《Hero Cultivation》 Chapter 1 - Hero "Find that madman at once! We can''t allow him to cause havoc on this precious kingdom any longer! He has stooped so low as to kidnap the prince. We shall not rest until his head is presented upon our king!" said a bearded man with bronze armour who rode on his gallant steed. In his hand was a steel blade which looked to be able to cut whole buildings as if they were butter. Behind their leader followed a group of other armoured men as they along with their leader rode their steeds while scouring the kingdom in search of the madman who dared to kidnap royalty itself. News had spread that the prince of the wealthiest and most powerful kingdom in the entire world had been kidnapped by an insane man who had been on the run for quite a while. There were rumours that he was even involved with magic itself. The most forbidden power to ever be used by man. Magic had almost brought the extinction of all creatures including humans, animals and plants. Not a single living thing would''ve survived the era of magic. However, with the combined power of 9 great kingdoms, that catastrophic event was prevented. Each of the 9 kingdoms enforced a strict ban on use of magic no matter the type or reasoning for it. That law was passed over 200 years ago and yet, there is rumour that a person still exists which has control over that forbidden power. That person was currently holding the most influential figure of the next generation captive. The only question was why. It didn''t make sense as to why someone would try to kidnap the prince, let alone be able to do so in the first place. And yet, that same situation was playing out. "W-what do you want from me? I-I''ll have you know that I''m the prince of this kingdom. When my parents find you, you''ll be executed!" a small child yelled out while stuttering in fear. "Don''t you think I know that? That''s why I''m trying to do this as quickly as possible!" a grumpy old man in a lab coat which looked to be shrivelled from not eating in days replied to the child as he sweat while working with potions. "Well, whatever you''re doing isn''t going to save you from your inevitable fate. You''ll end up dying anyway. That''s what you get for kidnapping an important figure such as myself," the child told the old man. While the child was speaking, the old man looked to be too distracted by whatever he was working on for himself. Right as the purple liquid passed through the many tubes and entered the pear shaped capsule, the old man''s face lit up in joy. However, his expression quickly changed to that of fear as he realized his fatal flaw. "I have to do it quickly, I can''t allow 200 years of work to go to waste!'''' The man yelled out in stress as he quickly chanted something which caused a large neon green magic circle to appear in front of him. In doing so, the potion glass capsule which he had worked so hard on turned into a small plastic capsule which resembled that of medicine pills which was given to the sick. "Perfect! Giving him a liquid would be too risky as if it were to spill, the guards would know about it, let alone HIM. However, in this state, they''ll never know what happened to him," the old man said with an evil grin. Just as he said those words, loud banging came from the door. There could only be one group of people who would be knocking that loud at a door. It was the royal guards and they had finally found the hiding place of the madman. "You see geezer! It''s over for you now," said the child as he smiled in arrogance. "Yes, I understand. I''m glad though. My death won''t be in vain!" the old man yelled out before quickly rushing to back the steel door up with his tables which he placed his experiments on so that he could buy himself a little more time. "We''re almost there. If there''s anyone watching over me, please grant me a few more minutes," said the old madman as he created a red magic circle on the ground which he pushed all his books and other materials into. Once he was finished doing that, the old man quickly rushed towards the child and placed the pill-like capsule into the young prince''s mouth and made sure he swallowed it. "What did you do to me?!" the prince demanded. After completing all his tasks, the old man laid on the back of the table and used his body as the last material to try to hold off the guards a little longer. "I''ve done my job. I hope all of you are satisfied," said the old man as he pulled a cigarette from his lab coat and lit himself a cigarette. "You know kid, you''re not such a bad person. I mean, no one is. It''s just what they''re forced to become by the people around them that determines what they''re judged to become. Of course, sometimes people can also be judged wrongfully. They can end up getting killed for a crime they didn''t commit," the old man began to speak nonsense in his last moments. "I''m getting off track, sorry. There''s one last thing I should tell you before I die," the old man said, which was replied with a smug look by the prince. "Do you know why people have heroes?" "It is neither because that person is good or bad. It isn''t because they are kind or evil." "There is no moral aspect to heroes. They can kill as many people as they want but will always be forgiven." "The reason heroes exist is because they are unquestionably the strongest to ever live." "So tell me kid, what do you think would happen if a hero was to turn against the very people that support him?" the old man asked the kid as he stabbed himself with a knife while blood gushed out of his mouth. After saying those words, the old man broke into an evil and sadistic laughter. Seeing a man take his own life in such a manner brought disgust and fear into the prince unlike he had ever seen or thought to have existed. As the prince cried in fear, his mental fortitude broke and in turn passed out in that very moment. The madman neither died with a smile or frown. He died with an evil grin on his face which even after death remained. Truly a fitting end. ... *Bang* With a final kick, the guards managed to break into the warehouse where the madman was already dead and the prince was unconscious. Seeing this, the leader of the royal guards quickly got off his steed and rushed to the prince''s aid. At first he tried to give the child a little nudge to try to wake him up, but when that failed, he realized what he had to do. With conviction in his eyes, he quickly rode on his horse and directed his steed with his right hand while carrying the child with his left. His loyalty to the kingdom and the royal family was immeasurable. As such, that was the reason he was the captain of the royal guards. After knocking over people, tables and chairs which belonged to stores, and many other things, the royal guards had managed to arrive at the kingdom''s castle as fast as they possibly could. At the front door were the king and queen of the richest kingdom in distress. However, at the sight of their only child back home, they calmed down. Even so, the expression on the face of the captain of the royal guards said otherwise. "Your majesty, please move aside. I don''t have time to explain," the captain said as his facial expression morphed to that of a great warrior. Even though saying those words would''ve been an offence which would land a person a permanent sentence to prison or execution, both the king and queen knew that the captain could be trusted and he probably had a good reason for what he was doing. As such, instead of the subjects moving away to create a path for the king and queen, the royal members were the ones to create a path. As was the influence the captain of the royal guards had. Once being allowed to enter the castle, the captain quickly rushed up the stairs and climbed up to the 3rd floor of the castle which housed the royal family''s doctor. Without wasting a second, the captain rushed inside the room to which the doctor was inside. Of course, the doctor, who had simply been reading a book, had no idea what had happened. "Doctor, the prince isn''t waking up. I brought him to you since you''re the only one who can help him," the captain said in distress. Hearing the news shocked the doctor but also the prince''s parents, who were behind the captain. "What are you waiting for, lay the boy on the bed instantly!" the doctor yelled as he searched for his tools. ... "After doing an extensive examination on the prince, I found that there''s nothing wrong with his body. As for his mental fortitude though..." the doctor began to speak before cutting himself off. "Captain, where did you find the prince?" the doctor asked. "We had found him in the warehouse which that madman had taken him. When he got there, that old man had already taken his own life and the prince had been knocked out," the captain replied. "I get it now. Well, the boy will be back to being as good as new once he wakes up. He must be traumatized after seeing someone take their own life. Do whatever you can to make sure he forgets about what took place today.. We cannot allow the royal family''s child to face hardship!'''' The doctor told both the captain and the prince''s parents before forcing them to exit so that the prince could get some rest. Chapter 2 - Party "The event in which the prince of the most wealthy, powerful and majestic kingdom in the whole world took place 8 years ago. Once the prince had awoken from his slumber, he had forgotten everything that had taken place due to being mentally scarred. Of course, who could blame him. He was only 5 years old at the time. Having to witness such vile things at that age in such a short period of time. It made sense why his brain hid that information from him. Obviously, once people learned that the prince had forgotten what took place that day, it was made law that not a single person shall speak of that event in case it might cause the prince to remember everything. At least that was what they thought," said the prince of the kingdom as he graciously looked down at the people of his kingdom with kindness in his eyes. "At first, I had actually forgotten about what had happened that day. However, a few days later, I remembered everything in a dream. Although I was scared of it at first, I quickly grew to question what had actually happened that day. Why was I kidnapped? What was the pill that the old man gave me?" the prince asked himself. "Well, it won''t matter any longer. I turn 14 years of age today and I''ll be allowed to start my journey in cultivation. I will take whatever happened that day to my grave!" the prince told himself with great ambition in his eyes. *Knock* *Knock* "Come in," the prince said to whoever was knocking at his door. A lady in a maid''s attire entered the room to speak with the prince. As any servant should, she bowed in front of the prince before informing him of the news she was sent to provide him. "Good afternoon master Julius. It is always an honour to make your acquaintance. I have come to pass on good news to you. First, it is your birthday today so I have come to congratulate you on turning 14 years old. Secondly, as it is appropriate of someone with high class such as yourself, you are awaited by your guests who have come from all across the world to celebrate the greatest day of your life," the maid said. "There''s no need to be so formal Liz, you''ve been like a mother to me. Especially since my own mom rarely spends time with me due to her adventures with my father. Please, don''t be afraid to speak casually to me," said Julius which made Liz tear up. "You''ve turned out to be a fine gentleman," said Liz as she watched Julius exit the room in the fanciest suit the world had to offer. His tie even seemed to shine in the light when he walked. His silky black hair which was combed back with a gel like substance gleaned in the bright light. Truly befitting that of the heir to rule the greatest kingdom in the world. As Julius walked down the stairs of the castle which led down to the first floor, everyone applauded as they witnessed the prince on the greatest day which the kingdom will experience for a very long time. While many would''ve been nervous to stand amongst so many people and to have all their attention directed at them, Julius was different. He didn''t fear the people. In fact he loved them. However, his form of love was different to say the least. He didn''t love people as a mother loved her child or as a person loved their first crush. His form of affection was that of someone who looked down upon others as if he felt bad that they would never amount to anything. His thoughts were obviously never reflected as he had created the perfect persona to please all. The person which he presented when he met others was that of a selfless hero, much like his father. In fact, Julius'' father was the main inspiration for Julius'' fake persona. His father was a kind man who genuinely loved the people of his land. He treasured every single person who resided in his kingdom and would sacrifice his own life to protect his people. Truly a person who deserved the title "Hero". "Hello there, auntie and uncle. I hope this party is to your liking," said Julius as he smiled at his relatives. While it wasn''t that casual, his form of speech always changed to reflect what his relationship was with whoever he was speaking to. While it would''ve been expected that Julius would speak most formally to the rulers of the other 8 kingdoms of the world, that was not the case. Out of everyone, the people which Julius had spoken to in the most formal manner were his own parents. This was only during large events such as these. When everyone went along and returned to their peaceful homes, Julius could return to being just a simple child who enjoyed spending time with his father. His mother was rather a complicated person. "I see that Julius will finally be able to start cultivating," a man who stood slightly shorter than Julius'' father said as he greeted the royal family. "Indeed he will," his father replied to him with a firm handshake. That was when Julius recognized him. The man who had just greeted him was the emperor from one of the 9 great kingdoms. In fact, all of the emperors and empresses were present for Julius'' 14th birthday. It would be only expected as it was such a magnificent event. When each one of them greeted Julius and his family, the prince felt an overwhelming presence which almost made him fall to his knees. It was sickening to watch as each of those monstrously powerful people asserted their presence with such force. However, there was one good side to it as well.. Julius couldn''t wait to start his journey as a cultivator and put all of the rulers of the great kingdoms in their place, including his father who was the greatest out of all of them. Chapter 3 - Evaluation "Good evening Henry," a woman with long silky hair and a purple dress with long high heels said to Julius'' father. "Good evening to you too, Mary, we''re so glad you could make it," the king replied to the woman. "Julius, you remember Mary right?" the king asked. "Of course, how could I forget... Good evening your highness," said Julius as he bowed to the woman. Even though he was royalty himself, so was Mary. In fact, she was the ruler of a great kingdom herself. She hadn''t found someone to marry yet so she often went to events such as these alone. "Happy birthday prince Julius, we''re all expecting a lot from you. Especially since today is your big day," Mary said. She was referring to the big event which would take place very soon and would lead Julius into the path of cultivation. Since Julius was royalty and his father was unquestionably the strongest man alive, it only made sense that his child would follow suit. While it was scary and overwhelming to think about having to surpass the world''s strongest man, Julius would always be reassured that he didn''t need to be scared. "Don''t worry Julius, everything will be all right. I''ll always be your number 1 supporter. You''ll slowly but surely become strong just like your father," the king whispered to the prince as he tried to reassure his child. "Yes, father, I know very well. Thank you," Julius replied before speaking to the other guests who had come for his big day. Once everyone settled in, they were called in to have lunch which was taking place in the dining room, more specifically the dining hall. There were 5 long tables which had seats for 20 people each. Of course, the 9 rulers of the kingdoms along with whoever they brought with them sat at one of the 5 tables while the other guests which consisted of wealthy and powerful people sat at the other 4 tables. Of course, the meal which they ate was a feast unheard of by anyone. It was prepared by the greatest cooks of all the land and it took them several days to finish planning and preparing each sophisticated meal. As would be expected of a prince, Julius'' life was a dream for many. Being born was a game of luck however, being born into a rich family such as the one Julius was born into was like winning the lottery 9 thousand times. After finishing their meal, it was time for the big event which everyone had been eagerly waiting for the entire day. The person who made the announcement to inform the guests that it was time for it was the king as expected. "We thank you all for traveling all this way all for this great day. If you would be so kind as to follow me to the next room. We can finally begin the event which everyone has been waiting for," Henry said as he stood up and grabbed Julius by the hand as he led all the guests to a nearby room which was an auditorium. Once everyone had taken their seats, Julius was made to be seated in the centre of the room as everyone watched with anticipation. Next, one of the king''s servants brought a crystal artifact which sat on a golden podium. "Master Julius, if you would just place your right palm forward on the artifact," the servant kindly asked the prince. Without asking a question Julius did as he was told. Within a few seconds of placing his palm on the artifact, the crystal orb began to glow as it released a gust of wind across the room. ... "Surely there''s got to be a mistake. Apologies my king, there must be something wrong with the crystal artifact. Let me try again," the servant whispered to the king. "The artifact can never be wrong. Don''t make our guests wait any longer," the king scowled at his servant which wasn''t in his nature. However, due to how important the event was, nothing could go wrong. "Very well your majesty," the servant said before announcing the results of Julius'' measurements. "These are the current base status points for master Julius'' aspects," the servant yelled out to the crowd. [Heath: 100] [Intelligence: 100] [Bravery: 10] [Stamina: 50] [Speed: 30] [Defense: 20] [Physical Strength: 25] Up until that point, Julius was looked at as normal and some even thought that it was disappointing. [Mental Fortitude: 10000] [Skill: 10000] ... Everyone had gone quiet. Not a single person spoke and even some forgot to breathe. There was something definitely wrong. In Julius'' eyes, he was quite disappointed in himself as he thought that the silence meant that he had let everyone down. He had expected to be someone who would gain fame and power so that he could make his homeland but most importantly, his father proud. The silence was finally broken but a sudden clap by Julius'' father as his facial expression turned to that of utter seriousness. "Now everyone, don''t start getting any smart ideas. Don''t forget where you currently are," the king said as he looked up at each of the other 8 rulers of the great kingdoms. However, each of them glanced back at him with the same petrifying look. Within this death-like stare down, Julius stood up from his chair and bowed down to the audience. "My apologies everyone, I know you''ve all been expecting me to have miraculously good base status points. However, it seems that your silence indicates that my results were less than satisfactory for you. For that, I am deeply sorry," said Julius as he was truly disappointed in himself. Hearing his words, the crowd broke into laughter, including his father. It seemed like Julius hadn''t understood why the people were silent. However, in doing his little act, he had brought ease to the crowd and everyone temporarily went back to how they were before hearing the status of prince Julius.. That would soon change as Julius would eventually learn why everyone had gone quiet when they had heard his status. Chapter 4 - Truth "Goodbye Mary," the king said. "Don''t you ever forget my words. I''ll one way or another get my hands on this boy," Mary whispered to the king before leaving the castle. However, before she could truly leave, she said goodbye to the man of honour that day. "Take care Julius. I hope you can find it in your heart to visit my kingdom many times," said Mary as she made an innocent face towards Julius. "I think it''s about time that you leave," said the king as he looked at her with a smile which was filled with anger. "Don''t mind her Julius. She''s just speaking nonsense. Anyway..." the king said to Julius. "I presume everything was to your liking prince Julius?" his father asked in a sarcastic tone. "Yes, it really was. I enjoyed every part of it. Thank you. But seriously, the guests are gone so you don''t have to act like that anymore," Julius said with a smile on his face which seemed genuine for the first time. "Although, I really am sorry," Julius said as he looked at the ground in shame. "Why would you be sorry?" the king asked. "Well, I know how much you''ve been expecting out of me, especially since I''m your son after all. But after all that anticipation, my status reading in the auditorium was disappointing," Julius said. "Oh..." his father said before changing his voice to be much calmer and understanding. "Margaret, would you mind staying here for now? I would like to speak to Julius alone," the king asked his wife. "Not at all, take your time," the queen replied. Hearing those words, Henry began to walk forward towards the stairs which lead up the 5 floors of the castle which he along with his son, Julius would walk through as they had their little conversation. "I''m sorry to break it to you but, the reason that the guests went silent wasn''t because your evaluation was disappointing, in fact, it was quite the opposite," said Henry before he sighed. "Look Julius, your status evaluation was impressive. I mean really impressive. It''s completely unheard of for a person to have 10000 in any area no matter the age of a person. But for you to have them in 2 areas which are specifically the ones needed to master the secret arts, it''s unbelievable," the king began to speak which baffled Julius. "I''m not going to be fooled. You''re only saying that to cheer me up," Julius said in a stubborn tone which just made his father sigh even more. "Listen, to make this make sense to you. I''ll use myself as an example. You should know by now that I am one of, if not the strongest human to live on this planet. My status points range from 1500-2000 points per category. Do you get it now Julius?" his father asked before continuing to speak. "The combined points of your two last aspects are greater than all of my aspects combined. You hold the power to dominate this world as its sole king. However, do not be distracted as you''re much too similar to a glass canon," the king said. "Glass canon?" Julius asked in confusion. "Think of it this way. You can do a lot of damage but the second an attack lands on you, you''re basically dead. That''s why we must start your training as soon as possible," the king told Julius. "But why father? You said we could do my training slowly so that I wouldn''t be overwhelmed by it," Julius replied. "Things have changed son. You''re no longer an average child. Think of yourself as a bomb which is capable of wiping out all of humanity if trained properly. Do you get it now? People would go to great lengths to have you under their control. I don''t know how long I can protect you from others before they get together and destroy me. So please, listen to your father this time. Get strong enough to protect yourself and those you care for from those who seek to destroy what you love," Henry told his son with a sad smile on his face. "I understand," Julius said. In fact he understood more than he was meant to. What his father was saying was that he would need to be sent away to cultivate for the time being and learn ways to become strong enough to take on the entire world. Once their conversation finished, Julius headed for his room to prepare the things he would need while he was off cultivating. When he entered his room, he was greeted by Liz who was sitting by a chair near his enormous bed. In her hand was a large book which she would read stories to Julius so that he could go to sleep. "Don''t you think I''m getting too old for you to read stories to me? After all, I''m 14 years of age now," said Julius. "Huh? So what I''m hearing is that you don''t like spending time with me? Well, someone has gotten pretty rude over a few hours," said Liz. "No no, that''s not what I said at all," Julius tried to correct himself. "Oh, so you''re saying that you like me? Pretty bold of you to make such a confession during the day of your birthday," Liz said as he tried to cheer Julius up. The prince hadn''t realized it but he looked gloomy when he entered his room. "You know what I mean," said Julius as he became flustered. He had no knowledge of what the concept of love was. All knew about it was that he didn''t want to be affiliated with it. As would be expected of a boy his age. Julius hadn''t found his first love yet. Once Liz finished reading the story to Julius, she had realized that the prince had gone off to sleep. "You''ve had a tiring day. However, this will not be the last of your struggles. Good luck Julius," said Liz as he pecked him on the cheek before leaving the room and closing the door behind her. Chapter 5 - Training The next morning Julius was awoken from his slumber by his father. This was alarmingly odd as this had never happened before. However, even so, Julius could tell what was happening. "Hey Julius, I have something to tell you¡­" Henry began to speak. "There''s no need for you to elaborate father. I already know. When do I leave?" Julius asked. "The caravan has already been prepared for you with everything you''ll need inside it. You''ll be going to see my master and spend quite a lot of time with him in the mountains. Don''t fret, once you''re back, there''ll be a big celebration for you," his father tried to encourage him. "Thank you for all you''ve done for me. I should probably get dressed now since I don''t want to keep the driver waiting," said Julius as he got out of his bed. As he headed towards the bathroom which was located right beside his room, Julius'' father gave him some other information. "Just so you know, you won''t be going to meet my master in your formal attire. Instead, you''ll be provided with a more comfortable outfit which you''ll understand the use of when you start your training," Henry told his son. Without replying, Julius quickly did whatever he needed to do before exiting the bathroom so that he could get dressed. On top of his bed were a pair of grey trousers and a white t-shirt. While it was a lot simpler than the clothing which he was used to, Julius didn''t complain and put on the clothes just as he was asked. Outside his room was his father, who had been waiting for him to finish whatever he needed to do before leaving the kingdom for so long. The king escorted Julius all the way from his room down to the first floor of the castle then to the outside garden where his caravan was waiting for him. The final people that were there to say their goodbyes to Julius were his father, mother and a few other servants which had connections to the prince. That of course included Liz. Although Julius wanted to say a proper goodbye to Liz in the informal manner which he was used to, he couldn''t act that way in front of his parents, let alone the other servants. Julius said goodbye to his parents before meeting Liz''s gaze as it was the only way for him to say goodbye to her. Although Julius had a mother of his own, Liz was the other who had basically raised him. Julius didn''t bother to ask why his mother was so formal and distant towards him as it didn''t matter. To him, Liz was the only mother he would need. Julius also had his father who his compassion alone made up for what he lost from his biological mother. Once inside the caravan, Julius couldn''t help but start to feel nervous and scared while wondering what would happen when he met his father''s master/teacher. A person who trained the world''s strongest man would surely be a monster himself. The caravan ride was relatively smooth. Nothing happened out of the ordinary but that was most likely because it was being guarded by over 50 men on horses which were part of the royal guards. Anyone who would dare face them would have to be insane. After over 5 hours of continuous travel the caravan which Julius was in came to a stop. Since they had reached their destination, 2 of the royal guards got off their horses and began to unload the prince''s luggage. Julius himself also exited the caravan to stretch as he had barely moved for so long. During those 5 hours, Julius had conquered his fear of his father''s master and that fear was turned into excitement. "Good luck prince Julius," the guards said as they headed back for the kingdom. In front of Julius was an old shrine looking house. Outside of it sat a short old man as he drank his tea while he enjoyed the cold breeze. As Julius walked ever closer to the house, he stepped on a stick which cracked from the impact and caused the old man to turn his attention to him. "You must be Henry''s boy. I hear that he wants me to teach you how to cultivate in our world," said the old man. "That''s right mister..." Julius began to speak but didn''t know his new teacher''s name. "You can just call me Jun. Anyway boy, come inside already. You''ve got a lot to learn," said Jun as he led Julius inside. After managing to get everything inside his designated room, Julius was finally ready to learn how to cultivate. The one thing which everyone around him speaks of to be so profound and amazing. "So master Jun, I hope that my father has already informed you of my status evaluation thing..." said Julius as he didn''t want to make the old man have a heart attack. "Oh yes, I already heard about it. News like that travels fast. I nearly got a heart attack... that was the reason I even agreed to take you as my disciple. An old man like me would never agree to take on the gruesome task of teaching unless it was for a special occasion which in this case happens to be true," said Jun, which brought both relief and worry to Julius. "So Julius, what do you wish you could have?" Jun asked a bizarre question. "... Uh, I already have everything I could ever need," Julius said as he