopped her shriek of horror, while her eyes couldn''t help but glow brilliantly with marvel and astonishment.


    "Wow!! " She exclaimed loudly.


    "Brother, you are actually extremely wealthy. Look at your palace, it''s really amazing, and beautiful " She spoke further.


    Haha!


    Alex laughed, while Olivia smiled.


    "True that your brother is wealthy, but this palace wasn''t made for him using his money. It''s something that he inherited after struggling against some illusory challengers that were created by the treasure-spirit of this treasure-palace" Alex said smilingly.


    "Oh! So you fought some unreal opponents for it? And when you defeated them, you became it owner?" Nailah asked to fully understand what Alex said.


    "Yes" Alex responded.


    "Wow! Where can I get a palace like this too brother? I would fight both real and unreal opponents for it" Nailah said with determination burning brightly in her gaze.


    "Well, for now, keep on cultivating. When you get to a stage where I would deem you strong enough to fight against challengers for ancient expert legacies, I would tell you exactly where to find four or five" Alex said and then playfully pinched Nailah''s cheeks.


    Nailah nodded her head happily.


    Alex then said into the air "Palace-spirit, please bring me the Beast of Five Elements"


    "Okay" The ancient voice of the palace-spirit sounded out.


    As soon as it said so, space warped around them. Then a huge crystalline beast that looked like it was carved from a gigantic glacier suddenly appeared before them.


    Immediately the beast appeared before them, Nailah''s eyes shone with amazement.


    "There you have it, dear sister" Alex said, looking at Nailah with a smile.


    "I-Is this w-what you wanted me to help you with?" Nailah asked in a stuttering manner.


    She was astounded by the huge size of the beast. She had never seen anything like that in her life.


    "Yes." Alex replied.


    Then he spoke further "Go on. See what you can do"


    "Okay" Nailah said with a bit of fear in her tone.


    Then with a few short steps, she arrived before the crystalline beasts that glowed luminously in five colors. And when she placed her small and dainty hands on it crystal-like body, it felt very cold, giving her the feeling that the body of the beast was purely ice.


    Immediately her hands contacted the cold body of the colossal resplendent beast, she closed her eyes and then began to discharge radiantforce energy from it. And as the energy discharged from her body, it actually turned into mist that flowed into the body of the beast. Then the area where the mist of Nailah''s radiantforce energy penetrated into, glowed brightly in the color of her energy.


    While Nailah did this, Olivia looked at Alex and said "Since you cultivate radiantforce energy, you should be able to do what she''s doing"


    "Well, you are right about that. But my ability is actually different from hers. She was born with the ability to control and manipulate the energy of light to bring about healing and revitalization. While I am only able to use it as energy-attacks. I don''t know how to control the energy to cause healing." Alex responded.


    "Oh. I get it now." Olivia said as she looked at Nailah who was totally focused on what she was doing.


    Then she brought her gaze back to Alex and asked "Do you know why I came here?"


    "Yea" Alex said with a smile. Then he continued "You came here because you have missed my face and talks. And perhaps you want me to warm your body up a little, or a little very much"


    Olivia looked at him with a faked frown in her face.


    Then she proceeded to ask "Why must you always respond to every question that I ask you in a lewd way? Eh? Anyways, for your information, I don''t need your warming. I can hold myself till the collapse of the realmverse."


    "Oh really?" Alex asked and laughed.


    "Anyways, what are you here for?" He asked with seriousness in his tone.


    "What tribulation did you go through?" Olivia asked softly.


    "Oh that! Well, soul tribulation" Alex replied.


    Alex didn''t need anyone to tell him that the massive, blood-red blade which had appeared in the sky would alert everyone in the city.


    "Soul tribulation? At this stage that you are in? How''s that even possible?" Olivia asked in great shock.


    "Don''t forget that everything unusual and mystifying is possible with me" Alex said with a smile.


    Olivia exhaled and looked worriedly at him.


    "Hope you are okay? And hope your soul isn''t damaged in any way? Tell me the truth please, don''t hide anything from your wife" She asked and mentioned affectionately.


    "No. I am fine." Alex replied.


    "Okay. But what exactly did you do to bring about that tribulation?" Olivia asked curiously.


    "To be sincere, I myself don''t know. I was only trying to increase my soul pools when the tribulations showed up. I think it must have been the soul pools which I tried to multiply that brought about the soul tribulations. Perhaps it was a taboo of the realmverse" Alex replied.


    "Tribulations? There were more than one of them?" Olivia asked.


    "Yea. There were more than five of them" Alex replied.


    "Oh my!" Olivia exclaimed with a brilliant light of marvel emitting from her eyes.


    Alex would always give her surprises. Till now, she still couldn''t measure or scale his abilities. Now, he had successfully broken through into the soul cultivation realm to become a soul cultivation expert, and had gone through an unusual and profound soul tribulation which she was sure had appeared because of the greatness and uniqueness of his soul, as tribulation would only appear to destroy or annihilate something that defied the law or statute of the realmverse.


    "Just don''t make me cry one day with these wicked, perverse tribulations that you always pass through every time you want to break through in your cultivations." Olivia said.


    She couldn''t imagine how she would feel if Alex was one day destroyed by the fearsome attacks that would rain down from tribulations.


    "I won''t. I promise" Alex said confidently and resolutely.


    Then he took one of her hands into one of his and pulled her towards him to embrace her tightly. He then kissed her on the forehead and looked at Nailah. Same with Olivia who stared at him with love and affection in her eyes before she turned it away to look at Nailah.


    Like that, they gazed at Nailah who was busy infusing the Beast of Five Elements with her radiantforce energy to heal it.


    But after doing it for quite some time, Alex decided to stop her.


    "Nailah, it''s okay. Look at your skin, it has gotten pale. I am sure you have sent all the energy within you into the beast to heal it. I know that you are trying to prove to me that you can help me. But you have actually successfully done so. However, the beast is thousands of times bigger than you. It is way mightier than the power that you possess at the moment. So when you grow a bit powerful, I would come to you again to help me heal this beast" Alex said.


    Nailah nodded her head.


    Then she said "I won''t disappoint you at that time"


    Alex smiled.


    "Surely" He said.


    Then curling his arm around her neck, he asked "Would like to go round the palace?"


    "Yes brother" Nailah said excitedly.


    "Alright." Alex said.


    Then he held Nailah by a hand and pulled her with him towards the door of the hall that they were in. Then like that, they began to walk round the palace with Olivia who followed behind them to different halls and rooms in the palace.

 Chapter 283: Schemes

    After going through all the palace rooms and halls, they arrived back at the central hall of the palace.


    "Brother, thanks for taking me round your palace" Nailah said.


    "Don''t mention" Alex said with a smile.


    Then he said into the air "Palace-spirit, take us out of the palace"


    "Alright" The ancient voice of the Palace-spirit rang out.


    Once it voice sounded out, space warped around Alex, Olivia and Nailah. Then their bodies faded into thin air and re-materialized in the room that they were teleported away from.


    "We would like to be on our way now" Olivia said.


    "Alright. Let me see you guys off" Alex said.


    Then he opened the door for them and Olivia and Nailah stepped out of the room. He then followed behind them. And as they moved down to the gate to leave the building, the members of Alex''s organization greeted them respectfully.


    It wasn''t because of Alex that they respected Olivia and Nailah, although it was one of it, but it was because of Olivia''s status in the Immovable Mountain Academy, and also, because she was a Sky Lord stage cultivator. While they were mere condensation stage and earth adept stage cultivators. So, because of her level in cultivation, she had to be respected. And as for Nailah, she was the adopted sister of their boss which they discovered later from someone that led Alex to the private waiting room.


    As soon as they came out of the building, Nailah climbed again on Olivia''s back who then took into the air and shot away at great speed on the direction of their academy.


    Alex waved at them as they flew away. Then he walked back into the building.


    As Olivia flew away with Nailah on her back at a high speed, two people who were at the Saint stage and were students of the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy were looking at her with an aura of vengeance emanating unbridledly from them.


    With powerful visions because of the Saint cultivation stage that they were in, they gazed wickedly at Olivia as she flew away.


    "Who is that on her back?" Lenna asked Maxwell.


    "Don''t know. She could be a younger member of her faction who she took her out with her to go meet her damned lover." Maxwell replied.


    "Hmm. Since you cultivate puppetforce energy, we could grab some of his men and turn them into our puppets. It is these human-puppets of yours that would transmit details about what goes on in his organization to you." Lenna said.


    "Okay. And how do we go about that? Turning his men into puppets. I can''t just go there and transform them into my puppets" Maxwell said.


    "This is what we will do. We would direct a group of disarrayed people that reside in a particular area to go to his organization to ask for their help in chasing off or eliminating a bunch of criminal-minded cultivators who come to their residential areas to steal from them and terrify them." Lenna replied.


    "Hmm. But would that work?" Maxwell asked in a curious tone.


    "Yes" Lenna replied.


    Maxwell then looked at Lenna and asked "What makes you think they would want to do that? Is that what his organization is for? I don''t think so"


    "Haha. Then what fucking aim would his organization want to achieve? Just there and be prospering with his uncle''s wealth? Brother, take a look at the name that he gave his organization. The Punisher''s society. What do you think that implies? Why would he give that kind of tyrannical name to his organization if there isn''t a motive to punish people with ominous or demonical intents. Also, look at the fearsome alias he gave himself; The Godly Punisher. That boy is surely going to set out to punish folks who do nefarious and sinister things in the society. I am extremely certain of that" Lenna responded confidently.


    "Hmm. You might be right." Maxwell said with a slight nod of his head.


    Then he asked "But how are we going to go about that? You know, make mortals living in a particular area be terrorized to the point of death and become desperate for freedom fighters or warriors to come liberate them from the situation that they are in? Wait, I have a feeling, that you might make some of the students from our institution go to a particular community to disturb the peace and serenity there, bring down hell and chaos, right?"


    "Exactly brother. We are going to make many of the boys in Drille''s faction go to places to cause problems. They could even kill and rape wives and female children if they want to. Blood of lot of mortals would surely be shed so that we can achieve our aim." Lenna said with a light of viciousness in her eyes.


    "True. We must do anything to achieve our aim." Maxwell said. Then he continued "After those disarrayed people would have gone to call upon some of the members of his organization to the places where hell has been brought down on, I would be there already to pervade their bodies with my puppet-transformation energy and take control of their bodies. Then everything that the bastard would say or do would be made known to me through the puppet-control link between me and the human-puppets I turned his members into."


    "Yes, brother" Lenna said.


    But then, a thought which overly frightened abruptly came to his mind.


    "But we have to plan through this well. We can''t afford to let his uncle who possesses unfathomable strength to know about this. Or it would result in our doom, and the demolishment of our institution."


    "You are correct, brother" Lenna said. Then she continued "We would revise our scheme many times more to remove every form of flaw in it. Once we feel it is perfect, that is when we would set out to execute it. And by all the luck in the realmverse, our machinations would come to fruition." Lenna said.


    Maxwell nodded.


    Then as if they read each other''s mind, they both took into the air and flew back to the academy that they were from.


    ***


    Few months later...


    - New Glory town -


    Large, tall flames could be seen burning on buildings. While shriek-like cries of people could be heard.


    Boom!


    An explosion suddenly took place and resulted in the appearance of a gigantic, mushroom-shaped cloud of orange fire which was accompanied by a wave of destructive power and tremendously energized air that swept many people off their feet into the distance, resulting in their instant deaths.


    Slash!


    Slash!


    Slash!


    Heads of people began to roll off their necks to the ground as swords and blades cut through them.


    While loud sexual moans that radiated intense sadness and grief could be heard coming from beautiful-skinned young girls and ladies that were being sexually assaulted and harassed by masked people who wore large hooded cloaks.


    Then other people whose face were pale-white because of the terrifying and horrifying things that they were witnessing began to run helter-skelter for fear of their lives.


    Not long, the masked and cloaked people who wielded blades and swords to behead or slash people''s bodies apart quickly left the area before law enforcement agents would arrive.


    They had to do things quickly and leave the area as they couldn''t risk getting exposed, or it would result in their annihilation by even the government itself.


    ***


    Few hours later...


    People who had ran far away from the area came back and began to wail. They had come back to retrieve a few of the properties that they felt they would have left. But when they saw that all their properties had been destroyed by the fire from the multiple explosions that occurred, they couldn''t help but cry out in sadness and sorrow. While some who saw the dead bodies of their sexually violated female children on the ground couldn''t help but cry out in anguish and have pangs of intense pain afflict their hearts.


    At this point in time, there were already agents sent by the city lord to the this town to come carry out investigation on who would have dared to do such a wicked thing to these mortals. But all that they conclude from their investigation was that the people who carried out the evil and sinister acts were cultivators, and that they were perhaps outcast or outlaws.


    However, the agents who were here promised the mortals living in this area that the city lord was going to build new homes and shops for them, and give them large amounts of money as compensation for the female children that were killed by the wicked cultivators that invaded their town.


    ***


    Not quite long, news about what happened in New Glory town spread like wildfire throughout the city. Then everyone from academies, societies, guilds, churches, shrines and so on began to talk about it.


    Now, people, especially the mortals, began to live in great fear and terror, as they didn''t know when and where these bad guys would strike again and cause disastrous problems in their communities.


    Alex too had heard about these and became sad at the number of innocent, peace-loving mortals that were killed, and angry because of the wicked acts of the cultivators that rained hell and chaos in there.


    Suddenly, Alex who was in his room in the cross-legged position on his bed heard some footsteps at his door.


    Knock!


    That person that was standing before his door knocked.


    "Come in" Alex''s voice sounded from within.


    Then the door opened and the person that knocked on his door stepped in.


    Immediately he entered, he entered into a bow. And when he straightened himself back, he said humbly "Master, there are some folks here to see you"


    "Folks here to see me?" Alex asked in a surprised tone. Then he said "Alright, take me to where they are"


    The person then nodded and walked out of Alex''s room with Alex following behind him to the place where some people wanted to see him.


    Immediately Alex appeared in a hall where some people waited for him, a middle-aged man and woman who could recognize Alex instantly knelt before him with tears streaming down unbridledly from their eyes.


    "Please, help us, they have abducted my children. We beg you" The middle-aged woman quickly said with tears flowing down her red eyes. The redness of her eyes showed that she had been crying for hours.


    Alex looked at their anguished states and felt really sorry for them. Then he said "Mr and Miss, I am really sorry. I won''t be able to do that. That''s not what my organization is for. You should go to the law enforcement agency in the city to report about your missing children. The agency would be able to help you find your missing children. Not me"


    Once Alex said this, the woman began to cry and wail the more. While the middle-aged man looked at Alex with both intense sorrow and blazing hope in his eyes. Then he said without a breaking voice "Actually, our four children that consisted of three boys and a young girl were abducted because of you. And their abductors said that if you don''t appear before them in seventy-two hours, our children would be killed, and their bodies burnt into a crisp. Then that they would come for us and the rest of my family to slay each and everyone of us. Please, I beg you. For the sake of my children, please help us."

 Chapter 284: Going on a recovery mission

    Once the man said that, everyone''s eyes shone.


    "So, what you are trying to tell me is that they would only release your children when I appear before them?" Alex asked.


    "Yes, senior" The man said with hope in his tone.


    Alex took a deep breath.


    "These people that took your children, did you see their faces?" Alex asked.


    "No senior, they were masked. Besides, we were warned not to look into their eyes, or we would have our souls destroyed" The middle-aged man said.


    Immediately the man said that, Alex''s brows furrowed.


    ''They would have their souls destroyed. Hmm, they could be soul cultivators. But soul cultivators? I thought that they were rare. Especially in this part of the realmverse where soul cultivators should be scarce, as there is no material for it. And to comprehend it is extremely hard, just like how it took me years to comprehend it. I even had to use a cheat to do that" Alex thought at the speed of lightning.


    Now looking at the man whose eyes were red due to lot of tears that had streamed out of it, Alex asked "Did the abductors of your children give you the place where I should meet them?"


    "Yes! Yes!" The woman hurriedly said in a loud tone.


    "Where? Tell me the place" Alex said.


    "At a cave in a mountain found in the Song of Sinners valley in the Windrift city which is in Jameson state" The man said.


    "What?" Everyone who were around the man, woman and Alex asked in shock. While Alex looked at the man with a gaze that invoked the feeling that he was trying to understand some things.


    "They took your children to another state? The Jameson state? That state is about fifteen state away from here. It would take our master more than a week to arrive in there" Someone suddenly said.


    "Yes, they know about that. But they also know who he is. They know that he is related to someone that could be said to be the richest man in the state. Therefore, because of this reason, they believe that he would have access to single-user, high-grade transportation vehicles that can move at great speeds. So, they gave him seventy-two hours which is three days to arrive in a cave in that valley. Or we would never see our children again, and that we would be eliminated, no matter where we would run to and hide in" The man said sobbingly and with intense grief radiating off his tone.


    "Master, you definitely can''t go there. We don''t know what terrible things that they have planned for you." Someone quickly said in a worried tone to Alex, as he felt that Alex might be moved by this people before him and go to that faraway state to help them recover their children.


    Once the person said this, Alex smiled.


    "Nothing you would ever say is going to dissuade me, Blacklotus. I would definitely go there to help these folks retrieve their children. I know that you are scared and worried that I would be gravely injured, or that my life would be put in great danger there. Anyways, such might happen, but I would always definitely come out on top. Besides, I am the daring and adventurous type. So, I would definitely go there to hone my battle experience, and help these people bring back their children." He said with a resolute gaze.


    But also, he wanted to see the person or people who were behind this nefarious action, and their reason why it was him that they targeted.


    Then he looked at the middle-aged man and woman.


    "Do you have a place to stay?" He asked.


    "No, our home has been razed to the ground. We don''t have anywhere to stay" The woman spoke in a sad and aggrieved tone .


    "Okay." Alex said.


    Then he looked at a member of his organization and said "You, please prepare a place for this man and woman to stay till I would bring back their kids"


    "Alright Master" The person said humbly.


    Alex nodded.


    Then the man and woman knelt before Alex and began to thank him with utmost sincerity in their tones.


    What would their life become if Alex refused to help them? Now, he was even generous enough to give them a place to stay till he would bring back their children.


    With tears continually flowing down their eyes, they thanked and thanked him.


    "Come on, it''s okay" Alex said. Then he said to that person " Take them to the room where they would stay"


    The person nodded and went to meet the middle-aged man and woman, while Alex turned around and went to his room.


    Now sitting on his bed, he began to think deeply of many things.


    "This situation looks very profound than it seems. I have a feeling that all the bad things happening in the city seem to be manifesting because of me. Who are the deadly enemies that I would have made in my short time in this city?" Alex asked inwardly.


    Then he began to think of the few people that he had offended. After thinking for sometime, his train of thought ended at the Ancient Heavenly cauldron academy. Why his thought train stopped here was because he knew that others that he had battled with and humiliated can''t really make him their enemies. Although they would seriously detest him for what he did to them, they however wouldn''t make him their complete enemies. But, he believed that students from the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy would have become his total adversaries, as he had killed their genius in cold blood. If he knew what he knew now and time was to reverse to the point when he was fighting Drille, the Bone-sawing Evilchild, he was still going to slaughter him. Nobody talks trash or thinks ill about anyone that he has in his heart, or they should be prepared to be killed, if they don''t have the power to run from him and totally evade his towering murdering or slaughtering intent.


    However, this was just an assumption of his, as he couldn''t really link things that were happening in the community of mortals to the abduction of the children of the middle-aged people now residing in his organization''s building, and finally to the killing of Drille. But what Alex didn''t know was that Drille had a brother, a sister and an uncle. If he knew about them, he would surely believe that his assumptions were absolutely true.


    Once he was done thinking, he began to prepare for the journey that he was going to embark on to bring back the children of the middle-aged people. He knew that it was a really dangerous thing that he was about to set out for, but if he stayed back because of great fear of the unknown, then he knew that he was not fit to be called an unequaled cultivator, one that wanted to seize territories, conquer lands, abolish governments, be far above Beyonders, Deities and Deviants to become the strongest in the realmverse that would unite all realms.


    However, he knew the degree of deadliness of what he was about to embark upon, and that he might be destroyed if he was slightly careless. But because of the numerous inborn and acquired god-like abilities that he had, and because of the soul that he had cultivated which gave him much more confidence for his upcoming battles as they were many, unusually powerful and physically mighty in form, he knew that he was up to the task. And who knows, he could meet with good fortune there. So he thought.


    Well, time was not on his side. He had to leave now to go to the Jameson state and retrieve the children of the middle-aged people, and fully slay the people who he believes would do anything such as make schemes to hurt, harm or kill innocent people just so that they could eliminate or eradicate him.


    With a thought, the miniaturized Azure Beastsman palace shot out of his mom''s spatial ring and began to float in the air by it own power.


    Once it appeared and began to hover, Alex quickly sent a sliver of his perception into it.


    "Palace-spirit, I want to make use of the treasure-palace as a means of transportation. I have to get to a state that is extremely far away from the state that this city is in. Also, time isn''t on my side. I have to get there very fast and do some things, or the children of some folks would be annihilated or brainwashed to become slaves." He said.


    "I know. I listened to your conversations between you and them. It was right of you to decide to help them. Besides, you would be sharpening your battle prowess and meet new people with a different culture and tradition" The palace-spirit said.


    Alex nodded.


    Then abruptly, space warped around Alex and he vanished from where he was and reappeared in the palace hall.


    Then the palace began to move through a layer of space which kept it invisible to all eyes. And at a tremendous speed like it was a rocket, it blazed through space to the Jameson state. It could as it had a clear and detailed map projection of the hundreds of states and cities that they had in this Planeverse which was a mortal world.


    ***


    "Do you think that bastard would help those folks?" A male asked a female who was by his side in a curious tone.


    "Definitely" She replied.


    "It''s as if you know him so well" The male said with surprise in his tone.


    "Hahaha." The female only laughed raucously and didn''t say anything else.


    Without surprise, these people were Lenna and Maxwell. They had revised their plans thoroughly and then decided to change it. Then they came up with a scheme which was to send Alex far away, to a place where his uncle wouldn''t be able to rush over to quickly protect him if his life was critically endangered.

 Chapter 285: Arrival

    ***


    "Do you think that bastard would help those folks?" A male asked a female who was by his side in a curious tone.


    "Definitely" She replied.


    "It''s as if you know him so well" The male said with surprise in his tone.


    "Hahaha." The female only laughed raucously and didn''t say anything else.


    Without surprise, these people were Lenna and Maxwell. They had revised their plans thoroughly and then decided to change it. Then they came up with a scheme which was to send Alex far away, to a place where his uncle wouldn''t be able to rush over to quickly protect him if his life was critically endangered.


    Not long, the palace arrived at Jameson state. Then moving at an high speed, it blazed through space to the city where the Song of Sinners valley was located.


    Swoosh!


    Space warped and Alex appeared.


    He had been brought out by the palace-spirit, and in the a place where no one would see him.


    ***


    - Song of Sinners valley -


    In a particular secret cave in a mountain...


    "Has he left Smith city?" Someone who wore a blue cloak asked a group of people around him.


    "We don''t think so. Because if he had, the guys we put out there to monitor him would surely tell us that they saw him leaving in an ultivehicle or any other form of transportation vehicle to this city. So, since they didn''t see him leave in any transportation vehicle, it''s possible that he hasn''t left. But we aren''t absolutely sure, as he could have left using another transportation means" Someone replied.


    "Hmm." The blue cloaked person said.


    "He can''t be that heartless to ignore the old folks that went to meet him right?" He asked the cloaked people around him in a curious tone.


    "Definitely" Another person replied.


    "Then that means he had left using a transportation means that we couldn''t detect. The bastard could even be in this city by now." The blue cloaked person said.


    Then he looked over at someone who wore a dark cloak which had a large hood pulled over his head to hide his face. This person was actually very cautious that he had to even hide his face amongst these people that were around him. However, no one could look down at him as he radiated a pulse of power that caused them to look at him respectfully and without arrogance in their eyes.


    "I heard that he''s powerful. That he could beat peak-phase, Earth Adept stage cultivators while being an initial-phase, Earth Adept stage cultivator." The blue cloaked man said to the male who wore a large hooded cloak.


    "Yes. What you have heard is true. But he shouldn''t be a problem to you or your men, right?" The person in the large-hooded dark cloak asked.


    "Sure. I and my acolytes are soul cultivators, while he''s an energy cultivator. He can''t stand a single fighting chance against my men in which just one of them is enough to grievously injure and completely damage his soul" The blue cloaked person said confidently.


    Then the male wearing a large-hooded black cloak nodded his head.


    "However, you guys still need to be careful. I have a feeling that the boy is hiding majority of his powers." The male said.


    "Hiding his powers? Haha! What can that do against a soul cultivator? Like I said earlier, he''s an energy cultivator, while I am a soul cultivator. I would unleash attacks that would simply rip his soul into shreds. And when he is dead, I will cut his limbs away from his body and throw them into the different rivers in this city. Haha." The blue cloaked man said and laughed.


    "Right. Energy cultivators, and even other types of cultivators are powerless against soul cultivators. However, don''t forget that if the target intended to be destroyed is too powerful, your attacks would be meaningless. Let me show you an example of how the target I want killed, chased off a soul cultivator who was supposed to dominate him in battle." The large-hooded black cloaked male said.


    Then he brought out something from his spatial ring which was a crystal orb.


    Once he brought it out and sent a sliver of his perception into it, a large screen that began to float in the air expanded forth from within the crystalline orb.


    Then images began to move within the screen.


    Everyone in the room began to watch what was going on in the screen.


    They saw how Alex who was overwhelmed by Soulstorm suddenly erupted with tremendous power in the form of raging and blazing flames that radiated intense heat which chased Soulstorm far away from the battle stage. And from what they were watching, if Soulstorm had waited a second more, he would have sustained extreme-degree burns that would spread throughout his entire body and could even result in his death as the greatly ferocious flames could spread to his body and burn him to death and eventually to ashes.


    "You see what I am talking about?" The person wearing a large-hooded black cloak asked.


    "Although, it''s true that you guys are the most powerful. But you are only powerful and fearsome when you reach the stage to be able to leave your body and enter into the body of others to absorb their soul or slay it. But since you haven''t reached that stage, don''t consider yourself as the most powerful. If it was a life or death battle between that boy and that ignorant soul cultivator, he would have perished because the boy would unleash towering streams of seeming mountain-consuming flames" The person who wore a large-hooded black cloak said further.


    "Hmm. I see reason in what you said. Thanks for the heads up. We would be careful in handling the boy. However, he is still no match for us. My men are in the initial-phase, Firmament Soul rank which is the same stage as Sky Lord stage for energy cultivators. While I am in the peak-phase, Firmament Soul rank. So, how much power would he be able to erupt with to counter our powerful and deadly soul-attacks? Besides, he is not a soul cultivator. And even if he is, he couldn''t have cultivated his soul to the point where it would be able to resist our powerful and fierce, soul-annihilating attacks. Therefore, what he can only do is to have his soul bombarded by the formidable attacks of my men and be dispersed by them. Haha" The cloaked person said and cackled demonically.


    "Just do a clean job, for many things are at stake" The male wearing a large hooded dark cloak said. Then he stood from where he sat and said "I am going back to my academy. But as a reminder, don''t underestimate the boy, and once again, do a perfect, untraceable job"


    Then using his Saint-level power, he vanished from where he was to the city-teleportation station in the city, which he appeared at to teleport to Smith city after paying the exorbitant, great-distance teleportation fees to utilize the massive teleportation array or transference array installed in the inter-city teleportation centers.


    Once Drille left this place, the leader of the small, mercenary group of soul cultivators who was Rebuke by name, said to the people in his group.


    "I believe you all heard that Man." Rebuke said. Then he spoke further "That sly bastard would have used a form of transportation which my men over there couldn''t detect to arrive stealthily in this city. He could be anywhere now. So, I want to us to be prepared for him. His uncle is tremendously wealthy and quite powerful, and so, that boy would certainly have many different types of high-quality treasures on him, and even a shocking sum of yellow sapphirstones. That boy is our jackpot. When he arrives, we would kill him, and take all of his possessions. Then we would be rich. We would be fucking rich. I am starting to have a problem imagining how wealthy I would be because of that bastard. Haha! Hahaha!" Rebuke said and laughed unbridledly.


    As Rebuke was laughing, infecting others with his loud, maniac-like laughter, someone suddenly said "But boss, since you believe that boy is going to carry many tons of treasures and massive amounts of sapphirstones with him, instead of killing him, why don''t we make him a captive and ask his uncle for money. That way, we would be more richer."


    Once this person spoke, Rebuke arrived by his side and gave him a slap in the face.


    "Greed would ultimately lead to one''s downfall. Focus on the mission and accomplish it. Then every other thing would be added. Got it now?!!" He said and angrily questioned the person that he furiously slapped.


    "Yes I do" The person immediately said with anguish radiating off his tone.


    "Good." Rebuke said. Then now looking at his men, he said "Get ready"


    ***


    Once Alex appeared in the forest, he stowed the miniaturized Azure Beastsman palace into his mom''s spatial ring.


    Then he walked away from where he had appeared in towards the chain of mountains in the Song of Sinners Valley.


    After many minutes of walking, he arrived before the chains of mountains. Then not wasting time, he quickly deployed his far-seeing vision to look into the distance. And being someone that was able to split his mind into many places to multi-task, he pushed his vast power of feel-perception from his feet into the far distance. This sensory power spread out to actually cover the entire valley. And immediately he did this, he could perceive all the vibrations in the earth. Some were natural seismic vibrations in the earth, while some were unnatural. He knew what those unnatural vibrations were.


    Then with a smile in his face, Alex said with a booming voice to draw them out from their hideout "Bastards, the boy that you want is here now. I advise that you surrender those kids, or be killed"

 Chapter 286: Surprised

    Once Alex''s voice rang out, the people who were after Alex furrowed their brows in shock and amazement.


    "The bastard is here already? That fast? Haha. That shows he has one extremely fast transportation vehicle. And since he can have that, he would definitely have a large sum of sapphirstones. We are gonna be rich, wickedly rich. When we kill him, we would have all his possessions." Rebuke said excitedly to his men who nodded their heads with delight.


    Few minutes later...


    As Alex waiting, someone who wore a blue-colored cloak appeared before him. This person was Rebuke. Only him had decided to appear before Alex.


    Once he appeared before Alex, Alex looked at him with indifferent eyes and asked "Where are the kids. Provide them now!" He then ordered.


    "Or what?" Rebuke asked.


    "Or I am gonna kill you and feed your body parts to the hungry wild beasts of the wilderness." Alex said.


    Hahahahaha!!


    Rebuke suddenly laughed like he was possessed.


    "Oh. So, if I don''t provide the children, you would kill me and feed parts of my body to wild beasts? Haha! Haha! I would love to see you try" He said.


    Alex looked at him with a furrowed brow.


    Then he asked "Are you a body cultivator or soul cultivator?"


    "Why do you ask?" Rebuke asked.


    "Because I can''t sense any ripple of power of a cultivation stage emitting from your body. And since no sane mortal would dare to go against a cultivator, then that means you must be either a body cultivator or soul cultivator. So, which one are you? A body cultivator? Or a soul cultivator?" Alex mentioned and questioned.


    "Haha. Well, I am anything you choose to believe in your mind." Rebuke said.


    Alex looked at Rebuke for a few seconds, then he shifted his gaze away from his body to the environment. Then after looking around and into the distance for sometime, he turned his head to look back at Rebuke who had a sinister smile in his face.


    "Where are your men?" Alex asked.


    "Well, I don''t have any men. I am doing this all by myself" Rebuke said. He was trying to have fun of Alex before he would order his men to come out for the kill.


    "Oh. But from what I can sense, I can perceive that there are many people in a particular cave. Those should be your men. So, don''t waste my time and tell them to come out to slay me. Or I would do the same to them if you keep on wasting my precious time." Alex said.


    "My. What powerful hearing sense. You are using a sensory augmentation treasure placed in your ears to increase your hearing to great levels right?" Rebuke asked.


    Alex looked at him and said "Well, no. I don''t need that. And you don''t need to know. Although you would die soon, I still will not tell you. I love keeping my secret only to myself, asshole" Alex responded.


    "Haha...."


    Rebuke started to laugh. Then before he could say anything else, Alex suddenly barked "Hey stupid, you are wasting my time! Do me a favor by telling your goddamned men to bring out the children. Or I would go into your cave myself to take the kids away with me."


    Rebuke''s sinister gaze then erupted unbridled killing intent.


    "I would love to see you try" He said angrily.


    Alex''s eyes then narrowed.


    With a thought, radiantforce energy flowed from within his energyhouse to his left arm and erupted from it in a massive amount. Then sharply, the luminous energy condensed and shaped into a large glowing spear that Alex pushed out of his hand with the will of his mind and with his absolute control over his energy towards Rebuke who suddenly unleashed a large, tidal wave of soul power that shot towards Alex at a great speed.


    Passing through Alex''s energy-attack unhindered like it was a ghost, the wave of soul-power arrived before Alex and shot into his body and into his soul where it struck his soul-beings with tyrannical hardness.


    Boom!!


    Since Alex''s soul had solidified from it smoke-like form into corporeal entities, the large soul-wave struck them and caused a boom to ring out in his soul-dwelling region.


    Alex staggered backward for sometime from the attack of the soul-wave that was unleashed upon him by Rebuke in retaliation.


    After sometime, Alex gained his balance. Then when he looked up to gaze at Rebuke, Rebuke could see a thin stream of blood flowing down his nose and a side of his lips. While his eyes was slightly blood-red. A tiny amount of blood had appeared in his two eyes, making them red, while a small quantity flowed thinly down his nose and mouth. These happened because of the great force that the tyrannical wave impacted his soul entities with.


    As Alex looked at Rebuke with an understanding that Rebuke was a soul cultivator, and one who was far senior to him in soul cultivation, Rebuke who was exceedingly shocked at the moment because of the way Alex''s soul didn''t damage in any degree from his soul wave attack, looked at Alex with great astonishment erupting off his gaze.


    He had always thought that Alex was an energy cultivator, and that even if he succeeded in cultivating his soul, it wouldn''t be able to withstand an attack from him. But from what he witnessed, Alex who was a cultivator of energies was actually also a cultivator of the soul. And from the way Alex was able to regain his balance from staggering backwards for sometime, instead of collapsing to the ground and be rolling about on it in intense pain, Rebuke couldn''t help but have his mind reel in shock.


    ''The fuck! So he is also a soul cultivator? How come? Despite being an energy cultivator. I understand now. He''s one of those insane cultivation genius. But still, where did he get the time to cultivate his soul to the point where he was able to withstand my low-powered attack, without fainting or even directly entering into a comatose state?'' Rebuke questioned himself inwardly.


    Then he said further within himself ''No wonder that guy said I shouldn''t underestimate this boy. He''s truly powerful. But from what I watched in that screen, his soul was being affected by any of the attacks sent out by his challenger who was at the Soulcore Establishment stage. So when and how did he cultivate his soul to such a stage that it even terrifies me. Aii! What have I gotten myself into? This boy surely mustn''t escape from us, or he would grow to become a terrific cultivator that would come back to slay all of us. I have to kill him by all means''


    Once Rebuke uttered all these within himself, an aura of evilness began to erupt from him.


    Although Alex was at the Soul-Being Creation stage which was a soul cultivation stage that was between the Soulcore Establishment stage and Firmament Soul stage, his corporeal soul entities were able to withstand the attack from a Firmament Soul-stage soul cultivator; a stage that was equal in level to that of Sky Lord stage cultivators for ''Energy Cultivation''. While Alex''s current soul cultivation stage which was between the two stages mentioned above was slightly greater in power to that of the Soulcore Establishment stage, which was the same as the Earth Adept stage. If one looks at it from an energy cultivator''s perspective, the soul cultivation realm Alex cultivated his soul to which was the Soul-Entity Creation stage, was more powerful than the Soulcore Establishment stage which was the same as Earth Adept stage for energy cultivators. While the Sky Lord stage which was the same as Firmament Soul rank for soul cultivators was quite powerful than the Soul-Entity Creation stage. So, for this reason, Alex''s soul-beings couldn''t be damaged in the slightest by the low-powered attack that Rebuke sent out. However, one mustn''t forget that Rebuke was in the peak-phase, Firmament Soul rank soul cultivation realm. Therefore, if he unleashed his full power to attack Alex''s soul, his attacks could affect Alex''s soul, such that he could cause numerous large cracks to appear on them or cause them to shatter into smithereens.


    Then using a technique called ''Soul-Whistle'', Rebuke projected a sound that could only be perceived by the soul. He made this sound to call out his members. Besides, the soul-calling whistle could go very far than when he shouts.


    Alex also picked up the soul-whistle Rebuke sent out using his soul and smiled.


    ''The bastard has finally called out his members.'' He said inwardly.


    Then when dozens of men appeared before him, unbridledly emanating pulses of soul-type power that was at the late-phase and peak-phase, Soulcore Establishment stage, Alex''s eyes widened, while his body shook. But no one would notice his body tremble as it was extremely brief.


    Why Alex shook was not in fear because of their large numbers or the soul cultivation stages that they were in or anything like that, but because he was awed at the number of soul cultivators around him, when soul cultivators were supposed to be exceedingly rare.


    "How come there are many soul cultivators here? Aren''t they supposed to be rare?" Alex couldn''t help but ask. But he knew that they must have definitely used or did something that caused them to become soul cultivators. Just if he could get that item or the method that they used, he would be able to transform the members of his organization who are Energy Cultivators also into Soul Cultivators.


    "You want to know? Then sign a soul slave contract with me. Haha" Rebuke said with wickedness in his tone and laughed maniacally.

 Chapter 287: Battle I

    "Sign a soul slave contract? With you?" Alex asked with a smile.


    "Yes. Once you can do that, I will surrender the kids to you" Rebuke said.


    "Oh. But who do you think should be the slave master between the two of us?" Alex asked.


    "I am the one offering you a soul slave contract. So, it should be me of course." Rebuke said.


    "Hmm. Since you have finalized your decision on you being the soul slave master, I am sorry I can''t agree to sign a soul slave contract. I would only change my mind when you agree to be the soul slave while I would be the master" Alex said.


    Hahahahaha!


    Rebuke laughed. Same with his men as they laughed like they were possessed.


    "You want me to be your soul slave? In your dreams you bastard." Rebuke said. Then he looked at his men and said "kill him for me"


    Once Rebuke said that, his men''s eyes shone with unbridled devilishness. Then like they were hungry and raging wolfs, they rushed towards Alex to take him down.


    As they ran towards him, they caused a cloud of dust to rise as their feet continually hit the ground, causing dust to rise up into the air.


    Then those that were at the front prepared to unleash soul-attacks at Alex.


    Suddenly, large amounts of soulforce energy erupted from their soul pillars since they were at the Soulcore Establishment stage. Then this energy that had discharged from each of their soul pillars quickly condensed and took all forms of shapes. Some took took the shape of a fist, some an hammer, some an halberd, some an axe, some a scissor and so on. The people attacking Alex had employed soul-based battle techniques to transform their soulforce energies into these solid shapes. However, one mustn''t forget that soulforce energy is unseen to the naked eyes. Only those who are soul cultivators would be able to actually see the attacks, as their physical senses has been attuned to the frequency that soulforce energy oscillates or vibrates in.


    Once their soulforce energies took these myriad solid shapes, they shot towards Alex at blazing speeds to enter into his body and into his soul-dwelling region where they would impact his soul-beings extremely hard to crack or shatter it.


    As an energy that was bound only to the soul, they couldn''t harm the physical body, only the soul.


    However, before the soul-attacks would get to where Alex was, Alex swiftly aimed a palm out at their concentrated soul-offensives and shot off in an instant, a tremendous amount of soulforce energy from his body. And once this energy appeared, which was many times the quality and quantity of soulforce energy each of Rebuke''s men produced, it rapidly condensed and shaped into a large temple. It was a fearsome, temple-shaped soul attack that Alex generated to utilize in attacking Rebuke''s men.


    Once the temple solidified from his multi-attributed soulforce energy; as he had infused numerous essences of the severe soul-annihilation tribulations that he passed through into his soul pillars when he was at the Soulcore Establishment stage, his soulforce energy since it already possessed the power of materialization or corporealization, caused his attack which was in the form of a temple to become physical; now, whether one was a soul cultivator or not, one would be able to see Alex''s enormous, temple-shaped attack.


    One should be able to recall why Alex''s soul-energy possesses this unique characteristic; it was the final soul-tribulation attack which was in the form a blood-red blade that he shattered and absorbed it essence that caused his soul pillars before transforming into Soul-Beings to gain this unusual attribute of Corporeality.


    Once his soul-temple attack abruptly formed from his soulforce energy, and began to radiate many types of intents that were exceedingly frightening, it shot towards the attacks that Rebuke''s men shot at Alex.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Many thunderous bang sounds that couldn''t be perceived by the ear of anyone, except that of soul cultivators, immediately rang out when Alex''s corporeal, soul-based attack smashed hard into the unseen soul-attacks that Rebuke''s men sent out at him.


    And once Alex''s attack collided into their attacks, tyrannical, tide-like waves of soulforce energy erupted from the points at which Alex''s fierce attack smashed into theirs and shattered them into smithereens. Then the raging and fearsome soul waves spread into the far distance in all directions where they entered into Alex''s body as he was caught up by them. And immediately they entered his body and appeared in his soul-dwelling region, they heavily impacted his Soul-Beings. But they couldn''t cause any damage to them. Their level of devastating power wasn''t even enough to shake Alex''s mighty and majestic Soul-Beings, talk more of shattering it. And as for some of Rebuke''s men that were caught up by the alarmingly powerful soul waves, they coughed out many mouthfuls of blood in mid-air as they were launched into the distance by them. Although soulforce energy doesn''t affect the bodies but only the soul, Rebuke''s men had been launched into the distance when the powerful and rippling soul waves that appeared because of the heavy collision of Alex''s corporeal soul-attack with their invisible soul-attacks smashed into their Soul Pillars after penetrating through their bodies and into their soul-inhabiting region.


    They landed on the ground in the distance with a heavy thud and began to roll about on it with a loud shriek coming from them. And as they rolled on the ground, they grabbed their heads which felt like it would explode into bits the next moment as a great and unbearable headache afflicted them.


    But after sometime, the headaches that afflicted them abated and disappeared like it was never there. Then they stood to their feet and looked at Alex with fear in their eyes.


    What kind of soul-attack did he unleash that actually possessed a physical form?


    As they thought this in their heads, Rebuke also pondered deeply about this too in his head.


    Besides, another thing that caused Rebuke''s men fear was how Alex''s single attack destroyed the attacks of more than nine soul cultivators.


    ''What a fearsome genius. He truly shouldn''t be underestimated. I think we have dipped our hands into something that we shouldn''t have dipped our hands into. But we should still be able to slay him. I don''t believe we have run out of options already. If things eventually go out of hands, I would simply activate the Trinity Darkstar Lotus soul-butchering formation to destroy his soul. Then when I successfully do so, I would keep and preserve his unique and powerful body until I reach a stage where I would be able to leave my body and reside in his, taking total control of it. Haha. Bastard, you don''t know what you are in for'' Rebuke said inwardly in a devilish tone.


    Then everyone of Rebuke''s men quickly sent out full-powered attack at Alex.


    However, Alex put both hands out and discharged great amount of soulforce energy from it. And once this energy erupted from his palms, it rapidly condensed and shaped into a massive, dome-shaped barrier that totally, physically concealed his figure.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Numerous bang sounds rang out as the attacks launched by Rebuke''s men collided into the corporeal, dome-shaped soul barrier that he generated.


    However, being an energy of higher quality and density as Alex was at the Soul-Being Creation stage, the attacks unleashed by Rebuke''s men who were at the Soulcore Establishment stage couldn''t cause the dome-shaped soul barrier that Alex put out to shake, talk more of crack or explode into bits.


    When the men saw this, frustration and fright of a higher intensity set into to their hearts.


    ''What kind of monstrous-level soul power does this boy actually have? How did he gain such power of the soul? He must have come across a tremendous cultivation fortune that was related to the soul. I am certain of that'' Rebuke who was somewhere watching the ongoing battle said inwardly with shock and even slight fear in his tone. He was starting to get slightly terrified of Alex''s formidable soul-battle prowess.


    While Rebuke''s men who gazed at Alex with astonishment and fear in their eyes wished there was a soul-killing weapon. It was what they believed that they would be able to use in slaying his soul.


    "My turn" Alex said from within the corporeal soul-barrier that enclosed his figure.


    Abruptly, soulforce energy discharged from one of Alex''s numerous Soul-Beings and then erupted from his entire body in shocking quantities.


    Once the multi-characterized soulforce energy that discharged from one of his mighty Soul-Existences gushed out from his body in large quantities, it rapidly partitioned into many parts with these parts instantly condensing and shaping into enormous spears that was red-hot and chilling cold at the same time. Also, it emanated a soul-suppressing force; a force that acted strongly on the soul by restraining it and generated a type of pressure that would simply shatter it into smithereens. Then also being continually released from these floating soul-spears was a type of strange power that would completely immerse one''s mind into a literal unbounded sea of despair, sadness and sorrow. Once one''s mind was captured by this despairing power, it was extremely difficult to break away from, as one''s heart would be totally engulfed by gloom, or covered by an intense dark and stygian atmosphere. But apart from these unusual attributes that can be felt by the soul and physically seen with the eyes, spine-chilling intents of Slaughter and Soul-Severance; the power to butcher all forms of life and sever the soul of myriad of creatures respectively, endlessly emitted from the spears that Alex formed from his soulforce energy. Then lastly, thin lightning arcs of jet-black and violet-golden, soul-tribulation electricity could be seen moving round the surfaces of the colossal soul-generated spears. And as the dual-colored arcs of soul-tribulation lightning moved round it, they crackled, invoking great terror in the hearts and minds of Rebuke''s men.


    "Go!" He said coldly and emotionlessly while aiming his right palm out at some of Rebuke''s men that were in his sight.


    Once he mentioned ''go'' and then at the same time aimed a palm at his attackers, the corporeal, spear-shaped soul-attacks that he created shot out at blazing speeds towards the people that Alex targeted.


    Then the instant that the multi-attributed soul-spear attacks appeared in front of the terrified men, they shot into their bodies and into their soul-inhabiting regions where they went on to impact the soul pillars of some of Rebuke''s men.

 Chapter 288: Battle II

    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Multiple bang sounds rang out when Alex''s corporeal soul-attacks struck their soul pillars and shattered them into bits.


    Once their soul pillars were destroyed by the spear-shaped soul attacks that Alex sent out, the bodies of Rebuke''s men that had their souls shattered into smithereens by Alex''s attack instantly grew stiff as the fire of life burning in their eyes disappeared. Then they fell to the ground like log of woods.


    Once the other men saw this, their eyes shone with great horror.


    Just as Alex was about to attack them too, Rebuke suddenly launched a powerful soul-attack at Alex. This attack which was in the form of a fist pulsed with great power and pressure.


    Shooting towards Alex at a blazing speed, it arrived before him. However, before the attack could enter into his body and into his soul-dwelling region to strike his soul, Alex abruptly discharged a large amount of soulforce energy from his body which rapidly condensed into a corporeal, protective soul-screen.


    Bang!


    A bang sound that was audible only to soul cultivators rang out. However, the defensive soul-barrier that Alex generated to protect his soul shattered apart. While the soul-attack that Rebuke sent out which was in the form of a fist slowed down greatly in momentum. And when it eventually entered into his body and appeared in his soul-dwelling region, it couldn''t do any damage to any of Alex''s Soul-Beings as they suddenly released a devastating blast of multi-attributed soul power, on the order of Alex.


    Seeing how Alex was fine from his soul-attack, Rebuke who was shocked began to release more soulforce energy from his body. And when it built to a great amount, the soulforce energy instantly condensed and shaped into a staff that shot out towards Alex to strike his soul.


    Seeing the frightening immenseness of the soul-attack that was shooting towards him, Alex quickly discharged a supreme chaotic power that he absorbed and infused into his soul pillars from the realm''s soul-tribulation that he was faced with.


    So, exercising his will on the grand and entropic attribute-power of his souls which was soul-tribulation lightning, the jet-black and violet-golden, soul-tribulation lightning that rampantly and chaotically struck about within his eyes like there was a vast and uncanny thunderstorm occurring in there, and could also be seen snaking violently and ragingly about on the gigantic, corporeal bodies of his mighty and terrific Soul-Existences, was suddenly unleashed from a single Soul-Entity in his soul-inhabiting region. Then being unbridledly released from his body in the form of thick and exceedingly long, zig-zag lines that numbered in the hundreds, the soul-lightning which was physical to all eyes; as each dual-colored arcs of electricity that constituted the zig-zag lines of electricity that shot off from his body as it contained the power of Materialization, rapidly merged with one another to form a massive, fork-shaped lightning bolt.


    Boom!


    A heart-trembling boom sound rang out immediately the soul-tribulation, fork-shaped lightning bolt was formed. Then it shot out towards the immense soul attack that Rebuke unleashed at him.


    Bang!


    A bang sound rang out immediately when Alex''s soul-lightning attack and Rebuke''s colossal soul-attack collided into one another. Then immediately accompanying the explosive sound that could only be heard by soul cultivators was a tyrannical wave of soul power that emitted from the point at which the attacks impacted hard into one another. And once this fearsome, tidal soul wave appeared, it swept into the distance with the power to seemingly shatter or crush the souls of myriad creatures into fragments.


    Although Alex''s soul-tribulation lightning bolt caused thousands of cracks to appear on the surface of the immense soul-attack that Rebuke sent out at him. However, his attack didn''t completely stop the soul-attack that Rebuke unleashed. But it momentum was greatly reduced.


    Then before it could impact Alex''s body to enter it and materialize in his soul-dwelling region where it would strike his soul, Alex quickly released another power that was imbued into his Soul-beings. And this power was the power of Soul Corrosion.


    Once this power erupted from his Soul-Beings and out through his entire body, Alex exercised his will on it as he caused the power of soul-corrosion which appeared as a large cloud of ethereal, green-colored mist around his figure to begin to swirl at a furious speed.


    Then using a method of attack that he knew from one of his battle-methodology which was the ''Swirling Slash of Fury'' from the wind trinity methodology that he studied, Alex sent a palm out at the incoming soul-attack and made the soul-corrosion power revolving around him at a frightening speed to shoot towards the attack.


    Slash!


    Slash!


    Slash!...


    Loud slash sounds that was only audible to Soul Cultivators rampantly rang out when the soul-corrosion power which appeared as a furiously twirling cloud of green-colored mist unceasingly slashed against the soul attack directly before it. And as it slashed against the soul-attack like it was composed of thousands of unseen blades, the power of corrosion unrestrainedly emitting from it acted upon the soul-attack and began to cause it to quickly corrode.


    Not long, the soul-attack which had been brought to an halt fully corroded and shattered apart into many pieces which then turned into slivers of soulforce energy that returned to the realmverse.


    Alex''s gaze then returned to normal and the power of corrosion which appeared as a cloud of green-colored mist vanished.


    When Rebuke saw Alex release lightning that could actually impact the soul, he was awed and horrified at the same time. And also witnessing how Alex halted and finally destroyed his soul-attack with something that seemed like corrosion to him, he couldn''t help but have his heart in his mouth. His body started to shake.


    ''What kind of devilish genius is this? Is this boy actually a human or a devil? Only Devils should be able to do such a thing. Oh heavens.'' Rebuke said inwardly in fright.


    As Rebuke thought this, his men too also thought the same. They fearfully pondered how someone would be able to release lightning and something that seemed like corrosion to them from his soul. Such abilities shouldn''t belong to human cultivators, as they have never heard anywhere in their lives where a human cultivator would be able to discharge lightning from the soul. It was something that was totally impossible.


    Understanding now how formidable Alex was, Rebuke prepared to unleash the Trinity Darkstar soul-butchering formation that was buried in the ground around them.


    He decided to start the soul-slaying formation as he didn''t know what other cards that Alex might have. So, to prevent his sudden miserable death, he quickly activated the formation. He didn''t underestimate Alex again, as he had been made to understand that there are some cultivators that even if one was senior to them in cultivation, they could still unleash power that would terrify that person. Although he had never met anyone like that in all his life, but now, he was made to understand that such kind of people exist.


    "Trinity Darkstar Formation, activate" Rebuke cried out in fear and anger.


    Then upon using his voice to activate the formation that was buried deep below them, a gigantic beam of soul power suddenly shot into the sky.


    This beam which was composed from the power of the soul was only visible to the eyes of soul cultivators.


    When the beam of soul power shot out from the ground and seemingly connected to the sky, it then expanded to cover only a small area of the region that they were in, as it was a small-sized, soul-annihilating formation.


    Once Alex saw that Rebuke had activated a soul-killing formation, his gaze became more solemn. Now that a formation which would produce terrifying soul power had been activated, Rebuke who was quite powerful as he was senior to him in soul cultivation, would definitely erupt with more power of the soul. However, although his gaze were now filled with seriousness, he still believed that his soul wasn''t the type that could be totally destroyed. He already knew about the quasi-immortality power of his soul right from the first time that his soul shattered into bits but he didn''t lose his consciousness. And this was something that couldn''t be achieved by any other soul cultivator; once their budding soul pillars disintegrated or were crushed into the smallest fragments, that was death. There was no two way about it. But Alex was able to escape absolute soul destruction because of the Beyonder-level originforce energy that was present within each of his soul pillars. The powerful, supreme-cultivator energy held back his consciousness from dispersing, waiving his death. And when the tens of thousands of his shattered soul fragments re-arranged to once again form his towering and fearsome soul pillars, he had fully comprehended the kind of soul that he now possessed; which were pseudo-undying souls.


    Then Rebuke who was at the center of the formation suddenly opened his eyes. And now gazing at Alex with a glow of viciousness and ruthlessness in his eyes, he sent his palm out at Alex. Immediately he did so, double-attributed soulforce energy which was extremely abundant around him as it had erupted in tremendous amounts from within the soul-slaying formation hidden deep within the ground quickly gathered before him.


    Then the second that the dual-characterized soulforce energy gathered before him, he flicked a finger out at Alex.


    Once he did so, the soulforce energy which was emanating the dual powers of enchantment and illusion suddenly transformed into a mighty sword that shot out at a blazing speed towards Alex in the distance.

 Chapter 289: The exchange

    Seeing the massive soul-attack that was shooting towards him, Alex quickly released the attributed-lightning power of his soul.


    As soon as he drew the most fierce and chaotic power from one of his numerous soul-entities to unleash it as an attack, the jet-black and violet-golden soul-tribulation lightning that moved round the surfaces of the corporeal bodies of his soul-beings, and struck about in their colossal eyes like a thunderstorm was occurring in there, suddenly erupted from his body in great amount.


    Terrifying peals of thunder that only soul cultivators could hear began to ring out from the hundreds of bolts of soul-tribulation lightning that furiously struck out of his body. And since the power of Corporeality had blended with all the attributed-powers of his soul, likewise this, the hundreds of bolts of soul-tribulation lightning that frenziedly discharged from his body was physical to all eyes, except that the loud thunderous booms coming from each of them as they struck out ragingly was only perceivable by soul cultivators. Therefore, this made the bolts coming from his body and shooting off in a disorderly fashion into the distance, soundless lightning bolts to people who were non-soul cultivators.


    Then before the soul-attack would get to him, the soul-tribulation lightning power that he drew from a single soul-existence in his soul-dwelling region quickly converged between his palms and rapidly shaped into a ball that produced frightening booms.


    Then aiming his hands out, the solid ball of compacted, soul-tribulation lightning that had formed between his hands shot out of it at an extreme speed towards the massive sword-shaped soul-attack shooting towards him.


    Boom!


    Once the two opposing attacks struck each other, a wave of tyrannical power that could seemingly reduce all souls to bits erupted from the point of their collision. And since Alex''s attack was composed of soul-based lightning, a powerful wave formed from large amount of electrical discharges which would affect the soul, immediately appeared after the collision and rushed into the distance in all directions. If this wave of soul-tribulation lightning successfully impacted a soul pillar, that soul pillar would instantly shatter due to the tremendous destructive force that the wave struck it with, and would instantly burn into a crisp because of the physical properties of electricity that the wave possessed.


    Rebuke''s men who couldn''t protect themselves from the two tyrannical waves that erupted from the collision of Alex''s attack and that of their boss had their Soulcores instantly disintegrate. While the wave with the electrical properties caused the fragments of their soul pillars to immediately burn into cinders.


    When the flames of life that was previously burning in their eyes instantly snuffed out because of the great degree of destruction done to their souls, they fell to the ground like heavy logs of wood. Their bodies had stiffened in an instant because of their souls that had been wiped out.


    While Alex, although was powerfully hit by the tyrannical waves, didn''t experience any damage to his resilient Soul-Beings. Towering in form and emitting the air of grandness and peerlessness, they looked like the soul-copies of actual, primordial gigantic gods.


    The soul-tribulation lightning attack that Alex sent out which was in the form of a ball couldn''t completely stop the massive, sword-shaped soul attack shooting towards him.


    Seeing how only a few cracks appeared on the surface of the large, sword-shaped soul-attack that Rebuke sent out using the power of the Trinity Darkstar soul-slaying formation, Alex quickly unleashed more lightning from his majestic and terrific Soul-Beings. So this time, he rapidly drew more power of soul-tribulation lightning from many of the Soul-Beings floating within his soul-inhabiting region. Then when the excessive soul-tribulation lightning power that was pulled from many of his Soul-Entities to his hands, it shot out of it to about nine feet before him and instantly condensed into a towering and astonishingly thick wall.


    Bang!!


    A loud bang sound that could only be perceived by soul-cultivators rang out when Rebuke''s attack struck the wall of soul-tribulation lightning that Alex generated. And once the attack collided with the thick wall of attributed-soul power that Alex put out, a rippling wave of devastating power that would only affect the soul as it would crush it into pieces appeared and raged into the distance in all directions.


    However, this time, since Alex had pumped more power into his defense, the attack that Rebuke sent out at him cracked in hundreds of places at once and then shattered into pieces the next instant. Same with the wall that Alex produced but which instantly shattered into fragments upon being collided into by Rebuke''s attack. Then the pieces of their attacks which was composed from soul-power and soul-energy turned back into slivers that flowed back into the realmverse.


    Rebuke who had thought that Alex would die from his formation-powered soul-attack was intensely surprised, and then slightly terrified in the next moment when Alex suddenly erupted a greater power.


    ''How exactly was he able to do that?'' Rebuke questioned inwardly as his mind continually spun in shock and horror.


    Then he suddenly felt in the next moment that Alex was able to erupt more power because he was using a treasure that was perhaps within his soul-dwelling region.


    He arrived at this because, apart from the attack being a soul-attack, it possessed two powers. And this were the power of Illusion and Enchantment.


    If Alex had only a Soul-Being, he would have been badly affected by the illusion-power radiating off the incoming soul-attack. But due to the large numbers of Soul-Existences in his soul-dwelling region which invoked the feeling of mightiness, the illusion-power couldn''t affect his sixty soul-pillars all at once. Therefore, due to their numbers and powerful soul-presences which indicated strong, soul-power emissions, the power of the illusion acting on his many souls at once was drastically reduced. So, because of this reason, Alex was able to maintain a slightly clear head. And as for the power of Enchantment coming from the dual-attributed, soul-based attack which generated a beautiful persuading voice in Alex''s head, Alex abruptly released the power of Ominousness that was also etched into his soul when he unceasingly absorbed the tribulation-attacks that he was faced with. Also called the power of Balefulness, the power of Ominousness which appeared as mists of blood and revolved round the colossal figures of his majestic Soul-Entities, produced numerous booming voices and cackles of seemingly devilish and demonical entities. So, the persuading voice that he heard talking to him couldn''t penetrate into his mind. Therefore, in this manner too, he was able to resist the compelling, fairy-like voice sounding in his soul-inhabiting region.


    Then seeing how Rebuke looked at him, Alex who was at the distance was able to comprehend something from the way Rebuke gazed at him.


    "Shocked by my power, right?" Alex asked with a fake smile in his face.


    Then he continued as he said further with a false smile still in his face "I know that look in your eyes. It means something which I know."


    "What stupid look is that?!" Rebuke asked angrily.


    "The look that I am using a treasure to enhance my soul abilities. See, I have been involved with some people who thought I had treasures in me. Therefore, through the experiences that I have gathered, I am able to exactly place what your look is" Alex replied.


    "Oh! " Rebuke exclaimed.


    "So from your look, I can also deduce that it is the same thing that you are thinking, that I am using some kind of treasure" Alex replied.


    "And why are you telling me this?" Rebuke asked.


    "No reason, man. Can you tell me how you and your men could become soul cultivators? There would surely be a method on how you fiends were able to achieve that astounding feat. Therefore, before one of us eventually kills the other after we resume our battle, I would like to know how you guys were able to achieve that surprising feat. Look, I am an enlightened, intelligent and fervent reader. So I know a lot of things that, what you would ever know till the day that you would die would only be a tiny bit of mist when compared to mine which is an enormous sea that grows by impossible leaps everyday. But despite my vast knowledge that could stretch across the starry sky of this world, and for your information, I am not boasting, I have not come across in any book how a Planeverse, a tiny backwater world of mortals would have numerous soul cultivators in a part of a city in a state that is in it. So, how were you guys able to attain soul cultivator roles?" Alex asked with unbridled curiousness in his tone.


    Hahaha!


    Rebuke laughed.


    "I see that you are still exceedingly curious about this topic. Anyways, since one would eventually kill the other when we re-initiate our duel to the death, I would like to know how you were able to emit those powers from your soul, since you aren''t using treasures like you said" Rebuke said.


    "Lightning and corrosion?" Alex asked.


    "Yes, lightning... So the other one was corrosion? Good! Now, tell me how you were able to achieve those strange feats too, since you say it wasn''t by utilization of some treasures" Rebuke said with a smirk in his face, as he didn''t believe Alex.


    "Well, there''s no cultivation method for that. I only absorbed the powers coming from a soul tribulation." Alex said.


    Hahaha!!


    Rebuke laughed raucously.


    "And you expect me to believe that bullshit? Haha. I see that you are trying to outsmart and play me your daddy. If you won''t give a logical answer for my question, then let''s resume our battle. I don''t have time to waste on you frigging bastard" He said in an impatient tone.


    Alex looked at him with furrowed brows. Then with seriousness in his tone, he said "Hmm. Alright. I would tell you. It''s a methodology that combines both soul cultivation and elemental realm-energy cultivation into one. So, with an elemental-soul conversion technique from the cultivation methodology, I was able to convert realm-energies that I had harmonized with into soul-bound energies. With the method mentioned in the cultivation manual, they were able to gain the ethereality that the soul possessed. And since they had become ethereal in form, I was able to continually infuse them into my soul when it passed the Soulmist Thickening stage, the Soulpool Nascency stage, and finally into the Soulcore Establishment stage. That was how I was able to do it"


    "Oh. That''s sweet!" Rebuke said with gladness in his tone.


    Since he was a soul cultivator, he was going to try and comprehend realm-energies so that he would attune to their frequency. And when he does that, he would convert them using that technique into soul-based energies and then infuse them into the Firmament Soul-rank Soul-Entity in his soul-dwelling region.


    Hahahahaha!


    Rebuke laughed hard upon thinking how glorious his future would be as a peerless soul cultivator.


    "Hey man. You haven''t told me yours" Alex said, knocking him out of his fantasy world.


    "Is there a need for that? You yourself should know that I would surely kill you. Or do you think that you can kill me? You can only struggle against me for sometime before I eventually kill you, boy" Rebuke said with a light of viciousness radiating off his eyes.


    "Haha. Well, since you would kill me eventually, why don''t you take pity on this boy and tell him how you and your folks were able to do it, you know, just so that he can die happily as he has added a drop of knowledge to the massive sea of knowledge that he already possesses" Alex said. He already knew that this was what Rebuke was going to say.


    "Oh. I don''t have time to add to your wasted knowledge" Rebuke said with unbridled evilness in his eyes.


    "Alright. Then look at my fingers, do you see anything like a spatial ring on them? I guess you can''t. So when you kill me, where would you get the methodology to practice the element-soul conversion technique that I told you about, eh? Nowhere I guess. Then my death would have regrettably been for nothing, as you terrible fool wouldn''t gain anything substantial out of it." Alex questioned and cursed at the end of his speech.


    Rebuke looked at Alex''s fingers and couldn''t see any spatial ring there. Then he thought that if he killed Alex, how would he be able to get the methodology to utilize that technique mentioned in it.


    "So, if I tell you, you would tell me where the methodology is?" Rebuke asked as he gazed into Alex''s eyes. He wasn''t sure if Alex was fooling him.


    "Yes. It''s in my spatial ring which I hid somewhere in this valley before showing myself to you guys. It contains my wealth and tremendous accumulations, and of course the cultivation book that I mentioned. So?" Alex said, then he questioned.

 Chapter 290: The exchange II

    "Hmm. Then I would tell you." Rebuke said.


    "One surprising thing you would want to know about this city is that, the number of soul cultivators is nearly the same as that of energy cultivators"


    What?


    Alex became tremendously shocked by what he heard.


    "So, huh... how d-did you all do it? You know, become soul cultivators" He couldn''t help but ask in a stuttering manner.


    "Many years ago, something appeared someplace in this city. When it first appeared, it caused the souls of people around there and to a great distance to greatly chill. But it didn''t actually harm anyone as the frostiness that had appeared and engulfed their souls disappeared in the next instant. It was like it was alerting everyone of the appearance of something mighty which was indeed mighty. So, continuing what I am saying, those that were very living in the area or were close to the area where the thing had appeared in, experienced a stronger chilling of their souls. Terrified and exceedingly puzzled by the insanely strong and pervading coldness of their souls, they reached out to every other person who wanted to visit the area and that were far away, warning them that a hideous soul-eating creature had appeared. Then due to what they had thought, the mortal folks that lived there in fear relocated to another area, while powerful cultivation experts from different academies in the city and from neighboring cities went to that area to check and inspect it. After inspecting it and discovering the amazing effects of the chilliness on the soul, they then announced to everyone that it was a legacy which was related to the soul that had appeared." Rebuke said.


    Then he continued "So, realizing the immense fortune that has appeared in our city, many energy cultivators and non-cultivators hurried down there to wait upon the legacy. However, the true legacy never appeared. But a type of lingering unseen power which seemed like enlightenment was what came from everywhere in that place. It was this power which also caused the intense chilling of the soul that made all of us who were in the area at that point in time to suddenly, deeply comprehend the soul. Therefore, since we had unexpectedly received a profound understanding of the soul, and then an ancient voice that rang in our heads, saying the method for cultivation of the soul, we all began to try to cultivate soulforce energy. After some days, many of us that were there were able to harmonize with soulforce energy. Then employing the soul cultivation technique that had surprisingly branded to our minds, we began to draw in soulforce energy to cultivate our souls. While it took the few others from many days to months to attune to the energy of the soul and cultivate it"


    Alex''s eyes glittered with awe.


