"Well, I have high hopes for what we can aplish. We can continue this conversation when we leave this realm."


    As addressed the red-haired man with a much calmer tone of voice. Now that all the calctions had been done in his head, he didn''t need to worry about where they stood anymore.


    "There''s only one more thing I need to confirm," As said, his gaze suddenly sharpening.


    "What did youe to this realm for?"


    The red-haired man raised his brow.


    "Hmm, that is, there are a few things I came for. Basically everything other than the main artifact that created this ce is my prey."


    This time, As was the one who had to raise a brow curiously.


    "Why not the main artifact?"


    "Why?"


    The red-haired man echoed him andughed.


    "Because there''s a certain guy that I want to form a connection with who clearly wants that treasure very much."


    As frowned, but didn''t speak.


    This was different from the debts he had with the Tatsuya n. Those were debts that he knew he would never "have" to pay off. He only "wanted" to do so.


    Bernan wasn''t someone so close to As. The debt that he formed through that sentence was one As would be forced to repay in the future.


    ''I have to maintain boundaries.''


    He wasn''t looking to form another familial bond. They were just cooperating because their motives aligned.


    With that out of mind, both As and Bernan moved on and entered the yroom. They faced their next trial, but in front of an Immortal, no challenge meant a thing.


    In the yroom, more of the artifact''s personality was revealed. It was twisted, but it clearly came from a good ce. The "yroom" was filled with vestiges of the past that this artifact lived in. However, what had originally been a joyful environment was corrupted.


    The yroom turned into a room of death meant to degenerate two people into shells of their true selves before pitting them against each other in a battle to the death.


    As and Bernan didn''t have to deal with any of that. Since his strength had been revealed, Bernan didn''t hold back nearly as much. He destroyed the room entirely, turned around, and grabbed the air.


    Within his grasp materialized a ck core, which he shattered into pieces.


    All of a sudden, the entire manor disappeared. As and Bernan were left in apletely ck space.


    As shook his head.


    He didn''t need an exnation. Bernan, as an Immortal, used his expert control over qi to dismantle the manor''s internal structure and drag its core out of hiding. When he crushed the core, the artifact lost its connection with the manor, which made the manifestation disperse.


    "If you could''ve done that the whole time, what was the point of going through the trials?"


    "I like to have fun. You''re a really stuck-up guy, aren''t you?"


    Bernan shrugged as he walked up to the artifact that only the two of them could see. Considering that the others hadn''t reached the core of the manor, none of them were transported to this ck space.


    To them, it looked like the manor just disappeared, dropping them back on the cliff where it once stood.


    As was a bit annoyed, since he wanted to see the subtle story the artifact was telling, but he didn''t care all that much.


    He watched as Bernan walked forward and grabbed hold of the book-shaped artifact in the center of the ck space. It looked odd in his hands, as he had the appearance of someone who never even learned how to read.


    After looking at his interaction with the artifact for a moment, As turned his eyes to the "other" object in the space.


    "I will be taking that."


    "Hm? That? Yeah, go ahead. It doesn''t look like an artifact, anyway."


    "Hm."


    With a small sound of appreciation, As walked over and took the item that looked like a small coin, putting it in his spatial ring.


    ''He absolutely sensed the energying from this coin.''


    If As wasn''t mistaken, it was something like a "proof." As he had it in his hands now, he had acquired the right to pursue the main treasure of this realm, the Death Relic.


    ''I didn''t know there would be a mechanism like this.''


    He didn''t know, but as someone who had been to a variety of Mystic Realms, he was able to discern what the energy was immediately. Bernan ceded the coin because he also knew what it was. This was just a verification that he meant what he said before.


    ''If it is a matter of tokens, then there will only be a small number of peoplepeting against me for the Death Relic.''


    That made things much simpler. As was able to rule out the element of chaos, knowing that he would be able to control the situation.


    ''Until there is some sort of sign that the Death Relic is manifesting, I can only enjoy this realm.''


    As nced at the man beside him.


    ''We brushed past it, but he said that he is a Cosmic Dragon. It would be interesting to spar against him.''


    As had seen the abilities of Heavenly Dragons plenty of times. Ade, Mireiya, ric, Artemia, Veradon, and all of the other Azure Dragons he interacted with on a daily basis for a long time showed him exactly the kind of power their species could possess.


    What about Cosmic Dragons?


    Seeing a Cosmic Dragon who was different from the perception he''d built of them, As got curious. Were they below Heavenly Dragons because they truly had a gic disadvantage, or did they only need to improve?


    What were their strengths, and what were their weaknesses? How did they function, and how did they differ from the dragons As knew?


    All of these questions sprang to mind as his curiosity lost its original target. In his mind, it was Bernan''s responsibility to satiate the curiosity that he originally disrupted.


    Bernan left the area of the manor as soon as the ck space disappeared. He didn''t want to draw too much attention to himself by staying and making it obvious that he was the one who destroyed the manifestation.


    As followed him. The duo moved off of the cliff and into a distant part of the realm that As hadn''t seen before.


    "Alright. I understand why you followed me. I''ll be honest. I was disappointed with the strength you showed me when you attacked me in the manor. What I saw back then in the hidden world waspletely different."N?v(el)B\\jnn


    They stood in a dark clearing. As they faced each other, Bernan released his entire aura.


    VOOOOOM!


    As'' eyes narrowed. A huge wave of pressure washed over him. It filled the area several hundreds of kilometers surrounding them, scaring away anyone and anything that may have been present there.


    It was not an ordinary pressure caused by the pure density of qi in a powerful cultivator''s body, but the pure aura of a dragon. It had an energy that almost forced those who felt it to submit and bow their heads.


    As used his own qi to shield his body and somewhat ease the pressure. At the same time, earth qi swelled inside of his body. By subtly utilizing the concept of weight that he was learning, he made his own body lighter, lessening the weight he felt considerably.


    He stared at the dragon standing across from him.


    "Come at me, As. Show me that you are capable enough to cooperate with me, Bernan Drake, and mypatriots."


    The wave of aura retreated back into his body after aplishing its purpose.


    And almost instantly, their battle began.