tried to make himself look grateful. "Cut that out. Stop with the fake acting. As your teacher, I need you to be honest so I can help you grow as fast and efficiently as possible. Nevertheless, I didn''t ask what you needed, I asked what you wanted. Think about superpowers and stuff kids like you wish they had," said Jun. "In that case, since we''re speaking hypothetically I want to fly, teleport, turn invisible, create anything out of nothing, be able to run at the speed of lightning, control lightning itself and many more super powers," said Julius as he began to get enveloped in what he spoke of which brought a smile on Jun''s face. Chapter 6 - Cultivation "But seriously master Jun, what does me listing the superpowers I wish I have to do with cultivation?" Julius asked with a confused face. "Fool, this has everything to do with cultivation. You''re too blinded with false expectations to see what''s right in front of you," Jun scowled at Julius. "Let me guess, you''ve been told about how much stronger you''ll become once you begin to cultivate yourself right? You''ve probably heard about people splitting mountains and slaying dragons. Even tales of people acquiring the ability to fly," Jun asked Julius. "Of course I have. Almost everyone has heard those stories from when they were a mere child. That''s the very thing that pushes people to start their journey into cultivation," Julius replied. "Good, good. Now let me ask you something, have you once seen your father or anyone from the rulers of the 9 kingdoms cultivate? As a matter of fact, do you even know the method of cultivation?" Jun asked Julius which had caught the prince off guard. He hadn''t realized it but he''d been blinded by all the glorious stories that he had forgotten to look into the very basic methods of cultivation. "No..." Julius replied with an ashamed look on his face. "That''s very interesting, Mr. prince. Let''s see if you''re smart... do you know why the adults which you''re so familiar with stopped cultivating?" Jun asked a question which Julius had no way of answering. "I don''t know.. I mean, how could you blame me. Each of them probably have their own reasons for giving up cultivation such as having children and having to take care of their respective kingdoms," Julius tried to explain. "I guess you do make some pretty good points but alas, they''re all wrong and I''ll explain why. Do you know how a person who is blind would feel if they were given the ability to see once again? You''re probably thinking that they would be overjoyed and that''s exactly right. However, after a few years, they''ll begin to get used to their eyesight and will think of it as nothing more than a daily occurrence. That goes for anything and anyone. Think about people who were poor that grew to have enormous amounts of money. At the end of the day, humans will always grow bored of what they have and will seek something else. As you can tell by now, that is the same thing which happens to everyone who starts their journey of cultivation," Jun explained to the prince. "Are you saying that my father along with the other 8 rulers of the great kingdoms stopped cultivating themselves just out of boredom?" Julius said as he found Jun''s words quite insulting. "Yes I am. I know this better than anyone. It has happened to me and my students. However, I will do everything in my power to make sure that you do not stop. It is a must that you reach the apex of all creation. You will train day in and day out until you alone can take on the entire world," Jun said which lit a fire in Julius''s heart. As the two sat down and continued to speak in the living room of Jun''s old shrine-like house, Julius couldn''t help but ask more questions so that he could learn as much as possible about cultivation. "That''s great and all master Jun, but how do I begin cultivating? You still haven''t taught me how to grow," Julius asked with anticipation. "Well, that''s where you''ll have to make an important decision. You see Julius, there are two ways of cultivation in our world. Those beings, cultivation through battles and cultivation through meditation. Both of them give you different results but the strength you end up with is relatively equal. Most just pick whichever one they''re most compatible with such as your father you chose cultivation through battling as he didn''t have much patience in his younger years. Although, you''re a special case..." said Jun. "How so?" Julius asked. "Well, your status evaluation leads me to believe that you''ll be able to master both of the cultivation styles. But don''t get me wrong, your physical capabilities are horrible. You''re better suited to pick the other method," Jun quickly explained to the prince so that Julius wouldn''t get over confident. "So why don''t I go with the second option instead?" Julius asked. "You still don''t get it? Well, I guess I''ll have to explain every single part of this. Julius, you have such high status points on the two aspects needed for cultivation through mediating that you would most likely be able to do it in your sleep. Since you''ll be able to cultivate at night already, you can cultivate through battle during the day," said Jun as he eyes lit up just from talking about how overpowered his new student would become. "Are you serious?! That''s great! I couldn''t have asked for anything better," Julius replied with a giant smile. "There''s a catch to it however. Since you don''t quite know how to sleep and cultivate at the same time yet, you probably won''t be able to sleep the first couple of nights because you''ll be too busy trying to find your balance. To add on, you won''t be able to sleep in the mornings either since I''ll be teaching you how to cultivate through battles..." said Jun before his voice cut off. "What''s wrong? Why did you say it like that?" Julius asked with concern. "Well, that''s the problem. Your physical strength, speed, and defence are disappointingly low. You''ll be overworked to death so that you can maximize your potential. However, if you find that to be too challenging, you just focus on meditating. Although you should know that the life ahead of you won''t be easy. If you haven''t realized yet, each of the other 8 rulers are after you. They would and will do everything in their power to get possession over you. Whatever you pick to do with your life, choose wisely as the fate of our planet depends on it," said Jun. Hearing those words, Julius quit the childish act and changed to be more serious.. He knew which option to pick. Chapter 7 - Soul "I would like to learn both cultivation methods so please teach me," said Julius as he bowed to his teacher while sitting down. Hearing this brought a smile to Jun''s face as he could finally begin to raise the one disciple he actually thought could bring peace to the world. Unlike many others Julius didn''t look to have any ulterior motives to gain from cultivation. Most just wanted overwhelming power to destroy their enemies or control others however, Julius was a different case. The prince didn''t even know why he wanted to study the arts of cultivation. He only got into it to make his father proud. "Sounds good to me. We should probably start off with meditation first since that''ll be the easy one for you," said Jun as he stood up from where he was sitting. He slowly walked towards Julius and laid his palms on the prince''s shoulder before pushing his back to the ground so that Julius would lay in a sleeping position. While he was caught off guard by this, Julius just went along with it. "Now close your eyes," said Jun and Julius listened as he did what he was told. ... "Just take slow and deep breaths... inhale... exhale... inhale... exhale," Jun repeatedly instructed Julius as he tried to get his breathing up to a certain rhythm. "Good, now just continue to do so..." said Jun before flicking his finger on Julius'' forehead which hurt the prince as much as it would''ve hurt for him to get his by a truck. "Ow-" before he could even finish his complaining expression, Julius went dead silent as his mind completely shut off and his soul went somewhere. There was nothing in the place where his soul was taken. All there was nothing but white light. As he continued to be confused, Julius heard a voice which was familiar. "Do you know why people have heroes?" "It is neither because that person is good or bad. It isn''t because they are kind or evil." "There is no moral aspect to heroes. They can kill as many people as they want but will always be forgiven." "The reason heroes exist is because they are unquestionably the strongest to ever live." "So tell me kid, what do you think would happen if a hero was to turn against the very people that support him?" Julius finally remembered where he recognized that voice. It had been nearly a decade but he could never forget that sinister voice. It was that of the old madman who kidnapped him when he was merely a child. "What do you want from me?" Julius asked in an angry tone. "You''ve finally begun your journey I see. Well, everything shall reveal itself in due time. Just become stronger so that you are powerful enough to stand your ground when the time is right," the old man''s voice spoke before other voices began to add on. "200 years have been used all for you." "Do not waste all the lives that have gone through hell to get you your power." "We have given you everything you''ll need." "So defeat the one who''s call they heed." ... "I still don''t understand. What am I even supposed to do?" Julius said as he began to get more confused than he was previously. After waiting all this time, he was finally given a chance to learn more about what had taken place that day but now, he was left with more puzzles. A few moments later, the white light began to get shrouded in darkness as a suffocating presence began to take over. Before he realized it, Julius'' soul was underwater. Julius didn''t know if souls could drown but for some reason he chose to make his soul close its mouth and nose so that he couldn''t risk it. However, before long, he would need to give up as he was running out of the small amount of air he had in him. Seeing as he couldn''t hold out much longer, Julius gave up and allowed himself to say his goodbyes to the world before he would drown. However, Julius did not drown. Instead, when he allowed himself to let go of his nose and mouth, Julius found that he could breathe underwater just like he could breathe air itself. In fact, it was more relaxing than anything he had felt before. All Julius wanted to do in that moment was stay like that for eternity and never go back to reality. "Wait, how am I breathing underwater? How am I controlling my soul? How do I even know this is my soul?" Julius asked himself before completely forgetting about all his questions and concerns due to the overwhelmingly relaxing feeling he received in that moment. Although his time in the water was utter bliss, that would quickly come to an end as he was woken up from the state of relaxation by Jun who flicked his forehead with his finger which forced Julius to wake up with a gasp for air. When he realized what the old man had done, Julius looked at his master with a face of anger and irritation. "Don''t worry kid, you''ll be able to return there soon enough. But the question is, did you have any distracting thoughts while you were in that state?" Jun asked the prince. Of course Julius knew that the state in which he spoke to the madman and the other voices wasn''t part of the cultivation process so he chose to not speak of it however, the part about the underwater stuff, he could talk about. "Well, yes I did. It was a bit scary but my brain went straight back to relaxing after just a few moments. Is that bad?" Julius asked. "No, not at all. Most people in fact have trouble adjusting to that state of mind and usually wake themselves up from it by force. But I can see that you''re getting accustomed to it from the start.. A few distracting thoughts are to be expected from anyone," said Jun as he joyfully explained to Julius. Chapter 8 - Gifted "All things said, you should be able to cultivate in your sleep within 1 to 2 weeks at max," said Jun. "Wait so that was what cultivating is? It''s so easy, why do people stop doing it if they can just do it in their sleep?" Julius asked. "It''s not that it''s easy, it''s just that you''re fortunate. Don''t worry though, you''ll be humbled quite soon when you start learning the other form of cultivation. But first, we need to finish the basics of cultivation through meditating," said Jun before continuing to teach Julius. "As I said, we''re not quite finished yet... do you see a gear looking thing to the top right of your vision area?" Jun asked. "In fact, I do. What is that..." said Julius as he tried to move his head so that he wouldn''t have to look at that irritating small icon. "There''s no point in trying to look elsewhere, it''ll always be there. That''s the thing you''ll use to see at what level or rank you are when you''re finished with your cultivating sessions... why don''t I walk you through the process. To start off, just move your finger to where it is and tap on it," said Jun as he guided Julius. "Are you sure this will work?..." asked Julius as he listened to what his master told him. Before Julius could even fully finish his sentence, a large transparent blue screen appeared in front of Julius'' eyes. "What is this?" Julius asked as he quickly moved back as he tried to avoid it in case it was dangerous. "Well, I can''t see what you''re looking at but I assume a transparent green screen has appeared in front of you which has white glowing text?" Jun asked his student. "Yes clearly... wait, you can''t see this?" Julius asked his master as he calmed himself down. "Nope. A person can only see their own cultivation screen. However, seeing as you are able to access your cultivation screen means that the process has worked. Tell me Julius, what does the white text say?" Jun asked. [Julius Henry] [Rank: 1] [SP: 10/1000] "It looks like I''ve got a long way to go?" said Julius with a sad look on his face. As for Jun, he sat still with his hot tea in hand as he didn''t move a muscle. After a while, he had a chance to comprehend what he had just heard which caused him to freak out and drop his hot tea cup which broke due to the impact. "Are you actually serious? You better now be messing with me!" Jun yelled out. "I''m telling the truth..." Julius replied. "Oh my days, I have been blessed with such a gifted student after all this time. Maybe teaching that rotten Henry finally paid off. I knew struggling with him would end up with me having such a talented disciple," said Jun as he was overjoyed. "Why are you so happy?" Julius asked his master. "What isn''t there to be happy about? You should be happier than me yet you look so depressed. Fix that sad attitude of yours," said Jun before returning to his celebration. "So did I do good?" Julius asked. "You moron, you''re too talented for your own good. I forgot that I need to explain every single detail to you. I guess you take after your father. That idiot could have done me a favour and taught you at least the basics of cultivation," said Jun with an expression which exemplified spite. "Anyway, to put it simply. You''re gaining SP at an extremely fast rate. It only took you a few minutes to accumulate 10 SP. Since the rate at which you gather SP increases over time, you could possibly... no, you WILL be the first person to max out and reach cultivation rank 20 through mediation. This alone could make you a powerhouse. With rank 20 and just a little bit of physical training, you could... take on the 9 rulers themselves," said Jun as a dark expression took over his face before returning to the peaceful old man he was. "Now that we finished covering this type of cultivation, let''s move on to the next.." Jun began to speak. "Master Jun, how do I close this screen?" Julius asked. "Oh, there should be an X like button at the top right of the transparent green screen. Just click on it and it should return back to its small gear like icon state," Jun explained. Just as he was told, Julius followed each of the steps and was able to close the screen and turn his attention back towards his master who would next teach him cultivation through battle. "How hard can it be? I''ve already gotten the hang of one of the methods. I was born for this, I won''t even need to lift a finger to master the other method. It''s really a shame, I''ll have to rule the world as its rightful king without having to put in even the least bit of effort. How pitiful. Although who could blame the world, it was my rightful possession from the day I was born," Julius proudly stated to himself as he arrogantly followed Jun outside the house to begin his training of the other form of cultivation. Once he walked out of the house, Julius finally got a chance to appreciate the view of the man mountains which surrounded him. The mountain itself was so large that it put the kingdom''s castle which Julius called his home to shame. "Wow..." said Julius as he followed his master to the backyard of his house. Even though his house looked to be a bit small, the backyard on the other hand was enormous. It made sense though. Julius rightly assumed that he used his backyard as training grounds to which all of his previous students would train inside. As such, it would only make sense that he would have such a large area to train his students which would later become renowned people. Although Julius wouldn''t need the area which multiple people would need to train, he didn''t mind the extra space. It was all the better for him to begin his training in. With an excited look, he stared at Jun who stared back at him with anticipation as they would have the greatest training sessions the world had ever seen. Chapter 9 - Negotiation Elsewhere, more specifically, back at the kingdom which Julius called his home, king Henry was currently holding a meeting with the 8 other rulers of the great kingdoms. They were in a secret room which was heavily guarded and sound proofed so that no one could hear or see what the meeting was about. "I''m glad all of you could make it back once again. It is an honour to be able to host you in our humble kingdom once more," said Henry as he began the meeting which only consisted of the actual rulers of the kingdoms which meant that no one, including their wives, husbands, children or relatives was inside aside from them. "Cut the crap, we all know what we''re here for. Let''s get down to business already," one of the kings said in an angry tone and demanding as he stood up from his seat which was placed on the circular table. "I don''t know what to tell you, he''s my son so you can''t have him," Henry replied to the king who had spoken. "This is no longer a matter of family or relations. The boy is nothing but a weapon from this point forward. Whoever has possession over him could possibly rule the world with an iron fist. You would be disrupting the balance of this world," another one of the kings spoke out. "So what do you propose? That I just hand him over to one of you for free?" Henry asked sarcastically. "I''ll happily sign off all rights to my kingdom to have that boy," said a queen from the table. ... "You do realize what you''re offering right? You would not only give away all monetary value your kingdom has but also the rights of your people just for a mere child?" Henry asked as his expression turned to that of a scared small child. "Of course she would. Any one of us would do the same if given the opportunity!" a king who looked to be relatively old yelled out. "Relax there old man, he''s just toying with us. He knows better than anyone what lengths a person would go to hold possession of that child. He''s just trying to mess with us," said Mary. "What do you say everyone, let us wage war upon this kingdom and then we can decide who''ll get possession of the boy after that amongst ourselves," Mary continued. "Hey there, that''s so mean of you. You would really kill your old buddy so you could manipulate his son?" Henry said before breaking out into laughter. "Don''t kid yourselves. Even by some miracle if you were to kill me, you''d still be back where you started. There''s no way a single one of you would allow someone else to have control over someone so powerful. That''s only if by some miracle you can bring me down. By then most of your strength for yourself and your armies would be depleted. Let''s just say that you actually manage to accomplish that, what would happen when that poor boy sees the corpse of his loving father on the ground and the people who he had loved so much are the ones who killed him," Henry said as he allowed a scenario to play out in the heads of the rulers. "Why would that matter, even if he had begun his training, he would need at least a decade or two to find the ins and outs of cultivation," Mary scowled at Henry. "You still don''t get it," Henry began to smile until that turned into the most evil and sinister grin a person could present. "No... you''ve already sent him there? It''s only been a day and you''ve sent him away? You''re a monster Henry. You realize what''s going to happen to him there right?" said Mary. "Oh, I know. I know better than everyone how that demon treats those who do not meet his expectations. He''s only nice when you first impress him but the second you stop shattering your limits, he invokes hell upon you. Even so, if that boy manages to return alive, you know what will happen right?" said Henry as his grin grew to be more sinister. "You''re lying to yourself if you think he''ll come back alive. Even you who''s the so-called strongest man went to him at the age of 21 and nearly died. You think someone who is 7 years younger than the living prodigy that was yourself could survive the training? I mean, we all heard what his other status points are. He''ll clearly pick the meditation path and probably reach a high tear. However, just as he all expects from him, he''ll be a glass canon. However, to avoid that, he might instead pick the route of battles which the training of it would kill him. You set yourself up Henry, you won''t be winning this battle," said another queen of her respective kingdom. "Did you ever consider the possibility of him learning both methods?" asked Henry which brought the entire room to become dead silent. ... "Preposterous!" "That is not even possible!" "You''ve lost it!" "You''re insane!" Hearing all these comments, Henry couldn''t help but laugh as they had their minds blown by the concept which they feared. "You can''t be serious?..." Mary asked as her heart sank in fear which was just replied to by Henry''s laughter growing. "Whether it''s true or not, we cannot risk letting a monster like him continue to live!" said a king. "Agreed!" The rest replied as each of the 8 stood up from their seats as they prepared to exit the room. "Hey there, where are you guys going? We''re having so much fun here, there''s no need to rush things," Henry said in a joyful tone. "We''re going to first kill your child then we''ll see about your fate," said the oldest king of the group. "You will do no such thing!" Henry yelled. "And how do you plan to stop us on your own?" the 8 kings and queens said simultaneously. "Do you know what happened 200 years ago?" said Henry as a shadowy figure began to grow behind him. "How far have you fallen Henry?" Mary asked as she looked at him with fear in her eyes. Chapter 10 - Improvement Back at the backyard of Jun''s house, Julius had managed to get himself physically ready for the upcoming training which would take place very soon. "Have this," said Jun as he gave Julius a wooden blade which he had brought along with him before he went outside. "Will I be fighting you master Jun?" Julius asked. "No no, if I were to engage in battle with you, I might accidentally kill you," said Jun. While it was an attempt at bragging about his strength, he wasn''t lying. The physical power gap between him and Julius was much too large. "I gave you that blade to see what you''re made of. So Julius, show me what you''ve got. How about swinging that sword forward as hard and fast as you can?" Jun requested of his student. With determination filled in his eyes, Julius did as he was told. However, right as his blade reached its fastest point of movement, it slipped out of Julius'' hand and landed on the ground just perfectly enough for it to bounce back and to hit Julius'' head with its hilt. .... Seeing as what had just happened, Julius just looked back as his master frozen in place as if he had done nothing but also everything wrong. "YOU DAMN FOOL! HOW COULD YOU LET THAT HAPPEN?" Jun yelled at his student. "Calm down Jun, maybe it was just a one time accident. After all, he''s a genius when it comes to one type of cultivation so he would be at least average at the other one," Jun told himself in an attempt to calm himself down. "Julius, how about you pick up your blade and try that one more time.." said Jun as he encouraged his student. Even though Julius was a bit nervous, he was more determined than ever to show his master that his student would be the greatest at everything. After taking a deep breath, Julius stared at his blade before bringing it high in the air then bringing it down as hard as he could. However... Just like the previous time he tried, he had lost possession over the blade and it slipped out of his palm only to deflect and hit his head with the hilt once more. ... "I swear I can explain," said Julius as he stood in the same frozen position as he had when this incident had taken place the first time. "You can explain it to whoever you see when you die!" said Jun as he began to chase Julius with a brick he found laying on the ground. "I''m sorry! I''m sorry! I''m sorry! I''m sorry!" said Julius as he begged for mercy as the brick hit his head. "You managed to fool me. I thought you were a prodigy amongst prodigies. But no! For what you excel in one method of cultivation, you lack the very basic skills in the other. Boy, you better count yourself lucky! I would''ve killed you by now if I wasn''t so interested to see how powerful you would grow. Nevertheless, if I can''t kill you by my own hands, I''ll make sure that my training does the job for me. Now, give me 20 laps around the back yard!" Jun yelled out. "20....?" asked Julius as he feared what would become of him if he actually ran across the area only 5 times let alone 20. The backyard itself was the size of around 2 football fields not that anyone from that world would know what football was. However, seeing Julius was less than the average person when it came to physical aspects, he would surely die if he attempted the task his master had given him. "Don''t make me repeat myself," said Jun with an angry look which quickly changed Julius'' mind. He would rather die from running than have to face whatever monster his master was. So, Julius began to run around the backyard. Even before finishing the first lap, Julius wanted to puke. He didn''t know how much longer he could go before he would pass out from exhaustion. However, every time he felt the urge to give up, he looked at Jun who stared back at him with death in his eyes which pushed Julius to continue. "What''s his deal anyway? He was so nice to me just a minute ago. Was me not being able to meet his expectation of me worth this type of harsh punishment?" Julius asked himself as he continued to run. "I wonder how father and mother are. I hope everything back home is going. I wouldn''t want my return to be greeted with sad faces. Oh right, for the first time in my life, Liz won''t be reading me a bedtime story either... not that I care! I''m finally becoming a real man," Julius continued. to have random thoughts as he spoke to himself as he tried to find a way for him to distract himself from running. "You can stop," said Jun but was ignored by Julius as he was absorbed in his own thoughts. "I said you can stop!" Jun yelled out which caught Julius'' attention. "But you said I had to run 20 laps. Why are you making me stop earlier?" Julius asked. "Oh Henry, you really did pass on to me a monster," Jun said to himself before replying to Julius. "You''ve already run 32 laps. I don''t know how you were able to do so without passing out a couple hundred times but you''ve done it," said Jun as he looked at his disciple with a smile once more. "I get it... he''s only happy when I meet his expectations. To him, I''m just a plant. The more I grow, the more he treats me better," Julius said to himself, which made him quite disappointed in his teacher. Jun once again flicked Julius'' forehead. "Ow! What did you do that for?" Julius asked. "Anyway, I want to see something. There should be a second gear like icon in the top middle of your vision area. Click on it to see all your status points. Tell me what your speed status is now," Jun requested. [Speed: 50] Chapter 11 - Food [Speed: 50] "So you do have it in you after all. For a second I thought that I might have to make your training regiment a lot harder to make up for all the disappointment in your physical body. But seeing as you''re able to grow at an exponential rate, you''ll do just fine," said Jun. "So can we go back to the sword training now that I finished my punishment laps? I want to wield a blade already," Julius complained. "No no, you''ll just drop it again. You''re not ready to wield a blade yet. Maybe it''s your arms which lack strength..." said Jun before looking around for a stick. Once he found what he was looking for, Jun used the stick to whack Julius'' triceps. "Ow!" "Why do you keep hitting me for no reason?" Julius asked. "It''s just as I thought... I''m sorry Julius, it must be hard for you to hear this. Please sit down for this, you might need to catch your breath after this," said Jun as he prepared to tell him the horrific news. Hearing this made Julius'' heart sink. For the first time since their encounter, his teacher had a serious expression on his face. There was truly horrible news coming his way. "What did I do? Is my training over already? Will I be deemed a failure?" Julius asked himself in worry. "What is it master Jun?" Julius asked as he grew tired of the anticipation. ... "You''re weak!" Once Jun said those worlds, he began to cry out of utter disappointment. Although he had thought Julius'' physique was disappointing, he didn''t expect the prince''s arms to be so skinny and weak. There was no muscle to them. However as he cried in disappointment, Julius stood up from the ground as he prepared to end the old man''s life with a single strike. "Quit messing with me!" Julius yelled as his teacher before throwing his fist forward. However before his attack could land, Jun whacked Julius'' chest with the stick in his hand which caused the prince to be sent flying a couple metres back. "I swear to you on behalf of my entire kingdom, I will land a devastating blow to you one day old man!" Julius promised. "Is that so...?" Jun asked