    ''Hmm. So that''s how there are many soul cultivators in the city. But why would that voice do that? What did it gain from carrying out that action? Is it to produce many soul cultivators? Whoever has that voice must definitely have a reason'' He questioned and concluded inwardly.


    Then he proceeded to ask Rebuke a question that appeared in his mind.


    "Where is that place? The area where the voice and the chilliness that affected the soul came from"


    "Haha. You also want to know that? Well, I can''t tell you." Rebuke said with a laugh.


    "Why?" Alex asked.


    "Because I am seriously itching to kill you and take your wealth" Rebuke responded.


    "Have you suddenly forgotten?" Alex asked.


    "Forgotten what?" Rebuke questioned back.


    "That I don''t have my spatial ring on me as I have hidden it. Just tell me what I need to know, then I would tell you where my spatial ring is. So, after we have settled each other, we would resume our battle to the death" Alex said.


    "You bastard!! What are you going to do with it after I have killed you? I can''t believe that I am foolishly educating a dead person" Rebuke said angrily.


    "Haha. Just spill out the location. I am waiting" Alex said calmly.


    "I would tell you alright." Rebuke responded. Then he continued as he said further with great bitterness in his face like as if he was forced to say his deepest secret. "It''s in a place that we named Soul Transformation Sacred Ground, as it is seen as a ground where cultivators and non-cultivators can go to become soul cultivators, even though the enlightenment power that allowed us to harmonize with soulforce energy, and the old voice that spoke the method for cultivation of soulforce energy are no longer present since twenty years ago"


    "Oh. Alright then. I give my thanks. Now, let''s resume our battle" Alex said.


    "Where did you hide your ring?" Rebuke frostily said, fearing that he had been played by Alex.


    "Oh that! I have already even forgotten about it. Haha! Please check you ass. I think I stuck it in there before I showed myself to you guys" Alex said.


    "What?!! You bastarddd!! I am going to kill you! Arghh!" Rebuke said and shouted wrathfully.


    "Isn''t that what you were going to do before? Carry on with it, you donkey" Alex questioned and then grinned.


    With flames of fury burning blazingly in his eyes, Rebuke sent a palm out at Alex. Then instantly, a massive amount of dual-attributed soulforce energy that was present in the dome shot towards Alex like a raging, gigantic flood. But a second later, the frenzied, tsunami-like soulforce energy unexpectedly condensed and shaped into a soul-fist that shot towards Alex at an extreme speed. And as it shot towards him, it emanated the different powers of Illusion and Enchantment which began to act unbridledly on Alex''s soul.


    While Alex seeing the massive, raging soul-attack that Rebuke sent out, quickly sent his two palms out. And immediately he did so, great amounts of soul-tribulation lightning and dark scarlet, soul-tribulation flame erupted from his two palms. Then borrowing powerful battle-methods for Energy Cultivators, Alex transformed his fire attributed-soulforce energy into an enormous, dark scarlet fiery soul-fist, and then his lightning-attributed soulforce energy into a large soul-spear that shot at insane speed towards Rebuke''s mighty soul-attack which was in the shape of a fist.


    Boom!!


    A loud boom sound that only soul cultivators could perceive rang out, while a tyrannical wave of soul energy erupted from the impact and raged to all directions with soul-destroying power. While Alex''s two soul-attacks which were composed of soul-tribulation flame and lightning turned into devastating waves of fire and electricity that spread out into the distance with seemingly calamitous power as it invoked the feeling that it could end all things.


    Alex''s corporeal Soul-Entities were struck and he was knocked into the distance by the raging waves of energy and power when they penetrated into his soul-dwelling region. While Rebuke staggered for sometime after his Soul-Entities were struck hard by the seemingly furious, attributed-soul waves that erupted from the points of the collision of their dreadful attacks. But as he tried his best to regain his balance from staggering backwards, the attributed soul-waves which were carrying the power of Devouring Flame and electricity acted on his Soul-Entity, trying to burn it down to a crisp.


    When he eventually regained his balance, he screamed out in agony from the intense pain that he felt as the powers of consuming fire and decimating electricity engulfed his Soul-Entity and tried to reduce it to cinder.


    However, as a Firmament Soul-rank soul cultivator, he was able to quench the flame and electricity trying to burn his Soul-Entity to cinder. But his soul-Entity had been greatly disfigured as large holes and numerous cracks could be seen around them. Therefore, because of this, he experienced unceasing headaches in his head. It was like his head was being continually struck hard by an ax.


    His face contorted to resemble that of a monster. And this was due to the intense pain that he felt.


    "I am going to kill you, you freaking bastard. Arghh!" He said with rage and then shouted in pain when a sharp and heavy aching pain afflicted his head.


    Then with a determined gaze to kill Alex, which was also full of pain and misery, he sent his two palms out at Alex. And the instant that he did so, the dual-attributed soulforce energy that abound around him suddenly rage towards Alex like it was a tide. Then in the next second, the tidal soulforce energy that was rushing violently towards Alex like they wanted to devour him up completely, suddenly condensed and shaped into a massive rod. And pulsing with the power of Enchantment and Illusion, the rod-shaped soul-attack shot towards Alex at blazing speed to sunder his soul and completely shatter it apart.


    Seeing the massive attack that was shooting towards him, Alex prepared to unleash his own attack.


    With a thought, thirty of the sixty Soul-Beings in his soul-dwelling region unrestrainedly released soulforce energy from within them, and at the same time, they discharged the myriad powers of Soul-Corrosion, Soul-Devouring Fire and Soul-Destruction lightning.


    One mustn''t forget that Alex hadn''t use all the energies or powers of his towering Soul-Entities that he possessed since he started this fight. He was only using a few of them. But now, he had increased the number of Soul-Beings that he was going to use for this particular fight. His aim was to use them to produce the soul-energy and condensed soul-power needed to unleash a greatly destructive soul-attack. Actually, with all his mighty and terrific Soul-Entities, he can fight soul cultivators that are two to three soul cultivation ranks above his. That was one of the greatest advantages of his numerous Soul-Beings. And this was possible by fusing the soul-energy or powers that can be derived from each of them into one, which would then possess a grandly destructive power that could match the devastating power of a full-powered soul-attack that would be unleashed by a soul cultivator which was in three soul cultivation ranks above his, and this was the initial-phase, Saint Soul cultivation rank.


    As soon as soulforce energy and the three attributed soul-powers erupted from the immense bodies of thirty of the sixty corporeal Soul-Entities that he possessed in his soul-inhabiting region, they rushed out of his body like furious floods and condensed into mighty-looking attacks that each shot out at great speeds towards the massive soul-attack that Rebuke sent out.

 Chapter 291: The Rescue and Return

    Boom!


    Boom!


    Boom!


    Rampant booming sounds rang out when soulforce energy and the power of fire, lightning and corrosion which had condensed into massive attacks struck the enormous attack that Rebuke sent out. And immediately they struck Rebuke''s soul-attack, waves of tremendous devastating power erupted from their points of collision and raged into the distance.


    Alex''s Soul-Beings were hit by the storm of soul energy when they penetrated into his soul-dwelling region, causing him to be knocked into the distance. While Rebuke coughed out several mouthfuls of blood and was flung into the distance when the rampaging waves of soul-energy and soul-power smashed into his Soul-Entity.


    Alex stood from where he was launched to and looked at Rebuke who was in the far distance. He was seriously struggling to get back to his feet. And as he tried to stand back to his feet with extreme difficulty, he couldn''t help but cough out more mouthfuls of blood. Also, a great pain racked his head. The splitting headache that he felt earlier had also increased in intensity. And if one looked into his soul-dwelling region, one would see that his Soul-Entity had cracked in about thousands of places, and were beginning to fall apart like a dilapidated structure, causing him more pain.


    Seeing the state that Rebuke was at, Alex calmly approached him. Then on getting to where Rebuke was, where he lied helplessly on the ground and groaned loudly in pain, Alex said "Did you think that you could beat me? Anyways, thanks for the info. Now, I don''t have to work hard in looking for it."


    Still gazing at Rebuke who was miserably groaning, Alex shook his head. Now that his soul had been damaged beyond repair, Alex knew that he wouldn''t be able to get any information from Rebuke. Then he said "Well, time to put you out of your misery"


    Then clenching his hand into a fist, he sent it with immense heaviness towards Rebuke''s head that was on the ground.


    Bang!


    Once Alex''s fist heavily smashed into Rebuke''s head, his head exploded into mist of blood that sprayed onto Alex''s cloth, dying it blood-red.


    With dark scarlet raging flames erupting from his body, the blood-dyed cloth on him burnt to cinders. And when the flame ceased, his nakedness was revealed. He however covered it up by putting on another expensive cloth.


    As soon as Alex finished changing into new clothes, he bent to take Rebuke''s spatial ring which he stowed into his spatial necklace.


    "Soul Transformation Sacred Ground huh? I would be back for you another time" Alex said, as he made a plan in his head. He couldn''t let go of such a wonderful soul legacy. If just a small part of the legacy could make thousands soul cultivators, what about the sole inheritor of the legacy? How powerful would it make him.


    Then he kept this thought at the back of his mind and closed his eyes as he pushed his percipience into the Ultra Perception State. Once he entered this state, he deployed his powerful hearing ability and used the sounds that he got around him to inwardly project a vast image of his immediate surrounding. The instant that he created a large, three-dimensional mental image of the environment that he was in, all the sound waves in the vicinity were picked up and filtered by his powerful enhanced hearing which he then utilized to trace the terrified, abducted children to the place that they were kept in.


    Not long, he got to a room where Rebuke''s men kept the abducted children.


    As soon as Alex appeared before a door into the room that they were all in, he brought one of his knee to his chest and kicked it out with immense force.


    Bang!


    Once the kick that Alex sent out which was a Snap Kick connected to the door of the room, a loud bang sound rang out as the door of the room forcefully tore away from it hinges and fell to the ground with another loud bang.


    When the bang sound rang out, the little kids within became more terrified as their skins rapidly became pale-white. They thought that the men that abducted them had run out of patience and had come in to kill them one after the other. But seeing Alex who looked like a celestial being due to the flawlessness and bright color of his skin, despite the partial darkness of the room that they were in, and also gave a friendly and endearing smile, the great frights in their heart unexplainably vanished. Their fears had actually melted away because of his look and warm, amiable smile.


    "Hello kids" Alex said.


    "H-Hello!" The kids replied in unison.


    "I am the person that your parent sent to rescue you guys from your abductors. So, put your minds at ease. You are no longer in bad hands, but in safe hands" Alex said with a radiant smile and then winked at them.


    The kids'' eyes suddenly shone with unbounded joy. Then they produced happy smiles in their faces and delightedly nodded their heads.


    "Alright. Stand back now. I am going to tear away the doors of the different cages that you all are in." Alex said.


    Immediately he said so, the kids nodded their heads and moved to the back of the cages that they were in.


    Alex then went to each of the cages that the children were in and used his astonishing physical strength to rip away the doors of their cages to set them free.


    After Alex finished doing so, the kids who were now gazing at him with marvel filling the deep abyss of their eyes followed him out of the cave.


    Then with a thought, an apartment-type treasure which was a shelter-purpose treasure shot out from his mom''s spatial ring into the air. Immediately the apartment-type treasure appeared in the air, Alex caught it and activated the powerful spatial formation compressed into it. Then with a thought, the treasure-building suddenly glowed and erupted a force that engulfed each of the kids around Alex. Then in the next second, the force which was Spatial Force was pulled in back into the building with the children being teleported away from where they stood into a large room in the building-type treasure.


    When the children appeared in the room, they became fearful again. As they were about to start panicking, Alex''s gentle voice suddenly rang in the massive room that they were in.


    "Hey kids, come on, you have absolutely nothing to be frightful or worried about. So just keep calm. Can you please do that for me? Thank you! And very soon, you would be re-united with your parent."


    When the kids heard that, they calmed and sat on the large bed in the room that they were brought into.


    Alex then focused on his mom''s spatial ring and made the Azure Beastsman''s treasure-palace to shoot out from it. Once the miniaturized palace appeared in the air before him, it started to float in the air by it own power.


    Alex then sent a sliver of his perception into it and said "Palace-spirit, it''s time we head out of this place. I have finished my mission here."


    "Alright" The Ancient voice of the palace-spirit rang out in his head.


    Then space warped around him and he was pulled into the palace central hall.


    Since the treasure-palace can be used as a means of transportation, the treasure-palace entered into another layer of space and shot at tremendous speed back to Smith city; the city where Alex''s organization was established in.


    Not quite long, the treasure-palace which moved at extreme speed arrived in Smith city. Then it shot to the building of Alex''s organization and finally appeared in his private room.


    When the treasure-palace arrived in his room, it brought out Alex from the central hall in it. And immediately Alex appeared in his room, he produced the apartment-type treasure which after activation, began to glow and then in the next moment, produced the little kids that were brought into a room in it.


    "Alright kids. We have just arrived at my organization which is actually based in the city that you all reside in with your loving parent. So, follow me to go meet your parent who eagerly await your return" Alex said to the kids.


    With quick, excited nods of their heads which meant that they fully agreed with what he said, the kids all followed Alex who led them from his room to a large room in the building.


    As Alex walked down the stairs with the four kids that were behind him and were looking around in awe, the people in the building who were members of his Punisher''s society couldn''t help but be shocked by Alex''s appearance, but much more by the kids that were behind him.


    "Master, welcome" They humbly said as Alex passed by them. While Alex only nodded at them with a smile in his face.


    "Has master settled the people that abducted the children of those folks?" One asked another person that was beside him in a whisper.


    "What do you mean by settle? Like he paid lot of money to have those kids released? Haha. If that is what you are thinking, then you are wrong. I believe that Master won''t pay a dime for those kids to be released. Instead, he would wickedly slay their abductors and set the children free." The person that was asked a question replied in a confident tone.


    "Hmm. You must be right. Master is truly very strong. He won''t pay a sapphirstone to those bastards that committed such an heinous act" The person that earlier asked the question said. While the other nodded.


    "But so fast? I didn''t even know that he had left the building. Or do you know when he left here? ''Cause I never saw him leave" One asked with deep puzzlement in his tone.


    "Nope. I never saw him leave too. I didn''t even know that he had left the organization to go rescue those kids. But how did he actually do it without us knowing that he had gone? And me here still thought that he was cultivating, preparing himself before he finally headed out of the building for the city the abductors of those children were based in. Besides, how did he arrive there so fast and come back very quickly? Does he have teleporting powers? Because that damned city is just too far away from here." Another said.


    "Yea! Also, he finished the mission extremely fast. Not even three hours has passed. The ways of our Master are numerous and hard to comprehend." Another person contributed, refusing to be left out from their discussion about their Master, Alex.


    Some seconds later, Alex and the kids arrived before two middle-aged people who with widened eyes that was full of happiness and joy, and had tears thinly but rapidly streaming down their faces, rushed to their kids like they might disappear in the next second to tightly embrace them.

 Chapter 292: Puzzled; Resolution

    Some seconds later, Alex and the kids arrived before two middle-aged people who with widened eyes that was full of happiness and joy, and had tears thinly but rapidly streaming down their faces, rushed to their kids like they might disappear in the next second to tightly embrace them.


    After they finished hugging their kids, the parent of the kids looked at Alex and said in a sincere tone ''Thank you''


    "Don''t mention" Alex said.


    Then he turned around and left them alone in the large room that they were in.


    Few hours later, news of how Alex went to a city that was very far away and returned with the kids of some people that were abducted spread throughout the city.


    In a particular room...


    "That bastard actually came back alive. Did the fool you gave the kids to allow the boy to leave with them? Was he paid large amount of sapphirstones that he then allowed the boy to leave with the children? I still don''t understand" Lenna said.


    "I don''t understand too. And maybe he paid them to give him the child. ''Cause there is no way a non-soul cultivator would win a battle with a soul cultivator, and a high-stage one at that. Or did he use powerful treasures to slay Rebuke and his men, for they should have overwhelmed him due to their numbers" Maxmillian said.


    As they were discussing, their uncle suddenly appeared.


    "I just heard news that the boy who killed your brother came back unscathed from a mission to recover the kids of some people. I thought you said that the guy you gave the mission to was a soul cultivator and that he would handle Alex and then deliver him to us? " He asked.


    "Well, uncle, I myself don''t understand what really happened. I would have to go there to know what really went wrong. And if is true that he was given tremendous sum of sapphirstones to release the kids in his possession, he should be ready to have his soul slain by me" Maxmillian said with a light of viciousness in his eyes.


    "Isn''t that place very far. It could take you days even with your teleportation power. Don''t stress yourself, I can teleport you there. Or we could actually go there together. Transmit the location of the place to me." Their uncle.


    Maxmillian nodded and then pointed at his uncle''s head. Once he did so, a pencil-sized ray of light shot out from it towards his uncle''s head. Then it penetrated into it and turned into a map for the Song of Sinners valley in his head.


    "Alright. I have got it." His uncle said.


    But before he could do anything, Lenna suddenly said "I would like to go with you people"


    "Alright" Their uncle said.


    Then stretching a finger out in front of him, a ray of spatialforce energy shot out from it to a few feet in front of him and cleaved the fabric of space.


    Once the slit in space was made, Lenna, Maxmillian and their uncle could see the region in the slit.


    "Alright. Let''s step in before the spatial slit completely heals" Their uncle said.


    With a nod of their heads, they went into the slit and appeared directly in front of the cave where Rebuke and his men carried out their missions.


    Rebuke could operate in the city just like the other numerous soul cultivators. But because he was a highly notorious and dubious person, the government chased him and a few others out of the city and to never return. Then being the strongest of all the soul cultivators that were chased away from the city, he became their leader when they banded together to form a banditry group. They then turned the valley into their base of nefarious operations.


    Once they appeared before the cave, they went in.


    "Where are they?" Their uncle asked.


    "I don''t know. Or did they immediately leave here after collecting a great sum of sapphirstones from that bastard who has an extremely wealthy uncle?" Lenna asked.


    "Probably. But I don''t think they would do such a thing. Let''s go round the whole place first to get clues on what really happened." Maxmillian said and his sister, Lenna and their uncle, Jones nodded.


    They looked around observantly to get hints on what actually transpired between Alex, Rebuke and his men.


    After they got nothing, Maxmillian then led them into the room where the abducted children were kept in cages.


    Then seeing the devastated states of the cages, they all suddenly had the idea that Rebuke''s men weren''t given any money, but were actually destroyed by Alex, maybe through using some sort of powerful treasures that his uncle bought for him using a great quantity of sapphirstones. But they couldn''t confirm what they just thought as they couldn''t find the cold and lifeless bodies of the men if truly they were attacked by Alex using a treasure.


    "Let us head out. Perhaps we could get more hint outside" Their uncle, Jones said.


    "Okay" Lenna and Maxmillian nodded.


    Then they all moved out of the cave. And when they came out of it and then separated to individually inspect the whole area, Lenna suddenly shouted from where she had reached from her inspection of the area. "Brother, uncle, come see!"


    Once she called for them, her brother and her uncle rushed towards where she was. Then what they saw confirmed that Alex truly used some treasure to slay the overwhelming numbers of outlaw soul cultivators here.


    "That''s their leader" Maxmillian said pointing at a body that was headless and had many bits of brain and numerous fragments of bones around it.


    "Well, we have just confirmed truly that the boy didn''t pay them off. But what sort of treasure would he wield to cause the deaths of the fiendish soul cultivators? Is there a treasure-weapon that could destroy souls?" Maxmillian asked, looking at his uncle.


    "In this world of mortals, it might be extremely rare to find. But in other worlds like Greatverses and Oververses, they could be as plenty as sands in the desert" Their uncle, Jones replied.


    "Hmm" Maxmillian said and nodded.


    Then he spoke further "I guess it''s time to return"


    Jones nodded.


    Then pointing into the distance, a beam of spatialforce energy discharged from it to a few feet in front of him and made a large slit in space.


    Then they walked into the slit and appeared in their uncle''s room in the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy.


    "We definitely have to revise our plans again. Now that this particular one has failed, we have to come up with a new one. And I don''t care how many years this would take us to eventually get our hands on that bastard to kill him." Their uncle, Jones said.


    "Yes uncle. Even if it would take us hundreds of years, hundreds of years it would be then" Lenna said.


    They were being extremely careful not to alert Alex''s uncle. And their reason for this was because of the recent thing that he did which was that he went to the Scarlet Fire academy to slay the instructors and students there and bring down all the buildings of the academy. Although Houston knew that he would make much more enemies because of his unbridled action, he just didn''t give a damn about it. They should come in however form they like and in whatever number they like, he just didn''t give a hoot about them.


    Then as they began to orchestrate a new plan, Alex who was seated in his room began to think of why Rebuke kidnapped those middle-aged people''s children and told them to tell him to come help them recover their children. And now that he couldn''t figure out the reason why he did it as the soul-attacks that he sent out badly damaged Rebuke''s soul and eventually resulted in his death, he felt that more of this kind of thing would happen in the future, and might involve stronger or more powerful soul or energy cultivators.


    So, because of this train of thoughts, he hoped that his cultivation would rise more very quickly. At the moment, he had only cultivated energy and his soul to a stage. It still remained body cultivation, and then bloodline cultivation which could also be called ''physique cultivation''.


    For the body cultivation part, he had to absorb duraforce energy which was also called ''treasure-armor body transformation energy'' from the world and then infuse them into his flesh, bones, bone marrow, blood channels, visceral organs and his delicate sense organs which were his eyes, nose, mouth and ears to make them them extremely strong. Once they were infused with this invincibility body-transmutation energy, they would become impervious to damage and destruction. But he had to discover this energy first and harmonize with it before he can use it to cultivate his body; to make them extremely tough and impermeable. While the bloodline cultivation was to cultivate his inborn physiques. But he had to firstly detect these physiques in his blood and then unlock their different levels of power.


    "Yea, that''s what I am going to do. I am going to try to cultivate my body and my physiques" Alex said with unbreakable resoluteness in his tone.

 Chapter 293: Imperial Herb House

    However, although he was resolute about his body and bloodline cultivation, he didn''t actually know where to start from. For the body cultivation part, he was going to harmonize with duraforce energy. But he seriously didn''t know how to go about that. And as for the bloodline (physique) cultivation, he couldn''t detect the physiques passed to him by his mother and father.


    But he had knowledge of another way to cultivate the body. And this was through the usage of cultivation herbs that surprisingly had certain levels of duraforce energy in them. And examples of these kinds of rare herbs which could be found in a mortalverse like the one that he was presently in, were strengthatenum and olioeverrine. Once he could acquire these herbs which were bright blue and dark grey in color respectively, he would immerse them in extremely hot water so that their essences would infuse into the scalding hot water. After many hours of infusion in which the water must be constantly kept at an exceedingly high temperature, he would then step into the tub that had been filled to the brim with the strongly heated water and completely submerse himself into it. This was to allow penetration of the body-toughening essences gotten from the body-cultivating herbs into the body through the skin pores which would expand to allow their entries. Then the following steps from that point are nothing but extremely agonizing pain as the body would be forcefully twisted to the extreme and then torn apart in hundreds of places. However, the pain that Alex imagined he would definitely experience couldn''t cause him to back off.


    After thinking of all these, he prepared to go acquire the herbs. But he wasn''t sure if they would know about them, especially the herb traders in the city. They surely wouldn''t know what they are and their uses. However, if he saw such an herb at any herb store, he would definitely purchase it.


    After he freshened up looking all good again, he stepped out of his room and went down the stairs of the storey building. On his way to the ground floor of the building, he met few members of his organization that were standing at their guard posts. They quickly greeted with him veneration in their eyes which Alex smiled and nodded to. Everyone in his organization liked him, as he wasn''t the haughty or lordly type. However, they greatly revered him because of his astonishing battle abilities and the ways that he does things which they believed even gods wouldn''t be able to fathom.


    After Alex stepped out of the building and into the wide street in a particular area, people passing by couldn''t help but look at him in awe and discuss sweetly about him to each other. They talked about his peerless handsomeness and the way that he fights. These were topics that probably wouldn''t become stale to them, as they could talk endlessly about Alex to one another for years to come, especially his fans and secret admirers who should make up 8.5/10 the population of the people living in the Smith city.


    A beast-drawn carriage quickly appeared before Alex and asked "Where to, sir?"


    "I don''t really know my way around the city. But you know what, just take me to the biggest herb store in the city" Alex said.


    "Oh. Then that would be the Imperial Herb House" The carriage driver said.


    "Hmm. Is that owned by a king, or by the City Lord himself?" Alex couldn''t help but ask as there shouldn''t be a king in the hierarchical system of government in his city, and in every other city in all the hundreds of states in the continent.


    "By a king who is actually related to the City Lord. But he doesn''t have much control over anything as the City Lord is the one that gives the laws and executes offenders of the laws that he passed into constitution." The driver said.


    "Hmm. Okay. Take me to the herb house then" Alex said and entered into the carriage.


    The carriage driver nodded. Then speaking some words that Alex couldn''t understand, the tall, wine-skinned, horse-like beasts that pulled the carriage started running into the distance at high speeds.


    ***


    Few hours later, the beast-pulled carriage arrived before the Imperial Herb House.


    When Alex came down from the carriage and then looked at the twin building of the Imperial Herb House which was towering in size and was really grand and majestic in appearance, he was suddenly hit by hundreds of strong scents of herbs that pervaded the atmosphere in this place when air currents blasted into him.


    "Wow!" Alex couldn''t help but exclaim in shock.


    Then he paid the driver twice the fare for the transport and went into one of the two stately buildings.


    When he got to the tall gate of the building in which four tall and hefty men stood could be seen since they stood guards there, he decided to humbly introduce himself to them when the guards unexpectedly saluted him and opened the gate for him with radiant and welcoming smiles in their faces.


    Alex''s eyes glittered from their actions. Then he guessed that his fame and reputation had also spread to here. And probably to other cities in the state. So he thought.


    He then stepped in and went into the building. Once he entered through a large, silver door, the flowery and herb scents that filled the air outside when the carriage first arrived in this district became extremely strong in here.


    Alex couldn''t help but shake his head in gladness. He had a feeling that he would definitely find those two body-cultivating herbs in here. And even if he didn''t, there were still many more types of that kind of flower and herb that he should definitely find in here.


    In front of him were many rows of gigantic shelves that were filled with herbs of all sorts. Some scents which he inhaled caused him to feel relaxed, some made him feel like he was in illusion, some made his mind and vision clearer. He simply experienced a lot of things from just inhaling the scents emitting from these large piles of herbs and flowers. Then he thought ''what if I prepared many of these herbs by soaking them in hot water for hours, and when their essences flow into it which I would drink, how exactly would I feel?'' he couldn''t help but imagine.


    Allowing himself to be carried away by the scents that produced many kinds of marvelous feelings and uplifting sensations in his body, a short and chubby young lady with red hair approached him. Then with respect in her tone and reverence in her eyes, she said with a beguiling smile "Good day sir, it''s so nice of you to visit our store, even if it might be just this once"


    Alex who was knocked out from the numerous wonderful feelings that he perceived moving round his body quickly opened his eyes and said "What?! Nah. With all the beautiful sensations going on within me, I would surely visit again."


    The young lady smiled.


    Then she asked "What does good sir want from our herb store?"


    "I want the strengthatenum and olioeverrine herbs. And if the store doesn''t have those, it should have the flesh-tearing herb and bone-melting herb which you can prepare for me" Alex replied.


    "Oh. We have all those that you mentioned in our store. So, should I bring only the first two that you asked for?" The young lady asked.


    Alex''s eyes glittered when the young lady said they had everything in their store.


    "The store has everything? Cool! Bring me everything then." Alex said, concealing his intense delight from the young lady in front of him.


    "Alright. But how many quantities of each herbs do you want?" The young lady asked.


    "Hmm. Well, give me hundred pieces of each of the herbs that I demanded for" Alex responded.


    "Okay. For the strengthatenum herb, a hundred piece costs hundred thousand yellow sapphirstones. The olioeverrine herb costs seventy thousand yellow sapphirstones for a hundred pieces. The flesh-tearing herb costs eighty-five thousand yellow sapphirstones for hundred pieces. Then lastly, the bone-melting herb costs eighty-two thousand yellow sapphirstones for a hundred pieces. So, the grand total for the herbs that you requested for is three hundred and thirty-seven thousand sapphirstones" The young lady said after she computed their total sum in her head.


    "Okay. Do I have to make full or partial payment first before I get the herbs?" Alex asked.


    "That is what we usually do. We collect payment first before giving a customer the herbs that they requested for. However, I don''t need to doubt your integrity as you are someone of high reputation and one who is related to possibly the most wealthiest man in the continent. So, I will make you an exception. You can pay only part even after collecting the complete pieces of herbs that you requested for" The young lady said with a smile.


    Alex became badly astonished by what the young lady said.


    "But won''t your employer be sad with how you are breaking the rules of the organization because of me?" Alex asked with curiosity in his tone. He didn''t want the young lady to be queried or worst, fired from her workplace because of her trust and deep respect for him.


    "No. She won''t. She has even been hoping to meet you one of these days for something very important, but she''s very busy at the moment. However, immediately she is through with what she''s doing, she would come over to see you to discuss about something that''s kinda paramount to her. Therefore, she would even be more happy with what I did, which is treating you better than all our other customers" The young lady said confidently.


    Alex couldn''t help but be taken aback again by what she said.


    "And how do you know that she wants to meet me?" He asked as he gazed at her curiously.


    "I am her favorite worker. So she tells me a lot of things" The young lady said.


    "Oh!" Alex exclaimed with comprehension in his tone.


    Then before he could say anything else, the young lady immediately added "So she was the one who told me what I mentioned to you few seconds ago. But you don''t need to go meet her since you feel that you are already here. She would come to see you at the organization that you established, when the time is right for her" The young lady said.


    "Okay." Alex replied.


    But his eyes were filled with surprise at what the young lady mentioned.


    "What exactly would she want to see me for? Well, I can''t think of anything. Let me keep my curiosity till she appears before me" He said inwardly.


    Then before he could talk, the young lady who was looking at him said "So, good sir, please follow me to a room where you can relax, while I send some junior workers to sort out your requests and bring you the herbs that you asked for." The young lady said and Alex nodded.


    Then he followed behind her to a room where he would relax in till his requests were fully sorted out and brought to him.

 Chapter 294: Body Cultivation I

    When they got to the door of the room that the young lady had in mind for the unmatched generous treatment of Alex, she looked at him and said "Good sir, here''s the room. You can go in to relax."


    "Alright. Thank you" Alex said.


    "Don''t mention" The young lady nodded and said. Then she turned around and walked away, leaving Alex behind.


    The room that the young lady brought Alex to was a large room that many fragrance-emitting incenses were being burnt. Then apart from the colored fumes that filled the air which had sweet and fruity smells, they produced a deep relaxation effect on his body.


    "Nice!" Alex uttered when he went in.


    "I certainly must have these kind of incenses in my room. They would definitely help me to relax more when I am in a state of comprehension" He said further.


    Then he relaxed himself on a seat and closed his eyes as he began to inhale the sweet-smelling colored fumes coming from the incenses being burnt.


    ***


    Twenty minutes later...


    Knock!


    Alex who was enjoying the deep relaxation state his body and mind had entered into suddenly heard a soft knock on the door. Then before he could say anything, he heard the voice of the young lady that brought him to this room.


    "Good sir, your items are ready. Can I come in to give the items that you requested for?" She asked.


    "Sure!" Alex''s voice sounded from within.


    With a slight nod of her head, the young lady gently opened the door of the room and went in.


    "The herbs that you requested for are in this spatial ring" She said looking at a spatial ring in her hand. Then she gave it to Alex who accepted it and scanned the content of the ring when he sent a sliver of his perception into it.


    Although the herbs he requested for were complete, he saw other herbs in there which caused him to be astonished.


    He looked at the smiling young lady and asked "You added other herbs to the items I asked for?"


    "Yes. That''s a gift to you from our herb house" The young lady said.


    "Hmm. I hope your boss would approve of this" Alex said.


    "Surely. Don''t worry about her." The young lady mentioned.


    "Alright. I express my thanks" Alex said.


    "You don''t need to" The young lady stated. Then she continued "I am going back to my work post"


    "Wait!" Alex hurriedly said.


    "What''s it, good sir?" The young lady asked reverently.


    "You haven''t collected payment for the herbs that I bought. Here''s a spatial ring that contains three hundred and thirty-seven sapphirstones" Alex said stretching a spatial ring at her.


    "Oh. Don''t worry about that, good sir. My boss has ordered me to charge you free for the herbs that you bought. So, you don''t need to pay." The young lady said with a smile. Then she said further, looking at Alex who was astonished "Good sir, I would be taking my leave now if there''s nothing else. And you can stay in the room for as long as you want. You are very much welcome here"


    The young lady left and then gently closed the door behind her, leaving behind a flabbergasted Alex who had unbounded surprise filling the void in his eyes.


    "So, her boss is even around" Alex muttered to himself.


    "Well, let me relax some more before I get going" He said to himself.


    ***


    Thirty minutes later...


    Alex stood from the seat that he relaxed in and made for the door to leave the room. Then as he began walking towards the door to exit the building, he met some people who were cultivators on the way. They had also come here to buy herbs for cultivation, healing or for other purposes such as deep-relaxation, sweet-smells and so on.


    With awe, respect and envy in their eyes, they looked at him as he passed by them. They didn''t praise him or start to discuss about him like the mortals do as they were cultivators like him, and were proud of themselves. However, there was veneration in their eyes for his amazing battle prowess, as well as envy and jealousy because of his grand background.


    After walking for some minutes as the large building that he was in was also very long, Alex got to a door which he could use to exit the herb house. However, he met the young lady who ushered him into the relaxing room standing there with a smile in her face. She walked towards him as Alex approached the exit door.


    "I see that good sir is ready to take his leave" She said.


    "Yea." Alex nodded.


    "Do come again another time. We would be expecting your visit" The young lady said.


    Alex nodded again with a a smile in his face.


    Then he went out through the exit door which the young lady opened for him to appear in the street.


    Immediately he came out, the beast-drawn carriage that brought him here quickly arrived by his side.


    Alex looked at the carriage and was surprised to see that it was the same carriage that brought him earlier that had appeared by his side again.


    The carriage driver had actually waited for Alex to come out so he could carry him.


    Alex shook his head with a smile in it and then hopped in when the carriage door opened.


    When he entered and settled down, the carriage driver spoke some words to the towering, wine-skinned, horse-like beasts that were pulling the carriage. And immediately he said those words, the beasts drawing the carriage made some some sounds and then suddenly dashed into the distance.


    "Did you like the Imperial Herb House?" The carriage driver asked.


    "Yea. It''s a nice place!" Alex said. Then he spoke further "Also, the people working there are nice people. But I hope that their niceness is genuine."


    "Certainly!" The driver said. Then he stated further "People, such as mortals and cultivators who have been going there to buy herbs, incenses and flowers don''t have a problem with the herb house. They all love it. Besides, the workers there simply take great delight in satisfying their customers. So, that''s why no one, absolutely no one has an issue with them, and this herb house has been established more than forty years ago. Customer happiness and satisfaction is their watchword."


    "Hmm!" Alex said.


    Then something came to his mind which he proceeded to ask the driver since he felt that he might know a few things about the Imperial Herb House.


    "Do you know the boss overseeing and managing the herb house?" He questioned.


    "Well, to be sincere, people that go there know that the person is a lady, and that she is a cultivator, but no one has actually ever seen her before. She doesn''t come out to show herself in public." The driver replied.


    "Okay. But why is that? Is she hiding from something?" Alex asked with surprise in his tone.


    "I can''t exactly tell. But I don''t think that could be the reason why. However, I think that maybe she doesn''t like showing herself to the public, and that she could be doing so many things that are preventing her from revealing herself to everyone who are eagerly awaiting her appearance in public. Also, I can tell that she would be a very beautiful lady. So, she may not want popularity because of her dazzling beauty and then choose to live a simple life" The driver responded.


    "Hmm. Thanks" Alex said.


    The driver nodded.


    Alex then furrowed his brows as he started to think of a lot of things.


    "She has never appeared in public before. But she suddenly wants to see me? For what reason exactly?" He couldn''t help but question himself.


    ''Anyways, she would appear before me soon. Then I would know what she wants my help for. I am sure all these that she made her workers give me are just to bribe me into doing something for her. Well, if it is something that would I tremendously benefit from, sure I would accept and even owe her a favor. But if it''s something sinister and sinful, I would turn down her request.'' Alex said and decided in his mind.


    Few minutes later...


    Moving at a high speed, the carriage arrived before his organization. Alex then stepped down from the carriage and paid the driver twice the transport fare again. This made the driver extremely glad who then tried to sing praises of him. But Alex quickly walked away from where he stood beside the carriage and into his organization''s building.


    He nodded at his members as they greeted him on his way to his room.


    Immediately he arrived in his room, he closed the door and brought out the Azure Beastsman treasure-palace from his mom''s spatial ring.


    "Palace-spirit, bring me in" He said when he sent a sliver of his perception into the palace.


    Then suddenly, space warped around his figure. He then vanished from the spot that he stood at and into the palace central hall.


    When he appeared in the central hall, he said to the palace-spirit.


    "Palace-spirit, I need a large cauldron filled with a liquid that can reach or surpass the temperature of molten steel when Heated. Also, a pressure that can flatten thick iron rod should be applied on it" Alex said resolutely. But then, great horror suddenly manifested in his heart when he thought of the exceedingly horrendous thing that he was about to experience.

 Chapter 295: Body Cultivation II

    "Huh?! What do you require those for?" The palace-spirit asked in a curious tone.


    "Well, I require them so I that I can cultivate my body" Alex replied.


    "Oh. You want to cultivate your body. Good! But isn''t the conditions you gave for your body cultivation too harsh?" The palace-spirit asked.


    "Nah. It''s not too harsh. My body has been tempered by tribulation-lightning to the point that I feel it should be able to withstand the heat just several degrees below that of molten metal." Alex said. Although he wasn''t too sure about that, his resolution couldn''t be wavered.


    "True. Just like the pyroforce energy that you cultivate which would be able to melt steel and earth when released from your body" The palace-spirit said. Then it continued "Alright. Since you feel you shouldn''t be hurt by that kind of heat, let me provide you with the items that you requested for"


    Then a second later, a large cauldron appeared before Alex. It was tall that it was three times his height, and was many feet wide.


    Then in it was a type of blue liquid that could be gotten in Greatverses and Oververses. This blue liquid could actually be heated from the normal temperature of water to a temperature where it would be ten to hundreds of thousands of times hotter than lava or molten magma.


    Then since the palace-spirit had filled the cauldron with this liquid, it activated the special heating array that was spatially compressed into the cauldron.


    Upon activation, hundreds of enigmatic patterns that could be seen on the surface of the cauldron suddenly lit up. Then in the next instant, the cauldron became red-hot that it gave the concrete feeling that it was going to melt. But that wasn''t so, as it was forged from a metal-like material that could withstand great and excessive amounts of heat.


    While the blue liquid within the cauldron, due to the intense temperature and powerful pressure that just begun to act on it, suddenly began to roil. If Alex looked into the cauldron at this moment, he would think that some raging ancient beasts wanted to come out of it.


    Although it violently roiled, more than that of an exceedingly turbulent sea, the liquid didn''t burst out of the cauldron, and neither did it began to evaporate as water usually do when heated to the boiling point. But bubbles which then popped could be seen appearing from time to time on it surface.


    "It''s ready" The palace-spirit said.


    "Alright. Thank you palace-spirit" Alex said.


    "Don''t mention" The palace-spirit replied.


    Then before Alex would jump into the cauldron, he stated "Palace-spirit, please increase the temperature and pressure from time to time until the liquid which could change in color when I add the herbs into it changes back to blue."


    "Hmm. Understood" The palace-spirit said.


    Alex then leaped using his powerful legs unto the thick edge of the towering cauldron.


    Immediately he appeared at the edge, he could feel the serious heat emanating from the hot cauldron and then shook his head with anguish in his face. However, he was ready to be drowned in a kind of pain that he wasn''t sure he experienced when he encountered the Beyonder-level tribulation.


    Then he brought out all the body-cultivating herbs from within his mom''s spatial necklace and threw them into the hot and bubbling blue liquid in the massive cauldron.


    Plosh!


    Plosh!


    Many ''ploshing'' sounds rang out as the many pieces of body-cultivating herbs dropped into the liquid.


    Then as they slowly sank to the bottom of the tall cauldron, greyish substances began to exude from them, infusing into the hot blue liquid which then changed the blue color that it possessed to grey.


    Approximately two minutes later, the blue liquid completely changed from blue to grey. This showed that all the essences of the herbs that he threw into the blue liquid had fully discharged from them and completely saturated it.


    Then ripping off his clothes and closing his eyes to prevent the liquid from entering into his eyes and probably irreversibly damaging it, he dived into the boiling hot grey liquid. But before diving in, he had throated down more than thirty peerless-grade, Heaven Adept-stage healing pills which caused him to feel exceedingly bloated. He had a plan in his mind for doing this.


    Plosh!!


    A louder plosh sound rang out as Alex''s body which was astonishingly heavy, but due to the certain level of density that it possessed, entered into the pool from that height that he jumped from.


    Immediately he entered, with his eyes still closed, Alex groaned inwardly in pain.


    The way Alex felt was like his skin was turned inside out and had continuous cannon of searing hot lava fired at it. It was just too painful for him to bear. But he gritted his teeth and tried to endure the tremendous pain that afflicted him.


    Then due to the high pressure acting on the blue liquid that had turned grey, the extremely hot liquid in the cauldron was forced to enter into Alex''s body through his skin pores. Now, it was here that Alex experienced again what pain truly was. And since the liquid was forced in due to the strong invisible pressure acting on it, it began to move through many of his blood vessels.


    Alex trembled hard and incessantly from the great pain that was inflicted upon him.


    And this one, he wouldn''t want to absorb, as it would just flow to his energyhouse and begin to reside in there. So, absorption, or devourment, or whatever he called it couldn''t be brought into play here.


    What he needed to do now was to endure the greatly excruciating pain that was continuously inflicted upon him as the hot grey liquid flowed through his blood channels.


    However, as the extremely hot, grey-colored liquid moved through his entire body like tidal currents due to the external force which was the great pressure acting on it, the ''Duraforce'' energy that composed each of the grey liquid-essences that discharged from the body-cultivating herbs and infused into the blue liquid turning it grey, began to permeate into Alex''s tough bodily flesh that had swollen from the intense heat that was continually affecting it.


    Not long, although the flesh and bones of his body had duraforce energy continuously permeating into them, they still unexpectedly cracked like his body was formed from clay and was hit with a tremendously heavy force.


    Once these cracks appeared due to the excessive heat that his body was unendingly, directly exposed to, Alex strongly shook in pain. If one could see into his closed eyes, one would see that that they had turned red. While his blood seethed from the immense pressurizing force that caused numerous cracks to appear all over his tough and hard flesh and bones.


    But since Alex had prepared for this occasion by swallowing many peerless-grade, Heaven Adept-rank healing pills, the many cracks that had appeared on his flesh and bones quickly began to heal up. While slivers of the invincible body-transforming energy that entered into his flesh and bones reinforced the new skin cells and bone cells that were closing up the wide, multiple cracks in Alex''s tough bodily flesh and bones.


    However, due to the pressure and heat that continuously increased by some amounts, his body which was undergoing a healing and strengthening phase suddenly swelled and then ripped apart in hundreds of places. At the moment, his skin which was now dense to a degree by the action of duraforce energy cracked in hundreds of places, with these cracks also giving rise to hundred more cracks. Same thing that was happening to his skin also happened to all the bones in his body. Numerous cracks could be seen on their surfaces, making them frightening to anyone that would see Alex.


    However, as the wisps of healforce energy circulated about in his body, the hundreds of cracks on both his skin and bones began to grow thinner as skin cells and bone cells filled up the holes in his flesh and bones because of the wide cracks. And as they sealed up the many cracks that had manifested, duraforce energy which unstoppably flowed into his body, permeated the new cells filling up the cracks and caused them to become stronger.


    Not long, his body which could be likened to an exceedingly dilapidated mud/ clay statue that could no longer stand the river of time, became flawless in appearance that it began to five out a beautiful sheen within the cauldron filled with hot grey-colored water.


    At the moment, the numerous cracks that had appeared on his bones and flesh had disappeared, causing his body which was been saturated by duraforce energy to begin to glow.


    Although his body skin and skeletal framework were gradually transforming, becoming more stronger and powerful. Same couldn''t be said of his internal organs which had turned to mush because of the great pressure and exceeding temperature acting on them. Since the hot grey water flowed into Alex''s body through his skin pores, it had begun causing damage unrestrainedly to his delicate inner organs, causing them them to cook and overcook that they became like jelly.


    However, since his body was filled with healforce energy gotten from the many peerless-grade, Heaven Adept-rank regeneration pills that he swallowed, the organs of his body, except his heart and brain which were protected respectively by his dad''s spatial necklace and the danger-detection treasure which continually produced an unseen, invincibly strong repulsing force-field that kept absolutely all elements and energy out, they began to rapidly heal.


    Cells quickly aggregated together to heal the damages that had been done to all the organs in Alex''s body because of the insane pressure and temperature factor affecting him as he was fully immersed in cauldron. While duraforce energy flowed into these organs and the cells to reinforce them; it made them stronger and powerful too that they would now be able to withstand this level of temperature and pressure, provided they weren''t increased again in leaps.


    As for his blood, it couldn''t boil away from his body because it wasn''t normal blood. It was a blood that contains his parent''s lineage-transmitted physiques, the blood essence of the Azure Beastsman and that of hundreds of divine beasts that he subdued and extracted blood essences from. Then also the blood of the Negaria race that contained the ancient racial gene of the strongest tribesman of this race. So, due to all these, they made his blood easily withstand the pressure and temperature. However, the duraforce energy still permeated into it, making it denser than normal. Therefore, as an example, his blood became thick like mercury.


    Since the blue liquid hadn''t changed back to blue, meaning that there was still duraforce energy in the liquid as it was still grey in color, the palace-spirit increased the temperature of the cauldron and the pressure acting on it. Once it did so, Alex''s body began to swell rapidly once again which then explosively cracked in numerous places, with some tiny pieces shooting off like actual projectiles within the cauldron. Therefore, in this manner, more cycles of swelling, cracking, healing and reinforcement took place.


    Many hours later...


    After the duraforce energy in the extremely hot liquid had completely entered into Alex''s body and turned back to blue, Alex''s body which had grown taller by an inch due to the addition of many cells to his bones and tissues because of the appearances of hundreds of cracks in their structures which the cells surfaced and banded together to seal, became so strong that, if he faced the Beyonder-level tribulation which he encountered when he was breaking through into the core formation stage again at this junction, he would easily pass through it. He wouldn''t be in pain. That''s to show how tough his body is now.


    Then when his eyes snapped open, and with a smile in his face, he gathered power in his legs and shot out of the cauldron to the tiled floor of the palace central hall.

 Chapter 296: Layla (I)

    When Alex landed to the palace''s tiled floor, he clenched his hand into a fist and punched out hard with it into the air.


    As soon as his fist met the air, a small amount of air that was in front of his body was pushed away from him.


    "Cool." Alex said with a smile.


    As he was feeling the new shocking toughness of his body, the ancient voice of the palace-spirit suddenly sounded out.


    "Congratulations boy. You have successfully cultivated your body. Now, it remains bloodline cultivation for you to become a quad-cultivator" It said.


    Haha!


    Alex grinned and nodded his head.


    "Very soon. And I think I should be the first in this world to be a quad-cultivator." He said.


    "Certainly. Who else do you think can rival your abilities? None. Although there would spectacular geniuses in some other places in cities in some other states, but their ability definitely wouldn''t match close to yours." The palace-spirit said.


    Alex nodded his head.


    "Ready to leave?" The palace-spirit asked.


    "Yes, you can bring me out" Alex said.


    Immediately Alex said so, space distorted around his body and he was teleported out of the palace.


    When he appeared in his room, he sat in the cross-legged position on his bed and went into his comprehension state.


    ***


    Few days later...


    Alex was going through a large, thick-cover book when a knock was heard on his door.


    "Come in" He said.


    Then the door opened with someone who was a member of his organization stepping in.


    Immediately this person entered, he said "Master, there is someone here to see you."


    Alex furrowed his brows.


    ''Who could this be again?'' He said inwardly.


    Then his eyes narrowed when he remembered the young, chubby lady from the Imperial Herb House. She had once told him that her boss would come to lol for him soon. But he couldn''t be sure if this person was the boss of the Imperial Herb House.


    "Did the person tell you where he or she is from?" Alex asked, looking at the person before him.


    "Yea, she said she is from the Imperial Herb House" The person replied.


    ''Hmm. It could be her'' Alex muttered within himself.


    "Where is she?" Alex asked.


    "She is in the private discussion room that we set up for you" The person replied.


    "Okay. You can go back to your post" Alex said.


    The person nodded and left.


    Alex then stood from the bed, changed his clothes and left his room for the private discussion room where he would meet the female that was from the Imperial Herb House.


    When Alex got there, he opened the door and went in.


    Immediately he entered, he saw a young woman. But she was wearing a mask. Still, he could definitely say that she was beautiful.


    The young masked lady had a long and straight black hair, a pointed nose, gorgeous intensely blue eyes and a beautiful white skin that was as smooth as jade.


    When the young lady saw Alex, she said with a smile that was hidden by the mask she wore "It''s very nice meeting you, The Godly Punisher"


    Alex nodded his head.


    But there was a question that kept ringing in his mind, so he proceeded to ask "Are you the boss of the Imperial Herb House?"


    "Yes. I am the one. My name is Layla, Layla Scarletwood" The lady responded.


    "Okay. It''s nice meeting you too" Alex said. Then he mentioned "I met a worker of yours who said you wanted to see me."


    "Yes, I wanted to see you for something of great importance." Layla said.


    "And what might that be?" Alex asked.


    "I have this ancient expert inheritance that I want you to accompany me for." Layla said.


    "Accompany you? You mean as a bodyguard?" Alex asked in a curious tone.


    "No. But a-as a p-partner." Layla said with slight difficulty.


    Alex''s eyes shone with great surprise when Layla said that. Then before he could say anything, Layla quickly spoke again, as she felt that he might reject her proposal. "Actually, the inheritance can only be shared between two cultivators who... who tr-trust and love each other."


    The glow of astonishment in Alex''s eyes increased in intensity once again. Then it receded after Alex got a grip on himself.


    "If I heard you right, you want me to be your cultivation partner?" He asked to confirm once again what he heard.


    "Yes" Layla responded.


    "And the inheritance can only be shared between two cultivators who trust and love each other?" Alex asked.


    "Yes, or it could backfire, ruining the both of them" Layla said sincerely. She didn''t want to mince words, telling him from the start exactly what he needed to know. Also, at the moment, she was hoping that Alex wouldn''t reject her request, as she felt that she really hasn''t done much for him, except give him some body-cultivations herbs for free and order her workers to treat him specially. But if Alex hadn''t come to her herb house, she would have come to his organization with many things to give him. Although Alex could be insanely rich as he had a super-rich uncle, and all her wealth and assets wouldn''t match close to his, but she felt that Alex wasn''t the type to look down on someone''s financial status. So, if she gave him the little that she brought with her, Alex would accept it with a smile. But he had come to her place already, and there was no need for her to bring him anything again. The only thing she could do now was tell Alex everything he needed to know, so he could believe her and possibly trust her.


    Alex grinned.


    "And you think I am trustworthy?" Alex asked.


    "Well, to be sincere, I have been looking everywhere, including in cities in other states for a male that would accompany me to the inheritance ground. I however couldn''t find any, as they were all full of darkness, filths and shits. But you, I can certainly trust with all my heart. And my reason for this is because of how you fought everyone to win Olivia''s hands in marriage. At that point in time, everybody thought that you wouldn''t come, but you appeared, proving them all wrong. It''s that kind of man who would stand for me when the whole world is against me that I want to have in my life. Although you are engaged to her already, there''s really nothing bad in taking one more. Besides, I have searched everywhere for a suitable candidate for me, and now that I have discovered one, I want to end my search today with him in my life" Layla said, speaking everything that was in her mind.


    "Hmm. So you have asked some people in the past to accompany you for this inheritance thing?" Alex asked.


    "Yes." Layla replied.


    Then she continued "All the males that I met and wrote down their names in a list, I canceled them off because I didn''t like the way they behaved. They were haughty, extremely naughty, annoying, and above all, untrustworthy. Everytime I went to their abodes to remind them of the inheritance, they would open their mouth to demand for sex from me, like I was an harlot. There was even a time one drugged the fruit wine that he served me. The bastard was actually trying to have his way around me, but he didn''t know I used my power of fire to entirely burn off the wine in my stomach. After discovering that the drugged wine he gave me had no effect on me, he tried to kill me, since he was exposed. But the fool didn''t know I was more powerful than him, as I have been hiding my cultivation level. I simply slaughtered the bastard. But I don''t blame those guys anyways, I blame myself for not looking in the right places" Layla said.


    "Who were those guys anyways?" Alex asked.


    "Both popular and unpopular cultivators." Layla replied.


    "Hmm. Okay." Alex said. And seeing how Layla was honest with him, he decided to ask her another question "Are you a virgin?"


    "Yes, I am still a virgin. No man has had anything amorous to do with me" She responded.


    "That''s cool. But can you prove that to me?" Alex asked.


    "How do I do that?" Layla asked.


    "Well, by taking off your mask and gown to reveal your nakedness. Then spread your legs wide apart so I may see if the seal to indicate that you are a virgin is still intact" Alex said with lewd smile appearing in his face.


    When Layla heard that, she shivered.


    Although she was very unhappy with his request, as it seemed like he was trying to take advantage of the situation she was in. But since she had totally decided in her mind that she wanted him to be her cultivation partner, she could only do what he asks for. Besides, she felt that he was right to request for that. Although it was a little too much, but if it was her in his shoes, she would definitely request for the same thing that Alex asked for. So, the person must be ready to do anything to earn the person''s trust. Also, she had made up her mind to do everything he would ask for.


    But just as she was about to take off her gown, Alex''s eyes that was glowing with fake lust was instantly replaced with surprise.


    "What the hell are you doing?" He asked in shock.


    "I am doing what you you told me to do, which is to take off my dress so I may show you that my virginity seal is still intact" Layla replied in a perplexed tone. She couldn''t understand why Alex was suddenly asking her what she was about to do.


    "Nah. I was only kidding" Alex said. Then he continued "You see, I am also like those guys. I am a very naughty person. My mind is filled to the brim with filths. So, if I am like this, how can you find me trustworthy, since all that my mind is upon is how to get your luscious body to my bed and do some dirty things with it?"


    "Well, you are not like them. You are different. At least, you just stopped me now from totally undressing to reveal my nakedness to you. Besides, you have been interrogating me since to know some things about me." Layla said.


    "Hmm" Alex muttered. Then he asked "How am I different from the other guys?"


    "The crazy guys that I met instantly demanded for sex when I told them about the inheritance, with the stupid excuse that I would be their cultivation partner which was the same thing as a wife. But you, you didn''t ask for anything like that. The only thing you asked for which was a tease but felt right to me was that I should undress so that you may see if truly I am still a virgin. So you are different." Layla said.


    "Hmm. But why me? Is it because of my battle prowess? It can''t definitely be because you find me trustworthy" Alex asked.


    "You are right. It isn''t only because I find you to be a reliable person. But because of your amazing and seemingly fathomless battle skills. And since I have found someone who probably has it all, I decided to give it a shot. And I hope you wouldn''t turn me down" Layla said and ended her statement in a pleading tone.

 Chapter 297: Layla (II)

    "Hmm" Alex muttered.


    At the moment, he didn''t know what to say again.


    After looking at Layla for sometime who avoided his gaze by looking at the ground and hoping he would accept her request, he asked "So, what about me? Can I trust you?"


    "Yes. I would never do anything to harm you, since I want you to be my cultivation partner." Layla said.


    "Do you love me?" Alex asked.


    "Actually, to be honest with you, I haven''t fallen in love with you yet. I only like you for the many good things that I have been hearing about you. It''s like chorus everyday in the street. Even my workers talk all the time about you, like you were one god in this mortal world. You are so popular that my curiousness about you and my interest in you was piqued. So, I like you very much, and you would definitely be someone that I would certainly fall in love with in the end." Layla replied.


    "Okay. What about those guys that you went to meet? Did you also love them?" Alex asked.


    "Just like you whom I haven''t fallen in love with but only like very much, same with them too. But I don''t really like them that much either, I was just left with no choice as I wanted the inheritance, and wanted them to be my cultivation partner. I was thinking that before and after receiving the inheritance, we would have fallen in love with each other, as the tests revolved around our love and trust of each other. But I didn''t know that they were self-centred, callous and fickle bastards who the Heavens would damn in future. I am glad I discovered I discovered that filthy attribute of theirs or I would have been been ruined. Well, so would the bastard that would accompany me." Layla replied.


    "Hmm." Alex muttered.


    Then with a lewd smile appearing in his face which caused Layla to narrow her eyes, he questioned. "What if I ask for sex like those other guys, would you give it to me, and in every style that I want to be it?" Alex asked with a lewd smile.


    Layla smiled. But her smile was concealed by the mask that she wore. Earlier, when Alex asked her to undress and she shivered, she didn''t understand him then. But now, she was starting to understand his ways. Truly, he was the naughty type, always speaking of lewd things when any of his ladies are around him. But he was a very likable and lovable person. And he was strong and handsome too. So, for this reason, she felt that she should have no problem in giving him her body, if really that''s what he wanted. Nothing bad in being deflowered by him.


    "Yes. If that''s what you want you want, I would certainly offer you my body. And since you are my partner, I would surely agree to any sex position that you demand for" She said.


    Alex smiled.


    "I see you are really doing everything in your power to make me go with you" Alex mentioned.


    "Yes. Since it is you that I have chosen to go with, I would do everything in my power to make you accompany me, and this is by telling you everything about me and agreeing to whatever you would ever demand for. Not that I am obsessed with the inheritance, I just really want it, or my cultivation would become stagnant. I wouldn''t grow in power. Everyone I ever knew would leave me behind, becoming stronger, while I would become like a grandma. I would become less powerful, age and begin to emaciate when I get to the end of my life span since I couldn''t break through into new cultivation realms that would offer me a longer life span." Layla said, not trying to hide anything from Alex.


    Alex looked at her and shook his head.


    He knew why her cultivation method was like that. It was because of a defect she was born with which inhibited from cultivating normally. So, it was only true sex with a cultivation partner that she would break through into new cultivation realms. And this was by allowing her partner to absorb a certain energy from the realmverse which she would then extract from him through her sex organ that was connected to his. This kind of cultivation was called copulation-cultivation. Therefore, only by having sex with their partner could such person be able to cultivate an energy or their soul. It was very limited in cultivation, as the person couldn''t engage in other forms of cultivation which was body cultivation and bloodline cultivation. But it was dangerous too, as if the partner was one with a great hunger for gigantic amounts of energy, he or she could entirely draw away all the energy in one''s energyhouse, and the person''s lifeforce energy too.


    ''Pitiful'' Alex said inwardly when he finished pondering.


    Layla didn''t say anything else, she only looked at Alex and patiently waited for his decision. Anything he said, she would accept it like that. If he rejected her offer, she would only accept it as her fate. But she hoped not. Because to her, she had truly found a gem, and wasn''t willing to lose it. Which cultivator in this world could be like Alex, absolutely no one, she felt. She had seen him do things no other cultivator would be able to do. Like the time the sky appeared blood-red and an enormous blade descended forth from it to attack Alex. That was one totally insane, epic and unusual tribulation she had never seen anywhere, even in books and some ancient cultivation records that she had come across. But this dashing young boy in front of her leaped high into the sky like he could fly to actually confront the attack and unexpectedly vanquished it by shattering it into hundreds of fragments. He was certainly a priceless treasure and she wasn''t absolutely willing to let go.


    "Can I see your face?" Alex asked.


    "Yes. I hid it when coming here because I didn''t want anyone to see my face." Layla said.


    Once she said that, she took off the mask.


    Then Alex saw her face and couldn''t help but be astonished.


    ''Hmm. Truly beautiful'' He said within.


    Now, he had seen her face, and he could say she was an absolutely ravishing beauty. She could really stand on the same level as Olivia and Instructor Jennifer.


    Layla saw the astounded look in her Alex''s eyes because of her enticing beauty and became happy that Alex liked what he saw. However, she concealed the little happiness that had budded in her heart from appearing in her face. She however knew that beauty was only one of the things that could move Alex into accepting to become her partner. But at least, her beauty would definitely play a part into influencing Alex to accept her request. She had been thinking that Alex might just show indifference to her beauty when she eventually took her mask off. But from his astonished gaze, he was impressed, and she was totally glad about that.


    "What''s your true cultivation level? Reveal it to me" Alex asked and said.


    Layla nodded her head.


    Then she removed the seal hiding her cultivation level.


    Once she did so, the pulsing power of a peak-phase, Earth Adept (Core Formation) stage burst out from her body.


    "Nice!" Alex said.


    "But how did you cultivate up to this stage, since you have an inborn, cultivation-inhibiting defect?" Alex asked in a curious tone.


    "Well, it has been possible for me to cultivate by myself since I was young. But when I got to this stage, it became extremely difficult for me to further my cultivation. So, knowing about the great flaw of my body since my birth, my father came to tell me about it. He didn''t want me to become seriously frustrated, depressed, anguished and then suddenly decide to take my life because of my body''s inability to continue to absorb energy from the realmverse. When he however told me about it, about the major flaw of my body, and that I would need to have a cultivation partner to continue cultivating, I became totally devastated. I felt empty and morose within. Then, I was like a living dead. So my cultivation breakthrough actually depended on a cultivation partner. Therefore, because of this thought, I couldn''t cultivate for about three years, as I was constantly sad and depressed. But when my family members started breaking through into higher cultivation realms, especially the ones that were at the entry stage who broke through into the Sky Lord stage during my years of cultivation dormancy, it dawned on me that I should go find a cultivation partner since I would soon be left behind. Therefore, after my dad''s brother discovered the location of a copulation-cultivation type legacy which was then transmitted to me, I braced myself and set out to every city in the state and in other states to find myself a cultivation partner, one who would love and respect me. But they were all dark and filthy sexual wolves, always demanding for sex and trying to touch sensitive areas of my body. Except you, who would surely be like a powerful primordial deity in their midst" Layla said.


    When she finished saying that, Alex took a long breath and exhaled. Now, he had began to contemplate deeply of some things in his mind. While Layla''s heart was thumping wildly, hoping that with all that she had said and mentioned, Alex would accept to journey with her to the inheritance ground where they would first have to pass some tests centering on love and trust and then mate with each other before they could each receive the full transmission of a profound cultivation methodology to cultivate a certain, unprecedented and special energy in the realmverse.


    Alex inhaled and exhaled again. Then he made up his mind.


    Now gazing at her, he said with a friendly smile "I will accompany you, Layla."


    But his smile vanished in the next instant. Then with a stern gaze and a frosty expression in his face as he stared at her, he warned "But if you dare to try anything crazy with me, I wouldn''t hesitate in slashing off your head from your neck and selling it to the Blood Marauders for free"


    Once Layla heard that, ignoring the threat from Alex, she couldn''t contain the great joy and happiness that had exploded forth from within her heart. Then she dashed towards him and took him into into her arms, tightly embracing him. If not that Alex was much more physically stronger than her, he would surely be knocked to the ground at the speed that she moved at.


    Then while in the tight embrace, with the melons on her chest pressing hard against Alex''s broad and muscular chest, tears of happiness streamed down unbridledly from her eyes. It was like she had just found her true, long lost lover after hundreds of years of clueless searching. But one couldn''t blame her for this. If she couldn''t get Alex to accompany her for the reception of the powerful legacy, where else would she able to find someone like him; one that would stand up for his woman and fight the whole world if they taunted her? One who could cause the appearances of strange and ominous, uncanny phenomena that might great shock gods and devils themselves? She herself knew that no one else like Alex would exist in this Planeverse, only surely in her fantasies. And now that she had gotten him, she would do definitely everything in her power to make him stay, and this she would do by earning his complete trust and unbounded love.

 Chapter 298: Layla (III)

    "Hey, it''s okay" Alex said after being in the tight embrace for more than three minutes.


    He would be honest with himself, he enjoyed the hug. He simply sank himself into the wondrous feeling that erupted from his chest when Layla''s twin peaks pressed hard against his chest.


    Layla nodded her head. Then she pulled out of the embrace.


    "Thank you" She said.


    "It''s okay." Alex said. Then he questioned "When are you going go to receive the legacy?"


    "In three days time, just so that I can prepare myself. You should also do the same" Layla said.


    "Oh. I don''t need to prepare myself. I was born prepared for anything" Alex said.


    Layla smiled.


    "Okay. I am leaving now." She said.


    Alex nodded.


    Then she turned around to leave. But just when she would fully make a u-turn to leave the private discussion room that they were in, she halted and turned to look at Alex who couldn''t understand why she halted and turned to look at him again.


    "You still have something to tell me?" Alex asked. Then he said "Spill it out"


    Layla nodded.


    Then she approached him and took his lips into hers. Alex who wasn''t expecting her action froze where he stood. Although he recollected himself in the next instant, he however couldn''t bring his hands to grab her bubble butts the way he usually grabbed Olivia''s and Elena''s own. He felt awkward doing that.


    Layla then removed her lips from his and quickly apologized "I am so sorry for that. I actually didn''t mean to kiss you. I was only driven by impulse which I tried hard to control. But since you are my cultivation partner, I disallowed myself from resisting that strong impulse that was pushing me into kissing you, allowing it to compel me into locking your lips in mine. I am sorry. It wouldn''t happen again"


    Alex nodded his head with a smile in it.


    Then he unexpectedly approached her, put his arms around her waist and stared into her eyes.


    Layla looked into his eyes and suddenly felt like she was looking into the eyes of a god. This made cold currents move down her spine, causing her to slightly, physically tremble.


    At that point in time when Layla looked into his eyes, she felt she was pulled in to see a vast, unbounded land that was covered entirely with ice. And on this seemingly endless and immensely large, ice-encrusted land were innumerable mountains of ice that looked so tall that they seemed to pierce through the sky into the void. Then falling down endlessly from the sky in this dreamy ice world were snowflakes.


    All these she saw in a second when she looked into his eyes, and by experiencing those things, she suddenly felt cold within, causing her to tremble physically. Actually, at that moment, one of Alex''s God-eyes which was the God-eyes of Ice World Creation and Glacial Desolation had suddenly activated, but it was far less powerful since it had been completely sealed by the expert that created the eyes. The God-eyes only exhibited one-billionth of it true ability, or the entire state and many other neighboring states in the continent would have enormous, sky-piercing chains of mountains formed purely from ice appear in the millions all over them, turning them into an exceedingly cold region that only primordial, ice-bound creatures could survive in. But this was also a slight power of the God-eyes as that wasn''t it full potential at all. And to juggle one''s memory, one shouldn''t forget that numerous god-eyes taken from legacy grounds bonded with that of Alex''s. These were eyes which belonged to insanely powerful experts that existed before his father. And so that Alex would have a lot of things to fall back to if he was caught in an exceedingly dangerous or dire situation, one that no one would be able to help him other than himself, his father had gone in search for these numerous, astonishingly powerful eyes of Great Ancient Experts in extremely dangerous, inheritance trial ground. Then when he passed the tests, he brought all the eyes he could get for Alex and used a body/treasure fusion technique to allow the treasured-eyes of the ancient cultivation adepts to merge with that of Alex''s.