with an evil grin. ... "Well, I guess I can''t train you. Take your things and leave, I won''t train someone just so they can hit me when they get stronger," said Jun as he turned his back and began to walk towards the door which led to his house. "I was just kidding! I would never show disrespect to my teacher!" Julius yelled out as he tried to get Jun''s attention which in fact he did. "If that was the case, you''re terrible at telling jokes. Nevertheless, I''ll train you but you better be prepared for a life of hell for the time being," Jun stated before turning back to help his student learn more. "Thank god he took the bait. You''ve got to be insane if you think I''ll be letting you torment me and get away with it. I''ll use you to get strength then I''ll torment you just like you did to me," Julius thought to himself before gently smiling at his teacher. "So what do we do now?" Julius asked with anticipation. "You''ve got to be hungry by now right?" Jun asked his student which right in that moment Julius'' stomach began to growl. "Hehe" "I guess you''re right. I didn''t notice because of all the training you''ve been making me go through," Julius said as he was a bit embarrassed. "Good then. Well you''re going to go earn your food here," said Jun with a sinister smile. "What do you mean?" Julius asked as he thought that Jun would make him do a couple more exercises before they could finally eat. "I meant exactly what I said. You''re going to have to earn your food as in, you have to go hunt it down," Jun told his student. "... do you mean like fish or something? If so, can you give me a fishing rod?" Julius asked. "No you idiot, I want you to go battle some animal and bring it here so we can eat it," Jun said. "Sure I guess. Can you give me a dagger or something so that I can kill it?" Julius asked as if he had heard nothing wrong with what his master wanted him to do. "I will not. You''re going to have to fight the animal yourself and bring it here. Although, I should warn you, there are bears in the forest," said Jun. "So you''re saying I have to battle against bears while trying to catch my prey and I have to do this without any weapons provided?" Julius asked. "That''s exactly right. Good luck and get going now, you''re going to need all the time you can get. After all, the forest is much more dangerous during the night," said Jun as he pointed Julius towards a large forest which was under the mountain they were on. "This man has surely got to be insane. There''s no way I can survive even a day with him let alone a week. When do I even go back home? I could end up living with him for a month... or a year," Julius said to himself as his heart sank in fear. While Julius was having an inner monologue with himself, Jun had already went inside his small shrine like house as he relaxed while he sent his student off on a suicide mission. "I seriously hate this," said Julius as he descended down from the mountain slowly due to it being quite steep. "How am I even going to get back up there?" Julius asked himself before telling himself "I''ll worry about one thing at a time." Once he actually got to the ground, Julius realized how big the trees really were. They were larger than any tree that he had ever seen.. The only question remaining was if the trees were the only thing which were large in the forest. Chapter 12 - Rabbit Julius walked through the forest as quietly as he could so as to not alert any bears which might''ve been in the area. His only hope for food would be to catch a rabbit and take it back with him. The only problem he would have to face would be catching the animal as they would probably outrun the prince. He didn''t have any weapons on him either so he couldn''t instantly kill the animal in the first place. "How can I capture such a small animal without causing too much of a scene?" Julius asked himself as he walked through a forest. While looking at the ground in boredom, Julius found a rock which looked to be sharper than any of the other rocks he had seen so far which had given him an idea. Julius quickly grabbed the sharp rock itself and another rock which was slightly less sharper and began to use it to sharpen his first rock. He planned on creating a weapon using the simple tools he had around him. "Master Jun said he wouldn''t give me a weapon but didn''t say that I couldn''t make weapons of my own. This was probably a test to see how I would adapt to situations such as these in which I would have nothing except the tools around me," Julius said to himself proudly as he had managed to forge a weapon which he could use to kill his target in a single attack. After walking around for about 45 minutes, Julius finally came across his first white rabbit. To make his struggles pay off, the rabbit was quite a large one especially compared to that he had seen at the kingdom''s zoo. Of course, he had seen at least 20 bears by now and feared for his life at each moment. However, seeing the rabbit brought a slight bit of hope in him. Although he was happy to see his soon to be food, Julius was also scared that he might mess up and in turn allow the rabbit to escape. "Come on, you''ve finally found your prey after this long. You can''t mess up," Julius told himself as he began to focus. Julius moved in slightly closer with each passing second so as to not alert his prey. At some point, Julius even forgot to breathe in fear that it might cause something to go wrong. However, that would all pay off as in the final moment before the rabbit could turn around, Julius threw the sharp rock directly at the white rabbit which didn''t get the opportunity to escape. There could only be one world to describe what had just taken place. Victory! Julius had managed to land a direct hit to the head which instantly killed the rabbit. Seeing as his task was complete, Julius grabbed the rabbit by its legs and began to head back to the mountain top. Julius also brought along his sharpened rock along with him just in case he would get lucky and find another rabbit he could take along with him to brag to his master. As Julius continued to joyfully walk towards the mountain, he heard some movement around him but assumed it was nothing but the animals doing whatever animals did in the forest. Unfortunately he would be mistaken as over 30 large black bears surrounded Julius from all sides. There was no room for him to escape. "Well I guess this is how I die? How did they even find me and why are there so many of them here?" Julius asked himself. Of course, he would have no way of knowing that black bears had a great sense of smell and seeing as he had a freshly killed rabbit which was bleeding, they were able to find him. Julius would have known that if he had been allowed in the more dangerous section of the royal family''s zoo but due to the over protective nature of his father in Julius'' earlier years, Julius would never learn about the aspects of larger animals. Even in such a terrifying situation, Julius was not willing to give up the rabbit which he had worked so hard for. So instead of simply throwing the rabbit elsewhere and trying to out maneuver the bears while they were distracted, Julius stood his ground and tried to create a path for escape while holding on to the rabbit. Julius quickly turned his back away from the bears which were blocking his path to the mountain. Just as they started to run after him, Julius turned around once more and began to sprint as fast as he possibly could towards the mountain top. Since he had managed to get their attention and open up the circle which they had enclosed him in, Julius was able to make a run for it. Except he wouldn''t get far as the bears quickly caught up to him and when they did, one of them reached for the rabbit and managed to get it out of Julius'' hand. But in doing so, the bear would also cause a large cut both on Julius'' arms and chest as he knocked him to a nearby tree. Now that Julius was also bleeding he became recognized as food for the bears. As such, the bears quickly surrounded Julius and left the rabbit to a small group as Julius was much larger compared to the rabbit. "I guess this is it for me..." said Julius as he accepted his defeat. There was no hope for him as there was no possible way he could defeat over 30 black beards even if he had a real blade. Over in the distance he saw as one of the black bears bit on the rabbit which Julius had originally caught. "My-" "MY RABBIT!" Julius yelled out in anger as his eyes began to glow white. <> <> A white light began to envelop the large forest as Julius cast punishment upon it. Even though he didn''t cause any real damage to his surroundings, all the bears which were there laid on the ground, unable to breathe. Chapter 13 - Battle Once the dust cleared, all that was left was the rabbit which Julius had killed with one of its feet missing from the bear eating it and Julius himself who had done something even he himself didn''t know. Seeing that white light caused Jun to be alarmed and quickly rushed towards the forest in a hurry. He didn''t know what it was but all he knew that it was bad news. Although he originally had no intention of intervening with his student''s quest, things had gotten out of hand and it was time for him to take action. However, once he arrived at the scene, all that was left was a bloodied and unconscious Julius with a dead rabbit in his arms which he tightly hugged even though he had been knocked out. "Did you do this.." Jun asked as he carried his student and his prized possession in his arms and brought them out of the humid forest and back to the mountain top. ... Julius awoke from his slumber a few hours later with a gasp. He neither knew what happened or where he was. "Do you want to explain to me what that light was?" Jun asked as he sat beside Julius who had woken up inside the shrine like house as he had been resting on a futon. "White light...?" Julius asked as he didn''t remember what he had done after he gave up on his life. "I know you were the one who caused it. There''s no other explanation for it," Jun replied back before sighing. "If you really don''t know, then tell me what happened before you passed out," Jun demanded. "Well, I remember that I killed the bunny with a sharp stone I made then I suddenly got surrounded by a group of black bears for absolutely no reason. Even so, I tried to make a run for it but they caught up to me and nearly killed me. I still don''t know if I''m actually alive or if I''m already dead. The last thing I remember is getting really angry from seeing one of the bears try to eat the rabbit which I worked so hard for. Speaking of rabbit, where is it?" Julius asked with an eager face. "Don''t worry, I brought it here since you were holding on to it so tightly. I already did the job of cooking it. We''re going to be having rabbit soup tonight," said Jun. In fact, Julius had slept for so long that the day had come to a close. "Wait you said that I was holding on to the rabbit tightly? From what I remember, the rabbit was a lot farther away from me and I couldn''t even move," said Julius. "Shut up and worry about the rabbit soup," Jun commanded his student. Julius listened as he always had, especially now that he was tired and hungry. "A secret art? But, I haven''t even taught him what they are let alone how to use them. Unless he''s capable of performing them unconsciously... things just keep getting more interesting with this kid," Jun thought to himself before going outside to put out the fire in which he had set his pot on and made rabbit soup in. Jun then placed the soup into a wooden bowl and brought 2 hot bowls back inside. One for him and one for Julius. ... "So how does it taste?" Jun asked with a kind and sincere face. "It tastes bland and boring. Are you sure you even cooked it properly? the chiefs back at the kingdom can prepare something in 2 minutes which is nearly a thousand times better than this," Julius told Jun. "Why you ungrateful child!" Jun said as he raised his hand to smack Julius. "But... I like it," Julius finished his statement. Of course the prince knew what he was doing in the beginning by trying to irritate Jun but in the end, he showed his appreciation for his master''s kindness. "I''ve been meaning to ask, master Jun, why do you live alone in these mountains? You''ve got a strong connection to my father so I''m sure he could grant you a magnificent home to live in instead of this run down house," Julius asked as he finished his soup. Jun sighed before answering the prince''s question. "You see Julius, your father had offered me multiple times to come to his kingdom so that he could repay me for teaching him. However, there''s a reason I choose to isolate myself from other people..." Jun began to speak. "Do you remember what I told you about when I explained why people stop cultivating after a while? Well, that''s the very reason I choose to remove myself from other people. We of this world become ungrateful for the opportunities we are given through cultivation just for the ability to live out our lives drooling over the earthly temptations. Many people decide to settle for what they have, however, I do not wish to be like them. Instead, I wish to cultivate myself until the day I die or..." Jun said before cutting himself off. "Or what?" Julius asked out of curiosity. "It''s nothing. If you''re still interested in learning about it by the time you complete your training, I''ll tell you about it. But for now, just focus on cultivating all day, every day. Speaking of cultivation..." Jun said before flicking Julius'' forehead. "I''m starting to get tired of this!" Julius yelled out. "I''m only doing it so that you can benefit from it... anyways, there should be a 3rd gear like icon at the top left of your vision area. Click on it and tell me what it says," Jun requested from his student. Julius did as he was told and when he clicked on the gear like icon, a red screen popped up which had writing in on it which was white just like the middle and top right icons. The only difference being that the top right icon stored the information from cultivation through meditation while the top middle had Julius'' status points. Lastly, the top left icon stored the information from cultivation through battle. [Julius Henry] [Level: 1] [EXP: 39/100] Chapter 14 - Concentration "It''s just as I thought. The boy was the one who killed those 39 bears. There''s no mistaking it. However, all I need to know is how. There''s strong evidence to suggest that he used a secret art however, there''s no definite way to know since he doesn''t remember anything which happened in the forest. The only way to find out what he had done would be for him to repeat it again. However, I haven''t heard of anyone using a secret art such as that one... what is this boy hiding?" Jun asked himself once he heard what level Julius was. "Master Jun, why does my meditating cultivation say rank while the fighting one says level?" Julius asked a fair question. "It''s just so you can tell which one is which. There''s almost no difference between the two other than there are 100 levels while there are only 20 ranks. Although there are 5 times more levels compared to ranks, it''s not any easier to reach rank 20 compared to level 100," Jun explained. "Well, thank you for all you''ve done for me. I''m beyond exhausted right now so I''ll be going to sleep now," said Julius. "Hey now, don''t forget what I said you would do once nightfall came. You won''t be getting sleep any time soon," Jun said as he reminded his student that he still had to master cultivation through meditating while he was sleeping. Julius let out a sigh as he remembered that his master had even warned him that he might not be able to get any sleep for a couple of days since it would take him several tries to find the perfect balance. "Okay fine," said Julius in an exhausted tone. "What do I need to do?" Julius asked. "Well, you can start by laying back down then closing your eyes," said Jun as he instructed his student while Julius followed the instructions given to him. "Good, now just continue to breathe until your body starts to feel lighter but not sleepy. It shouldn''t feel like you''re going to sleep but feel like you''re breathing in a sunny and beautiful garden. If you feel like sleeping at all, get back up as quickly as possible. Of course you might start to go to sleep while meditating so I''ll be beside you to make sure that you don''t accidentally go to sleep," Jun reassured the prince. "But how will you know the difference between those two?" Julius asked his master. "It''s not as hard as you might think it is. Whenever someone is cultivating through this method, they have a calming aura around them. So if that aura disappears, I''ll know that you''ve gone to sleep and I''ll wake you up to try one again," said Jun. "Now listen, the last time you did this, I was the one who sent you into a state of cultivation so this time, I''ll teach you how to do it on your own. First, begin to breathe as I taught you before, make sure you don''t rush when you inhale or exhale. Next, clear your mind of all thoughts. Think of everything that worries you as insignificant and only focus on relaxing your entire body. Nothing should matter to you while you''re cultivating," Jun told Julius. However, it was easier said than done. Was it even possible for someone to clear their mind of all thoughts for as long as they wanted? At some point, they would worry about something or someone and in turn break concentration. Even for a genius like Julius, it was a difficult task. Even so, the prince tried his best to put himself in that state so that he could grow into a great person. After nearly half an hour and when Julius began to give up, he forgot about everything in his mind on his own. All thought in his mind was completely erased. He no longer thought of anything let alone care for them. Julius was finally free. Seeing the aura form around Julius, Jun smiled as he was overjoyed that his student could force himself into the cultivating state without assistance. "Now we wait as Julius faces the real challenge of cultivation," Jun thought to himself. In that same moment, Julius woke up with a gasp. ... "Well, at least you managed to get into the state on your own. Your real battle starts once you''re inside it as you try to maintain your clear mind," said Jun. "I understand. Don''t worry master, I''ll keep practicing until I can get it right. I''ll definitely learn how to cultivate on my own!" Julius insisted as he laid back on the futon as he prepared to go into that state of mind once again. The second time, it was easy for Julius to get into the state of cultivation however, he quickly went to sleep which caused his master to wake him up by force. After apologizing to his master, Julius tried again and again. Each time either breaking concentration or sleeping on accident. However, no matter how many times he failed, Julius would try again. He was more resilient than most adults in that world. For some reason, there was something pushing him to strive to get the best the world had to offer. Even though he himself didn''t know what it was, Julius listened to his gut and persisted in trying to master cultivating in his sleep. The only difference between just sleeping and cultivating while sleeping was that both offered the ability to sleep but one of them would allow Julius to cultivate SP (spiritual point) while also sleeping. While neither Jun nor Julius knew if it was even possible to accomplish such an act, they wanted to try. Just as the sun began to rise and Julius prepared to try once again, Jun started to lose hope. "You know Julius, it might not even be possible do this," said Jun but was ignored by Julius who managed to instantly tap into the state of cultivation. This time however, he neither broke concentration nor did he go to sleep. Nevertheless, he had one thought in his mind which didn''t disrupt his thoughts. "Liz...." Chapter 15 - Secret Just then, Julius awoke from cultivation on his own with a gasp. "What happened? You were doing so well too," Jun complained. "And do me a favour and explain why you were smiling even though you were cultivating?" Jun demanded. "I am smiling?" Julius asked. "Yes you were. Now tell me what was so important that you had to break concentration?" Jun asked. There was only a single thought that was passed through Julius'' head. When he first thought about it, he didn''t get bothered by it at all which was odd however when he thought about that subject a bit more, it caused him to break concentration. That specific thought was... "It was nothing!" Julius yelled out by accident as he tried to stop himself from getting flustered, especially in front of his master. "If it''s nothing then why do you look embarrassed and why did you yell? Unless..." Jun said as he got an idea. Just the thought of it made him grin more than he had ever done before. Sure he had some sinister looks in the past but this one made him look like an actual villain. "So mister prince.... who''s the lucky lady?" Jun asked before breaking into laughter then once again calming himself down. Just as Julius heard that his master had figured it out, his face turned more red. "I''ve got you now! So tell me, is it one of the daughters of the kings and queens which rule the 8 kingdoms? It would make sense though, people of royalty end up sticking to other royalty," said Jun as he tried to figure out what Julius'' thoughts were. "Oh right, of course. No one would think of that... he''ll never get the right answer. He created a path for me to escape without me even having to ask," Julius said to himself as he tried to stop himself from laughing in victory. "It in fact is one of them but I''ll never tell you which one it is," Julius replied to Jun as he tried to make up a fake story that his master would believe. "Suit yourself then, I''ll just come along with you when you return to the kingdom. They''ll most likely hold a celebration for you in which all of the royal families will attend. Then on that day, I''ll watch your reaction as you greet each of the guests and the one in which you''ll act the weirdest is the woman which you thought of," said Jun proudly. "Even though I''ve grown old, I''m still as smart as I used to be in my hay day," Jun said as he smiled. "No! This could prove to be problematic! Even if I don''t act any specific way around the other princesses, if he sees me speaking to HER, he''ll surely find out," Julius thought to himself in anger. "I''ll just have to make sure he forgets about accompanying me to the kingdom by the time this is all done," Julius told himself before replying to Jun. "Have it your way then. But I assure you, I won''t make a single change in the way I speak so you''ll just be wasting your time there, that''s only if you manage to live that long in the first place old man," Julius replied which caused Jun to sigh. "I guess you''re right. At the rate at which you''re going, it''ll be a millennia before you complete your training," Jun mocked Julius. "Oh is that so?! Then how about we get started already! You don''t want to die before you find out my secret do you?" said Julius as he stood up proudly. Even though Julius didn''t get a chance to sleep yet, he stood up as if nothing was wrong with him. Of course it would only be a matter of time before he would feel the drawbacks of pushing his body to its limits. "That''s fine by me!" Jun replied before standing up himself and rushing outside to begin Jun''s physical training which would last until the day was over. Once in the backyard, Jun prepared to test a theory he had from the previous day. He had created a hypothesis as to why Julius was able to run 32 laps without even feeling the slightest bit of fatigue. His hypothesis concluded that Julius was able to adapt to things as long as he got started on them. In the beginning, he might be very slow at it but as time goes on, he increases his speed and form at which he performs the tasks given to him. It was truly a terrifying concept to perceive. Especially considering the fact that his ability might not have any limits. However, since Jun couldn''t assign seemingly insane tasks out of nowhere, he had to create some lies. "Since I don''t want to die before I meet the princess who broke your concentration, we''re going to have to speed things up! GIVE ME 1000 PUSHUPS RIGHT NOW!" Jun yelled at Julius. Even though it was an insane request to ask of someone who clearly had weak arms, Jun''s eyes suggested that he wasn''t joking. Julius knew from experience that if the goals Jun set weren''t met, it would surely end badly. Nevertheless, Julius attempted to do the task he was given. "Either I finish those pushups or I die trying. I won''t allow myself to fail and stay alive, especially because I would rather die from exhaustion than die at the hand of this man," Julius told himself as he got on the ground in a plank-like position before attempting the insane task of completing 1000 pushups. "1..." "2..." "3..." "5..." "I''m starting to feel sick. My head hurts so much. I feel like puking. All I want to do is die!" Julius said as he didn''t even get through a small fraction of the total amount he was asked to do. "10..." "20..." "50..." "100..." "500.." "999." "1000!" said Julius as he unbelievably accomplished the impossible task which his master had set upon him. "He really did it! He was at his base stats too! He didn''t even rank up or level up! Truly a terrifying monster.. We might finish his training before we know it!" said Jun as he looked at Julius with his eyes widened so he could perceive the monster he was raising. Chapter 16 - Comparison "Wow, that was surprisingly easier than I thought. I mean, at first I thought you had lost it and given me an insane task but that wasn''t that hard," said Julius as he got up from the ground and dusted the dirt off his palms. Hearing his words brought Jun back from his own world of amazement in which he stared at his student with awe. "Yes yes, now check your status points for physical strength and tell what it was changed to now," Jun requested. Julius did as he was told by going to the top middle gear like icon and pressing it to view his status points. [Physical Strength: 200] "Wow! Already at 200? That''s like 8 times what I used to have! Thinking about it now, my father at maximum should only have 2000 in that aspect. That would mean I''m 1/10 as strong as the strongest man in the world!" said Julius out loud in excitement. "... well that''s impressive but the second part isn''t true at all. You might think just because the points say that 200 is 1/10 of 2000 so that must be the ratio at which your strength is measured but that''s false. Just like if you were to reach level 20 in cultivation through battle. It might seem that you''ve completed 1/5 of your journey but in fact, the gap is much larger as the exp you need continues to increase drastically. So while what you accomplished is impressive, do not compare it to that of your father. He is hundreds if not thousands of times stronger than you," Jun corrected his student which made Julius disappointed in himself once again. "If it makes you feel better, the reason your father is stronger than you is because he spent years continuously training. This is only your second day here and you''ve managed to grow exponentially so you should be proud of that," said Jun as he tried to cheer his student up. Although Jun tried his best, Julius was still adamant about becoming as strong as if not stronger than his father. However, the words which his master had said brought sadness to him as he realized that he would have to work hard every single day to catch up to his hero. Seeing as his student needed a moment to recollect himself, Jun went inside his house and allowed Julius to think about things. Once Jun went inside, Julius walked near the side of the mountain and sat down on the edge of it as he looked at the many other mountains, forests and rivers around them. It was truly a sight to behold. However, even so, Julius could only think about going back to his royal castle and live in the comfort of his home instead of being tormented each and every day by his master. Filled with pent up anger, Julius slammed his fist on the ground which he sat on to let out some anger.... However, that would backfire quickly as 2 metres of the mountain top''s edge broke off and began to fall. Scared to lose his life, Julius quickly grabbed hold of the new edge and began to climb it until he was back at the mountain top. As Julius gasped for air due to him nearly dying a moment ago, Jun came outside to see what happened. "I heard a loud sound, what happened here?" Jun asked as he finally saw the broken mountain top. "Why didn''t you tell me this mountain was on the verge of collapsing?! I barely slammed my fist on the ground and it broke off completely. I could''ve died!" Julius yelled as he continued to comprehend that his life was about to come to an end just a moment ago. ... "This mountain isn''t crumbling... it''s just you who grew in strength. I should''ve taught you to control your new found strength so you don''t accidentally do too much damage previously but you seemed like you needed a moment so I left you alone for a second then I come back to this," Jun looked to be getting more angry. "Wait so... I did that with just my fist?..." Julius asked as his smile grew. ... "Yes you did. I shouldn''t bother with lecturing you. It''s not like you would listen. Anyway, talking about almost dying... I think there''s a way we could prevent that," Jun said as his face grew to be more sinister. "Oh no, I already know whatever he has planned comes at the cost of me losing my sanity," said Julius to himself. "Come on, don''t be scared, it''ll be worth it in the end," said Jun as he grabbed the prince by the shoulder and began to drag him towards a wooden pole which looked to be stuck to the mountain pretty well. After dragging him there, Jun forced his student to put his back on the pole and close his eyes. Once his student complied, Jun quickly brought a rope and tied Julius up to the thick wooden pole. "Hey what are you doing! Let me go already!" Julius complained as he opened his eyes. "Silence! I have come to bestow upon you an ancient training technique which has been passed down secretly for generations. Once you master it, your body will become as strong as steel," said Jun as his whole facial expression changed to that of a gentle warrior. In his hand was a skinny stick the length of an average sword. ... "Please don''t tell me that you''re going to..." Julius began to speak before Jun started the training or more specifically, abusing his student. Jun began to constantly whack the stick on his student''s body, increasing the strength at which he did so as time went on. Of course during this Julius yelled out many times for help but no one listened as they were the only ones in the mountains. As nightfall came, Jun stopped whacking the stick on Julius'' body