    Alex noted Layla''s body trembling and then wondered what happened. Earlier when he wrapped his arms around her waist and looked into her eyes, he wanted to kiss her to make her feel free around him; to be as naughty and silly as she liked around him. But he was sure that it was because of his lack of response to her kiss that made her feel bad about kissing him and then start apologizing. However, seeing her tremble from just looking into his eyes, he ceased the action he wanted to take and asked in a curious tone "Layla, what happened? Your body shivered when you looked into my eyes. Did you see something?"


    Layla who was astounded by what she saw didn''t know how to respond to Alex''s question. She couldn''t be sure of what she saw and didn''t want to start telling him things that would make him laugh hard at her. She didn''t want to look crazy or insane in front of her cultivation partner.


    "Nothing really" She replied.


    "But you trembled. Come on, you definitely saw something. Just tell me anything you saw. Alright, I promise not to laugh no matter how funny or outrageous it may sound" Alex said like he could actually read her mind.


    So, now that Alex had promised not to laugh, she spoke "When you looked into my eyes and I looked back into yours, I was suddenly drawn in for a second into a seemingly boundless world that only ice existed. All I could see in this world that I was unexpectedly brought into were extremely great numbers of mountain-shaped, absurdly tall and gigantic glaciers of ice and endlessly falling snow." Layla said. Then she continued after taking a slight pause, but she was still staring into Alex''s eyes to see if that powerful feeling and astounding vision could come up once again. "It was also in that same second that I was pulled into that imaginary icy world in your eyes that I felt cold currents move down my spine, causing me to shiver" She spoke.


    When Alex heard that, his brows furrowed. Nothing could behave like that except the numerous God-eyes that had bonded with his. He thought. And he could arrive at this because it was exactly how the God-eyes of Grand Destruction first appeared, causing great damage to Instructor Jennifer''s body.


    "Well, it''s imaginary like you said. And I don''t know anything about that. Haha! Let''s just focus on something more important, which is the ancestral copulation-cultivation methodology that you want to receive from that legacy ground" Alex said, looking at Layla who gazed at him curiously. He started to feel that Layla, because of the infinitely vast world of ice and snow she saw in his eyes and which produced a real feeling of coldness in her body, would start seeing him as an ancient expert that had reincarnated back to this world.


    "Alright. I would go now. See you in three days time" Layla said.


    But just before she could could turn around to leave, Alex hurriedly said "Wait!"


    Then with his arms still around her waist, he moved them down to gently grab her bubble butts which he began to press and knead with his fingers.


    Once Alex''s hands grabbed her butts, Layla''s body shivered once again and her eyes widened in shock. She couldn''t believe what Alex just did. It was now she understood that Alex was truly naughty, probably naughty than those other guys that she met. Despite being older in age than him, including in looks and also cultivation, Alex grabbed her ass just like that. But she was happy. Like tremendously happy. Now that Alex had reciprocated her action and even went over the top with it, they would surely understand and love each other very soon. And she couldn''t wait to have Alex take away her virginity since she had seen that he was absolutely the right partner for her. He was bold and valorous, trustworthy and honest, romantic like he was doing now, totally caring as she had heard, possesses unmatched energy-combat skills and a strong battle prowess, extremely dashing in appearance that even ancient, goddess-like experts would be moved, crazily wealthy and so on. However, these were just a few of the reasons why she couldn''t wait to have her body''s holiness or sanctity profaned by him. The major reason why she wanted to have a taste of the carnal fruit of passion and desire is because she had read from some few books on copulation-cultivation which discussed intensively about ''Sex'' and how to enjoy it with their cultivation partner, reaching a surreal, fantastical place and have the feeling of unbounded joy, liberation and great ecstasy overwhelm and engulf every inch of them.


    The same second that she shock appeared in her eyes was also the same second that it disappeared. Then she immersed herself into the sensation that erupted within her body as Alex fondled with her butts.


    With her eyes closed, she brought her head closer to Alex''s and locked her lips with his. Then they began to suck on each other''s lips and rubbed each other''s tongues.


    After a few minutes of kissing, Alex and Layla, like as if they read each other''s minds, pulled out their lips from the other, abruptly ending their kissing session which was quite long.


    Layla then looked at Alex and said apologetically "I am sorry. I just had to end the kissing session we were having. If I continued, I have a feeling that I might allow you to penetrate me before actually receiving the legacy and practicing the steps mentioned in it. But you would definitely have me to your heart desire after we have collected the legacy"


    She said and then smiled.


    Alex smiled back.


    "I know. That''s why I pulled out of the kiss too. Alright. It''s time for you to go. See you in three days time, Layla" He said.


    Layla nodded her head and then left the room, while Alex headed back to his room to continue his comprehension of some battle-methods.

 Chapter 299: Rita

    When Layla came out of the building, with her mask on her face, she entered into a beast-drawn carriage which shot back to the Imperial Herb House.


    As the beast-pulled carriage shot away, some people who were far away and were observing and monitoring everything that was going on in Alex''s organization began to wonder who the lady in a mask was.


    "Should we follow her?" Lenna asked Maxwell.


    "Yes. She could be what we need to take down that bastard. Let''s go now" Maxwell said.


    Then they shot into the sky and began to follow the carriage as it shot away. Also, so that no one could see them as they flew, they hid themselves above the clouds.


    Few hours later, the beast-drawn carriage stopped at the Imperial Herb House. Then Layla came down and went in.


    Maxwell and Lenna who were above the clouds and were watching her as she entered into the Imperial Herb House, understood that she was someone that was important in the organization. They arrived at this from the way the guards knelt on a knee and looked at the ground to greet her.


    "She seems like an important person in the Imperial Herb House. But who exactly could she be?" Maxwell asked.


    "She could be chairperson or boss of the organization" Lenna said.


    "You could be right" Maxwell said.


    Then he asked looking at his sister "Why did she go to visit him? Do they have business together?"


    "Probably." Lenna responded. Then she continued as she stated "Now that we have one person that''s connected to him in some ways, we must find a way to use her to get to him."


    "Hmm. But how do we do that?" Maxwell asked.


    "You would have to go in there, into the herb house and behave like you are a customer and want to buy something. Then you would use your puppet-manipulation powers on the workers there to tell you how their boss is related to Alex. Maybe from there, we can identify what business they have together and use it to kill them both." Lenna said.


    "Haha!!" Maxwell laughed raucously in the air.


    "Sister, you are an evil genius. Anyways, I wouldn''t kill such a pretty lady. That would be a total waste of such a beautifully curved, pretty young lady. Instead, I would make her my sex slave. She would sexually serve me for hours every morning, afternoon and night. And when I am no longer moved by her, I would finish her off and feed parts of her body to the hungry beasts in the wilderness" He said with an aura of lust radiating off his body.


    Lenna smiled.


    "Brother, what a filthy bastard you are" She said.


    Haha!


    Maxwell laughed.


    "Alright. Let''s return sis. Tomorrow, I would visit this place." He said while Lenna nodded.


    Then they shot back to their academy and teleported into their different rooms.


    ***


    Next day...


    "Good day sir, what would you like to get from our Herb House?" a man who was quite taller than the person before him asked. This person in uniform and worked here had quickly approached the person before him when he came in.


    "I would like to get ten pieces of rosmythum herb" Maxwell said.


    "Hmm. Sir, I don''t think any herb like that exist, or I would certainly know about them" The person who was a a worker said.


    "Oh. You would know now" Maxwell said with a wicked smile in his face.


    Then he suddenly grabbed the hands of the worker and dug his fingers deep into the person''s skin. And before the person could scream out in pain for the sudden, sharp pain that he felt, threads of puppetforce energy rapidly discharged from Maxwell''s fingers and quickly flowed to every area of the body of the man that he grabbed.


    Very quickly, the man''s complexion changed as the energy permeated his body. However, his skin changed back to it usual color in the next moment. But if one looked at the man, one would see that his eyes had seemingly become devoid of life. It was simply like there was no soul residing within the body. And immediately the puppet-transformation energy fully saturated the man''s body which only took place in a few seconds, multiple connections that no one would see, except for a cultivator of puppetforce energy, quickly established between Maxmillian and the worker.


    "Take me to a room where no one would see us" Maxmillian said.


    Then the person who had been turned into a puppet led Maxmillian to one of the storage rooms that was half-filled with many varieties of low-quality to good-quality cultivation herbs and scenting flowers that haven''t been fully sorted out by the workers.


    Maxmillian had ordered this as he didn''t want what he was doing to be conspicuous.


    "Where did your boss go to yesterday?" He asked through the puppet-control link that had been established between them when they got to a room that the puppet-worker led him to.


    "I actually don''t know. Our boss doesn''t talk much with us. But you can ask the lady she put in charge of the herb house. She relates well with our Master as they are quite close. Therefore, she would know where our Master went to yesterday as she knows a lot about our Master who tells her many things about herself" The worker said, transmitting his thoughts to Maxmillian through the puppet-control link between them which the puppetforce energy generated.


    "Hmm. Okay. Transmit her name and how she looks like to me" Maxmillian said through the puppet-control link.


    "Alright, Master" The worker said.


    Then he sent the information about the lady who was closer to their boss to Maxmillian through the invisible links connecting him and Maxmillian together.


    "Hmm. Her name is Rita Jameson. Got it" Maxmillian said, uttering the name of the young and chubby lady who specially treated Alex.


    Then he placed a finger on the worker''s forehead and extracted all the slivers of puppetforce energy that he sent into his body. And when he absorbed the wisps of energy he sent into the man''s body back into his own body, he hit the worker hard in the head that the worker immediately collapsed to the ground and fainted. And when he kept the unconscious body in a place that wouldn''t be too noticeable to anyone when they came in, he teleported from the room and appeared in Rita Jameson''s office.


    The instant he appeared in Rita''s office, Rita shook in shock before great fear engulfed every inch of her being.


    She knew this was a cultivator and one at a high stage since he could teleport. While she was an ordinary mortal that could destroyed by a single breath from him. Although she was exceedingly frightened because of the sudden appearance of a powerful cultivator, she however braved up and asked politely, "Good sir, this ordinary mortal greets you. What do you want from me, I would immediately order the workers to give you with special treatment inclusive."


    "Special treatment? Hahaha. I would come back for that later. Now, your boss went somewhere yesterday. Tell me where she went to" Maxmillian asked.


    "M-My boss went to see her female friend yesterday. They were going to organize a party which was to celebrate her birthday." Rita quickly intelligently responded. She couldn''t say that her boss went to meet someone called The Godly Punisher. That would be betrayal. And she wasn''t one who wanted to a partaker of such a thing so evil and insidious.


    Hahaha!


    Maximilian grinned.


    Then he looked at her from her head to her toes, and from her toes back to her head. Then now gazing at her boobs, he licked his lips lasciviously.


    "Your beautiful boobs are calling my name? Should I heed to their call?" Maximilian asked, looking at Rita with a full glow of lust in his eyes.


    "No sir. Please don''t heed their call. This mortal has nothing of good taste to offer you." Rita quickly said in fear, as she thought that the powerful cultivator before her might want to get down with her. And as she was saying that, she quickly crossed her arms on her chest, blocking off her boobs from view.


    Hahaha!


    Maximilian laughed again.


    "Lady, don''t piss me off. Remove your hands from your boobs. I want them to stare at me" He said.


    Once Rita heard that, she quickly removed her hands from boobs, causing them to bounce and causing the glow of lust in Maxmillian''s eyes to increase.


    Maximilian then approached her and unexpectedly grabbed one of her boobs with one of his palms.


    "So soft" He said as he pressed it. Then he carried that hand and dipped it into her cleavage, enjoying the softness and warmth that he felt in there.


    He then used the other hand to grab her other boob and started to squeeze it like he was trying to squeeze liquid from an orange.


    Now looking at her in the face as he enjoyed himself squeezing her twin peaks, he said "Well, I am not here for this. So, let me get back to what I am here for. Now, what I am doing is to warn you of what I am capable of committing next if you lie to me again. Therefore, if you want me to teleport you away from here to the wilderness where I would drop you in the hands of hundreds of wicked cultivator bandits that would badly molest you and then penetrate you all day long for months, you can lie once again to me. But don''t think that telling me the truth would set you free from my clutches. As you are now, since I like what I am seeing, you are already my mortal sex slave. You would do every sex-related thing I ask you do without complaints."


    Immediately he said this, Rita started to shake from the bad and evil fate that had fallen on her.


    Now, she would betray her lovable boss and also become a sex slave to this powerful cultivator who would ride anyhow and everywhere till he gets tired of her and possibly kill her and dispose off her dead body since she wouldn''t be able to fulfill his amorous desires anymore.


    Maximilian looked at Rita and questioned once again "Where did your boss go to yesterday? Who did she go to meet?"


    Actually, Maxmillian could have just used his puppetforce energy on her. But he didn''t want that. He wanted to force this young woman who he had deemed good enough to be his sex slave to tell him everything that he needed to know. Besides, there was no fun in turning her into a sex puppet as she would be too boring to use to fulfill his carnal desires. Although the human-transformed puppet would also experience the sweet and ecstatic feeling of sex, she would still be like a living dead; an undead, and that would ruin the blissful feeling he might experience from his penetration into her honeyhive.


    "She went to see The Godly Punisher. He is going to accompany her to a place where she would get a powerful cultivation methodology." Rita fearfully said.


    "Accompany?" Maxmillian asked.


    "Yes. As a bodyguard. Since he''s extremely strong and would have tons of powerful treasures" Rita said, inserting in some lies to her statement which would surely sound like the truth to Maxmillian.


    "Hmm. And has he agreed to accompany her to the legacy site?" He asked.


    "Yes. He has agreed" Rita answered.


    "Good. Where''s the location of the expert''s inheritance site?" Maxmillian questioned.


    "Moonglow lake, Skytrident city" Rita replied.


    "What state is that in?" Maxmillian asked.


    "Hourste state" Rita replied.


    "Good. I am taking my leave now. And if you dare say anything to your boss, you will die. I would be watching you, so don''t you dare mention anything to your boss who would join you soon in sex-slavery. Haha! Goodbye for now beautiful. And when we eventually meet again, at that point in time, you would be sucking my fat rod and licking my balls. Haha!" Maxmillian said delightedly and vanished from where he stood.

 Chapter 300: The Journey

    Three days later...


    Alex came out of the building of his organization and entered into a beast-drawn carriage that shot towards the Imperial Herb House.


    At this point in time, the person who Alex put in charge of the operation of the organization he established had employed a few beast-drawn carriage drivers. One was of high-grade, while the rest were of average-grades. The high-grade, beast-pulled carriage which consisted of powerful, towering beasts belonged to Alex, their boss. While the average-grade, beast-pulled carriages which were carriages pulled by less powerful beasts belonged to the higher-ups of his organization.


    Not long, the beast-drawn carriage arrived before the Imperial Herb House. Then Alex came down from it and stepped into the building.


    Immediately he entered, he met the workers who humbly greeted him. Then one came to meet him and took him to Layla''s office.


    Knock!


    The sudden knock on the door jolted Layla from her comprehension.


    "Come in" She said from within.


    Then the door opened and Alex stepped in. While the worker that brought him here turned around and walked back to his post.


    When Layla saw Alex, she immediately stood from her seat and approached him. With a smile in her face, she greeted when she got to his front.


    "Welcome" She said.


    Alex nodded his head.


    Then he looked around.


    "Nice place you have got here ma''am" Alex said with a smile as he looked around.


    "Nah. It''s not as great as your place" Layla immediately responded with a smile.


    Then she looked at Alex and said "I don''t remember asking for your name"


    Alex looked at her and gave a naughty smile. "Nah. You have to please me to tell you that. I don''t give out my name freely to people, even if the person is my cultivation partner. So, you have to please me to tell you"


    Layla shook her head.


    ''Like he previously said, he is the extremely naughty type.'' She said inwardly.


    ''But I like him like that. At least, he is hundreds, if not thousands of times better than those bastards I met'' She thought.


    "So handsome, how do I please you to get your name?" Layla asked.


    "I don''t know. Anything should work, as long as it pleases me. Haha" Alex said and grinned naughtily.


    Then Layla thought of something erotic. Although she was new to all these, which was intense romantic interactions with an opposite gender, she still had to brave up to do it; what she thought.


    She wanted to please Alex, since he had demanded for it from her.


    She then came very close to him that her breath brushed his face. And now looking at him in the eyes, she lifted her right hand and dipped it into his trousers to grab his manhood.


    However, before Layla''s hand could grasp his manhood, Alex immediately grabbed her hand, stopping her.


    Then he looked at her with a smile in his face. "Alright. That was pleasing enough." He said.


    "Oh!" Layla exclaimed with slight surprise in her tone. She had thought that he might even say she had to do something on his manhood with her mouth to please him.


    She then removed her hand from his trousers and asked "So, what''s your name?"


    "Alex" Alex replied.


    "Full name?" Layla questioned.


    "Alex Star" Alex answered.


    Layla nodded her head with a smile in her face.


    Then she placed her two palms on his cheek and said "Thanks for coming. I so much appreciate it."


    Alex nodded.


    "Don''t mention." He said.


    Then he asked "When are we going there? You said in three days time to give us time to prepare."


    "Yes, I am fully prepared for the journey. So we are setting out now" Layla replied.


    "Alright." Alex nodded his head.


    Then they both left the room they were in and headed for the door to exit the building. And when they came out, she and Alex stepped into the beast-drawn carriage that carried them to an ultivehicle garage.


    As they left, Rita was in her office crying. She felt she had done a really bad thing to her boss. But she also felt that she couldn''t be blamed for this, as she didn''t want to die, and also didn''t want to provoke the powerful cultivation expert who could probably kill her with his gaze alone.


    When the beast-drawn carriage got there, they both came down from it and entered into the building to buy tickets. But since it was Layla that invited Alex for this journey, she was the one who paid for the two of them. And the ultivehicle that she booked flight ticket for was the small ultivehicle which was really expensive as it could only contain one to five passengers. Unlike the others that could hold from hundred to tens of thousands of people, making their flight fees very cheap. The small ultivehicle was meant for VIPs or for extremely wealthy people who could afford it.


    Alex who was like a glaring sun everywhere he would go to couldn''t be recognized by anyone as he had worn a full mask that hid his entire face. He didn''t want his enemies and potential enemies know where he was heading off to. He wanted to have a totally smooth and sweet experience with Layla during their copulation-cultivation. Therefore, he didn''t want anybody interrupting and ruining their happiness, inhibiting them from reaching that wondrous state of ecstasy. Also, he didn''t want anyone to see him with Layla yet. Although he didn''t give a damn if anyone knew, it was just too soon to be seen with another lady. It was true that powerful geniuses or famous cultivators would be surrounded by ladies on all sides, but he felt that being seen with Layla only after a few weeks of fighting to restore Olivia''s name and reputation could seriously tarnish or damage his ''godlike'' image in the minds of everyone. He would be seen as a lady wrapper which would then cause every other girl to try to jump at him to try their luck. Besides, he didn''t want Olivia to be seriously mad. That girl was dominating, and out of anger could come for Layla''s head, even if she knows that Layla was the daughter of the king who was a cousin to the City Lord. So, he didn''t want any crisis between her and Layla to happen so soon, at least, till in the future. Therefore, a simple mask would prevent all these that he thought. Layla too wasn''t identifiable as she had worn her mask.


    Not long, the ultivehicle was prepared for them. Then when they entered into it, the small-sized ultivehicle took off into the air and shot at a great speed to their destination.

 Chapter 301: The City Lords son

    When the small ultivehicle arrived at Skytrident city, Hourste state which was their destination, it landed at the ultivehicle garage in the city.


    Then they came down from the ultivehicle and out of the garage through a building before the garage. It was this building that people who arrived in the garage exited to go to their true destination, or entered into too buy an ultivehicle flight ticket to another region.


    After a few minutes of walking in the street, they both arrived before the carriage park. It was here they would find beast-drawn carriage from the low-grade type to the high-grade type. So, one would choose one that one could afford.


    Immediately they arrived at the carriage park, they entered into a building there to pay for a carriage that would lift them to the area where the Moonglow lake was.


    But before they could enter after paying the fees, someone who was quite tall and hefty in size rushed down from one of the tallest building in the garage towards where they were.


    "Didn''t you see the signboard that says masked people aren''t allowed into this garage. If you want to use any of the beast-pulled carriage here, you must take off your masks. And if you can''t comply to the simple rules of the carriage park, you can get out and use your legs to go to whatever place you have in mind" The person said after arriving before them.


    "Oh." Alex exclaimed.


    Then he looked at Layla and said "Collect the money you paid and let''s leave here. Don''t worry, I have another means by which we could go to that place"


    Layla looked at him and then shook her head. But before she could carry out any action, the hefty guy who had a smile in his face said "I am sorry, we can''t reimburse you. Only until you have done what I asked you both to do would I tell the carriage driver you paid to too give you guys back the money you paid as fee."


    Alex looked at him with furrowed brows.


    "Why should we take off our masks? Besides, come and show me where it was stated that masks aren''t allowed into the carriage park. Because on our way down here, we couldn''t find any signboard or anything like that. So, I have a feeling that you are just trying to make trouble with us, or that you have a motive for doing so." Alex said. Then he looked at the driver Layla paid to and ordered "Hey! Give her back the money she gave you to use your beast-pulled carriage"


    "I am sorry" The driver said. Then he continued by saying "This young man here before us is the son of the city lord and one who manages the carriage park. So he runs it as he sees fit. You have to listen to him, or you can leave here to avoid trouble. I am sorry once again."


    "Oh, so are the son of the city lord. That''s cool. Anyways, that doesn''t concern me." Alex said. Then he looked at the carriage driver and said with an angry tone "I will say once again, give her the money she paid you. Or you would regret it"


    "What? What do you think you can do? This place is our boss''s territory. So, you can''t do anything here. Besides, he is surrounded by powerful cultivators who are in the building, quietly watching what''s happening here. So don''t think you can beat him up and come for me his worker. Or you would seriously regret it. Therefore, my advice once again to you is that you should comply to what he said or just leave here to avoid problems." The carriage driver said.


    Layla looked at Alex and said "Well, there''s nothing bad in taking off our masks. We are no longer in our city where there are lot of eyes that would gaze at us. And if you don''t want to do that, we can just leave. We would definitely find another means to go that place, just like you said. Therefore, no need to start up things that we wouldn''t be able to finish. Also, remember we aren''t in our city, my father isn''t here to protect me while I left without any bodyguard. Same with you whose uncle is very far away. So, if you don''t want to to do as he said, we can just leave"


    Alex looked at her with a smile and said "Well, I would have listened to what you said, but no I wouldn''t. This bastard here is after you. And I seriously hate it when some bastard looks at any of my ladies. It totally disgusts me. Like, can''t you find your own lady? This bastard''s aim is to see your face concealed behind the mask you wore because he feels that you would look beautiful due to your great body shape. However, to prevent any problem like you said, I would leave since you have demanded for it. But only until they give you your back your money would I leave"


    When Layla heard that, her eyes shone with happiness.


    Alex had just said ''Any of my ladies'', meaning that she was one of his ladies. Besides, he was fighting for her sake. Although the money paid to the driver wasn''t much and could be left behind, Alex didn''t want to do so because of the way the young man before them had the motive to lust after his woman. She herself knew that was the aim of the young man before them, which was to see her face and then use the power he possesses because of his background to try to take her for himself.


    "Alex, I know. But this is his territory. We can''t do anything. Let''s just leave to avoid issues that we wouldn''t be able to end." Layla said worriedly. She didn''t want Alex to start up something that he wouldn''t be able to finish. Besides, she didn''t want anything bad to happen to Alex, or she would be devastated. Then immediately she said that, and with an endearing smile appearing in her face, she said to him "I understand why you are doing this. Thank you much. I appreciate it."


    Alex shook his head which meant ''No''. Then he looked at the young man before him with a ruthless smile in his face. However, his wicked smile was concealed by the mask he wore.


    He looked back at Layla and said" Let''s take off our masks"


    Layla was surprised while the young man before them laughed.


    ''Finally!'' He said within.


    Alex and Layla took off their masks at the same time with the young man looking at Layla intently.


    Once her mask was removed with her long straight hair fluttering in the wind, the young man smiled.


    ''So beautiful'' He said within. Then he contemplated within himself ''Her beauty is more than enough to carry her to the position of number one in my harem of thirty-five young women. Look at her skin, it''s smooth like jade, faultless and looks so soft. Unlike those ones in my home, this lady would fill me with happiness. Tremendous happiness. Haha. I actually just got a gem. Let me end this ongoing scenario first, then I would use you to my satisfaction later in my room tonight. Haha"


    Once they took off their masks, Alex asked "So?!"


    However, the young man totally ignored Alex like air and walked closer to Layla who was looking at him with a cold gaze in her eyes. Also ignoring her frosty gaze, he carried his hand to try to rub her beautiful, linen-smooth face.


    But before he could do so, a loud snap of the bone suddenly rang out with the young man before Layla shooting into the air for more than thirteen feet before crashing back to the ground very hard at a distance of six feet away.


    Alex had actually delivered a kick to the buttocks of the young man using his powerful legs. While the loud snap sound that rang out were many of the bones of his butt breaking in an instant.


    Immediately the young man crashed into the ground, his eyes became red from pain. Also, blood could be seen thinly streaming down his mouth slowly but out of his ass profusely. This was because the broken bones of his butt could be seen jutting out of the skin of his buttocks, causing severe bleeding.


    Then in the next instant, a booming wrathful voice rang out "How dare you?!!"

 Chapter 302: Battle I

    Immediately that voice rang out, several men who were at the mid-phase, Sky Lord stage to the peak-phase, Sky Lord stage shot out from the tallest building in the park to the sky.


    ''Oh no'' Layla said seeing that things had quickly escalated. Then she looked at Alex to tell him to not engage them. But she saw him giving a ruthless smile. She then began to wonder why he could still remain calm and give that kind of smile which would invoke the feeling in anyone that he was an exceedingly wicked and tyrannical dictator. However, she called his name to try to tell him not to provoke these powerful cultivation experts. But Alex didn''t answer her.


    Then when he eventually looked at her, he said with a smile in his face "Don''t worry. They can''t do anything to me. I intentionally did that to draw the bastards out. I knew that doing what I did would cause them to fly out in rage. So, I know what I am doing. Just go somewhere far from here to keep yourself safe from our stray energy-attacks and watch the battle that''s about to ensue. Believe me, you would be entertained"


    Layla looked at him in shock. Then she tried to talk but she couldn''t find anything to say. The great shock in her heart which was evident in her face prevented her from uttering anything.


    Alex, an initial-stage, Earth Adept stage cultivator wanted to go against a group of cultivators who were at the mid-phase, Sky Lord stage to the peak-phase, Sky Lord stage?


    She was seriously overwhelmed by the shock that had blossomed in her heart because of the incredible statement that Alex made.


    "Alex, please don''t do this. You would be seriously hurt, or worst, you could be carried away, tortured and then killed." Layla hurriedly said immediately after she got a slight grip on her flitting mind.


    Alex smiled when he looked at her.


    "You would understand soon. Just leave here, Layla. Go somewhere else where you wouldn''t be exposed to our attacks" He said.


    Layla shook her head to tell him that she wasn''t going anywhere. She wanted to remain behind to prevent him from fighting and then become fatally injured by the cultivators hovering in the air. Also, she wanted to apologize to the powerful experts on his behalf. But before she could do so, Alex who was looking at the Sky Lord-stage experts in the air said to them "Give me a second, I will be back".


    Then now looking at Layla who was perplexed by what he said, he unexpectedly grabbed her by the waist and darted off at an insane speed into the distance of about forty feet away. Then he returned almost in the same instant after dropping Layla off at that distance in the field that the beast-pulled carriages were parked at.


    Now looking at the experts who had astonishment in their eyes because of the great speed that he moved at, he said to them "Alright folks. I am back. Let''s get to what you shot into the air for"


    "I see that you are the bold and brave type. But that would only cause you to lose parts of your body or die. Now, why did you do that to the City Lord''s son, despite knowing that he has many powerful guards?" The one at the peak-phase, Sky Lord stage asked.


    "Well, he was lusting after my lady. And that''s something I wouldn''t tolerate from anybody, including your city lord if he does that." Alex said without fear in his tone.


    Once Alex mentioned that, the coldness in the eyes of the guards shot up by many degrees that it was only a degree left for their cold gazes to become gazes that would erupt killing intent.


    "I see that you are someone that has virtually no respect for anybody. Perhaps a little lesson from us would impart into you the ability to respect and humble yourselves before people who are seniors to you in cultivation." The guard at the peak-phase, Sky Lord stage said with anger in his tone.


    He couldn''t believe that some brat from somewhere could look down on their Lord. Then he felt that they must seriously teach him a lesson for that, and that lesson would include the removal of an eye, a ear, an arm and his two legs.


    "No. You are getting it wrong. I have respect for everyone that are senior to me. But when such people I have respect for do things that disgusts me, I totally lose the respect that I have for them. As for your City Lord, I don''t have respect anymore for him because of his son who lusts after other people''s lady. I mean, why not go find your own lady, instead of lusting after someone else''s own. Therefore, since his son can be like that, going after other people''s girlfriend, then the City Lord would definitely be like that, as his son would learn from him how to use force to take other people''s women. I am very sure that the City Lord would use his power to snatch women from people who are weaker to him in cultivation. And that''s oppression by power and rank, something I really hate the most." Alex said to them, refuting what they said about him.


    "Haha. If the City Lord lust after women and tries to take them and make them his wives or concubines, that''s because he has the power to do so. Therefore, that''s something a stupid brat like you shouldn''t be commenting about or giving remarks about." The guard said. Then looking at the other guards in the air, he said to one of them "You, bring me one of his eyes and his two legs. We must teach this fool a lesson that he wouldn''t forget for the rest of his damned life. And maybe when he dies and reincarnates, the lesson he learnt from his previous life would stay with him."


    "Oh really? Haha!" Alex asked and laughed raucously.


    The guard that was ordered to cut off Alex''s two legs and remove one of his eyes suddenly swooped down from the air towards Alex.


    Once he arrived before Alex, Alex who had a faster reaction since his body''s reaction time was heightened by the speedforce energy that had already permeated his entire body nerves, simply put out one of his hands and grabbed the guard by the neck. And since his fingers were abnormally strong and powerful due to his tribulation-lightning body tempering and body-cultivation using body-cultivating herbs, they effortlessly dug into the guard''s skin and began to discharge tiny wisps of tribulation-enhanced lightniforce energy and pyroforce energy into his body, causing the guard to develop red eyes and have green veins bulge all over his face. The energies seeping into his body from Alex''s fingers prevented him from doing anything except scream out in intense pain and great horror. But because of Alex''s tight grasp on his neck, his terrified shriek couldn''t sound out.


    "You trashy, senior cultivation experts that would be behaving like you are mighty because you are at a higher cultivation stage than the one who is before you. Now, don''t I have you fool in my hand like a filthy rat that ate my bread? Eh?" Alex questioned, coldly gazing at the guard that he caught by the neck. Then now looking at the guard who was at the peak-phase, Sky Lord stage. "You wanted him to cut off my legs and remove one of my eyes right? Well, since you wanted him to render me useless, why don''t I obliterate your man, make him totally useless for you?"


    Then applying force, a snap sound rang out as the guard''s neck was thoroughly crushed. Alex then released his hand from the mangled neck of the guard, causing his lifeless body to drop to the ground with a heavy thud before him.


    Layla who had begun running back to where Alex was saw what happened and couldn''t help but gape in shock. Same with the people on the field who had left Alex''s immediate vicinity to faraway places. Their eyes at the moment were full of astonishment. Alex had just made killing a senior cultivation expert too easy in their eyes. But they knew that he had the strength to do so. Same with Layla who was extremely shocked. She now understood why Alex said she would understand soon. Then she became angry at herself for not listening to him. Now, she felt that Alex would think she was underestimating his strength, when she should have just believed in him and support him as he was fighting for her cause.


    However, she also knew that she couldn''t be blamed for that as she didn''t want anything bad to happen to Alex.


    Besides, she wasn''t like Olivia who already had an inkling of how strong Alex was. If she knew, she wouldn''t have tried to stop him, and would only tell him to carry on with what was in his mind.


    The guards in the air who were shaken heavily by surprise then had unbridled killing intent replace the great surprise in their eyes.


    Then very quickly, they produced treasure-weapons and sent out powerful attacks at Alex.

 Chapter 303: Battle II

    Alex whose eyes were permeated with speedforce energy saw the attacks shoot towards him in slow motion. Then clenching his hand into a fist, he sent them at the attacks.


    Boom!


    Boom!


    Boom!


    Loud boom sounds that was accompanied by waves of devastating power rang out when Alex''s fist connected with the attacks, shattering them into smithereens which then turned into slivers of energy that returned back to the realmverse.


    When he shattered all their attacks and calmness returned to the area, Alex could still be seen at the spot that he stood. The tyrannical waves that erupted from the powerful explosions of the energy-attacks couldn''t move him from the spot that he stood at. However, his legs had sank some inches into the ground in which a large, web-like crack could be seen around it. Also, bits of flesh and bone could be seen here and there. That was the body of the guard that Alex killed. It had been reduced into tiny fragments by the waves that manifested from the explosion of the attacks when Alex''s fists contacted them with immense force.


    Alex then walked forward, bringing his legs out of the area on the ground that they had sank into.


    As he walked forward into the distance, people who were watching the battle from the far places that they stood at were exceedingly shocked. Their minds were sent reeling in awe by how powerful and superhumanly strong his body was. Same with Layla who had only heard of his amazing battle strength. This was her first time seeing him fight and it was even more amazing than what she heard from her workers about Alex''s spectacular battle prowess. With only his fist, he had used it to destroy the attacks of Sky Lord stage cultivators while being at the initial-phase, Earth Adept stage.


    ''Heavens, he is damn strong. But wait, is he a body cultivator? I thought he was an energy cultivator. It seems he is, since there is no way he would dare to use parts of his body to subdue an attack. Since he can do that, that means he has a powerful and tough body.'' Layla pondered. Then thinking further, she said "Yea, I remember now. He came to my herb house three days ago to buy body-cultivating herbs."


    Then her eyes glittered when she realized that Alex was a dual cultivator. But if she knew that Alex had cultivated the soul too to make him a tri-cultivator, she would be immensely shocked.


    The guards floating in the air were also astounded by Alex''s tough body. Then they reasoned that he must be a body cultivator too.


    "So, because you have a powerful body which might be impervious to the damaging power of our attacks, you think you can go against all of us? No matter what you do, you would still be like an ant in our eyes." The guard at the peak-phase, Sky Lord stage said. Then he prepared to use some powerful techniques that were given to them by the City Lord.


    Employing one of the techniques, he unleashed a powerful stream of fiery energy from his fist which quickly condensed and shaped into a large fist the next instant. And once the fist formed, it shot at an insane speed towards Alex.


    Seeing the massive fiery attack that was shooting towards him, Alex rapidly moved tribulation-enhanced frostforce energy and windforce energy to his lungs. Then abruptly filling them up with these uncanny world-energies, he strongly inhaled and then exhaled, releasing enormous, rampaging currents of white-colored air from his mouth.


    Once the massive and frenzied air currents that carried intense coldness along with them came out of Alex''s mouth, they moved at an insane speed towards the guard''s flame-composed attack and collided into it, abruptly freezing it over and causing it to seemingly vanish.


    The attack had been rapidly cooled by the exceedingly cold, violent currents of air that Alex exhaled using his mouth. Also, despite it solid form, it was quickly eaten away by the tribulation-enhanced elemental energies that Alex produced, reducing it to nothing. One shouldn''t forget that tribulation-energies possessed the intent to devour or consume, and since their essences had fused into Alex''s elemental energies, they had also acquired the ability to devour anything that they would came across.


    When Alex did that, subduing and eliminating the guard''s huge fiery attack, the people who were watching from far had their eyes glow with awe and astonishment. Same with Layla who had difficulty taking in what she saw. With just a breath that turned into unusually powerful and exceedingly cold gusts of wind, he had vanquished the attack of a senior cultivation expert. No matter how she thought about it, to comprehend how Alex''s attack could destroy his opponent''s attack, she couldn''t understand how he was able to do that.


    The guard that unleashed the attack was shocked to the extreme by what he saw. He also couldn''t believe what he saw which sent his mind spinning in awe.


    As he was thinking about Alex''s powerful abilities, some people who were floating high in the sky in different places were looking at Alex with intense greed in their eyes. They felt that he must have some treasures with him which he used to increase the power of his attack, since they couldn''t understand how an ordinary breath would suddenly become powerful, ravaging gales of wind that also surprisingly emitted intense coldness in all directions. Besides, it abruptly ate away an energy-attack that was solid in form. And that was a great feat impossible to do by any energy cultivator. Therefore, they totally believed that Alex was using some elemental-energy attack-enhancement treasure.


    These people who were high-level cultivators had been attracted over by the loud boom sounds that they heard. Some were either cultivating an energy or comprehending certain battle techniques, while the others who were notorious had been making evil schemes to get one or two treasures of some sorts when the boom sounds suddenly rang out. And when they came out to see what was causing the rampant booming sounds, they were amazed to see Alex who looked domineering as he fought cultivation experts who were senior to him in cultivation ranks.


    Then also joining the cultivators hovering in the air in the next instant were law enforcement agents. They had rapidly flown down here when they heard the booming sounds. If it was anywhere else, they might not show their faces on time, but because it was the carriage park given to the City Lord''s son to manage, they just had to make an appearance. And when they appeared, they also couldn''t help but be shocked by Alex''s dominance in battle with the cultivators employed to protect the City Lord''s son as guards.


    Alex who was gazing coldly at the guards before him could feel the presences of the high-level cultivation experts that were in the air. He was able to know this through his skin which was reacting to the scanning senses of the experts that roamed about on his body. He knew that they were scanning his body to detect some treasure that didn''t exist.


    Then with a smile in his face, he looked towards the sky to look at them. And after seeing them which he rapidly counted them to be roughly eighty in number, he focused his gaze back on the guards before him.


    When Alex did that, the cultivation experts became heavily surprised. They didn''t understand if Alex just looked up and then saw them. But in the heat of a serious battle, he couldn''t just do that out of nowhere, as he had to place his focus on his opponents, or he could risk getting struck down. Then they thought that Alex was alerted of their appearances by some treasure within his body. Now, they braced themselves as they felt that they could possibly lose him if they were slightly careless. They didn''t want Alex to elude them using some treasure that had alerted him of their presences.


    Alex who knew that many greedy cultivators would surface when he started fighting the guards wasn''t worried in any way by the appearances of the powerful cultivation experts hovering in the sky. Also, he did what he did; unrestrainedly showing his powers because he had some motives in his mind. And these were, apart from just coming down here to receive a powerful legacy along with Layla, he wanted to birth a legend here that would be useful for him in future. Also, he wanted to test the power of the god-eyes that created the unreal, vast icy world in Layla''s mind and caused the manifestation of cold currents in her body. And ultimately, to fully acquire the wealths and possessions of many of the powerful greedy experts which he would use to maintain his organization, at least, for this world before he would cause them to ascend to higher worlds once he gets stronger.


    ''There are about eighty of them. Ugh. It''s still not enough for me. Well, let me reveal some more so that they would come out from wherever they are. I need like hundreds more'' Alex said within himself and with an intentional smile appearing in his face.

 Chapter 304: Battle III

    Once Alex thought that, he suddenly dashed towards the place the guards floated above.


    Seeing Alex run towards them at a tremendous speed, the guards quickly braced themselves and shot powerful energy-attacks at him. They didn''t want him to approach them as they had recognized his ability; he was the type that could battle cultivators who are a rank above him. So, they quickly fired attacks at him to stop him in his tracks before he could reach where they were, or it could result in danger for them.


    With his eyes permeated with speedforce energy, which then slowed down the speed of the attacks to the barest minimum in his vision, Alex clenched his hands into a fist and sent them at the attacks coming his way.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    Numerous loud bang sounds rang out as his fist smashed hard into the attacks, abruptly turning them into hundreds of smithereens which reverted to wisps of energy that moved back into the realmverse. Also, when his fist contacted the energy-attacks, shattering them into bits, multiple waves of high destructive power erupted from the point of their impacts and spread into the far distance. The damaging power of the waves was so high that the beasts carriages were attached to either sustained many fatal injuries or simply exploded into bits, while the carriages themselves which were made out of some metal dented inwardly by many feet and were blown away by the powerful gusts of air that accompanied the highly destructive waves.


    But despite the tyrannical waves that appeared from the explosion of the energy-attacks into bits upon contact with Alex''s fist, he just couldn''t be stopped in his tracks. He was like a juggernaut; a being that once it''s motion, nothing can stop it except by it own will power.


    Then when Alex got to the area that the guards floated above, he bent his legs a bit and shot himself into the air towards them.


    The guards who were floating at a height of thirty feet above the ground saw how Alex shot up towards them and still blazed past them to a height of seventy feet above the ground.


    Everyone saw this spectacle and couldn''t help but be shocked, including Layla who was tremendously amazed by Alex''s jumping power. That was simply the height a cultivator at the Saint stage could achieve. But now, Alex, a cultivator at the initial-phase, Earth Adept stage had also achieved that kind of height too.


    However, what they didn''t know was that Alex enhanced his jump using his augmented strengthforce energy.


    In the past, Alex could only achieve a height of sixty feet from his jump using strengthforce energy. But now, since he had broken through into the Earth Adept stage (Core Formation stage), his strengthforce energy which had always been a quasi-Heaven Adept rank energy because of numerous slivers of a particular originforce energy in it structure, directly entered into the Quasi-Saint rank, since it form had transformed from the ''liquid phase'' to the ''solid phase'' (Core), gaining tremendously in quality (density) and quantity which upped the amount of power that it could produce. Therefore, since his strength-augmenting realm-energy had immensely upgraded qualitatively and quantitatively, Alex could achieve the height of seventy feet and even much more if he put more power into his leap.


    Then when Alex got to that height in the air, his body turned upside down in the air to face the guards.


    Once his body upturned in the air to face them, Alex aimed his left palm at the guards who hadn''t recovered from the shock given to them by the height that he reached. Then immediately he did so; aiming his left hand at them, he employed a light-based battle-technique called ''Thousand Light Spears of the Supreme Light Monarch''. Then suddenly, tremendous amount of radiantforce energy bursted out from his hands like a raging flood towards the guards which then rapidly partitioned into a thousand parts that abruptly condensed and shaped into a thousand huge spears that glowed in all the colors one could think of.


    So, emitting intense glaring light that could burn the retina of one''s eyes and dying the earth below and everything in it in all the colors that it produced, the thousand spear-shaped attacks that he generated from his Radiance world-energy shot at insane speeds towards the guards who were visually incapacitated by the tremendous amounts of retina-burning, thousand-colored lights entering their eyes.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    However, before the solid spears of radiantforce energy could impale each and everyone of the guards in many places in their bodies, a powerful wave of energy was suddenly released which then shattered the attacks that Alex unleashed into millions of tiny, multi-colored fragments of condensed Radiance energy in an instant. Therefore, the lives of the guards were spared by the wave of energy that was suddenly produced. It was actually one of the numerous experts in the that released that devastating energy wave.


    Alex gave a smile when this happened, his plan was working.


    Although he had a plan of killing the guards, he also however wanted to show how powerful he was so that many high-level cultivation experts would appear. And he could see that he had successfully done so. The powerful attack that he released which produced far-reaching, strongly glaring light of seemingly infinite colors had successfully attracted many more powerful senior cultivators over who then began to look at him with astonishing gazes in their eyes because of the amount of marveling power of Luminance that he put out.


    At this point in time, Alex whose legs were permeated with strengthforce energy and radiated a golden sheen landed back to the earth from his jump with a lot of force. Then if one looked at where he landed, a gigantic web-like crack could be seen there. It was like something immensely heavy had landed there from a great altitude in the sky, hugely and deeply cracking the earth where it landed in a web-like pattern.


    Alex actually forcefully landed from his jump. His intention was to destroy the property of the City Lord as he now held him in total disgust and irritation in his mind. And he had also decided within himself that he was going to slay this City Lord and appoint someone from his organization to be the City Lord of this city; that''s when he becomes quite powerful to be able to contend with him.

 Chapter 305: Laylas resolve

    "Were you planning on killing the guards?" A law enforcement agent under the City Lord asked with coldness in his tone.


    "No senior. I only wanted to seriously injure them." Alex replied.


    "And why is that?" The law enforcement agent asked.


    "Well, since he wanted to remove one of my eyes and amputate my legs and hands, I decided to seriously injure them. I want my image to be forever be branded in their minds." Alex replied.


    Haha!


    The law enforcement agent laughed.


    "So, you think you can handle them with just that?" He asked.


    "Sure. They are nothing but ants to me. I can wipe them off with a snap of my fingers" Alex replied.


    Hmm.


    This rang out in the minds of the experts hovering high in the air.


    "Where are you from?" The law enforcement agent asked Alex.


    "From Howling Wind city" Alex replied.


    "What?! That is really far from here. What exactly are you here for to come from such a far city?" The law enforcement agent asked in a curious tone.


    "I and my girlfriend are here to tour the city. Actually, we just want to visit some serene, beautiful places in this city where we can try to comprehend stuffs before going to other cities in the state to continue our comprehension and cultivation. We are simply traveling cultivators who love to visit calm and scenic, natural places to gain enlightenment" Alex replied.


    "Hmm. Where is your girlfriend? Tell her to come forward, I want to see her to know if you''re telling the truth" The law enforcement agent asked.


    "You want to see my girlfriend to know if I am telling the truth? What does my girlfriend have to do with if I am telling the truth?" Alex asked.


    "How dare you question me?!" The booming voice of the law enforcement agent rang out and caused Alex''s blood to churn violently within. However, although his blood churned, Alex couldn''t cough out blood or have blood stream down his nose and mouth as his blood had been made denser and thicker to the point that it was as dense as mercury; a liquid metal by the duraforce energy that was infused into it. Then in the next second, due to it thickness and density, his roiling blood calmed.


    The law enforcement agent looking at Alex was surprised, same with the others in the air who were astonished at how Alex didn''t cough out even a mouthful of blood after the powerful organ-shredding, booming voice rang out.


    "Well, provide the girl with you or you wouldn''t like what I would do next" The law enforcement agent threatened.


    Then feeling that the law enforcement agent might do as he said, Layla ran out from where she was towards Alex and said "Senior, I am his girlfriend"


    "Hmm. Is it true that you guys are traveling cultivators?" The law enforcement agent asked.


    "Yes senior" Layla replied.


    "Hmm. But what is such a beautiful lady like you doing with this riff-raff, this nonentity?" The law enforcement agent asked.


    "Well, I am with him because I like and love him. He isn''t like the other guys. He is caring, compassionate and he is a great listener. He listens to anything I say or suggests." Layla said while Alex whose eyes shone from what he heard laughed inwardly. He knew that Layla was talking to him, and that she actually meant the opposite of what she was saying, which is; ''He''s a terrible listener. He doesn''t listen to anything I say or suggests and plunges himself into trouble.''


    "Hmm. But I don''t see those qualities in him. You shouldn''t be with someone like him. You should be with someone like the City Lord''s son. He is the most caring guy you would ever find out there. Also, he is wealthy, and as you already know, he comes from a powerful background. So, what do you think?" The law enforcement agent asked.


    "Senior, there''s nothing anybody can tell me that would make me follow other males. I have long made up my mind to follow this dashing young man before you. Absolutely nothing can break my resolve to be with him for eternity. Now, you spoke about him lacking those qualities that I earlier mentioned. So, what about the City Lord''s son? Can he engage my boyfriend in a battle for a couple of seconds? No! He would be knocked unconscious for days with a slight finger strike from my boyfriend. Besides, I don''t think any other male cultivator in this city can withstand his astonishing battle prowess, as we saw earlier that he almost finished off the cultivators guarding the City Lord''s son. Therefore, he is very strong, making my resolve to be inseparable from him more unyielding. So, what do you think, senior?" Layla said, confidently stating out facts that made Alex quite impressed with her. She wasn''t even scared of angering the high-level cultivation experts who could do many things to her if he actually became provoked.


    Haha!


    The law enforcement agent cackled raucously. But evil intent could be sensed in the way that he laughed.


    "I see" He said.


    "Well, it''s a great pity for someone as beautiful and curvy as you to become a sex thing for the City Lord''s son. Since you can''t leave your damned, nincompoop boyfriend alone, I would kill him and make you a plaything for the City Lord''s son. It was very foolish of you to deny my request and be so bold in front of me" The law enforcement agent stated further.


    When Layla heard that, she became horrified.


    But then, Alex''s fingers crossed with her''s. And when she looked at him, she saw him smiling. And the way he smiled made her fear vanish like it was never there. Also, she could feel something cold and shaped like a ring pressed between her palm and that of Alex.


    "Don''t worry. He can''t do a thing to me or you" Alex said with confidence in his tone.


    Layla became dumbfounded. She didn''t know what to say.


    Now looking at Alex, he looked really handsome in her eyes. This was because of the heroic and valorous aura that had began to emanate from his body, making him look more stunning in appearance.


    The high-level cultivation experts floating in the air as well as the people on the ground saw these and couldn''t help but be greatly astonished by the stunning auras exuding from his body. They couldn''t help but have the feeling in their heart that he was an invincible hero; one that was peerless and indomitable.


    Alex who was still looking at her said with a smile "Go back into the crowds. When you see a bright flash of colorful light, you should immediately leave this place. Also, instantly use what I gave you. And don''t bother looking for me. Just stay put in a place, I would come for you when I am done."

 Chapter 306: The lure

    When Layla heard that, she shook.


    ''What''s he planning now?'' She asked inwardly with worry in her tone.


    ''He should have just listened to me earlier on. We would have avoided all these problems.'' She said worriedly within herself.


    But she still did as he said. She walked towards the crowd watching the whole thing from far away with great astonishment in their eyes. They were like, ''What exactly does this boy want to do?'' This question kept flashing in their minds.


    "Girl, where do you th---" The angered law enforcement agent who started talking to Layla as she walked back into the crowds with wrath in his tone abruptly ended his speech because of the appearance of something that produced a bright, colorful flash of light.


    What had appeared was a treasure-palace. That was the Azure Beastsman treasure-palace.


    "I believe y''all know what this is? Haha. It''s a treasure-palace that contains the legacy of a supreme expert from one of those beast-inhabited Great Worlds. The owner of this palace was called the ''Nine Lives Sovereign Beast God''. I was actually, extremely fortunate to have easily gotten his palace in a perfect state from a deep ravine in one of my many adventures for cultivation resources. So, if you want it, do everything in your power to get it. Haha" Alex said and laughed.


    Immediately he ended his statement, and before any of the senior cultivators could say anything or question him, space unexpectedly warped around his body and he vanished from where he stood, appearing in the palace which then abruptly shot away at a great speed without concealing itself in another layer of space.


    Alex''s plan was to actually lure all of them towards him. And he was sure that they would follow him because of their immense greed for cultivation resources and treasures. Well, for just about anything that would make them stronger than their peers anyways.


    When the treasure-palace appeared and shot away in the direction of a lush, mountainous valley in this city, the cultivators in the air whose eyes shone brightly with greed quickly teleported after the palace that was moving at a speed that shocked them.


    If not for greed and for the powerful treasures that they felt might have merged with Alex''s body, they could have reasoned a lot of things through. But they couldn''t let Alex escape with the treasures on him, so they quickly went after him. Or it would be their great loss and then be mocked at.


    When the palace appeared, drawing everyone''s full attention, Layla quickly left the carriage park into the street where she entered a beast-drawn carriage that carried her to a inn that was not too far away. Then immediately she got into the inn and rented a room, she quickly looked into the content of a spatial ring that Alex had secretly passed to her when he crossed her fingers with his.


    In it, she saw a treasure-mask and a treasure-robe. Then without thinking too much about them, she quickly wore them. And when she fully understood how to use the treasure-mask she wore after sending a sliver of her perception into it and flash-reading it directions of use, she quickly activated it.


    Once the treasure-mask became activated and began to glow, it suddenly sank into the skin of her face. Then it drew large wisps of morphforce energy from the world into it which it utilized to rapidly restructure Layla''s face.


    Although Layla was ready for intense pain as it had been said in the directions of use for the treasure-mask, she still experienced a whole lot more of extremely agonizing pain when the skin on her face stretched and twisted, and the bones of her face making snapping sound as they broke about to rearrange, thereby forming a new framework or structure for her face.


    However, the facial alteration didn''t go on for a long time. So, approximately ten seconds later which was ''hell'' in one word for Layla, her face had fully, perfectly transformed. Now, absolutely no one would notice anything amiss with her form. Not even exceedingly powerful cultivation experts from Oververses would have a feeling that something is wrong with her face. And this was because of morphforce energy; an appearance-modification world-energy that''s suitable for a thousand-percent, perfect camouflage or disguise, and near-effortless successful infiltrations into all organizations. But, she looked so much different from how she usually looked which was drop-dead gorgeous. Anyone that saw her at this moment would simply be disgusted by her face. Her face was almost like the face of a horse; it was simply, surprisingly long. Also, she had huge and thick eyebrows.


    Then when she looked at a mirror in the room that she rented to know if the mask truly worked and to see exactly how she looked like, she couldn''t help but scream in horror. Then when she got a grip on her reeling mind because of her face that was seemingly wickedly altered, she couldn''t help but curse Alex in her mind. What sort of exceedingly ugly, retarded form did he program in the treasure-mask for her? But that was least of her worries. Now, she prayed in her heart that Alex would be fine.


    Then when she put on the treasure-robe, she discovered to her amazement that she could use it to turn invisible upon thinking about it. It was a robe that contained voidstones which possessed many massive arrays that could individually produce cloakforce energy (invisibility-energy).


    When she fully activated the items that Alex gave to her, she couldn''t help but wonder where he got them from. Then she greatly hoped in her heart that he would be fine.


    She didn''t go anywhere else, she just remained where she was, waiting for Alex to come meet her as he had promised that he would come for her soon.


    ***


    Many hours later, the treasure-palace that Alex was in appeared in the valley that Alex had secretly told the entity in control of it to go to.


    Then when Alex appeared in the valley, he immediately stowed away the treasure-palace and awaited the appearances of the furious and greedy high-level cultivation experts that were chasing after the treasure-palace he was in through deployment of their teleportation powers.


    Not long, about twenty minutes after his arrival in this valley, hundreds of frightening pulses of spatial power could suddenly be felt in the area. Then as Alex expected, hundreds of portals manifested in the sky with hundreds of cultivators whose eyes shone with great greed stepping out from within the portals and looking down on him like he was an ant.

 Chapter 307: Stalling

    "Hello folks. Welcome" Alex said with a smile.


    "Where is the treasure-palace?" One of them directly asked, ignoring Alex''s greeting.


    "Oh that. It''s with me. But wait, before you do anything, I want you all to know that I am too weak to keep that kind of treasure with me. So, since I can''t keep that kind of treasure with me, I want to auction it out to the wealthiest cultivator here. Now, the starting price is twelve billion yellow sapphirstones. Anyone that has the highest bid gets the treasure-palace. Bids start now" Alex said.


    Immediately Alex said that, the cultivators in the air looked at each other.


    Then when they placed their focus back on Alex, one said "Isn''t twelve billion yellow sapphirstones too much for the treasure-palace. I don''t think I have that kind of money on me. And I believe same goes for everyone. Therefore, you should reduce your auction price for the treasure-palace"


    "Okay. To how much if I may ask? Do advise me" Alex said.


    "Well, to a hundred yellow sapphirstones. That way, everyone here would be able to bid for it. Then the treasure can go to the highest bidder" The cultivator that spoke earlier said.


    Alex looked at him with a smile and saluted him.


    "I think I can go with that. So, gentlemen and ladies, please place your bids" Alex said.


    The cultivators in the air furrowed their brows.


    This boy actually wants to sell off that kind of treasure-palace for such low price? They started to doubt if the treasure-palace was original. It could be a fake they thought


    "Gentlemen and ladies, you are wasting precious time. And time is money. So please place your bids" Alex''s voice rang out again.


    "Show us the treasure-palace. We want to see it to know if it''s an original" One of the cultivators said.


    "Oh. I can''t you show that until you have place your bids. You would only see it when the treasure-palace goes to the highest bidder. So, stop contemplating and start bidding. We don''t have all day" Alex said.


    Although it sounds like Alex was making a fool out of them, he was actually trying to stall for time to bring up the God-eyes of Ice World Creation and Glacial Desolation. He wanted it to manifest so he deploy the vast power of Ice that it possessed.


    When Layla told him three days ago about the vision she got and the icy feeling that she experienced within her body when she looked into his eyes, Alex had been focusing on the eyes, trying to understand how to use it power for himself. Although it was not like the God-eyes of Grand Destruction that was weaponized i.e. had exceedingly enormous and astronomically powerful, Weapon-Class arrays embedded into it which could produce immeasurably vast amounts of Destruction Originforce energy (Primordial Energy of Destruction), making it a Marvel-Weapon that he needed to understand to be able to operate as he would a weapon, the God-eyes of Ice World creation and Glacial Desolation which belonged to an ancient expert who had cultivated frostforce energy to the Immortal Cultivation stage that it transformed into Frost Originforce energy or Frost Primalforce energy (Primordial Energy of Ice), and finally to the near-pinnacle stage where no other cultivator of frostforce energy (Ice cultivator) would be able to reach in a tremendously great number of years, didn''t need to be understood like it was a weapon.


    So, since already had an understanding of frostforce energy since he also cultivated it, he was able to chip away a little of the seals placed on the full ability of the God-eyes. Therefore, after three days of dedicatedly trying his best to wear away one of the many seals inhibiting the God-eyes from showing it full potential, he was able to wear away three-fifth of a single seal out of the billions of seals placed on the eyes to immensely restrain it flow of power. Although this sounds very low for the God-eyes to be able to produce insane devastating power, one shouldn''t underestimate the power of an ancient expert, as only 0.01% of their full power could sunder and reduce numerous cities to dusts.


    So, what Alex was doing to stall for a little amount of time to cause the God-eyes of Ice World Creation and Glacial Desolation to manifest.


    "I said bring out the treasure-palace from wherever you kept it!" The expert that spoke earlier said again with a loud booming voice that could cause mortals to explode into mists of blood.


    Alex''s tough body instantly cracked in hundreds of places when the power-imbued booming voice rang out. Also, because of the air suddenly greatly expanded like tons of powerful, rock-splintering bombs detonated at once, Alex was launched into the distance where he landed to the ground thirty feet away from where he initially stood and still dragged upon it surface for twenty feet more before coming to a stop.


    Although intense excruciating pain racked him, it wasn''t enough to make him scream out in anguish. Then with muffled groans, he quickly produced a peerless-grade, Saint-rank healing pill which he swallowed.


    Once this got to his stomach and instantly dissolved, turning into large amounts of healforce energy, it rapidly spread throughout his entire body and accelerated his body''s insanely fast healing process.


    When the cracks all over his body disappeared in an instant, Alex then stood up to his feet and dusted himself. Then he looked at the experts who had begun flying towards him with stern expressions in their faces. But he could see in their eyes certain degrees of surprise. He knew that they were shocked that he had quickly recovered from the powerful sound blast that was unleashed by a cultivator who cultivated soundforce energy. Although they knew it was a pill, but what kind of pill was that? What they wouldn''t know was that Alex swallowed a peerless-grade healing pill meant for Saint stage cultivators. And this he had been doing since a long time ago. So, although his body was supposed to explode into bits from the huge amounts of healing-energy that would be unleashed upon dissolution of the high-rank regeneration pill in his stomach, his body which was now tough had long grown accustomed to it that he doesn''t feel a little as aching, pressuring or stretching of any of his organs. He also wouldn''t feel bloated or anything like that.


    "Why are you so stubborn? Produce the treasure-palace now!!" Another cultivator asked and commanded after recollecting himself from the shock that Alex gave him.


    "Gosh. So condescending! Why should I do so? So that you can take it forcefully from me and kill me?" Alex questioned with utmost disrespect in his tone.


    "I would have killed you since if not that I can''t exactly place where you hid the treasure-palace. Also, I have scanned the entire valley using my field-scanning sense ability when I first appeared. But surprisingly, I couldn''t detect it. And no spatial ring can be seen on you. I wonder where you hid it, and how you are able to do so since I can''t perceive the treasure-palace on you and in anywhere here. So, that''s what''s keeping you alive. Nothing else. But once you are forced to produce the treasure-palace and you eventually do so, the next thing for you is a cold-blooded, grievous death. Therefore, I would like to see you getting tortured by these impatient folks. And when your mind and body isn''t able to take it anymore and then you produce the palace, that would be your death! Hahaha" The law enforcement agent who had been silent since he appeared here finally spoke with coldness in his tone and laughed raucously.

 Chapter 308: The test

    "Oh really?" Alex asked. Then he said with great contempt in his tone "Do your worst, boys"


    Immediately Alex said that, the cultivators in the air became more wrathful.


    Who is this boy and where is he from?


    So disrespectful!


    "I see that you are the one with a sharp mouth." One of the cultivators said.


    "Then what are you going to do about it?" Alex questioned with full disdain in his tone.


    "Hahaha. I am going to rip it off from your face" The cultivator laughed raucously and then spoke with annoyance in his tone.


    Then he suddenly aimed his hand at Alex who he grabbed with an invisible force.


    Once the force was released and it enveloped Alex''s body, he slowly clenched his hand into a fist which caused the force that had enveloped Alex''s body to contract in size, causing Alex intense pain as numerous cracks suddenly appeared all over his body.


    "Now, where did you hide the palace? Or I would reduce you into mist of blood." The cultivator said.


    "I don''t know. You can try finding out yourself" ex replied.


    "Oh. Then you would like to be tortured more I guess" The cultivator said and continued to slowly curl his fingers to make a fist. And as he did so, Alex began to groan within himself. However the pain became too much and he screamed out in pain.


    A few seconds later, the cultivator stopped and asked "Now, are you ready to tell us the location where you hid the treasure?"


    "Yes. I would tell you" Alex said as the agonizing pain he felt rapidly lessened.


    "Then tell us" One cultivator amongst them said impatiently.


    "No. Not like that. I can only tell you on one condition" Alex replied.


    What kind of bastard is this? Who is the parent that gave birth to this rogue?


    The cultivator using a crushing force on Alex murmured frustratedly within himself. So were the others too as expressions of frustration appeared on their faces.


    The cultivator that released the invisible restraining force couldn''t use all his power on Alex, or it would be their total loss; since if they killed him, there was no way they would be able to discover where he actually hid the treasure-palace.


    But he was torturing him to tell him the location. However, he wasn''t yielding.


    "I will take it from here" The law enforcement agent said to the cultivator who nodded and ceased the flow of the unseen constricting force emanating from his body and engulfed Alex''s entire figure.


    "Where is the treasure-palace, kid? See, I am not torturing you. But you don''t wanna make me angry as I have many ways to force you to speak the truth. So, just humble yourself and tell me, or you would absolutely regret it." The law enforcement agent said.


    "Well, it''s mine. I can''t share it location with you guys. I am sorry for that" Alex said with boldness on his tone.


    "Then when you are dead, is it still yours?" The cultivator asked.


    "Yes" Alex replied.


    The law enforcement agent then looked at Alex with frigidity in his eyes.


    With one of his hands out which was aimed at Alex, a force-wave that could crush mountains suddenly discharged from it. But before the tyrannical wave of immense crushing power could strike Alex, it was suddenly blocked by a towering, wide and thick layer of ice that suddenly appeared before Alex.


    Bang!


    The enormous ice barrier shattered apart with a loud bang. But it successfully stopped the force-wave in it track.


    However, this barrier suddenly regenerated in the next instant and grew so tall that it seemed to want to connect to the sky. Also, it became so thick that it was many feet long; twelve feet thick precisely. And as soon as this barrier appeared, a type of coldness that caused the temperature of the surroundings for a thousand feet to suddenly rapidly descend to the point that it could seemingly, totally freeze gods; turn them into cold, solid statues carved out from thick ice blocks, abruptly erupted from his eyes which had turned white.


    When the first barrier of ice appeared and exploded with a loud, ear-aching bang on impact with the destructive wave unleashed by the law enforcement agent, the eyes of the cultivators before Alex in the air shone with great awe. They were totally amazed by the tall ice barrier that had suddenly manifested from nowhere, so they felt, as they quickly deployed their scanning power to scan the entire valley for an hidden expert that caused the abrupt appearance of the shielding ice barrier that surfaced before Alex. But they saw no one. And before they could do anything else, the barrier instantly regenerated and grew so tall and thick to block further wave-attacks which was then instantly accompanied by an exceedingly low coldness that turned them into ice.


    Although Alex was incredibly fast with it; quickly blocking their attacks and unleashing his, they were still however experts who wouldn''t go down without a battle.


    So, when the immensely tall barrier of ice appeared, as experts who had quickly sent out their scanning senses for an hidden, powerful expert who was around in the valley but detected nothing, they quickly produced armors from their spatial rings which appeared on them and then abruptly activated the energy-producing defensive arrays in their full body armors.


    Therefore, although the coldness that appeared and caused the temperature of the surroundings for a thousand feet to greatly plummet to a degree where the frozen experts would turn completely into ice and be easily shattered into ice fragments if impacted with a powerful kinetic force, they didn''t fully transform into ice. The armors that they wore produced protective, enveloping auras of different realm-energies around them which defended them from the great coldness that had suddenly appeared, causing the ground to be completely frozen in ice.


    The cultivators who were conscious within the thick ice that had enveloped them suddenly unleashed the energies that they cultivated from their hands.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    Hundreds of loud bang sounds rang out as the ice that solidly, fully enwrapped their bodies shattered apart explosively because of the violent releases of the energies that they cultivated.


    In the next second, the ice on them could be seen on the ground in the tiniest fragments.


    Then they looked at Alex who was surprised that they hadn''t yet died. However, in the next instant, the surprise in his eyes vanished as he comprehended why they hadn''t been eliminated yet, and this was because he saw them on armors.


    "Kid, how did you do that?" The law enforcement agent who was at the front asked with amazement in his tone.


    "Do what? I did nothing" Alex replied with false innocence in his tone.


    "So, the ice that shielded you from my killing attack surfaced by itself?" The law enforcement agent asked again with anger and evilness glowing in his eyes.


    "I don''t know. I know nothing about that" Alex replied, boldly looking at the law enforcement agent in the eyes.


    Earlier, he had only deployed a tiny amount of the Ice and Frost creation power of the God-eyes of Ice World Creation and Glacial Desolation which was available to him upon the removal of a few of the numerous seals that inhibited the eyes from showing it full power. He had done so as he didn''t want to completely freeze himself along with the enemy cultivators before him. But seeing that from his little test which was unsuccessful in turning his enemies into ice, he prepared to unleash the ice generation power that was available for deployment.