or more realistically, the stick broke. Once he had untied Julius, he realized that his student had bruises all over his body yet he stood as if nothing was wrong with him. "I was right...." Chapter 17 - Jade "Do you want to explain why you did that before I kill you or after I kill you?" said Julius as he looked at his master with his anger filled eyes. "Just saying but you have no hope of killing me in the shape you''re in right now," Jun replied. Although Julius wanted to bring up how he could just call upon his father and the royal guards, he didn''t say anything about them. While he had grown up with a snobby mindset, he had begun to change as he didn''t rely on others to fight his battles. Instead, he wanted to do things on his own instead. "I guess you''re right for now old mad, but just you watch, I''ll just keep getting stronger. But seriously, why did you tie me to a wooden pole then continuously beat for most of the day? I thought you were already insane but now, you''re taking it too far," said Julius which was replied by Jun with a proud sigh. "I guess you still haven''t learned anything. You fool! Look at your defence status points now," said Jun with a proud grin. [Defense: 300] "Oh great master Jun. I shall never doubt you ever again for it is a sin upon sins. You who have graced me with your knowledge are far too kind as I am undeserving of your generosity," said Julius as he got on the ground to praise Jun. "There''s no need for that. As long as I can watch you grow at this rate, I won''t be needing any thank you''s from you," said Jun as he made Julius stand on his feet once again. "Anyway, we should start going back inside now, it''s getting quite late now. As for tomorrow, I have. a big surprise for you!" said Jun with an excited face. "More training which seems like actual abuse then you reveal it was for my own good?" Julius asked sarcastically. "Nonsense! You dare doubt me!" Jun scowled at Julius. "Of course not. My apologies master," Julius replied before going inside. Once inside, Julius laid down on the futon once again in preparation for his night time training. Although he had been constantly training all day and night with minimal food and no sleep, Julius looked to be in great shape other than his bruises of course. "I guess he forgot about eating, not that there''s any food here since neither he nor I went hunting today. However, don''t fret my genius disciple, soon enough you''ll be able to enjoy the life which you had grown so accustomed to," Jun said to himself as he watched Julius attempt to cultivate through meditation while also attempting to sleep. Although he had been expecting Julius to fail many times, that did not happen that night. In fact, Julius had managed to accomplish the task in his first try. He neither broke concentration nor did he stop cultivating and go to sleep. However, just in case Julius would at some point during the night happen to fall asleep completely, Jun stayed up beside his student and watched over him until the sun began to rise. Just as the sun finally completely rose, Julius got up from his slumber and woke up to the crying Jun. While it was supposed to be comforting, Julius just found it creepy and jumped back. "Why are you crying? Did I fail that badly?" Julius asked. "No my genius student, in fact you excelled all my expectations. You didn''t even wake up once from your slumber. You cultivated all through the night without my help," said Jun as he wiped his tears. Julius couldn''t believe what he was hearing. If that was true, he would no longer have to stress about both methods of cultivation. All he would have to worry about would be just one of them since he could accomplish the other one in his sleep. "Quickly Julius, check your information tab for cultivation through meditation," Jun demanded and just as he always did, Julius followed his master''s instructions. [Julius Henry] [Rank: 1] [SP: 820/1000] Hearing how much SP Julius had gathered, Jun just stood there and stared at his student with awe. By now, Julius had gotten the gist of what everything meant and how he should perceive them. Nevertheless, his reactions were always lacklustre. "No way, that''s so cool. I''m almost rank 2," said Julius as he was still happy that he was close to a rank up. "You imbecile! This is an accomplishment worth celebrating throughout the entire world! Try to show a little gratitude to whoever was stupid enough to bless you with such an unfair advantage over all of the rest," Jun scowled at his student. "Whatever old man. What happened to the surprise which you said you had for me?" Julius asked impatiently. "Oh, I nearly forgot. Follow me outside," said Jun as he walked outside towards his enormous backyard which acted as a training ground. "I guess it''s time for more training," said Julius with a disappointed watch. "Just shut up and watch," said Jun as he began to close his eyes and faced his palms forward. <> A gust of wind began to overwhelm Julius and was forced to grab on to whatever he could so as to not be sent flying off the mountain. In that case, it was the corner of Jun''s house which he held on to for dear life as the wind continued to grow in strength. While this went on, a glowing figure began to emerge out of Jun''s palms as he continued to increase in size while going towards the sky. Once it got out of his master''s palms, the wind stopped and all that was left was a giant dragon which looked to be 50 metres long which glowed green and had a golden tail. Just looking at the massive monster brought fear into Julius''s heart. It could have easily killed him if it wanted. However, the dragon instead brought itself down on the backyard even though most of its body hung off the mountain top. "What are you waiting for? Get on already," said Jun. Chapter 18 - Travel "Are you saying that it''ll let us sit on it?" Julius asked with hesitation. "We''re going to be riding it. The surprise I have for you is in a far away place so we''ll be taking a ride on my pet dragon to get there. Now, get on already, we don''t have all the time in the world," said Jun as he himself leaped in the air to get on the dragon then walked towards its neck before sitting down. Following his master''s steps, Julius did the same even though he was frightened by the beast. "W-wait, you said that he''s your pet?! How do you have a pet dragon?!" Julius exclaimed. "Yes.. that''s literally what I said a moment ago," said Jun as he began to point his finger upwards which made the dragon begin to fly. "You''re not scared of heights right?" Jun asked just in case. "I''m actually not. It''s in fact pleasing for me to look at the ground from heights. Everything is so beautiful that way," said Julius. "That''s great then. But be careful, try not to fall off as the lift off can be quite messy," said Jun but before Julius could even reply, the dragon had already begun to fly towards the clouds at top speeds. Scared that he would fall off the flying jade dragon, Julius stretched his arms and tried to hug the dragon so as to get a grip on it and not fall off. Julius did this even while knowing that the dragon''s width was at least 5 times his arm span as it was the only safety measure he could take. "Come on, stop being such a baby. We''re already at our desired altitude, you can stop hiding now," said Jun as he stood even though he was on the flying dragon. "Are you insane?! Actually don''t answer that, I already know you are," said Julius as he refused to lift his head up. "This is training time, I won''t allow you to refuse to listen to me while we''re training. Just in case you''re afraid to die, don''t worry, if you fall off, my pet will go down and pick you up before you hit the ground," said Jun. Hearing those words Julius began to slowly stand up on his own. This wasn''t because he trusted that the jade dragon could catch him in time but because it would be a much quicker death for him to fall off the dragon instead of getting killed by Jun. "You see! There''s nothing to be afraid of. Just as a last measure, if by some miracle you were to fall off my pet and we''re not able to catch you, you''ll still be alive. Sure, you might end up breaking nearly all your bones but you''ll be alive so that''s good," said Jun. "How would I be alive if I fell from this high? I can''t even see the ground from here... ohh, so that''s why we did the defence training yesterday," said Julius, which was replied to by Jun with a nod indicating that he was right. "Of course that''s just a final measure. It''s almost guaranteed that you won''t fall off my pet. Nevertheless, it''s time to get to today''s training lesson since we''re so far away from where your surprise is," said Jun. "So what''ll we be doing today?" Julius asked with curiosity. "Today, I''ll teach you some of our world''s history. Of course, this will only impact your intelligence a little bit and you''ll have to get most of your intelligence training from a library but for now, this''ll have to do," said Jun before asking Julius to sit once again as class was in session. "Do you have anything in mind which you would like to learn about in the first place while we''re traveling?" Jun asked. "I actually do. I''ve been meaning to find out if there was more information on this subject since the day I heard it. It had never been spoken about casually. The only reason I was even able to hear about it was because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time while my father was talking about something with another king of a great kingdom. I would like to learn what magic is," said Julius, which brought Jun''s heart to a stop. Of course the story Julius told was a lie. He had seen what the old man who had kidnapped him so many years ago was and could only describe it with one word. It was just a guess but if he was right, Julius could possibly find out about what the old madman had given him that day and why people didn''t talk about that event. "... I see. Well, in most cases it would be simply illegal to speak on this subject however I do not abide by the laws which govern your kingdoms and as such I cannot be confined by them. Even if I was forced to follow them, I would simply break them. It''s not like any of those losers could catch me," said Jun. "Wait... are you said that you''re stronger than the rulers of the great kingdoms?" Julius asked in surprise. "That''s not what I said. I said that they wouldn''t be able to catch me. You see, almost everyone picks the path of battle for cultivation as it is relatively simple. With it, they gain extraordinary strength, speed and defence which are things I do not have many points on. However in exchange for losing those since I picked to cultivate through mediation, I have many supernatural abilities which allow me to do things which they cannot. Of course, the reason I am so jealous of you is because you can master both methods and in turn reap the benefits of both without any of the drawbacks," Jun said. "My apologies. I''m getting distracted. You asked to learn about magic so I''ll tell you all I know of it. It all started 200 years ago in which the ancient rulers of the great kingdoms had begun to fight amongst each other....." Chapter 19 - History "It all started 200 years ago in which the ancient rulers of the great kingdoms had begun to fight amongst each other. Everyone at that time had supernatural powers such as being able to control fire, water and ice. Some even had the ability to fly and teleport much like the superpowers which you said you wished you had. However, at some point, the power difference between the kingdoms grew too vast with one of them having more than the rest. Seeing that they were threatened, the other 9 kingdoms decided to merge as one to take down the 10th," Jun began to tell the tale which had been kept hidden for so long. "10th kingdom? But there are only 9 kingdoms," Julius argued. "Yes Julius, there used to be 10 kingdoms, now let me finish the story... Once the 9 kingdoms merged their power, they launched a full attack on the 10th one. Even with the combined forces of the 9 kingdoms, the battle lasted for 9 years in which thousands of people died each day. However, on the last day, the 9 rulers went up against the 10th and managed to defeat him, in turn ending the 9 year long war," Jun continued to speak. "Immediately after that, the 9 remaining rulers made it law for all magic to be erased from the world so that a war such as the one they faced would never occur again. As for the remnants of the 10th kingdom, each of them were executed and after over 200 years, they were finally erased from existence," Jun finally finished the story. "200..." Julius said before cutting himself off. "Yup, it''s been 200 years and we''ve managed to keep our world at peace thanks to those previous 9 rulers," Jun finished the sentence for Julius even though that wasn''t what Julius was going to say. "That number keeps popping up a lot... and that old madman spoke of it on that day. Then those voices also told me that for 200 years they''d gathered my power. Could it be that... I have magic?" Julius asked himself before scratching that idea as he would surely be killed if he had possession over magic, no matter who he was. ... "We''re finally here," said Jun after they''d been in the sky for nearly a whole day. "Where are we?" Julius asked in confusion. "That''s right, I forgot that you never went outside of your kingdom. Well... this place is another one of the great kingdoms. You might even know the ruler of it," said Jun as he allowed his dragon to descend from the sky at top speeds. Unlike when the dragon first took off, Julius wasn''t scared of falling anymore, instead, he stood firmly on the dragon''s neck as he descended towards the kingdom. ... "My queen, there''s a large jade dragon with a golden tail and no wings approaching our kingdom at top speeds. We think that it might pose a threat to the safety of your people," said one of the servants as he barged into the throne room of the castle in which Jun and Julius were approaching. "Jade dragon... no, it couldn''t be him," said the queen of the kingdom as he rushed outside her balcony to take a look for herself. "It really is him," she said as he noticed that he and her made eye contact. ... "Hey, drop us off at that balcony," said Jun as he pointed his jade dragon towards where the queen was. Just as he expected, his pet dragon listened and brought them to the balcony in which Jun and Julius climbed off the dragon and met with the queen of the kingdom. The queen instantly got on one knee and looked at the ground which caught everyone off guard except for Jun. Her guards, which had spears pointed at the dragon, had their mouths opened wide as he saw their queen bowing in front of someone. "Mary..." said Julius in confusion as it wasn''t appropriate for any royalty to bow that low for anyone, even other royalty let alone some old man. "Good evening master Jun. I hope there isn''t anything troubling which caused you to come all this way," said Mary with a formal tone. She''d been so distracted in the sight of Jun that she hadn''t noticed Julius who she previously wanted to take for herself so badly. "Why are you so formal? I mean it''s been quite a while since we''ve met but come on, you finished your training so there''s no need to be so serious," said Jun as he helped Mary get on her feet. "Who could''ve known the child abusing the old man could have such a high status," said Julius, which made Mary''s heart stop in fear as she thought that Julius'' life was about to come to an end due to him disrespecting Jun. "You fool! Do not ruin this for me! Unlike I am with you, I''ve treated all my previous students harshly. You''re only getting special treatment because of..." said Jun before cutting himself off as he couldn''t let the queen of a great kingdom learn that his new student was able to use both methods of cultivation. "Anyway Mary, there''s no need for you to worry. I just came here to reward this boy because his training has gone exceptionally well.... except the parts where he nearly died. So, just get some food for him, prepare a bath and some new casual clothes for training as these ones have gotten pretty dirty," said Jun casually, which continued to baffle the guards there who had never seen their queen get talked down to. As expected Mary listened and began to inform her servants what needed to be prepared while he led the way for Julius and Jun. However, while they were walking, Jun grabbed hold of Julius and informed him of something while whispering so that no one could hear what he was saying. "While you''re here to mainly relax for a bit, make sure to not tell anyone that you''re cultivating using two methods. Lie and say that you''re cultivating through battle alone. Only meditating cultivators can feel your aura when you''re sleeping and cultivating so you can continue with that as well.. However, you must not tell a single person that you''re using both as you could cause more trouble than you already have," said Jun. Chapter 20 - Dinner Once Julius had finished taking a bath and getting cleaned up, he was given a new pair of casual clothes in the form of a black t-shirt and black sweatpants. He was guided through the castle by one of the butlers all across the castle. After finishing all his other tasks, Julius was finally allowed to have a meal for the first time in nearly 2 days. In the dining hall was a single small table which was set up for 3 people, those being Jun, Mary and Julius. Even though Jun had told her to relax, Mary couldn''t help but still feel nervous around Jun. "So... how do you two know each other?" Julius asked Mary but she kept quiet which was a little rude, even for her. As such, Jun answered for her. "She used to be my student. In fact, she was one of the best. To be honest, I would''ve preferred if she were to be known as the strongest human alive instead of your father. And speaking truthfully, if she didn''t stop her training back then, she might''ve gained that title," Jun began to speak. "She was your student?! You not only trained my father but also another ruler of the 9 kingdoms?" Julius asked in amazement. "If that surprises you, wait until you hear this... I taught all of the 9 rulers!" Jun exclaimed. Although he looked to be enjoying himself, Mary on the other hand was the complete opposite. Julius was beginning to understand why Mary was so nervous around Jun. It was most likely because she didn''t know how she should act around her teacher who she suddenly quit on. It was completely understandable that she would feel nervous. Especially knowing how he probably treated those who weren''t as gifted as his newest student. Seeing as that was the case, Julius felt that it was his job to fix things between them. "So do you feel hatred towards her because she stopped training since she was your favourite student at the time?" Julius asked. "Of course not, why would I hate it if I had to worry about one less brat? If anything, it made my job easier when it came to teaching the other 8. However, don''t get me wrong, I still wish that one of the 8 remaining had left instead of her. She could''ve really shined if she had stayed. It''s just a shame, that''s all there is to it. "Wait so you never hated me?!" Mary stood up in surprise. "Why would I hate you? I could never hate one of my students. Even though I treated all of you harshly, it was so that you wouldn''t face hardships in the outside world. I would never put my students in any real danger," said Jun as he comforted Mary. ... "Hey old man, remember when you sent me to a forest full of black bears and I almost died? Want to explain what that was all about?" Julius asked in an irritated tone. "Let''s see... are you alive right now?" Jun asked. "Yes, but-" said Julius before he was cut off. "Then I''ve done my job. Stop complaining and keep eating, you won''t be getting this type of food once you return to the mountain," said Jun as he continued to eat as much as he could without a care in the world for manners. Hearing her master''s words brought comfort to Mary and for the first time that evening, she began to let her guard down. After they finished dinner, Julius went with his temporary butler to get ready for bed in the guest room. However, once Julius had left with the butler, Mary stopped Jun from leaving the dining hall as he had important news to inform him about. "Yes, what do you want now?" Jun asked in an irritated tone as he had plans to relax a bit more. "This is serious... please train me once again," Mary requested. "Why would you need training from me? You''re already plenty strong. It''s not like anyone would willingly start a war with you, especially seeing as you have the full support of the other rulers," Jun replied. "That''s the thing..." said Mary before her lips forcibly closed. "What''s wrong Mary?!" Jun asked in worry before realizing what was happening. "I understand now. How much time do we have?" Jun asked as sweat began to overtake his body. "We have until prince Julius'' training comes to a close. I would like that to take as long as possible but knowing how you''re treating him, we''ve got a single year at best. Delaying it isn''t an option either as once his training comes to an end, no one will be able to stop him and he''ll most likely join with the enemy," said Mary, making sure that her curse wouldn''t activate by keeping things vague. "Why would Julius join the enemy... no. It couldn''t be, why would it be him. He was the one that was supposed to protect us. Why would he do that?" said Jun as his face began to be enveloped in worry. "That''s not the end of it. Even if we managed to get prince Julius on our side, we still might not be able to win. The enemy most likely has IT," said Mary, which brought Jun''s heart to a stop before it forcibly started to beat once again as he had a duty. "Don''t fret. We won''t lose this battle," said Jun as his face changed to that which was more serious than ever. There was no more time left for goofing of anymore. He would need to train his new students quickly as their time was limited. He would especially have to focus on Julius as he had much more potential but also had a lot to learn and master. "I only hope that he doesn''t choose his father over the safety of the world. We cannot allow him to leave us. He''ll be our trump card in this battle, the enemy won''t know what hit them when they realize the beast we have on our side.... as for you, I''ll be teaching you some of the secret arts which I''ve kept hidden from the world," said Jun as he turned to her with an evil smile. Chapter 21 - Traitor Once Mary and Jun finished their discussion on how they need to prepare for the upcoming battle against Henry who happened ti be Julius'' father, the began ti head towards the balcony at which Mary had met with the prince and the old man who was her previous master. As for Julius, he had finished cleaning himself up before he went to bed. Of course, the guest room which was provided for him was larger than Jun''s entire house which would be expected of royalty. Along with that, Julius had guards outside his room as well just as a precautionary measure. ... Jun hadn''t put his jade dragon back to wherever it came from so it decided to wrap itself around the top of the castle and watch over the kingdom until his owner would give it further instructions. As would be expected, many people outside the castle had gathered to watch what the dragon would do as it was the first time they had seen a mythical beast. "My apologies Mary, I forgot to put away my dragon after we arrived," said Jun as he called out to his pet telepathically which made the jade dragon unwrap itself from the tip of the castle and descend onto the balcony so it could give it''s owner along with Mary a ride to where ever they needed to go to. "Don''t worry about it. I have no problem with it but it''ll be a bit difficult to explain it to the rest of them," said Mary as she looked at the group of people who had gathered like a flock of birds to watch the dragon''s every move. "Let''s get going then," said Jun as he leaped onto his pet and Mary was forced to follow suit. "What about prince Julius? Aren''t you worried what might happen to him while we''re gone?" Mary asked which had caught Jun off guard since he had completely forgotten about his genius student due to the news he had gotten. "... he''ll be fine. He already knows what he needs to do. Even if I''m not there, he should still be able to do a thing or two in the kingdom," said Jun as he tried to forget about his responsibilities. "What you should be more worried about is where we''re going right now. You don''t even have your armour or a weapon. Are you sure you want to go dungeon raiding looking like this?" Jun asked with made Mary embarrassed due to her not realizing where they were going. "Sorry... I didn''t know we were going to go into the dungeons. I thought you would just teach me a secret art or two then we''d stop..." said Mary. "You really have grown to be lazy over the years. You know who we''re facing right? You think just a couple secret arts would be enough to defeat him?" Jun asked in anger. "But... if you were to teach me THAT one then this whole thing can go away. No one would have to die," Mary pleaded. "No one?! If you were to use IT, you''d be the one to die. That''s even if you''re compatible with it. To add on to that, you''d need to have a year''s worth of training before you''d be able to use it," Jun replied to her with pure rage in his tone. "I''m sorry. I shouldn''t yell at you. It''s just that I''ve finally gotten the chance to train you like I''ve always wanted. I don''t want to lose you again. Specially not forever," Jun corrected himself which brought tears to Mary. "Hey you, grab me my armour and bident from the kingdom''s treasury," said Mary as she wiped away her tears and directed one of the guards which was on watch duty for the night at the balcony. "I shall do so at once," said the guard before quickly rushing inside the castle and going inside the treasury after having to explain the queen''s request. After some time, he returned running with a golden set of armour which was still on its armour stand in his right hand while in his left was a golden bident with purple engravings on it. "I have brought the items which you requested my queen," said the guard before handing the armour and bident then bowing down. "Thank you, Hendrick," said Mary before accepting her weapon and armour then leaping on top of the jade dragon once again. After that, Mary wore her armour on top of the cloths which she had been wearing previously before finally sitting down to let Jun know that she was ready to leave. Seeing as his old student was ready, Jun began to point his finger upwards then forward to let his dragon know where to go. Unlike Julius, Mary didn''t fear being on the dragon, instead, he happily stood up once they were are their desired altitude so she could observe the her kingdom from the clear sky. "My pet will be moving a lot faster that when I came here with Julius since I know that you won''t fall off," said Jun before directing his dragon telepathically to go faster. While at first Mary wobbled in surprise, she quickly got used to the speed at which the dragon had decided to use. ... Back at the kingdom, the guard which had handed the queen her armour stayed frozen in the bowing positing as he could believe what had happened. As for the other 3 guards which were stationed along with him, they were infuriated. ... "YOU TRAITOR! WE WERE SUPPOSED TO NOT MAKE A MOVE!" said one of the other 3 guards which brought Hendrick back to reality. "But I didn''t! I guess I''m doing something right," said Hendrick with an evil grin. "Why is it such a big deal? She only said his name," another one of the other 3 guards said. "You''re new here so you wouldn''t get it but, the queen never calls us by our name and we mostly believed that she had forgotten it. But now this is big. He managed to accomplish the impossible," the last of the 4 total guards said. "You know what will happen to you right? The inner council of the Mary fan-club will destroy you," the last of of the 4 continued as his face grew to change of a person who pitied others. .... Chapter 22 - Hidden "WHAT!?" Julius yelled out on anger. "How dare that old man leave me behind? I don''t even know how long he''ll be gone for. That''s it, I''ll get my revenge on him. He''ll pay for this," said Julius out loud although he wanted to keep some of the things he said to himself as he planned to actually take out revenge on Jun. "Sorry, I forgot to ask your name, so.. what can I call you?" Julius asked his butler. "I go by the name of Steve," said the butler. "Okay then Steve, I''ll be leaving the castle to go explore a the kingdom a little. I would like you to stay here though. I don''t want anyone following me," said Julius. "I cannot allow you to do that prince Julius, it is against every unwritten law to allow someone of your status to be left unattended," said Steve. "This is not a request but an order. I would like to make things clear, I have a clear objective in mind and I''ll accomplish it so don''t get in my way," said Julius with his death filled eyes. While it may have looked like a pure exchange between a child and an adult, in Steve''s eyes, Julius was the grim reaper. "Sorry, I don''t mean to be rude. You''re a really nice person, I''ll make sure Mary knows how well you''ve treated me so far. Lastly, I would like to get 200 gold coins so I can go buy something for myself, I''ll inform my father to repay it later of course," said Julius. Steve nodded and headed off somewhere to get the gold coins. As for Julius he went back into his room and began to get prepared to leave for his day out of the castle. ... Shortly after, Steve returned to Julius with the gold coins he asked for in a brown pouch and handed them to him which Julius then placed into his pocket. ... "Be safe prince Julius," said Steve as he watched Julius walk out of the castle. Once he was far away, Steve went to one of the guards which was stationed outside the castle''s entrance and spoke to him. "Sent out the secret force," said Steve in a whisper. Hearing those words, the guard quickly rushed off somewhere to relay the news to the person that needed to hear them. As for Julius, he was finally free of being locked up in a castle. It was one of the few times he was even outside the castle but the one thing which was different was that it was the first time he''d been outside alone. "The outside world isn''t even that bad, I don''t know why father and mother never allowed me to go out on my own," Julius pondered. Julius went by many stores and homes as he looked at the joyful faces of all the people who went by with their families and friends. It brought happiness to Julius that the other kingdoms were prosperous just like his one. After walking straight forwards for nearly 2 hours, Julius was met with a large wall which looked to be the end of the kingdom but Julius wasn''t done exploring so he wanted to go outside the kingdom and see what was really outside the kingdom. However at the only gate which led outside the kingdom were two guards. "Hey boy, move along, this isn''t a place you wanna be at at," said the guards which Julius just replied to with a cold look. "How much gold coins for me to be able to pass through?" Julius asked. "Kids like you aren''t allowed to pass through no matter how much they have. However, if you''re daddy or mommy wants to pass by, it''ll be 10 silver coins," one of the guards said as he completely didn''t hear the fact that Julius offered gold coins and only told him what the actual cost was so that they could earn some money in the form of tips which acted as passing through fees. Hearing their words, Julius pulled out 20 gold coins from his pocket and threw them on the ground with a smug look on his face. "Now open the gate right now," said Julius which angered one of the guards to the point where he was about to hit Julius but he was held back by the other guard. "Calm down now, if he had the power to throw gold coins away just like that, he''s got to be related to a powerful individual. Just let it go. Let us let him pass through and get our gold coins. We''ll be set for a whole month or two with this. And plus, he''ll learn why we told him not to go there soon enough," said the other guard to the one who was trying to hit Julius. Hearing his comrade''s words, the guard calmed himself down and began to open the gate just as Julius asked of them. When the people around the area saw what they were doing, they quickly hid for some odd reason. "Thank you.." said Julius as we walked through the gate and it got closed behind him. While at first it irritated Julius, he just figured that he''d pay them more gold coins to let him back later on. ... When Julius looked at what was in-front of him, he gasped in fear and disgust. The area which he was in now was just as big, if not bigger than the kingdom but the state of it was world''s apart from the kingdom. It was a land in which the stores where made of dirty wood and cardboard. All they sold were parts of random things which looked to picked up garbage itself. As Julius walked by the many stores, he finally found one which sold fruits and vegetables however each of them looked to be bruised and dirty. The most disturbing thing was that the number of the people that lived there was much greater than the ones which lived in the kingdom. "What is this place?...." Chapter 23 - Rich Boy "What is this place?" Julius asked himself as he watched through the land which existed outside of the kingdom which prospered so much. He couldn''t believe the conditions that the people were forced to live in. He could''ve never imagined that there was a place where people were treated like dirt. "Why?! There''s plenty of food and riches to be spread around, so why? Why are there people living like this?" Julius continued to ask himself as he began to tremble. In the distance, he found an old man which was walking with a cane as he looked to be looking for something. Seeing his opportunity Julius approached the old man and tried to ask him a question. "Excuse me-" said Julius but before he could finish his sentence, the old man quickly turned around and whacked Julius with his cane. "I DON''T HAVE ANY COINS! LEAVE ME ALONE," the old man yelled out as he began to tear up from exhaustion. Although if Julius had been hit before he began training, he would''ve been hurt by the old man''s attack, that didn''t happen due to him becoming an iron wall from Jun hitting him with a stick with increasing strength for a whole day. "Why would you think I would take money from an old man?" Julius asked in confusion and worry. Once the old man got a good look at Julius'' clean cloths and his pocket which looked to be filled with something which was most likely money, he realized that Julius was probably from the kingdom. "What do you want with us? Are you here to beat our people then go back to your fancy home?" the old man asked. "What?! I''m not here to do anything of that nature. It would be better if I were to ask you this. Let''s say I''m not from either the kingdom or this place. Why is there such a large divide between life styles between this dreadful place as compared to that of the blooming kingdom?" Julius asked. "Huh?" the old man replied as he didn''t understand what the child in front of him had said which caused Julius to reply with a straight face which signified the expression of "Are you serious right now?". "Basically, why are they rich and you''re poor?" Julius tried to dumb it down a bit so the old man could understand. "Ohhh, you should''ve said that from the start. Well, most people don''t know but I was fortunate enough to learn why during my life in here...." the old man began to talk which caught Julius'' attention. "The real story begins about 120 years ago at which the great kingdoms had finished rebuilding their kingdoms from the war. Everything was going perfect for them. There was no sign of war and their people were prospering. However, there was a slight problem. Due to the sudden peace, there was a baby boom in which the population quickly rose. The kingdom had a choice of either expanding the kingdom walls which would cost them a fortune or isolate those who made less money than them into the outside world while they kept evolving," the old man continued the story. "However, the people who were kicked out began to protest in anger after they were forcibly kicked out into the wilderness. In doing so, there was a civil war between the two sides. After a year of getting massacred and the kingdom seeing that it was causing bloodshed decided to make the exiled people an offer. That being that the people outside the kingdom could work labour like jobs and would get paid one gold coin a month. At the time, it was a good deal but because of inflation, one gold coin a month for intense labour isn''t enough anymore," the old man finished. "So why not stop working completely? If they don''t have any workers, they''ll improve the money they give you," Julius advised. "Don''t you think we tried that? They didn''t care. They left us to die. We can only have enough to buy scraps and survive off one meal a day if we''re lucky. The worst part of it is that there is rumour they''ll stop paying us completely and in turn kill us from starvation. Once we''re all dead, they''ll finally expand the kingdom since they have the ability to do so," the old man explained. Hearing the words of the old man infuriated Julius. He couldn''t believe that the people who he looked up to for his entire life could do something this despicable. At first Julius thought that it was just Mary''s kingdom but the more he thought of the other kingdoms, they probably opted for the same option which Mary''s one did. However, this wouldn''t be the end of Julius'' tale with the people who were exiled. He had other plans for them. There was no way he would allow all of them to be killed as if they were nothing more than insects. "Thank you old man," said Julius before pulling out 3 golden coins from his pouch and giving it to the old man. The reason he didn''t give him more than that was because he could become a target for those who would be willing to rob others. 3 gold coins would''ve been enough to last him through a month without much trouble so it wouldn''t be too suspicious. Once he had given the coins to the old man, Julius walked off as to not make a scene so that he could explore the outside of the kingdom. After some time, Julius heard a sound from somewhere. Once he looked to the left of him, he saw a group of kids which looked to be just a bit older than him calling to him in a narrow corner. "Come here," one of the said in an inviting but demanding tone. But nevertheless, Julius walked up to them as if there was nothing wrong with the situation. "Hey there rich boy. You''re not from around these parts, are you?" the tallest one of the group asked which made Julius realize what was about to happen.. The group of boys surrounded him but even so, Julius continued to stare down the tallest one of the group. Chapter 24 - Mission Elsewhere in the world were Jun and Mary who had just arrived at the place which they were looking for. It was a large double door which arched in a pointy manner towards the top. The doors themselves had engravings which glowed of the colour red. Even without doing anything, there were many rounds of winds which spread through all directions which stemmed from the gate. "We''re here now. You know what you have to do right?" Jun asked Mary which had a nervous look on her face. "I go in there, kill, get out," she replied even though she looked to be shaking. Seeing this, Jun placed his palm on her shoulder. "This isn''t the time for you to be scared. I don''t know if you''ll be able to come out of this but you don''t have a choice. Remember, defeat isn''t an option for you anymore," said Jun as he gave her one last push. ... Mary looked at the dungeon as she feared what would happen to her if she went inside. However, after only a few seconds of pondering, her instincts kicked in and she turned into an ambitious warrior. She realized that if she were to die in some place, she would rather die at the hands of whatever was inside the gate rather than having to get killed by the enemy they were making preparations to face. It was strange for her to look at just a simple door which stood in an open grassy field with nothing behind it. However, he very well knew that once she opened the doors, she would definitely find something behind it. Fully armoured and bident in hand, Mary opened the doors of the gate with nothing but determination in her eyes. As she expected there was a platform waiting for her which led to another dimension of sorts so she would face whatever she was looking for. Jun waved one final time to say goodbye to his student as she would have to experience the hardest fight of her life. Specially seeing as she hadn''t trained in the last couple years. Once the doors behind her closed, Mary continued to walk in the darkness until with a sudden flicking sound, red light began to illuminate everything. She was surrounded by a group of red giant monsters with horns and black tails... demons. Without asking any questions or bothering to make one final speech before she began her battle, Mary leaped in the air as he charged towards one of the demons around her with her bident point at the monster. The monster was able to deflect the attack however, right after she landed, Mary spun her bident around and managed to make a direct hit with the long hilt of her weapon on the demon''s side. Seeing as the demon as weakened, Mary quickly spun her weapon once again and stabbed the demon in its chest effectively killing it. However, as pay back the remaining demons which she still had to deal with began to surround her. One of them quickly tried to punch her but she was able to block the attack with the side of her weapon. Now that he was in a stand still with the demon, she was completely open to any other attacks. Seeing that she was wide open, a demon behind her interlocked its fingers and slammed both its hands into her head which sent her flying and caused her to crash into the wall of the room in which they were battling things out it. When she took a closer look at the place, she didn''t find anything special about it. It was just a dirty grey room with nothing both ancient text engraved into it. Even though she was bleeding from her head, Mary quickly got up from the ground and leaped high in the air before throwing her bident like a spear, in turn killing another demon. "5 to go," said Mary as she rushed to the dead body of the demon to pull out her blade from its chest. Seeing as she was distracted, another goblin came in and tried to swing with fist at her, however, in the last second, she ducked back and bare avoided the attack. To get revenge, Mary spun her bident in circles which easily cut apart the demon which had just tried to attack her along with another demon which had been standing there aimlessly. "3 to go," said Mary as she stabled her self and looked towards one of the demons which she had claimed as he next target. However, just before she could take. a step forward another demon came rushing in and made a direct hit on her left cheek and sent her to the ground. Seeing the opportunity, the demon continuously pummelled Mary''s face until she was covered in blood. Instead of screaming in pain and agony, Mary simply pushed the demon off her chest before getting up and staring into its eyes with her own rage filled eyes. Mary grabbed the demon with its head and lifted it in the air with just her left hand. Seeing the other 2 remaining demons in the distance, Mary threw her bident at one of them but before they realized it, they were lined up in a single file format and in turn, they were both stabbed by the bident, effectively getting killed. "1 to go," said Mary as she looked up as the demon which was in her hand before squeezing her fingers so hard that she broke the demon''s skull which resulted in its death. ... Mary let go of the demon which was in her hand and began to walk towards the bident which was in the chests of the two demons she''d killed at the same time. "Mission complete," said Mary as she walked out of the dungeon with blood covering every part of her body but even so, she didn''t look the least bit fazed as he walked towards Jun. However, right before she could say a word to her master not could say a word to his student, Mary collapsed from blood loss. [LEVEL UP] [Mary Jun] [Level: 79] [EXP: 1980/79000] Chapter 25 - Slow Back at the outskirts of kingdom which was ruled by the sole queen known as Mary, Julius was having an altercation with a group of boys which looked to be around the ages of 14-17. Seeing as they were clearly trying to rob Julius, he wouldn''t back down from them. "What are you looking at?" the tallest one of the group said as he punched Julius who had been starting at him with his glaring eyes. ... "Hey, that didn''t hurt at all, are you sure you managed to hit me?" Julius asked in confusion. ... "Ow, ow, ow. It feels like I just hit a giant rock with my bare hand," said the boy who''d punched Julius before backing up to catch his breath. "What did you you do to out boss?!" another kid exclaimed before trying to hit Julius himself. However, his himself experienced the same pain which the one he''d called his boss had just a mere moment ago. "Are you guys okay? I mean, you were the ones who tried to punch me so you have no right in playing the victim," said Julius. "Oh...." Julius said before getting a sinister idea as he had remembered something. "So you think you can rob anyone around here and get away with it? Well, I''ll teach you a valuable lesson," said Julius before deliberately making it look like he was going to punch their boss but instead hit the wall beside his target and caused a dark dent on it which made the hearts of the kids who''d tried to rob him sink in fear. "Please let us off with our lives, we won''t every bother you again sir," the kids said before trying to run off. "WAIT!" Julius yelled out which sounded more angry than it was meant to have been. "All of you, sit down here. I want to tell you something," said Julius which the other kids relentlessly returned to hear. "Do you know what''s on the other side of the wall?" Julius asked them. "Rich people who have all the food they can ever need. I''ve even heard that they eat 3 meals a day. To add on, they don''t just have a single thing, instead they have multiple things to choose from and eat," one of the kids replied. "Wait, you don''t eat 3 meals a day?" Julius asked, he''d heard what the old man had said but didn''t actually think that it was as bad as he made it seem. "3?! We''d be lucky if we got 1 a day. But seriously, you''re not from around here. So, I guess you must be from the other side of the wall?" one of the kids asked. "Well, not technically... I''m not from this kingdom. I just came on a visiting trip and somehow ended up here. But... in the kingdom back home, I guess I lived on the good side of the kingdom," Julius said with sadness in his eyes. "Why do you look so sad? You should be happy that you were born into a good family... maybe in our next life, we''ll all be reborn into a rich family which lives on the good side of the wall," the tallest one of the group said which also happened to be the boss. Just as Julius began to make a real connection with the new group of people he''d met, they all heard the yelling of a woman as she cried out for help. Of course, hearing her distress, Julius along with the other kids quickly came out of the the narrow area which they were in to see what was happening. "Oh no, it''s them. We better stay away from them," said the boss of the group as he saw a fat man in a suit which was dragging a woman by her feet towards the gate which separated the two words. "Just come on with me. I can give you the live you''ve always dreamed of. Just marry me and you''ll be able to live a life of luxury," the fat man said as he continued to drag the woman which was struggling. "No! I''m happy with the man I have! Just leave me alone," the woman pleaded. ... A moment later, a man came charging in as he leaped in the air in an attempt to kick the fat man''s hands however, before he could reach him, the fat man''s two body guards came from behind and apprehended the man. "Let go of her! She''s my woman!" the man who had apprehended yelled out. "Oh really? She''s way out of your league. Actually... this should teach you a lesson," said the fat man before pulling out a gun from him pocket and shooting the apprehended man in the leg which caused him to cry from the agony of the bullet but also from being helpless. Seeing a man get shot in the leg for doing absolutely nothing wrong then seeing no one help him made Julius sick to the stomach. Filled with rage, he began to approach the fat man which had an arrogant look on his face. "What do you want kid? Are you trying to get shot too?" the man said before pointing the bullet at Julius. Even though Julius wanted to break all of the fat man teeth, he knew that it wasn''t the best decision he had. So instead, Julius pulled out the pouch of gold coins he had in his pocket and threw it on the ground. "Take this and never come back here again," said Julius as he stared at the fat man with his death filled eyes. However, instead of complying, the fat man began to laugh hysterically. "That''s child''s money to me. I''d give 100 times that for this woman. Not that I would actually pay for her life. She''s not worth anything. None of these people''s lives are, including yours," the fat man said as he finally fired a bullet at Julius. Hearing the shot be fired brought disgust even to the bodyguards which didn''t believe that the fat man would go to the length of shooting a child. ... "Too slow," said Julius with the bullet that had been fired in his finger tips. Chapter 26 - Sky "HOW DID HE CATCH THAT?" the fat man yelled out in anger. The two body guards around the fat man quickly jumped in-front of him with a face or worry. "Sir, please leave the woman and retreat. This is no longer a safe place for you. I believe that this child has already begun the study of cultivation," said one of the two body guards. "Cultivation you say?... well no matter, you two should be able to take care of him, right?" the fat man asked with an arrogant but demanding tone. "Of course sir, we will not disapoint you," said the two body guards at the same time before charging towards Julius. However, even with him being against two grown adults, Julius stood his ground as he got into a fighting pose as he awaited for the body guards to make the first move. ... While Julius was in his altercation, Jun and Mary had finally made it back to the kingdom from their short journey to the dungeon. Once they had actually made it back to the castle''s balcony, Jun helped Mary get up from his jade dragon so that she could see a doctor. She had been completely covered in blood after her battle with the demons in the dungeon and she needed immediate assistance. "Someone, get a doctor," said Jun as he helped Mary get off the back of his dragon. The guards seeing their queen in a bloodied state all gasped in fear for what had happened to her. "WHAT HAPPENED?!" Hendrick asked with worry in his eyes. "I said get a doctor! I''ll explain after she''s been taken care of," Jun replied at which hearing his words caused one of the other guards to rush to get a doctor and a team of nurses to help him to they could bring her to a room which Mary could be treated at. ... After some time, the doctor along with his nurses came rushing in as they quickly took Mary out of Jun''s hands and began to quickly take her to a room at which she could recover at. Of course Jun followed them to make sure that she was getting the treatment she needed. "How did this happen to the queen?" the doctor asked while treating her wounds. "It''s top secret information. I can''t be giving it out to you," Jun replied. "Well, whatever it is, the queen shouldn''t be involved in it anymore. Her life is at risk right now. If this were to happen again and I wasn''t there to treat her injuries, its every likely that she would die," the doctor said as he began to wrap the queen up with bandages around her legs, arms, chest and the part which sustained the most damage being her head. "I wish it was that simple.." said Jun before he stopped himself. "Where''s Julius?" Jun asked one of the nurses in the room. Just then the butler who was in charge of Julius came into the room to inform Jun of the news. "Apologies for the intrusion but prince Julius has gone off on his own to explore the kingdom," the butler who''s real name was Steve, said to Jun. "On his own?! He''s a member of a royal family, does he not know the dangers which will befall him if people knew who he really was?" Mary said as she got up from the bed she was forced to lay on. Seeing her move so much brought instant worry to the doctor which forced her to lay back down on the bed. "I tried to stop him but he threatened to use his political influence on me. Nevertheless I''ve sent the secret force to follow him, however..." Steve began to speak. "However, what?" Mary asked she now laid on the bed. "It seems that he''s made it to the dark district. In addiction to that, it looks like he''s gotten into a conflict with Mr. William. Since we''ve been trying to secretly destroy him for the past months to no avail, the secret force is currently waiting for Mr. William himself to cause damage to the prince so that may be used against him," said Steve. "Have you gone mad? You realize who''s child he is right? He''s Henry''s boy! If he were to find out about this, we could very easily be at war with him if just having you executed wouldn''t be enough for him," Mary said as she got up from the bed completely. "My queen, this was not part of my plan but the secret force''s, I am just a messenger," said Steve as he bowed down to the angry queen. "I can''t have a war start because of this. Jun, take me to the dark district using your jade dragon. I''ll need to settle this on my own," said Mary as she almost fell to the ground from exhaustion but was quickly caught by Jun who helped her walk back to the castle''s balcony at which the jade dragon was still waiting for them. Once on top of Jun''s pet, Jun directed the dragon to quickly take them to the dark district which was the name of the place at which Julius was at. ... Julius himself was continuously receiving punches from the body guards which were protecting the fat man but due to his increased stats over the past few days, Julius himself was able to land a few hits even if they weren''t very effective. "Have you had enough kid? You''re not on out league. I don''t know where you learned to cultivate but it doesn''t matter. You''ve got a long ways to go before you could defeat someone like us. You should''ve just kept quiet," said one of the body guards said he landed a clean hit on Julius which caused the prince to fall backwards and lay on the ground from exhaustion. Seeing as he was out of fighting spirit, the body guards began to laugh along with the fat man as he dragged the woman out of the dark district by force. "Why am I so weak," said Julius as he began to cry. <> Chapter 27 - Anger <> Julius'' eyes began to glow white as he got up from the ground with his mouth wide open. In his had was a large white blade with a straight line engraved right through the middle of his blade which glowed blue. While Julius was technically moving, he was unconscious and his body was just moving on its own, much like how he was when he fought against the bears in the forest which he was sent into to get food in the form of a rabbit. "Is he possessed?" the fat man said as he turned around. "Ready for round 2? I guess we''ll just have to teach you to give up... don''t worry boss, we''ve got this," said the two body guards as they charged towards Julius with a large grin on their face, all while the fat man who continued to laugh watched and anticipated for Julius to get the beating of his life. At that precise moment, Jun and Mary had finally arrived at the dark district. Right as they began to descend from the sky, the saw as the two body guards began to charge towards Julius. So sure that the prince would be defeated easily, Jun forced his dragon to descend at and even faster rate, but even so, they wouldn''t make it in time and they accepted that Julius would just have to bear a punch or two until they arrived to his rescue. Right as the two body guards came close enough to Julius and raised their fist in an attempt to punch him, they suddenly came to a stop. Neither of them moved as their body stood in place... as for their heads, it was completely sliced off clean from their body. Since they didn''t realize what happened, the two body guards got confused as to why everything was upside down and why they felt like they were falling. That was when they saw their headless body standing there and realized what had happened. Seeing his men get killed with a single attack, the fat man began to move back slowly until he let go of the woman he was dragging and began to run away for his life. Drenched in fear and confusion, the fat man ended up falling on the ground but still tried to crawl away. Once Mary and Jun arrived on the scene they quickly rushed to see the glowing Julius with blade in hand as he stood there aimlessly. That was when he turned his attention towards the fat man. Seeing as Mary couldn''t allow William to die yet as he would need to face a trail, she stepped in the way and held Julius'' hand as she tried to forcibly stop him. "You''ve done enough! Stop it!" Mary yelled at Julius. However, not a single word got to him but seeing as she was trying to stop him, Julius'' body perceived her as an enemy and forcibly made her let go of his hand before placing both palms on his glowing blade. Without wasting a moment, Julius brought his blade up towards the sky before swinging it in a downwards manner right to Mary. Seeing as Julius was trying to attack her, Mary moved away to the side before preparing to launch a minor attack just so Julius would pass out. However, right before she could attack him, a large beam of light came out of the blade and began to go forwards in the direction at which Julius''s blade when in. Mary was forced to watch as the beam of light cut everything in its way for over 200 metres with barely giving any time for anyone who was in its way. As for the buildings that were there, they were sliced clean. ... "H-he did that?" Mary asked as fear began to set in. Even she didn''t know if she could''ve survived that attack. Fortunately for her, another attack like that wouldn''t be coming as Julius passed out completely and the blade in his hand began to disintegrate. ... "So I guess it was him who also caused that bright light in the forest. But how...?" Jun asked himself as he helped both Mary and Julius to get back on his jade dragon and began to help them fly away. As for William, he was finally able to crawl away from the dark district and then the two guards who were there closed the gate. The bodies of William''s body guards were left to rot but the kids which Julius had mildly befriended began to search the body guards'' pockets and found some gold coins inside which meant that their day was pretty lucky. Lastly, the woman helped her husband which was apprehend with large ropes get out of them and then she helped him walk towards wherever their home was as his foot had been shot. While not the ideal way to get out, it was better than him having to be shot but also lose his wife. ... When Julius finally woke up, he looked around to see where he was. Once again, he didn''t remember what happened after he passed out and the white glow in his eyes took over but one thing was for sure, he needed to have a conversation with Mary. "I see you''re finally awake Julius," said Jun who was sitting beside him in the hospital like room if a hospital room was to exist in the medieval era with the technology of 1700s. "Where''s Mary?!" Julius demanded. "She''s in the room next door. She ended up receiving a beating herself so try to go easy on her," said Jun as he could see that Julius was angry at Maru for some reason. "Go easy on her?! While she''s able to recover from some minor injuries in a royal castle, some poor guy in that place has to deal with a gun wound with nothing to help him.. She wakes up every single day in her magnificent castle to rule over her people and enjoy anything and everything she could want while there are kids there who can''t eat! Are you seriously saying that you approve of this?" Julius asked Jun with his face filled with anger. Chapter 28 - Donut "Look, you weren''t supposed to even go into the dark district, it''s something you were going to be taught about once you grew up. You saw it before you were ready which is why you''re having this type of reaction," said Jun as he tried to make Julius calm down. "I don''t need a fake explanation from the people who''re benefiting from this. You''re just going to change the real story so that you look like you''re the good guys. To hell with that! I''ll only take a change not some washed up story so you seem like the victims," said Julius. "Is that so?! Julius, if you dare to challenge how I rule my own kingdom then maybe you would like to see what you''re up against!" said Mary as she walked with crutches. Julius hadn''t realized it but Mary had just called him with his name instead of adding "prince" before that to indicate that she no longer saw him as the prince of a great kingdom but an enemy to her. "Are you in any form to be battling?" Julius asked Mary with a disgusted look. "Believe me, I''m in perfect condition to take on a brat like you who''s grown too