    The law enforcement agent who was excessively annoyed at Alex and couldn''t stand him anymore because he was frustrating him, a proud cultivation expert, suddenly unleashed a powerful telekinetic force to grab Alex and rapidly teleport away with him to a secret place in his government-awarded residence.

 Chapter 309: Lurking

    But before the law enforcement agent could do so, Alex suddenly unleashed another attack from the God-eyes of Ice World Creation and Glacial Desolation. And this time, he deployed all the Ice and Frost generation power that was available to him.


    Once the power was unleashed, a coldness that could turn three feet-thick steel into ice suddenly descended upon this area. And immediately this type of excessive coldness surfaced, the ground for hundreds of meters became thickly layered with ice; the thickness of the ice that covered the surface of the earth in this region was about twelve inches. The same also went for the tall, lush mountains in the valley. So, fundamentally, everything in this valley was covered in extremely thick ice; including the caves in some of the mountains with the beasts inhabiting them turning into solid ice. And because of the exceedingly cold temperature that had abruptly surfaced, large amount of snow began to fall from the clouds in the sky. The clouds had also been affected by the power of Ice and Frost produced by the God-eyes of Ice World Creation and Glacial Desolation.


    But the primordial power of Ice and Frost unleashed in this area wasn''t limited to only it, as inhabitants of regions that were very far away from here experienced exceedingly cold winds that caused many long ice crystals to form on their roofs, windows. So, basically all the buildings in this area had numerous, tall ice crystals growing in them. Also, the land was encrusted with ice, making it slippery for anyone to walk on. And it was very thick that it would take them many minutes to break to expose the land surface.


    The God-eyes of Ice World Creation and Glacial Desolation hadn''t reverted back to Alex''s eyes. And if one looked at them, one would see enigmatic patterns in them which gave the feeling of extreme profoundness. It was this incomprehensible mystical patterns on the surface of the eyes that brought down the excessive and exceedingly cold temperature that badly affected this place, covering virtually everything in ice and causing snow to fall endlessly. These patterns on the eyes and which glowed with a white light represented the full profound comprehension of Frost Originforce energy that the expert who owned the eyes infused into it to allow the wielder of the eyes to tap into and deploy the unfathomable coldness generation power that it possessed.


    At the moment, one could see Alex grabbing his head with an expression of intense pain on his face. He was going through an agonizing pain from unleashing that tiny amount of ice and Frost generation power of the God-eyes. The pain he felt was one mortals who were ordinary humans would feel when they were thrown naked into an extremely cold desert; one that was a barren, ice-covered land and had bitingly cold winds move about in the area and which possessed innumerable numbers of towering, gigantic glaciers of ice standing tall on the surface of the ice-encrusted land of the icy desert.


    Alex at the moment felt like his eyes had completely frozen over. His vision was blank like ice had formed everywhere in his eyes, blocking off his vision. So, because of this feeling which was that ice had seemingly formed in every layer of his eyes, he experienced a lot of pain in his eyes. And as his eyes were being afflicted with the pain from the feeling of numerous ice formations in them, his blood which didn''t circulate round his body again also caused him severe pain. His blood which was as thick as mercury metal because of the infusion of duraforce energy into it actually stopped moving in his tempered blood vessels which had also frozen over. So, this caused Alex a lot of pain. Anyways, he felt extreme pain everywhere in his body because of his exposure to the intense coldness that was produced by the powerful Frost God-eyes.


    Alex hadn''t reach the stage where he could unleash this level of power and not be affected by it in anyway. Besides, if not that the coldness wasn''t directed at him but at his enemies, he would have turned into a solid ice statue that was seemingly carved out of a thick ice block. So, it was just the residual, metal-freezing ambient coldness in the air that was affecting him in the slightest. Besides, he could slightly resist the insane freezing coldness affecting his body to a degree because of his toughened body; now that his entire body had been strengthened and tempered at a cellular level to a certain degree, they were made near-impermeable to the intense frigid coldness circulating in the atmosphere in this valley.


    After enduring the intensely excruciating pain that he felt, and at the same time fighting with the extreme coldness that totally immobilized his body, he regained the seized ability to move and control his body sometimes later.


    However, his eyes still stung him causing him painful pricking sensations, but he made the God-eyes to remain and then gritted his teeth as he tried his best to endure the agonizing pain that he felt in his eyes. And as the eyes continually stung him, he watched with his eyes wide open for any activity from the cultivators that were trapped in the towering crystals of ice that had swallowed up their figure. He was actually ready to ignore the intense pain that he felt and unleash another powerful ice-attack from the God-eyes of Ice World Creation and Glacial Desolation.


    But this time, he detected no activity from them. It was like they had become lifeless.


    Alex then exhaled.


    It was like he had successfully turned them into ice.


    But he couldn''t be sure as they were experts that could be pretending within the ice that they had been frozen over, just so as to deceive him and then take him away when he drops his guard and lower his alertness to the criticalness of the situation that he was in.


    However, Alex wasn''t a fool to fall for that.


    And also because he contemplated how to break the ice on them apart so that he could get to their bodies and take their spatial rings away with him, he decided to employ the power of the True God-eyes of Grand Destruction to do that. And this time, he wanted to really unleash a tiny fraction of the actual devastating power of the destruction God-eyes that should only affect the immediate area or zone of the targets that he sets his gaze upon. Unlike the last time where he produced a huge, dark-colored sphere of destruction-imbuing power that increased the destructive capacities of any of his attack, whether short-ranged or long-ranged attacks to shocking, godlike levels which went on to destroy many places and annihilated thousands of people in the process, thereby bringing the blood of innocent people, mortals especially, upon his head which could cause massive, exponential leaps in the obliterating power of the next Beyonder-level tribulations and Absolute Soul Destruction tribulations that he would be faced with during any of his breakthrough to higher energy and soul cultivation realms.


    And since his body could be said to be tough, he felt that it should be able to withstand to a level, the power of Destruction that would be unleashed from the eyes.


    Now, one should be able to comprehend the reason why Alex decided to use the true power of destruction of the destruction God-eyes; which was mostly because he didn''t want to unleash ranged attacks which would possess astronomically amplified destructive capabilities that would surely go on for thousands of miles to destroy or devastate many places in numerous cities in the state. And also, he didn''t know where Layla was at the moment and didn''t want her to be unfortunately and sadly killed off by his vastly augmented attack.


    While Alex prepared to use this power to shatter the enormous, towering ice crystals and the frozen cultivators into thousands of fragments, what he didn''t know was that the City Lord, and another really high-level cultivator who concealed himself using cloakforce energy had been watching everything that he was doing with astonishment in their gazes.

 Chapter 310: True Power of Destruction

    "What''s he about to do?" The cultivator patiently asked within.


    Then continually observing Alex without blinking his eyes as he didn''t want to miss out on anything that Alex might do, he suddenly discovered that a massive, dark purple aura suddenly appeared from nowhere and then began to swirl around his figure. This aura that revolved round his body gave the feeling that he was a primordial god. Then observing further with scrutinizing eyes, he could see thousands of tiny, ancient symbols and signs that glowed brightly in dark purple-black color within the twirling dark purple aura. And as these incomprehensible cryptic symbols moved about in the aura, a type of power that could reduce everything including star systems to nothing endlessly emanated from them. That was the Statute (Law) of Destruction, or in a simple term, the Power of Destruction that had mysteriously condensed into thousands of antiquated, mystical symbols and signs.


    Once this shocking phenomenon appeared and caused the earth he stood upon to shatter in a ripple-like fashion into the far distance because of the power of destruction ceaselessly radiating outwardly from them, Alex pointed at the cultivators before him and uttered resolutely "Destroy!"


    Then like servants obeying their master''s order, the power of destruction that endlessly emanated from them focused upon the targets Alex pointed at like an immense, concentrated beam of light.


    Immediately the power was concentrated into an enormous beam and focused directly upon the targets, a loud bang that could seemingly deafen the ears of gods rang out when the mountainous ice crystals explosively shattered into smithereens. But not only the solid, tall crystals of ice that encased their bodies were destroyed, the bodies of the cultivators trapped within the ice and were frozen solid by the intense coldness that penetrated through the protective-auras of their armors and effortlessly invaded their bodies were also reduced to the smallest bits possible. Same actually also went for the earth that they were frozen upon. The ground had rived apart for hundreds of meters into the distance and many feet deep into the earth.


    Once Alex was done unleashing the focused power of destruction, he fell to the ground flat with numerous cracks all over his body. Also, many cracks could be seen around his two eye sockets and all over his face, causing him to look like a statue that had endured the weathering of the river of time. Then in the moment that his body struck the ground hard as he was unconscious, some of the numerous cracks that had manifested on his dense and thick, tough flesh broke away from it to fall to the ground that had been hollowed out by the pulses of the power of destruction unendingly radiated by the floating, glyph-like, purple-black symbols within the mysterious aura that enclosed his figure and revolved around it.


    But the horrifying physical damage done to his body was from an insignificant, residual pulse of the power of destruction that emanated from the eyes itself which Alex''s body couldn''t definitely withstand. If it was in the past that he didn''t have a tempered body, there was no telling if his head wouldn''t explode into a mist of blood by the little and greatly inconsequential pulsing power of destruction produced by the eyes. That was why he could try this out, because of his belief in the durability and imperviousness of his tempered body.


    At the moment, since Alex had stopped using the power of the True God-eyes of Grand Destruction, the profoundly symbols on the surfaces of the eyes vanished as the eyes reverted back to Alex''s normal eyes.


    And since the arcanely characters on the surfaces of the God-eyes that enabled Alex to tap into the power of destruction possessed by the Grand Destruction True God-eyes rapidly faded away, causing Alex''s usual eyes to appear very quickly, the immense, dark purple aura that swiftly revolved around his figure and had thousands of glowing, purple-black mysterious symbols and signs which moved about chaotically within it, also vanished in an instant.


    The powerful experts in the air who were exceedingly shocked by this power didn''t do anything. They simply waited for Alex to wake. And they didn''t wait for long as Alex''s eyes suddenly snapped open from where he was. Then he immediately got up to look around him, but seeing that no one was looking at him, he instantly produced many peerless-grade healing pills which he swallowed at once and then set out to grab the spatial rings of the experts which had fallen into the caved-in earth. Then also to make an extremely fast dash out of here for he had an intense gut feeling that other really high-level adept cultivators of the energy or the soul would probably appear anytime soon.


    But before he could set out to do such, the City Lord teleported from where he floated in the sky and suddenly appeared before Alex causing him to shout in shock and fall to the ground.


    Alex however stood up in the next instant and greeted politely with a smile that perfectly concealed the shock that sent his mind reeling in horror "Good day Senior"


    "How did you do it? That power that you released" The City Lord directly queried, ignoring Alex''s greeting.


    "What power? I don''t know what you are talking about, senior" Alex replied with an unfaltering tone.


    "Haha. I have been here watching you boy, so don''t think of lying to me or I would instantly decimate you without thinking twice" The City Lord said in a serious threatening tone.


    "Oh! I get it now. That frost and the purple-black symbols that appeared right? Actually, those are the protection-power that a kind but exceedingly powerful statute cultivator fortified me with." Alex replied fearlessly.


    "Hmm. How did you come in contact with him and where?" The City Lord asked.


    "The Three Fairies city was where where I met him. Then he blessed me with those powers because he said we have karma together. So that is how I obtained the arcane destructive powers that I I unleashed to kill those bastards who are after my possessions" Alex said without dread in his tone.


    The City Lord looked at him for sometime and asked "Are the powers transmittable?"


    "What?! No, they are not. Besides, that is the last of them. I have used it twice now and I don''t have the powers with me anymore, senior. The powerful expert I met only passed the power to me twice since it would damage his cultivation base condensing those two tremendously devastating divine powers for me." Alex said. Then he continued by saying "I wish I had more. Those two powers are very intoxicating. When would I grow to be like him? Sigh!"


    "Hmm." The City Lord uttered in his mind. He had actually been convinced by Alex. Then he said "Well, you have to come with me to my mansion to be severely punished by my son for trying to kill him. But before I do that, I would like the expert in the air to show himself. Why are you hiding in the cloud like a coward?" The City Lord mentioned as he looked into the sky.


    Then all of sudden, space warped before Alex and the City Lord and the expert concealing himself within the clouds appeared in a blinding flash of intense black brilliance.

 Chapter 311: The expert

    "Hello" The expert who was dressed in a black robe and looked like thirty greeted with a polite smile in his face.


    "Who the fuck are you?" The City Lord harshly asked.


    "Well, let''s just say I am the one that would free this boy from your evil grasp." The expert replied.


    Haha!


    The City Lord laughed.


    Then he asked "You think you can? You just try it first and see how I would decimate you. Trash trying to be a hero. Haha!" He questioned and then laughed raucously, sounding like he knew the expert''s abilities.


    The expert looked at him and smiled.


    He then ignored the City Lord and looked at Alex.


    "Kid, what''s the name of the Expert that gave you those amazing powers you displayed?" He questioned Alex.


    "The name he left me when I asked him before he teleported away was ''Nameless''" Alex replied.


    "Hmm. Okay" The expert said.


    Then he looked back at the City Lord and said "You should always be careful of who you talk to proudly and harshly in this cultivation world. You don''t know if that cultivator possesses the power to destroy you in an instant."


    Haha!


    The City Lord laughed.


    "Why do I have a feeling that you are trying to tell me that you possess the power to destroy me in an instant?" He questioned with a mocking smile on his face.


    The expert smiled.


    "Well, I have nothing to discuss with a nincompoop like you." He said.


    Then he pointed at the City Lord and fired off a beam that caused the sky to darken in an instant and which also caused the region that they were in to turn pitch-black suddenly. And when illumination returned to the place as the thick darkness that suddenly invaded the area vanished, the City Lord was nowhere to be found. He had been totally disintegrated.


    Alex was overly shocked by all that happened so very quickly. Then he looked at the expert who looked back at him with a smile in his face.


    He didn''t know what to say other than ''Powerful'' in his mind. Then he hoped that this person before him was not a wicked and evil cultivator. Or he would be finished off before he even knew about it.


    "Senior, thanks for helping me get rid off him" Alex said gratefully.


    Although there was great fear in his heart, Alex didn''t allow it crop up and show on his face.


    The senior saw this and asked "Aren''t you scared of me?"


    "No senior. I am not since you have a good and kind disposition. But I am absolutely awed and terrified of the power that you possess, Great Senior. It invokes the feeling in me that it is of the calamitous type, one that could engulf worlds in darkness and cause it to shatter into smithereens" Alex said with an admirable tone in his voice.


    Haha!


    The expert laughed.


    "Well, I am actually not that powerful. But I hope to grow to that stage soon" The expert said.


    Then he aimed his palm and all the spatial rings in the hole that was created by the pulses of the power of destruction flew out of it and towards the cultivator at a blazing speed. Same with the ring of the City Lord which took into the air and joined with the others that had gathered before the man.


    Then with a wave of his hand, all the spatial rings vanished and appeared in an empty spatial ring which he then gave Alex who immediately accepted it with a radiant smile in his face.


    The expert saw this and smiled.


    "Keep yourself out of trouble boy. It''s not everytime a kind cultivator would appear out of nowhere to help you" He said.


    Alex nodded his head and expressed his thanks once again.


    "So, senior, what''s your name?" He asked with respect in his tone.


    "Well, just call me Sky-slashing Blade" The expert replied.


    "Okay senior Sky-slashing Blade. But what are you doing in this backwater world that has no resources? You should be in an Oververse or Underverse" Alex asked.


    "Nah. I am a traveling cultivator. I go to many places, whether deserted or desolated in hopes for many epiphanies. Haha. Anyways, it was nice meeting you, kid. I have to go now. We might meet again in future. Don''t forget to keep yourself out of harm''s way" The expert said and teleported.


    Alex nodded with a smile in his face.


    Then immediately the expert teleported, Alex quickly dashed away at a great speed using his powerful legs. And as he ran at his top speed, he came to a resolution that he had to stop using the extremely destructive powers of the myriad God-eyes that had merged with his, and that he would only use them when necessary. Or he could expose himself one day to extremely powerful cultivators who he wouldn''t be able to contend with, even with full deployment of the vastly devastating powers of the numerous God-eyes that would be available to him at that point in time.


    But when he remembered the several enormous cores of cataclysmic, divinely primordial power that his parent condensed for him and placed in the treasure at the center of his head when he was little, a delighted smile appeared on his face. At least, although he couldn''t access the full powers of the numerous God-eyes that had fused with his yet, he could surely unleash his parent own which would definitely wreak apocalypse-level devastation upon any powerful being or entity that he may come across and challenge him.


    Then when he had left the area, he produced the treasure-palace which teleported him into it and then shot away at a blazing speed.


    Alex actually ran first with his legs to leave the area before using the treasure-palace as he didn''t know if that expert was still watching him. Alex couldn''t trust anyone. Not even if they showed him enough kindness that would make one''s mouth water. The only person he could trust was himself, his uncle, and maybe his lovers.


    ***


    - Dark Light Greatverse -


    In a particular estate-sized mansion that floated hundreds of meters in the air and was surrounded by thick darkness, and had a massive, ink-black cloud suspended above it, an old man who looked exactly like the young expert that instantly killed the City Lord could be seating in the air in the cross-legged state in a vast room that was extravagantly, majestically decorated and furnished.


    At the moment, as he was comprehending, his body continuously emitted visible pulses of the power of darkness that caused the air around his figure and in the entire room to roil, and even the space which was solid in this world to seemingly warp and contort. Also, because of the ripples of darkness-power endlessly erupting from his body, reality greatly distorted around him as hundreds of unreal creatures possessing myriad forms appeared from time to time in his immense, grandly styled room like he was the primordial God of Summoning.


    This utterly massive floating mansion which was engulfed by jet-black darkness was the apartment-treasure of an Ancient called ''Lord Darkness''. Also called Emperor Darkness, it was this treasured building that he lived in and gave orders to the thousands of minor-rank, ancient-level cultivators that he had as his army.


    At the moment, his eyes which glowed with intense black radiance had a contemplative look in it.


    "That power that young boy released was the power of destruction. And only one man was able to successfully cultivate this energy which could destroy the cultivator itself to the Ancient stage. Hmm. But could it be him, or another person was also able to cultivate the energy too to the statute level? I seriously doubt that. Only him was able to do so and then infused his real eyes with his full comprehension which he removed from their sockets and prepared as his legacy for the inheritor of his wealth and possessions before he died. But the power is still in it infancy stage since the young boy hasn''t unlocked even a tiny amount of the full potential of the true God-eyes of Grand Destruction that Lord Void Breaker created. Also, he had a God-eyes that could unleash the power of Ice and Frost. But who actually gave that kid those godly expert eyes? Anyways, those are none of my concern. I will give you much time to grow, and when you eventually do, with all your talent properly developed to a very high stage, I would come for you. Hahaha!!!"

 Chapter 312: Alexs intentions

    Not long, the treasure-palace arrived at the city.


    Then appearing in a place that was close to the City Lord''s mansion and at a place where no one would see or notice his sudden, unexplainable appearance, Alex was teleported outside of the palace to this new place that the palace had surfaced in.


    After looking around to see if no one was watching, he dashed out of there into the street.


    At this time, he had worn a mask that changed his face completely. It was like the one he gave Layla which would alter one''s face completely by absorbing morphforce energy from the world and infuse it into the flesh and bone to reconfigure their arrangement which would take place at a cellular level.


    But before he would go to meet Layla who he told to find a place to hide till he comes for her, Alex decided to go to the house of the City Lord. And his reasons for this were not other than the City Lord''s wealth and to kill his prideful son who lusted after his woman... although she was not yet his woman as they hadn''t done the sexual interaction thing, but very soon they would copulate. And by that, she would automatically become his woman. So anybody that lust after his soon-to-be woman/ future wife must be punished by him cutting or slicing off their sex organs or killing them totally to prevent future problems. And Alex would definitely go for the latter.


    Now that the City Lord hadn''t returned since he had been killed, and Alex arriving so fast since he used the palace as an ultra-fast means of transportation, no one would worry about the disappearance of the City Lord, for now. Besides, apart from taking their wealth and the plan to kill the City Lord''s son, he also wanted to kill the guards and every other person working at the City Lord''s mansion. Since they disgusted him with their actions so much to the point of hatred, he now fully detested them.


    Sexual fiends!


    That was what he called them in his mind. And one of his purpose, apart from being the greatest cultivator in the realmverse, was to eliminate fiends. No matter the category they fall into, they must all be killed. Also, if he didn''t kill them, once they realize that the City Lord had been killed, one of them could take power and start another reign of terror which might be worst than the time of the City Lord who only targeted other people''s women and killed or enslaved their male lovers.


    And now that basically all the powerful experts in the city had been killed off, there was no one that would be able to stand him. But still, Alex would be careful as he didn''t know if there were hidden or indifferent experts around. The indifferent ones are those that prevent themselves from partaking in everything that is happening in the city and the world at large since they wanted to gain enlightenment of an energy or comprehend a new and unique realm-energy that would make them stronger and more powerful than their counterparts.


    Dressed in a tight black costume which was a camouflaged, protective treasure-armor and armed with a powerful treasure-sword, a treasure-bow and The Purifier''s silver sword which was basically, infinitely-sharp because of the extremely rare, mysterious sharpness aura-emitting materials used to forge it, Alex set out with murdering intent unbridledly radiating off his extremely cold and sinister gaze.


    But it was still day time that Alex actually wanted to start his killing. If one however remembered what Alex said to himself before coming here, one would understand why he wanted to do this. So, to juggle one''s memory, Alex had decided resolutely before arriving in this city that he was going to create a legend here. A legend of his moniker, ''The Godly Punisher''. And now was the perfect time to do such, where not much powerful experts could stand up to face him, as he had killed a lot of them who were at the Great Saint stage to the Saint Emperor stage, and probably many more in cultivation ranks that were many levels above the aforementioned cultivation stages.


    ***


    A leg that emanated golden light was suddenly kicked out against a large gate.


    Bang!


    A loud metallic sound rang out alerting everyone within the City Lord''s mansion and the houses in the street where the mansion was located.


    Bang!!


    A louder metallic sound rang out and this frightened the people living around. And as they panicked, they wondered who had the audacity to kick at the gate of the City Lord. Then they felt that it was someone who had a great grudge with the City Lord that had arrived.


    Then a fist that emanated golden light and emitted pulses of the power of might which caused the air around it to roil was suddenly launched at the gate.


    Boom!!!


    The massive earthen columns holding the gate explosively shattered into fragments while the gate shot off with a tyrannical force towards the mansion that was very far from it.


    With this powerful force and speed that the gate moved at, anyone below the Saint stage that would be hit by this gate would definitely be instantly struck to death, even if they put out a powerful energy shield to deflect it.


    But before Alex could step in after destroying the gate, a powerful dome-shaped barrier of energy suddenly appeared which then covered the entire, astonishingly huge mansion to prevent entry of even a tiny foreign particle.


    When Alex was busy hitting hard at the gate to bring it down or collapse it, some of the guards had quickly gone to activate the massive defensive formation installed in the mansion which then generated a dome-shaped screen of fiery energy that enclosed the entire mansion. So, this would definitely keep things out and burn to cinders whatever tried to get through it because of the high temperature that it possessed.


    Alex backed far away when the unbearably hot, encircling fiery shield appeared. He could remain if he wanted to but he didn''t know if the armored costume that he wore would be able to withstand the intense heat coming from the shield that was produced by a formation meant to protect the City Lord from barrages of attack by enemies. That is, the defensive power of the shield might be at the cultivation level of the City Lord. Also, since the protective formation was the fire-bound type, the heat emitting from it, from the fiery energy dome, might also be at the cultivation level of the City Lord.


    Immediately Alex backed away, with his total concentration on evoking the Heavenly Mystery Revealment God-eyes, he uttered resolutely "Reveal!"


    Then all the weak points or brittle areas of the solid fire dome was made known to him as soon as the eyes appeared.


    Once all the faulty points in the structure of the protective dome appeared to him using the ''Star-Gazing eyes'', Alex immediately memorized these points using his powerful, superhuman retentive memory.


    Then abruptly, the Heavenly Mystery Revealment eyes switched to the True God-eyes of Grand Destruction.

 Chapter 313: Battle I

    Once the True God-eyes of Grand Destruction appeared, with a powerful will that could penetrate the sky and into the void, Alex uttered "destroy!"


    Then the eyes which had profound symbols appear in it suddenly unleashed a dark purple aura that swirled around Alex''s figure. And within this swirling dark purple aura were many dozens of anciently symbols that emitted pulses of the power of destruction.


    Alex could have caused the eyes to produce more symbols that each represented the statute of destruction since they were condensed from it. But he wouldn''t want to do so since he wanted to only be shatter the protective dome that the guards had put out. Besides, he was trying to do it strategically by attacking the hidden flawed or imperfect areas of the dome. So, thousands or tens of thousands of ancient symbols condensed from the arcane destructive power possessed by the Statute (Law) of destruction was not needed, or that would do vastly more damage than intended.


    Once Alex uttered ''Destroy!'', with a tone that would invoke the feeling in anyone that he was seemingly angry at the heavens, the dozens of purple-black profound symbols floating within the swirling aura suddenly began to glow.


    Immediately these cryptic symbols of power glowed, thousands of wide and long cracks abruptly appeared at hundreds of points on the surface of the immense, protective fiery dome.


    Bang!!!


    Then in the next instant, a deafening bang rang out as the massive dome explosively shattered into millions of tiny, solid energy fragments that immediately reverted to pyroforce energy and returned to the realmverse.


    When the ear-renting bang sound rang out, the entire area seemingly shook because of the terrifying explosive sound that had surfaced, while everyone within the large mansion held their ears in pain as their delicate ear drums had ripped apart and began to bleed. However, the pain instantly disappeared while the bleeding stopped when they took average-grade healing pills that matched their cultivation stage.


    Then with unrestrained murdering intents erupting from their cold and evil gazes, they dashed out with their treasure-weapons to kill whoever had done these to them. Also with body armors and an anger that was fathomless, they appeared before Alex in the air and without exchanging words with him, they quickly unleashed barrages of attacks at him.


    The guards immediately did so when they saw that his cultivation base was lower than theirs. If it was actually higher, they might not do anything other than cower in fear and maybe run far away to escape from him. But seeing that he was actually weaker than them, as Alex was in the initial-phase, Earth Adept stage while they were in the Heaven Adept stage, they decided to attack him. And not having an idea or knowledge of what form of weapon he might have with him, they quickly unleashed barrages of attacks to abruptly bring him down. And as they did so, the higher-rank guards who were at the Saint stage looked around to know if there were any other expert around other than Alex. However, seeing that Alex was all alone after deploying their field-scanning senses, they came to a realization that he was all by himself and so waited to see what he can do against their numbers with his inconsequential cultivation stage.


    Once the attacks were released at him, with a smile appearing in his face, Alex who wanted to quickly end the slaughter he was about to start, sent his fist which glowed brilliantly in a golden color at the solid energy-attacks raging towards him.


    Bang!


    Boom!


    Bang!...


    Multiple explosive sounds which caused the earth to seemingly shake rang out. While numerous waves of berserk energies possessing highly destructive forces rushed out from the point at which Alex''s fist clashed with them into the distance. These cracked many walls of some buildings in their paths and caused them to fall down into crumbles.


    Immediately Alex destroyed the barrages of attacks sent at him with his amazingly tough body and the armor that wore to withstand the fierce energy storm that manifested from the collisions, he sent out his.


    With his fist now glowing in a dark scarlet color, Alex punched out and discharged an outrageously huge amount of tribulation-enhanced, Quasi-Sky Lord pyroforce energy at the same time. The instant the fiery energy which emanated a great and unbearable heat erupted from his fist, it transformed into a huge spear that shot towards the guards in the air.


    Boom!!!


    A loud ear-aching sound of explosion rang out as the spear condensed from fiery energy collided into a massive barrier that was put out by a Sky Lord-stage cultivator.


    However, the barrier shattered into thousands of fragments upon collision with the spear which still looked flawless as it hadn''t developed a slight crack in it structure.


    Then the dark scarlet fiery spear which was huge in size struck the cultivator and many others, instantly reducing them to mists of blood which rapidly vaporized away in that same instant.


    But the enormous killing spear went on with the same momentum that it initially possessed towards the other cultivators who had already developed a look of intense surprise and horror in their faces.


    However, without thinking too much about what to do, they quickly unleashed flurries of energy-attacks at it before they eventually succeeded in destroying it.


    But just as they were about to retaliate by launching their own attacks at Alex, they heard a thunderous boom and a blinding flash of light which caused fear to strike in their heart. Then when they looked to see what that was, they saw a massive fist formed from tribulation-enhanced lightniforce energy shoot towards them at a crazy speed. And as it shot towards them, loud heart-wrenching booms rampantly rang out from the lightning-bound energy-attack. Also, hundreds of lightning bolts shot out from this fist like it was an actual thundercloud and then struck the earth hard at some areas, instantly cratering them and burning them to ashes, since each bolts of dark scarlet lightning possessed exceedingly high temperature that could cause many tons of thick and solid steel to melt in an instant.


    However, before the colossal, lightning-based attack could impact them, the Saint stage cultivators came forward to help them destroy the attacks.


    But before they could do anything, Alex who was observing their very actions using his Heavenly Mystery Revealment eyes to see everyone around him like he had eyes all over him that enabled him to see in all directions, muttered inwardly.


    "Explode!"


    Then the fist upon Alex''s utterance exploded into a large, exceedingly turbulent sea of seemingly frenzied electricity that raged in all directions with a great destructive force and a temperature that could possibly burn everything to ashes.

 Chapter 314: Battle II

    The Saint stage cultivators who were planning to attack Alex shot off in every directions when the alarming, roaring sea of seemingly furious electricity appeared and raged in all directions with the intent to see destroy all things, and burn everything in it path to crisps.


    Although they could wait and try to withstand it, but they were frightened by it size upon explosion. And to be safe from the destructive power of the attack which they couldn''t fathom, they took off far away from it.


    When the fist formed from tribulation-enhanced lightniforce energy exploded into a raging sea of electricity, a wave of tremendous destructive power was unleashed and swept out with a force that could shatter all things.


    The Sky Lord stage cultivators were abruptly reduced to mists of blood while a few of the Heaven Adept stage cultivators who couldn''t evade the powerful, devastating wave on time were knocked far away. Some of them smashed through some buildings in the distance and leveled it, while the rest after being knocked backward for sometime, crashed into the ground since there were no building to crash into that would stop their backward shoving momentum in the air.


    Then the Heaven Adept stage cultivators that shot away returned with rage in their eyes. Same with the Saint stage cultivators whose eyes erupted killing intent.


    Now that it had reached this point, the cultivators in the air decided to go all out.


    With fury contorting their faces, the cultivators unleashed energies from their hands which then transformed into all sort of attacks that shot towards Alex to destroy him.


    Alex who had permeated his eyes with speedforce energy saw the attacks move towards him in slow motion. Then with a powerful jump enhanced by the augmented, Quasi-Saint rank strengthforce energy that had been infused into his leg muscles, he shot towards the attacks raging towards him.


    Then with his fist which had also been imbued with this strength-amplification realm-energy and caused it emit a golden glow, Alex sent them out at the attacks that had appeared before him.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Boom!...


    Several explosive sounds rang out when Alex''s fist smashed into the attacks. Then waves of destructive power shot out from the point of collisions and swept out powerfully with a great destructive force that could level dozens of buildings in an instant.


    Alex could have been shoved backwards by the waves that struck him as he shattered the energy-attacks that raged towards him. But because of the powerful leap he made, and because of the toughness of his body and the powerful armor that he wore, he smashed through the attacks shooting at him towards the cultivators in the air.


    Not long, he arrived before them at the altitude that they floated at. And immediately he reached that great height, he clapped his hands together and a powerful wave of sound that was high in intensity as it sounded like when tens of thousands of bolts of lightning struck out all at once, and possessing high destructive power that could seemingly devastate all things in path because of the insane ruination power that it possessed, surfaced from the point where his hands met and then swept out into the far distance with a force that could actually splinter mountains.


    Immediately this destructive sound-wave surfaced, the air in their path was pushed away into the far distance which then caused the area that they all were to abruptly turn into an enormous vacuumed zone. While the large volume of air that was pushed away by the devastating sound wave that erupted from between Alex''s palms when they struck each other, transformed into desolating, raging currents of excessively violent wind that possessed the destructive or ruining power to uproot entire trees in an entire massive forest or jungle and strip off a large and thick layer of the forest floor and shove them many miles away.


    This attack which didn''t require the use of a realm-energy was the ''Sky-Clearing Thunderclap''. It was this powerful because of his strengthforce energy had reached a stage where it could be said to rival the power that could be produced by a Saint stage cultivator after he broke through to the Earth Adept stage. It was formerly a Quasi-Heaven rank realm-energy when Alex was at the condensation stage. But after Alex''s breakthrough to a higher cultivation realm which was the Earth Adept stage (Core Formation stage), his mutated strengthforce energy after evolution became a Quasi-Saint rank realm-energy.


    The Heaven Adept stage cultivators were instantly killed by the obliterating sound-wave, despite the massive screens of energy they quickly put out to shield themselves from it tremendous devastation power that could seemingly reduce three-fifth of a small city to ruins. While the Saint stage cultivators were knocked flying into the distance by the decimating power of the sound-wave and exceedingly furious, tidal currents of wind that struck the shields that they quickly put out to protect themselves.


    Alex landed back to the ground while the Saint stage cultivators in the air were shoved into the far distance within the mansion''s area.


    Many of the Saint stage cultivators were now terribly injured that they couldn''t move at the spot that they smashed or crashed into, while the rest who were also grievously wounded were knocked unconscious by the powerful forces that they were heavily impacted with. They just couldn''t withstand the immense splintering power of the sonic wave and the fathomless wrecking power of the violent wind currents that surfaced and moved in a frenzied manner in all directions.


    Immediately Alex landed, he dashed towards the mansion to begin his onslaught. However, he selected those that he killed. He didn''t just kill everyone.


    He didn''t touch any of the workers since they were mortals who were defenseless. He would only be an evil and ruthless tyrant if he did that. And that kind of action wouldn''t differentiate him from those Pleasure Cultivators; these are those that take pleasure in oppressing or killing ordinary people, so he felt. Also, those with cultivation ranks of entry stage and condensation stage were left alone. But Alex mercilessly killed the wounded and exhausted cultivators that he fought with earlier.


    Slash!


    A head that was accompanied by a geyser of blood shot into the air and then fell back to the ground.


    Puchi!


    Alex''s sword pierced through the chest of one, cleanly cutting his heart into two. Then when he pulled it out, a thin stream of blood shot out from the area on his chest where the sword penetrated into.


    Slash!


    Slash!


    Slash!...


    So in this manner, numerous slash sounds rang out as Alex continued to kill the Heaven Adept stage cultivators and Saint stage cultivators that he came across in his path to wipe out the cultivators on his way to the City Lord''s son''s room.


    He was just too fast like a ghost and so could quickly kill them.


    Bang!


    Alex jumped high into the air towards one. And when he brought down one of his glowing golden fists which he raised into the air upon that person''s head when he got to where he was, the head exploded with a loud bang into many bits of brain and numerous fragments of bones.


    Not long, he killed off all the Heaven Adept stage and Saint stage cultivators.

 Chapter 315: Returning

    Immediately after killing them, he invoked the Heavenly Mystery Revealment God-eyes. Then he uttered in his mind with an unyielding resoluteness ''Reveal!''


    Once he mentioned that, the abstruse symbols on the God-eyes changed to another. And the instant that they changed, the room that the City Lord''s son was hiding in appeared in Alex''s vision.


    With a smile that would invoke a feeling of wickedness of the highest degree in anyone, Alex shot at an insane speed towards the room that the City Lord''s son was.


    Bang!


    Moving at an unbelievable speed, he got there very quickly. Then launching one of his legs that both glowed in an intense golden color at the door of the room, the metallic door broke away from it hinges and shot like a furiously fired projectile towards the other side of the room. And because of the momentum it moved with, the wall in it direction couldn''t stop it which then also shattered apart into many smithereens.


    Alex stepped in and dragged the City Lord''s son by his feet from under the bed.


    "Boy, where is your dead father''s room? Take me there!" Alex said.


    When the City Lord''s son heard that, he shook.


    So his father was already dead? But how?!


    He couldn''t help but think these in his mind. Then when he looked at Alex and saw the heart-chilling smile on his face which had been altered by the mask that he wore, he shook in fright and then quickly led Alex to his father''s room.


    "Let me take you there" The City Lord''s son said very quickly.


    Alex nodded.


    "Good of you." He said.


    Not long, they got to his father''s room.


    Alex looked at the City Lord''s son and said "Wait here. Don''t do anything stupid or you would only bring your death faster"


    The City Lord''s son became terrified and gloomy.


    So he was gonna die too?


    Alex then came forward and infused his fist with many of the realm-energies that he cultivated.


    Now glowing luminously in many colors and also exhibiting the powers that they individually possessed which caused the air around them to roil and the tiled ground to crack as pulses of different forms of power emanated from his fist, Alex sent out his fist at the City Lord''s door.


    Bang!


    A deafening bang sound rang out when Alex''s fist which was infused with numerous realm-energies struck the door very hard.


    However, the door didn''t crack.


    It easily withstood the destructive power that could be put out by the energies Alex imbued his fist with.


    Not giving up as he wanted to acquire the possessions of the City Lord, he sent out more punches at the door.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    However, the door easily absorbed the destructive forces put out by the punches that Alex sent out at it.


    Seeing that he would only waste his time as the door didn''t didn''t show a single mark, talk more of shattering or breaking away from it hinges, he decided to use his True God-eyes of Grand Destruction.


    As soon as he evoked the God-eyes, a dark purple aura appeared around him and then began to revolve around his figure. Then the few anciently purple-black symbols floating within the dark purple aura that had surfaced and swirled around him began to glow.


    Only a slight glow from these symbols condensed from the primordial power of destruction caused the door and the entire room to instantly reduce to dusts.


    Then when Alex turned around to see if the City Lord''s son was not affected by the power of destruction produced by the few symbols that were generated by the True God-eyes of Grand Destruction, he saw to his surprise that the City Lord''s son had vanished.


    He had actually been reduced to a mist of blood.


    "Ugh!" Alex uttered unhappily.


    He wanted to torture him for sometime before ruthlessly killing him. But the God-eyes didn''t allow him to do so. This made him a bit pissed.


    However, he quickly forgot about it and then went into what was formerly the City Lord''s room.


    After walking into it, he went to a vault that he saw at a corner. This vault had also been extremely damaged by the power of destruction that the God-eyes of destruction produced.


    Most of the wealth and treasures or artifacts stored in it could be seen on the ground.


    Then arriving before the treasure vault in which a very large heap of yellow sapphirstones could be seen, Alex immediately deployed the interdimensional movement power possessed by his dad''s spatial necklace. And as soon as he did so, the formless power which was produced by his dad''s spatial necklace instantly moved all the sapphirstones and treasures on the ground before the vault and the ones in the vault into a space in the necklace.


    Immediately after doing so, Alex shot away from the room and dashed back to the street to quickly leave the place before hidden powerful experts could appear to force him to produce the entire wealth and treasure that he stole from the City Lord.


    After Alex did so, he quickly produced the Azure Beastsman treasure-palace which instantly drew him into a hall in it and abruptly shot away at an extreme speed to another location.


    Then a few moments later, after the palace had arrived at a new location, Alex appeared out of it and stowed the palace away in his mom''s spatial ring.


    Now that he had settled what he wanted to do, he set out for Layla who he felt would be waiting for him. And he was going to do so by tracking her to her present location using the Heavenly Mystery Revealment God-eyes.


    ***


    Layla at the moment was exceedingly worried. She kept praying for Alex''s safety even though it seemed he would never be able to escape from those guys that were after him.


    How could he, an initial-phase Earth Adept stage cultivator escape from the hands of cultivators that were from the Great Saint stage and above?


    No matter how hard she thought about it, she just felt that he couldn''t escape.


    However, she still hoped that Alex would be able to do the impossible.

 Chapter 316: Romance I

    After a few minutes of intense concentration, some enigmatic patterns appeared in his eyes.


    Then all of a sudden, tens of thousands of buildings in the city appeared in his eyes. It was like he had an all-seeing vision, one that could basically see all things.


    Once the massive numbers of buildings appeared in his eyes, he focused on them to see an energy that would only be produced by the face-altering mask that he gave to Layla. He was actually going to trace her to her location using the energy that the mask infused into her face to reshape it at a cellular level.


    This should have been impossible. But as an eye called the Heavenly Mystery Revealment God-eyes, such that should be practically impossible for any other person to do would be easily done by it. Since it''s an eye that has been infused with the total comprehension of Oracleforce energy, an energy also called ''Absolute Realm Divination energy'' that enables one to clearly see or peer into the minor, less and grand mysteries of the world. But as God-eyes created by an expert with a very high cultivation level, the Oracleforce energy that he harmonized with and comprehended to a very high stage would be called ''Oracle Originforce energy'' or ''Primordial Enigma Divining energy''.


    So, with what was mentioned above, the God-eyes was still capable of doing so many things that Alex hadn''t really discovered it full potentials yet, as the power of the energy that it could tap into was one of the ultimate primal energies in the realmverse.


    With a thought from Alex, and the God-eyes rapidly working on what Alex transmitted to it, instantly produced the inn that Layla rented a room in to hide herself till the storm settles.


    By now, all the tens of thousands of buildings that appeared in his mind had vanished, leaving only the inn that Layla was present in.


    Alex then furrowed his brows when a dirty thought came to his mind.


    Then using his willpower on the God-eyes, the entire structure of the building vanished, leaving only Layla who sat in the cross-legged position. And since there was no more building, including the floors, Layla''s image began to float in the air in his mind.


    Alex was about to think of ''Reveal'' so as to make the powerful, mystery-dispelling God-eyes fade away Layla''s clothing, just so he could see her boobs, her frontal, her curvy features and so on. Just basically her full nakedness. However, in the end, he decided against it since he would have everything to himself very soon. There was no need to rush. At the trial ground after they have successfully passed all the tests thrown at them, he would set his eyes upon everything that he was having a serious itch to see. Also, he would be given the wonderful chance to enter into her world which was full of delight and sweetness.


    Then he made the building of the inn reappear in his inner vision. After looking at it name which was on a large board, the image of the building that had appeared in his mind rapidly faded away. Alex had ceased the unrestrained flow of the Divination and Revealment power of the World Mystery Revelation God-eyes.


    Then he produced the Azure Beastsman treasure-palace which instantly teleported him away from where he was into it and then shot away to Layla''s location after receiving a transmission of where she was from Alex.


    In the next instant, or quarter of an instant actually, the treasure-palace arrived at the inn. Then since it had concealed itself in another layer of space, it shot to Layla''s room.


    Immediately after arriving at Layla''s room, Alex was teleported out of the palace.


    Knock!


    Layla who was trying her best to comprehend so she could keep away the hundreds of negative thoughts coming and resounding loud in her mind was suddenly jolted from her comprehension state when a knock was heard on the door.


    ''Who would this be now? Is this the innkeeper or what? I hate disturbances''


    After unhappily grumbling to herself, she stood from her lotus position on the floor and went to open the door to see who was knocking and why.


    The instant she opened the door, the person she saw was Alex. And not caring if it was her mind playing tricks on her since she was so worried about him, she instantly leaped at him.


    Seeing her leap at him with an happiness that couldn''t be contained by a receptacle with a size that could rival that of small worlds, Alex instantly put his hands out to catch her in the embrace she leapt into.


    After sometime, he put her down.


    Then when he looked at her face and saw the way her face looked like, chills appeared in his body which then moved down his spines and seemingly caused his organs to freeze solid, literally.


    He couldn''t imagine going out with someone with such an irritating and disgusting look. He wanted to be surrounded by beauties, great or peerless beauties. And never ever something like the way Layla looked because of the mask that she wore.


    Very quickly, he said with urgency in his tone "Layla, please take off the mask I gave you. You look very ugly and abominable. Yuck!"


    Layla looked at him with shock in her eyes and then felt like punching him hard numerous times in the face. In fact, she really felt like beating him up. But when it comes to strength or battle prowess, she knew she was no match for him. Or she could have done so because of the way he spoke to her.


    "Oh, so now you want me to take it off because I look damn ugly to look at. Why did you input that kind of badly disgusting face into it in the first place?" Layla asked with slight anger and puzzlement in her tone.


    "That''s because I didn''t want another man admiring you and then come for you to profess some stupid, undying admiration or adoration, and then confess some love for you that''s based on only lust for your flawless, sexy body. You are mine, now and forever, since you have been entangled in the web of my life" Alex said with a smile in his face.


    Layla heard this and smiled happily.


    She then pulled off the mask which caused her another round of intense pain as the bones of her face broke apart once again while the cells twisted and contorted to produce her immensely striking, beautiful face once again.


    "What about now?" She asked with an heart-warming smile in her face after going through hell again and back.


    "Can I deeply kiss you, Your Royal Majesty?" Alex left her question unanswered and asked with a glow of naughtiness in his eyes.


    Layla became taken aback by what he said and by his gaze which screamed nothing but desire concealed by sparkles and twinkles of unmatched naughtiness.


    "Sure!" She said with love and excitement in her tone.


    She then drew closer to him to take his lips into hers.

 Chapter 317: Romance II

    With their lips locked together and kissing sounds ringing out as they stood in the hallway, Layla hooked one of her legs at Alex''s back.


    This then prompted Alex to lift Layla up who curled her other leg which was on the ground around his back.


    With her thighs balancing on his strong and powerful arms which kept her suspended in the air, she continued to kiss him, ignoring some certain workers who passed at the moment Alex lifted her into the air.


    After some time, she removed her lips from Alex''s and said "Let''s go inside"


    "Okay" Alex said.


    Then he carried her in and locked the door behind him. And as soon as they arrived before a bed, Alex threw her onto it.


    Then he also climbed atop the bed too to resume their kissing session. And as they kissed, Layla sought for Alex''s hands. When she got them, she gripped them by the wrist and moved them to her thighs which Alex began to rub and slowly caress, causing Layla''s legs to tremble slightly from the sensations that had suddenly surfaced in her thighs upon Alex doing that.


    Not long, she could feel something hard and shaped like a rod touching her waist.


    Of course she knew what that was and just laughed it off in her mind.


    Then to make Alex feel embarrassed, she detached her lips from his and said "I can feel something hard pointing at my waist. I wonder what that is. Let me check to know what it''s."


    Alex looked at her and smirked.


    "Of course it''s my meaty rod which would produce divine semen that''s hitting at your waist. It''s looking for a point of entry into your sealed cave of pleasure. If you check it out and eventually see how it looks like, I am going to impale you so hard with it that you would scream to your father and the heavens for help from my tyranny. Any lady that gazes upon it shall have their honeyhives shattered apart by it. So, mind your business and do the needful." Alex said, threatening her. He didn''t actually mean it. He was only trying to frighten Layla.


    Layla heard that and froze.


    "Are you teasing me? Or you would actually do that?" She asked with shock in her tone.


    "Nope! I wouldn''t. You have a legacy to acquire. That would just be selfish of me if I actually do that. I want my women to become powerful and not always depend on me for well, everything. Haha. But don''t think that I can''t penetrate you if try to check. There always the butthole I can plug my rod into." Alex said with naughtiness in his tone.


    Layla looked at him with a smile in her face and said "Well, you can''t do that too as I have to be sacred in every way. My purity mustn''t be tainted at all. Or I wouldn''t be able to get the legacy again."


    "Oh. That''s really bad news. Anyways, I was only teasing you. Haha. I guess I scared you enough with my lustful words." Alex said and laughed.


    Layla only shook her head and then drew it closer to take Alex''s lips into hers. She really enjoyed kissing him. Then like that, they resumed their kissing with Alex''s hands reaching for her twin peaks which he began to softly squeeze and gently pinch.


    She didn''t even bother about asking him how he escaped from the high-rank cultivators. Since he was here with her, that was unimportant. Besides, it was rude to ask someone about an ability or something that they would like to keep secret. She could only know about it if Alex was willing to tell her. And if he didn''t tell her in the end, she basically had no problem with it. All that she wanted from him was only his love and affection, and maybe to borrow some of his strength to pull off something she couldn''t do with hers.


    ***


    Many minutes later...


    Layla could be seen by Alex''s side with one of her arms and legs on top of his body.


    Her hand at the moment was on his chest where she was tracing the outline of the complex pattern on his chest. That was the pattern made by Alex''s dad''s spatial necklace when it sank into his chest to hide from view and be undetectable by any field-scanning sense of any powerful expert.


    "Why did you draw this tattoo on your chest?" She asked with curiosity in her tone.


    "Well, it''s because I love it. When I saw the pattern, I immediately asked the artist to draw it on my chest." Alex replied.


    "Hmm. It''s beautiful and looks anciently." Layla said admirably.


    "I know" Alex said with a smile.


    "So, when are we leaving? To the legacy ground so you can acquire the full inheritance of that expert" He asked.


    "We can go now" Layla responded.


    "Alright. Go take your bath. You need it" He said.


    "I know. I am certainly going to freshen up even if you didn''t tell me." Layla stated with a smirk in her face.


    Then with a pull of some strings, the robe she wore dropped to the ground to reveal her nakedness to Alex who quickly looked away with his eyes widened in surprise.


    Layla who was surprised by Alex''s reaction asked with fake anger and false seriousness in her tone "Mister, why are you looking away from me?! You should look at me. I know that I am not yet your wife but I would soon be. So i would certainly take great offense with you not looking at me, your wife. It''s annoying. And also, It''s because of you I did this, to feast your eyes. If you want me to be happy with you and forgive you for your transgression, you have to look at me"


    "Haha!" Alex grinned.


    "That''s true and I am sorry for my action. But I won''t do so, no matter what you would say. Because if I do, I could pounce on you and tear your holiness to shreds. So, if you like yourself and don''t want to be full of sadness, just go into the shower room and have a nice and pleasant shower. That... would be the best thing for you" Alex said with a smile in his face as he looked away from Layla who was intensely blushing that a tinge of bright pink appeared on her two cheeks.


    Alex could look at her to see her actual, sexually attractive form without her clothes on. But he didn''t want to do so, just like how he stopped himself from seeing Layla''s nakedness using the Heavenly Mystery Revealment God-eyes.


    With her face still brightly flushed, Layla shook her head with a glitter of delightfulness in her eyes and went into the shower room to take a shower.


    ***


    After they finished showering and dressed up to look like cute couples, but without wearing expensive clothes and using the treasure-masks in their possession to alter their faces once again, they set out to go to the legacy ground.

 Chapter 318: The quick theft

    In the street as they were walking, Alex looked at Layla and said "Can you give me a minute, there is something I want to do"


    Layla looked at him surprised and said "No. I am not going to give you even half of a second. If you go for a second now, you might not come back until many days later."


    "Come on, I want to do something that would benefit us both" Alex said.


    "Oh really? May I know what that is?" Layla asked.


    "Na. I would like to keep that a secret." Alex said with a smile.


    "Hmm. Okay. You can go. I would find a place to stay and wait for you. I just hope you wouldn''t be gone for a long time again." Layla said.


    "Nah. I won''t. I would be back very soon I promise. And you don''t need to go anywhere. Just wait for me here. I would be back before you can even blink your eyes ten times" Alex said.


    "Haha! Alright. You can be on your way then" Layla grinned and said.


    Alex nodded with a smile in his face.


    Then he shot off in a certain direction. And since he wore treasure-boots that can amplify his speed using the circulation of speedforce energy within it, Alex dashed at a speed that could be said to be more than a thousand times the peak speed of a cheetah.


    Many minutes later, Alex got to the destination that he had in mind.


    Then with a mighty kick towards the gate of where he appeared at, a loud bang sound rang out and the gate was knocked flying into the distance.


    Once he kicked the gate flying away, he shot into the place. And immediately he appeared at the field at a ghostly speed, he instantly activated his dad''s spatial necklace which produced an immense spatial movement power that entirely enveloped few of the high-grade, beast-carriage vehicles on the field and abruptly teleported them into the necklace.


    Once he was done with that, he shot away again in the direction that he left Layla behind.


    When the bang sound rang out in the instant that Alex''s strong leg connected with the gate, everyone became greatly startled. While the others who were mortals living around and in the building where the field could be found behind, were tremendously jolted from what they were doing with fear occupying the entirety of their hearts. Then before they could even gather to know what caused that sound, Alex had long dashed away. So no one could see what he did. However, they would discover the disappearances of the beast-drawn carriages later.


    Few minutes later, he appeared at the spot that he left Layla behind. It wasn''t even up to twenty minutes that he had finished what he wanted to do and come back.


    Once he arrived, since he was moving at tremendous speed, he brought with him a lot of high-speed air currents that caused Layla''s gown to strongly flutter in the wind that it could almost rip away from her body. Same with her hair which fluttered in the wind like she was flying at a great velocity through the sky.


    Layla was shocked by the sudden, strong wind currents that could almost knock her off her feet. Then when she looked to see what caused the abrupt, seemingly tumultuous air, she saw that Alex had appeared in front of her.


    "That was... quick" She said.


    "I know. Didn''t I tell you? I told you I would be back before you can even blink your eyes ten times" Alex said with a smile.


    Layla then looked at the boots that he wore and saw many voidstones attached to it.


    ''Wow!'' She couldn''t help but utter within.


    This was her first time seeing a treasure-boot. But she wouldn''t be that amazed if was only a treasure-boot. But seeing so many voidstones plugged into it caused her to have a feeling of intense amazement.


    ''But where did he get this from? This guy...'' She couldn''t help but question herself within and be further, greatly impressed by him.


    ''That''s one of the reasons why he''s so strong, even among higher-level cultivators. Since he can have this kind of boot-type treasure, that shows how strong and powerful he is. He must have certainly gotten it and presumably many other cool things from the legacy ground that he gone to in the past. I truly, really found a special gem amongst the hundreds of other blinding gems around. I am happy I did everything in my power to become one of his woman.'' Layla said within as she looked at Alex with a seriously impressed look in her eyes.


    "Come with me" Alex said.


    Layla nodded.


    After finding a place that was well hidden from view, he produced one of the high-grade, beast-pulled carriages that he took from the carriage park.


    Swoosh!


    It appeared before he and Layla who then rapidly developed a look of deep astonishment in her eyes.


    "Don''t... don''t tell me you got this from the carriage park?" She asked like she was out of breath.


    "Where would I get such? Of course it''s from the carriage park." Alex said with a smile.


    Then he continued "Hop in. Let''s go to the legacy ground."


    Layla after she got a grip on her reeling mind nodded her head and did as Alex told her.


    Alex opened the door of the carriage for her, while she smiled at Alex for the sweet thing that he did.


    "So, where to Madame?" Alex asked with a smile when he got to the carriage driver''s seat.


    Layla smiled.


    "To your fantasy land" She replied.


    Alex smiled.


    "Alright Madame. To my fantasy land it''s." Alex said with a grin.


    Then the wild beasts pulling the carriage shot away in the direction that Alex wanted them to move in.


    ***


    - Smith City -


    Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy...


    "That bastard should be there already, right?" Lenna asked her brother.


    "I am not sure. But let''s still wait for sometime. I want us to appear when they are receiving the legacy. We would then destroy him" Maximilian said.


    "Hmm. What about the girl he went with to the legacy ground?" Lenna asked with an inexplicable glow in her eyes.


    "Haha. That is my personal sex slave. But after I have gotten all the pleasure that I can get from her, I would kill her. I can''t waste my time on some useless bitch that I have sexually devoured to the last drop. Hahaha!" Maximilian said and cackled like he was a demon.


    ***


    Not long, the beast-drawn carriage arrived many feet before the Moonglow lake.


    Then Alex and Layla both came down from the carriage to appear in front of the lake that was silvery in color. Also, it was surprisingly frigid as a bitingly cold temperature emitted from it. If a mortal neared this lake, there was no telling if that mortal wouldn''t instantly turn into a solid ice statue.


    "Wow. Why is it so cold?" Layla asked with surprise in her tone as she circulated the realm-energy that she cultivated around her body to fight off the invasive, terrible coldness that lingered in the atmosphere because of the lake.


    "There could be a reason. I am not sure." Alex said.


    Still looking at Layla, he said "Should we dive in?"


    "Yes! Let''s dive in" Layla immediately said with a lovable smile.

 Chapter 319: Battle I

    "Alright. Have this first." Alex said as he passed an armor to her.


    "That should help you block the coldness that is trying to invade our bodies. Besides, you need it because I don''t know how deep the lake is. So the deeper we go, the colder it may become." He said further.


    Layla nodded.


    Then she accepted the armor from him and jumped into the lake.


    Alex too then jumped into it immediately after Layla did. He had also worn a body armor to protect himself from the blood-solidifying coldness of the silver-colored lake.


    Alex then swam to where she was.


    Then holding her by one of her hands, he began to swim, pulling her with him.


    Not long as they tried swimming deep into the lake, several beastly aquatic creatures suddenly appeared out of nowhere and shot towards them.


    Alex''s and Layla''s eyes widened in shock before they quickly produced weapons to battle with the beastly water creatures that had suddenly appeared.


    "Can you handle them on your own?" Alex asked when he looked at Layla.


    Then his eyes widened in shock when he realized that he could talk underwater. Same with Layla who eyes widened in amazement.


    That was one impossible feat Alex just did as a human.


    Layla gripped her flitting mind and nodded her head. Then she shot towards one of the beast that had appeared in front of her.


    Slash!


    She instantly lacerated the head of the beast.


    Then she shot towards some other ones that were raging towards her. And when she appeared about ten feet before them, she aimed her hands at them and discharged woodforce energy from it.


    Once the energy was released, the woodforce energy instantly condensed and shaped into hundreds of leaf-green energy-spears that shot out at great speeds towards the few beasts that had appeared before her.


    Puchi!


    Puchi!


    Puchi!...


    The beasts were impaled by the spears all over and their blood colored the cold lake at that depth that they were.


    When she killed these, because of the blood that had appeared which oozed out of the areas that the wood-energy spears pierced into, many of the hideous water beasts screeched in fury and then shot towards her at great speeds. And before they would get to where she was, their bodies which had began to glow in crimson as hundreds of bright, crimson-colored electricity arcs surfaced and began to move round their thick bodies, suddenly discharged thick bolts of crimson-colored lightning towards her.


    Layla quickly put out her two hands in front of her and rapidly discharged large amounts of woodforce energy from them which then abruptly condensed into a large and thick, leaf-green barrier to protect her body from the lightning bolts shooting towards her.


    The bolts struck the immense barrier she generated with a great force and this caused the appearances of violent, rampaging ripples of water at that depth which then swept out with tyrannical forces that could shatter buildings if it appeared in the outside world.


    Layla remained where she was while many of the beasts were knocked away by the devastating water ripples that had appeared after the powerful attacks of the beasts collided with her shield formed from her woodforce energy.


    Then she swam towards the beasts that were knocked away by the destructive water currents that surfaced and began to use her sword to either cut off the heads of the beasts or slash them into halves.


    Anyways, the beasts weren''t that powerful. They were only at the earth rank. While Layla who was at the Earth Adept stage was at the peak phase. So their strength couldn''t be matched together.


    As she killed the beasts ruthlessly, more of the beasts shot towards her to devour her.


    However, they were slightly insignificant to be able to knock her off her balance and do damage to her.


    Alex who was at the other side also killed the beasts too. But the ones he fought with were many times larger in size than the ones that Layla fought and killed. Although it looked like he would struggle hard to slay them because of their mighty sizes which were dozens of times bigger than bungalows, however, with extremely strong punches that if his glowing, golden fists were punched into the air, the air would become very violent; that is, it would become the type of destructive, shattering air that would be produced from the simultaneous explosions of numerous large bombs.


    So, once his two fists which glowed luminously in a golden color connected with any part of the bodies of the beasts to deliver super-explosive punches, the bodies of the beasts instantly bursted into immense clouds of blood at that depth that they were.


    Layla''s attention was captured by this and she couldn''t help but be awed.


    ''Powerful!'' She uttered in her mind.


    This was her second time noticing Alex''s battle prowess which was highly impressive. This was because, normally, the human body can''t rival that of even the weakest beasts in thickness and toughness. This then made for their serious advantages against the humans, and even cultivators, especially the cultivation beasts which possessed stronger and thicker, highly durable skins as they grew. However, Alex caused these cultivation beasts to explode into clouds of blood with just his punches in which his fists should break into pieces upon impacting their hard skins.


    She shook her head impressively and resumed her fighting after a slight pause.


    Not long, after killing about six hundred beasts and more still coming out from seemingly everywhere, many loud wrathful roars suddenly rang out from a great depth in the deep lake. These roars sounded like some primordial water beasts had woken up to see their children been wickedly slain by both Alex and Layla. Because of the mighty, terrifying roars, Layla''s mind shook in horror while Alex furrowed his brows. They both knew what that meant, which was the parent beasts and the rest of the water beast families were coming for them. And they knew that these would be intelligent beastly creatures since they would have reached a certain cultivation stage where they would develop more awareness and a greater level of intelligence.


    Layla quickly dashed towards Alex''s side to stay under his umbrella of protection. She had already developed a gauge of Alex''s battle power and prowess because of all that she had seen. So, with this gauge of his strength and combat skills, she felt that he would be certainly strong enough to repel the horrifying horrendous beasts that would come for them soon.


    A few seconds later, glowing hideous beasts that were hundreds of feet large appeared in the distances within the massive lake. They had come from the far depth of the deep cold lake. These beasts were actually very enormous. They were many times bigger than Saint-rank beasts which were only sixty feet in size. And in their eyes shone full intelligence and the unbridled murderous intents to wipe off both Alex and Layla from the realmverse.

 Chapter 320: Battle II

    Alex looked around at the massive beasts that had appeared and surrounded them at all sides. Then he looked at Layla who was also looking at him with the gaze that meant ''What should we do?''


    After processing hundreds of thoughts in his head in almost an instant, he decided to keep Layla away from harm. Or her being around him would greatly limit him in the battle that''s about to ensue since he would want to look out for her too to protect her from the attacks of the beasts.


    Then since he understood that he could now surprisingly speak underwater, he said to her "I will keep you away from harm. I don''t want you to be injured. And don''t worry about me. Now, a force that would envelop your body would appear very soon. When it does, do not try to resist it"


    Layla who was surprised by what Alex said nodded her head. She had understood not to get in Alex''s way since he was strong enough to handle things thrown at him.


    "Alright." She said.


    Then a spatial movement force appeared and enveloped her body. Then in the next instant, she was moved away through the fabric of space into the Azure Beastsman''s palace that had appeared in Alex''s hand.


    Alex then stowed away the palace into his dad''s spatial necklace.


    ***


    Azure Beastsman palace...


    "Hello... Welcome" The voice of the Palace-spirit sounded out.


    Layla who was first amazed by the anciently voice that rang out quickly greeted "Senior, this junior greets you."


    "Hmm. Your greeting is well received." The Palace-spirit said. Then it spoke further by asking "So, would you like to watch your amazing boyfriend fight? Would you like to understand more about him and his unusual combat strength?"


    "Oh!" Layla exclaimed in shock.


    She was surprised that the Palace-spirit knew that she was his girlfriend.


    "Yes! I would like to, senior." Layla said excitedly.


    Now that it seems the Palace-spirit has approved of her, and would find a way to project Alex''s battle with the immense beasts for her, she became glad that she would be able to comprehend Alex and his shocking battle power.


    Then in the next instant, a large projection screen appeared in the air. And in this screen could be seen Alex who looked at the beasts without fear or dread in his eyes which also erupted killing intent.


    ''Look at him, so fearless!!!... I wonder where he get his courage from. How powerful would he be exactly?'' Layla asked within with amazement occupying the entirety of her mind.


    ***


    Outside the palace...


    "So, you guys are pissed off that I killed your children? Of course I have to. Or we would be killed. You know that this is a kill or be killed world. Therefore, it was right of us to kill them" Alex said.


    The beasts heard this and roared in rage.


    Then not wanting to hear anything else, their bodies which glowed in bright crimson because of the brilliant, crimson-colored electricity arcs that moved about on their bodies abruptly fired large bolts of crimson lightning at Alex. And since they were beasts that were far bigger than Saint-rank beasts, the attacks that they sent at Alex possessed more damaging power. So, if any of the lightning bolts hit him, it could result in his instant death.


    Alex understood this and quickly unleashed a speed-related, water-based physique called ''Unparalleled Speed Titan Primeval Aqua-God Rainbow-Tailed Fish-Beast King Physique.''


    Once he invoked this transformation, his body grew taller by many inches; by approximately twenty inches. Then blue-sapphire armor scales that were several inches thick appeared all over his body which then fused together to form a surprisingly smooth scaly body; the points at which the scales joined together vanished. Then large, thick fins appeared at his sides and at his back. While his body altered in shape to develop a streamline figure. As for his legs, they joined together and became a twelve-meter long crystalline tail that glowed in a brilliant and glaring polychromatic light like they were made out of crystals that emitted the beautiful, stunning colors of the rainbow.


    Alex simply looked like a beautiful, exotic fish beast in this astonishing form that he taken.


    Once he transformed which only took a second, he shot towards the beasts that had unleashed numerous lightning attacks at him. And as he moved towards them with his powerful, crystalline and muscular tail rapidly wiping left and right a thousand times in less than a minute which then generated a great propulsive force that propelled him at an inconceivable speed, and also using the speed-acceleration mystical power of the fish-form physique that he had summoned to boost his already extremely fast speed to a greater degree, he quickly activated the water-control ability of the powerful water-based physique that he had evoked.


    So, deploying an ability called ''Howling Water Maelstroms'', multiple immense whirlpools suddenly manifested in the water. These then raged with powerful drawing forces that if it appeared in the outside world, would strip away a vast stretch of land and pull it to their centers like they were blackholes.


    Immediately he employed this offensive technique, he immediately unleashed another offensive method of the physique which was ''Thousand Ocean-splitting Great Spears of the Peerless Water Battle Spirit''


    Instantly, thousands of immense spears formed from the exceedingly cold water of the massive lake appeared and shot out towards the beasts in every direction and at great speeds. And as they cannoned at tremendous velocities towards the water beasts to slay them, the strong attraction forces produced by the enormous whirlpools strangely didn''t affect them. Instead, it added to the speeds that they moved at, increasing them many times more.


    As for Alex, since he had evoked a powerful speed-related physique which was tremendously powerful under water, he saw in slow motion the multiple, lightning bolts attacks that were launched at him and prepared to dodge them.


    Noticing the gaps in each of their raging electricity attacks due to his highly augmented perception of the speeds that they moved at, he went for them as he shot into them to evade the attacks. So, just like that, he dodged all the powerful killing attacks sent at him.


    While the furious underwater cyclones that Alex created using the water manipulation power of the physique caused the beasts to be removed from their stable balance. And this was mainly because of the super-strong, land-stripping attractive forces that the furiously revolving cyclones produced which acted on them.


    However, being beasts at the Great Saint rank and above, the cyclones couldn''t draw them in to their centers. It could only cause disruption to their balance. But this was because the cyclones were saint-tier attacks created by a Saint-rank physique. So, the attacks limited by the tier that they were at, couldn''t produce more attraction power to suck in the large intelligent beasts to their centers.


    But being taken off their balance which they struggled to regain, the spears arrived before them and struck them hard. However, they couldn''t penetrate into their bodies since the skins of the beasts were extremely hard and thick. So, upon hard impacts with the beasts'' tough bodies, the massive spears condensed from the cold water of the lake shattered into pieces and became normal lake water once again.

 Chapter 321: Battle III

    Seeing how the beasts easily withstood all his attacks, Alex furrowed his brows. Then he immediately deployed another attacking technique called ''Godly Tyrant Annihilation Nine-Layered Oceanic Wave strikes''


    Upon employing this battle method of the physique, nine rings of strongly pulsing power which glowed brilliantly in an iridescent color of light and abruptly caused the appearances of nine massive rings of water at different parts of the lake suddenly appeared around Alex''s transformed body. And as soon as these surfaced, they quickly swept out with a mighty disintegrating force and grew rapidly in size as they raged into the distance in all directions. Same with the nine massive solid rings of water that had surfaced at different parts of the lake. They also shot out out like disc-shaped cannons at the same time that the glowing, radiant rings of power around Alex''s body swept out in all directions. And as they shot out at shocking velocities where it would not take them more than a few seconds to cross an enormous distance of a thousand feet, they revolved at a great speed that they caused gigantic maelstroms to surface which also accompanied them as they moved towards the beasts.


    Bang!


    Boom!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    Several explosive sounds rang out in the massive lake while the water of the lake greatly churned that it even exploded out of the lake in great volumes to form a massive, mushroom-shaped cloud of mist in the air at a great altitude which then slowly dispersed. While the earth around the lake developed a gigantic web-like crack around it which spread into the far distance like they were furious tentacles of some monsters. The effect of Alex''s powerful Saint-tier attacks could simply be likened to when thousands of colossal bombs were dropped into the lake to kill all aquatic creatures in it.


    However, his attacks only caused a slight damage to the beasts in the lake who looked at Alex with astonishment in the eyes which shone with awareness and intelligence.


    They were tremendously surprised by the destructive power of the attacks that he put out. Also, firstly before he started to battle them, he was at the initial-phase, Earth Adept stage. But he transformed and directly entered the Saint stage which was impossible by any Energy Cultivator to do so smoothly and perfectly. They couldn''t help but wonder how he was able to do it. Although they were impressed by his battle and transformation powers, but because he killed their kinsmen, he had to be annihilated.


    Also, one would be surprised that Alex was able to last more than a minute in his transformed state. But one shouldn''t forget that he had cultivated his soul which will fuel any of the physiques that he might evoke to a certain stage. So, with the possession of sixty Soul-Beings that were matchless in size and soul-power at the soul cultivation stage that he reached, only one of the profound Soul-Entities in his soul-dwelling region was powerful enough to continually power him in his transformed state for a long time before it would be drained dry of the soul-power that it could produce.


    Layla who was watching everything from within the palace saw how Alex fought in his new state. Then her eyes glowed in great amazement.


    ''So he still has a hidden stronger power? Oh my! No wonder he''s so confident of himself. Look at him fighting beasts at the Great Saint rank without fear in his eyes. Is that how he was able to escape from those mighty cultivators that chased after him for his treasured possessions? Hmm! But if he''s this powerful at the cultivation stage that he is at, what about his uncle? He might be many times stronger than having the strength of ten or twenty cultivation academies combined that was rumored in the state.'' Layla said within.


    Then her eyes glowed as she stated further ''I am really happy with myself for the decision that I made. I am truly fortunate. Although I have a serious cultivation defect that would totally inhibit me from attaining great power, the realmverse still brought a great fortune my way. I wasn''t forgotten in my terrible wails and sorrowful woes. It brought a great support for me. Now, when I become his wife, no one would dare look down on me. Besides, who knows if I would gain some benefit from engaging in copulation-cultivation with him? I hope so too''


    Although she wasn''t too familiar with the Palace-spirit, but seeing how a powerful ancient being was nice to her, seeming like it had approved of her status as his wife, she decided to speak with it.


    "Senior, are you here?" She asked.


    "Sure! In this palace, I am omnipresent. I am everywhere. So, young one, do you have a question to ask me?" The Palace-spirit said and then questioned.


    "Not really. I just wanted to thank you for giving me this opportunity to understand more of Alex''s strength. Now that I know more of his combat skills and battle power, I wouldn''t try to get in his way again. I would only do so if it''s necessary." Layla said with utmost sincerity and respect in her tone.


    "Haha!" The Palace-spirit laughed.


    "You are welcome. But you don''t need to thank me for anything I may do for you next time. I did that for you are my master''s wife. So, it''s my responsibility and obligation to do so." The Palace-spirit said.


    Layla was exceedingly shocked by something that the Palace-spirit said. Then she proceeded to ask it.


    "Senior, you just called Alex your master. But senior should be proud since he hasn''t reached your cultivation stage. Don''t mind me, I am only surprised that you called him your master." She said.


    Haha!


    The Palace-spirit grinned again.


    "Well, he hasn''t reached a cultivation stage for me to call him my master. But with all that I have seen, I can call him my master. However, I don''t want to tell him anything about that yet so he wouldn''t become too prideful and arrogant when dealing with people around him." It said.


    "Oh! Okay senior. I perfectly understand you" Layla said. But her heart was blooming with unbounded happiness. Since Alex was the master of this being, while she was one of his mistresses, it was just a matter of time before the Palace-spirit would listen to her and do things that she may ask of it. This caused her great delight and she couldn''t help but thank the realmverse for the tremendous, unmatched fortune that it blessed her with.


    At the moment, she felt that all that were happening to her was a dream which she would never ever want to wake up from. A dream that she knew she didn''t deserve in any way. Now, if nothing happened to Alex on the way, and he got much more stronger with the momentum that he was moving with, he would ascend to higher worlds. And when he did, and since he would possess great strength to survive in any region in those higher worlds, he would bring all his wives along with him. And this was something that she would never dream about because she was born in this world. But meeting Alex and engaging with him, her mindset had changed. Now, she could dream much more. And even hope to become stronger too so she wouldn''t become a liability for him. Starting with the acquisition of the expert''s legacy they were at this lake for, her journey to become a powerful expert was being slowly realized.


    She smiled within when she thought of all this. Then she continued to look at Alex as he engaged the furious beasts in battle.

 Chapter 322: Run... Exposure

    When Alex saw that his attacks didn''t cause much damage to the beasts, he decided to leave them alone and run away. There was nothing he could do to them. They were simply way above his level. And since he was using a speed-related physique, he hoped that he could outrun them; since he had evoked a Saint-rank physique while the beasts were at the Great Saint rank and above. So he wasn''t sure if he could outrun them. But he decided to try. All he needed to do was to get to the depth, to where he might enter a portal that would teleport him to the legacy ground. Therefore, maybe when he gets there, the beasts might leave him alone and wait for him to come out. So he felt.


    Without giving the beasts a slight hint of what he wanted to do next, he suddenly upturned his body in the water and tried dashing to the far depth of the lake at a great speed.


    When the beasts saw what Alex did, they roared in fury and shot towards him with their colossal jaws open. Then in their opened gigantic jaws could be seen crackling, crimson-colored electricity gathering there in great amounts.


    Once the crimson-hued frenzied electricity had gathered to shocking quantities in their jaws and then heavily condensed in the next instant to form immense, spear-shaped bolts of raging, crimson lightning, the massive spear-shaped bolts of electricity shot out of their jaws towards Alex at tremendous speeds.


    Alex who kept tabs on them as he shot at an insanely high speed to the depth of the lake saw what they were about to do and quickly shot away from the direction that he was moving in. He quickly changed his direction upon seeing what they wanted to do. And the instant that he did so, the numerous lightning bolt-attacks that were fired at him arrived at the spot that he previously were and exploded into massive pools of crimson electricity that dyed the silvery lake at that depth with the bright color of crimson that they radiated. And to give a degree of how powerful the attacks unleashed were, large volumes of the lake water actually vaporized at the points that the killing, spear-shaped bolts of crimson electricity exploded into a tiny, turbulent sea of roaring electricity. Also, upon the numerous explosions of the condensed, humongous spears of electricity, enormous spheres of water which possessed an unfathomable destructive force surfaced and expanded out at great speeds into the distance in all directions. These spheres that had abruptly surfaced possessed the power to seemingly destroy everything in their paths. And accompanying the extremely destructive spheres in the next instant upon their appearances were gigantic ripples of water that also possessed a great devastating power to ruin or desolate everything in their paths.


    Although Alex had shot away from the attacks at a tremendous speed, he was still actually struck by the devastating spheres and ripples that appeared which then expanded and swept out with a great force and at a higher speed that couldn''t be matched or surpassed by the insane speed that the water-related physique enabled him to move at.


    So, the instant that he was struck, he was knocked flying into the distance within the lake at a great speed. While many of the armored scales on his body broke away and his blood then spilled out.


    Alex who was inflicted with great injuries and afflicted with great pain groaned within himself. Then he quickly produced many Saint-rank healing pills which he swallowed all at once.


    Then immediately he did so and the healing pills turning into saint-tier healforce energy within his body, all the wounds that he had sustained from the attacks of the powerful furious beasts vanished in an instant. His body had quickly regenerated because of the cellular regeneration power of the pills that he took.


    The moment that his body healed, he shot again to the depth of the lake.


    The beasts became more annoyed by what he still ventured to do and then prepared to unleash more devastating attacks at him again.


    ***


    Azure Beastsman palace...


    "Senior, wouldn''t you go to help him? He seems like he''s having issue with escaping from the beasts who are totally bent on destroying him." Layla said with towering worry in her heart.


    "Nah. He wouldn''t want my help. If he wanted it, he would have called out to me for battle assistance or support. But all his life, he has never done so. And I don''t think he would actually do so now. He''s quite the persevering, persistent and stubborn type if you didn''t know before. Besides, he always like to finish what he started himself. He doesn''t like being helped or assisted by anyone or by anything. The thing is, he is just too prideful to ask for anyone''s help, that crazy boy. So, don''t worry too much about him, since he can possibly handle the critical situation he is in himself. But if I see that he''s having serious issues with fighting off or evading the attacks of the exceedingly angered beasts who have the sole intentions to destroy him, I would go out to help him. Anyways, I might not need to actually do a thing. Haha! Just seat back calmly and see what he might do next. He might give you a great shock with it and upturn your knowledge about his insane abilities." The Palace-spirit said and grinned, locking Layla''s worrying heart in a cage of suspense.


    When Layla heard this, she narrowed her eyes with an intense glow of both astonishment and puzzlement in them.


    ''He might do something that might upturn my knowledge about his powers, skills and abilities? Hmm! Let''s see then. I would seriously love to see that.'' She said within in a questioning and excited tone.


    Then seeing how Alex was trying his best to run away from the beasts in the large projection screen floating in the air before her, she worriedly stated further in her mind but in an imploring manner ''Alex, please do something that would give me a great shock. I want to know more about you. I want to know more about your hidden abilities.''


    And like Alex could actually hear her thoughts, he turned around to face the many raging beasts who were preparing to send out more powerful lightning attacks at him. But he didn''t turn around because he heard Layla''s mental voice. It was because he had thought many things through. And one of them was that he would never get to the bottom of the lake on time because of the speed he was moving at which would definitely be easily surpassed by only the immense, electricity-composed attacks that the intelligent, enormous water beasts could unleash. And if the attacks detonated on arriving at where he was and struck him with the destructive, tyrannical forces that would be produced by them upon their explosions, he would be extremely, grievously injured and might even lose his life. So, it was better to face them and annihilate them. Then he would pick up their floating, massive bodies or parts and feed them to Nojraagon, his beautifully-skinned, young male water dragon and hope for his rapid, immense growth after feeding upon the corpses of the stunningly large, high-rank cultivation beasts.


    Then the instant that he turned around to face them, many rippling pulses of Peak Saint-tier power that caused the water of the lake at that depth to actually endlessly rend apart, erupted interminably from his impressive athletic body that however appeared like an ant before the massive wrathful beasts swimming with murderous intents in their eyes towards him.

 Chapter 323: Shocking transformations

    Actually, it was seven rippling pulses of Saint-level power that was erupting from his body. And one should know what this meant, which was that he had summoned seven physiques. He now had the ability to evoke more than nine physiques if he wanted to since he had many powerful, profound Soul-Entities which he could use to power his super-powered form for sometime before he''s fully drained of soulforce energy or soul-power. However, the only thing that would hold him back from using them for a very long time was mental exhaustion.


    In the instant that the seven pulses of power discharged from his body, some sections of his body erupted different, brilliant colored glows which would absolutely burn the retina of anyone that looked at it. So, this dazzling resplendent light coupled with the prismatic light coming from the twelve-meter long crystalline tail dyed the lake at that depth in their numerous luminous colors.


    The various bright lights shone in the large eyes of all the wrathful beasts and caused them to abruptly close their eyes as the glaring colorful light instantly caused them severe ache in their eyes. Also, they were dazzled for sometime because of the extreme intensity of the intensely brilliant multicolored light which badly affected their eyes.


    In the next second that the colorful lights erupted from his body, several stunning transformations abruptly took place.


    At his back, nine large bones which were about six feet long and looked like blades appeared at his back. Then surprisingly, these bones which were shaped like blades had hundreds of tiny veins in them in which something like lava could be seen flowing in them like it was an actual blood.


    This was a transformation that belonged to the ''Great Fieryblood Boneblade Reptilian Beastgod physique''.


    While one of his arms became large in size and was covered in thick, inky black furs which made it look like it was the arm of a dark-furred grizzly bear. However, the fur-covered arm was large in size that it could be easily said to be many times the size of the arm of an award-winning, accomplished weight lifter. Also, the hand of this particular super-sized furry arm was surprisingly golden in color which made it look it was a hand carved from real gold metal. In addition, it was large in size, invoking the feeling that it was the hand of a golden giant. While a few cryptic symbols that strangely glowed with a dark black radiance could be seen on the surface of this golden hand. Then small prism-shaped projections which were also golden in color and possessed dark scarlet tips could be seen on the surface of the huge golden hand.


    This particular transformation of a section of his body which was his arm belonged to the ''Uncanny Heaven-Warring Sky-Seizing Golden Furry Ape Beastking physique''


    His other arm had also transformed due to the evocation of a particular physique. Also quite large in size, moving around it in the air could be seen a number of small cyan disks, concentric circles, spirals and helixes that were solid, tangible objects which were condensed from the power possessed by this particular physique. Then on the surface of the arm could be seen many animated characters. These characters which were basically cryptic texts, seemingly occultic symbols, profound signs and mysterious shapes could be seen moving on the entire surface of that particular arm which then merged to form many diagrams that also abruptly changed to form new, entirely different diagrams. Only in that few seconds, hundreds of diagrams that their forms or meanings couldn''t be comprehended by anyone had been birthed by those characters that merged together. While the solid, cyan-colored helixes, concentric circles, disks and spirals revolving around the arm caused the rapid appearances of huge, illusory objects around Alex''s figure.


    This transformation of his other arm belonged to the ''Myriad Infinite Weapon Diagram Creator physique''


    On his chest could be seen a large, triangular crystal that glowed in a brilliant colorful light. While within this crystal if one could look into it, ignoring the eye-burning brightness that it produced, one would see spheres that looked like real worlds. Actually, the expanse in the glowing triangular crystal was vast and boundless, so it could simply be likened to the void or the infinite space of the realmverse. Then in this unbounded expanse were spheres that looked like actual worlds; ones that humans and other living things could live in. However, these massive worlds weren''t inhabitable ones as they were meant to crush other worlds and ruin galaxies and star systems. This physique was the ''Apocalypse World Desolating Star Collapsing Primordial Sunderance Divine Physique''


    On his forehead were about five eyes that were arranged at different points where they formed a pentagonal pattern, which then made it seem like a star which consisted of eyes was engraved on his forehead. Then in these eyes were different mystifying patterns and diagrams that revolved in them. While one which was blood-red in color and was quite larger in size than the other eyes which formed the star, could be seen at the center of the star composed from eyes due to their placements. This particular blood-red eye had a massive, dark pyramid floating in it. Then above it could be seen a vast, seemingly boundless purple cloud. One would see this if one looked into this particular eye that seemed like the eye of a blood-devouring fiendish devil king. This transformation that took place on his forehead belonged to the ''Mana and Blood Consuming Arcane Gaze Star-Eyed Demon Monarch physique''


    At his back but at his waist region were nine scorpion-like bony tails that were huge in size and were covered in thick furs. And since they were like the tails of scorpions, the stingers at the ends of these tails which glowed like they were extremely hot, were silver in color like they were forged from actual silver metal. While the tips of these glowing silvery stingers which were dark green in color surprisingly fumed, indicating the level of corrosive poison that they may possess. Also, thousands of small bony projections with exceedingly sharp tips that were also colored dark green could be seen around the entire surfaces of the nine large tails, but they were completely hidden from view by the thick furs that covered the nine massive bony tails. This transformation was from the ''Nine-Tailed Toxicheart Flesh-Eating Silver Scorpionking Physique''


    Then finally, the seventh transformation were two pairs of massive, snow-white, bat-like wings condensed from the power of Ice and frost. Also, two snow-white, buffalo-like horns could be seen on either sides of his head. While a straight, larger horn with anciently inscriptions on it entire surface could be seen at the center of the horns at the sides of his head. This particular towering horn possessed a large white orb that floated some inches above it and emanated terrifying coldness. This transformation was from the ''Five-horned Supreme Ice and Frost Sovereign Ice Bat King physique''


    Although the physiques sounded very powerful, they were still only at the Saint level since they were Saint-tier physiques. However, due to the peak Saint powers that they possessed and if their individual, full-powered attacks were fused into one whole attack, there would be a multiplicative effect on the damage that it could deal or inflict on the target that it would strike. But Alex could have used the True God-eyes of Grand Destruction and the God-eyes of Ice World Creation and Glacial Desolation instead of going through this route. He however didn''t do so in the end since the destruction-power from the destruction God-eyes could make him fall unconscious and be eaten by a beast that could be lurking around. Same also went with the coldness-power of the Frost God-eyes since he could end up freezing himself. Especially now that he was deep in the cold water of a massive lake. His reason for this was because he hadn''t perfectly learnt how to skillfully deploy and focus their astonishing powers on his targets. So he couldn''t take such a risk. Besides, he wanted to test the degree of his physique-summoning ability because of his utmost confidence in the amount of Soul-Entities that he created. And to his amazement, he was able to conjure up eight physiques and not feel too drained and taxed. But due to mental exhaustion, he knew that he would have to revert to his normal form sometimes later.


    ***


    Layla who was in the Azure Beastsman palace saw that Alex''s body had further transformed and her deeply puzzled eyes couldn''t help but glow in intense astonishment.


    ''But how is he doing all these?'' She asked within as her mind was sent reeling in great shock and curiosity.


    Then she recalled Alex''s uncle and the strength that was rumored to be possessed by him. But now, she knew that their rumors were completely wrong. She now absolutely believed that he would possess far more strength than the one that he was gossipped to have. Then she suddenly developed an endlessly echoing feeling in her heart that Alex and his uncle could possibly from an higher world, maybe like an Oververse, for what she was watching currently can never be done by any cultivator in this backwater world.


    Her eyes then glittered beautifully when she arrived at this deduction.


    ***


    Immediately Alex transformed which only took a few seconds, he quickly produced The Purifier''s sword and then dashed at a great speed towards the beasts.

 Chapter 324: Going all out to kill I

    The massive intelligent beasts were also shocked by Alex''s transformation.


    However, they weren''t frightened by his unique transformation.


    So with rage towering boundlessly in their hearts, they shot towards Alex to destroy him. And as they shot towards him, they opened their enormous jaws to fire off the large spherical mass of crimson electricity that had earlier gathered in there in great quantities and condensed into large spheres of electricity.


    Swoosh!


    Swoosh!


    Swoosh!...


    Numerous swooshing sounds rang out as the sphere-shaped, Great Saint-rank attacks of electricity shot towards Alex at blazing speeds from every angle and in all directions one could think off.


    But Alex who possessed an increased perception of the speed of objects in his immediate environment because of the fish-type physique that he earlier invoked saw the attacks move towards him in slow motion. Then he tried to evade the attacks so they wouldn''t strike him.


    Although he successfully pulled it off, the spheres however still exploded into a massive, raging sea of crimson electricity that also caused the appearances of powerful splintering waves of high destructive force to sweep out with a lot of tyranny. Also, immensely destructive ripples of water appeared and swept out with a force and momentum that could entirely level thousands of structures in a region if it appeared on land in the outside world.


    Alex who quickly put out a defensive orb-shaped barrier around his body to block the devastating effects caused by the numerous explosions of the colossal electricity spheres from impacting him and seriously wounding him was knocked very far at a great speed into the distance.


    However, due to the strength and impermeability of the barrier, and because of the toughness of his multi-form body, he wasn''t able to sustain much injury. But his mercury-like thick blood churned within his body and he coughed out a single mouthful of blood. Then he forced the blood still seething in his body to calm. And since he was having eight physiques which were of the Saint rank, the wounds he sustained rapidly healed.


    Immediately after recovering from his wounds in almost an instant, Alex shot out towards the beasts once again at a great speed. And as he shot towards them, he prepared to unleash an attack.


    The long bones at his back which were shaped like a blade and had a large network of veins in which something that could be likened to molten magma could be seen flowing in them suddenly ejected from his back and fired at tremendous speeds towards the beasts. But in the instant that these bones which were shaped like blades discharged from his back and then shot towards the beasts, they suddenly grew astonishingly large in size. In just a few seconds, they had attained the size of a thirty storey building. And this was because they had rapidly absorbed expandforce energy from the world which then caused them to mysteriously grow to an enormous in size in almost an instant.


    Immediately after the bones ejected from his back and shot towards the beasts, new set of bones which were also shaped like blades instantly grew out from the places where the previous ones ejected out from. Then this new set of blade-shaped bones also ejected from his back and fired at the beasts at blazing speeds. They too grew rapidly in size to a shocking degree that it would easily surpass the height of exceedingly tall buildings in the outside world in higher worlds upon the quick absorption of expandforce energy from the realmverse.


    When Alex shot off the flat, sharp-edged bones on his back at the beasts, the snow-white orb floating above the horn on his head also fired off a shockingly large beam that carried with it intense coldness that would rapidly freeze solid and thick metals. Also, at the same time that the orb fired off that immense, focused beam of great and uncanny coldness, the snow-white wings at his back flapped too, instantly unleashing large sharp-pointed feathers that were abruptly formed from ice. Once these icy crystalline feathers appeared, they shot at insane speeds towards the beasts too. But the wings at his back which continued to flap at crazy equal speeds, caused more large ice feathers to quickly surface which then shot towards the beasts in the distance in the lake.


    Not long, hundreds of these massive ice feathers could be seen shooting towards the beasts who had also unleashed their own massive attacks generated from crimson-colored electricity.


    Boom!


    Bang!


    Boom!...


    Numerous boom and bang sounds rang out at that depth in the lake as the beasts'' electricity-composed attacks tyrannically struck Alex''s attack which instantly shattered into smithereens. However, Alex''s unceasing and enormous attacks were able to stop the advancement of the attacks towards him.


    But he didn''t stop, the wings continued to flap producing more feathers formed from ice that shot towards the beasts. While the orb floating above the tall horn at the center of his head unstoppably unleashed a continuous, wide and tremendous beam of ice-power which traveled at a inconceivable speed. And once it struck the beasts since they couldn''t dodge on time due to the high speed it was moving at, it caused their bodies to rapidly entirely freeze over. However, since the beasts had thick hides and were at the Great Saint rank and above, they could withstand the cold-attack that Alex projected at them. But they still suffered pain due to their blood which rapidly froze over and turned solid. Same with their internal organs which turned to blocks of ice. These were supposed to kill them, but as high-rank cultivation beasts, they wouldn''t easily die because of just these.


    Alex too knew this and so sent out more attacks at the beasts using the different powers of the physiques.


    He lifted the gigantic furry arm which had a large golden hand with mysterious inscriptions on it surface and punched out.


    BOOM!!!


    A loud boom sound that surprisingly caused the entire lake water to seemingly roil rang out when Alex punched out that particular beast-like fist at them. And the instant that he did so, a mighty fist that was as large as one of the beasts in the lake and resembled that of an ape appeared and shot towards one of the beast that Alex targeted. This massive fist was actually, abruptly condensed from the Animal Form Mimicry and Materialization power of the physique that he had summoned. But it was generated using a battle technique called ''Sky-Sundering Sovereign Ape Fist''


    But he didn''t stop there, he continued to punch out using that technique which then caused the appearance of more of this kind of fist which instantly shot towards the beasts in the instant that they appeared.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    He was able to successfully knock them backwards and at great speeds using the powerful fists that were abruptly condensed from the power of the physique. Also, they were slightly injured as the fists which moved with great momentum like they were the fists of a great divine ape overlord shattered some of the immense and tough bones of their bodies in the area that they tyrannically struck.


    Seeing that he was able to repel them, he unleashed more attacks at them. He pointed at one of the beasts using his other arm and then hundreds of rays of light surprisingly shot out from that arm towards the beasts. Immediately these rays of light shot out from his arm, they turned into colossal diagrams in the air in the next instant and moved at blazing speeds towards the beasts whose eyes shone with great surprise. Then they tried their best to evade them. However, like the diagrams were sentient, they turned and shot towards the beasts. And as they made an abrupt turnaround to wickedly strike the beasts, their many different forms changed again and then became larger than they previously were.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    The beasts were heavily struck by many of the diagrams at all once which caused them to be shoved at shocking speeds into the distance within the lake. While some became very injured as the immense diagrams which rapidly birthed other massive diagrams detonated in their faces and released a tyrannical, destructive wave of power that also carried an intense heat with it which could easily burn off their skins. While the others which impacted them hard and immediately detonated around their bodies released tremendously powerful waves of great devastating capabilities that carried with them intense freezing coldness, mountain-eating corrosion, quick flesh-decaying poisoning or disintegrating radiance.

 Chapter 325: Going all out to kill II

    This particular attack formed from a certain type of energy that the ''Myriad Infinite Weapon Diagram Creator physique'' produced, could injure the high-rank cultivation beasts since it was an energy-attack that could quickly birth new attacks, and with the new energy-attacks which were in the form of diagrams producing more energy-attacks that would also generate other forms of attacks which were also in the form of mighty diagrams. The realm-energy the infinitely birthing energy-attacks were composed from was an energy called Myriadforce energy. Also called ''Infinite God-slaying Diagrams energy'', it was a type of undiscovered world-energy that would rapidly produce hundreds to tens of thousands of diagrams depending on the comprehension level of the cultivator, which would then heavily strike the targets like they were actual projectiles and detonate like real bombs while releasing waves of myriad powers such as heat, ice, corrosion and so on.


    As soon as Alex struck them with this, knocking many of them far away and injuring some, he quickly unleashed another attack. And this time, he used a powerful battle-technique from the ''Apocalypse World Desolating Star Collapsing Primordial Sunderance Divine Physique''.


    Then in the next instant, massive spheres which were three-fifth or four-fifth the sizes of the beasts that Alex was battling with suddenly surfaced in the water at that depth. And as soon as these appeared and began to radiate a saint-tier power of Sunderance, the water of the massive lake actually split in many places and many meters apart like as if several enormous swords that belonged to colossal, primordial gods appeared and were used to continuously cleave apart the water of the lake as if it was an actual ground. And since the saint-level power of Sunderance endlessly, fully emanated from the spheres that were formed from sunderforce energy, the massive gashes in the water that stretched to the end of the lake didn''t heal or close up back.


    A few seconds after these spheres appeared, they shot out at insane speeds like fired cannonballs towards the beasts that Alex targeted. Then as they shot towards the beasts to impact them, the water in their paths gashed apart for many meters like many gigantic swords were moving through it.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!...


    Many of them were struck by these spheres and were knocked flying at great speeds into the distance in the water of the lake at that depth.


    Alex saw this and decided to unleash more attacks. He loved it as he was beginning to overwhelm the frightening cultivation beasts. Then when he recalled how he decided to make many soul pools which then became many Soul-Entities that were many times stronger than that of the soul cultivators that would be at the soul cultivation stage that he had attained, he was glad. But just when he would lash out with a powerful battle-method from another of the seven physiques that he had evoked, he suddenly felt a very severe splitting headache that instantly forced him to stop what he was doing and to revert back to his usual human form.


    He knew what caused this and so quickly removed the seven physiques to remain only the fish-type physique that he firstly conjured when he decided to battle the Great Saint-rank beasts.


    He was already beginning to drain his numerous Soul Entities of their energy in which at the moment had become very dull. They weren''t dazzling as they used to be. Although his Soul-Existences looked mighty in size and were extremely profound in appearance, they were only at the Soul Entity-Creation stage which was a stage that was similar to the Core Formation stage (Earth Adept stage) for energy cultivators. So, he can''t definitely use that to fight Great Saint-rank beasts or he would only be joking with himself around death. Besides, he was already mentally overstrained. But because of the great excitement at fighting Great Saint-rank beasts and even successfully repelling them and injuring a small number of them, he ignored the extreme mental exhaustion that he was having and continued to battle them.


    Therefore, now that his body had told him to stop. He quickly ceased the flow of the numerous powers of the various physiques and then used the lightning-fast movement power of the fish-type physique to run far away to the depth of the ocean. And him being independent to a fault wouldn''t call on anybody to help him out.


    As he dashed to the depth of the lake, he met many unnatural massive maelstroms on the way which produced an immense pulling force that attracted his body towards their centers. However, because of the insanely high speed that he was moving at, the enormous maelstroms that he came across weren''t able to pull him in to their centers and possibly crush him to smithereens in them.


    Not long after moving past the maelstroms that he met on the way, he arrived at a depth where it got more colder and his body was suddenly acted upon by a great, unnatural pressure that would instantly crush anybody below the Great Saint stage to smithereens.


    Immediately he arrived at this depth, thousands of cracks instantly appeared on his skin which was covered with thick armor scales that can easily withstand or deflect a full-powered attack from a peak-phase, Saint stage cultivator. While the tough, armored fish scales themselves had completely broken off from his entire body leaving it exposed to a degree of pressure that would effortlessly rip him apart. Also, the instant that he got to this depth, the entire bones of his body immediately shattered apart with many of them jutting out of his body.


    All these happened in an instant that Alex couldn''t stop them from happening no matter how much he tried. Although he knew that there would be a great pressure at that depth since the cultivation beasts that he fought with earlier dwelled at this level of the lake, but he believed that his exotic, armored fish-like form should be able to take it some extent. And since he moved at a great speed, he shouldn''t experience too much of the crushing power of the pressure. However, it abruptly dawned on him that the pressure wasn''t something the fish-form he had could handle or endure, nor the tremendous speed that he was moving at could minimize or reduce.


    But before the thick skin covering his body''s organs would rip away completely due to the immense crushing power of the pressure that acted on him, he quickly produced the Azure Beastsman treasure-palace which instantly teleported him into it.

 Chapter 326: Cultivation restrictions

    Immediately he appeared on the floor of one of the palace''s numerous halls, he instantly fell unconscious. And the instant that he became unconscious, his body fully reverted to normal. While the Palace-spirit being an omniscient entity in this palace produced a healing pill which he quickly fed Alex to quickly heal his badly damaged body.


    The Palace-spirit had teleported Alex to one of the halls in the palace so that Layla wouldn''t see how badly damaged Alex''s body was.


    After a few moment, Alex''s totally ruined body which had been filled with healforce energy fully regenerated. Then he woke up in the next instant with horror in his face. But when he saw where he was, his horrified mind calmed.


    With a deep exhale, he stood up from the ground.


    "That was a close one" He said.


    "Yea. A really close one. If you didn''t have me, you would have been utterly destroyed" The Palace-spirit said and appeared beside Alex, causing him to be shocked.


    This was the very first time that the Palace-spirit would appear by his side.


    It was an illusory old man who had a straight back and was surprisingly towering in figure. Then with long white hair that reached his waist, a white mustache and a long white beard that reached the level of his chest, he appeared like a wizard. But there was no wizard in this world. However, despite looking old, his form was striking.


    "Senior" Alex greeted respectfully.


    The old man who was the treasure-spirit of the treasure-palace nodded his head.


    Then he asked "Why don''t you ask for help when you are faced with difficulties? There are many things in this world that are impossible to be done by yourself."


    Alex smiled.


    "I know. I just don''t like bothering anyone for help. Besides, I would first like to see if I can do said thing myself. But if it''s too tough for me to do, then I would call out for help" He said and grinned.


    "Hmm" The Palace-spirit uttered.


    "Alright. Your girlfriend is at the door. I directed her here. Should I allow her in?" The Palace-spirit asked.


    "Sure. Please allow her in" Alex said.


    The Palace-spirit nodded his head.


    Then the door opened in the next instant with Layla coming in. While the Palace-spirit disappeared.


    "Alex, are you okay?" Layla asked worriedly.


    She had seen that Alex was almost destroyed in the screen that she watched to see how he fought.


    "Yes, I am fine." Alex replied.


    Then when Layla arrived at his side, she looked at his body and saw that it had healed.


    "Your body is healed. So quick! What did you take?" Layla asked in shock.


    "A healing pill. I must have been fed with it by the Palace-spirit" Alex said.


    "Hmm. Alright" Layla said.


    Then she looked at him and recalled all that he did when he battled those cultivation beasts and couldn''t help but shake her head.


    "What''s it?" Alex asked when he saw her shaking her head.


    "Well, I shook my head at how powerful you are and how well you hid some of your really amazing abilities. You are really awesome and I am so glad that I met you" Layla said with sincerity in her tone.


    Alex grinned.


    "Haha. Well, you haven''t seen anything." He said in a somewhat proud tone while Layla rolled her eyes at him.


    "So, how do we move on from here? That pressure is going to instantly kill the both of us" Layla asked.


    "Do we have to go in together?" Alex asked.


    "Yes. Or we would not be allowed entry. We have to enter like we are a couple or the legacy-spirit wouldn''t allow us to enter." Layla said.


    "Hmm" Alex uttered.


    "Okay. Don''t be worried about the pressure. There''s something that we can do about it." He said.


    Then he asked as he looked at Layla with curiosity glowing in his eyes "But why is the pressure sooo much? Only a peak-phase, Great Saint-stage cultivator would be able to easily reach this depth. Those many beasts, the gigantic maelstroms and that crushing pressure would abruptly destroy any other cultivator below the Great Saint stage that would accidentally or adventurously wander into this place. I feel like they are cultivation rank restrictions put in place by the creator of the legacy to deter other cultivators below the Great Saint realm from coming here."


    Layla nodded her head in agreement.


    "I think so too. I didn''t know about that. I guess I and my dad''s older brother who is the City Lord didn''t do our findings very well. I am sorry about that, Alex." Layla said apologetically.


    "Nah. It''s okay." Alex said.


    Layla nodded her head happily.


    She was glad that Alex didn''t take offense in her not doing her research about the copulation-cultivation legacy very well.


    "Alright. So what means do you have to enter that place since it''s meant for Great Saint-stage cultivators? Or should we return and come back many decades later after our cultivation stage has stepped up to be able to easily come here and arrive at the legacy bestowal ground without any problem?" Layla asked.


    "Nope. That''s not a good option. It''s very bad if we do that. So, your cultivation progress would sufferingly wait for mine to reach the Great Saint stage before I can take the both of us in? Nah. Don''t worry about it. I think I have a way to get in there." Alex said.


    "Okay. But how are we going to survive in there? You know, we would go through tests meant for Great Saint-stage cultivators. If you may survive it, I wouldn''t be able to. I would be quickly destroyed in an instant. I am not as strong as you and don''t have any hidden amazing ability." Layla said.


    Alex grinned.


    "Well, you are right about that. But I would find a way to convince the legacy-bestowing spirit to give us a chance to prove ourselves to it."

 Chapter 327: Teasing each other

    While Layla waited for Alex to tell her how they were going to do it, Alex spoke to the Palace-spirit "Senior, please take us down to the bottom of the lake"


    And as the palace moved to the bottom of the lake, Alex looked into his mom''s spatial ring and brought out some items.


    One of the items that he brought out from his mom''s spatial ring was an highly flexible, skin-tight metallic treasure-armor. And since it was an armor that would look like a second skin when worn, one wouldn''t be able to notice that it was an actual armor. Only if she was patiently, carefully and systematically scrutinized would they discover that she was wearing an armor.


    "Here, take this armor and wear. We would soon be arriving at the bottom" Alex said.


    "Okay." Layla said looking at Alex with perplexity in her eyes.


    "Do I undress in front of you? But I remember that you didn''t like it" Layla said with a naughty smile.


    Alex smiled.


    "Well, I think I like it now. Go on and undress in front of me. Show me what makes you a woman" He said with interest in his tone.


    It was Layla''s turn to shake.


    "Definitely no way!" She retorted loud.


    Then she said into the air after seeing Alex do the same to speak to the Palace-spirit.


    "Palace-spirit, please direct me to a room where I can change into the cloth that Alex gave me." She said.


    "Alright" The ancient voice of the Palace-spirit rang out.


    Then she suddenly received a transmission from the Palace-spirit on where to go change her clothes.


    Alex shook upon witnessing this.


    The hell!


    The Palace-spirit was spoken to by Layla and he answered?


    ''Am I missing something? How could that old treasure-spirit listen to Layla? Wow! Well, there is nothing I can say about that. And maybe he has approved of her to be my wife. Hmm" Alex said within in a questioning tone and then arrived at a conclusion.


    "Palace-spirit, why would you take her to another room so she could hide her sweet nakedness from me?" He asked playfully.


    "Well, you don''t need to be in a rush to see anything that is yours. Just be calm about it. And when it''s time for you guys to receive the legacy, she would reveal everything that you want to see to you" The Palace-spirit said playfully too.


    Haha!


    Alex laughed.


    "Well, I was only teasing her." He said.


    "Hmm" The Palace-spirit uttered.


    Not long, Layla came back into the hall and appeared before him.


    She had worn the skin-tight body armor under the gown she wore. And when Alex looked at her, he couldn''t discover the armor on her body. The armor had surprisingly blended with her body, hiding completely from view.


    Then he went closer to her and gripped her by the arm. Immediately he did so, he applied force on that area of her arm that he gripped.


    "Do you feel any pain?" He asked.


    Layla closed her eyes to feel any pain. Then when she opened her eyes, she said "No, I can''t feel any pain. But are you that weak?"


    Alex''s eyes widened in amazement before it became serious.


    "Oh really?" He asked.


    Then he applied more crushing force from his hand on her arm which he gripped.


    Layla who didn''t feel any pain said with a smile.


    "I know that you are very strong. But you seem very weak now. How come? Did you eat or bathe with something that dissolved your astonishing physical strength?" She asked in a playful tone.


    Alex ignored her. And after trying for sometime to see if he could inflict her with pain, which didn''t work out, he simply removed his hand from her arm with a smile in his face.


    "Well, it''s the armor that I gave you. Or I would easily crush you into bits without it" Alex said with a smile in his face.


    "I know. And I can''t wait for that moment to be crushed by you" Layla said with a naughty smile.


    Alex simply shook his head with a smile in it.


    "I hope the armor would enable you to easily withstand the attacks from whatever we may face in there." He said.


    "I hope so too." Layla said. Then she asked with curiosity in her tone "I know that I shouldn''t be asking. But curiosity has gotten a better hold of me. So, where did you get it?"


    "Well, I got it from one of my many adventures." Alex replied.


    "Wow. You are tremendously strong. Not even two or three adventures. But many. I wish I was as strong as you, I would also go to many legacy grounds to acquire inheritances of powerful and famous cultivation experts" Layla said with sadness radiating off her voice.


    Alex saw the sad look in her face, then he came closer to her and held her by her hands "Don''t worry, you would become strong too."


    "I know. But I don''t think I would be as strong as any of your other women who don''t need a guy to help them cultivate. My condition is very pitiful" Layla said anguishedly.


    "Hmm. That''s true. But you shouldn''t allow that to bother you. See, I have a powerful body. And when my powerful fluid gets into your body during cultivation intercourse, who knows, your body could transform. My ultra-powerful semen could alter or kick up something within your body that would grant you astonishing abilities." Alex said in a somewhat boastful manner.


    But he was actually right about what he said.


    Since he had a powerful body which was altered by hundreds of realm-energies from a powerful Beyonder, every organ in his body would have transformed and even possess wisps of those energies circulate about within them.


    "Powerful semen? Haha! Well, I can''t wait to have that." Layla said while Alex beamed a lovable smile.


    Then he stated further with seriousness in his tone "Anyways, if that doesn''t work, I still have many ways to make you powerful as my other women. And even more than them if you are able to become my favorite."


    And before Layla could talk, he said "Actually, the thing is I don''t and would never ever neglect any of my women. So, as I grow in strength, I want them to also grow in strength. I want them to become powerful that they can do amazing things in my stead. I would make them a force to be reckoned with. A force that every other force must bow to or give way to pass. And I also have many ways of doing that." Alex said with seriousness still in his face and even radiated off his tone.


    Layla looked at him with a smile in her face and said "Thank you."


    "Don''t ever say that ever again for every thing I would do for you. I would soon be your husband, so it''s a thing that I am obliged to do. It''s my responsibility." Alex said seriously while Layla nodded her head.


    Then she tried to embrace him and ease herself into his strong arms. But before she could do so, a blast of power suddenly tyrannically struck the structure of the treasure-palace, causing it to shake so hard that both Alex and Layla who weren''t expecting such tumbled to the ground.

 Chapter 328: Angry old woman

    Then a second later after the treasure-palace was struck by that blast of power, an angered female voice that also invoked the feeling of ancientness rang out.


    "Return now. Or be destroyed by my power!" It said.


    And as soon as it said this, the water of the entire lake began to violently roil.


    Alex was shaken by what he heard. But he definitely wouldn''t give up because of just that. He had powerful treasure-spirits with him who wouldn''t allow the legacy-bestowing spirit to destroy him.


    "Senior, can you handle him?" Alex asked.


    He didn''t know who was stronger between the treasure-spirit of the Azure Beastsman treasure-palace and the legacy-bestowing spirit.


    "The spirit is very strong. But I think I can handle it. Let me speak to her first." The Palace-spirit said.


    "Okay" Alex said.


    While they remained in the treasure-palace, the actual form of the Palace-spirit materialized in the lake at that depth. And as soon his true form materialized, an old woman who had an expression of wrath in her face quickly appeared before him.


    "What do you people want? Get lost this moment!" She barked angrily.


    Haha!


    The treasure-spirit of the Azure Beastsman palace laughed.


    "We should get lost? After all the amazing things that you witnessed the boy do with the cultivation restrictions that either you or your master put in place? We are going nowhere, woman. We are here for the legacy. And we would surely get it before departing from here." The Palace-spirit said with an unyielding tone.


    Haha!!


    The old woman laughed raucously with her laughter causing the lake to churn once again.


    "Do you all want to be destroyed? If you don''t leave now in the next moment, I am going to tear you apart and go into that palace to rip that boy and the girl apart" She said.


    "Oh really? Well, you can go right ahead to do that. But in case you don''t know, that boy is protected by many treasure-spirits who are far stronger than you. So, you just try to carry on with what you said and you would see to your great horror that you would be instantly decimated. That''s if you even know when you are destroyed." The Palace-spirit said with towering confidence in his tone.


    "Oh? What''s so special about the boy that he would be protected by many treasure-spirits? Where did he even find such treasures with ancient spirit that easily submitted to him? If truly he has treasures that have powerful consciousness dwelling in them, then those sentient control-entities inhabiting the spaces in those treasures are fools! Big fools!! How could they submit to a boy who has nothing really special about him?" The old woman asked.


    Haha!


    The Palace-spirit laughed.


    "Look here old woman. You wouldn''t want to anger these spirits that I am talking about. Or you would live to regret it. Be very careful with what you are saying. Or these spirits that would look down upon you like an ant would actually tread upon you like one. So, be mindful of your vexing statements and just focus on only me who you can try to contend with" It said.


    "I have nothing to say again to you and those stupid clowns. Now, leave here this moment or all of you would regret it." The old woman said.


    "Shut up!" An angry voice suddenly rang out from everywhere and caused the lake to instantly divide into two like as if an enormous sword that was as wide as the lake itself had suddenly plunged into it with the intent to gash it apart. Also, when the wrathful voice rang out, the old woman suddenly felt hundreds of extremely sharp sensations in her soul which then caused her an immense degree of pain and even caused her form to actually grow indistinct like it was about to fade into nothingness.


    After this voice rang out and caused those shocking phenomena, the old woman who was threatening and demanding the Palace-spirit to leave, visibly continously shook in fear when her form became stable once again.


    Great fear and terror was evident in her face.


    Only a voice could do that?


    What power!


    Then hurriedly, she said in a humble and polite tone "Mighty treasure-spirits that are around. Please forgive me for my harsh words which might have greatly upset you. But I thought that this spirit before me was lying and so didn''t believe anything that it said. But I can see now that what it was saying was actually true. And since seniors who are very powerful can be around that boy, then that means he is very gifted that you seniors chose to stay with him and help him develop his gifts. I just realized this now. Please forgive me"


    "Hmm." A voice rang out and calmness returned to the lake.


    "So, should we leave?" The Palace-spirit asked with a mocking smile in it face.


    "Wait... No!" The old woman quickly said..


    Then it stated "I am sorry I offended you with my words."


    "It''s okay. But I want to ask, didn''t you see the boy transform and suddenly, massively leap in cultivation?" The Palace-spirit asked.


    "I saw it. But I thought that he was using some sort of cheat which would surely backfire upon him. I arrived at this when I saw him scream in pain and bleed from his nose and mouth. Then I chose to send him away since I felt that he was using a trick to excessively power up himself." The old woman said. Then it said further "But now, I have realized that he isn''t using a cheat. And that he was using a strange peculiar power that was unique to only him."


    "Hmm. Alright" The Palace-spirit said.


    Then it asked "Can we enter the legacy ground now?"


    "Sure. Please come in"


    As soon as she said this, a massive spatial array that was set up at the bottom of the lake suddenly glowed in a type of color and blinding brilliance.


    Then a shocking Power of Space that was released from the spatialforce energy circulating within it suddenly erupted from the spatial formation in great amounts and caused a spherical space for many meters in diameter to rapidly warp before transforming into a massive portal that the Azure Beastsman treasure-palace shot into.

 Chapter 329: Questions

    As soon as the treasure-palace shot into the portal, it appeared in another region.


    Then a few moments later, Alex and Layla were teleported out of the palace while the treasure-palace remained afloat in the air.


    As soon as Alex and Layla appeared in this new region, they were amazed by what they saw.


    They were before two mountainous statues that were facing each other.


    These two statues which were formed after some people were really massive in size that they could block the sun from shining it fiery light upon the before them. Also, if one took a closer look at it, one would see that these statues weren''t made from metal or from some other materials.


    It were actual mountains that were carved into statues.


    After being dazzled for some time by this sight, Alex stowed the floating treasure-palace into his mom''s spatial ring.


    Then he looked at Layla and said to her.


    "Let''s go in"


    Layla nodded.


    Then holding hands, they walked towards the massive mansion that was behind the two statues.


    After walking through a large path between the statues that led to the mansion, they arrived at the door of the mansion.


    Then the door swung open for them. While a female anciently voice rang out.


    "Come in!"


    Alex and Layla nodded their heads and went in.


    And when they entered, the form of the old woman materialized before the both of them.


    She looked at Alex and then at Layla.


    Then she asked "Do you guys love each other?"


    Layla looked at Alex with a smile while Alex looked at her with a smile in his face too.


    "Well, I don''t know about him. But I think I do" Layla said.


    "You think?" The senior asked.


    "Yes, senior." Layla replied.


    "Why do you think? You should be sure about that" The old woman questioned.


    "Well, I just feel that I love him. I am not yet deeply in love with him. But I like him very much." Layla answered.


    "Hmm." The old woman muttered.


    Then she asked "Why do you like him?"


    "Because of the unique attributes that he possesses which I believe I wouldn''t find in any other male I may come across. Even in higher worlds if I journey there some day" Layla answered.


    "Hmm" The old woman muttered again.


    "And what are those attributes?" She asked.


    "Well, the most paramount of them all is that he wouldn''t let even an ant or a fly hurt or disturb his woman. What I mean by this is that, he would devastate anybody that tries to insult or harm his woman. Also, even if the entire world turns it back against his woman, he would turn his back against it. That''s what I intensely like him for and made me go right ahead to choose him to accompany me on this journey to accept this legacy with me" Layla answered sincerely.


    "Hmm. And how do you know about this particular attribute of his?" The old woman asked.


    "Senior, I said that with utmost confidence from something that I heard and wasn''t a rumor. This conviction of mine came from what he did for one of his girlfriends. She was being ridiculed and embarrassed by everyone she knew for having her holiness tainted by him. Even her family became so angry at her for the embarrassment that she caused them and then came out to declare to the world that anybody who can beat up the boy who stripped away her virginity, would be given their daughter''s hands in marriage. So, hundreds of cultivators from proud, dignified academies and even rogue cultivators came to see the boy who did that and then fight him so they could get her hand in marriage, and then prove to everyone that they were geniuses or something." Layla said.


    Then she continued "Basically anyone who was made to fight in hundreds of matches without rest would surely run for their lives. They wouldn''t be able to handle the intense exhaustion and would then be knocked off the stage. And this would definitely lead to a great embarrassment and extreme public humiliation for him. He could even become arrested by the exceedingly angered family of the girl and live a life full of deeply agonizing torture at an underground in their mansion. Besides, who would appear for such a thing after committing such shameful act with the daughter of a proud and mighty cultivation family? But he appeared with style and with an unmatched ferocity just to remove her name that had been thrown deep into the mud. He fought with and injured anyone that came up the stage with the intention of taking his girlfriend''s hand in marriage. This he did with doggedness and a towering aura of peerless indomitability that amazed people. Therefore, by doing those things that I mentioned which would bask his woman in great pride, he passed a loud, echoing message to me which was that, no matter the consequence of anything which his woman had done or would do, he would stand tall, fearlessly and indomitable by her side. His actions also passed to me in that same message that he would carry or shatter all the insurmountable mountains that would ever appear in the path that his woman would ever walk or go through. What he did back there showed the kind of deep-seated love that he had for her, which I believe would surely invoke in anyone that heard the story that he would fight everyone for that boundless love that he has for his woman" Layla said.


    "Another thing i know which happened to me was when we were coming down here for the legacy. The son of the City Lord suddenly took interest in me and wanted to force me to become his woman. Although, I think we could have settled the matter by leaving that place where the City Lord''s son came to meet us. But he chose to blow up the whole thing simply because the City Lord''s son had set his eyes on me. He even killed one of his bodyguards for it and selflessly lured hundreds of powerful, prideful cultivators that had appeared in the air before him to punish him for what he had done away from me, as one of them wanted to kill me for refusing his request to become the City Lord''s wife or concubine" Layla said.


    The old woman''s eyes shone and then nodded head head in approval.


    But still gazing at her, she asked again "What other attributes made you to like him?"


    "They are so many that I can''t mention all. But I would tell senior a few about them since senior has demanded for it" Layla replied.


    Then she continued "The other attributes of his which impressed me was that, he is incredibly strong. At his level, I don''t think he has a rival. Even if he goes to higher worlds, there would be none there that would be able to beat him. Unless he surrenders himself to allow the other person win. Another of his attributes is that he''s highly adventurous. Senior should believe me when I say that he has gone to many legacy grounds and has acquired the legacies of these experts. Some, I believe he acquired when he was at a lower cultivation level. Another is that he''s fearless before anyone. Even before mighty, dreading experts who could be likened to High Gods, he would look at them in the eyes like they were below him and could tread upon them as he would an ant. And last but not the least, if senior takes a good look at him, senior would see that he has the look that every woman would die for. This makes me wonder how many girlfriends he might actually have. Anyways, I am less concerned about that as it''s unimportant. All I know is that I have brought him here to accept the transmission of the legacy with me, making him my life Partner. Senior, I am just really fortunate that he chose to come here with me. Or I would have lost out on this dazzling, rare and extraordinary gem"

 Chapter 330: The temptation

    "Okay" The old woman said.


    Then she turned her head to look at Alex.


    "Do you love her?" She asked.


    "I think" Alex said with a smile.


    "You also think? Why?" The old woman questioned.


    "Well, I can''t really say. But it borders between like and love" Alex replied.


    "Hmm" The old woman muttered.


    "Why did you follow her down here if you are unsure of what feelings you may have for her?" She asked.


    "Actually, I didn''t initially have any feeling for her. It was going to be like a contract thing to me. I agreed to come with her here because I wanted to help her cultivate. And anybody who was willing to cultivate shouldn''t be denied of it. So, I decided to accompany her down here out of pity because of the congenital, cultivation inhibition defect that she has. But after all the dangerous things that she has bravely and courageously gone through with me, and the several physical interactions that we have had, I like her now. Like intensely. I definitely want her to be my woman. She is not ashamed or embarrassed of my dirty ways and she really cares a lot. And even before mighty and frightening experts, her resolve to be with me which could result in her death never wavered. I like such women, women who would stand up to look at what would instantly kill them in the eyes and say ''Go right ahead, do your worst, you fuck''" Alex answered sincerely.


    The old woman cracked a smile.


    "So, she is that bold and courageous?" She asked.


    "Yes, senior. She is really very bold. And to give you a degree of her boldness, she actually doesn''t fear me. Me of all Ancient Fiends! She would fearlessly look at this evil and ominous fiendgod that will easily crush her underneath him in the eyes like as if he were an ant, and even say things in the ears of this dreadful being that would angrily rip her saintliness to hundreds of bits." Alex said seriously.


    Layla heard that and her eyes shone.


    Then she struck him on the chest with one of her elbows while Alex broke a smile on his face.


    ''Oh my... This insanely naughty guy is at it again'' Layla complained in her heart.


    "Really? Haha! That''s good anyways." The old woman said and laughed.


    Then she continued "From your funny behaviors, I can tell that you two love each other. You both haven''t just realized it yet. Besides, you look like couples ordained by the programming sentient forces of the realmverse. Haha."


    Still looking at Alex, the old woman said "I can see that you really holding yourself back from tearing her apart. Why are you so patient with her? You should have done the deed with her"


    Alex''s eyes shone from what the old woman said.


    Then with a smile appearing in his face, he said "Nah. That would be greedy of me senior. I followed her down here to help her cultivate and I am going to fulfill that. I would patiently wait till even the end of time for her to receive her legacy before I do anything with her."


    "Hmm. If I use my powers on you to force you into committing the deed with her, would you surrender to the compelling force in your head? Or you would fight it back?" The old woman asked seriously.


    Alex''s eyes widened.


    Then he quickly braced himself for what was soon about to go down.


    He knew that a test was coming up. And he would do his absolute best not to fail. Or he would also fail Layla whose cultivation totally depended on him. Therefore, he couldn''t afford to fail and then be teleported away with her, and with the idea that they weren''t fit for the legacy. Besides, as an artifact collector that he made himself to be, he wanted some of the treasures that the expert who was the creator of this legacy had.


    "I would absolutely fight it back, senior." He said with an unbreakable determination.


    The old woman gave a smile.


    "And why exactly would you want to do that?" The old woman questioned again.


    "Because I like and love her. And since I respect and value her, I wouldn''t do that, no matter how powerful the compelling force may be. Nothing would push me to go against what I have decided in my mind." Alex said.


    "Hmm." The old woman muttered.


    Then all of a sudden, with Alex''s eyes open, his immediate surrounding instantly changed.


    All that was now around him was a vast expanse of unlimited space. He couldn''t see the ends of it.


    So, this invoked the feeling in him that he had appeared in a new world. A world which seemed more than impossible to exist.


    He arrived at this because the earth was all green and had many large and tall bundles of brilliant, dazzling colors that sprouted from it.


    These were leaf-green grasses and flowers with large colorful petals and sepals respectively.


    But one other thing that existed in this lush green and flowery world as it seemingly had only green grasses and brightly colorful flowers that continually produced mists and scents which would intoxicate gods themselves, was a towering mountain that could almost connect with the sky. Also, it spanned for thousands of kilometers like it was a divinely mountain.


    Then atop the peak of this astonishingly huge mountain which was entirely covered with lush green leaves stood Alex with great awe in his eyes.


    Then in the next instant, Layla appeared before him. And this time, she looked more beautiful, radiant and curvier than usual. She looked like a goddess to him. And what she wore caused Alex''s blood and hormones to begin to rage. They began to rage that they wanted to burst out of his body.


    With large busts and bright pink nipples that could easily be noticed in the highly transparent see-through gown that she wore, and which also presented her cleavage to him as the see-through gown had a V-neck line which plunged so deep that it exposed her navel as the plunging V-line reached her waist. Also, as an extreme, sexually provocative gown with slits at both sides that went so high that they connected with her waist, anytime a soft wind blew momentarily blew by, Layla''s bush would be easily revealed everytime to Alex whenever this soft wind gently crashed with Layla''s figure.


    Alex couldn''t help have his body intensely hit up by what he was seeing.


    Then as he began to try to fight the mysterious, raging sexual feelings that had surfaced in his mind and body, Layla in this vision that he was having had appeared by his side and placed her hand on his chest. She then slowly dragged down her hands from his chest to his groin region and dipped them into his trousers to grab his already erect manhood. Then pulling down his trousers, she put his manhood into her mouth and began to suck away at it.


    The instant Alex felt Layla''s warm hands grab his manhood, his body trembled.


    Although Alex knew that it was an illusion, but he couldn''t help but think that it was real. It felt so real to him. It was like Layla truly grabbed his manhood.


    And when Layla in this vision placed his manhood into her warm mouth and gently rubbed at it with her succulent lips, Alex couldn''t help but groan out loud in pleasure. It was at this moment that a mighty, undeniable pleasurable sensation struck him. Then he wanted to grab Layla''s head and force the entirety of his manhood down her throat.


    But then, he remembered his resolve and tried to fight back the overpowering, burning feeling of sexual desire that the very cells of his body had been greatly immersed into.


    However, as he tried his best to repel or disintegrate the overwhelming, compelling feeling of amorous desire which had engulfed the entirety of his body, he suddenly heard a gentle and persuasive fairy-like voice in his head.


    ''Your flesh wants this. And so do the other components that form your being. So, why are you holding back? Let your feelings and hormones guide you. You shouldn''t deny them. They know what is good for you. They want to take you to a place where you would experience ecstasy. They want to give you that feeling of being a powerful God for some moments. So give in. Give in to your feelings. Give in to your raging hormones that know what is absolutely good for you. Let them sink you to the infinite depth of boundless sexual joy that you would never be able to find your way out from. Heyy, imagine those divinely sensations that would erupt in your body when you engage in the beautiful act of sexual intercourse with this gorgeous naked goddess that''s before you and is sucking away at your rod in preparation for the great deed that you would both commit. Imagine them building in your body. Feel them rise without stop in your body. Feel them heating up your body and causing it to tremble. Now, you should treat your suffering body right. You should go for what it want. You should grab this goddess, pin her down and insert your rod deep in her before she vanishes. Do this now or your body would no longer agree with you on anything"

 Chapter 331: Resisting the voice

    As the voice spoke into Alex''s head, Alex felt like grabbing Layla, rip her gown apart and insert his rod deep into her.


    However, he knew that he was in an illusion, and that, if he grabbed Layla''s gown and tore it apart to shove his manhood into her, it could be the real Layla who would do to that.


    He knew that was what the illusion was about, which was to simultaneously persuade and compel him to do things with the Layla in his vision. However, the Layla in his vision could then become the real Layla. And once he can do anything carnal with her, they should both forget about receiving transmission of the legacy.


    So, he tried all his best to resist that coercing and persuasive, fairy-like voice that endlessly echoed in his head.


    Then to destroy the continuously echoing voice in his head, he screamed "Get the fuck out of my head!!"


    Immediately he did so, his Soul Entities that had become dull like there was no life in them again suddenly became extremely dazzling in appearance. If this blinding light that unexpectedly emanated from them appeared in the outside world, it would surely outshine the sun, dying the earth in the various colors that they possessed.


    Immediately this light appeared, it was instantly accompanied by a powerful blast of soul-power that shot in all directions within his vast soul-dwelling region.


    Also, when Alex screamed in wrath to disintegrate the resounding voice in his head, his eyes glowed in a brilliant light that Layla who was looking at him saw and became amazed.


    After everything calmed in his soul-dwelling region, Alex fell with his knees to the ground fully exhausted.


    He had actually used the last bit of soul power available to him to destroy the voice in his head. And when his eyes glowed earlier, it had ripped apart the illusionary world that he was placed in.


    So, everything was back to normal again in his vision.


    When he fell to the ground, Layla quickly rushed to his side to help him up. But when she tried doing so, she felt that his body was hot. She however knew that it was because he was overly exhausted that his body became hot.


    When she helped him up to his feet, Alex who looked sickly pale quickly produced soul recovery pills which he swallowed.


    This then turned into large amounts of soulforce energy that shot into his soul-dwelling region to help his Soul Entities recover some of their lost energy.


    He just had to find time to cultivate the soul again so he could infuse his Soul Entities with tremendous amounts of soulforce energy to bring their astonishing brilliancy back.


    After Alex recovered from using the last shred of soul power that he had, the anciently voice of the old woman sounded out.


    "You have done well." The old woman said with a smile in her face.


    "No further tests is required. Now, both of you should come with me" She said while Alex and Layla who were holding hands nodded their head and followed behind her with smiles in their faces. Especially Layla, she was glad that Alex didn''t fail whatever test the old woman made him do. And now that they were probably going to a place to receive transmission of the legacy that they came here for, she would have Alex deep in her. She couldn''t wait to have him hit at her with his rod.


    Not long, they arrived before two majestic-looking statues that were holding hands and seemed to be deeply in love with one another. One of the statues which was a male invoked the feeling of dominance. Although he was handsome, he radiated the feeling of tyranny and aggressiveness. He was like the type that would instantly crush anything that didn''t revere him. While the female who was beautiful radiated the feeling of softness. It was like she was the opposite of the male she held hands with. She seemed like she was the type that would use love to conquer her enemies.


    "These statues you are seeing are statues of my masters. They are the Emperor of Dominion and Love Empress." The old woman said.


    "Emperor of Dominion and Love Empress?" Alex asked to confirm what he heard.


    "Yes!" The old woman replied.


    Alex nodded his head with a glitter in his eyes.


    He knew these people.


    He had read about them from a book that had information about many experts.


    According to what he read, the Emperor of Dominion was a young genius cultivator who discovered dominionforce energy which he also named ''Vanquisher Energy''. As it name implied, it was an energy that gave him dominion or dominance over all things. Not exactly in that manner, but that it would increase the characteristics or features of every of his energy-attacks to a level where it would crush other same-level attacks that it may clash with. So, it was an energy that gave him the ability to fight someone that was at a level above his, since it would cause his attacks to dominate all other attacks that pulsed with the power of the cultivation level that he was at. Therefore, if he was faced with cultivators who were at his level, he would surely subdue all of them.


    While the Love Empress who was a young, female genius cultivator comprehended to a great stage Loveforce energy. Also called ''Love-Shrouding energy'', it was an energy that could be bright pink or dark pink in color depending on the cultivator''s mood, and could pierce through all forms of attacks since it was ethereal like the soul. Therefore, once fired as a beam at one''s attackers, it would effortlessly penetrate through their attacks and into their bodies even if they wore treasure-armors. Then it would go on in the next instant to totally enshroud their senses and engulf every inch of their bodies, thus immediately stopping them from attacking her if they were about to, and then make them to confess their undying, fathomless love for her. So like that, they would see her as a holy goddess whom they truly, tremendously love and that shouldn''t be harmed by anyone or by anything. Therefore, with this mindset, they would try to protect her by all means. Even if it meant laying down their lives for her to live in the name of protection, they would surely do so with immeasurable love and unfathomable affection in their eyes. And as an energy that was ethereal like the soul, only a soul cultivator would be able to block it. However, that depended on if the said soul cultivator was stronger than her, or he would also instantly fall a love-blinded moron.


    When Alex recalled all these, he smiled. Then he prepared himself to receive the legacy with Layla.

 Chapter 332: Making Layla suffer (R-18)

    "There, you both should lie on the large mat before the statues" The old woman said.


    Alex and Layla nodded their head.


    Then they went forward to lie on the mat that was in front of the statues.


    "Now, both of you should wait upon a projection screen that would appear to show you different sexual positions that you must follow to receive the legacy" The old woman said.


    "Alright" Both Alex and Layla nodded their head.


    Then when a thought came to Alex''s mind, his eyes glowed and then he proceeded to quickly ask.


    "Senior, I want to ask this question to confirm something" His voice suddenly rang out.


    "Okay. Go on" The old woman said.


    "Do I pull out my rod from within her to avoid releasing my fluid into her body, or I should let it remain in there?" Alex asked in a curious tone while Layla smiled.


    "Hmm. I can''t really say about that. You would just have to keep doing it till the transmission would end. If the transmission ends before you ejaculate, then you can withdraw your manhood. If not, leave it in there and get your wife pregnant." The old woman responded.


    "Ugh!" Alex uttered.


    "Alex, what''s it? You don''t want me to make a baby for you?" Layla asked with a tease in her tone.


    Alex looked at her with a smirk in his face and then spanked her in the butts.


    "Ouch!" Layla cried out.


    "Say anything like that again and you would definitely receive a good spank from me" Alex threatened while Layla instantly kept quiet.


    "Senior, I am still too young to have a baby. I absolutely can''t have such at this time." Alex said looking at the old woman whose form had begun to slowly fade away.


    "Well, there''s nothing I can do about that. You both would have to agree with each other on what to do." The old woman said.


    "Hmm. Okay" Alex said.


    Then the form of the old woman fully dematerialized, leaving only Alex and Layla behind.


    "Well, it''s up to us now" Layla said.


    "Yea." Alex said.


    Then after contemplating for sometime, he ordered while looking at Layla with an unbridled glow of lust in his eyes "Take off your gown!"


    As soon as Alex commanded this, Layla who was ready simply waved her hand. And immediately she did so, the gown she wore vanished from her body and appeared in her spatial ring.


    She had quickly stowed it away.


    The instant her dress vanished and her full nakedness was presented to Alex, Alex''s eyes glittered beautifully.


    Then he moved closer to her and gently grabbed her two peaks with his hands.


    Immediately he did so, he began to fondle and caress them.


    "You have beautiful boobs" He said admirably.


    Layla smiled.


    "I know right" She said.


    Then she grabbed one of Alex''s hands that were gently squeezing her boobs and moved it down to her private region. And when his hands got there, she took one of his fingers and placed it on her clit.


    Immediately she did so, she gave out a slight moan.