confident in his abilities," said Mary as she stared dead into Julius'' eyes which he replied with a gaze of his own. "So when do you want this duel to be?" Julius asked. "How about right now? I''m already confident in my abilities... unless you want to apologize and we can forget about this," said Mary as she tried to taunt Julius. While it was reckless of him, specially seeing as she was a queen of a kingdom, Julius still wanted to do something to try to cause a change. If by some miracle he could win, he could change the lives of so many people. "That''s fine by me, as long as you agree to help all those people in the dark district if I win," said Julius which Mary replied to by nodding in agreement. "Okay then, let''s go somewhere empty so that I won''t cause too much damage to the surrounding area when I crush your skull," Mary continued to taunt Julius but he was just busy thinking about a way to quickly end the battle since Mary was already injured. "Master Jun, would you mind taking us to an open field with your jade dragon so we can battle. It''ll only take a few minutes of not seconds for the battle to be over," said Mary as she tried to seem confident but the reality was that she was afraid herself. The only reason she even agreed to the battle was to teach Julius a lesson so they he could never challenge her way of doing things. At least she knew of a way to defeat Julius, that being to quickly rush in and land a single attack so that he would go unconscious. If she decided to go for a drawn out fight, the unconscious state might activate and she''d surely lose. "I don''t mind but be careful not to open your wounds which were stitched together. That could be a serious problem," Jun replied as they started to walk out of the room and back to the castle balcony so that they could ride the jade dragon. While Jun''s words had mildly discouraged Julius since even his teacher was sure he would lose, Julius didn''t give up as he himself was sure that Mary wouldn''t be able to last long with all her injuries. After walking for some time, Julius, Mary and Jun had made it to the balcony where the jade dragon was waiting for them. After they all got on it, Jun instructed his pet to take them to an open field in which he did as he was told. ... Once arriving in the open grass field in which nothing except some small cattle such as cows and goats were, there was nothing in that area. Jun decided to stay on his dragon and watch from a distance to get the best view of the battle which he was sure would only last a few moments while Julius and Mary both got off and stood 10 metres away from each other. "This is perfect. Well, shall be get started?" Mary asked at which Julius replied to her with a nod indicating his agreement. Seeing that Julius had agreed, Mary quickly leaped off the ground and headed directly towards Julius who knew that just as she got off the ground, Mary had won. With a single leap, Mary was able to cover 10 metres worth of distance in 1 second. As her fist reached out towards Julius'' chest to knock him out, a thought came to her mind. "Kill him. If he''s out of the equation, there will be no chance of him joining his father and challenging us. Just kill him, it''s for the best," she told herself and in that moment, she believed it. Mary hardened her fist and prepared to punch a whole in Julius'' chest. However, right before she could land a single hit on Julius, a dark feeling overcame her. DEATH! It was as if the grim-reaper had come himself and began to swallow her in one gulp. She felt herself become absorbed on fear as she felt herself getting suffocated. Even her eyesight became effected as all she could see was darkness. However, a moment later she was able to see once again as she saw Julius who''s eyes were glowing and she knew what that meant. To her belief there was only one thing which the glowing Julius could do. That being that he could create a blade out of nothing which could destroy everything in its path. If she managed to avoid it, Julius would pass out and she''s be able to go home a winner. Unfortunately for her, she would be mistaken. "GET OUT OF THERE!" Jun yelled to her as he remembered the feeling which emanated out of Julius. <> <> Chapter 29 - Blade <> <> A white cylindrical line began to appear right at where Julius was standing before starting to expand. Even though she didn''t know what it was, Mary knew that whatever that white light was, it was something bad. As such, she began to run away from it as fast as she could. However, even at her top speeds, she was barely out running it but it wouldn''t be much longer until it reached her. Seeing as Mary was about to die, Jun quickly came rushing in with his jade dragon before picking up Mary and taking her far away from the white light as fast as possible. Once the light cleared, it became visible that every animal within a 100 metre radius of Julius had died. The odd thing being that there was no blood or destruction, all there was were unconscious bodies. As for Julius himself, he had passed out once again. Now that he was unconscious, Mary and Jun began to go in to pick him up and take him back to the kingdom. However, as they were going to pick him up, Mary wanted to ask a couple questions. "What was that?! I felt like I was about to die if that thing touched me," said Mary as she continued to gasp for air. "Because you would''ve died if that thing touched you. There''s no limit on how destructive his secret arts are, specially this one. It kills everything that it touches, no matter how powerful or weak they are," Jun replied. "No limit?! Why would you teach him a secret art in the first place let alone one where he can destroy everything he wants. And why him? You didn''t teach any of your other students that move... it could be the one thing we need to defeat Henry," said Mary in anger at her teacher for keeping a move like that a secret from her. "That''s where you''re wrong. I didn''t teach him a single secret art. It hasn''t even been a week since I started to train him and yet he has control over 2 secret arts. The only thing which makes him even the least bit balanced is that he passed out after using them," said Jun. "2?! He already had 2 secret arts at this age even when he had to learn then on his own? That must mean that he''s cultivating through meditation like you?" Mary asked as she calmed her self down as if he were to cultivate through mediation, he would be a glass canon for ever. "No Mary... he''s learning both cultivation methods..." Jun replied to her as he couldn''t keep it hidden any longer. "B-both? H-how?" Mary asked as he voice began to tremble. "After some experimenting, we found a way for him to sleep while he cultivated through mediation and in the morning, he cultivates through battle.. " Jun slowly told her as he tried not to scare her to the point where she faints. "Come on Jun. Even you must know what will become of this world if this boy is allowed to live. We must end his life now while he''s vulnerable. His extensive in the future can lead to the destruction of the entire world," said Mary as she prepared to leap off the jade dragon and kill Julius before he woke up. "Stop it Mary! I won''t allow you to kill him. He had the potential to bring peace to the world," said Jun as she tried to steer his dragon away from Julius. "It''s too late. I''ll finish what I started here and now," said Mary as she leaped off the jade dragon and began to sprint towards Julius at top speeds. "Damn you Mary, why must you be so stubborn?! I hate to do this to you," said Jun as he once again turned his sights on Julius body as he directed his pet to fly downwards at speeds which he had never gone to. After only a few seconds, Jun had made it in time to stand in front of Mary. "Move of the way Jun, I don''t want to battle against you," said Mary as he started at her teacher. "I already said it. I won''t allow you to kill this boy," Jun replied as he stood his ground. "Then so be it. We already know that I only need one hit on you and you''ll be defeated. I guess it''s fitting that I use what you taught me to defeat you," said Mary as she began to breathe heavily. <> A katana like sword began to appear out of nothing as it formed and slipped into Mary''s hand. "Ah yes, one of the first spells I teach to anyone who learns to cultivate through mediation. Too bad though, you''re must too inexperienced with it," said Jun as he prepared to use a secret art of his own. "I finally understand why you love that boy so much. You see a version of me in him. He was able to learn both methods of cultivation just like I was able to. You couldn''t live with the fact that a gifted student such as myself had left you without an explanation which was why you grew to be harsh on your other students. And yet, you''ve become a caring person when it comes to this boy. I finally see it Jun, you don''t want to lose Julius just like you lost me," said Mary as she smiled at him before charging towards her master in an attempt to kill him first then Julius. "It really hurts you know. Seeing my two favourite students fight then having to watch as one of them tried to kill me. I never understood why you left Mary, you could''ve been the greatest one instead of Henry. So why... why do you continue to be selfish?" said Jun as his eyes began to fill with tears. Jun didn''t feel anger or hatred. All he felt was sadness. <> Chapter 30 - Ruler Of The 10th <> Before Mary could reach Jun, 1000 silver blades which were the length of 50 inches appeared all around her. It was over. Her only hope of victory would''ve been for her to attack before Jun used his more complex secret art, however, now that Jun had managed to set up his attack, it was over for Mary. "Give it up now Mary, you know you can''t take all these blades at the state you''re in now," said Jun as he warned his previous favourite student. "Like hell I will. I rather die than allow that boy to live in this world for another day," Mary replied as she prepared to swing her own blade so as to deflect the the blades which Jun had created. "Then so be it. Goodbye Mary," said Jun as he allowed all 1000 of his blades to rain upon Mary. ... "What happened?" Julius asked as he woke up with a gasp. "I see you''re finally awake," Jun replied with a gentle smile. "Hello there master Jun. What happened to Mary?" Julius asked his teacher as he looked around and realized that he was back that Jun''s house on the mountain top. Even though Jun wanted to inform his student about his unconscious secret art appliances and how powerful they are, he stopped himself as he knew that if Julius knew about them, he would stop his training all together and instead just focus on activating his powers at will the living contently with them instead of unlocking his full potential. "Well, she defeated you in an instant and you were knocked out before you realized it. She told me to take you back to wherever we came from so I did as I was told. And as the terms agreed upon said, she''s allowed to do with her kingdom as she wishes and you can''t do anything about it," Jun lied to his student. "Oh," said Julius as his face saddened and then he began to cry from feeling so pathetic. He couldn''t even help the one group of people he wanted to assist so desperately. Because of his weakness, all the children he met, the old man he first talked to and the couple who had to face the fat man were going to continue to live in that hell because of him. "Master Jun, I beg of you, please take me to see my father," said Julius as he bowed down to his teacher. Even though seeing his student in that state made sad, Jun knew that simple compassion wouldn''t do for the situation. He needed to leave a permanent mark. "You probably think that your father would be willing to start a war in your honour and that would be correct. However, don''t believe that for even a second, he would be willing to help the people in the dark district. I mean he even hasn''t helped the people in the dark district of his own kingdom," said Jun. "There is a dark district in my kingdom as well?" Julius asked as he began to get even more heart broken. "Of course there is. There is a dark district in every great kingdom. They need to keep creating a divide so their citizens believe that they''re fortunate to live in the kingdom and in turn help the kingdom build wealth. In fact, if you were to call upon your father, there would be more people living in dark districts," Jun explained which just made Julius cry more. "So how am I supposed to help all those people?" Julius asked as he looked down at the ground in shame. "Well, right now you''re nothing... but there''s a way for you to help every single person in the dark districts," said Jun as he tried to start the fire in Julius'' heart. "How can I?! Please tell me, I want to help them," said Julius as he begged for any idea on how to help all those people who lived without knowing when their last day of life would be. "You can start your own great kingdom..." said Jun. "My... own great kingdom?" Julius asked in amazement as he was being pulled in by the words of his teacher. "Yes, your very own great kingdom. Remember when I told about the downfall of the 10th kingdom? Well, the land at which it used to exist still lives on, however, the other great kings and queen won''t allow you to take over it in peace. So as a solution, let us begin your training once again. We''ll get you to be more powerful than all of them combined so that you can rescue all the people from the dark district and create the greatest kingdom which has ever lived," said Jun as he continued to explain the plan to him. "I understand. Thank you master, I''ll start training as soon as possible... how about we start now?" Julius said as he got up from the futon in which he was sleeping in just a moment ago. "Sure... that''s fine by me. Before we start though, I want to know how your progress with cultivation through mediation while sleeping is going," said Jun. "Oh, that''s right, I forgot to tell you, I managed to rank up when I went to sleep the day which you and Mary disappeared," said Julius. "That''s great! So tell me, what is the current point you''re at," Jun requested to learn. [Julius Henry] [Rank: 2] [SP: 560/2000] Hearing Julius''s progress, Jun''s face lit up in joy at the progress Julius was making. The rate which his student was progressing was unheard of throughout all the lands. However, as for his progress when it came to his progress with cultivation through battle, it was less than impressive. Due to the events which occurred over the past few days, Julius was not able to make a lot of progress in the other method of cultivation. However, that would soon change as his master had something spectacular planned for him not only for cultivation through battle but also for a few other events which he wanted to keep as a surprise for Julius. Chapter 31 - Exchanges "Like I was saying, can we start my training now?" Julius asked his master. "You know what, sure. Let''s get going now. You already slept through the night so there''s no mediation cultivation that you need to worry about for now. So let''s begin with your other forms of training," Jun said as he began to walk outside his house at which Julius''s followed him from the back. ... "Is that jade dragon going to always be here from now on?" Julius asked in confusion as he didn''t know if Jun could put his pet away or if he would just have to accept it once he summoned it. "I can put him away whenever I want but it would just be extra work for me to summon him every time I need to travel so for the time being, he''ll be in the outside world. Do you not like him or something?" Jun asked with a perplexed face. "No no, not at all. I don''t mind him. He''s a bit scary but cool. I just wanted to know if you could put him away on command or not," Julius replied. "If that was your question then I''ve answered it, now get on, I''m going to take your training up a notch. Of course, the training will be harder than it needs to be but it''ll benefit you in the end," said Jun as both of them got on his jade dragon and began to fly. Hearing Jun''s words made Julius uneasy but on the other hand, he was excited to grow stronger to accomplish his dream of building his own kingdom in which people wouldn''t have to live in a place called a dark district. For his dream to give everyone a good life, Julius would go to extreme lengths. ... After flying for sometime, Jun''s jade dragon began to decent on a grassy area which had a couple dozen small hills. All around the area were enormous green frogs with yellow circular spots on them and orange scaly lizards which were at least 5 meters long. "Wow! They''re so huge!" Julius said with amazement as the jade dragon landed on the ground. "Well, I''m glad you like them, now go along and do your mission," Jun replied to Julius. "Wait... are you saying that I have to go kill those monsters?!" Julius asked with a frightened face. "Does it look like I''m joking?" Jun replied to him with the scary face he had when he told Julius to run 20 laps around his backyard or to do 1000 pushup. Just seeing that face alone made Julius get off the dragon with a blank expression and began to walk towards the nearest frog. ... "Can I at least have a weapon?" Julius asked in a tone which seemed like he was begging. "No!" Jun replied to him with more anger which just made Julius more frightened as he walked towards the giant frog near him. ... "Hey there buddy, do you mind if you just die for me," Julius asked as he smiled at the frog while praying for a miracle. Unfortunately for him, that wouldn''t happen and instead the frog would stick its long tongue out and use it as a whip to send Julius flying a couple metres back. Now angry at the frog, Julius came marching back and before he could get whipped again, he decided to throw a devastating punch which e expected to break the fabric of space and time and cause the entire multiverse to crumble... however that would not happen as the frog wouldn''t feel any pain and instead just use its tongue to send Julius flying a couple metres back once again. This struggle between Julius and that single frog went on for what seemed like hours before Julius realized that with every whip he received from the frog, the less metres he was getting thrown back. To add on, with every punch that he threw, the stronger he got and in turn the more pain the frog felt. Due to Julius hitting the exact spot continuously as he grew in strength caused that one point of the frog to be its weak spot. With one final strong punch by the exhausted Julius who seemed like he was about to just pass out and sleep the rest of his life off, the frog exploded until there was nothing left of it. Seeing this, Julius got on his knees as he cried tears of joy. He had finally defeated the one enemy he''d sword to defeat. ... "What are you so happy for? You still have all of those left," said Jun who had came up behind Julius when he didn''t notice and pointed at what seemed like the hundreds of more frog which Julius would have to defeat. Seeing what was left, Julius began to cry tears of sadness as he would have to experience that hell all over again... and yet, he was willing to do so. Julius quickly charged towards a frog which was already near him. Although he didn''t kill it on the first try and he got knocked back, Julius came back for another round and after only 10 exchanges, Julius was able to kill the frog. The next frog took only 8 exchanges then 5, then 3, then 1. Julius had finally done it. He was able to kill a giant frog with a single shot. He didn''t have to even get in a single exchange as before the frog could whip Julius, it was already dead. After a while, Julius had killed all of the giant frogs in the area without even realizing it. Once having accomplished the task he was given, Julius began to head towards where his master had been waiting for him so he could boast about how strong he was. "Damn it, I wanted this activity to at least take the whole day if not until tomorrow but he already finished it in 5 hours.. I guess I''ll have to give him the next job," said Jun as he anxiously awaited his student. Chapter 32 - Win "Did you see me master Jun? I was killing a whole frog with a single punch. I feel like a superhero," said Julius as he finally made it in talking distance to his master who was still on his jade dragon as he watched. "Yes yes, you did well. However, if you seek to create your own kingdom, it''ll take a lot more work that single frog killing. You see, the frogs are the weaker ones of the species which live here, the real monsters are the orange lizards. They''re at least 10 times if not 20 times stronger than the frogs," Jun tried to make Julius more enthusiastic about his next mission as if the missions were too boring, his student might give up on the life of cultivation. "20 times?! I know that''s supposed to be scary but imagine if I manage to gain enough strength to kill a lizard with a single hit?! That would mean that I would get 20 times stronger than I am now right?" Julius asked. ... "You''re horrible at math right?" Jun asked with a straight face with suggested the expression "you''ve got to be kidding me". ... "There is no real way for you to determine how much you grow by the exact measurement however your reasoning for the statement you made is just plain out wrong. The gap between a frog and a lizard is a 20 times multiplier. For you to grow 20 times, you would have to start a the same strength as a frog which we know you''re stronger than since you killed them with a single attack. However, let''s say that for this scenario that your logic until this point was correct, for you be 20 times stronger than the current you, you would have to be the same strength as a lizard, not stronger than them," Jun explained. "Huh?" Julius asked in confusion. "Well... what you lack in academic knowledge, you make up for with pure talent. NOW START KILLING THOSE LIZARDS!" Jun yelled at him which forced Julius to focus once again as he headed out for his next task being that he would need to kill some lizards. "Okay, if I manage to quickly swoop in and land a hit the keep repeating that process, I should be able to kill a lizard without getting hit even a single time," Julius told himself as he began to walk to a lizard which was near where he was. After getting close enough, Julius pretended as if he didn''t want anything to do with the lizard and began to walk away. Just as the lizard began to believe him and it turned its eyes away from him, Julius quickly turned around and went in for a devastating punch which should''ve been strong enough to break the planet in half in his own belief. Unfortunately for him, the large scales of the lizard were like an iron wall and his hand had just made contact with it. To add on, due to the jagged nature of it, Julius''s fist ended up getting a couple cuts. To make his situation even worse, the lizard turned around to see who the person was that tried to punch it. As it saw the figure of Julius, it stared into the prince''s eyes with eyes of anger which Julius instantly recognized as danger. Without wasting a second, Julius began to run for his life. No matter what happened, he couldn''t allow himself to get caught by the lizard as if that were to happen, he would be eaten. As Julius continued to run, he began to cry as he rethought his life choices and how he ended up in the situation he was in now. All he could think of was regret and how he wished he could go back to the kingdom and relax. Then he remembered the people of the dark district. There were so many others who had to face hardships much greater than the one he was facing right now. Julius needed to be strong so that all those people wouldn''t have to endure their hellish life anymore. This was no longer just about him but about a lot of other people as well. Their future depended on his success during his training. "Damn you stupid lizard, I''m going to make you regret every wanting to mess with me," said Julius as he stopped running and turned around to face the lizard which was chasing him. However to his surprise there was no lizard behind him however he could see another lizard which looked exactly like the one he angered, running towards him from far away. Julius hadn''t realized it at the time but his speed had drastically increased while he was attempting to run away for his life and in turn he was easily able to out run the lizard which was following him. "Where did that lizard go? Well I guess I''ll just take the one that''s already following me," said Julius as he waited for the lizard which was running after him to reach him and after waiting for a few minutes, Julius was once again face to face with a lizard. "I won''t run away anymore, I can''t do that. I don''t have the luxury of asking other people to do my bidding anymore. I only have one choice¡­ to WIN," said Julius as he stared the lizard dead in its eyes before quickly charging at it with a punch. Even though it hurt Julius, he went in for another punch, then another one until he couldn''t feel fists anymore, even so, Julius continued to bombard the lizard with a swarm of punches until it was finally ready to give up. Without allowing the lizard to even get a single hit in by dodging all of its attacks due to his increased speed, Julius finally came in for a final punch which he put everything into it. The fist made contact with the lizard. Right as the first touched the lizard''s body, it the monster began to grow in size until it began to get deformed and then eventually blew up. "I win." Chapter 33 - Progress Even though Julius by some miracle had managed to kill the lizard which was in front of him without so much as receiving a scratch aside from the monster''s scales, there were other lizards left which looked to be just as strong as the one who Julius had faced. Even so, Julius was just getting started himself. Without saying so much as a word to Jun, Julius walked up to the next nearest lizard and just stared at it. Getting bored of just looking at the human in front of it, the lizard raised one of its arms and prepared to hit Julius. However, before it could do that, Julius leaped from the ground and hit the monster''s jaw, in turn killing it in one attack. While it wasn''t a demonstration of strength, Julius managed to use his own intelligence to gain an upper hand on the battle. Once he managed to kill the lizard, it disintegrated into nothing just like all the other monsters he had killed so far such as the frogs and the one lizard he had battled previously. After killing the lizard with a single attack, Julius continued to stay silent as he walked up to another lizard and began to bombard it with constant punches which no matter how long they went on for, they didn''t stop. Eventually, that lizard died as well without getting a chance to show off its attacks. As Julius went on, it took less and less punches to kill the monsters in front of him. Until once again, Julius had made a breakthrough and managed to kill a lizard with a single punch. Even though it was an impressive feet to accomplish, Julius didn''t care much for it. Without a single word exiting his mouth, Julius finally killed the last and final orange lizard. As he began to walk back to Jun to inform him that he had finished the task he was assigned, Jun''s face quickly turned to that of worry as he was yelling something but due to Julius being so far away from him, not a single word with Jun said got to Julius. As Julius continued to walk towards his master who was still on top of his jade dragon, he noticed that it was getting darker for some reason. However it was only the part which he was standing at. Before he realized it, Julius had gotten sat on by something. Even with his new found strength, Julius struggled to get out but nevertheless, he was able to barely make it out of whatever had sat on him. When he got out and looked at what was there, Julius realized that it was something familiar. It was a giant frog much like the ones which he had faced before he fought the lizards. The only thing which made it different from the others was that it was fully golden and it''s circular spots were white. Already having to experience having being sat on by the golden frog, Julius knew that it was different from the others and it would take whole lot out of him or defeat it. However, Julius'' bad luck wouldn''t end there as behind the golden frog came out a golden lizard making for a double boss fight. Seeing that both of the golden beasts were there, Jun quickly commanded his jade dragon to fly in as quickly as possible however once Julius heard the dragon moving, he turned around and gave a look to Jun which indicated "don''t interpret, this is my battle". "I''ve been meaning to test this out. I''ve know for quite a while that there was something odd that happens to me when I am on the brink of death. Right before I can die, I always end up passing out then when I wake up, I''m completely fine. At first I didn''t question it but now I''m sure that there''s something off about me," Julius said out loud as he closed his eyes. Hearing Julius'' words surprised Jun as he couldn''t let Julius know that he almost killed Mary. If he were to know that, he would lose motivation to train. After a few moments, Julius opened both his eyes however only one of his eyes was glowing while the other one was still normal. <> In Julius'' hand appeared a white blade with a long engraved area in the middle of it at which it glowed the colour blue. ¡­ "He''s already learned to control it?" Jun asked himself as both fear and excitement began to set in. ¡­ "I feel so warm," said Julius as he swung his sword horizontally. Even though the blade didn''t make contact with the golden lizard nor the golden frog, a white burst of energy got out of the blade which took the shape of the area which Julius swung his blade and cut both the monsters cleanly in half. Once he had managed to defeat the golden beasts, Julius fell to his knees from exhaustion as his white blade began to disappear along with the white light in his right eye. Seeing that his student was on the brink of passing out, Jun finally rushed in as he picked Julius up and placed him on top of his jade dragon before flying off into the distance as he began to take Julius to the mountain top so he could relax. "You did good today. I thought it would''ve taken you at least a week to defeat the lizards and frogs which were normal. I didn''t even think that you would''ve survived if you battled the golden beasts but nevertheless here we are now¡­ Julius, you really are amazing," Jun congratulated his student which made Julius blush. Seeing as his training for the day was done, Julius wanted to check how his stats were doing from all of that training. "Hey master Jun, I''m going to check how my progress has been going so far since we did a lot of training today. Would you like me to tell you what they are as well?" Julius asked. "Of course I want to know.. Why would I refuse such an offer?" Jun replied. Chapter 34 - Method [Heath: 500] [Intelligence: 120] [Bravery: 250] [Stamina: 400] [Speed: 410] [Defense: 490] [Physical Strength: 530] [Mental Fortitude: 10000] [Skill: 10000] Those are my status points for now. As for cultivation through battle¡­ [Julius Henry] [Level: 3] [EXP: 29/300] "What?! You managed to level up twice?! You know how much of an accomplishment this is right? We''ve got to do something to celebrate! Do you have anything in mind Julius?" Jun asked his student so that he would be rewarded for progressing so well. "I actually wanted to get something from you, well more of learn something from you but I have a question first. I''ve managed to level up only twice and yet my base status points have increased drastically. Why am I such of a low level compared to my base status?" Julius asked Jun. "To be perfectly honest with you, even I''m not quite sure but I have a hypothesis as to why you are that way. You see Julius, you''re not like everyone else, you''ve been blessed with extraordinary talents and skills so that your base status point incase drastically along with your rank in cultivation through mediation. Even I expected you to get more exp from the golden beasts but it seems like you and the glowing version of you are two separate entities so that would mean that instead of you getting the exp for killing the golden beats, the other entity got it. The only problem is that where did that entity come from?" Jun asked himself as his voice trailed off. Hearing Jun''s words, Julius instantly knew where he got the second entity along with his mysterious powers. There was only one explanation for it, that being that it came from the pill which the old madman had given to Julius all those years ago. "Well at least I learned a little bit more about what that glowing thing was even though it wasn''t much, thank you," Julius said to Jun as he didn''t want his master figuring out more about what Julius was hiding. As such he would need to come out with a distraction. "¡­As for my reward, I want you to teach me something. When I had been defeated by Mary, I remember waking up for a split second to see you and her fighting for some reason. I already know that the battle started because of me but that doesn''t matter. I want you to teach me how to do the thing where you summoned all those blades out of no where," Julius requested. ¡­ *sigh* "You know, it would be nice if you were to stop reminding me of a younger version of Mary all the time. You see, she had also asked me to teach her how to use that secret art after she saw me use it to defeat a gang of kidnappers who were after her because her parents ruled over the great kingdom which she now controls. There were too many of them so I was forced to use it and she grew interested in it. Just like you just did, she requested that I teach her how to use it," said Jun. "So did you teach her how to use it?" Julius asked. "I started to teach her it which is where she learned the lesser version of it being the secret art known as ''basic blade''. However, before I could finish teaching her it, she disappeared without a trace. I went to look for her at her kingdom and there she was but she didn''t want to speak to me at the time and I was forced to leave by the kingdom''s guards," said Jun as he finished explaining the story between him and Mary. ¡­ "My apologies then, it was wrong of me to ask you to teach me such a technique, do you happen to have any other secret arts you could teach me?" Julius asked in a calm voice as to not upset Jun. "Come on now. I didn''t say that I wouldn''t teach it to you. Of course I''ll teach it to you, what kind of teacher deprives their student of information. The only rule is that you can never stop training as I hate nothing more than unfinished secret arts," said Jun as he turned around and smiled at Julius. ¡­ Once Jun and Julius got back to the mountain top, Jun quickly went inside his house and brought out a wooden box in which there were many scrolls inside. "What is this?" Julius asked with a curious face. "This is a box full of all the secret arts which I have possession over. Except a couple others which I shall never give out to anyone as they are forbidden," Jun explained. "Forbidden¡­.." said Julius with an evil grin on his face. "Hey! Don''t start getting any ideas, I''ll never allow you to obtain such destructive scrolls. They could very well bring destruction to the entire world," Jun yelled at his student. "Come on master, I already have the potential to destroy the world so if I were to have them, it would be in the safest hands in the world," Julius said as he tried to convince his teacher to somehow give him the forbidden scrolls. Hearing Julius'' words, Jun just rolled his eyes and began to explain what the scrolls he actually brought do. "Anyway, these scrolls are capable of allowing you to obtain a secret art through to methods. One being that you roll the scroll around your wrist and wait for it to activate. Once it does, it''ll engrave the instructions into your brain. While it''s quick, it''ll hurt like hell and you''ll be feeling the effects of it for at least a month which is why most people stick with the second methods," said Jun. "The second method being that you continuously learn a chant which drains you of a lot of your stamina every time you do it but it''s much less painful than the first method. To be perfectly honest, I was just going to lie to you so that you would only use the second method but I have a feeling about this," Jun finished explaining. "So which method would you like to pick?" Jun asked which Julius relied to with a grin. Chapter 35 - Thousand "Let me guess, you want to try the first option right?" Jun asked which Julius replied back to which an enthusiastic nod. Seeing this made Jun sigh but nevertheless, he agreed. "Before you go trying to learn a secret art using this method, I should explain something to you. There are different tiers to the scrolls. Depending on what tier a scroll is, a different beast will come to speak to you when you wrap the scroll around your arm. In total there are 5 tiers. The beasts you greet are the monkey, tiger, lion, dragon and a shadow monster in that respective order from weakest to strongest. The stronger the beast it, the more brain damage you''ll suffer," said Jun as he tried to scare Julius out of learning a secret art through this method. "What beast is behind the secret art which allows you to control those swords that you used against Mary and what beast is behind the secret art which allows you to summon your jade dragon?" Julius asked out of curiosity. "They''re both dragon tier secret arts so we shouldn''t start off with them. How about we start off with a tiger scroll since you''re already above a monkey scroll," said Jun as he tried to make the activity exciting. "Aww, I really wanted to learn the secret art that you use but still, you''re probably right. So how do I even activate the scroll?" Julius asked. "I''m glad you''re learning to respect my judgment. And for your question, you can activate the scrolls by just closing your eyes and just saying ''activate'', it''s pretty simple," said Jun as he took a tiger tier school out of the wooden box he brought out. "Wait master Jun, would it be okay for me to look at the dragon tier scroll which gave you the power to control those many blades just so I can calm myself down. I''m pretty scared to jump into a tiger tier scroll and if I have something to look forward to, I think I''ll be able to relax myself," said Julius with his innocent eyes. Hearing his words Jun sighed. "Okay fine, but please be careful. These things are very valuable," Jun said as he gave Julius the dragon tier scroll. Just as Jun prepared to lay the tiger tier scroll on Julius'' forearm, Julius quickly leaped back and wrapped the dragon tier scroll around his art and yelled "activate!". ¡­ "ARE YOU INSANE?! YOU''RE GOING TO DIE!" Jun yelled out however Julius couldn''t hear him as when he had activated the scroll, his eyes had closed shut and he had passed out. "I guess it''s too late. Damn you, you''re not going to survive this Julius. Even if you do, you''ll be mentally scarred forever," said Jun in a regretful tone as he has honestly believed that he''d lost his most gifted student. ¡­ As for Julius, he was in a dark space at which he could see nothing until a gust of wind blew him away. When he looked closer Julius realized that he was face to face with a giant dragon whose face alone seemed to be infinitely large. The gust of wind which blew Julius away was only the dragon exhaling from his nose. "So you seek to learn the thousand swords secret art? Someone as weak as you truly believes that it''s possible for them to learn such a powerful thing?" the dragon asked in a menacing tone which that alone made it so that Julius couldn''t say a word. ¡­ However right as Julius was about to answer, he was sent flying back so far by a random force that the giant dragon just seemed like a tiny toy. Julius watched as a glowing hand, much bigger than the dragon picked it up with its palm and put it inside the mouth of a glowing figure and ate it. ¡­ Moments later, Julius woke up to Jun who was crying in disappointment in himself. Although he felt bad for surprising him, Julius didn''t understand why Jun looked so sad. Of course, Julius at this time didn''t understand how much pain a dragon scroll would''ve caused to the average beginner so Julius decided to mess with his master. Julius got up from the group with a straight face and walked straight before making himself fall. Once again, Julius got up from the ground and repeated this process to more times before staying down in the ground so as to make it seem like his brain was damaged. To Jun, all what Julius did was real. He thought that activating the dragon scroll caused him to go insane. Accepting his fate, Jun unwrapped the dragon scroll from Julius'' arm before placing it back inside the wooden box and heading inside to return the scrolls as he swore to himself to never take another student in his life ever again. "How am I even going to explain this to Henry. He''s going to kill me," Jun said as he began to walk outside so as to bring Julius back inside. Through Jun look frail, he was much stronger than expected and managed to bring Julius inside his home before going outside one more to cook something with the little ingredients he had. As he continued to cook, he sensed a familiar presence. At first he assumed that it was Julius but he scratched that idea as Julius was already brain dead and he wouldn''t be able to walk for a while. "Damn it all. I feel like killing whoever is behind me. I''ve got to take this anger out on someone and if it has to be the person who decided to surprise attack me today of all day, then so be it," said Jun as he prepared for the perfect moment to strike. <> A spear with a blade which looked to be made of magma suddenly appeared in Jun''s hand which he turned around and threw. However right as he threw it at the person behind him, he realized it was Julius who was smiling as if he had just played a prank on him. That was when everything came together but it was too late as Julius would die by his own teacher''s hands. However before the spear could land on Julius, his facial expression suddenly changed to be much more serious. <> Chapter 36 - Secret Art <> Feeling threatened by the intentions that Jun had, Julius instinctively activated his new learned secret. Once activated, exactly 1000 silver blades appeared all around Jun. While both of them never intended to harm each other, they had both used up their secret arts. As would be expected, Julius used a couple of his blades to deflect the weapon which Jun had thrown at him and once Jun had seen that, he gasped in surprise as he deactivated his weapon which made it disappear. Seeing as Jun had deactivated his secret art, Julius followed suit as he made all of the thousand blades turn to dust. "Y-you''re okay," said Jun as he stuttered while looking at his student which he thought had suffered permanent brain damage from having been exposed to a dragon tier scroll. "Well, that''s what it looks like," said Julius with a giggle. Remembering how scared he was that his student would never recover, Jun quickly rushed to Julius before karate chopping his head. "Ow! What was that for?!" Julius asked once he had gotten hit. "You''re lucky that I won''t kill you by my own hands! Do you know how much you scared me?!" Jun demanded as he stopped himself from further hitting Julius incase he himself would cause brain damage on Julius by letting out his frustrations. "Come on master, it was just a prank," said Julius which further angered Jun but he stopped himself as he had more important questions. "Anyways, how did you manage to learn a dragon tier secret art without having to suffer any of the consequences?" Jun asked. Even Julius who didn''t understand everything that happened knew that he should probably make up a lie as him taking in the dragon tier secret art without any real consequences had something to do with the pill he was forced to take as a kid and probably had a connection to magic as well which if anyone learned about, Julius would get killed. "I hate to say it but just like always, it''s confusing. Once I activated the scroll, I was teleported somewhere where I didn''t know anything about it. Suddenly a large dragon appeared and began to mock me however while it was speaking, I passed out for no reason and woke back up in the real world," Julius lied. ¡­ "That''s very interesting indeed. But, it''s most likely the second entity inside you. It probably struck a deal with the dragon to absorb all the damage while you can continue living normally but you''ll also be gifted the secret art," Jun said as he tried to come up with a reasonable explanation as to what had happened. "I guess that''s close enough to what actually happened. Since he still doesn''t know much about it, I should continue to play along," Julius told himself as he nodded in agreement with what Jun had said. ¡­ "So¡­. can you give me more dragon scrolls so that I can absorb them?" Julius asked with a blank face as if he had asked for something normal. ¡­ "I can''t allow this boy to grow too powerful too quickly. It could change his attitude towards training. If he really is able to absorb any type of scroll through that method without suffering any consequences, that would mean he would have an endless amount of secret arts at his disposal and they wouldn''t even take any stamina out of him since he used the dangerous method. I''m correct in doing this, I won''t allow him to get his hands on the box of scrolls. And no matter what happens, I can''t allow him to learn of the ''library of the limitless''," Jun said to himself before answering Julius'' question. "I know you won''t like my answer but I cannot give you any more scrolls for the time being. This is due to the fact that we don''t know how much the second entity can take before you''re forced to take the damage from the scrolls," Jun lied. ¡­ "However, I''m willing to make a deal with you. If you''re willing to wait until you complete all your training and you''ve reached your maximum potential, I''ll be willing to give you the entire box of scrolls along with the highest tier scrolls which I have vowed to keep hidden," Jun said as that was his only hope of making sure that Julius doesn''t steal the scrolls for himself as activate them. While there was a small chance that his second entity would eventually break, Jun knew that after seeing the glowing state multiple times, it could probably take in every scroll in the world. "I need to get this boy training more often. Specially when the war starts, I''ll have no choice but to give him the scrolls anyway. Once that happens, if he''s not prepared, he could be a threat to the world but also to himself," Jun told himself as he got a serious face. "However, if he''s ready by the time that comes, maybe I could take him to the library¡­" Jun thought to himself before cutting himself off so that they could start training as soon as possible. ¡­ "Hey Julius, would you mind activating your ability once again? I want to see how proficient you are at using it," Jun requested of his student. "Ya.. sure I guess," Julius replied before pointing his right palm outward towards the side of the mountain top. <> Once activating his secret art, a thousand swords began to form out our nothing but light as the particles came together to create the exact same shape as the other swords. After but merely a moment, there were 1000 blades which all looked the exact same as one another. "Good, now try to make them move and create a perfect circle by making them turn and stay connected," said Jun as he thought that would be a difficult task for someone who had just learned a secret art.. To his surprise, Julius created 10 perfect circles which consisted of 100 blades each which went to show how skilled he was at using his secret art. Chapter 37 - Create Jun just stood there as he admired the sight which was in front of him. Julius, who had just attained the secret from a secret scrolls and had only used it one previous had managed to gain perfect control over all the blades and willed them to do exactly as he wished. It was exactly as Jun feared, Julius was born with too much talent for his own good. At this point, he wouldn''t need to work for a single thing. It was like the heavens handed everything Julius wanted to him in a silver plate. He had been given everything he would ever need. "So¡­ what should I do with the blades now?" Julius asked as he stood there like he had done nothing special. Seeing this, Jun knew that he would have to take advantage of Julius'' oblivious nature and make it so he thinks that he''s nothing special, if not less than average so that he works harder. "You can just deactivate it now. I''ve seen all I needed. You still need more training. However since I feel bad that you have been experiencing hell for the past few days, how about we head for the 10th kingdom and I''ll show you what you have to work with for your future kingdom," said Jun as he both saddened Julius but also manages to motivate him as he would want to take advantage of that motivation and turn it into endless training hours. "Wait really?! You''ll really take me to see the fallen kingdom?" Julius asked in excitement. "Yes sure, I''m only doing it to show you how much harder you''re going to need to work if you really wish to create a kingdom of your own," said Jun as he called upon his jade dragon and leaped on it. As usual, Julius did the same before they could continue their conversation. "By the way, have you thought of where you''re going to get the funding so you can start the construction of your new kingdom?" Jun asked casually. ... "So no? You haven''t even thought that far into how you''re going to create a kingdom at which you wish all the people could live comfortable lives?" Jun asked as he sighed. "How do I even get money like that?" Julius asked as he didn''t even know what kind of jobs the world had to offer other than being a king as that was what he had been being trained to become since he was just a child. "The only way for you to rebuild an entire continent would be for you have all the money which all the 9 kingdoms have in total. But if you were to take that, all the rich people would turn into the people of the dark districts. So instead of helping out everyone, you''re just reversing the roles of the kingdom''s people and the people of the dark district. I doubt you would want to do that so we''re going to have to come up with another plan," said Jun. "But what other way is there for us to make the money we need? And did you say continent? I thought we were just going after just a kingdom," Julius asked. "Oh did I not mention that? Well, we''re going to go after a continent since the actual kingdom is being guarded. Let me see, I''ll explain this to you. Think of our planet as a perfect globe. On top of it, there is a single path of land which makes up 43% of the actual planet while the rest of it is water. That single path of like is like a starfish with 10 legs. Towards the middle of the starfish, there are the 10 kingdoms which all exist in that smaller sector of the planet. However, on the outer legs of the planet is where a whole other civilization lives. I''ll explain what those people are to you on another day since I just need to focus on the 10th kingdom for now. Like I was saying, no one is allowed to enter the 10th kingdom but we can go to the continent part of it where no one except people of the dark district from the 10th kingdom live," Jun began to explain. "But why aren''t there people of the other civilizations in there instead? And why aren''t they also in our kingdoms?" Julius asked. "Remember how I told you all magic is band, no matter what the reason is? Well, that''s true except for a little part of it. There''s one magic spell which still exists to this day. That one is an invisible wall which keeps us and the other civilizations apart. No one except a certain few people know about it. Even some of the great kingdom rules don''t know about it. And just so you know, you better not tell anyone what I''m telling you. I''m only informing you of this because if you wish to allow the rebirth of the 10th kingdom, you''re going to have to face the force of the other 9 kingdoms. It doesn''t matter who you are, even your own father will try to dispose of you if you wish to go on with this plan," said Jun as he tried to test the will of Julius. However, just as he thought, Julius didn''t seem the least bit bothered as he knew what he would have to face already. "Just to make sure, all the rules of the great kingdoms chose to cultivate through battle and those you chose a hybrid of both can only use lower level secret arts right?" Julius asked. "That''s exactly right¡­" Jun said as he voice trailed off. "Out of all the many years which I had possession of all the highest tier scrolls, I had never lost a single one of them. Except one. I shouldn''t have gotten careless on that day. Maybe then, I wouldn''t have to live a life in fear and constant training so that I can finally defeat whoever stole it. However, there is still hope for me¡­. Julius please grow into a powerful figure in the world and defeat the monster which has control over THAT scroll," Jun said to himself as his face darkened in fear while looking forward so that Julius wouldn''t see. Chapter 38 - 200 Years Old ¡­ "We''re finally here!" Jun yelled out as he forced his jade dragon to descend from the sky into the land which looked like death itself had come and decided to take out all its anger on it. All the tried were tried up. There was no grass nor animals which lived on the land. All there was as a dirt land which look like it couldn''t even sustain crops. "What happened to this place?" Julius asked in pity. "War¡­ this is what happens when there is war between all the kingdoms," Jun relied as the finally got down on the ground. Once off his dragon, Jun told his dragon to wait for them elsewhere while they looked around for something. When Julius looked around, he found a group of people which looked to be huddled around a pile of trash as they searched inside it for left over food. Julius couldn''t help but feel pity but more than that, anger. As they walked for a couple minutes which turned into a few hours, the two of them finally stubbled across a village which was signified by the short wooden wall around it and the small houses which looked to be made of dried weak wood and dirt with a combination of off rocks. "Why couldn''t we just have take your dragon instead of having to walk all the way here?" Julius asked in a complaining tone. "I guess that would be a fair assumption but the reason why I did that is so that you could at least get a sense of what these people have to go through daily to go to the trash and come back," Jun replied as he finally walked into the village whose walls had an opening at which they acted as an entrance. As he should, Julius followed him inside the village but as he took his first step inside, Julius felt a large presence which sent a calming gust of wind to him and Jun which was a little too familiar. ¡­ "What was that? Could it be.." Julius asked as he caught his breath. "Yes it is, that is what it feels like when someone''s aura who''s cultivating through meditation feels like," Jun replied as he continued to walk towards a specific small house. Around it was a patch of grass which had some crops growing inside it. As they continued to get closer to the house, the aura continued to increase to a point where it felt like it was pushing them away. It was like when to magnets in the positive were forced to stick together. No matter how hard Julius tried to walk towards the house, he couldn''t get any further than the door. Seeing that Julius was struggling, Jun caught the prince by the wrist and began to pull him inside the house. Once inside, Jun closed the door behind them and let go of Julius who was getting pushed back so much that his body was forced to stick to the wall. As for Jun, he looked down on the ground at which a young boy who looked to be around the age of 16 at max with eyes of pity. The body was completely still just like Julius when he cultivated through meditation in his sleep. "What happen to him?" Julius asked as he tried to sympathize with Jun. "He''s been in a coma for 200 years. That''s around the time the Great War had come to an end. However, since that day, he had never woken up to eat or move, all he does is cultivate through meditation. The most bizarre thing is that he doesn''t age even though he''s over 200 years old," Jun explained. "Is there a reason why he doesn''t wake up?" Julius asked in wonder. "No one knows the answer. All that we know is that he has an amazing aura and is most likely a rank 20 since he''s been cultivating for so long. There''s even a hint that he might be able to bring life into things which are already dead¡­" said Jun. "Oh I see why you brought me here," said Julius as he through that him and Jun were on the same page. "So you understand the plan? Just to clarify, we''re going to examine what his body is doing and try to learn how to replicate the way he allows life to bloom so that you can give life to the kingdom. That would be the first step into rebuilding this kingdom," said Jun however that was not what Julius had been thinking. ¡­ "Well, my idea is similar but a bit different¡­ can you make it so that I can touch his head?" Julius asked. "It''s too dangerous, we don''t know if he can inflict the same sickness he has onto you," Jun tried to refuse. "Come on now, you already know that my second entity will probably protect me. Plus it''s for the sake of the kingdom, just trust me on this one master. I have a good feeling about it. And if you allow me to go through with the plan, I''ll do as much training as you ask when then is all done," said Julius as he tried to put on a convincing face. ¡­ "Okay fine, but if you end up in a coma, I''ll kill you myself!" Jun said as he warned Julius. "¡­that doesn''t really make sense but okay," Julius agreed. Once they were both in agreement, Jun forcibly moved Julius'' palm onto the 200 year old teenager''s head. The moment the made contact, Julius ended up passing out was no longer getting pushed away from the 200 year old teenager. ¡­ Once Julius opened his eyes, he was awake in a dark and empty space just like the one where he faced the dragon from the dragon tier scroll.. However unlike the previous time, there want a dragon but a large warrior clothed in pull red and golden armour with a spear and shield which looked down at Julius with eyes of disapproval. Chapter 39 - Sire Without saying so much as a single world, the warrior figure threw his giant spear directly at Julius who was merely but an insect to him. However before the spear could make contact with Julius and squash him like an insect, a giant hand caught the spear as if it was nothing but a toy. It was the white figure who had saved Julius from the dragon tier scroll monster. "It''s you¡­" said Julius but he was ignored by the figure who looked to be just a white figure that didn''t wear anything. Without speaking, it threw a first directly at the warrior figure which was only half of the white figure''s size. The warrior figure tried to raise its shield to block the fist but the shield was broken when he blocked the fist. The white figure dropped the spear which it had caught into the void and began to bombard the warrior with an endless borage of punches. While the warrior was able to bare block the first two punches, the other punches managed to make direct contact until its arms exploded from just being punched. Before it could even realize what had happened, the white figure went in for a final punch directly at the warriors face and managed to break its nose before the warrior was forced to fall into the empty void. Julius just stood there as his mouth was opened wide in surprise as he watched the white figure absolutely demolish the warrior. However before Julius could ask any questions, he woke up back in the room where the 200 year old teenager and Jun were. Unlike the previous time he was awake, Julius wasn''t pushed back into the wall. In fact, he was able to walk and move normally. Seeing as Julius opened his eyes, Jun wanted to ask him if he was okay. "What happened? You''re not injured are you? Did anything bad happen to you?" Jun began to bombard Julius with questions just like the white figure bombarded the warrior with its punches. However before Julius could answer, something happened which answered all of Jun''s questions for him. ¡­ *Yawn* "Where am I?" said the 200 year old teenager as he got up from the ground like nothing happened before staring blankly at Jun and Julius. ¡­ "WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?!" the 200 year old said as he jumped back. ¡­ "I guess you really did manage to wake him up," said Jun as he laughed. "I''m not joking! Answer my question before things get serious!" the 200 year old demanded as his face got serious as if he was going to use a secret art. Both Julius and Jun knew things would get bad if that were to happen as he was probably a max rank cultivator. "Master Jun, move back!" Julius yelled out before closing his eyes then opening them once again to reveal that one of his eyes was glowing. <> The long sword with a glowing blue engraving through the middle appeared in his hand. However just as the 200 year old teenager saw the glowing eye of Julius, he quickly bowed down on the ground as he began to ask for forgiveness. "My apologies, I didn''t know it was you sire," said the 200 year old teenager which jus confused both Julius and Jun. However just after a moment of thought, Julius realized why the 200 year old had said those words. "Do you know him Julius?" Jun asked him student. "Ah¡­ when I went into his head, we just had a conversation so I guess we kind of know each other," said Julius as he turned off the white glow and made his blade disappear as he helped the 200 get up from the ground. However Julius'' words perplexed the 200 year old. "That wasn''t what happened, we battled and-" the 200 year old began to speak at which Julius turned around and gave him a glare which indicated death. "Oh my apologizes, that must''ve been in my dream. I''m still not sure what happened," said the 200 year old as he tried to understand why Julius was lying to Jun. "We should probably introduce ourselves, my name is Jun and this is my student, Julius," said Jun as he spoke to the 200 year old. "Oh, nice to meet you, my name is subject 3," the 200 year old replied. However as he said those words he was confused as to why the old man called the much stronger young boy his student. "Subject 3?