    Then she looked at Alex with a naughty smile in her face and came closer to him. while Alex whose finger had been placed on that sensitive part of Layla''s private region began to rub that area of her body.


    Seeing the intense delight in her face and hearing her loud, unbridled moans of happiness, he gave a smile and then doubled the finger rubbing her clit.


    Immediately he did so, he began to rapidly rub her clit.


    Once he started that, Layla gave out a louder delighted moan and then tried to grab Alex''s hand to stop what he was doing.


    But Alex''s hand that was immensely strong couldn''t have it motion come to a stop by Layla''s hands which had already grabbed it with the intention of stopping him from rubbing her clit.


    The pleasure had basically gotten too much for her to be able to handle. So she tried to grab Alex''s arms to stop what he was doing. But unfortunately for her, Alex''s arms that were much more physically stronger than hers couldn''t be stopped.


    Seeing that her effort to stop him was futile, she began to plead that he should stop. This she did while moaning loudly and then tried to break away from one of his arm that strongly wrapped around her back.


    Alex gave a ruthless smile and said "You brought this tribulation upon yourself. So face it"


    Layla heard this and began to hit him on the chest while trying her best at the same time to pull out from his strong hold.


    After a long time, Alex stopped and let her be.


    Immediately Alex left her alone, Layla collapsed unto the mat on the ground and her entire body began to twitch hard and endlessly.


    A tremendous amount of pleasure had accumulated in her body and then exploded out, causing her to intensely tremble.


    "I guess you must have enjoyed that very much, right? Look at you, all wet and sweaty" He said with a smile in his face.


    Layla who was on the mat placed her hands over her private region to totally hide it from Alex''s view.


    "Y-You bastard." She spat out as her entire body still twitched hard on the mat, while Alex grinned enjoyably.


    He loved it as she had suffered carnally in his hands.


    "Heyy, I did that because I love you. I wanted to take you to another realm. But now, you are cursing me instead of praising me" Alex said with a naughty and dejected smile creeping up his face.


    Layla didn''t answer him.


    "So, should I continue? I promise to be very sweet about it" Alex said with a smile in his face that invoked the feeling of roughness and aggressiveness.


    Layla''s eyes widened in shock upon hearing what he said and seeing his smile.


    Then she quickly stood up to her feet to run from him. But before she could take a step, Alex appeared before her at an immense speed and then knocked her back to the mat, pinning her unto it surface.


    "Alex, please. I am sorry if you are taking your vengeance upon me now for all that I have said in the past." Layla quickly begged while Alex smiled.


    "Haha. I am not going to do that to you again. But I just want to deflower you. Can I have that?" Alex asked with a smile.


    "Well, my legs are wide open. You can go right ahead and stick your rod in me. That''s what I am waiting for, to ascend to the higher realm with you, my husband" Layla said with a burning amorous desire in her eyes.


    "Yea. Me too. But we would have to follow the instructions in the screen when it comes up. Or we could be denied from receiving transmission of the legacy."


    "Yea" Layla said dejectedly. Then she continued by asking "Since the screen that would give us instructions on what next to do hasn''t come up, what do we do? Do we just wait?"


    "I think that''s what we would have to do. We can only wait." Alex replied.


    "Ugh! The damned screen should appear." Layla said. Then she continued with an impatient tone in her voice "Alex, the wait to feel your warmth inside me is tearing me apart"


    "I know. It''s also burning me too. We however would just have to wait. But in the meantime, we can have fun with ourselves."

 Chapter 333: Sex I (R-18+)

    Layla smiled. Then she nodded.


    Just when they would do anything, large beams of light suddenly shot out from the two statues before them and then surprisingly merged together to form a screen that floated in the air.


    "It finally came up" Layla said with a smile.


    "Yea, it finally did" Alex said.


    Then they looked at the screen to await instructions on what to do.


    As they looked at the screen, two voices that belonged to the opposite genders suddenly rang out from the two statues.


    "Welcome, young cultivators. Now to receive our legacy, you two must first make love to each other in our presence. And you must do it so well that we would be moved to give you our legacy. If not, we would chase both of you away and never to return"


    Alex and Layla nodded when they heard this.


    But Alex knew that some solid soul fragments of the Emperor of Dominion and Love Empress were present in the statues that produced the beam that formed the screen. That was why they asked them to make love in their presence again, since non-living statues couldn''t tell them that.


    Layla who was already naked approached Alex and slowly unrobed him to reveal his naked body to her.


    Then with a smile appearing in her face that was now bright pink when she pulled down his trousers to reveal his manhood, she grasped it and put it into her mouth.


    She might no do this for any other person, but because it was Alex, she had to. It wasn''t even because of she wanted to try her best to receive the legacy that she did that. It was because she wanted to pleasure Alex very much. She wanted Alex to enjoy their moment together. She wanted to take him to the floating, invisible island that was surrounded by honey and back.


    Immediately his manhood which was already stiff entered her mouth without warning, Alex''s body briefly trembled and he suddenly let out a moan of pleasure.


    Then he closed his eyes and grabbed layla''s head as it moved forward and backward with her lips rubbing against his manhood that was in her mouth.


    While Layla who was sucking his rod began to play with his egg sac. She played with it with one of her hands while the other grabbed Alex''s dick as she sucked on it.


    After doing this for ten minutes, she was forced to stop by Alex who brought out his cock from her mouth and then made her to lower herself to the ground with her back touching the mat.


    Immediately she was made to lie on the ground with her back, Alex brought his head to her private region and then stuck out his tongue to lock her clit.


    As soon as his tongue touched her clit, Layla also let out a moan.


    Then she grabbed Alex''s head and pressed it against the area between her legs like she wanted to push her entire pleasure cave into his mouth.


    Alex after rubbing against the surface of her clit for sometime and causing Layla to continuously moan in pleasure then brought his tongue down and inserted it into the slit between the folds of pink-colored skin that surrounded the slit.


    Layla''s body shook when Alex did this. And her body shook harder when Alex brought a finger to her clit and began to rub hard against it surface.


    This caused her intense pleasure as she let out a louder moan.


    Then she wrapped her legs around Alex''s back as the pleasure got to her head.


    After sometime, Alex stopped what he was doing while Layla unwrapped her legs from his back.


    Then she whispered to Alex "Stick it in"


    Alex smiled.


    "I know. That''s what I am about to do next." He said.


    Then he brought his erect rod to the sensitive area between her thighs and used one of his hands which held it to place it tip directly on layla''s vaginal slit.


    A few moment after he did so and with a deep exhale, he forced his rod which was touching the slit into it passage which felt warm, wet and sticky.


    But his action caused Layla pain as she arched her back and screamed out at the same time.


    However, the pain was very brief as it surfaced only for a few seconds and then rapidly died down.


    When Alex pierced into her with his rod, he didn''t do anything else. He had paused in his motion a second after he penetrated through so that the pain that had appeared because of penetration would vanish.


    And as he waited for the intensity of pain that Layla felt to diminish, blood slowly streamed down her private part in a thin line. Then a second later, the blood which had stopped flowing and started to trickle entirely stopped.


    Alex then resumed his forward and backward motion by raising his hips and lowering it down again. And as he did so with his rod thrusting in and out in the process, Layla became filled with pleasure that caused her to moan.


    Although she still felt a little bit of pain as Alex began to move his rod up and down in her private part, the pain however wasn''t enough to stop her from enjoying the wonderful amorous act she was committing with Alex. Also, the slight pain which she felt as Alex dug in and out with his beefy rod was slowly disappearing when her healing abilities came up to regenerate the seal that was suddenly ripped apart when Alex forcefully pierced into her with his rod.


    Alex at the moment was enjoying what he was doing. And as he moved his hip up and down with his rod going up and down too within Layla''s tunnel of pleasure, he brought his mouth to one of her boobs and tried to take the entire thing into his mouth to suck it. Although he couldn''t do so as Layla''s boobs were pretty large in size, he was however able to take in a large portion of it into his mouth.


    While Layla who enjoyed the pleasurable sensation that had filled her body whispered into Alex''s ears "Go harder please"

 Chapter 334: Sex II, Cultivation (R-18+)

    When Alex heard what she said, he increased his speed.


    After sometime, his rod began to throb and then suddenly, his rod released a white sticky fluid into Layla who moaned loudly in pleasure as her body shook.


    She had orgasmed. Same with Alex who gave a smile as he looked into her eyes.


    He then pulled out his rod from her and looked at the two statues before them waiting to hear if they passed.


    "Good. You have passed" The statue of the Emperor of Dominion said.


    Then a ray of light shot out from the two statues towards both Alex''s and Layla''s head.


    The instant the rays got into their head, they turned into massive amounts of information on how to practice copulation-cultivation. It was so detailed that both Alex and Layla instantly comprehended how to go ahead with the cultivation technique mentioned in the cultivation methodology that he received from them.


    "Now that you have understood our unique cultivation method, you can start your cultivation"


    Alex and Layla nodded.


    Alex then looked at Layla with a smile and said "Let''s start cultivation."


    "Okay" Layla said looking at Alex in the eyes with a smile that invoked the feeling of amorousness in her face .


    Now, they would have to have sex again. And since they would be connected to one another through their reproductive organs, Alex would absorb the energies that would exude from the two statues into his body. Then he would take the one that belonged to the Emperor of Dominion for himself and pass the other energy which belonged to the Love Empress to Layla through his manhood that would once again penetrate into her private part.


    "When I absorb the energy from the statues, I will channel the one that belongs to the Love Empress into your body through my manhood. Then when the Love Empress''s energy get into your body, you would have to move that energy to your energyhouse and slowly accumulate it till you can break through." Alex said.


    Then he asked "Am I clear enough?"


    "Yes. You are" Layla said.


    Alex nodded while Layla who was still naked lied on the mat again with her back.


    Then she spread her legs open for Alex to insert his rod into her.


    Alex didn''t waste time with what he wanted to do.


    As soon as Layla laid back on the mat with her back and then spread her legs wide open for Alex to insert his rod into her private part, Alex immediately knelt before her. And using one of his hands to grasp his manhood which had become very erect once again, he placed it on the crack and with a push of his hip, his rod went on through the slit in Layla''s private part.


    The instant he did this, Layla moaned unbridledly. Same with Alex who also moaned in pleasure when a sensation erupted in his body as his rod went through the tight and wet fleshy, inner walls of Layla''s private part.


    Now that they had been connected to one another once again, Alex began to raise and lower his hips. And as he did so, his rod rubbed against the inner walls of Layla''s private part which felt sticky, warm and wet.


    As they did this, having sex with each other again, the eyes of the statues before the both of them began to glow. And as the eyes of the statues glowed, two energies in which one caused the air to roil and even be actually shredded apart to create many small pockets of vacuum, while the other which was bright pink in color and was transparent began to exude from the statues.


    The two different energies then filled the area that Alex and Layla were present in having sex.


    "Would you be able to absorb the energies while banging me at the same time?" Layla asked.


    "Sure thing." Alex said.


    Then he stated further "Don''t you worry. I am excellent at multi-tasking. Just focus on enjoying yourself and then absorbing the energy when it eventually gets into your body"


    "Okay" Helena nodded.


    Alex then deployed his Power of Absorption to rapidly absorb the two energies that were present in immense quantities around them.


    "Devour!" Alex said.


    The instant he said so, his body began to glow which then put out a type of astonishing power in the next second that instantly acted on the two energies that had engulfed them. And as soon as it grasped upon the energies, they were pulled in large bundles into his body through his pores.


    Now that the energy had gotten into his body, Alex used the power of his will to separate the different energies into two energies.


    Then he moved one of these energies to his energyhouse and the other into a channel that led to his manhood.


    Once the energy got to his manhood through that channel, it then flowed out of it into Layla''s body who instantly moved into action by also using her will to move the energy which had just gotten into her body to energyhouse.


    Like that, Loveforce energy began to accumulate in Layla''s energyhouse which she focused on condensing from a mist into a pool with the intention of directly entering the condensation stage for Loveforce energy cultivation.


    Alex who was surprised by this technique wanted to try something else.


    He didn''t want Layla to only have Loveforce energy and the other energy that she cultivated. He wanted her to have like two other forms of energy. Besides, she would have to be banged by him anytime she wanted to cultivate it.


    With a naughty smile in his face and without telling her what had just surfaced in his mind as he had the aim of totally surprising her, he set out to execute the idea that suddenly flashed in his mind.


    Using the solid comprehension he had on both pyroforce energy and frostforce energy, he caused their unexpected appearances around him that even the souls residing in the statues were greatly shocked.


    What kind of ability does this boy possess?


    As soon as the energies appeared in large amounts and began to move around him, he uttered ''Devour''.

 Chapter 335: Laylas thirst

    As soon as he uttered devour, the energies that he had caused their appearances began to flow into his body in massive quantities, along with the energy exuding from the statues.


    As they flowed into his body, he separated the Dominionforce energy from them which he channelled to his energyhouse. While the others were passed into Layla''s body through his reproductive organ.


    Layla who was focusing on moving the Loveforce energy entering her body to her energyhouse became shocked at what she was seeing.


    She could see Loveforce energy as well as two other energies she had never cultivated entering into her body in an amount that she couldn''t comprehend.


    Although she knew it was Alex doing this but she couldn''t help but ask inwardly ''How''s he doing all these?''


    And before she could ask Alex any questions why he caused the flow of energies she had never cultivated into her body, she suddenly heard Alex say "Layla, try to cultivate those energies too"


    Once she heard what he said, without arguing, she simply nodded her head and set out to cultivate the energy.


    Like that, they had copulated and cultivated at the same time.


    But it was Layla who benefitted more from the strange cultivation method as her cultivation level began to rise and grow more powerful due to the rapid and tremendous flow of Loveforce energy into her body and the addition of two powerful new realm-energies which were Fire and Frost respectively.


    While Alex although benefitted, he tried his best to raise Layla''s cultivation level.


    He wanted her to be powerful and not be ridden by anybody at her cultivation level when he leaves her to go do his own thing.


    Not long, due to the rapid and gigantic inflow of Dominionforce energy into his body through the pores of his skin, the energy had condensed from a mist in his energyhouse into a liquid. Then it grew from being a liquid into a solid very quickly.


    As soon as this new energy reached the solid state, which meant that it had broken through into the Earth Adept stage (Core Formation stage), it began to grow rapidly in size.


    After sometime, it growth finally stopped when it size was on par with the other cores of energy in his energyhouse.


    While Layla who couldn''t turn all the energies entering into her body to cores in almost an instant like Alex was still at the condensation stage for the energies. This meant that the energies had just condensed from their mist forms in her energyhouse to liquids.


    Many days went on with them still connected to each other, while Alex who had great energy not making him to fatigue easily still continued to copulate with Layla who enjoyed the sex to the extreme due to the energies flowing into her body without end.


    A few months later, Layla''s cultivation of the various energies which were Loveforce energy, Pyroforce energy and Frostforce energy had reached the Earth Adept stage.


    Lying on the ground beside her with their nakedness not covered, Layla moved her hand across Alex''s chest as she looked into eyes that seemed to contain the stars.


    "Thank you" She said.


    Alex shook his head in displeasure.


    "I have told you times without number not to thank me for anything that I would do for you. I am your husband. So I am obliged to do so." Alex said.


    "I know. But I just have to thank you" Layla said.


    "Now that we have finished our cultivation, I think we can have sex normally now. Or what do you think?" Layla asked.


    Alex''s eyes became filled with surprise.


    "You still want us to have sex? We did that for almost six months while you were cultivating at the same time. And now you want us to go again?" Alex asked with amazement in his eyes.


    But he couldn''t blame her.


    Since she was a virgin and had discovered how pleasurable it was to have sex, she would definitely want to have more.


    She didn''t even reply to Alex''s questions when she climbed atop his naked body and slipped his erect manhood into her vaginal slit.


    And as soon as she did so, a moan rang out from her mouth. Then she began to move her waist forward and backwards as she sat on him.


    The statues were also shocked by Layla''s thirst for sex.


    But they couldn''t blame her, as they knew that people with cultivation defect such as the one she has would turn them into people that would be very hungry for sex.


    It takes a lot of resolve and determination from the person to reduce her thirst for sex from her partner.


    After a very long time, Alex ejaculated into her while she trembled upon reaching orgasm. Then she stood up from him with Alex''s erect manhood pulling out from her vaginal slit.


    "That was really fantastic. I feel like going for it again" Layla said as her eyes began to glow just upon looking at Alex''s manhood.


    Alex quickly stood to his feet and dressed himself in a cloth to prevent Layla from seeing his manhood.


    "We have to go now. We have spent a lot of time in here." He said.


    While Layla who had come back to her senses since what was influencing her to have sex once again had been covered, nodded her head in agreement.


    "Kid, that was awesome of you. You really did well. We can see that you really love her as you made her cultivate more energies and not only my wife''s." The Emperor of Dominion said.


    Then still looking at the both of them, he said "Well, it is time to receive our legacy."


    As soon as he said so, the palace they were in teleported them out of it. Then it rapidly grew to a smaller size and shot towards Layla who caught it in her hand and looked at Alex with a radiant smile in her face. Now, she has her own treasure-mansion.


    Alex looked at her and behaved like he wasn''t moved by why the palace decided to go to Layla.


    Then as they were about to leave, the two massive statues that were before them since they had been teleported out of the palace unexpectedly shattered into smithereens, with two powerful treasure-weapons that were used by the Emperor of Dominion and Love Empress in the past flying towards them as they rapidly grew smaller in size.

 Chapter 336: Laylas thirst

    As soon as he uttered devour, the energies that he had caused their appearances began to flow into his body in massive quantities, along with the energy exuding from the statues.


    As they flowed into his body, he separated the Dominionforce energy from them which he channelled to his energyhouse. While the others were passed into Layla''s body through his reproductive organ.


    Layla who was focusing on moving the Loveforce energy entering her body to her energyhouse became shocked at what she was seeing.


    She could see Loveforce energy as well as two other energies she had never cultivated entering into her body in an amount that she couldn''t comprehend.


    Although she knew it was Alex doing this but she couldn''t help but ask inwardly ''How''s he doing all these?''


    And before she could ask Alex any questions why he caused the flow of energies she had never cultivated into her body, she suddenly heard Alex say "Layla, try to cultivate those energies too"


    Once she heard what he said, without arguing, she simply nodded her head and set out to cultivate the energy.


    Like that, they had copulated and cultivated at the same time.


    But it was Layla who benefitted more from the strange cultivation method as her cultivation level began to rise and grow more powerful due to the rapid and tremendous flow of Loveforce energy into her body and the addition of two powerful new realm-energies which were Fire and Frost respectively.


    While Alex although benefitted, he tried his best to raise Layla''s cultivation level.


    He wanted her to be powerful and not be ridden by anybody at her cultivation level when he leaves her to go do his own thing.


    Not long, due to the rapid and gigantic inflow of Dominionforce energy into his body through the pores of his skin, the energy had condensed from a mist in his energyhouse into a liquid. Then it grew from being a liquid into a solid very quickly.


    As soon as this new energy reached the solid state, which meant that it had broken through into the Earth Adept stage (Core Formation stage), it began to grow rapidly in size.


    After sometime, it growth finally stopped when it size was on par with the other cores of energy in his energyhouse.


    While Layla who couldn''t turn all the energies entering into her body to cores in almost an instant like Alex was still at the condensation stage for the energies. This meant that the energies had just condensed from their mist forms in her energyhouse to liquids.


    Many days went on with them still connected to each other, while Alex who had great energy not making him to fatigue easily still continued to copulate with Layla who enjoyed the sex to the extreme due to the energies flowing into her body without end.


    A few months later, Layla''s cultivation of the various energies which were Loveforce energy, Pyroforce energy and Frostforce energy had reached the Earth Adept stage.


    Lying on the ground beside her with their nakedness not covered, Layla moved her hand across Alex''s chest as she looked into eyes that seemed to contain the stars.


    "Thank you" She said.


    Alex shook his head in displeasure.


    "I have told you times without number not to thank me for anything that I would do for you. I am your husband. So I am obliged to do so." Alex said.


    "I know. But I just have to thank you" Layla said.


    "Now that we have finished our cultivation, I think we can have sex normally now. Or what do you think?" Layla asked.


    Alex''s eyes became filled with surprise.


    "You still want us to have sex? We did that for almost six months while you were cultivating at the same time. And now you want us to go again?" Alex asked with amazement in his eyes.


    But he couldn''t blame her.


    Since she was a virgin and had discovered how pleasurable it was to have sex, she would definitely want to have more.


    She didn''t even reply to Alex''s questions when she climbed atop his naked body and slipped his erect manhood into her vaginal slit.


    And as soon as she did so, a moan rang out from her mouth. Then she began to move her waist forward and backwards as she sat on him.


    The statues were also shocked by Layla''s thirst for sex.


    But they couldn''t blame her, as they knew that people with cultivation defect such as the one she has would turn them into people that would be very hungry for sex.


    It takes a lot of resolve and determination from the person to reduce her thirst for sex from her partner.


    After a very long time, Alex ejaculated into her while she trembled upon reaching orgasm. Then she stood up from him with Alex''s erect manhood pulling out from her vaginal slit.


    "That was really fantastic. I feel like going for it again" Layla said as her eyes began to glow just upon looking at Alex''s manhood.


    Alex quickly stood to his feet and dressed himself in a cloth to prevent Layla from seeing his manhood.


    "We have to go now. We have spent a lot of time in here." He said.


    While Layla who had come back to her senses since what was influencing her to have sex once again had been covered, nodded her head in agreement.


    "Kid, that was awesome of you. You really did well. We can see that you really love her as you made her cultivate more energies and not only my wife''s." The Emperor of Dominion said.


    Then still looking at the both of them, he said "Well, it is time to receive our legacy."


    As soon as he said so, the palace they were in teleported them out of it. Then it rapidly grew to a smaller size and shot towards Layla who caught it in her hand and looked at Alex with a radiant smile in her face. Now, she has her own treasure-mansion.


    Alex looked at her and behaved like he wasn''t moved by why the palace decided to go to Layla.


    Then as they were about to leave, the two massive statues that were before them since they had been teleported out of the palace unexpectedly shattered into smithereens, with two powerful treasure-weapons that were used by the Emperor of Dominion and Love Empress in the past flying towards them as they rapidly grew smaller in size.

 Chapter 337: The fruitless wait

    Alex grabbed the hammer that came to his hand. The hammer was the weapon of the Emperor of Dominion. While Layla grabbed a staff that gravitated towards her. That was the weapon of the Love Empress.


    When they grabbed the weapons and stowed them into their spatial rings, they came out of this place that they were in through a portal that had appeared before them.


    And as soon as they appeared at the bottom of the water where the pressure was so great that they would simply explode into mists of blood, the Azure Beastsman treasure-palace shot out of Alex''s mom''s spatial ring and instantly grew to a large size, quickly teleporting the both of them into it.


    "Are the both of you okay" The Palace-spirit asked.


    "Yea, we are fine." Alex said.


    Layla looked at the Love Empress''s weapon with a smile in her face when she brought it out of her spatial ring.


    "I can''t imagine I would ever have this. I am so happy." Layla said.


    Alex smiled.


    Then he too produced the hammer of the Emperor of Dominion and looked at it with a smile in his face.


    "Look at it, seems so powerful. Like it could knock down the entire sky with a single strike. That''s the feeling I am getting from it" Alex said while Layla nodded.


    Then they both stowed their weapons into their spatial rings and sat down on the floor of the hall they were in to cultivate and comprehend the vast number of methods and techniques that were transmitted into their memories.


    Not long, the treasure-palace which slowly floated to the surface of the lake arrived before the beasts that tried to attack Alex and Layla to stop them from going further to receive the legacy.


    "Alex, would you like to add those beasts to the ones that you already have?" The Palace-spirit asked.


    Alex who was cultivating and comprehending at the same time heard what the Palace-spirit said. And without standing from his cross-legged position on the ground, he asked" Can you bring them in?"


    "Sure" The Palace-spirit replied.


    "Okay. Please bring them in." Alex said.


    Then the space around the entire beasts at that depth of the lake suddenly warped.


    The massive beasts despite their huge numbers and sizes were abruptly teleported into a part of the palace.


    "They have been brought in" The Palace-spirit said.


    Alex who was still concentrating on his cultivation and comprehension nodded his head.


    After sometime, the treasure-palace which had increased it movement speed came out of the lake and then shot away to the Smith city at an extreme speed.


    At the moment, Maximilian and his sister, Lenna had arrived at the lake, awaiting Alex and Layla''s emergence from the pool.


    With sinister gazes, they looked at the lake as they awaited Alex''s and Layla''s appearance from the pool.


    However, after many weeks of patently waiting to unleash their vengeful attacks, they still didn''t see anybody emerge from the lake. And they had been here since many months ago.


    "Isn''t he going to come out again or what? Has he seen us and decided to remain in there?" Lenna asked her brother who also had a look of confusion in his face.


    "I don''t think he would have seen us. It is impossible. Perhaps he has died in there" Maximilian said.


    "Hmm" Lenna uttered.


    Then a thought came to her mind.


    "Should we go in to see if there''s anything or anyone in there?" Lenna asked.


    "Yea. Let''s do so" Maximilian said agreeably.


    Then with a deep inhale, they both dived into the pool and began to swim to it bottom.


    As they swam, they came across nothing.


    It was empty.


    Lenna furrowed her brows while Maximilian had a look of wrath in his face.


    He however still tried to swim to the bottom.


    But they could not go far as the cultivation restriction was still in place.


    A pressure that belonged to the Great Saint stage suddenly acted on them and their bodies cracked and began to bleed.


    As Saint stage experts, they wouldn''t be able to endure the pressure from a Great Saint stage expert.


    Instantly, before their bodies could explode into mists of blood, they shot out of the lake at insane speeds using their power of flight.


    When they came out of the lake, they landed on the ground fully exhausted.


    They had used everything they had to jet away from the encompassing, insane crushing pressure that came upon them at that depth.


    Then after using average-grade, Saint-level healing pills which they produced from their spatial rings, the wounds that had appeared all over their bodies due to the crushing pressure began to slowly heal.


    After they were fully healed, Lenna said to her brother "I get it now. They must have been destroyed by that pressure that also almost wiped us out"


    "Yea. But it pains me a lot that we have just been hanging around for nothing. What a tremendous waste of our time." Maximilian said.


    Lenna after hearing what her brother said shook her head in displeasure.


    "That bastard. What a quick death he was granted." She said.


    "Yea. He was granted a quick death. Or if he had ended up in our hands, he would have regretted being born into this world." Maximilian said.


    "Anyways, we would still go after Olivia. She must be tortured and killed for what her cowardly husband did to our little brother." Lenna said.


    "Sure. I would also go to that Imperial Herb House to get that girl. I have promised her that she would be sex slave." Maximilian said while Lenna nodded her head.


    "Alright. Let''s go, brother. Our time here is done" Lenna said.


    Maximilian nodded.


    Then they both flew into the air and jetted back to the teleportation center at the city. They were going to use it after paying astronomical amount of sapphirstones to teleport back to the city that they came from.


    When the Azure Beastsman treasure-palace came out of the lake, although it had seen Maximilian and Lenna, it simply ignored them and went on it way. It didn''t know them, neither did it know their intentions.


    Also, since it had hidden in another layer of space, Lenna and Maximilian couldn''t see it, or they would have chased after it with all their might so it wouldn''t escape.


    But how could they be a match for a treasure-palace that was built by the Azure Beastsman who was at the Celestial Ruler stage?


    Sometimes later, the Azure Beastsman treasure-palace appeared in Smith city. But a lot of things had taken place during their absence which lasted for many months.

 Chapter 338: Try at cultivating unrecorded energies

    Actually, nothing bad had happened. It was just that Alex''s organization had grown in size.


    Now, it had way more cultivators than before.


    When the palace arrived at Smith city, but in a place where no one would see them appear, Layla was teleported out of the palace.


    Then using the treasure-mask that Alex gave her which she had reprogrammed, and a beast-drawn carriage which Alex stole from the City Lord''s garage, Layla drove at a high speed back to her organization.


    While Alex who appeared many moments after Layla had gone, stowed away the treasure-palace into his spatial ring.


    Then also producing a beast-drawn carriage, he set out for his organization.


    When he arrived there and entered, he saw new faces that he became shocked.


    "Master, welcome" The new intakes and the old ones when they saw Alex walking in quickly greeted, while Alex nodded.


    But he didn''t ask any question.


    It was good that his organization was growing.


    Very soon, when he completes the task of having a specified number of cultivators, the World Domination Ultimate Support system would reappear to give him rewards for fulfillment of the task.


    He went to his room and laid on his bed to relax.


    "Now, I have been gone for two years. And I told Instructor Jennifer that I would be back before two years is over. It seems I have to go there so that her mind can be at peace. Also, I have to see Elena. I have missed her." Alex said with a smile in his face as he remembered Instructor Jennifer and Elena.


    After he finished thinking about them, he looked inwards at his energyhouse and gave a broad smile.


    "Now, I have another type of realm-energy. But would I be able to actually cultivate all the energies we have in this world? It''s going to be really hard. Only a small number of them have been recorded in books. Vast majority of them still remains unknown and unrecorded. Perhaps I should start trying to get enlightenment to many realm-energies. That''s what I have to do" Alex said and decided within.


    Then he closed his eyes to enter his ultra perception state and use it sense or detect any form of realm-energy around him.


    ***


    "I don''t understand. Didn''t he die at that lake? How come we are hearing that The Godly Punisher is back?" Lenna asked Maximilian.


    "I don''t understand too. Something is wrong somewhere. If we couldn''t survive the pressure at that depth of the lake, how would be able to survive? Perhaps what we are hearing is fake. Some idiots must have created that rumor" Maximilian said.


    Lenna looked at her brother and said "Brother, I have something mischievous that I want to carry out"


    Maximilian looked at Lenna asked "Something mischievous?"


    "Yes" Lenna replied.


    "Then let me in on the mischievous plans that you wanna execute" Maximilian said.


    "Nope. You just sit back and watch. You would hear of it soon" Lenna said and grinned while Maximilian shook his head.


    His sister must be feared.


    She was an extremely sly person whose plans are always to cause problems between people and societies.


    ***


    - Three days later -


    Alex did not actually leave his room.


    Instead, he remained there trying to sense any form of realm-energy around him.


    And because of the ultra perception state that he had entered, he didn''t feel tired, hungry or be shook by the desire to sleep.


    It was like he was above everything that had to do with mortals.


    After sometime, Alex opened his eyes.


    Then he exhaled.


    ''I got nothing. This is going to be very hard. Sigh'' Alex complained within and sighed.


    Then he stood from up from the bed and walked out of his room. And as he walked to the ground floor of the building he was in, he met members of his organization who reverently greeted him.


    He simply nodded at them.


    Not long, he appeared in the street, unaware of what was being planned for him.


    "He actually survived. This guy is one hell of a bastard. But how did he do it? He always amazes me" One said to his colleague that was also watching Alex from far away.


    "I don''t know how he did it. He must have used some treasure I guess" His colleague replied.


    "I think. Let''s go tell senior Lenna who we saw. She would be very glad to hear that the fucker is still alive. I can''t wait for him to get captured and be torn apart by Drille''s sister. Haha!" One said and laughed wickedly.


    Alex who was walking in the street was being gazed at by normal people and cultivators with admiration and envy in their eyes.


    They wished they were the one that were born into such wealth and have his epic handsome look.


    "Just look at him. So cute" A young lady who was a rogue cultivator said to her friend who was also a rogue cultivator.


    They were buying some broken low-grade treasures from a treasure shop


    "Yea. He''s very cute. I wish he could just look at us. But he would never do so. We are basically nonentities to appear in his sight" The friend of the young lady that spoke said.


    Alex whose hearing was unusually powerful heard what they said and gave a smile.


    Then he looked at them as he walked past them and even waved at them with an heart-warming smile in his face.


    The ladies saw what he did and could almost die from extreme shock.


    "D-Did he just notice us? Or I am dreaming?" The young lady asked.


    "I don''t know if we are dreaming. But we definitely can''t be in the same dream together." The friend replied.


    "Then what''s that supposed to mean? That he noticed us? He even waved at us, you know. That can only happen in our dream" The lady said.


    "Yea, he waved at us. But we aren''t dreaming. It was real" The friend replied excitedly.


    "It was? Haha! I would tell this to everyone I know. I would tell them that The Godly Punisher waved at me" The young lady replied happily while her friend gave a delighted smile.


    Alex was walking in the street to feel any of the bountiful energies in the world.


    He wanted to perceive them and harmonize with them.


    He had walked for an hour in the street until he turned to go to a forest that was very far away.


    He was actually going to walk down there.


    But he had a plan in his mind. And this plan was to self-comprehend woodforce energy and cultivate it when he fully understands the profoundness of the energy that is responsible for the growth of everything related to plants.


    ***


    "You saw him? Like he''s the one you saw and not some stupid copy of him?" Lenna asked bewilderedly.


    "We don''t know if that Alex we saw was a clone. But the one we saw should be the real Alex. The bastard didn''t die at the lake. Perhaps he used some treasure to avoid death." One of the two boys that saw Alex said confidently.


    "Good. You can go now. Your efforts wouldn''t go unrewarded." Lenna said.


    Then an evil smile appeared in her face.


    "Time to expose you"

 Chapter 339: The gist

    - Imperial Herb House -


    "Where is Rita?" Layla asked some of her workers whom she called to her office.


    "Boss, she resigned." One of the workers before her said.


    "What? Why?" Layla asked in a shocked tone.


    "I don''t know" Another worker said.


    "But I pay you guys well and treat you guys well. Can any of you identify why she resigned? I want to know. Please tell me if I did anything wrong before I left" Layla said.


    "You are the best person we have worked for. None of us here can think of anything bad to say about you. You simply treated us well. We enjoy working with you and wouldn''t leave to any other place even if the pay is far better. That''s how much we love working under you" A worker said.


    Layla exhaled.


    Although she was glad because of the heart-warming thing they said, she was still unhappy at the fact that her worker whom she treated like her best friend had resigned.


    When the workers saw the absent-minded gaze in Layla''s eyes, one of them said "Boss, don''t think too much about it. She must have left due to reasons best known to her"


    Layla nodded.


    "Alright. Guys, thank you so much for the sweet words and for cheering me up. You can go back to your posts now" She said.


    The workers nodded and began to leave one after the other.


    Layla furrowed her brows.


    "But Layla, why would you just leave like that?" She asked in a sad tone.


    "Well, I wish you luck in all your endeavors. Farewell, friend. We will meet again if fate allows us it" She said.


    Then she closed her eyes to comprehend the plethoric battle techniques that were sent to her head.


    ***


    A day later...


    At a restaurant where a lot of people were busy drinking alcohol and discussing on different matters, someone suddenly stood up and said with a loud voice "Guys, have you all heard the latest?"


    He question pulled everyone''s attention towards him.


    "Huh? What''s the latest? Can anything happen in this city without us knowing?" One of them asked.


    "Of course. So many things are happening. It''s only a little of them that you guys know. The rest are kept hidden from the public" The person said.


    "Okay friend. But do you mind hurrying up and tell us the latest gist?" Another said and asked.


    "I would tell all of you. Haha." The person said and laughed.


    Then he continued "Actually, what I am about to tell you is something that I witnessed. So, it isn''t a rumor. It''s very true because I was there and saw it all happen."


    "Okay. Then tell us. Or you scared of telling us?" Another asked and grinned.


    "Scared. Why would I be? My aim is to expose this person"


    "Alright. Go on, tell us." Another said.


    "It''s about The Godly Punisher. He is going out with the princess of the royal family in Smith City" He said.


    "What?!" Everyone questioned at the same time in an exceedingly shocked tone.


    "You had better not try to dent The Godly Punisher''s image. Or we wouldn''t forgive you" One of the people listening unexpectedly stood from his chair and said angrily and in a loud tone.


    "Haha. Cease your reeling mind, folks. What I am saying is true. Like I said earlier, I was fortunately there to see it all happen. I am not trying to soil his reputation like you all may think. I am only trying to praise him, The Godly Punisher, for having such powerful eyes that can see only beauties that would fill one''s mind with marvel and astonishment. He has Olivia, the Great Holy Daughter of the Immovable Mountain Academy who is a peerless beauty. And now, he has the Royal princess, Layla, who is also another peerless beauty. To be sincere, I admire him. Anyways, he has the attributes for all these divine beauties to trip for him" The person said and grinned.


    "Wow" People that heard this became shocked.


    "Well, he deserves to have all the stunning beauties to himself. Come to think of it. Between Layla and Olivia, who is more enticing in appearance?" One asked after the shock that was delivered to his mind vanished.


    "I don''t really know. But I think Olivia is more attractive than Layla. If they stand together, Olivia''s stunning beauty would overshadow that of Layla" One said.


    "I agree with you. What you said is right?" The person said and smiled, concealing the evil intent in his tone.


    Not long, what the person said in the restaurant made it way out to the public.


    People began to discuss about Alex''s wife, Olivia, and his prospective girlfriend, Layla.


    The news got to Olivia who was absolutely shocked.


    ''It''s not long we wedded and the bastard is already going out with another lady? He even came back from his long journey and didn''t alert me of his return. I need to visit that bastard and give him a piece of my mind'' Olivia who had stood from her chair and began to walk around her room in anger said within herself.


    ''No, it''s that bitch I need to visit. She needs to know her place if she would eventually become his wife.'' Olivia said within herself.


    Then she prepared to go to to the Imperial Herb House.


    ***


    Two days later...


    - Royal Palace -


    Layla appeared before two people of the opposite gender who sat on golden thrones.


    "We have been hearing news that doesn''t sit well with us. How would you, the princess of the Royal Family, move around with that boy that is from the Houston''s mansion?" The king who was Layla''s father asked with wrath in his tone.


    "Father, what you heard isn''t true. I did not move around with the boy that you mentioned. It''s just some people that made up this story to drag my name in the mud." Layla said.


    "Hmm. I would believe you. But if it ever comes out as true, I would strip you of your royal title. Also, I would disown you. I definitely can''t have a daughter who would willingly allow some guy that would have many wives in some places have her hands in marriage and become his tenth or twentieth wife." The king said.


    Immediately Layla''s father said this, Layla shook briefly.


    However, the trembling of her body didn''t go unnoticed by her parent who were powerful cultivators.


    Layla''s mother looked at her husband to see what he would do while Layla''s father looked at his daughter with an indescribable gaze.


    "Daughter, you just shook. And that was after my statement. What caused the trembling of your body? Or is the news that I and your mother heard actually true?" Her father asked with slight anger in his tone.

 Chapter 340: Alexs invitation

    "F-Father, the news isn''t true. I-I only shook because of what you said you would do. I was surprised that you would do that to your only daughter" Layla said in a slight stuttering manner.


    Her father looked at her and said "Sure, I would do that if what I heard is true."


    Layla nodded her head.


    But her heart was reeling in fear.


    She didn''t know what to do again.


    She became very confused.


    ''Should I tell him the truth? That I have even lost my virginity to him? But I covered my tracks well. Who actually produced this news that would cause my father to be highly disappointed in me. Although he knows about my appalling cultivation condition, he wouldn''t ever agree that I should have anything to do with Alex. But Alex is special, he is unlike those bastards that I met.'' Layla said within.


    "Father, if there''s nothing else, I would like to take my leave" Layla said.


    "You can go. But so you may know, I would get to then end of this" Her father said while Layla nodded.


    When Layla got to her room, she broke into tears.


    "What am I going to do now? When he finds out, he could probably throw me out into the street. Also, he might replace me with another person at the Imperial Herb House" She said in a sad tone.


    "I have to do something about this. But I can''t go and meet Alex. Not at this time. Or it would dawn on everyone that I am actually befriending Alex. I would just stay back and hope that the news would die down. But my father said he would get to the end of this. Oh no, what should I do?" Layla asked herself further.


    ***


    Alex too heard this and became deep in thought.


    "But who is the damned bastard that''s always revealing everything I keep secret to the public? How did the bastard know that I went out with Layla? First, it was with Olivia. Now, it''s with Layla. Arghh! I need to know this person. And ask them what they gain from doing these after I have gouged out their eyes and lacerated their hands and legs. Damn. Olivia is going to come after me and Layla with rage in her heart. Ugh. I just hope this fucking news wouldn''t put Layla in trouble at the palace." Alex said.


    Knock!


    Knock!


    Two sharp knocks were suddenly made on his door.


    Alex came out of his thoughtful state and went towards the door to open it.


    As soon as he opened the door, he met one of the members of his organization.


    "Master" The person immediately greeted.


    Then he said further "Some people are asking of you. They said that they are from the Royal Palace"


    It was like a bomb went off in Alex''s mind.


    "The Royal Palace? Did they tell you what they are here for?" Alex asked.


    "No, Master" The person replied.


    "Okay. You can go back to your posts" Alex said while the person nodded and turned to leave Alex''s presence.


    Alex took a deep breath and walked towards the discussion room to meet the people from the Royal Palace.


    When he arrived there, he humbly greeted.


    But before he could say anything, one of the people that he met in the room suddenly spoke "Alex, there have been news flying around that you are having an affair with the princess. However, we aren''t here to ask if the news we heard is true. It isn''t out job to do so. We are only here to tell you that you are being invited to the Royal Palace for questioning."


    "I am being invited to the Royal Palace? Okay. We can go" Alex said after being shocked for a moment.


    Then he entered the Royal beast carriage that this people came here with to the Royal Palace.


    Being high-grade beasts and dozens of them at that which pulled at a large carriage, they arrived at the Royal palace an hour later.


    Throughout the journey, Alex didn''t say anything.


    He was thinking of what to say which wouldn''t put Layla in trouble when he got there.


    After thinking for a long time, he arrived at one thing which he was going to do.


    When they got down from the Royal beast carriage and walked into the palace, Alex could see a lot of people there. Also, he saw Layla. But Layla looked away from him like she didn''t know him.


    Her parent looked at her and looked back at Alex.


    Then when Alex arrived in front of the king, he bowed reverently and said "Your Lordship, I am here as you requested for my appearance."


    "Good. Now, straight to the point. And I want you to answer me honestly. Is it true that you are having an affair with my daughter?" The king asked and looked at Alex with scrutinizing eyes to detect any slight movement of his body.


    Alex looked at Layla who still looked away from him with fear in her heart. Then he looked back at the king and said "Yes, your majesty. I am having an affair with your daughter, the princess"


    What?!


    Everyone in the palace hall became tremendously shocked.


    Layla was the most devastated.


    She couldn''t believe that Alex would actually tell the truth.


    She began to shiver and sweat profusely as the atmosphere became heavy and exceedingly intense for her to bear.


    "You are what?" The king asked again to confirm what he heard which delivered a great blow to his mind.


    Alex smiled and said in a fearless tone "I am having a love affair with your daughter. She is my girlfriend and after we have done the necessary wedding rite, she would become my wife. Your majesty, to be sincere as you demanded for, I am really glad that I came across her."


    The king''s eyes suddenly shone sharply.


    However, the queen only smiled.


    She was impressed with Alex.


    Although he didn''t have a royal blood flowing in him, but from the way that he talked, it seemed he had one.


    Besides, she didn''t really have a problem with Alex being her daughter''s lover. He looked cool, calm and collected. Also, she had heard of his amazing strength and battle prowess. Furthermore, he had an exceedingly wealthy uncle who was supposedly said to be a thousand times richer than even the City Lord himself, and was powerful that he was said to possess the strength of ten cultivation academies combined.


    She was therefore cool with him. But she knows that her husband who was the king wouldn''t definitely think in that direction. And this was because he wanted her to get married to the son of a City Lord in another state that was highly prosperous.


    After sometime of being greatly surprised, the king burst into laughter. So did a few people in the hall who began to laugh too.


    The king then looked at his daughter and said "Layla, do tell me how you came across this boy. And don''t hide anything from me, or I would be seriously mad at you."

 Chapter 341: Shocked!

    "Father, I chose Alex because I felt that he was more trustworthy than the rest of the guys that I met and asked that they should go with me to the legacy ground. The guys I met were nothing more than vile spawns that only wanted my body and then probably dump me after they had gotten what they wanted. Every time I went to visit them to remind them of the legacy, they would always demand for sex from me. But I denied their requests until one day, one of them tried to rape me. It was then that I stopped going to meet any of them. They were all useless people who were nothing more than lustful cultivators in my eyes. When I calmed down and began to think of who next to meet, that''s when I heard of Alex and how he fought everyone that wanted to take Olivia''s hands in marriage. When I heard that, I saw him as someone that wouldn''t turn his back against his woman when the whole world began to mock her. Then I went to meet him and told him about the legacy. That''s how our love affair started, father" Layla narrated, not hiding anything from her father.


    The king exhaled.


    Then he said "I know about your cultivation condition. So, I was also making effort in trying to help you get a man that would become your cultivation partner. But now, you have made all my efforts over you useless"


    "No. It''s not like that, father. I knew you were also searching for someone for me, but I know the kind of guy that I wanted. That was why I started going to different neighboring states in search of that man that would become my cultivation partner. And I am very glad that my efforts yielded fruits. By a stroke of great luck, I came across Alex who''s definitely a hundred times better than any man you would ever get for me" Layla said confidently.


    Layla''s mother''s eyes glowed.


    If Layla could talk like this, there was obviously a great knowledge behind what she was saying.


    Saying that Alex is hundred times better than any man that her father would ever find for her, was a bold speech, but was one that was obviously backed by a great knowledge about Alex''s attributes.


    ''Hmm'' The queen uttered inwardly.


    She was about to talk to the king that she should let them be when the king looked at his daughter, Layla, and asked "He is hundred times better than any man I would ever get for you? Well, I believe you can''t just say these things unless you are stupid. Anyways, I would like to know why he is many times better than every other guy I would bring to you to be your cultivation partner. Speak"


    "Father, I know that you may feel that Alex is doing things because of his uncle who possesses unfathomable frightening strength is backing him up. But apart from his uncle standing solidly behind him, Alex too is very strong on his own. I believe you have heard of how he fought many challengers who climbed up the platform with the intention of beating him and getting Olivia''s hand in marriage. But he effortlessly knocked them all away by himself. And they were all the late-phase and peak-phase, Earth Adept stage. While he was at the initial-phase, Earth Adept stage. Yet, they were like ants before him. He easily crushed all of them. Which boy that you would ever find for me would be able to reproduce such a dazzling spectacular feat?" Layla said and ended her statement with a provoking question.


    Her father furrowed his brows, he was about to speak when Layla started to talk again.


    "Now, apart from being very strong, almost to the point of having no challenger at the cultivation stage that he is in, he is definitely ready to jump into a fight with gods and deities that would ever lay their hands on any of his women or look at them with unbridled lustful gazes in their eyes. And my statement stems from the fact that Alex turned an entire city upside down just because of me. And then, I was only an ordinary girlfriend whom he could just abandon and then go on his way so as not to immerse himself into deep trouble. But Alex actually dived into an ocean of trouble for my sake." Layla said and looked at her parent who had shocked expressions in their faces.


    He upturned an entire city just for her?


    Then they listened to know how he was able to do that and come our unscathed from it.


    Because when they looked at him, he seemed very fine.


    He wasn''t missing an eye, an arm or a leg.


    The people in the palace hall who were also listening to what Layla was narrating had astonished expressions too in their faces.


    Layla then continued "We met the son of a City Lord at the city we went to for the acquisition of the copulation-cultivation legacy that your brother, who is the Lord of Smith city discovered for me. The haughty bastard whom we met at a beast carriage garage was trying to touch my face and was arrogantly demanding that I become one of his many wives. Alex who became angered upon hearing what the City Lord''s son said, severely beat up him and many of his bodyguard who were at the Sky Lord stage. He even brutally killed one of them which infuriated the high-rank protectors of the city and many other powerful rogue cultivators that dwelt in the city. This then caused them to start chasing after Alex who used an exceedingly fast, one-time, high-speed spatial evasion treasure-artifact. Only the heavens know where he was chased to. After secretly arriving at an inn and began to await his return as he had instructed me, I began to hope that he would not be caught by the cultivators who were from the Great Saint stage and above. Not quite long, he surprisingly appeared before me unscathed, then we began our journey to the site where the legacy was situated."


    Of course she had left out many things.


    She couldn''t tell anyone that Alex had a treasure-palace which was what he used to draw away the cultivators to a faraway place so she could escape and then re-unite at some place later.


    When Layla finished her narration, the whole palace became as quiet as a graveyard.

 Chapter 342: The approval

    The king looked at Alex and exhaled.


    Then he tried comparing Alex to the son of another City Lord whom he was going to bring to his daughter, Layla, as a cultivation partner.


    After doing his comparison from all that he had heard about Alex, he concluded that Alex was truly hundred times better than the City Lord''s son.


    And when he looked at him, Alex didn''t adopt any arrogant posture.


    Instead, he was humble before him. When he could be way arrogant and disrespectful since he had an extremely powerful uncle who was tremendously wealthy to the point that the wealth of his older brother, the City Lord, would possibly not match up to one-fifth of the immense wealth that he possessed.


    The king exhaled once again.


    He was starting to force himself to accept Alex.


    The one thing holding him back was that he wanted his daughter to be the only wife of any man that her daughter would bring to him as a cultivation partner. He didn''t want her husband to be shared by any other woman.


    ''Well, that''s life. Sometimes, what you plan may not go in the direction that you wanted it to go. I guess I would just have to accept him like that then.'' The king said within.


    Then he looked at Alex and said "I approve of your request for my daughter''s hand in marriage. Anytime you both are ready, you can come to me so we could plan your wedding. But I believe it should not be anytime soon, right?"


    The king stood from his throne with everyone immediately bowing. Then he retreated to his room to relax. Same with his wife who immediately followed after him.


    Layla looked at Alex where she was seated.


    Then when their eyes jammed, she looked away.


    And when she noticed Alex walking towards her, she abruptly stood from her seat and hurried to leave to her room so Alex wouldn''t come to pest her.


    People in the hall noticed this and gave smiles.


    Lovebirds!


    That was what flashed in their minds.


    Before Layla could close the heavy metallic door behind her when she arrived in her room, a strong hand suddenly caught it and prevented it from closing.


    She tried to push it close.


    But no, she couldn''t. And this was after applying every ounce of strength that she could muster.


    The hand that caught the door and prevented it from closing had a strength that was possibly fifty times more than hers. So, how could she push it close.


    After struggling for some time, she gave up and opened the door for whoever had the hand that prevented the door from closing to enter.


    Alex entered with a naughty smile in his face.


    Layla just ignored him and went to seat in her bed.


    "You have a nice room, Layla" Alex said.


    "I know." Layla replied.


    "What do you want? What are you doing in my room?" Layla asked further.


    "Come on, are you asking me what I want in your room? Of course I am here to do things that husbands do their wives. Or what do you think I would follow you to your room for?" Alex asked with a naughty smile in his face.


    Layla simply looked at him and shook her head.


    "Dirty soul" She called him while Alex grinned.


    He couldn''t be blamed.


    He just loved being naughty around his wives.


    "So, do you want it?" Layla asked in a voice that gave Alex the chills.


    "Want what?" Alex asked to confirm what he heard


    Then he hoped he hadn''t mistakenly activated the sex thirst mechanism in her. Or he would absolutely regret it for trying to be naughty around her.


    He knew that once she started with him, he could end up in her room for many days, or even weeks.


    So, that was something he hoped not to start at this moment. And even if it was to start, it should be at his own place. Not in this place.


    He could simply lose the good records everyone had for him in their minds.


    "You said you wanted us to do what husbands and wives do. So, come insert your rod in me. I want it. I believe you also want it. And please do not tarry any longer, I am beginning to feel the burn in my body. Come and quench it for me" Layla said.


    Alex''s face twisted that it became ugly.


    When Layla saw how ugly Alex''s face had become, she laughed out raucously.


    Seeing that Layla was fine and that she was only trying to prank him, Alex gave a sigh of relief.


    "I guess I would be going now" Alex said.


    "Okay." Layla replied.


    Then before Alex could turn around to leave her room, Layla suddenly asked "Alex, please wait. Do you have an idea of who could have leaked out what we kept as secret between only the two of us?"


    "No" Alex shook his head.


    "But I have a feeling that it''s the same bastard that made those rumors about Olivia and I having a secret relationship and almost put her into trouble with her family members." He said further.


    "Then what do we do about this? This person might even be monitoring us right now. The bastard might be listening to our speech and would definitely leak out secrets that would be shared between us. Ughh! I so want to catch this person and strangulate him or her to death. Alex, you need to urgently do something about this. The pest is after you. And is really trying their best to bring you down, and probably every other person that is related to you." Layla said.


    Alex nodded his head agreeably.


    "I know too. Just catching this person is the only problem that I have. But I know I would definitely bring to an end all these one day. I would surely catch that jobless bastard in the end. And when I do, I would feed the person''s ruined corpse to the wild beasts in the wilderness." He said confidently after he recalled the greater mystery unveiling power of the Heavenly Mystery Revealment God-eyes.

 Chapter 343: The arrival of Olivia

    When Alex said that, Layla looked at him with surprise in her eyes.


    "How are you going to do it?" She asked in a curious tone.


    Alex looked at her with a smile and said "Don''t worry. Just know that I have many ways of doing things."


    "Okay." Layla said.


    Then still looking at Alex, she said "Alright. It''s time for you to go"


    "Nope. I won''t go yet. I wanna spend some time with you." Alex said with his gaze hovering around the region of her twin peaks.


    Layla looked at him and shook her head.


    She knows that Alex didn''t mean it, it was just that he was a naughty person.


    Then she walked up to him and held him by the hand.


    "Come with me, I want to show you something" Layla said.


    "Okay" Alex said.


    Then they both left the room with Layla pulling Alex by the hand.


    After walking some feet away from her room, she released Alex''s hand from her grip and tried dashing back into her room to lock the door behind her and keep Alex out.


    But before she could go pass Alex, a strong arm suddenly appeared from nowhere and curled around her thin waist, then she was pulled towards Alex who looked at her with a smile in his face.


    "I thought you were taking me somewhere?" He asked.


    "Umm.. Well, I was. But I changed my mind my mind." Layla said.


    However, Alex didn''t release the grasp of his arm around her waist.


    Seeing that Alex still hadn''t uncurled his arm around her waist, Layla said "Your arm, they are still around my waist. And I am too close to you. I want my own space"


    Alex smiled.


    "Sure. I was going to release you before you even asked for it." Alex said.


    Then he removed his arm from her waist and turned around to walk back to the hall so he could leave the palace.


    "See you some other time, Layla. Take care of yourself" He said as he walked towards the hall.


    "Alex, you must come see me at the Imperial Herb House. If you don''t come, I would be mad at you" Layla said with a loud voice as Alex walked away.


    "Sure. I would surely pay my beautiful wife a visit at her organization" He said as he walked away.


    Then Layla went back into her room.


    When Alex got into the hall, he nodded at the Royal personalities that he met there and walked towards the door to exit the palace.


    Immediately he came out of the hall, he produced a beast-drawn carriage from his dad''s spatial necklace. Then he entered into it and drove back to his organization.


    ***


    Few hours later...


    News of how Alex was invited to the palace for questioning and how he said that it was true that the princess and he were dating spread like wildfire throughout the city.


    "Wow. I knew it. I knew that The Godly Punisher would surely be in a relationship with the princess. No matter their statuses or profiles, those girls won''t be able to resist the enticing smile from The Godly Punisher. If he wants it, he could have all the girls in the world to himself. However, I know he wouldn''t do that. You won''t see him with ordinary girls, except girls of high profiles. He''s truly a flawless creation. I wish I was like him" One said to a group of people that were discussing about the news that got to them.


    "You think she is there because of his peerless handsomeness? I doubt that. I am very certain she is in a relationship with him because of his unequaled strength. Same with Olivia, the great Holy Daughter of the Immovable Mountain Academy. See, cultivator ladies would only be attracted to guys who are tremendously strong. And Alex is immensely powerful. But I agree that his handsomeness would also play a role. However, it''s a sub-factor." Another who was in the discussion said.


    Just like that, they discussed about Alex and Layla with some agreeing to a point while others disagreed.


    Olivia who wanted to go meet Layla at the Imperial Herb House postponed it for another time.


    She decided to be patient to see how everything would turn out first.


    So, today, after hearing the news of how Alex went to the palace to say that he was in a relationship with Layla, set out to go meet Layla at the Imperial Herb House.


    Few hours later, she arrived at the Imperial Herb House.


    When the guards at the gate saw Olivia, they instantly greeted her which she simply nodded to and opened the gate for her to enter.


    They didn''t even question her as they knew who she was. She was the Great Holy Daughter of the Immovable Mountain Academy, and was the first wife of The Godly Punisher who was also the husband of the boss that they walked for.


    Then everyone that Olivia met on our way into the organization became filled with shock and then greeted her with absolute respect in their tone.


    A few moments later, she arrived at the office of Layla. She was brought there by someone that she asked to take her to her boss. Although the female worker that brought Olivia to her boss''s office could have asked if she had an appointment with her boss, but because she knew who Olivia was, and didn''t want her boss to go mad at her, she simply took Olivia to Layla''s office even if she had appeared in here without an appointment.


    "Thank you" Olivia said.


    Then she knocked on the door.


    Layla who was within and thought that it was a worker at the door, said "Come in"


    Immediately she said that, Olivia opened the door and stepped in.


    And when Layla raised up her head to look at the person that had just entered, a thunderbolt suddenly struck in her mind.


    "O-Olivia?" She asked in a slight stuttering manner due to the shock that was delivered to her heart.


    "Yea. That''s me" Olivia said seriously.


    Then without being told to have her seat, Olivia went forward and pulled a chair to seat on.


    Now gazing at the shocked Layla in the eyes, she said "I see that you wanna share my husband with me. However, I don''t have a problem with it. Male cultivators in our world are not loyal like we females who would be with one man and even give our life to them, despite knowing that they have many more women in their damned lives. So, what I am saying in essence is that, if you want to share my man with me without any problems from me, there is something that you must know. And this is, although you are older than me, you must however submit to me and respect me for I am the first wive. I have been with Alex through a lot of disastrous events that could have left us dead. So, I don''t want a woman who didn''t suffer with him to come from nowhere and be exhibiting power that isn''t right for her to possess."

 Chapter 344: Gossiping about their husband I

    Layla who was looking at Olivia with an indescribable gaze in her eyes suddenly said before Olivia could continue.


    "Is that really why you came here? To tell me the nonsense you are spouting from your mouth? What do you mean by you have lived through disastrous events with him? I have also gone through things with him that could have taken our lives. Anyways, I agree that you are the first wife since it''s you he knew before he entered into a relationship with me. But that doesn''t mean you should be bossy around me. I won''t take such bullshit from you" Layla angrily retorted.


    "Oh really? Well, that''s cool of you to say. Anyways, I wouldn''t be bossy around you if you just do what I said. I have said what I need to tell you so you could enjoy sharing Alex with me, and I wouldn''t repeat myself again. I am leaving" Olivia said and then stood from her seat.


    Layla looked at Olivia as she walked towards the door and said "Wait, you are leaving just like that?"


    Olivia turned around to look at Layla and said "Yea. Sure."


    "Hmm. I know we started together on a bad note. But can we start all over again. Let''s get to know each other. And we could discuss or gossip about our husband." Layla said.


    "Okay" Olivia agreed after pondering about it for a moment.


    Then she turned around to go back to the seat she stood up from.


    "So, what would you like to know about Alex?" Olivia asked.


    "Well, everything you know about him. You could start by telling me how you met him" Layla said.


    Olivia smiled.


    "Okay." She said.


    "When I was younger, like fifteen years old, I was kinda arrogant because of my status at the Immovable Mountain Academy. You know, being called the Great Holy Daughter of the Immovable Mountain Academy got to my head. So at that point in time, I and a few other people were sent to the red lotus mountain to retrieve a blue crystal lily to treat a senior that was stung by a particular deadly insect. Also, our mission in that place was to hone our battle experience. It was there we came across Alex. Not really us, it was he who came across us. He was hiding behind a rock at the entrance of the cave we were in when the oldest in our group demanded that he showed himself or he would be beaten." Olivia said and smiled as she began to recount everything that transpired between her and Alex when they were younger.


    "At that point in time, he was so naive, so innocent. And I think he liked beautiful girls. I arrived at this because he was always looking at me. I always felt his gaze hovering about my body without stop throughout my adventure in that cave. So, this gave me the feeling that he couldn''t get enough of my beauty, and that he was into girls with attractive faces and bodies. Haha! But as for me, I didn''t spare him a second glance then because I was, you know, arrogant. Although he was astonishingly handsome when I first saw him, I however saw him as an ant that could be squashed to death by a single attack from me. I looked down on him with disdain in my eyes. I didn''t talk to him when he was discussing with the others. But my arrogance didn''t continue for long when I saw how powerful he was." Olivia said.


    "As we walked in search of the blue crystal lily, hundreds of beasts suddenly appeared from many meters away. Then we started unleashing killing rays of the energies that we cultivated at the beasts to slay them. But it came to our great shock and amazement when Alex''s single attack would go on to kill at least ninety beasts at once. While I who was the strongest in the group could only take down a maximum of twenty beasts with a single attack. So, not willing to lose to him and be inwardly ridiculed by my colleagues, I set out to show how powerful I was by killing so many beasts at once with a strong, fire-based attack. However, it left me very weak and pale-skinned. Then when I recovered my depleted energy after cultivating for a long time and then moved on to continue our search for the blue crystal lily, we unfortunately came across a beast king that there was no way I would be able to fight and subdue. It would instantly tear all of us apart if we stayed to fight. It was Alex who had the lowest cultivation base of us all that came forward to fight a beast king that was a condensation-rank beast, while he was at initial-phase, entry stage. And to our tremendous surprise, Alex destroyed it. Can you imagine such power and prowess? It was then it dawned on me that we couldn''t be called together in the same tone. So, I dropped my foolish arrogance and became friendly to him. And I when I came close to him, he was all over him. I guessed he really liked me. But I wouldn''t lie to you, just that amazing battle power that he showed back then made me to instantly like him. It was then he appeared very handsome in my vision and I began to see him as someone I would love to date" She said with a reminiscent gaze in her eyes.


    "Wow!" Layla said as her eyes shone with awe.


    Her mind at the moment couldn''t stop reeling from the marveling thing that Olivia said about Alex.


    "So he was that powerful back then. Even to the point of killing a beast king that was at a level above his cultivation stage? I am so amazed by his prowess." Layla said with a brilliant light of awe in her eyes.


    "Yea. Same with me. Then when we got to know each other, my mind was delivered another tremendous shock again when he said that he was from the Houston mansion, and that the owner of the mansion was his uncle, Houston. It was then I understood that I was basically nothing beside him. His uncle, I believe, is a hundred if not a thousand times wealthier than my entire family if they combine their resources together. This then made me very unhappy at the lordly attitude I foolishly displayed to him many moments ago. Despite the insanely enormous wealth that his uncle possessed and his terrific battle prowess, Alex wasn''t proud, neither was he arrogant, when he should have been and everyone would see it as a normal thing." Olivia said.


    Then she continued "However, we sadly couldn''t stay with Alex for long when we came across the students of the Scarlet Fire academy that were fifteen in number and were all at the late-phase and peak-phase entry stage. And with them not hiding the sinister intentions of their hearts from us, Alex who I knew had a liking for me, told us to leave the cave at once. While he actually stayed behind to hold them back for us all by himself just so we could escape from the clutches of their evil claws. It was then that I couldn''t see him again. I however knew that he wouldn''t be killed. He was too strong to be overpowered by those fifteen guys from the Scarlet Fire academy. And because of what he did, trying to sacrifice himself for a bunch of strangers, my heart completely wanted him. My heart began to yearn only for him and nothing else. I didn''t want any other man except him. If we hadn''t reconnected, I would never marry anyone else in this life and fully dedicate my soul and every essence of my being to cultivation to become the strongest in the realmverse."

 Chapter 345: Gossiping about their husband II

    Layla smiled.


    "Well, it''s good that you guys reconnected. At least, apart from you trying to become strong, one of your burning heart desires has been granted unto you. So, I guess you would be full of happiness. I am really happy for you, Olivia" She said.


    Olivia smiled.


    "If my heart was a vase, it would be greatly overflowing with happiness and then sink to the bottom of this feeling which had become a sea." She said and grinned.


    "So, how did you guys reconnect? Where you did meet each other to upgrade your relationship status?" Layla asked.


    "Well, it was at a small village that was being troubled by some really bad guys who were after a little mortal girl that had the shocking ability to manipulate light and bring about healing" Olivia said.


    "So, it was at that village that Alex saw me and came forward to greet me. But at that point in time, he had changed. He wasn''t like the Alex I knew many years ago. This version of him was naughty and would do some crazy things that would shock you. But above all, he was now way more powerful than I could have imagined. I don''t really understand how his abilities work. It''s like his powers grow every time he makes a small or tiny achievement in his cultivation. He is someone I would never comprehend. Just imagine him entering into a state where he now possesses the power to battle Saint-stage cultivators while being at the peak-phase condensation stage. I feel it''s a feat that can never be replicated by anyone in the world, since I have never heard from anyone or read in books of ancient and present records of a cultivator having such ability. Only him I think should have that ability in the whole realmverse" Olivia said confidently.


    "Yea. I have also seen that side of his numerous abilities that he annoyingly keeps hidden from us." Layla said while Olivia grinned.


    "But do you think that you have actually seen it all? Haha. You haven''t seen anything. His abilities are great in numbers. It''s when you think you have seen it all that he would exhibit a form of power that would shock you and upturn your entire knowledge about him and his insane abilities." Olivia said.


    Layla laughed.


    "I know. I have experienced that too all the time I was with him. He would always exhibit a kind of power that would scatter my knowledge about his true abilities." She said while Olivia nodded.


    "So, tell me, Layla. How did you come across Alex? Or was he that came to meet you because of your beauty? You know, he really likes beautiful girls." Olivia asked with a smile that gave hints of curiosity.


    Layla smiled.


    "Well, to be sincere, it was a story I heard about you that made me make a move on Alex." She said.


    Olivia became surprised.


    "My story? What story is that?" She asked in a perplexed tone.


    "When I heard how you would be married off to any boy that would beat Alex which you claimed to be an unparalleled battle genius, I wondered if what you said about him being an unmatched battle prodigy was actually true. Although I didn''t go to watch the battle as I was tremendously busy with my own thing, I heard from my workers how Alex jumped to the platform from afar to fight everyone that wanted to climb up that particular stage for your hand in marriage." Layla said, trying to recount all that her workers told her about the battle of geniuses they requested from her to go watch.


    "When everyone had finalized in their minds that he definitely wouldn''t appear due to the shocking number of genius-level challengers that he was going to fight, he actually appeared and with a style that filled everyone''s heart with awe. He introduced himself as your boyfriend to the world, and he did it in such a way that gave everyone who were witnessing the event the absolute feeling that you were his possession that cannot be acquired by even the Deities themselves, or they should be prepared to have their souls and bodies torn and ripped apart." Layla stated.


    Then she continued "So with unbuttoned jackets to reveal his well-carved chest muscles and highly defined abdominal muscles and with a blade and a sword crossed at his back, then with the aura of a valiant hero and that of a freedom fighter endlessly exuding from his body, he appeared to make the whole world know he would solidly stand behind you and help you break whatever wave or ripple would come at you to crush you. And as tyrannical as he appeared, he fought all his opponents in that same style that he appeared in. He overwhelmed his challengers and viciously struck them like he wanted to eternally brand a message in their minds that they should never ever go for another person''s lady. Haha." Layla said and laughed when she ended her statement.


    Then she resumed her speech "And I at that time was having an immensely weighing issue with cultivation. I was born with a serious cultivation defect in which I require a partner to cultivate. After going to so many states only to find out that the guys I chose to be my cultivation partner were nothing but bastards and lustful morons, I had to let them go and forget about cultivating to become a powerful expert that could shake worlds with a wave of my hand. At that point in time, I was extremely depressed and emotionally devastated. I started to see all male cultivators as trash and didn''t want to have anything to do with them. But my budding hatred for male cultivators was cut off when I heard about Alex. I heard how he came to fight all odds for your sake. He appeared proud and strong and tyrannically crushed all his opponents to prove true what you said about him to your family and to the whole world. When I heard about this, about how loyal, defending and powerful Alex was, I made up my mind to have him as my cultivation partner no matter what. I knew that if I couldn''t get him, then I was forever finished. There would be no redemption anywhere for my empty soul."


    Layla stopped here and then looked at Olivia with a smile in her face "That''s how our love journey started, Olivia. And I have to thank you for this amazing gift that you gave to me. If it wasn''t for you, I would have never heard about him. Thank you very much. And I hope that the realmverse enables you to fulfill every of your heart desires"

 Chapter 346: Revealed I

    "Come on. Don''t thank me. Just see it as your immense fortune. What if didn''t follow you?" Olivia asked.


    "But wow, I didn''t know you were having such an issue with cultivation. I am really sorry at how I came into your office earlier and spoke in such an haughty and annoying way to you. I am really sorry. Please forgive me." She said further and in a sincere begging tone.


    "It''s okay, Olivia. I knew you would misunderstand my intention. So, can we be good friends?" Layla asked.


    "Certainly" Olivia quickly said with a smile.


    Then she looked at Layla and asked with a curious smile in her face "Do you know if that bastard has another woman in his life?"


    "I don''t know. But I believe that it wouldn''t end with just the two of us. All those years that you didn''t meet him, he would have certainly come across some other marvelously created beautiful girls like us and could have tasted their fruits while they would have drunk his wine." Layla said with a sweet smile in her face while Olivia grinned and shook her head.


    "I also have that feeling too. So, he has already devoured you?" Olivia curiously asked with a broad smile in her face.


    "Yea. Alex has. Actually, he had to since it was what the cultivation legacy entailed. It required that I lose my virginity in the process of cultivating the energy that would be passed to me from Alex''s reproductive organ which had already connected with mine. Therefore, he had no choice than to, you know, devour me. And that he did very well. He consumed me to the last piece. While I enjoyed every bits of him too" Layla said and grinned.


    "What about you? I guess he would have too right?" Layla questioned.


    "Sure! Or what do you think?" Olivia asked with a smile in her face.


    Layla nodded.


    "Well, I guess it is time for me to return. It was nice chatting with you princess." Olivia said.


    "No. Please don''t call me that. My name''s Layla, Layla Woodrow." Layla said.


    "Alright. It was nice chatting with you, Layla. I have to return to go do some things. I would surely pay you a visit another time. You are also free to pay me a visit anytime you like. I would entertain you well as my guest." Olivia said.


    "Alright. I offer my thanks in advance." Layla said and clasped her fist while Olivia nodded.


    Olivia then stood from where she sat and headed for the door to leave Layla''s office.


    ***


    - Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy -


    "Well, I guess your plan to cause chaos and rifts between Alex and his girlfriends didn''t succeed." Maximilian said and laughed.


    "Yea. It didn''t. So painful. Arghh! I wished it work and I would just sit down somewhere and watch them tear themselves apart" Lenna said angrily.


    "When are you going for the king''s daughter, Layla Woodrow?" She asked.


    Once Lenna asked this question, Maximilian brows furrowed.


    "Very soon. But first, I have to find that bitch whom I assured that she would be my sex slave." He said with a glow of fury in his eyes.


    "Oh. That girl. You couldn''t find her there or what?" Lenna asked in a perplexed tone.


    "Yea. I don''t know where the heck she went off to or hid herself in. I have scanned everywhere for her but I couldn''t find her. Then when I went to that place to ask about Rita, a worker told me that she had resigned many months ago. I guess the stupid bitch resigned from her job before we could come back from our long search for that fucking bastard. When I eventually have that boy in my grasp, I am going to so deal with him he would regret born into this World. The bastard has cost me a lot" Maximilian said in a wrathful tone.


    "Well, I guess it''s high time we start dealing with people that he is related to. We could first go after Olivia. We would just be patient enough for her to appear in public. Then when she does, we would instantly nab her and take her far away from here so that the damned members of her family wouldn''t be able to track her down to where we would operate from." Lenna said.


    "That''s a good plan" Maximilian said. Then he continued "After abducting Olivia who we would torture to her death, we would then set out to abduct Layla."


    "Yea. Then we can now go for Alex. But that would be after a very long time that everything has settled. We can''t risk exposing ourselves to his uncle whose strength we can''t fathom." Lenna said.


    "Alright. So when do we carry out this plan?" Maximilian asked.


    "Soon. We would just wait for when the time is ripe" Lenna responded with a glow of wickedness in her sharply glinting eyes.


    Maximilian nodded his head.


    Then he vanished from the room.


    ***


    Alex who sat on his bed in the cross-legged state focused on his eyes.


    Then he tried to summon the Heavenly Mystery Revealment God-eyes.


    As soon as the intention to do so surfaced in his mind, the powerful godly eyes appeared in his normal eyes. But not that they replaced his usual human eyes, they only surfaced from within since they had merged with them.


    At the moment, cryptic patterns could be seen on the surface of his eyes. These patterns which looked extremely profound resulted from the fusion of mystifying symbols that were condensed from the ultimate divining power of Oracleforce energy, an energy of infinite celestial vision and all-mystery peering and revelation.


    As soon as Alex felt an indescribable sensation in his eyes, he knew that the cosmic gazing and divining eyes had appeared. Then he thought of why his well-kept secret was always being exposed and the people who were behind the sinister action.


    "Reveal!" He uttered resolutely.


    As soon as he said so, and with his eyes still open which then began to emit a type of soft brilliance that surprisingly caused the appearance of a small, expansible projection of the boundless space which had the sun and the vast constellations of stars in it, the world in his vision began to revolve in time around him. It began to revolve in the counterclockwise motion and at a very high speed that it had gone from that minute to six months ago and to a year in the fraction of a second.


    Not long, the world in his vision which spun in the anticlockwise motion in the temporal dimension suddenly came to a halt. While Alex who was like an all-seeing deity since he was now far above ground to be at the highest altitude in the sky and could see the strong, weak and dying currents of vital energy flowing in the arteries of tens of millions of living creations in this small mortal world, instantly had his vision zoom in into a location to reveal an ancient-looking majestic academy. Then in that same second, his vision further zoomed in penetratively into a room where Alex could see Lenna and Maxwell having discussions.


    Alex saw their faces and began to ponder how he had offended these people, why they kept studying him and leaking his secrets to the public.


    He had never met them before and began to wonder why they wanted to become his true enemies.


    He was thinking this when he looked up to see a picture frame hung on the wall. And when he looked at the image of that person in the picture frame, he became totally surprised before his gaze turned evil.


    "Drille?? The Bone-sawing Evil Child?! I understand now." Alex said.


    "Cease!" He uttered.


    Then his mind was pulled back to the present after being moved through a mind-based, spacetime acceleration and reversion field put out by the divination power of the Heavenly Mystery Revealment God-eyes.


    It was because of Alex''s cultivation base had further increased which then caused the Star-Gazing God-eyes to exhibit more of it divining power, and in this regard, space-time reversal mystery-illumination.

 Chapter 347: Meeting Olivia and Nailah

    However, using that level of power caused his eyes to sting terribly when his mind was brought back to his body.


    It was red while a thin line of blood streamed down from both of his eyes.


    He wiped the thin streams of blood that came from his two eyes and stood to his feet, enduring the intense agonizing pain that had began to rack both of his eyes.


    Then he abruptly closed his eyes which continued to badly sting him and sent a wisp of his perception into his mom''s spatial ring.


    As soon as he did so, everything in his mom''s spatial ring appeared in his inner vision.


    Then after seeing lot of different ranks of healing pills which were of course in mountain-sized heaps in the ring, he made the spatial ring eject one of them. Immediately he did so with a single thought from him, the pill shot out from the spatial ring into the air. Alex then caught the pill in the air using his powerful sense of hearing to perceive it vibration and ultimately determine it position.


    When the pill became grasped in his hands, he quickly put it into his mouth and abruptly swallowed it down.


    The instant the pill got into his stomach, it dissolved to produce Saint-rank healforce energy which spread throughout his entire body, healing him of all injuries that he had sustained.


    The bleeding from his eyes stopped while the painful stinging sensation that he felt in his eyes rapidly grew weaker in intensity and then eventually vanished.


    As soon as the intense, sharp-stinging pain that he felt in his eyes vanished, Alex''s eyes snapped open to reveal a evil, murderous gaze in his eyes.


    Still at that same spot that he stood, he began to think of many things using his mind''s unparalleled ability to multi-task. He rapidly pondered about a hundred things in a few second.


    After he was done with his multi-ponderance which only happened for a few seconds, the absent-minded gaze in his eyes which had appeared because of he was quickly thinking about hundreds of things, vanished in the next moment to reveal a deep thoughtful gaze in his eyes.


    "I have to go meet Layla and Olivia and give them some protective treasures. I would also give my little sister, Nailah, some too. Those bastards, since they have given it their best to cause rifts between me and their families but their efforts resulted in futility, they could go for them next as they know that it would be difficult to do anything to me under the watchful eyes of my unfathomably powerful uncle." Alex said.


    Then he brought out the Azure Beastsman treasure-palace out from his dad''s spatial necklace and sent a wisp of his perception into it" Palace-spirit, please take me into the palace. I have a secret trip I wanna embark on"


    "Okay" An anciently voice rang out in Alex''s head.


    Then Alex''s body instantly teleported into a large hall in the palace.


    Some seconds after Alex''s figure materialized in the hall, the treasure-palace entered into another layer of space and shot at a great speed towards the Immovable Mountain Academy.


    The Palace-spirit entity had been told where to go to by Alex who wanted to move secretly to see Olivia and give her some peerless-grade protective treasures. He didn''t want his movement to be known to anybody, as he knew Drille''s brother and sister would have spies monitoring his every movement.


    A few moments later after traveling at a tremendous velocity, the treasure-palace appeared at the Immovable Mountain Academy.


    ''Which room would be hers?'' He asked in a contemplating tone inwardly.


    Then he looked into the air and asked "Palace-spirit, can you please go through the entire rooms? I haven''t been here before and so can''t know where Layla''s room is"


    "What?? That''s a very clumsy way of doing that." The Palace-spirit whose corporeal form had appeared beside Alex, said in a disgusted tone.


    "So, what do you think I should do? I don''t want to reveal myself to anyone" Alex said.


    "You don''t need to. Remember, I am a powerful entity too. I can use the treasure-palace''s numerous abilities to look for her." The Palace-spirit said confidently and proudly.


    Then it activated an array in the palace which had suddenly appeared before the both of them in the air.


    The instant the array was activated, a vast scanning power that would be imperceptible to the senses of the powerful instructors in the academy erupted from the array and spread out rapidly to cover the entire academy.


    Then as the immense tide of imperceivable scanning power that discharged from the entire body of the miniaturized palace washed through the whole academy, a lot of things rapidly appeared in an enormous projection screen that had appeared in the air before Alex and the Palace-spirit.


    Not long, the thousands of images that rapidly moved across the screen suddenly stopped at a particular place. And that was Olivia''s room that it had stopped at.


    The Palace-spirit looked at Alex and said "There are hundreds of ways of doing this than in that clumsy way that you mentioned."


    Alex smirked and rolled his eyes at him.


    "Well, you are a powerful being and you have the palace''s numerous ability at your disposal. While I am just an initial-phase, Earth Adept-level cultivator and don''t have much skills yet. Anyways, we shall discuss about this once again when I get to a higher cultivation realm. But for now, I have to meet with Olivia before she would go anywhere." He said.


    The Palace-spirit nodded.


    Then since it now had information of her room, the treasure-palace vanished from that layer of space that it floated in and directly materialized in Olivia''s room.


    Olivia at the moment was only in the room with Nailah who she was diligently instructing on cultivation.


    Alex saw the both of them from the screen and smiled.


    "Look at my beautiful adorables." He said.


    Then he stated further "Palace-spirit, you can take me out"


    "Okay" The voice of the Palace-spirit rang out from everywhere. It corporeal form which had earlier appeared beside Alex had turned insubstantial again.


    Then in the next moment, Alex was ejected from the treasure-palace.


    And as soon as he appeared in Olivia''s room, Olivia and Nailah who were busy with what they doing, suddenly had great fright set into their hearts.


    But when they saw who had appeared, they both became heavily surprised before they dashed towards him to happily and affectionately embrace him.

 Chapter 348: Alexs promise to Nailah

    "Big brother" Nailah said excitedly as she dashed towards Alex to embrace him.


    While Olivia walked towards Alex and waited for her turn to embrace him.


    But seeing that Nailah hadn''t released her embracing grasp on Alex, she said "Nailah, mind releasing your hold on him. I want to hug Alex, he''s my husband you know."


    It was now that Nailah released Alex from her embrace to allow Olivia hug him.


    Olivia then walked closer to Alex with a smile in her face and then put her arms around his back to embrace him.


    "Alex, I have missed you. I have been thinking of going to visit you with Nailah if you didn''t show up here." Olivia said in a soft whisper into Alex''s ear.


    "I know. That''s why I came here. To see my peerlessly gorgeous angels." Alex said with a smile.


    Olivia smiled.


    Then she kissed Alex on the lips for a few seconds before detaching her lips from his and released him from her embrace.


    "Big brother" Nailah called out.


    "Yes, little sister" Alex replied with a smile in his face.


    "You have been gone for too long. Hope you brought something for me from your adventure?" Nailah asked playfully.


    "Sure, sis. You are someone I always have in my heart. So I would definitely try to bring things for you from every of my adventurous journey." Alex replied and winked at her.


    Nailah smiled.


    "Brother, since when you have been gone, I haven''t slacked in my radiantforce energy cultivation for a day. I diligently cultivated and even harder than usual. I want you to be happy with me, and I always want to do my best to impress you. And when I reach an high stage in my cultivation, I would be able to go with you for some exciting adventures that you would embark on. Besides, I want to help you fight those crazy bad guys. The burden on your shoulder is too much. I want to share some of it with you. Also, when I grow stronger and more mature, I would like to help you manage your organization" Nailah said in an adorable manner and gave a smile at Alex who nodded his head and returned her smile.


    "That''s very considerate and lovely of you, little sis. That''s why I would always have you in my heart, my one and only angel" Alex said lovingly and then gently pinched her delicate cheeks.


    Then he continued "When I first appeared in here, the first thing I took notice of was your cultivation base. Little sis, your cultivation growth is really fast that I feel so jealous. You are already at the peak-phase condensation stage. Just imagine that shocking cultivation speed. But I know that apart from having the gift to absorb enormous amount of radiantforce energy which you have been naturally attuned to from birth, your hard work and dedication also played a great role in you quickly reaching this cultivation level. I know you must have really put in a lot of effort just to make me happy. But you know what, I am more than happy. I am way impressed with you, sweet little sis. And because of this, as a reward for your hard work and commitment to cultivation, I promise to take you very soon on an adventure where you would be able to possess your own treasures, wealth of sapphirstones and artifacts."


    When Nailah heard this, her eyes shone with great shock.


    "Really big brother?" She asked with a mind that had begun to reel due to tremendous excitement.


    "Sure. Your big brother doesn''t renege on his words. A promise is a promise, and I would do my absolute best to fulfill it, no matter the condition" Alex replied.


    Nailah dashed towards Alex again to embrace him.


    "Thank you big brother" She said.


    Alex rolled his eyes at her.


    "If you ever say thank you to me again, I would cancel whatever promise I would make to you in future" Alex said in a false serious tone.


    Nailah nodded her head.


    "I know brother. I just want to show how grateful and delighted I am" She said with a smile in her face. She however knew that her big brother, Alex, would never do that to her. She knew it was only a false threat.


    "Alright" Alex said and affectionately ruffled her hair.


    Then when Nailah released him from her embrace, Alex produced a spatial ring from his dad''s spatial necklace which he gave to her.


    This was one of his spoils of battles at the Sky Trident city; the city where he went to with Layla for receival of the Emperor of Dominion and Love Empress''s legacy.


    Nailah who immediately accepted the spatial ring from Alex abruptly looked into it just to see a great amount of stuffs that caused her to be amazed.


    She wanted to say thank you again when she held it back in her mouth.


    Alex saw her puffed mouth and laughed.


    "Why don''t you take your time to check out the treasures in the spatial ring" He said.


    "Okay, big bro" Nailah said and walked away to a corner of the large room that she was in to go through the large amounts of information that were recorded into the various types of treasures that were each present in different forms and in immense amounts in the spatial ring that Alex gave to her.


    Some seconds after Nailah left to do what she had in mind, Olivia approached Alex with a smile in her face.


    "You bastard, you just left without telling me anything. Why are you so uncaring? You didn''t even give a damn about how I would feel if I didn''t see you and didn''t know where you went to" Olivia said angrily.


    "I am sorry, Olivia. I thought I would come back in time before you would realize that I was gone. But I had no idea that we would be delayed in there, at the legacy ground because of the unique way Layla had to cultivate the expert''s realm-energy. I am really sorry. And I promise it wouldn''t happen next time. If I ever have anywhere to go to again, I would notify all of you." Alex said.


    "Hmm. Okay." Olivia said and nodded her head.


    Then she continued by asking "When would you and I go on an adventure? It has been a great while we both went on adventure. I miss those days"


    "We would go together sometime in the future" Alex said.


    "Why not soonest? Why sometime in the future?" Olivia asked in a perplexed tone.


    "The thing is, I want to go to a faraway state to see some good friends and my other girlfriend, Elena. I have been gone for too long. I don''t want them to think that something terrible had happened to me on my way here. I have a feeling that they are immensely worried about me now" Alex said.


    Olivia looked at Alex with an indescribable gaze in her eyes when she heard ''girlfriend''.


    "You unfaithful bastard. Well, it doesn''t matter. I don''t have a problem with you having as many girlfriends as you want as long as you make me happy and don''t deny me the love I want. Or I would set out to behead all those witches you call your girlfriends. Mark my words." Olivia seriously threatened. But her threat were empty. They wouldn''t be backed by an action. She wouldn''t do anything that would make Alex sad or angry at her.


    Alex only laughed when he heard what she said.


    Then he came closer to Olivia and unexpectedly curled his strong arms around her thin waist. And as soon as he did this, he pulled her towards him that their faces were only an inch from touching each other. But their warm exhales softly brushed each other''s faces.


    While Olivia who Alex''s gaze seemed to penetrate into her soul and brighten it up, tried to release herself from the strong curl of his powerful arms around her waist. But her effort was futile and so, she gave up. Then she looked at him in the eyes that seemed to illuminate the dark regions of her soul and fill it vast, endless stretch with a beautiful feeling that she perfectly understood what it was.


    Alex who continually stared into Olivia''s eyes with a towering and undying flame of love present in the vast and boundless, pitch-black expanse of his eyes, said in a soft and affectionate tone "I know you would never do that. Besides, my love for you would never deplete or reduce. It''s undying and even grows by leaps every seconds of the day. Olivia, I want you to know and understand that the kind of love I have for you is immortal. If everything in this world would turn to vapor and vanish away, only my love for you would remain. It''s everlasting"


    Olivia gazed sweetly at him and then kissed him on the lip.


    "Don''t think your sweet words got to me you unfaithful bastard. Anyways, I know you love me and would never deny me of your love. And even if you eventually do that, I would continue to love you, up till the end of time. Nothing, not even gods or devils are capable of making the love I have for you become inexistent." She said and then embraced him, resting her head on his shoulder and started to happily take in the fragrant smell coming from his body. While Alex who also inhaled the fragrant smell exuding from Olivia''s body kissed her long and delicate, snow-white slender neck in many places. And with his arms around her back, he gently rubbed them and caressed them.

 Chapter 349: The plan and the treasures I

    Not long, they both separated from each other.


    Then before Olivia could talk, Alex said to her "Olivia, I am here for something important"


    "Oh. What''s it?" Olivia asked in an interested tone.


    "It''s about a revelation I got. I have discovered the bastards who were behind the exposure of the secret affair between us to the public. It were also the same bastards that were behind the divulgence of the secret relationship between me and Layla to the world." Alex said in a cursing tone.


    Olivia''s eyes glowed in shock.


    "Really?" She asked in an amazed tone.


    "Yes." Alex answered.


    "B-But how could you be so sure from a vision that you just got? What are you now? An oracle?" Olivia asked with her mind whirling in awe.


    She however thought that Alex was kidding her.


    Then she burst into laughter with the thought that Alex was only trying to entertain her.


    But she stopped laughing in the next instant when she saw that Alex had a serious expression in his face.


    "Wait, are you really sure of what you are telling me?" She asked to confirm if he was truly serious with what he said.


    "Yes. I am very sure." Alex answered without any playfulness in his tone.


    "But how did you do it? How were you able to discover the hidden identity of these people? Don''t tell me you have now developed sagely powers?" Olivia asked in a curious tone.


    Although she wouldn''t have asked that question as she wasn''t the nosy type and didn''t like intruding into people''s affairs, she just had to as she wanted to satisfy her curiosity.


    "Well, something like that" Alex said with a smile.


    Olivia shook her head with a light of awe and marvel in her eyes.


    "So you can uncover the truth about mysteries of the realmverse now?" She asked.


    Haha!


    It was Alex''s turn to burst into laughter.


    "Nah. That''s way too large for me to handle. At the moment, I can only pick up trails of people that I have the intention of seeking for. But I believe that in the nearest future, I would be able to do so." He said.


    He knew that he was very still far from reaching that ''nearest future''. But when he eventually does, at that time, he felt that he would be able to easily master all the realm-energies there is, as the Heavenly Mystery Revealment God-eyes would quickly decrypt the profundities of the hundreds of realm-energies that he had the goal of understanding. He arrived at this thought when he used the revelation power of the eyes to know who was behind the disclosure of his relationship between he, Olivia and Layla to the public. At that point in time in his ''Oracle vision'', he could see basically all the living things in the world from the sky like he was an all-seeing deity. Then he who didn''t cultivate vitalforce energy or lifeforce energy could see the energy as it flowed in strong currents, weak currents and dying currents in the hundreds of millions of people that appeared in his vision.


    "Wow!" Olivia exclaimed in shock.


    She looked at Alex who then felt strange from the way she looked at him.


    "Envious of my abilities right?" Alex said and broke into a raucous laughter.


    Olivia gazed at him with a smirk expression in her face.


    "Whatever. Even with all your amazing abilities, I am still far better than you, Alex. You are in the initial-phase, Earth Adept stage. While I am at the Sky Lord stage. Imagine that gap. You aren''t my peer in cultivation. So, don''t think your numerous abilities are useful before me if we go into a fight. With absolute strength which I possess over you, I will bring you down to your back with exceeding effortlessness." She said and crossed her arms, and then stared at Alex.


    Alex smiled.


    "I know, Mistress of Punishment. I know that you are stronger than me. That''s why I don''t ever want to go into a fight with you since you would simply bring me down to the floor and step on my pride with your heels." He said with a false expression of dread in his face.


    Nailah who was busy going through the items that Alex gave her suddenly burst into unbridled laughter.


    Olivia''s and Alex''s attention were abruptly pulled towards her because of her sudden laughter.


    Olivia who knew why Nailah was laughing still tried to ask with a knowing smile in her face "Nailah, what''s it? Why the unexpected outburst of laughter?"


    "I laughed because of what my big brother said. Aunt Olivia, you shouldn''t believe what he mentioned. If two of you go into a fight, he would rip you apart into a dozen places with a single punch" Nailah replied and laughed.


    "Oh heavens!"


    Alex face-palmed himself while Olivia broke into laughter.


    "I know. I was only trying to mess around with your big brother" Olivia said to Nailah who nodded her head and then continued with what she was doing.


    "She believes in your strength." Olivia said. Then she said further "I believe she would think you are a god"


    Alex shook his head with a smile in it.


    He didn''t know what to say to that.


    "So, what do you plan to do against those people? And who are they by the way" Olivia asked.


    "I can''t do anything to them. They are students from the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy." Alex said.


    "Okay. So what do you really plan to do then?" Olivia asked.


    "Actually, I am here to give you and Nailah some protective and distress-signaling treasures. I have a feeling that those guys, since they couldn''t cause great problems between us and your family members so we could tear ourselves apart, would be orchestrating highly strategic moves against the people that I am related to. And that is you, Layla and my little sis if they eventually find out that I adopted her as my sister." Alex said.


    Olivia nodded her head.


    "Okay. Where are the treasures?" She asked.


    "Here they are" Alex said as he produced two spatial rings from his dad''s spatial necklace and gave one to Olivia.


    "Nailah!" He called out.


    "Yes brother?" Nailah asked as she turned her head to look at Alex.


    "Here. Take this." Alex said and then threw the spatial ring in his hands at her.


    Nailah caught the spatial ring in her hands excitedly. Then when she sent a wisp of her perception into it, she was amazed by what she saw in there.


    "Nailah. Those items in the spatial ring are for your protection. I have an enemy who would come for you guys soon. So I want to prepare a countermeasure against that by giving you those protective and distress-signaling treasures which you must have at all time with you." Alex said.


    Alex then said further "Do you see a blue necklace in that spatial ring? Wear it now. And never should you remove it from your neck. It''s the distress-signaling treasure I want you to have. Once it senses any restrictive force that would suddenly come upon you, the array stored in the pendant of the necklace would send a distress signal to me wherever I am. Then also stored in a dimension within that pendant is a rapid, lesser-teleportation, full body armor. Anytime the distress-detection array in the pendant senses an antagonizing limiting force, it would immediately put out that quick, minor-teleportation armor without you having to do anything. Then you can use the rapid teleportation powers of that armor to teleport to hundreds of places in that same region in an instant. Know this, it can only cover about five hundred feet. That means you can only achieve rapid teleportation to many different areas within that five hundred-feet zone. Although it''s not very useful, you can use it to stall for time for me to appear and remove the threats to your life."


    "Wow. Big brother. Thanks for this gift" Nailah said.


    Alex shook his head at her while Nailah knew she had said something wrong again. And it was the ''Thanks'' in her statement which Alex didn''t want to hear.


    "Brother, it''s still useful to me at my cultivation level. I know you would have given me one which would be more powerful than this. But because of my cultivation stage which wouldn''t be able to handle or endure the aura of power that would emit from a treasure stronger this, just so my body wouldn''t reduce into mist of blood, you didn''t give me. But I think this should still serve it purpose. Therefore, it''s still useful to me" Nailah said with glittering eyes.

 Chapter 350: The plan and the treasures II

    "Yea. That''s exactly why I couldn''t give you one which is higher than your cultivation level. You wouldn''t be able to withstand the aura of power that would emanate from it. But since you said it''s nice. It''s nice then. It''s however really cool that you could understood" Alex said in a praising tone while Nailah chuckled and basked in the praise that Alex showered upon her.


    Alex then continued "Well, to prevent yourself from having to teleport here and there very fast in the face of danger, I ask that you stay put in the academy. The academy would offer you some level of protection than out there outside the academy where you would have to fully rely on the quick, small-distance teleportation power of the armor if you ever come face to face with danger. I only gave you that necklace just so you would be more safer within the academy, as those bastards could send someone to infiltrate the academy to come eliminate you if they discover that you are my sister."


    "I perfectly understand brother. I won''t go anywhere else outside the academy until when when you say it''s safe to go out. I would only listen to you. Besides, since I would fully dedicate myself to cultivation, where the heck would I want to go to?" Nailah said.


    "Good!" Alex answered.


    Then he turned to face Olivia who asked him "What''s the cultivation level of this new enemy of yours?"


    "Peak Saint stage" Alex replied.


    "Oh!" Olivia exclaimed in shock.


    "I was hoping we could take them down together. Anyways, it''s your thing. Have fun with them." Olivia said with a smile in her face.


    Alex smirked at her.


    Then he said "Till I tell you it''s safe to go out, you and Nailah should never leave the institution. Am I understood?"


    "Yes, dear. Perfectly" Olivia replied.


    Olivia then looked at the spatial ring that Alex gave her and asked "Do I have anything like what you gave Nailah?"


    "Yes. It''s also a necklace. Check it out" Alex said.


    Then Olivia looked into the ring.


    When she saw a beautiful necklace that was adorned with sparkling gems, she smiled and conjured it out.


    When the necklace appeared in her hand, it began to glitter beautifully in the light of the sun that entered her room.


    "So beautiful" She said in a soft whispering tone.


    Then she wore it on her neck and sent a wisp of her perception into it.


    Immediately she did so, a small amount of information entered her head.


    ________


    Name: Nine Heads Azure IceFire BladeDragon necklace


    Stage: Sky Lord stage.


    Ability Description: Produces nine immense and lifelike, azure-colored nine-headed dragons which are condensed from Saint-tier frostforce energy, pyroforce energy, bladeforce energy and animateforce energy.


    Damage Power: hill-sized, animated dragons of energy generated from the fusion of four saint-rank realm-energies, possesses the power to instantly destroy everything in an area of Four Hundred Meters in simultaneous explosions, using: Tremendous burst of extreme razor-sharpness that would dice and slice everything in it path apart, including space itself; Huge, focused blast of dark azure-colored flame that possesses great corrosiveness and a stronger heat emission than many other colored fiery energies; Massive, triple-layered, omnidirectional devastating currents of Ice.


    ________


    "Hmm" Olivia uttered and smiled at Alex.


    "Thanks for the necklace" She said while Alex rolled his eyes at her.


    "I have to go now, Olivia. I would visit you beautiful creatures some other time" Alex suddenly said.


    "What?! But Alex, you just arrived here" Olivia said with slight fury in her eyes.


    "I know, Olivia. But I have to go meet Layla too and give her some protective treasures before she would step out of her office or palace to do some things." Alex said in an urgent tone.


    "Okay. Alright, go see her. And make sure you deliver my good greetings to her" Olivia said.


    Alex was surprised at the way Olivia spoke.


    It was like she and Layla were good friends.


    He wanted to ask why she didn''t become angry at hearing Layla''s name. But he decided against it in the end as he didn''t want to use his question to wake a slumbering, raging dragon.


    Olivia then came forward to hug him. She then kissed him on the lips and released him from her embrace a few seconds later.


    "Nailah" Alex said.


    "Yes? big brother" Nailah stopped what she was doing and stood to go meet Alex.


    Then when she got in front of Alex, Alex gently squeezed her nose and said "Little sis, I am leaving."


    Immediately Nailah heard that, she squeezed her face. She had suddenly become unhappy at what her brother, Alex, said.


    "Hey, come on sis. Don''t ruin your beautiful face with that unhappy expression. I am only going for a moment, not for very long as you might be beginning to think. I promise to check on you some other time. And anytime I come to check on you, we might leave together to go on an exciting adventure" Alex said.


    It was only after Alex said this that Nailah''s face brightened up.


    "Yea, that''s my girl" Alex said as he played with her cheeks.


    Alex then looked at Olivia and nodded at her.


    Then his body vanished in an instant and reappeared in the treasure-palace which had remained afloat in the air since Alex arrived in Olivia''s room.


    Immediately after Alex''s body surfaced in a hall in the treasure-palace, the treasure-palace shot at extreme speed towards Layla''s organization.


    ***


    Few hours later, the treasure-palace arrived at the Imperial Herb House.


    And since Alex had been here before, he navigated his way around in the treasure-palace till he got to Layla''s office.


    Then the treasure-palace teleported into her office with Alex appearing out of it some seconds later.


    Immediately Alex appeared, Layla who was busy going through the business records of her organization looked up in shock to see who just appeared in her office.


    But when she saw Alex, she asked "Alex? What are you doing here? And why did you come in this manner?"


    Alex approached her with a smile and said "I am sorry if I had startled you with the way I suddenly appeared in your office."


    "It''s okay. But what is the reason why?" Layla asked in a perplexed tone.


    "Some days ago, I told you that I was going to figure out the people who were behind the exposure of our secrets to the public. Yea. I have discovered who the bastards are."

 Chapter 351: The plan and the treasures III

    "Really? You were able to do so?" But how?" Layla asked in shock.


    "You can''t understand. My ways are full of mysteriousness. You would only end up damaging your brain if you try to think of how I was able to pull such an insane feat" Alex said proudly and smiled.


    "Wow!" Layla couldn''t help but exclaim in an heavily surprised tone.


    "But are you really sure about that? Hope it''s not that you just dreamt of some people who you met someplace in the city and were exuding sinister intents from their bodies because of you, then you claimed that they are the ones behind the disclosure of our secret relationship to the world?" She asked.


    "Nah. Just see it as me developing my awakened sagely powers." Alex said and grinned. He loved surprising his women with his numerous shocking abilities.


    Layla shook her head.


    "You have a unique body of great, diverse powers. I am jealous. I feel like hijacking your body right now and make it my main body." Layla said with a smile.


    Alex laughed.


    "Well, you could create powerful and tough clones from true flesh, bone and blood and then infuse them with a type of power that you have gained deeply profound comprehension into." He said.


    "There is something like that too?" Layla asked in a marveled tone.


    "Sure. But one must be a great expert first before one would be able to do so. Only experts in Greatverses are able to do such." Alex said.


    "Wow. That''s really amazing." Layla said with an amazed tone in her voice.


    Still looking at Alex, she asked "So, who are these enemies of ours?"


    "They are students from the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron academy." Alex replied.


    "That academy? How did you even come across them that were you able to offend them? That institution is really far from here, you know" Layla asked and shook her head.


    ''This guy, always getting himself into trouble'' She thought.


    "Nah. It was their stupid little brother who calls himself the Bone-sawing Evilchild that sought for trouble from me. It''s a long story which I don''t have to narrate to you. Just know that I killed him in the end and now, his older brother and sister are after me. And I guess that, since they couldn''t come after me because of my powerful uncle, they decided to expose our secret affairs to the world to create problems for me and your family. But now that everything has been settled, with their plans not yielding fruits, they would surely decide to go after those I love to pay me back." Alex said confidently.


    Then before Layla could talk, Alex said further "That''s why I secretly appeared here, to prevent been seen under the watchful gazes of the spies that are out there and are monitoring my every movement."


    "Okay." Layla said.


    "So, are you here to tell me to go into hiding till the storm would settle?" She asked.


    "Well, something like that. I don''t want you to go anywhere till I come back and tell you it''s safe to go out. And if you must really go out, go out with a lot of guards. Not that the guards would be able to really put up a fight against these people, they simply could be used as a wall of protection against their attacks. Also, they can be used as security escorts if you really need to go out to do your thing." Alex said.


    "Okay. I would do as you say, Alex" Layla said.


    Alex nodded his head.


    Then he produced a spatial ring from his dad''s spatial necklace and gave to Layla who accepted it and looked into it curiously.


    When she saw a beautiful necklace in it, her eyes glittered.


    "Wow. It''s so beautiful" She said.


    Then with a thought after sending a wisp of her perception into it, the necklace appeared in the air with a flash of resplendent light.


    Layla then caught the necklace in her hand and immediately wore it.


    "How do I look in it?" She asked with a smile


    "You look beautiful" Alex said.


    Layla smiled.


    "Thank you for the gift" She said.


    Alex nodded his head.


    Then he said "Actually, it''s more than a necklace. It possesses defensive and offensive weapon-arrays. The defensive array in it can produce a large and thick protective orb which is condensed from golden metalforce energy that should be able to withstand the heavy impacts or tyrannical explosions of at least twenty full-powered, Peak Saint-tier attacks. While the offensive array it possesses would produce enormously-sized, sharpness-imbued beams of golden metalforce energy. The energy beam attacks that the offensive array can unleash should be able to match the destructive power of that of Peak Saint-stage cultivators."


    "Oh. It has such things in it? That''s really awesome." Layla said with glittering eyes.


    "Yea. It''s just for some degree of protection till I would arrive." Alex said.


    "Till you would arrive? Oh, it has another array that can send some signal to you?" Layla asked.


    "Yea. It has distress-signaling array which would continuously scan your immediate surrounding and to a distance of five hundred feet for any hidden or looming elements of danger. Once it notices any kind of force come upon you, it would immediately send a signal to me to alert me that you are in a dangerous zone. And that''s why it has those arrays embedded in it. But it can''t really sustain the protective, elemental metal orbs that would enclose you in them for a really long time. Same with the energy beam attacks which you can''t continuously launch at an adversary. Although I have many others that can sustain their defensive and offensive modes for a really long time, they are only for higher stages, like the Sky Lord stage and Heaven adept stage. It would absolutely do you more harm than good if you use those which would put out a greater aura of power to produce protective energy constructs and unleash attacks." Alex said.


    "Alright. I understand, Alex. I would go nowhere only when I definitely need to." Layla said.


    Alex then looked around in her office and said "I think you should stop coming to your office. Stay in the Royal palace for the meantime."


    Layla nodded her head when she heard that.


    She understood what Alex meant by that, which was, if he could teleport so easily into her office, the enemies that he had made and were at the Saint cultivation level could do the same and would choose to either abduct her to torture wherever their base was or would just immediately slaughter her in office in cold blood and go without anyone knowing what had happened to her. And also, that she couldn''t replace herself with another person which would be her worker, or that person would be instantly reduced to mist of blood out of great anger by their enemies when they appeared in her office.

 Chapter 352: New realm-energy

    "That''s all I guess, Layla. I have to be on my way now" Alex said.


    "Alright. You be careful too" Layla said.


    "Sure" Alex nodded.


    Then he vanished from her office and reappeared in a hall in the treasure-palace.


    Immediately he appeared in the treasure-palace, the treasure-palace jetted away in another layer of space back to his organization.


    Not long, he arrived there.


    Then when he was teleported out of the palace to his room, he sat on his bed in the cross-legged position and began to think of what next to do.


    He knew that just giving his girlfriends treasures and telling them to stay hidden from view wasn''t enough to protect them from his enemies. He needed to kill them, that''s the only time they would feel safe.


    So, he began to think of what to do so he could kill them.


    Then he arrived at one which was to lure them out of their hiding place.


    He knew that they were doing things in the darkness because of his uncle, but when he eliminated his uncle factor, he knew that they would surely reveal themselves to him.


    Then he began to think of how to go about this.


    After a short while of brainstorming, he finally decided on what to do. And this was to make his men announce to the public that he was leaving to another state to do something which would bring in more members and money to his organization.


    "Yea. That''s just what I am going to do. Besides, all the enemies I have unknowingly made would come for me on that day I would appear in another city. Then when I slay all of you, I would pass your possessions to all the members of my organization." Alex said.


    Then he closed his eyes to try to understand the profoundness of a particular realm-energy that he had in mind. And this energy was Animateforce energy, an energy that could simply give life to non-living objects.


    Once he infuses anything like an object with this energy, the objects would become alive. They would possess sentience or awareness of everything around them and the world at large. Then if he deeply understood the energy to a great level, the objects infused with this type of energy would possess a higher degree of awareness, like a greater consciousness and would be able to act independently on their own. So as an example, a stone that is infused with this type of energy at that particular stage would be able to think of cultivation and would then cultivate on it own to grow into a rock and into a mountain all in the name of becoming stronger and unmatched. However, they would still be linked to their creator and have no choice than to submit to him. It''s only when their creator dies would they no longer be under anyone''s control and would be able to fully exercise their own will.


    "How cool would it be to have exceedingly tall, walking mountains or massive living islands as my guards or protectors? Haha. I surely need to cultivate this energy. I would just unleash them in their hundreds and they would cover the sky and overshadow the earth. Enemies would surely dread me for that. But for now, it''s only a dream." Alex said.


    Then he began to contemplate about the energy.


    ***


    Few days later...


    "What exactly is going on this time?" Lenna asked her brother.


    "I don''t know too. It''s like everyone of them just disappeared." Maximilian said.


    "Have they started cultivation in seclusion or what?" Lenna asked Maximilian.


    "Probably." Maximilian replied.


    "What? Why would they start secluded cultivation at this time that we need to slaughter them?" Lenna asked angrily.


    "Sis, I don''t know. I guess it''s better to just wait for them to come out of secluded cultivation. There''s really nothing to do now than wait for them." Maximilian said.


    "Ugh" Lenna uttered with anger in her tone.


    "Can''t we send someone to silently enter into the Immovable Mountain Academy to kidnap that bitch, Olivia?" She asked her brother.


    "That could be possible. But what if that person was caught? That would spell great doom for our plans and us. We need to be very patient so we could have all of them in one place and torture them to our desire before we finally slay them." Maximilian said with chilling coldness in his tone.


    "Alright" Lenna agreed.


    ***


    A week later...


    Alex who was in the cross-legged position on his bed suddenly snapped open his eyes.


    Then he brought one of his hands towards his face.


    When he did so, he caused a small wisp of flame to erupt from the surface of his hand. Then he released an energy into it which caused the wisp of flame to suddenly take human form and begin to walk on the surface of his hand.


    Then upon another thought from Alex, the fire on his hand which had taken human form suddenly transformed into a bird and screeched. Then it transformed into a cat in the next second and meowed.


    Seeing all that was happening, Alex gave a bright joyful smile.


    "Finally" He said excitedly.


    Then he produced a sky-blue, long sleeve shirt from his mom''s spatial necklace and threw it at the ground.


    As soon as he did so, he shot a focused beam of animateforce energy from the tip of his index finger towards the shirt on the ground.


    And immediately the shirt was struck by the beam of animateforce energy, the shirt glowed only for an instant before it lifted itself off the ground using the sleeves it had to stand upright.


    It then began to walk towards Alex using those sleeves as actual legs.


    Then when it got to where his bed was, the sleeves which the shirt used as actual legs fully bent before straightening. And once they straightened, the shirt leapt high into the air towards Alex who then caught it with a smile in his face.


    "This is really great" He said excitedly.


    "I am going to cause commotion with this new ability of mine everywhere I go. I might even be nicknamed The Invisible Ghostlord or The Tyrant Ghostking. Haha" Alex said with a mischievous light in his eyes and laughed raucously.

 Chapter 353: The wicked plan

    "Brother, I heard from people that Alex is going to the next state to open a smaller branch of his organization. He has the plans to expand it." Lenna who had suddenly appeared in her brother''s room said to him.


    "Are you really sure about that? I hope it''s not some stupid rumor that was created by some idle and jobless idiots?" Maximilian asked.


    "I don''t know. But I don''t think it would be a rumor. It could actually be true." Lenna replied.


    "Hmm. Well, whether it''s true or not, I guess we have no choice than to stealthily follow him to wherever he would go on the day that he decides to leave the city to go do whatever rubbish he has in that useless head of his" Maximilian said harshly and cursed.


    "Alright bro" Lenna said with a smile.


    Then she vanished from her brother''s room to her own room using her teleportation powers.


    ***


    Few days later...


    Alex who had cultivated animateforce energy to the initial-phase condensation stage without using the rapid absorption power of the Negaria race flowing in his blood, stood to his feet from his cross-legged position on the ground and said "It''s time to leave so I could attract those damned flies towards me. I guess I have given them enough time to enjoy their puny and miserable lives. It''s about time I snuffed out the flames of their lives"


    Then when he came out of the tall, majestic building of his organization, he entered into a high-grade, beast-drawn carriage along with three members of his organization who were actually some of the higher-ups of his organization.


    A few moments after assembling in the beast-pulled carriage, the carriage set out at high speed since it was being drawn by more powerful beasts to the inter-state teleportation center in the city.


    Not long, since they moved at a high velocity, they arrived before the building where they could use their inter-state teleportation arrays to move through a tunnel made in the fabric of space to a near or faraway state.


    "So it''s true. That''s excellent" Maximilian said with a glow of delight emanating from his eyes.


    "It''s time to kill that bastard once and for all. We have really wasted time in trying to kill someone who is simply like an ant before us." Lenna said unhappily while Maximilian shook his head.


    "Well, there was nothing we could do about that since he was still in Smith city. You know, his extremely powerful uncle is around, and could be watching out for him." Maximilian said.


    "Yea. But now that he has left his uncle''s reach to go expand his stupid organization which we would level later, he would be delivered to us very easily. Slaughtering him would be too easy. I hope he can put up a bit of struggle in a battle to the death with us. Haha" Lenna said and laughed.


    "Nah. Let''s not do that. That would simply be bullying. Instead, we would restrict our cultivation bases to his level and then fight him. At that point in time, we would truly know who is the unmatched battle prodigy between the two of us" Maximilian said and grinned while Lenna nodded.


    ***


    At a teleportation center...


    A portal suddenly surfaced above a large circular platform that had spatial arrays installed beneath it.


    Then a second later, some people came out of it.


    These people were without surprise, Alex and three of the higher-ups of his organization.


    As soon as they came out of the portal with the portal vanishing in the next moment, they stepped down from it and found their way out of the teleportation center.


    Appearing in the street where the inter-city teleportation center was located, one of the higher-ups that came out with Alex asked in a curious tone "Master, so where do we go from here?"


    "Let''s first get an inn to rest out heads. It''s been a long day" Alex said with a smile in his face.


    His members looked at him with unbridled perplexed expressions in their faces.


    They should get an inn to rest?


    It has been a long day?


    Long day exactly how?


    They couldn''t help but think these questions in their heads.


    Anyways, they couldn''t ask him to explain why it had been a long day when they have only left an hour.


    He was their boss, and anything he said was correct. Even if he was wrong.


    "I guess we would have to get an inn" One of the higher-ups said while Alex nodded his head.


    "Let''s go get an inn to rest. Then tomorrow, we would start with what we are here to do." Alex said smiling.


    The high-ranking members of his organization looked at him with weirdness and strangeness in their faces. Their master was behaving odd.


    Was he really here for what they came to the city for?


    They couldn''t help but have these questions flash in their heads.


    "Let''s go" Alex suddenly said.


    Then they followed behind him into the street to get a place where they would stay.


    Not long, they arrived at an inn.


    It was a very cheap one since Alex wanted to keep out of trouble. He couldn''t show that he had great wealth with him and let some elements disturb or interfere in the plans that he had prepared for Drille''s older siblings and his other enemies who would have been alerted that he had left Smith city.


    However, although it was a cheap inn and had a not really attractive exterior, it still had rooms that many people could live in together.


    So, Alex chose a multi-room inn; an inn that had four to five rooms. But it was cheaper.


    His members didn''t even complain about the inn that Alex chose. They felt that he should have some class and get some really expensive or grand inn.


    But he was their master.


    Therefore, they would absolutely agree to basically anything that he decided upon.


    They went into the multi-room apartment with each of the high-ranking members of Alex''s organization choosing the room they would stay in till they were done with whatever they were here to do.


    When Alex settled down, he exhaled deeply.


    He knew that he was about to fight another intense battle yet again. And he would surely try his best to use everything he had; his tough and durable body, tribulation-augmented soul-powers, tribulation-enhanced elemental powers. Just all of the shocking myriad abilities that he possessed.


    When his long train of thought about his abilities stopped, he suddenly recalled Drille''s older sister, Lenna.


    When he did, he gave a smile that would invoke the feeling of unmatched devilishness and wickedness in the heart of anyone that would see his smile.


    His smile simply evoked the feeling of tyranny.


    Actually, he had made the most wicked plan for her that she would absolutely regret ever crossing his path and even becoming his enemy.

 Chapter 354: Calling out his enemies

    Next day...


    - Multi-room apartment, Inn -


    "Guys, I want to go somewhere. And I wouldn''t be back in a day or two days time. I want to have a meeting with a very important person in this city concerning expansion of my organization to this place." Alex said.


    "Okay. B-But why don''t we come with you?" One of them who was a bit closer to Alex asked.


    "Nah. I would have asked that you guys come with me. But the person I want to meet doesn''t want me to come with anyone. He asked that I come alone so we could discuss deeply about what I am here to do. He doesn''t want any interference" Alex said.


    Then he stated further "Don''t worry about my safety if that''s what you are worried about. This person wouldn''t do anything to me. He just doesn''t want me to come with anyone."


    "Okay" The person Alex spoke to and the others nodded their head.


    "Here. Take this" Alex said and then threw a spatial ring at them.


    "It contains tens of thousands of yellow sapphirstones. Use it to tour the entire city and buy yourselves some really nice things. However, do so cautiously so you don''t attract thieves or bandits to yourselves. Also, while moving round the city and buying stuffs for yourselves, take your time to study some areas of the city. Look for a place that would be nice to set up my organization in." He said further.


    "Oh! Thanks a lot Master." The one that was closer to Alex said excitedly.


    Then he continued "But Master, we don''t know the kind of place that you would like. Mind giving us a little description of a place that you would like to establish your organization in?"


    "Well, just a place that''s far from where people are living. You know, I don''t want people living around the place. I want it to stand alone wherever it is without houses or shops of people hiding or obscuring the magnificence and grandness of the towering structure that I am going to erect there."


    "I know you would think that why can''t I just find somewhere in the forests and then level and clear the entire place to build my establishment. However, whilst I don''t want people living around the organization, I also don''t want to be too far from people. Hope you get my point?" Alex said and then questioned.


    "Yes Master. We get your point" One said.


    "So Master, when are you setting out?" Another asked.


    "Well, that''s right about now." Alex said.


    Then he said further "So folks, take care of yourselves. And remember, be careful with the way you would lavish money, or you would attract undesirable things unto yourselves. Am I clear?"


    "Very clear, Master" Everyone of them replied happily.


    Now, they had money to get stuffs for themselves. However, they wouldn''t do so and would only keep the money until they got back to Smith city; the city where their master''s organization was prominent. So in there, they would be able to fearlessly spend lavishly, and nothing, absolutely nothing, would dare to attack them.


    Alex nodded his head and then left the inn from the multi-room apartment that they rented to dwell in for sometime.


    As soon as Alex stepped out into the street, he began to walk towards no place in mind. He was doing that to basically attract his enemies who he believed would have arrived in the state, and with a small number of them in hiding in this particular street that he chose to rent a room at, simply waiting for the right time to show himself so they could come to abduct him for agonizing torture back at their base, or just kill him right there at the spot that he was.


    With a smile surfacing in his face, he began to walk.


    And Alex who was like an incarnation of beauty but with a male''s face and figure, his unmatched physical look couldn''t help but attract people''s attention towards him.


    They began to discuss about this new person that had appeared in their street.


    Alex hadn''t walked for more than two hours when someone wearing a dark robe with a large hood pulled over his head suddenly appeared before him. And wearing a mask that concealed his face while radiating an intense chilling look from his eyes which could seemingly cause one''s blood to freeze, Alex quickly understood that this was one of his numerous enemies that had traced him to this city and was very impatient to kill him.


    But pretending like he did know what was happening, he asked "Hello, good sir. You are in my path. Can you please move away or be moved?"


    The dark-robed man looked at Alex with surprise instantly replacing the dreadful gaze coming from his eyes.


    Haha!


    He laughed without care.


    "I would like to see how you would move me." The hooded person said with a frightening smile in his face. However, this was hidden by the mask that he wore.


    Alex simply smiled.


    When the hooded man unexpectedly appeared in front of Alex, people who had been looking at Alex with astonished and adoring gazes in their eyes became heavily surprised at why someone would suddenly confront such a young and admirably handsome person.


    Perhaps out of jealousy and bitter enviness. They thought.


    Then they stopped what they were doing to see how this handsome young boy would react to the sudden blockage of his path by a really unfriendly person.


    "Mid-phase Sky Lord stage? Hmm. Not bad" Alex said with a provoking smile in his face.


    The dark-robed person who had a frightening gaze coming from his eyes looked at Alex once again with a heavily perplexed expression in his face. But this was concealed by the mask that he wore.


    "Sky Lord stage not bad? Are you kidding me? Even if you are a combat genius, that doesn''t mean that you can overwhelm someone at the Sky Lord stage with your flimsy initial-phase, Earth Adept stage. The fuck is wrong with your brain? Haha. Such a daft fool" The person said and laughed.


    This Alex was stupidly funny. He felt.


    Alex looked at this dark-robed person and said "Well, I don''t have time to exchange words with you. If you wanna fight, fight. Let''s quickly entertain the people watching us."


    As soon as Alex said so, the dark-robed person gave a chilling look and then abruptly produced a broadsword which he swung at Alex''s neck to actually cut off his head.


    But Alex who had long infused his eyes with speedforce energy so he could see in slow motion instantly evaded the beheading sword strike that the dark-robed person sent towards him.


    Whoosh!


    The sword cut extremely fast through the air.


    It was an insanely fast sword strike.


    The dark-robed person saw that Alex had surprisingly evaded his sword attack and then quickly activated the sword-bound array in the treasure-sword that he wielded.


    As soon as the array was activated with the treasure-sword now beginning to glow brilliantly and making sharp humming sounds, the dark-robed man slashed his sword once again at Alex and at the same time, fired off a six feet-wide beam of focused, sky-tier swordforce energy at Alex.


    The beam which carried frightening sharpness as it caused the air in it path to cleave apart almost hit Alex by an inch who quickly dodged it due to his powerful slow-motion vision and enhanced movement speed by permeating his entire body with speedforce energy.


    Since it couldn''t hit Alex, the beam continued forward into the distance reducing everything in it path to small slices.


    Alex saw that if his battle with this guy continued, a lot of people in the street would be killed.


    Therefore, he abruptly channeled tiny amounts of his evolved, Saint-tier strengthforce energy to his leg muscles and then dashed away at a great speed that greatly shocked the dark-robed man who was still amazed at how Alex skilfully dodged his fast, close-range, sword-energy attack.


    "Bastard! Don''t you dare run from me! If you aren''t a coward, stop running and fight me." The dark-robed man shouted with all his might and intense fury could be felt burning in his voice.


    He couldn''t be sure if Alex heard what he said as he was just too far away.


    However, he was surprised in the next second when Alex suddenly stopped at the hundred and thirty feet that he had quickly reached and then turned around to look at the dark-robed man from the far distance that he was.


    With a chilling smile in his face which gave the absolute feeling of slaughter, he said with a booming voice so all and sundry could hear:


    "Moron, if you are sensible and truly powerful to look down on me like an ant, take into the air like the proud Sky Lord-stage cultivator that you are and chase after me, a flimsy Earth Adept-stage cultivator. And if you can''t meet up with my shocking speed, I would be at a valley many miles away, waiting to deliver your head to your ghost."


    Immediately after Alex said that, he sharply turned around to resume his high-powered dash to a very distant valley to wait for his enemies who he knew were around and would definitely come after him.

 Chapter 355: Killing one of them

    As Alex ran, he didn''t speed up too much so they could meet up with him.


    After running for hours in search of a valley, he finally arrived before one.


    Then he dashed into it towards it center and then stopped, waiting for his attacker to arrive.


    Not long, the Sky Lord-stage cultivator appeared before Alex with an astonished expression written all over his face.


    "Boy, I must give it you, your speed is impressive. I can''t believe that I couldn''t catch you as you ran." The Sky Lord-stage cultivator said.


    Haha!


    Alex laughed.


    "Sure. My speed is impressive. How can someone as useless as you match my movement speed on foot? Eh?" He asked with a smile.


    "I see that you want your death so quick. But I won''t do that. I will make sure I torture you to my satisfaction before beheading you." The Sky Lord-stage cultivator said.


    Haha!


    Alex laughed again.


    "Are you really sure about that?" He asked.


    "Yes" The Sky Lord-stage cultivator answered with a cold gaze in his eyes.


    "Okay then. You can carry on. But I will surely remind you of this" Alex said awaiting the energy-attack of the Sky Lord-stage cultivator.


    The Sky Lord-stage cultivator who was still in the air suddenly aimed his palm at Alex and tried his best to quickly discharge a large amount of pyroforce energy which then condensed in the next instant into a sword that shot towards Alex at extreme speed.


    Alex clenched his fist so hard that his bones cracked.


    Then he surprisingly sent it at the fiery attack that was shooting his way.


    Bang!


    His fist smashed into the fiery attack, quickly reducing it into thousands of smithereens that then dispersed and returned to the realmverse.


    Alex wasn''t even shaken nor he did he leave the spot that he was at.


    He simply gave the feeling that he was an immovable mountain.


    Standing straight and exuding the aura of indomitability, he pointed at the heavily surprised Sky Lord-stage cultivator and signaled with his fingers and with an annoying smile in his face that he should unleash more attack at him.


    The Sky Lord-stage cultivator seeing Alex''s mocking gaze and smile became more infuriated and then shot higher into the sky like it was going to increase the damaging power of his attack.


    Then gnashing his teeth and his eyes turning red, he tried to expel more pyroforce energy from his body.


    Alex simply waited for him to build up his energy to the amount that he desires.


    After creating a massive cloud of pyroforce energy around him in the air which resulted in the sickly paleness of his skin and his nose and mouth bleeding, the cloud of energy that had formed around him in the air rapidly condensed into hundreds of spears that shot towards Alex to impale him.


    Alex however gave a smile and then prepared to shatter the spears that were shooting towards him from a great altitude in the air.


    With his arms fully stretched out to his sides, he brought them together and then clapped his hand very hard to create a powerful sonic boom that generated a destructive sound wave that shattered the entire spears when they came into contact with it.


    While the sound waves moved on towards the sickly pale Sky Lord-stage cultivator and struck him.


    Bang!


    He was struck hard by the devastating sonic wave and his body was knocked flying into the distance.


    Thud!


    His body then landed with a heavy thud sound to the ground from a height of about seventy feet, causing the air in his lungs to be knocked fully out, and the blood in his body which churned greatly when he was hit by that shattering-force sound wave, spurted out of his mouth in large amount.


    Alex quickly power-dashed towards him. And when he got to where he was, he lifted him up into the air with one hand and asked "Do you recall what you told me? That you will torture me to your satisfaction and then behead me? But who has you in his grasp now? Me!"


    Then he slammed the body of the Sky Lord stage cultivator at the ground causing him to scream out in pain and agony.


    "Yea. Feel the pain. I am just beginning to torture you. When I finally gain an utter sense of satisfaction from torturing you, I will crush your neck."


    "Just telling you beforehand so will know how you died. You know, due to the intense torture that will go through, you might just pass out and not exactly know how you died. That will be tremendously pitiful right? Haha!" Alex said and laughed.


    Then he carried the body of the Sky Lord-stage cultivator off the ground and into the air again.


    Bang!


    He slammed the cultivator''s body hard against the ground again resulting in the cultivator coughing a large mouthful of blood.


    "Yea. I guess you are greatly enjoying the pain." Alex who was now soaked with blood and had blood dripping down his face making him like a bloodfiend said in a somewhat sinister tone.


    Alex then turned his head to look at the man''s groin region and gave a wicked smile.


    He then turned his head back to look at the bloodied cultivator and asked "Since you will be dying soon, you won''t really need that anymore. So, let me crush it for you."


    The cultivator''s blood-stained eyes widened in shock.


    Then before he could say anything or beg Alex, Alex used his powerful hands which would give the feeling that they were actually hands casted from true metallic steel when touched, to grab the man''s private part and actually crush it into pieces.


    Arghhhhh!!!


    The Sky Lord-stage cultivator screamed out very loud and miserably in pain.


    Alex had actually reduced the man''s entire private organ to paste.


    "He is enjoying it, I think?" Alex asked himself with a brutal smile in his face.


    Alex actually went this extreme to make fear and dread surface in the hearts of his enemies that he knew were around.


    He then stood to his feet and raised a leg up.


    Then in the next instant, he brought it down with tremendous force against the Sky Lord-stage cultivator''s head.


    Bang!


    The head exploded into mists of blood with hundreds of shreds of flesh and fragments of bones also jumping out of the shattered head into the distance.


    Alex exhaled with a smile in his face, giving the feeling that he was having a great time.


    Then in the next instant with his hands by his side, two types of energies suddenly erupted from them and actually condensed into solid corporeal weapons that he grasped.


    He then said into the air with an aura of fierceness beginning to exude from his body.


    "I can see you folks where you all are hiding. Come out now, let''s play!"

 Chapter 356: Killing one of them (Dont read) {Bugged Chapter}

    As Alex ran, he didn''t speed up too much so they could meet up with him.


    After running for hours in search of a valley, he finally arrived before one.


    Then he dashed into it towards it center and then stopped, waiting for his attacker to arrive.


    Not long, the Sky Lord-stage cultivator appeared before Alex with an astonished expression written all over his face.


    "Boy, I must give it you, your speed is impressive. I can''t believe that I couldn''t catch you as you ran." The Sky Lord-stage cultivator said.


    Haha!


    Alex laughed.


    "Sure. My speed is impressive. How can someone as useless as you match my movement speed on foot? Eh?" He asked with a smile.


    "I see that you want your death so quick. But I won''t do that. I will make sure I torture you to my satisfaction before beheading you." The Sky Lord-stage cultivator said.


    Haha!


    Alex laughed again.


    "Are you really sure about that?" He asked.


    "Yes" The Sky Lord-stage cultivator answered with a cold gaze in his eyes.


    "Okay then. You can carry on. But I will surely remind you of this" Alex said awaiting the energy-attack of the Sky Lord-stage cultivator.


    The Sky Lord-stage cultivator who was still in the air suddenly aimed his palm at Alex and tried his best to quickly discharge a large amount of pyroforce energy which then condensed in the next instant into a sword that shot towards Alex at extreme speed.


    Alex clenched his fist so hard that his bones cracked.


    Then he surprisingly sent it at the fiery attack that was shooting his way.


    Bang!


    His fist smashed into the fiery attack, quickly reducing it into thousands of smithereens that then dispersed and returned to the realmverse.


    Alex wasn''t even shaken nor he did he leave the spot that he was at.


    He simply gave the feeling that he was an immovable mountain.


    Standing straight and exuding the aura of indomitability, he pointed at the heavily surprised Sky Lord-stage cultivator and signaled with his fingers and with an annoying smile in his face that he should unleash more attack at him.


    The Sky Lord-stage cultivator seeing Alex''s mocking gaze and smile became more infuriated and then shot higher into the sky like it was going to increase the damaging power of his attack.


    Then gnashing his teeth and his eyes turning red, he tried to expel more pyroforce energy from his body.


    Alex simply waited for him to build up his energy to the amount that he desires.


    After creating a massive cloud of pyroforce energy around him in the air which resulted in the sickly paleness of his skin and his nose and mouth bleeding, the cloud of energy that had formed around him in the air rapidly condensed into hundreds of spears that shot towards Alex to impale him.


    Alex however gave a smile and then prepared to shatter the spears that were shooting towards him from a great altitude in the air.


    With his arms fully stretched out to his sides, he brought them together and then clapped his hand very hard to create a powerful sonic boom that generated a destructive sound wave that shattered the entire spears when they came into contact with it.


    While the sound waves moved on towards the sickly pale Sky Lord-stage cultivator and struck him.


    Bang!


    He was struck hard by the devastating sonic wave and his body was knocked flying into the distance.


    Thud!


    His body then landed with a heavy thud sound to the ground from a height of about seventy feet, causing the air in his lungs to be knocked fully out, and the blood in his body which churned greatly when he was hit by that shattering-force sound wave, spurted out of his mouth in large amount.


    Alex quickly power-dashed towards him. And when he got to where he was, he lifted him up into the air with one hand and asked "Do you recall what you told me? That you will torture me to your satisfaction and then behead me? But who has you in his grasp now? Me!"


    Then he slammed the body of the Sky Lord stage cultivator at the ground causing him to scream out in pain and agony.


    "Yea. Feel the pain. I am just beginning to torture you. When I finally gain an utter sense of satisfaction from torturing you, I will crush your neck."


    "Just telling you beforehand so will know how you died. You know, due to the intense torture that will go through, you might just pass out and not exactly know how you died. That will be tremendously pitiful right? Haha!" Alex said and laughed.


    Then he carried the body of the Sky Lord-stage cultivator off the ground and into the air again.


    Bang!


    He slammed the cultivator''s body hard against the ground again resulting in the cultivator coughing a large mouthful of blood.


    "Yea. I guess you are greatly enjoying the pain." Alex who was now soaked with blood and had blood dripping down his face making him like a bloodfiend said in a somewhat sinister tone.


    Alex then turned his head to look at the man''s groin region and gave a wicked smile.


    He then turned his head back to look at the bloodied cultivator and asked "Since you will be dying soon, you won''t really need that anymore. So, let me crush it for you."


    The cultivator''s blood-stained eyes widened in shock.


    Then before he could say anything or beg Alex, Alex used his powerful hands which would give the feeling that they were actually hands casted from true metallic steel when touched, to grab the man''s private part and actually crush it into pieces.


    Arghhhhh!!!


    The Sky Lord-stage cultivator screamed out very loud and miserably in pain.


    Alex had actually reduced the man''s entire private organ to paste.


    "He is enjoying it, I think?" Alex asked himself with a brutal smile in his face.


    Alex actually went this extreme to make fear and dread surface in the hearts of his enemies that he knew were around.


    He then stood to his feet and raised a leg up.


    Then in the next instant, he brought it down with tremendous force against the Sky Lord-stage cultivator''s head.


    Bang!


    The head exploded into mists of blood with hundreds of shreds of flesh and fragments of bones also jumping out of the shattered head into the distance.


    Alex exhaled with a smile in his face, giving the feeling that he was having a great time.


    Then in the next instant with his hands by his side, two types of energies suddenly erupted from them and actually condensed into solid corporeal weapons that he grasped.


    He then said into the air with an aura of fierceness beginning to exude from his body.


    "I can see you folks where you all are hiding. Come out now, let''s play!"

 Chapter 357: Killing them all (II)

    Immediately after Alex''s voice rang out, some people started appearing from where they hid at to watch him battle that Sky Lord stage cultivator.


    "So, because you have killed a Sky Lord cultivator you think that you can actually beat everyone of us? Well, to be sincere, you have got strength and some insane prowess. But it is no where close to having me killed by you. Prepare to die by my hands" A Sky Lord stage cultivator who had appeared with a few others said and then suddenly dashed towards Alex to attack him.


    Immediately he got to a few feet in front of Alex, he aimed his palm at Alex and then discharged pyroforce energy from his hand which then abruptly transformed into a large scissors that shot towards Alex at great speed to impale him.


    Alex shook his head.


    "You fools never learn." He uttered and then dashed at a high speed towards the large, flaming scissors that was shooting towards him.


    Immediately he got to where the scissor was, he sent his fist at it.


    Bang!


    A wave of tyrannical energy erupted from the point at which Alex''s fist smashed into the solid, burning energy-attack that was in the shape of a scissor. While the scissor upon being hit scattered into a large amounts of fiery sparks that caused everywhere around Alex for many feet to be illuminated.


    Then when the sparks died out, Alex could still be seen standing at his spot with a mocking smile in his face.


    "Hmm!" The peak Sky Lord stage cultivator uttered with astonishment in his tone. He then took off into the air to unleash a more powerful fiery attack at Alex.


    Reaching a height of a hundred and fifty feet in the air, he pointed downwards at Alex and then discharged a large amount of pyroforce energy from his body which then condensed into a large stamp.


    He actually wanted to crush Alex to death with that stamp that was produced from a technique called the ''Mighty Burning Hell Stamp''


    Immediately the stamp which spanned hundreds of feet in size formed, it plummeted towards Alex to crush him into pieces and incinerate him to ashes in that same instant.


    Not long, the stamp which plummeted at a great speed arrived above Alex.


    Alex who had a smile in his face only sent his fist at it to shatter it.


    Boom!


    A loud boom sound rang out and a wave possessing a shocking degree of terrifying force erupted from it and washed into the far distance, burning the ground at the same time because it actually carried tremendously intense heat to actually burn solid objects to cinders.


    As soon as the wave appeared and swept into the distance to seemingly turn everything into ashes, the solid attack formed from pyroforce energy instantly developed thousands of cracks in it really dense structure before exploding with a ear-aching loud bang sound into millions of smithereens, which appeared as bright sparks that illuminated the earth that Alex stood upon.


    The Sky Lord stage cultivator couldn''t believe what just happened.


    "I am good, right?" Alex asked with another mocking smile in his face.


    He then said further by asking the other cultivators who remained afloat in the air and were watching the battle that was occurring between him and the Sky Lord stage cultivator at the moment "What do you think if you guys join him to battle me? Who knows, by combining your prowesses together, you might actually be able to take me down. I am too strong for that asshole to be able to take on me alone. So, you guys can join your battle strength together to take me down."


    As soon as Alex said this, unsightly expressions appeared in the faces of the Sky Lord stage cultivators that floated in the air.


    "Should we join that guy to kill that son of a bitch?" One actually asked the other cultivators that were around him, causing those ones to look at him with intense shock in their eyes.


    Cultivators were proud, so they wouldn''t really do what Alex asked them to do. But this cultivator actually succumbing to what Alex, a junior in cultivation to them said, made them feel extremely shocked.


    Then they looked at that cultivator that spoke with irritated expressions in their faces with one saying with disgust and haughtiness in his voice "You look down on yourself this much? Well, I decline your request. Why don''t you go join that guy to battle him. We would watch and cheer for the both of both from here"


    As soon as that cultivator said that, the one spoken to only shook his head and flew towards that cultivator that was battling Alex to help him.


    As soon as he appeared by the side of that cultivator that was fighting Alex in the air, he prepared to unleash his own energy-attack using a formidable battle technique.


    But before he could do so, Alex who wanted them all to join together so that he could battle them at once, actually left the Sky Lord cultivator that he was fighting and dashed at an inconceivable speed towards the other cultivators that shunned that Sky Lord stage cultivator off.


    Then as soon as he appeared below them, he leaped into the air towards them and sent out a powerful, air-vacuuming punch at them.


    So, due to the large amount of force that was unleashed from his fist upon throwing it out at them, the air around them and for hundreds of feet were pushed away from them into the distance.


    And as soon as that tremendous air-pushing force appeared, the cultivators in the air were knocked flying backwards by many feet.


    While Alex quickly produced a treasure-wing which strapped to his back.


    He then shot towards them as they shot backwards because of the force that was projected at them from his launched fist.


    Then when he arrived before one of them in the next instant, a large treasure-blade suddenly appeared in his hand which he sent at the neck of that cultivator that he targeted.

 Chapter 358: Killing them all (III)

    Slash!


    Alex swung his sword and the cultivator''s head rolled off the neck to the ground, with blood speedily spouting out of it like a geyser.


    Once Alex did this, he used the treasure-wings strapped to his back to shoot towards the other cultivators to slay them too.


    One of the other targeted cultivators that Alex had targeted, was still trying to recollect himself from the powerful, air-expelling force that he sent out at them. So, he didn''t know Alex arrived at his side with a ruthless smile hung on his lip.


    Slash!


    Then with a heavy swing of his treasure-sword, the cultivator''s head was cleanly cut from the neck which then fell to the ground, with the lifeless, headless body of the cultivator plummeting in the next second after the head to the distant solid earth below them.


    After killing these cultivators, Alex then dashed towards the others who were also disoriented to slay them.


    Slash!


    Slash!


    Slash!...


    Numerous slash sounds began to ring out as Alex viciously swung the treasure-sword in his hand at their heads. He didn''t even waste time waiting for them to regain their stabilities from that powerful force that he sent out at them.


    When he was done, in which he was covered in blood making him seem like a blood-loving killer, he lowered himself to the earth, to where one of the headless bodies of the slain cultivators crashed into.


    Then he took the spatial rings and stowed it into his own spatial ring. And like that, he began to move around taking their spatial rings and stowing it away into his.


    When he was done, he cracked the fingers of each hand and then turned his head to look at the other cultivator who he left to go kill the other Sky Lord-stage cultivators that shunned him off.


    After giving a smile to the cultivator who only felt nothing but death, Alex made tribulation-enhanced pyroforce energy to gush out from his hands which then shot like rays of energy towards the headless, dead bodies littered on the ground to impact them.


    Then once they did, the energy rays abruptly turned into furiously howling, quick consuming fire that engulfed the entire bodies that the rays of pyroforce energy were sent at.


    Once these colored flames that produced and radiated an exceedingly hot temperature surfaced, the corpses began to rapidly burn. So, they became ashes in the next instant, then finally into nothing, like they literally vaporized away, since the flames that enveloped them were strongly ravaging flames carrying the essences of Heavenly Tribulation Fire.


    And since the flames were so hot, the ground which the bodies were on, also burned really hard that the flames created craters that were nearly three feet deep before stopping a moment later. But this was because Alex broke off his mental connection to it. So, there was no telling if the flames would continue to burn into the ground if Alex didn''t do that.


    At the moment, Alex who had already left the bodies as they burned, appeared before the last Sky Lord-stage cultivator who looked at him and began to tremble in terror.


    Alex smiled seeing how the cultivator shook in fear and horror because of his presence before him.


    Then he nodded his head.


    This was how he wanted to be feared by his real enemies and potential enemies. Once they see him or hear someone mention his name, they will begin to tremble in great fright.


    "So, you should know what to do without me telling you." He said with a smile in his face.


    However, the smile he produced on his face wasn''t soothing or relieving to the cultivator who continued to have his mind and heart warp and contort due to the feeling of immense dread that engulfed and pervaded his entire body, including his soul.


    At this moment, the Sky Lord-stage cultivator''s skin had turned sheet-white. Same with his hair which had turned grey from just being in Alex''s presence alone.


    He then quickly nodded his head in great fear and terror as a response to what Alex mentioned to him.


    "Please, forgive me. I beg you. I didn''t know that you were this strong, or I wouldn''t have made myself your enemy. It''s now that I fully understand that I have messed with the wrong person. This won''t happen again, ever. Then I will preach of your skills, strength and prowesses to everyone so that your enemies will become lesser, giving you time to grow and develop into someone mighty. Please" He said with begging eyes. While Alex only laughed at him because of his dumb statement.


    Haha!


    He grinned raucously.


    He then said "Actually, I love making enemies. Without enemies who are after my life, how would I be able to grow more in strength and power. Besides, I want more enemies so that I can kill them and take their possessions for myself. Although you low-level enemies of mine don''t really have anything that will attract me, I will however use them to run my organization. Haha!"


    He then said further "I believe you should understand what that means. And if you don''t, I don''t mind explaining. It simply means that your hard-earned wealths and resources will go to the dedicated and contributive members of my establishment."


    Alex mentioned with a delighted grin, telling the pale-skinned cultivator before him all these so that he would feel really bad before dying.


    The cultivator surprisingly began to cry, while Alex cackled at the tears flowing down his eyes and streaming down his cheeks.


    "Bro, you are only wasting my damn time and yours! Give me what I want this moment." Alex said with a sense of teeming impatience in his tone.


    The cultivator sorrowfully nodded his head and removed his spatial ring from his finger. He then handed it to Alex who readily accepted it with a smile appearing in his face.


    Alex then said further, while gazing coldly at the cultivator "Then the other thing. Do it!"


    The cultivator morosely nodded his head with tears now flowing down his glistening eyes at a faster rate.


    He then tightly grasped with both hands, his treasure-weapon which was a sword, to pierce himself through in the abdomen, precisely at the navel region. But just then, he abruptly sent the sharp tip of the treasure-sword that he was wielding towards Alex''s neck to impale him with it.


    The cultivator actually sent the sword towards Alex''s neck to probably cut off his head or slit his throat and cause blood to spill out.


    But Alex who was always seeing in slow motion, since his sharp eyes were permeated with speedforce energy, had his perception of the velocities of objects around him greatly increase.


    So, he was able to see in slow motion as the sword moved towards his neck to either impale it or cut it.


    And, since he could identify the quality and grade of the treasure-sword which was a firmament-rank treasure-sword that wouldn''t really injure him since it wasn''t powered, and had a skin that was refined and tempered by Lightning and Fire Tribulation, he allowed the sword to strike his neck, for reasons best known to him.


    Bang!


    A bang sound surprisingly rang out as the sword''s sharp tip struck his neck to impale it and probably penetrate through it to the other side.


    Then if one tried to describe the sound that had surfaced, it could be simply explained as the sword''s tip striking a thick metallic wall.


    So, this caused the cultivator''s eyes to shine with astonishment, before fear replaced the great surprise that had appeared in his eyes.


    He couldn''t believe that Alex''s skin was this tough and durable to be able to resist the ordinary, non-powered strike of a firmament-rank sword that he sent at his neck to lacerate it. Then he realized in the next instant that there was nothing he could do again to escape his cruel fate of death.


    He then suddenly pissed on the trousers that he wore, while his legs began to shake terribly because of horror. He could imagine how Alex would brutalize him.


    Alex smiled seeing how the cultivator pissed on himself like he were a toddler.


    He then said "I saw your sword strike coming at me, but I let it impact me instead of trying to block it. And it''s not because I underestimated your killing strike, but because I have quickly analyzed everything about your common-grade treasure-sword, you poor and miserly, stupid cultivator. Then if you ask me why I did that, allowing your sword strike to freely hit me, it was simply because I wanted you to later know that the action that you chose to carry out was nothing but stupid."


    He then continued "Well, I guess I have to stop here. But it has been fun talking to you, moron"


    Then moving at a speed that the terrified cultivator before him couldn''t trace with his eyes, Alex sent his fist towards the cultivator''s lower jaw to deliver a heavy uppercut.


    Bang!


    Then due to the tremendous force that his fist moved with, once the uppercut connected to the lower jaw of the cultivator, his head exploded into mist of blood, with pieces of his brain and tiny fragments of his skull and teeth beginning to drift in the strong current of air that resulted from the fist that Alex sent out.


    Once Alex annihilated that cultivator with his rock-shattering uppercut, he prepared to leave where he was.

 Chapter 359: Its time you guys appeared, right?

    But before he did that, he changed the clothes that he was wearing.


    Since they had been heavily dyed with blood that splashed from the slashed necks of the enemy cultivators who followed him here, he just had to change it, or he would attract all attentions to himself which wasn''t desirable.


    After changing, and using the piece of bloodied cloth to wipe off the blood on his face, and dry the blood on his hair, he prepared to leave this place.


    Then as he did so, walking out of the valley to appear in the street, he wondered why more of his enemies hadn''t appeared. He then thought that perhaps the groups of enemies that he had, had gone off in different directions in the city to look for him. Perhaps these ones that he beheaded here walked in the direction that he took an inn to dwell in with a few of the members of his organization.


    ''I guess I would have to appear in another place in the city so that my enemies would appear.''


    Once he thought this, he nodded his head in approval.


    He then produced the Azure Beastsman treasure-palace from his spatial ring which then teleported him into a large central hall in it in the next instant.


    Immediately Alex appeared in that hall, the treasure-palace entered another layer of space in this area and shot in the South direction so that Alex could surface in another region in this city and attract his enemies over so he could slay them.


    Swoooosh!!!


    Blazing in this concealed layer of space at seemingly furious speeds, the Azure Beastsman treasure-palace appeared in another part of the city a few moments later.


    Then when it surfaced in the large canopy of a tree that was one of the numerous trees in that part of the city so that it could hide it sudden appearance from being noticed, Alex was brought out of that hall in the palace.


    Alex who had appeared on the thick branch of the tree that the treasure-palace chose to shoot into, took the treasure-palace and stowed it away into his spatial ring.


    When he done, he looked through the gaps between the leaves that grew from branches which formed the large canopy of this tree that he was in.


    When he saw that it was time to come down from the tree as no one was looking at him, he jumped down from that branch to the ground.


    He then walked into the street with his face unmasked and had a bright smile in it. And as a peerlessly handsome male, he couldn''t help but attract the attention of everyone towards him.


    So, due to this conspicuous appearance, the enemies that he made in the Smith city who followed him here, were able to easily identify him. Then once they saw him, their eyes shone with vengeance.


    "That is the bastard! He didn''t even wear a mask to hide his face. Doesn''t he know that he has enemies on the lookout for him? What a fool! Anyways, today is your death. There is no escaping from it. Then when I kill you, your wealths and treasure accumulations will become mine. Hahaha!!" The person said and began to laugh raucously where he stood.


    He however knew that Alex had many other enemies who also came to this state to look for him to kill him. So, he would remain behind where he was for them all to kill themselves after they have slaughtered Alex, and then began intensely fighting amongst themselves for who would be the sole possessor of Alex''s spatial ring. Once he thought this, he remained where he was to watch all that would ensue, and how it would end with a broad smile in his face.


    But, Alex''s other enemies who were here where Alex had suddenly, mysteriously appeared in, were also thinking the exact same thing.


    While Alex who had suddenly sensed many ominous intents for him in his new surrounding, since his Emotion Sense suddenly became active due to the large numbers of evil intentions that strongly pervaded the atmosphere in this place, perfectly understood that his enemies were much in this place.


    And, since he had discovered that he had many enemies gathered here, Alex comprehended in the next instant with an ugly smile in his face that if his enemies refuse to appear, thinking that others would appear and then fight over his possessions after killing him, how would he be able to kill them all? Since by doing this, they would all be patiently waiting for the others to show up and kill him.


    And, he couldn''t start shouting that ''My enemies who followed me here from my state, I know the fuck that you are here. Now, fucking appear before me and do your worst to me, you damned bastards!"


    "Well, there is nothing I can do about this. Some of them, if not many, will naturally come forward to assault and eliminate me when they see that virtually no one has appeared to slay me." Alex said with confidence in his tone.


    Once he thought this, he began to take a relaxed stroll in the large busy street of the city that he had found himself in. And as he did so, he tried to enjoy the astonished and adoring gazes that everyone in the street looked at him with, even as he was heavily uncomfortable with it.


    After walking for nearly twenty minutes with his enemies following far behind him with observant gazes in their eyes, they couldn''t help but seriously wonder why no one had appeared to take Alex out.


    And as they impatiently followed Alex from behind with puzzled and annoyed gazes in their eyes, they pretended to be buying things from the shops found on each sides of the long and wide street like actual customers, since they didn''t want to throw away their cover as item-shopping customers.


    While Alex who knew that they were following him couldn''t help but laugh within himself at the amazing foolishness of his incredulous enemies.


    "Well, I can sense your impatience. It is beginning to engulf you all. I am very certain that very soon, some of you would jump out to quickly overwhelm me with your rapid killing attacks, and then take off at the highest speed that you can possibly muster with my spatial ring." He said and then grinned within himself.


    And he was right, a few minutes later, about three people suddenly came out from where they were hiding themselves to appear in front of Alex with blue rubber masks worn on their faces. Then they surrounded Alex who only looked at them with a false surprised expression in his face.


    Then seeing that they were all wearing the same outfits and same masks, Alex understood that these guys were a small group of one his numerous enemies in this place.


    He then surprisingly smiled at them and said with mockery in his voice "It''s time you folks appeared to slay me and speedily dash away with my spatial ring, right?"

 Chapter 360: Where does his confidence come from?

    Once Alex said that, the three masked people who had gathered before him, looked at him with intense surprise in their eyes.


    From the statement that Alex made, it was like he had been expecting them to appear before him.


    They however didn''t think too much about what he said and then made their own statement.


    "Bastard, it''s time to give us your life." One of them said while Alex grinned.


    "Why don''t you give me your life instead?" Alex asked with an hideous smile appearing in his face.


    Then before they could say or do anything to him, Alex suddenly dashed away from their midst.


    This caused the group of three that surrounded him to have their cold eyes shine with shock. Then they abruptly shot into the air to go after him.


    Then feeling that perhaps the group of three people that went to confront Alex had foolishly revealed to him that they were killers, causing him to suddenly take off off in a particular direction, the rest of his enemies who stayed behind to only come out after the rest had intensely battled themselves and grievously injured themselves, had angry gazes instantly appear in their eyes.


    Then they stopped what they were doing and shot into the air to go after Alex who could suddenly hear numerous whooshing sounds of something moving through the air towards him with his Enhanced Hearing. He then produced a delighted smile in his face.


    ''The bastards have finally come out to show themselves. Aii!'' Alex said within and gave a sigh of relief.


    He then continued by saying inwardly ''Perhaps I should just keep running at this pace before suddenly accelerating to compel them to follow me to either a valley or a forest where I plan to annihilate them. And maybe I would be able to attract more of my enemies who might be present at the far distance in the direction that I am currently running to at the moment.''


    Once he thought this, he continued to run, while the Sky Lord-stage cultivators who had taken into the air to go after him, flew at leisure paces. They weren''t bothered at the ''speed'' that Alex was moving at.


    Then seeing how Alex was showing signs of struggling to escape from them, they began to laugh mockingly at him.


    ''What can this fool really do to escape from us? He is just wasting the energy that he will use to journey on the vast Nether River into the Deathverse. Haha!''


    Then since Alex''s enemies were flying side by side, they began to communicate with each other.


    "So, you bastards. Are you here to only kill him to feel fulfilled, or to kill him and take away his possessions along with you?" One unexpectedly asked a group of masked people that were flying by his side.


    "Haha! What sort of dumb question is that? If you kill a cultivator, you would leave the spatial ring behind for others to take it? You are dumb, bro. Get out of my sight!" One of the cultivators in this group grinned loudly and then harshly said.


    While the person replied to, had his eyes glow with intense anger.


    He then said within himself ''You will know who is dumb between the two of us very soon. You just wait and see.''


    Then he moved away from the side of that cultivator that spoke harshly to him.


    ***


    As Alex ran, many people in the street began to wonder why large numbers of Sky Lord-stage cultivators were going after him. Then they thought perhaps he had something really bad to them since so many Sky Lord-stage cultivators were chasing after him.


    "What do you think that young chap has done to those cultivators?" One asked someone beside him.


    "I can''t really say. Is it possible for him to steal from Sky Lord-stage cultivators while being an Earth Adept-stage cultivator? I doubt it. Perhaps there is something deeper going on than we can think." The person spoken to answered, while the other nodded his head.


    "Well, I guess we can both easily predict what''s gonna happen to the boy. He is going be slaughtered like a fowl by these guys that seem to radiate an aura of heartlessness from their bodies. But such a tremendous pity. His terrific handsomeness would really go to waste. You know, he could have hundreds to thousands of beautiful and divinely-shaped girls flock by his side. But he chose to do something bad and cause his premature death. Aii" The cultivator said and sighed sadly.


    After a pretty long time of running, like thirty-five minutes later, Alex suddenly came to a halt and then swerved to look up at the swarm of Sky Lord-stage cultivators that were relaxedly chasing after him.


    Seeing that Alex had stopped running, one suddenly said with a booming voice "Brat, don''t tell me that you are tired already? Continue running. Don''t end the fun we are having with you just yet."


    Alex only smiled.


    Then as a response to what that cultivator mentioned, he said "Well, now that I think you have all appeared, it''s time for me to chase after you guys for your puny souls. It''s time for me to have my fun."


    Once Alex said this, everyone''s eyes widened with great astonishment in their eyes.


    The enemy cultivators in the air, then the rogue cultivators and ordinary people from the street of this city, couldn''t help but have their eyes open wide with shock because of what Alex spouted from his mouth without any form of fear in his tone.


    It was like he wasn''t intimidated and terrified by the large number of Sky Lord-stage cultivators that filled the air and pervaded the atmosphere in this place with their vicious auras.


    "Doesn''t he know that just a single attack from any of the Sky Lord-stage cultivators hovering in the air would reduce him into mist of blood? Well, I guess it was his arrogance in the first place that caused the Sky Lord-stage cultivators to gather in this shocking number and come for his fearless and arrogant butt" A mortal spat out while the others around him nodded their heads.


    "You want to have your fun with us? Haha!"


    "Well, that''s great. But, how do you intend to have this fun?" One asked with intensifying coldness in his voice.


    "Well, why don''t you follow me into the forest to see how I plan to have fun with you guys." Alex said.


    "Hmm. Why the forest? Why not here?" Another Sky Lord-stage cultivator asked.


    "Because I don''t want innocent people''s life and property to get destroyed once we start our showdown." Alex boldly said.


    Sensing the boldness and fearlessness in his tone which caused them to be greatly amazed, one said "I have a feeling that you think your powerful uncle can rush over here to protect you. But you are wrong. We are too far away from your city for your uncle to rush over to save you."


    Haha!


    It was Alex''s turn to grin raucously.


    He then said after he ended his heavy chuckle "Nah. My uncle doesn''t have to rush down here to come save my ass from your butchering eyes and hands. I myself is enough to do the saving."


    He then said further with a cold glint in his eyes "Let''s take what is about to start into the forest or the valley and fight like real men"


    When Alex said this, everyone listening to what he was saying became more surprised. Especially the Sky Lord-stage cultivators that levitated in the air. They began to wonder why Alex''s confidence suddenly rose from the grave and shot to the sky. It was something that they couldn''t really comprehend.


    ''Is he hiding a powerful weapon from us which is why he wants us to go into a forest or a valley so that he could use it in there without worry? He doesn''t want to utilize it here and cause the death of many innocent people.''


    ''Hmm. But I seriously doubt that. If he tries to use a powerful treasure-weapon that might totally destroy us, he would be the first to explode into a cloud of blood since he wouldn''t be able to withstand or resist the fierce and overbearing aura of power that such kind of powerful weapons would unleash upon their operation.'' One said inwardly as he gazed at Alex that had eyes glowing with a seemingly unbreakable resolve and unshatterable determination.


    He then continued with that train of thought ''But, what does he really plan to do? Where does his damned confidence come from? Well, I guess that we can only follow you to any forest or valley of your choice to see for ourself what gives you such mighty confidence to speak back fearlessly at us, Sky Lord-stage cultivators''


    It was the same thing that he thought about that others also thought too.


    "So, you really think you can fight us like real men? Haha! Well, I want to know what''s real about you apart from your massive accumulations of sapphirestones which is supplied to you almost every day by your extremely rich uncle" A cultivator said, unknowingly exposing Alex''s financial status to the public.


    Immediately the cultivator mentioned this, causing the ones floating in the air to vexedly face-palm themselves, some people below, cultivators to be precise, who had come to this street from other places in the city to get one thing or the other, suddenly had their eyes glow with intense greed upon hearing what that cultivator said about Alex''s accumulated wealth in sapphirestones.


    Then they began to look at Alex who only shook his head with a wry smile in his face.


    "Ugh! This fool has exposed me. Anyways, it''s good. I have more people to kill and take their possessions for myself. And if there are higher-level cultivators that would be joining them to kill me and greedily take my entire possessions, that would be very smooth and nice. I want to have an enjoyable battle to the death, not one that I will easily come out victorious in. Haha!" He said within himself and ended his statement with a light grin.


    Then all of a sudden, the treasure-wings still attached to his back rapidly expanded out. Then Alex shot with them into the sky and then far away from the Sky Lord-stage cultivators to look for a forest or valley where their bloody battle would take place...

 Chapter 361: The chase

    The Sky Lord-stage cultivators became exceedingly shocked by what Alex did. Same with the non-enemy cultivators and ordinary mortals on the ground who were looking at Alex at the moment with heavy surprises in their eyes.


    Then very quickly, the Sky Lord-stage cultivators began to chase after Alex who speedily blazed through the sky at the speed that a peak-phase, Sky Lord-stage cultivator could fly at.


    Although there were many peak-stage, Sky Lord-stage cultivators here, they still however couldn''t match the speed that Alex moved in the air at. Then this caused great degrees of astonishment and puzzlement to appear in their eyes when they realized in the next moment that since Alex could move at the speed that was equal to that of a peak-phase, Sky Lord-stage cultivator, he was using a Firmament-Rank treasure-wing.


    And, since he moved at a speed that even peak-phase, Sky Lord-stage cultivators couldn''t match, since they couldn''t close the gap between them which only got wider and wider, became tremendously astounded.


    ''What level of treasure-wings is that bastard using? I refuse to believe that his body can resist the aura of power that the wings would produce as they are operating?'' A cultivator questioned within himself with shock in his tone.


    The same question that surfaced in his mind also flashed in the minds of other Sky Lord-stage cultivators flying through the air.


    They couldn''t understand how Alex''s body didn''t even crack from the aura of power that such kind of treasure-wings would release as they are being operated.


    Although this thought surfaced in their minds, they however believed that he could only do this much. With time, he would surely get worn-out by the aura of power continuously discharging from such type of treasure-wings. So they reasoned.


    But to their shock and amazement, after many minutes of flying in which they chased after him at furious speeds, they still couldn''t catch him. Neither did he appear to be wearing out.


    ***


    At the moment, close to a hundred people could be seen chasing after Alex as he blazed through the sky at shocking speeds.


    They were previously sixty in number before increasing to that near-hundred figure because of the addition of nearly forty people to the number of people chasing after Alex. These new additions were the cultivators from the street that Alex was confronted by those group of Sky Lord-stage cultivators.


    So, due to what a cultivator had said about Alex possessing large amounts of sapphirstones, they had also shot into the air to go after him and see if they could have any chance to take his wealth for themselves.


    After blazing through the sky at high speeds for about an hour, with the Sky Lord-stage cultivators relentlessly chasing after him from behind, they eventually got to a place where a large lake was.


    Then Alex abruptly stopped above the lake and turned around to look at them.


    When the Sky Lord-stage cultivators appeared ten feet before him, they looked at him with indecipherable smiles in their faces.


    "Tired of running, right?" One directly asked.


    He then continued before Alex could speak "I guess that since you couldn''t leave a large gap between us, you chose to stop running and surrender your miserable, puny life to us, right?"


    Haha!


    Alex unexpectedly grinned, causing the cultivators before him to have looks of intense puzzlement to appear in their faces. They couldn''t really understand how Alex was still able to laugh at this point in time, when he was supposed to be greatly tensed, since there were nearly a hundred Sky Lord-stage cultivators that had come for him.


    "Couldn''t leave a large gap between us?" Alex thoughtfully asked himself with a smile appearing in his face as he looked at the perplexed Sky Lord-stage cultivators.


    He then continued "If I really wanted to really leave here, do you think you guys can catch up with me? Well, the answer is NO! Actually, I intentionally slowed down so that we could have our fun above this calm, crystal-clear lake that shows the reflection of the blue sky. It would definitely produce some aesthetic feeling in my mind as I start slaughtering you dumbasses."


    Immediately after Alex said that, the cultivators'' eyes shone with surprise. Then their brows furrowed when a particular thought flashed in each of their minds that Alex was probably in possession of some insane, defensive treasure-weapon that he could abruptly activate to protect himself from them, and which could send out fast killing attacks at them to slay them. Then their thoughts suddenly felt completely right to them since Alex used a treasure-wing that seemed like a peerless-grade treasure-wing to leave a shocking gap between himself and them as they flew to catch him.


    Then before they could say anything after taking a slight pause to think, Alex said further "It''s just a pity that your damned bloods will color this beautiful, sky-mirroring lake."


    "How stupidly confident and arrogant! So, you think some treasure is going to help you slay all of us here? Keep dreaming, you fantastic moron." A cultivator suddenly spat out with exceeding anger in his tone. He was tired and overly annoyed by what Alex, a teenager at the initial-phase, Earth Adept stage, was saying to them old, veteran cultivators of the Sky Lord stage. Although he was not an enemy cultivator like many others who had followed Alex here to butcher him, he was however one of those greedy cultivators that heard of Alex''s possession of a great heap of sapphirstones and then followed him right here to kill him and any other that would confront him to take away their total wealths for himself.


    Then he said further in the next moment with a cryptic glow in his eyes, directing his statement to the cultivators around him "If you don''t plan to do anything to this arrogant boy than exchange incredulous words with him, I will do something to him, while you can all sit back and watch"


    He then suddenly shot at a furious speed before others could say anything towards Alex who only gave a wide smile on his face, since he had predicted the intention of the old man right from the start that he gave his speech.


    Then with his fist that glowed softly in a golden color, and begun to radiate the power of Might that caused the air around his fist and for many feet to shockingly roil, transforming into visible ripples of air, he abruptly sent out that glowing fist at the peak-phase, Sky-tier energy-attack that the old cultivator had suddenly sent out at him to quickly reduce him into nothing but mist of blood, and quickly shoot away from here with his spatial ring that would appear when Alex''s body had burst into a cloud of blood.


    Boom!


    Alex''s fist heavily struck the solid attack and caused a rampaging wave of energy, which actually comprised the Sky-tier energy-attack, to abruptly appear and sweep out into the far distance in all directions with a large amount of rock-sundering destructive force.


    The tyrannical energy wave knocked Alex backward by many feet since he was at the heart of the explosion of the large energy-attack, which was caused by collision with his fist with it. However, he surprisingly sustained no injury due to the full-degree invulnerability of his tempered and refined body to Sky-level attacks.


    Then when he regained his stability, Alex said with a type of hideous smile that caused currents of intense coldness to surface in the body of the exceedingly surprised, aged cultivator "My turn, foolish old man."


    Then large amount of pyroforce energy radiating a tremendously-hot temperature, suddenly erupted from his entire body like it were an utterly massive, island-shaking volcanic eruption that took place, which then abruptly condensed and shaped in the next instant into an extremely compacted, ten-meter wide, intensely gleaming blade of solidified fiery energy that suddenly shot out towards the targeted cultivator at a great speed.

 Chapter 362: Special Secret Technique?

    Once the blade formed and then shot towards the aged, Sky Lord-stage cultivator at a great speed, the cultivator couldn''t even block the attack when it suddenly pierced through his body, cleaning cutting him in half that then fell into the lake far below.


    And since the attack was one that moved so fast and possessed a great degree of sharpness despite not having sharpforce energy, it started to cleanly cut through the cultivators one after the other till the others in it path had to shoot far away from it to escape their quick death.


    At this moment, about twelve cultivators including the aged cultivator making the numbers thirteen, had fallen into the lake far below them. This then caused the cultivators to look at Alex with great shock and disbelief in their eyes. They couldn''t believe that an ordinary attack from this boy had killed a small fraction of them.


    Then dread immediately set into their heart.


    In the next instant, lights of different colors flashed as treasure-weapons appeared in the hands of the cultivators who then looked at Alex with grim and gloomy expressions in their faces.


    "I see that you have quickly summoned treasure-weapons to your hands. Now, don''t tell me that you hateful and fucking greedy morons are terrified of me now, an ordinary teenager that should keep mute before a veteran? Haha! Weren''t you guys feeling high and mighty some seconds ago?" Alex asked and grinned raucously, causing unsightly expressions to appear in the faces of the cultivator that were looking at him with puzzlement and dread in their eyes.


    "Shut up... You must be using a special secret technique that''s increasing the power of your attacks, which I believe is burning your life essences at the moment. I am certain of that." A cultivator suddenly said.


    "Oh. I know those kind of techniques. However, I don''t use such." Alex said with a smile.


    He then said before anyone could say anything else "Enough of the chitchat folks, time to die!"


    Then all of a sudden, he shot towards the cultivators who then began to unleash all forms of energy-attacks at him.


    Alex who had permeated his eyes with speedforce energy was able to see the attacks as they shot towards him. Then like a fish in the water or like an ape on a tree as he was someone that possessed great agility, and had a great sense of aerial maneuverability, he was able to effortlessly move through the tiny gaps between the myriad attacks shooting towards him with unfathomable killing power.


    Then when he came out of the flurries of attacks sent at him, he shot higher into the sky to an altitude of forty feet above them. He then abruptly discharged a tremendous amount of swordforce energy, a variant of sharpforce energy from his entire body which quickly partitioned and then rapidly condensed into hundreds of small transparent swords that shot towards the cultivators levitating below him.


    Swoosh!


    Swoosh!


    Swoosh!...


    Numerous swooshing sounds began to ring out as the numerous sword-shaped attacks shot towards the cultivators below him at a great speed.


    Then seeing the amount of energy-swords coming at them, the cultivators quickly fired attacks from their various treasure-weapons at the attacks blazing furiously towards them.


    Boom!


    Boom!


    Boom!...


    Loud boom sounds began to ring out as the solid energy-attacks sent from their treasure-weapons collided into the swords that Alex sent out at them.


    Some of the swords shattered into thousands of bits, while some pierced through the attacks and continued shooting at great speeds towards the cultivators.


    Puchi!


    Puchi!


    Puchi!...


    Piercing sounds were produced as the swords struck the bodies of some of the cultivators and cut them apart in many places, with their diced body parts falling into the lake far below them.


    Seeing how Alex''s attacks still penetrated through their attacks and struck them, cutting them apart into numerous places, the rest decisively shot away from where they were, as they had soon realized that they would only be butchered by Alex''s rain of swords if they continued to remain where they were.


    Now, they had chosen to scatter far apart from each other to give Alex a tough time in killing them.


    Then with rage burning in their eyes, they began to launch massive attacks at Alex who only discharged large amounts of tribulation-enhanced pyroforce energy from his body that then suddenly transformed into a massive tornado that began to swirl furiously with him at it center. He had just employed a move from the Great Conflagration Art called the ''Whirling Funnel of Fire''.


    So, due to the fiery cyclone that whirled with him at it heart, the attacks that were sent at him by his enemy cultivators couldn''t penetrate through the cyclone that emanated a type of heat that caused them to seemingly ''melt'' and vaporize away in the next instant.


    Seeing how their solid attacks lost their forms due to the horrifying levels of heat emanating from the ragingly revolving cyclone of fire, the cultivators had expressions of unbridled shock appear in their faces.


    At this point in time, they had become strongly confused as they just couldn''t understand how Alex was capable of releasing attacks that matched with that of an initial-phase, Sky Lord-stage cultivator. At first, they thought that he was using a special secret battle technique that burned away his life essences to put out attacks of astonishing damaging power. They however realized later that they were absolutely wrong with their thoughts when Alex''s body showed no sign of being tremendously overstressed or rapidly wrinkling, cracking then drying up.


    The enveloping, cyclone of fire spinning around his body then stopped a moment later since Alex had cut off his connection to it. He then looked at the cultivators who were still looking at him with great shock in their eyes and said "I know that look on your dumb, ugly faces. That why I am still alive or looking healthy since I could be probably burning away my life essences to produce those mighty attacks that I unleashed at you. Haha. Keep thinking till your death or doom in this place."


    Immediately after Alex said this, several overwhelming auras of power that pulsed with the energy fluctuations of a peak-phase, Heaven Adept-stage cultivator, suddenly appeared from far in the distance and then shot at high speeds towards where Alex hovered in the air with the wings that were attached to his back.

 Chapter 363: An ordinary kick!

    Feeling the fluctuations, everyone then turned their heads over to see where that was coming from. Then they saw about eight peak-phase, Heaven Adept-stage cultivators flying towards them.


    Then their eyes narrowed in shock before anger replaced it.


    Now that Heaven Adept-stage cultivators had appeared, they should just forget about killing Alex and taking his possession, his spatial ring for themselves, as the Heaven Adept-stage cultivators that had unexpectedly appeared wouldn''t allow them to take Alex''s spatial ring away with them after they had killed him. But, even killing him was impossible since he seemed to be mysteriously strong and powerful, making them to seriously wonder where he got his power from. And they didn''t want to accept that he was a Heaven-Defying genius. Then in the end, they concluded in their minds that spun with astonishment, perplexity and terror that that he was using a particular, Epic-level Battle Methodology that enabled him to be able to produce such attacks that possessed the ability to effortlessly annihilate Sky Lord-stage cultivators.


    A few seconds later, the Heaven Adept-stage cultivators appeared before Alex, with one asking with coldness in his voice "Brat, what Battle Methodology are you using? Hand it over to us, now!"


    Alex looked at them and questioned "And why should I do that? It''s mine, because I struggled to acquire it. If you have the power to take it from me, then come do so"


    The Heaven Adept-stage cultivators eyes widened with shock. Same with the Sky Lord-stage cultivators that had scattered around to make it hard for Alex to unleash energy-attacks at them.


    "Repeat what you just said!" One of the Heaven Adept-stage cultivator commanded with a loud, furious tone in his voice.


    "Hey, I don''t repeat myself to nonentities. Who the heck are you to tell me to repeat myself, because you are a Heaven Adept-level cultivator? Haha! I laugh in your misery. If you know what''s good for you, you will go back to wherever you came from and have a long good sleep" Alex said with a smile in his face.


    He then continued before any of the terribly surprised Heaven Adept-stage cultivators could say anything "But since you have come here to confront me, why don''t you leave your puny souls behind so that I can reap it for myself?"


    Hahahaha!


    The Heaven Adept-stage cultivators unexpectedly burst into loud, unbridled laughter. But this was expected by Alex who only produced a smile in his face as he looked at them with an indescribable intent in his eyes.


    Then one said to Alex after he stopped laughing with intensifying coldness in his voice "I see that after your battle with those useless Sky Lord-stage cultivators, you have developed immense boldness within yourself to be able to talk to we, your seniors like that without any degree of respect in your tone. I applaud you for that. Actually, it''s good to be bold in all circumstances. But what you are exhibiting here isn''t boldness. It''s extreme foolishness that would result in your untimely death, in the very gruesome way. Now, if I may ask, where are you come from, lad? And who is your uncle? Where does he reside? If you can tell us all these, I promise to escort you safely out of here back to your state. You should know that your game in this place is up. So I believe that you would be sensible and cooperative in your responses."


    When the cultivator said that, Alex only smiled.


    He then said "So that you can go attack my uncle since you have probably heard that he is crazily wealthy, right? Haha. Anyways, I will try to be reasonable and cooperative since you have actually managed to convince me."


    He then continued with a naughty expression appearing in his face "You see this lake far below us, he dwells at the bottom. Actually, there''s a massive hidden state that can be found at the bottom of this lake. So why don''t you plunge into it and swim to the bottom. In there, you will be able to find the particular city that my uncle resides in."


    After Alex said these, the cultivator that Alex spoke to had intense rage appear in his eyes. He then suddenly shot towards Alex with a hand that began to emanate streams of fire.


    Then when he got in front of Alex to slap him with that fire-engulfed hand, Alex moved backwards by some feet to evade the blazing slap. Then quickly bringing one of his knees up to his chest, he powerfully kicked it out towards the chest of that cultivator that suddenly shot at him to slap him.


    Bang!


    The kick which was imbued with the power of Might, since he had infused that leg which he kicked out at the cultivator with small wisps of augmented Strengthforce energy that inherently possessed the power of a peak-phase, Saint-level cultivator, due to the slivers of a particular originforce present in them, caused the Heaven Adept-stage cultivator to shoot backwards through the air like a fuel-propelled rocket into the far distance for hundreds of feet. And as his body shot in the backwards direction with his momentum not showing any sign of slowing down for a bit, blood began to spurt out of hundreds of the cracks that had suddenly surfaced at his abdominal region.


    Once Alex delivered this kick at the cultivator, causing his body to shoot in the backwards directions at the speed of a rocket, the other Heaven Adept-stage cultivators had their brows fully narrow in shock. Same with the Sky Lord-stage cultivators scattered around. They couldn''t believe that an ordinary kick which Alex had abruptly sent out at that cultivator, had sent him flying through the air at a speed that they couldn''t imagine.


    ''What sort of power does this boy wields?''


    These question repeatedly flashed in their heads that it began to cause them aches.


    Then they all looked at Alex who only stared at them with a type of smile that drove down strong currents of freezing chills everywhere into their bodies.


    "Still want me to be reasonable and cooperative? Or whatcha say?" He asked the wrinkled, Heaven Adept-stage cultivators with that terrifying smile still in his face.


    The Heaven Adept-stage cultivators only shook their heads with one saying perplexedly "I don''t really understand how you are able to climb in power by leaps and bounds everytime that you are faced with a higher-level cultivator, and with the forbidden technique that you are using not causing any form of emaciation or degradation sign to appear on your body. And perhaps there is an invisible, swirling aura of illusionary power that has encompassed your body, preventing everyone of us here from seeing the true reality of things about your body, that it''s in a really horrible state. I am absolutely certain that you are only forcing yourself to do all these, since your body must have entered into a dried-up state by now."


    Haha!


    Alex lightly grinned.


    He then said with a cold gaze in his eyes "If that''s what you think, then that''s your problem. Just know that since you have come here, thinking that you can intercept me and compel me to do what you like simply because you are adept cultivation seniors, be ready to leave your sweet lives behind which I wanna harvest."

 Chapter 364: A powerful formation

    Once Alex said that, the furious Heaven Adept-stage cultivators quickly aimed their palms at Alex and began to unleash all sorts of terrifying energy-attacks, which Alex tried to immediately counter and destroy by punching into the air at them and releasing resplendent, Might power-infused waves that carried and transmitted astronomical-scale devastating vibrations that felt like it was totally capable of disintegrating entire mountain ranges and islands, since it caused the air around them and for many feet to shake so hard that they seemed to lose their gaseous form and then surprisingly disappear without a trace, creating a massive vacuumed zone in the next instant around them.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Loud thundering sounds began to ring out as the waves carrying vibrations struck the energy-attacks and instantly reduced them to thousands of fragments that then dispersed and returned to the realmverse as slivers of energies.


    Since he was now facing off against formidable Heaven Adept-stage cultivators, Alex instantly chose to employ his Pseudo-Saint tier Strengthforce energy for his battle with them, and utilize an advanced, higher-level battle technique in the ''Worldbreaking Golden Overlord Fist'' Trinity Methodology called the ''Heaven-Destruction Vibrational Punch''


    After destroying all the attacks, with none of them even getting the chance of producing rampaging waves of energies that should tyrannically knock any of them backwards and probably injure them, as they had been forced to vibrate intensely and then thoroughly disperse, the Heaven Adept-stage cultivators looked at Alex with increasing shock and profoundness in their eyes.


    ''Is this boy a reincarnated expert from either the Greatverse or Oververse?''


    They couldn''t help but ask these questions in their minds, since Alex had by himself, without the use of any treasure or artifact, destroyed the fearsome full-powered attacks of seven peak-phase, Heaven Adept-stage cultivators. And he did so that not even a tyrannical wave could surface from the explosion of their attacks into thousands of smithereens. It was really a tremendously surprising to do, even by someone so low in cultivation to them, and at an age that showed that he shouldn''t be someone that should be greatly experienced in battle.


    Then the Heaven Adept-stage cultivators who seemed like they knew each other very much, began to use secret communication techniques to stealthily discuss amongst themselves on how to bring Alex down. At this point in time, they felt that they weren''t battling a common genius, but possibly an old immortal expert that either reincarnated, or transmigrated into the body of this terrifically handsome boy and hijacked it for his own use.


    Once they decided within themselves on what to do, they quickly moved into positions.


    Actually, they formed a formation around Alex that only required seven people. Then once they did this, and started to rapidly perform the same mysterious hand symbols, different types of energies began to gush out from their bodies in seemingly unquantifiable amounts. Then the myriad energies that unceasingly poured out of their bodies gathered a point that was many feet above Alex, who only smiled at them and looked on with crossed hands to see what they wanted to do.


    Actually, Alex had immediately understood that these cultivators were creating a battle formation that they wanted to utilize in attacking him, and possibly, totally destroy him out of the fear of something dreadful about him which had abruptly surfaced in their hearts and ate deep into them.


    Then from the look of the massive offensive formation that rapidly formed above his head from different energies, and then the shocking power of decimation that it seemed to radiate in directions, Alex nodded his head with a high level of impression present in his eyes.


    "When I kill these guys, I should be able to get the Array-Formation scrolls for the creation of this particular formation and teach it to my men. It will seriously boost the battle power of my organization." He said within himself.


    He then got ready to block or deflect the killing attacks that would descend upon him any moment from now from the massive formation that had abruptly formed many feet above his head.


    BANG!


    Sounding like the furious discharge of a streaking thunderbolt from a thundercloud towards the ground, a brilliantly dazzling, corporeal attack that was in the shape of a blade, immediately appeared after the deafening bang sound rang out and then shot towards Alex at a seemingly frenzied speed to cut him into two, thereby annihilating him.


    While Alex who was long prepared for the attack that would be born from the combined full powers of seven peak-phase, Heaven Adept-stage cultivators, quickly aimed his two palms at the blade-shaped energy-attack as it immediately appeared from many feet above his head and then released many energies from his body which sharply condensed and shaped into a colorful and coruscant, pentagon-shaped shield of energy that also shot out at an incredible speed towards the concerted, fearsome attack of the Heaven Adept-stage cultivators and brutally bash it to smithereens.


    BOOOM!!


    Both devastating attacks severely clashed and resulted in the abrupt release of frenziedly roaring, tyrannically powerful waves of energies that swept out with a type of force that struck Alex and catapulted him towards the lake far below, at a speed that if calculated, would be many times that of an arrow that was fired from the solid, massive bow wielded by a war giant. While the Heaven Adept-stage cultivators that set up the butchering formation were viciously flung far into the distance, with their chest heavily dented. It was simply like a wrathful god vexedly smashed his hammer into their chest, since their thick garments ripped apart from behind, painting in one''s mind the amount of force that transmitted through their bodies. Then as for the Sky Lord-stage cultivators, they had been blown away like dusts in a windstorm, with numerous gruesome and life-threatening wounds inflicted upon them.


    Alex who was knocked hundreds of meters into the lake, in which he almost got to the bottom of it, shook his head with great awe in his eyes at the power of the formation that was produced by the Heaven Adept-stage cultivators. Then since he could breathe underwater, an inborn ability that he had discovered long ago, he started to swim back to the surface. And to get to the surface faster, he started to continuously discharge massive, jet-like streams of tribulation-enhanced fire from his two feet to increase his speed in the water.


    If one was wondering why Alex was still alive despite the mighty, ruining waves of energy that struck him really hard and sent him plummeting at a great speed into the lake, it was simply because he had quickly produced a Saint-rank, treasure-armor suit which appeared all over his body in that same instant and protected him from the crushing jaws of the killing energy-waves.


    ***


    A few moments later as Alex didn''t mind the rapid consumption of his pyroforce energy since he had lot of it to delightedly waste, he shot out from within the large lake that he was tyrannically shoved into by those destructive energy waves, and then directly flew towards one of the seriously hurt Heaven Adept-stage cultivators in the far distance using the peerless-grade treasure-wings still strapped to his back. And since he continued to expel tremendous amounts of pyroforce energy from his feet as massive streams of flame to propel him in his flight towards that cultivator, he was able to gain a shocking leap in speed due to the great propulsive force that was generated by the brilliant flames constantly blasting out of his feet like an unending chain reaction of controlled explosions were taking place within his legs.


    Then with a glowing treasure-blade appearing in his hand in the next moment as he blazed through the air towards that cultivator, he slashed off his head without batting en eye when he arrived in front of him. He then flew towards another that was at the far distance to do the same thing.

 Chapter 365: We would have right where we want him to be...

    So, like that, with the cultivators not being able to do anything to him, Alex began to slash off their heads using the blade that he was wielding. He was very fast with this that the cultivators were already dead before they would know they were dead. And this was only because Alex was moving at a tremendously fast speed using those fast-moving streams of fire that constantly ejected from his feet.


    When he was done killing everyone of them, with their bodies plunging into the lake and then coming out to float on top, he lowered himself towards the bloodied lake in the next moment to take the bodies that were beginning to float on the lake. He then pulled out the spatial rings worn into the fingers of those corpses and stowed them away into his. And since he didn''t want the bodies of the cultivators to litter the surface of the lake, when he brought out the floating bodies to take their spatial rings, he would then use his Strengthforce-infused arms to hurl the bodies to the land before the lake.


    When he was done with what he was doing, he flew towards the land that he threw the corpses to and shot a massive fireball at them to turn them into ashes.


    After doing this, and had descended to the ground with the collapsible treasure-wings strapped to his back folding up and retracting back into the mechanism that ejected them out, he removed his blood-stained outfit and replaced it with a new one. He then produced the Azure Beastsman treasure-palace from his spatial ring that instantly teleported him into a hall in it and shot back towards the city, to the place where Alex left his men.


    After the treasure-palace which moved in a layer of space to conceal itself from view appeared in the room that he rented at the inn, Alex was immediately ejected out of it in the next moment. He then sat in the cross-legged position on the ground to think of what to do next in this city, as his major enemies, the brother and sister of Drille, the bone-sawing evil child, hadn''t appeared.


    "Why haven''t they come out all these while? Or they haven''t arrived in the city?" He asked himself with a pondering gaze in his eyes.


    He then said further "Whether they are around or not, it doesn''t stop me from enjoying my time in this city. But since I just got back, let me remain within to continue my comprehension of the plethoric battle-methods that I have branded to my memory. Then when I feel that I have comprehended for a long time, I will come out, and probably go sightseeing in this city. Yea, that''s what I would like to do. I would like to move round the city to see if it has any fantastic and amazing thing that will cause me to marvel."


    Once he thought this, he nodded his head and then closed his eyes to start his apprehension of new battle-methods of some battle methodologies.


    ***


    "Maxmillian, why haven''t we gone to look for that bastard?" Lenna who was by her brother''s side asked with rage in her tone.


    "Calm down, Lenna. I think we should try to do things more carefully. Don''t let us be in a rush." Maxmillian said.


    He then said further "Although his unfathomably powerful uncle isn''t here with him, he however wouldn''t let his boy leave his presence without giving him some powerful defensive treasures to protect himself from the numerous killing attacks that would be unleashed at him by either bandits or his adversaries, like us, that might have followed him down here to this city. And recall that his uncle is extremely wealthy, if not the richest in the continent, so he would spare no cost in paying highly venerated masters of Treasure Artifact-forging to build powerful offensive and defensive treasures for him."


    It was at this point that Lenna nodded her head.


    She then said "I perfectly understand now, brother. That bastard might be in possession of dangerous offensive treasures that can seriously harm us or cause us death if we aren''t careful around him."


    "Exactly" Maxmillian said with a slight nod of his head.


    "But wouldn''t we go to find him? We don''t even know where he is in this city. What if he plans to leave soon and return to Smith city, or go to some other cities from here?" Lenna asked with a sense of urgency in her tone.


    Maxmillian only smiled.


    He then said "Don''t be worried about that sister. He isn''t going to leave this city anytime soon. Don''t forget that he came here with a few members of his organization to look for land in this city where he could build a branch of his stupid organization. And the city which is as large as the Smith city, would definitely have lot of empty lands in which he would try to search the best one for since he has the money to be able to afford it, and then purchase it so that he could start laying the foundation of the massive building that he wants to erect as branch for his organization."


    "So you see, he wouldn''t be leaving anytime soon. Let''s just take our time regarding the capture of him. Then we would definitely have him right where we want him to be, which is right in our inescapable deadly trap. Hahaha!" Maxmillian summarized and then grinned evilly, while his sister, Lenna, nodded her head with an hideous smile hung on her lips. She just couldn''t wait to sink many inches of her evil fangs and claws deep into Alex''s body and exhaustively drain him of his life for murdering their genius brother.


    ***


    When it was night, in which the moon was shining down upon the city, illuminating everywhere with it moonlight, Alex''s eyes suddenly snapped open. He then stood to his feet from his cross-legged position on the ground.


    At this point in time, he felt that he had comprehended battle-methods for long enough, and that it was time to go out into the long and wide streets of the the city to ask around for what fantastic and amazing wonders could be found in the city. Then if they struck his puzzlement and fancy well enough, he could choose to journey to those old anciently sites where those Otherworldly Wonders of the world can be found in this city, and then try to see if he could benefit something from them that would either give him epiphanies, or help him in understanding more unrecorded realm-energies.

 Chapter 366: A Godly Bow

    When he came out of the inn, with a face-altering treasure-mask now worn on his face since he didn''t want to instantly attract attention towards himself, he began to walk leisurely walk down the street. And as he did so, he put his ears out for any discussion on a topic that he was greatly concerned about in his heart.


    However, nothing they said was able to catch his interest.


    He however kept listening, as he was sure that something odd or strange might be going on in the city, then that some set or group of people might gather at some place in the street to discuss about it with perplexity in their voices.


    After walking for nearly twenty minutes, he passed by a large shop in the street that sold vases. Then seated on a wooden bench before the shop were an old man and a young boy who seemed to be probably his son. At the moment, they were discussing about something that suddenly piqued Alex''s interest.


    "That massive veil of rainbow-colored light that suddenly appeared in the city''s sky a week ago, has been confirmed by the Demon-Killing Academy to be a dazzling, multi-colored radiance that was unrestrainedly emitted from a large, purple-colored bow that had abruptly surfaced in our world and then plunged to only heavens know where." The old man said while the young boy being spoken to had his eyes glow with astonishment.


    "Grandpa, really?" The young boy asked with shock in his tone.


    "Yes, son. And I guess that they didn''t want to divulge the location of the bow so that no one would be able to get it. Greedy bastards them. I know that they want the weapon for themselves and probably use it to intimidate other academies in here. You know, from the colored, extreme eye-burning brilliance that the bow gave off as soon as it materialized in our world, you should be able to fully understand that it would be a godly weapon. One that was probably used by a Deity with great archery skills. So, being in possession of such a mighty weapon would definitely increase the level of that academy" The old man said, while the boy seated before him on the bench nodded his head with a glow of understanding in his eyes.


    "I wish I was able to acquire such kind of bow." The young boy said with a fallen facial expression, while the old man who was his grandpa produced a slight smirk on his face.


    "Well, those greedy bastards who have discovered the location of the weapon won''t make anyone know the location of the bow. And if anyone else knows it, that person may be wickedly slaughtered by them. So, just forget it son." The old man said.


    He then continued "Besides, you aren''t a cultivator. You are a mortal. So, how do want to obtain such kind of terrific weapon? Don''t you know that even wielders of some certain weapons have to be really strong too, or the halo or ripples of power put by their weapons may simply crush them to death."


    "Yea, I understand that too, grandpa. But is it really bad and dangerous to wish too? At least my wish won''t kill me." The young boy said with a smile in his face while his grandpa nodded.


    Just before they could continue speaking, Alex who had been listening to what they saying as he walked at a slow, leisured pace, suddenly appeared before them with a smile in the averagely attractive face that was produced by the face-changing treasure-mask that he wore.


    "Hello" He greeted with a smile while the old man and his son nodded their heads at him.


    "Would you like to purchase a vase?" The young boy stood to his feet and asked, ready to go in and give Alex the vase that he wanted to purchase from their shop.


    "Well, yea. I would like to purchase a vase. But before you really get to that, there is something paramount that I want to discuss with you people. Now, on my way here, I overheard you guys from far discussing about a bow that suddenly appeared in the sky of this city and dyed both the sky, the earth and everything in it many blinding colors. Is that really true? Or it''s just some rumor that have spreading round the streets of the city?" Alex asked to really confirm what the old man previously said to the young boy concerning some bow, as he just didn''t want to venture into trying to obtain something that does not really exist.


    Once Alex asked that, the old man and his son looked at Alex with shock in their eyes. Then they understood in the next moment that he was a cultivator. But they were really amazed at how he could hear them far. Cultivators don''t really possess this kind of ability. Then they felt that perhaps he was using a long-distance, special hearing technique.


    The old man then looked at Alex carefully and said "We are sorry, sir. We can''t really discuss about the bow, due to how a particular academy has attached great importance to it. However, just know that it truly exists, and that it''s a kind of weapon that would invoke the strong feeling in one that it was possibly forged by reverenced, supreme godhood treasure-forgers. Then if you really want to know more about the bow, you can visit the Demon-Killing academy. Only them really know much about the bow since they have announced that they have the place where the bow landed in. However, I am not sure if they would receive you well, since they have turned away a lot of people that came to offer them great wealth and treasures in exchange for just a small hint on where the bow could be found."


    "Oh, okay. I understand. Thank you very much for this wonderful information." Alex said with concealed intense delight in his tone. He knew what this meant, that he was up for an exciting adventure in this city.


    He then spoke further with an amiable smile in his face as he unexpectedly produced a spatial ring in his hand, and then stretched it at the now dumbfounded young boy seated on the bench "Here, take this as payment for the information that you wonderful guys disclosed to me."


    Once he did that, in which the perplexed young boy had accepted the spatial ring from his hand, he turned around to walk away without looking back.


    Then with a smile in is face, he said with an aura of confidence beginning to swirl around him "The Demon-Killing academy might try to hide the place where the bow landed. But with that Eyes, all shall be ultimately revealed!"

 Chapter 367: Uncovering the location of the Bow

    After a long time of leisurely walking in the wide busy street, while still putting his ears out to listen to any other thing that might be able catch his interest, Alex suddenly went off it into a bush that was adjacent to the street.


    Once he got in into this bush, he focused on activating the Heavenly Mystery Revealment God-eyes.


    Then all of a sudden, enigmatic symbols began to appear on the white surface of the eyes that glowed with a strange light that seemed like it could penetrate through all forms of darkness.


    Once Alex felt the power to unveil the mystery of seemingly everything in the realmverse come upon him, he quickly thought back to what that old man said.


    Immediately he thought of that large bow that seemed to be the property of titanic Gods themselves, Alex said with a resolute tone in his voice "Reveal!"


    Then all of a sudden, a formless, intangible power of Divination erupted from that eyes in colossal amount which then swept out into the far distance, and in all directions as a tremendously gigantic, rippling incorporeal wave that moved at a million times the speed at which a normal bolt of lightning could move at.


    And, as the invisible scanning wave which was formed from the power of Divination that was released by the Star-Gazing God-eyes penetrated through the numerous clouds in the sky of this region, the earth in the city for tens of thousands of meters deep, and then absolutely through everything in it path as it moved in all directions, it began to rapidly produce the images of fundamentally everything that it came across as it moved through them in Alex''s mind.


    Not long as the rapidly scanning wave which moved at near-countless times the speed of an actual lightning bolt and thoroughly scanned everything in it path, the image of the stunning, godly treasure-bow and the location where it could be found in, abruptly appeared vividly in Alex''s mind.


    Once this happened, Alex gave a broad smile in his face.


    "Finally!" He said.


    Then his eyes reverted back to his usual eyes.


    He then continued with a contemplative gaze in his eyes "Hmm. I guess it''s the people from the Demon-Killing academy that established those engraved pillars around it. They are trying their possible best to keep out everyone''s senses from detecting it. However, now that I have found it, it''s mine."


    "But I would have to be careful too, since those sense-blocking pillars erected around the treasure-bow might trip off a really loud alarm that might alert the instructors of the academy, or worst, the principal or founder of the academy." He said.


    Then he came out of where he was and began walking down the street.


    Seeing how the street was busy as it was filled with people who were going up and down the street to do one thing or the other, Alex shook his head.


    "Well, they don''t need to know anything about the full-scale realmverse invasion that''s going to take place in the soonest or farthest future." Alex said.


    He then continued with a solemn expression appearing in his face "Since it was what I was born for and tremendously blessed and endowed to do, I am definitely not going to shy away from it. That''s why I try to do my best to acquire every form of godlike weapon that I see or hear about, and throw myself into extreme heights of danger so that my many other dormant abilities would be forced to awaken. I absolutely have to find a way to activate all of my innumerous abilities, and increase them to an astronomical degree. But the only way to do that is to engage higher-level cultivators like Saint-stage, Great Saint-stage and Saint Emperor-stage cultivators in an intensely deadly battle so that when my body senses that I am in danger, it would be forced to kickstart my useful and fascinating dormant abilities. I guess that''s the only way then!"


    After he thought that, he pondered further with a smile now appearing in his face ''Well, I am not in this alone. I have Olivia, Elena and Layla who are my wives to support me in the futuristic battle. Then my friends, Draco and Jake, and the loyal members of my Punisher Society."


    "By the way, that girl, Karen, who loved terrorizing me that time at the Black Dragon academy. I wonder where she went to. I would really love to see her again. I kinda miss her. Haha! Don''t know why actually. But I would really love to see her again. Maybe if I go back to the academy to see Jennifer, perhaps I could fortunately or coincidentally come across her again."


    "Then that female expert, Michelle who I met in that valley, I also wanna see her. I am absolutely certain that since I haven''t shown myself in a very long time at her Pure Land sect located in the Pure Land Greatverse, she would have totally forgotten about me. But I wish she hasn''t."


    "That day she swiftly appeared to me because I saw her when no other person should be able to, even God-level cultivators themselves due to a powerful Sensory Obscuration technique that she had mastered, I just suddenly developed this massive, unbreakable interest in her. I really don''t know what came over me when I first met her. Perhaps because I find her to be the most endowed, peerlessly beautiful and sexiest woman that I have ever met. If we somehow meet at someplace in the future and I propose to her to become my wife, I don''t know if she would accept. Well, if I appear to be much more stronger and powerful than her, and she hasn''t been engaged to any other person, perhaps she could consider it, since I can accurately guess she also likes me too, but as a little brother anyways."


    "Same goes with instructor Jennifer. If I am able to beat her in battle and propose to her after that, maybe she would also consider it too, since she also likes me too, and has always been heavily curious about me and my origin. Well, that''s only if she hasn''t been engaged to any other person else which I absolutely hope not."


    After Alex finished pondering about all these as he walked down the street, he brought his drifting mind back to the present.


    "Let me return back to the inn. I think I have walked and heard enough. Then from there, I can start making plans on how to snatch that bow from those Demon-Killing people. Then if my society''s member have arrived, I can send them on another errand again"

 Chapter 368: Making an attempt at cultivating Metalforce energy

    When Alex got back to the inn, he met his men.


    "Hey guys, so how do it go?" Did you find a great place?" Alex asked.


    "Yea. We did. It''s just like you described. A place not far away from people and has a lot of land to accommodate a lot of structure." One replied.


    "Nice." Alex said.


    He then continued "Have you met with the owners of the land?"


    "No. We weren''t able to meet with the owners of the land to see if they are willing to sell. However, we would go there tomorrow to look for the owner." One answered.


    He then continued "But we don''t really know if the owner would be willing to sell."


    "They will. As long as we can offer them lot of money for the land." Alex said.


    He then asked "How much do you think that land would sell for? Then I would double or triple the amount so that we can easily acquire it from them?"


    "Well, the land is large. It should be able to accommodate at least four massive buildings and still have space for erection of smaller structures." One said.


    "Nice!" Alex said with a nod of his head.


    Then that person continued "Yes, Godly Punisher. Then to your question on how much it would be sold for, I think it can be bought at a price of ten million yellow sapphirstones."


    "Okay." Alex said and nodded his head.


    He then continued "This is what I will do. So that we can easily buy off that large piece of land from it individual or group possessors, I will give you triple times the amount of money you said that area of land can be sold for. Therefore, when you meet with the owners and they decline the amount that you offer them. Raise it to a double. But if they still refuse, tell them that you will offer them triple the amount. I am sure they won''t be stupid enough to reject or refuse."


    Once Alex said this, the members of his organization nodded their heads. They totally approved of what he said.


    Then Alex looked into his dad''s necklace to do some sorting of the sapphirstones that he had.


    After he finished loading thirty million sapphirstones into an average-quality spatial ring, he handed it over to his men.


    He then said "Here! This spatial ring contains thirty million sapphirstones."


    Then when one of his men accepted the spatial ring which he stowed away into his own spatial ring, Alex said "I want you guys to be careful. Like, extremely careful. That''s some large amount of sapphirstones that you are carrying with you. Then you have to be wary and cautious of the owners of that land. They could try to attack you guys and take the money for themselves while not giving out any piece of land to you guys."


    "Yes, Master we would be careful." One of his men said.


    Alex nodded.


    He then said "So that those guys, if they are greedy and murderous lots, won''t be able to hurt or harm you, let me give you guys these necklaces. They are protective treasure-necklaces that should release a three-feet thick sphere of metalforce energy that would envelop each of you and begin to swirl at furious speeds to deflect or knock away every form of attack that would be unleashed at you. The spheres should be able to protect you from at least peak Heaven Adept-tier attacks."


    Then continuing his statement, he said "So, Once you notice anything amiss, quickly activate the treasure-necklaces so that they can deploy the spheres that would encircle you guys and protect you from their killing attacks."


    He then looked into his mom''s spatial ring and handed over a glowing, blue crystalline prism to them.


    "Here, this is a distress-signaling treasure. Just activate it and the other piece that I have with me, which is a twin, would lit up with exceeding brightness to alert me that you guys are danger. Then I would quickly transport myself over to come to help you ward off the danger that would engulf you guys."


    Once he did all these, Alex left their presences and went to his room.


    Then when he got to his room, he immediately sat in the cross-legged position to think of an energy that he has always wanted to cultivate. And that energy was metalforce energy.


    Now, he had cultivated up to seventeen energies. But he still wanted to cultivate many more. And those included woodforce energy, aquaforce energy, gyroforce energy, buddhaforce energy and many more


    Alex knew that he was short of time as he had to master more than hundreds of realm-energies, cultivate them to the Primordial Expert-stage in which they would transform into primal originforce energies, then fuse then together so that they can become an energy that is the most supreme, ultimate form of energy in the world.


    But he knew that to do all these, he required time. However time wasn''t on his side. But, Alex comprehended that he just had to try his best to be able to reach that stage where he would be called the Master of Realms. That was the stage where he would be endowed countless powers and be able to destroy the Realm Invaders.


    Then with his eyes closed, he began to try to comprehend what metalforce energy was. He tried to understand it profoundness, it fundamental essence so that he enter attunement with it and be able to cultivate it.


    However, after doing that for a really long time, he realized that he was no where close to understanding the deepness of metalforce energy. The basal essence of the realm-energy seemed to elude him everytime he felt that he was nearing total comprehension of the mysteriousness of the Metal-Control energy.


    Not long, his eyes snapped open with an unhappy expression appearing in his face.


    "This damned metalforce energy. Why is it so hard to understand it quintessence? Well, I won''t give up on you. I know that the extreme complexity about you would be opened up to me soon, as I long as I give it my best everytime to apprehend you. I am surely going to solve those intriguing puzzles about you that would lead me into unlocking the mysteriousness about you, and enter into a state of perfect attunement with you."


    Once Alex stated this with steely determination in his heart, a thought suddenly flashed in his head.


    ''Why don''t you unravel the puzzling mystification of metalforce energy using the Heavenly Mystery Revealment God-eyes?"