¡­" Julius asked in belief that the 200 year old was joking. "Well that not my real name, that''s just the name I was given. Speaking of which, how is the war going?" Subject 3 asked. "There''s a war?!" Julius asked in surprise. "Julius, don''t forget that he''s been in a coma for 200 years. He''s speaking of the Great War," Jun informed his student. "Ohh, that''s right. I almost forgot about that," said Julius. "Anyway, what''s your real name," Julius asked Subject 3. "If you must know sire, my name is Spike," Subject 3 replied. "That''s great. It''s nice to meet you Spike¡­ and stop calling me sire, just call me Julius," said Julius before changing into whisper at the end where he leaned in closer to him so that Jun doesn''t hear him. "Did you tell him a secret while you were both unconscious or something?" Jun asked Julius. "Well that''s pretty close but.. anyways, Spike, why did you first introduce yourself as ''subject 3''," Julius asked. "Well, that''s because I was born for a single mission. If the 10th great kingdom were to fall, I, along with 4 other subjects were to unite and take revenge upon the remaining 9 kingdoms 10 years later which was when we were scheduled to wake up. However, I see that something went wrong as you said it''s been 200 years since the war," Spike explained. "So now, what do you plan to do since you woke up so late?" Julius asked. ¡­ "It doesn''t matter when I woke up, I only have one mission¡­ and I''ll accomplish it!" Chapter 40 - Heavens "It doesn''t matter when I woke up, I only have one mission¡­ and I''ll accomplish it!" ¡­ Hearing this words brought fear into both Jun and Julius as they knew that Spike alone would''ve been enough to cause havoc upon a kingdom or two however, if there 4 others with similar power to him, the 9 great kingdoms had a great chance of getting completely erased from history. More than even Julius, Jun was more scared as if the 9 kingdoms were to continue their feud, it drastically increases the chance of them getting destroyed. "Wait¡­" said Julius as he got a thought. "Spike, I order you not to attack the remaining 9 kingdoms," hearing his words baffled Jun as there was no chance than a rank 20 cultivator would listen to what a mere child told him. ¡­ "Of course sire, I mean Julius," said Spike as he even corrected the name he used to address Julius. Seeing their exchange, Jun just stood there frozen in place as he didn''t know if what he was seeing was just a dream. "I know it must be hard for you to not go on with the order which was given to you. So instead, I have a proposition for you. I am not in the state where I can rule over this land yet so I will go off to train but for now¡­ as your new king, Spike, I order you to use your power to bring life upon this land," Julius proudly stated at which Spike got on one knee as he looked at the ground while humbly accepting the role which he was assigned. "Great, now let''s go outside and test out what you can do for this place," said Julius as he opened the door of the house and walked out with Spike following him. ¡­.. "What just happened?" said Jun, still frozen in place as that menacing being obeyed what Julius told him like a loyal dog. ¡­ Once outside, Julius saw a crowd of people who had gathered near Spike''s house as they had realized that the calming presence in the village had disappeared. "Who are they?" Spike asked as he didn''t know why all those people looked at him with angry and demanding eyes. "How dare you stop the calm flow of air?! You were the one given to us by the heavens so that we could continue to survive. You had no right to stop your duty!" The people began to tell Spike which just stood there confused since he didn''t understand what they were talking about. "Don''t worry about this. I''ll deal with them. They''re just pushing on their own desires onto what they believe to be true. They think that you were sent down from heaven to given them a calming environment when in truth you were just cultivating or in your own words being a subject," Julius told Spike before turning his attention towards the people. "Don''t fret, yes he has awaken from his slumber so you won''t be getting that calming breeze anymore but in exchange, he''ll start to give this place life so that you can start to grow crops and develop," Julius said as he expected those words to change the people''s attitude so that they would just calm down and wait for Spike to do what Julius had said he would do. Unfortunately for him, it wouldn''t be that easy. "You can''t guarantee that!" "We''ve lived this way for over a century, why are you changing things now?!" "You gave you the right to intervene with that the heavens had given us?!" The people continued to riot as they got louder and more angry. It got to a point where one of them grabbed a rushed pitchfork which they found from the pile out trash far from the village and threw it at Julius in hopes that it would strike him. Seeing this, Spike''s expression changed to be much more serious as he stepped in before catching the pitchfork and dropping it on the ground. Once he had done that, Spike clasped his palms together. <> As he activated his secret art, a circle with a whole began to appear from the sky in which a giant blade which was much large that the village began to descend from it. Before the blade could fully come out of the hole, Spike stopped it before speaking to the people. "Listen you people, I don''t know who''s been leading to believe that I belong to you and I was sent from heaven to serve you but that''s all a lie. I only serve one person and that is him," said Spike as he moved back to show Julius. "Now, you''ll either do as you''re told or you''ll have to come face to face with that blade," said Spike which made all the people go completely silent. After seeing the display of power which Spike had, all of the people began to scatter to show that they were done complaining. Even Julius was a bit frightened by Spike even though he served him. Seeing as the people had finished complaining, Spike sent back the blade from where it came from and make the circle in the sky disappear. "If you wish to rule over even a single person let alone a whole kingdom, you should learn to be more assertive just like when you told me to serve you. No one will serve someone who doesn''t have the will to lead a whole army," Spike explained to Julius before smiling. Jun, who had been watching everything from the window inside the house continued to be surprised but he eventually came out the house as he couldn''t just be left off to the side. "Thank you for that. Anyway, I wanted to test something out. Spike, can you try to make grass appear on this dry dirt?" Julius asked as if he was asking something impossible. However, spike just looked at him as if he had asked him to do something very simple such as drawing a line. Their perception of what was easy and what was hard to accomplish was worlds apart. "Of course I can. There''s almost a secret art for everything you want to do.. Wait¡­ have you even heard of the library of the limitless?" Spike asked Julius which hearing those words made Jun gasp with worry. Chapter 41 - Library Of The Limitless "Library of the limitless..? Nope, never heard of it," Julius replied which made Spike turn to Jun with a "are you serious?" face. "You said you were his teacher right?" Spike asked. "Yes¡­" Jun replied as his voice trailed off. "SO WHY HAVEN''T YOU TAUGHT HIM ABOUT IT?" Spike suddenly yelled out. "Well you see¡­ I kept it a secret so that he wouldn''t have too much to worry about. With taking over a kingdom and cultivating with both methods along with already mastering a dragon tier scroll on his first try, I thought that he would get sick of all the things he was doing," Jun tried to come up with something. ¡­ "I don''t know if you''re lying or not but the real reason isn''t that you''re scared he would have too much on his plate, instead you subconsciously fear that he''ll quickly surpass you due to him being born with so much talent. Given that he''s training constantly and not letting those talents rot, he could very easily do what took you decades to accomplish in a few years if not months," Spike stated which struck a cord on Jun which caused him to get a bit frustrated. "Wait Spike, how did you know that I trained constantly?" Julius asked. "It''s actually really simple, I can usually tell how much people have trained for with just their aura, I think it has something to do with me being cultivation rank 20 but for you¡­ almost anyone can tell you''ve been training, I mean look at all the bruises on your body," said Spike as he laughed. Hearing Spike''s words, Julius looked down at his body to see all the bruises he had gotten from doing the defence training with Jun were still there. It did make sense though as it had only happened a few days ago. However to Julius it seemed so long ago due to him partaking in so many activities. "Spike¡­ about what you said. I don''t know if I actually subconsciously fear that Julius will quickly surpass me but that''s not the reason which I kept the library of the limitless a secret from him. I only hid it so that once he grew bored of training, I could inform him about it so that he would continue to training. It''s like giving a dog a treat and every time you give it one, or continues to run around until it runs out of energy," Jun explained to Spike which cleared things up. ¡­ "Did you just call me a dog?" Julius asked. "That''s not important, you should be worrying about more important matters," Jun replied. "Oh right, Spike, can you try to make a whole tree appear from that patch of dry dirt?" Julius asked as he pointed to a part in the village with looked to be specially dry. "Sure¡­ how about I make you a better deal. Instead of just that part, how about I give the entire village life by allowing the soil to be about to create crops, creating large trees to give the people shade and things of that sorts?" Spike offered. "Sure! By all means, if you can accomplish it, go ahead," Julius encouraged Spike while thinking that it was impossible. <> Once activated, Spike laid his hand on the ground and from that exact spot, a patch of grass appeared which later spread out all across the village until it reached the village walls. Once the grass finished spreading, trees began to immediately grow out of the soil until within a matter of moments they turned into large trees which looked to have been growing for a decade. To add on, other bushes and trees which were able to grow fruits began to appear as well. All the people of the village just stood dumb founded at this magical sight was taking place right in front of their eyes. One the process had finished, Spike lifted his palm up from the ground only to find that all the people of the village had come back to him however this time, they were crying tears of joy. "Thank you so much." "You really are an angel sent by the heavens." "How can we ever repay you?" The villagers said as they cried out to Spike who had relatively long white hair and was wearing a toga. "If you really want to repay me, I would like you to turn to your real leader, Julius," Spike stated which caused all of them to turn to Julius with the same questions. "Look, all of you must know by now that this continent of looked down upon by the rest of the world. They see it as pure evil and would kill anyone who would try to resurrect it. However, that all stops now. I plan on bringing life to this kingdom and defending it from the 9 kingdoms. The only problem is that I am not ready to defend this kingdom on my own yet. So I''ll be putting Spike in charge since he has the strength to defend you against nearly all enemies while I go off to gain strength. So what I ask of you is to support him and help him grow this continent to be a utopia," said Julius. Once he was done giving his speech, all the villagers along with spike began to applaud. Seeing as he was done giving his speech, Julius grabbed Spike lightly by the wrist and began to drag him off somewhere so they could talk. "Thank you so much for all you''ve done Spike. However, I doubt that the rebirth of the 10th continent will stay a secret for much longer. Although, that doesn''t mean I plan on giving up, the reason which I dragged you off is so that you can tell me the locations of the other 4 subjects so that I can wake them up from their slumber.. I know that if the 9 rulers team up against you, they''ll most likely win but against 4 others just like you, it would be a fight which they would like to avoid if possible," said Julius hoping that Spike could tell him where the other subjects were. Chapter 42 - Village "So you''re looking for the other subjects huh?" Jun asked as he came in between the conversation with an evil grin. "Yes I am¡­ do you know where they are?" Julius asked. "Well today is your lucky day. There are exactly 5 villages in this entire continent. Do you know why there are only that many over such a large area? Well that because these 5 subjects are the only hope which the villagers have. Anyone who tries to live here without the help of those 5 subjects usually dies of either starvation or madness," Jun explained. "So you know where they are? That''s great! Let''s get going now," said Julius as he began to walk away with Jun before turning around to face spike. "Please continue to give life to this continent, I''ll be back as soon as possible. Until then, please take care of these people," said Julius as he continued walk outside the village. "I forgot how much help this place needs to develop. It''s going to be tough for Spike to to but I''m sure he''ll accomplish it," said Julius as Jun whistled which caused his jade dragon to come towards them so they can ride it towards the village which the other 4 subjects were sleeping. "By the way, what happened between you and spike? At first he looked like he was going to murder all the 9 rulers but after you told him not to, he began to obey you like it was his duty since the day he was born," Jun asked. ¡­ "Well, just like you keep secrets from me, I''ll keep secrets from you as well. I mean it''s only fair. How could you not tell me about the library of the limitless. I still don''t even know what it is," Julius complained which caused Jun to sigh before speaking. "The library of the limitless is a place which is heavily guarded. Only high ranking personal are allowed to enter and you being a prince would allow you to go inside it. The only rule is that you can''t take anything out from there but you can read anything from there," Jun explained. "So it''s just a normal library with strict rules?" Julius asked. "It''s much more than a library, it''s an enormous structure which houses nearly every important book that was ever written. That''s not the reason which I kept it a secret from you though. I hid it from you because of the scrolls which they have. They have hundreds of thousands of scrolls ranging from every tier. They even have multiple shadow monster tier scrolls. If you managed to get your hands on those things, it wouldn''t matter who came up against you, you could defeat them. On the other hand, there might be a limit to how much scrolls you can consume and as such, you could unintentionally kill yourself. There''s too many unknown variables which is why I kept it hidden from you. Once you finished your training, I was going to inform you about it and you could''ve done whatever you wanted with your life after that," said Jun which helped Julius understand the reasoning for what Jun had done. "Well if you feel that strongly about it, I''ll listen to your words. I won''t go near that library until I''ve finished my training but once it''s completed, I will venture to there and absorb as much of the scrolls as possible," Julius promised. "Yes I understand. You wish to gain as much power as possible so that you can protect your own kingdom from the others," said Jun as his dragon finally made it to where they were standing. They both got on Jun''s pet before continuing their conversation. "Master Jun, I must ask. You said that outside the other kingdoms lays a whole other human civilization right? Could they be a threat to me in the future?" Julius asked as he wondered what would happen if he had to go against another human civilization which he knew nothing about. "Well, we''ve been isolated from them for so long that I don''t even know. The only thing which we do know about them is that they do not cultivate like us so their physical strength is always very low. However don''t be fooled. What they can''t do in cultivation, they can probably do with something else which they developed instead of cultivating. For all we know, they could wipe us all out with a single attack," Jun replied which made Julius shiver in fear. "Thank you for the information," said Julius before going quiet. Now, he didn''t only have to worry about the 9 kingdoms but the other 9 continents as well. Unlike the 9 kingdoms, the 9 continents powers were unknown. For all Julius knew they could either be easy to wipe of or dangerous enough for all 10 kingdoms if they united at their peak. This just made one thing clear, that being that not matter what happened, Julius would need to continue growing in strength but also manage to gather individuals which were strong as well so he could build an invincible army to take on the entire world by his side. ¡­ "We''re here," said Jun as he made his jade dragon descend to the ground right beside the next village which Julius would need to go inside. "So you didn''t make me walk pointlessly for hours this time?" Julius asked as he remembered that Jun had made an early landing so he could make Julius walk to the village the first time. "Oh, I guess you''re right, I''ll make sure to remember that step next time," said Jun which Julius looked at him with anger filled eyes and a fist. Seeing this made Jun laugh before he spoke. "I''m only kidding. Don''t worry, I wouldn''t be that harsh on my favourite student," said Jun as he walked through the village as Julius followed behind him. As they stepped through the village doors, they felt the calming aura of another subject.. This time it was much more gentle that Spike''s and Julius even thought that he could smell a hint of flowers in the air even though there weren''t any there. Chapter 43 - Secluded World "Master Jun, do you mind holding on to my wrist and dragging me inside the house where all this aura is coming in from? I fear that I am not strong enough to make my way inside without your assistance," Julius requested which caused Jun to grin. "Oh my, the so talented prince who''s making his own kingdom isn''t strong enough to even walk on his own?" said Jun with a sarcastic gasp. "Haha that''s so funny, now just help me get inside," Julius demanded. "Hold on there mister prince, are you ordering me around?" Jun said sarcastically as he continued to gasp. "Master Jun, I have one question. In a fight between you and Spike, who do you think would win?" Julius asked with an evil grin of his own. "Most definitely Spike, I don''t know how you managed to get him on our side but I''m glad you did. I wouldn''t dare face him," Jun said. "Wait I was just joking, is Spike actually that strong?" Julius asked. "Of course he is, I don''t know if it''s because you''re only a rank 2 cultivator, but I could sense some seriously powerful aura around him. The reason which I feared him so much was because in a one on one fight, I don''t think there''s a single person on this planet that could defeat him. Of course if 2 or 3 rulers joined together and battled him, they might win but it would be extremely difficult. You''ll learn when you gain more strength but for now just think of yourself having 2 rulers of the great kingdoms at your side," Jun explained as he finally agreed to help Julius get inside the house which the aura was coming from. "So¡­ if I manage to get all of the 5 subjects from 200 years ago on my side, I''ll be able to take down the 9 rulers and still have power to spare?" Julius asked. ¡­ "Hmm, I guess so but remember, the 9 kingdoms aren''t the only power which our secluded world has to offer and I''m not talking about the 9 continents either. I''ll explain later, for now, just worry about waking up the next subject," said Jun as he opened the door of the house which the aura was coming from before closing behind Julius so that he doesn''t get pushed out. "Master Jun, I don''t get it. Why are you helping me start a revolution against the 9 kingdoms, I thought you personally taught 2 of them. Wouldn''t you hate it if they ended up dying?" Julius asked. "Well, I don''t really have an opinion on this matter. My job is to help you achieve your goal which is to create your own kingdom and to protect its people from the 9 other kingdoms which is what I''m doing. If another person which was more talented than you came to me and asked me to train them so they could defeat you, I will do so. In reality I don''t really have favourites. My job is to help those who seek strength to gain it through cultivation," Jun explained which saddened Julius but quickly got over it as he couldn''t force Jun to change how he acted. All he could do was use him to attain his maximum potential. "I guess that''s fair, not put my hand on the subject''s head," said Julius as he looked down at the person who was laying down on the ground. It was a girl which looked to be the same age as Spike which meant that she looked about 16 years old while in reality she was over 200 years of age. Even so, Julius was mesmerized by her beauty as she slept in a clean white futon which didn''t even have a single speck of dirt on it even thought it had existed for over 200 years. Julius was so distracted by her beauty that he had forgotten about Liz for a moment. "Wait why do I care about Liz in this situation out of nowhere?" Julius asked himself as he stayed frozen. ¡­ "Why are you looking at her like that?.." Jun asked as he realized that Julius was completely frozen in place. However once an evil thought came to him, Jun slowly walked toward Julius was stuck to the wall due to him getting pushed back by the girl''s aura. "Julius¡­ you wouldn''t happen to have an interest in this girl would you?" Jun asked Julius as his face grew to be more sinister. "Me? Like her? Absolutely not!" Julius disagreed quickly as his face turned red. "My my, I don''t think your parents are looking to have a grand child yet, you''re too young for that," said Jun as he continued to get on Julius'' nerves. "I- I wasn''t going to kiss her!" Julius argued which hearing those words made Jun look at him with a blank face with just a hint of pity in it. "So he doesn''t know," said Jun as he looked at the ground in shame and taking hold of Julius'' hand and placing it on the girl''s head. Before Julius could even ask any questions to what Jun had previously said, he passed out before waking up in the empty space where he battled the warrior like figure before Spike woke up. This time however, the figure which appeared before Julius was a bit different. It was a woman warrior is much the same armour which Spike''s warrior figure had but instead of a spear and a shield, the woman figure had a bow and arrow. Just as he expected, the woman pointed her bow at Julius and fired an arrow at him which in the last minute was caught by the white figure which protected Julius all the time. "Please go easy on her. It''s not nice to hit women in the first place," said Julius to his white figure and even made an excuse as to why he didn''t want the woman figure to get beaten hard. Even though Julius had expected the white figure to ignore his words, the white figure looked at Julius with the arrow he had caught in his hand before dropping it into the void. Right as Julius began to think that the white figure would listen to him, a large smile began to appear on the white figure''s face. Chapter 44 - Greenest Grass Right as Julius began to think that the white figure would listen to him, a large smile began to appear on the white figure''s face. Its teeth began to show as its sharp fangs stared at Julius with their murderous intent. There was only a single word to describe the monster which was in front on him. Menace. Julius'' white figure quickly leaped towards the woman and took away her bow before throwing it down into the void. Next, he quickly reached for her helmet using his left hand and began to bring her closer so he could punch her face with his right hand. Due to her trying to get Julius'' white glowing figure to let go of her head using both her hands, she couldn''t block his punch. Once the woman was dizzy from getting punched right in the face, Julius'' figure began to finish of the battle by throwing a deadly bombardment of punches which all managed to make a direct hit and the woman eventually passed out and fell to the void. Unlike his fight with the figure which was in Spike''s head, Julius'' figure was much harsher on the woman most likely due to wanting Julius to not get what he wanted. ¡­ Julius woke up a few minutes after he passed out feeling horrible. Along side him, the girl also awoke from her 200 year slumber. The moment she laid eyes on Julius, she quickly got up before getting on one knee then making her head face the ground. "Good evening to you my liege. Did you enjoy your slumber?" the girl asked Julius which made Jun laugh. "Did I seriously get king-zoned?" Julius asked himself as he made a disappointed face while Jun continued to laugh hysterically at him. ¡­ "My liege, you seem to dislike the old man in this room, shall I eliminate him?" the girl asked which made Jun stop laughing. For a moment, Julius thought to say yes to the girl''s request to teach Jun a lesson however that might''ve actually caused her to kill Jun which in reality, he would never want. ¡­ "No, it''s fine. I just need to inform you of some news first¡­" Julius began to speak. "Wait! You were thinking about letting her kill me?" Jun asked in an angry tone but Julius just ignored him and continued to speak to the girl. "First of all, what''s your name?" Julius asked her. "I go by the name of subject 2," she answered. "No, not that. I meant you real name," Julius told her. "How do you know that I have 2 names?" the girl asked Julius. "Subject 3, or Spike, whatever you know him as is already awake. I came to relay the same news which I told him," Julius said before explaining to the girl what happened. To Jun''s surprise, Julius wasn''t nervous around the girl. He didn''t know if it was because he was that much of a good leader that he eliminates all of his personal feelings when serious matters were being spoken about or if it was another reason. Nevertheless, Jun was glad that Julius wasn''t immature. "So you want me to join you and become one of your servants as you become king of this kingdom? You also want me along with the other subjects to help the plant and animal life grow while you''re off training so that when you come back, you can take your rightful place as king?" the girl asked. "Well you make it sound worse that I intended-" Julius said before she interrupted him. "Sure, I would happily agree to become your servant my liege," the girl said still bowing down to Julius. "Servant wouldn''t be the right word, more like my general or representative," Julius said. "It would be an honour to bear any of those titles my liege," said the 200 year old girl before the three of them in the room heard some angry knocking at the door. "Oh no, this can get bad pretty quickly," said Julius as he thought of something but seeing the stress on his face, the girl got up from the ground before opening the door to look down at all the person with eyes that indicated death. That glare alone was able to make some of leave the scene but yet, there were others which chose to stay behind and argue with the girl. Just like the previous village, the villagers began to speak of nonsense. "How dare you stop the calming breeze?!" "You dare defy the heavens?!" "Do your damn job and bring back that calming aura!" The villagers continued to demand before Julius walked out of the house to stand beside the girl. However instead of speaking to villagers like the previous village, he grabbed the girl by the wrist and forcibly moved the people before he arrived at what looked like the centre of the small village. "Actions speak louder than words. Would you mind using the secret art known as greenest grass?" Julius asked of her which caught her off guard as he shouldn''t have known that she has learned that secret art but then she quickly remembered what Julius had told her about Spike. "Sure," the girl said before placing his right palm on the ground. <> Just as Spike had done in the previous village, the girl did exactly what Spike did by covering the village with fresh green grass, lots of trees and bushes and a calming breeze. "Was that to your satisfaction?" the girl asked as she turned around, letting her silky black swing back as he looked at Julius with a noble gaze. While he mostly stayed serious but he thought that it was okay for him to admire her beauty for once before returning to his serious attitude. "Y-yes, thank you for that," said Julius before turning around to face the villagers which just a stood there amazed at the fresh sight in front of them which they hadn''t seen their entire lives and never expected to see during their life time. Chapter 45 - King-Zoned "Listen up everyone," said Julius as he turned around to face the villagers. Hearing his words, they all faced him with anticipation for what he had to say. However, instead of being nervous of scared of them, Julius looked more confident than ever as he spoke. "I have some things to inform you of. Firstly, this girl here will be your temporary leader but I''ll be your main king when I return. I want you to accept me as your king because I want to rebuild this entire continent from square one. However, I''m currently not strong enough for that so I''ll be leaving her along with 4 others in charge of the 5 small villages in the continent. While I''m gone, these 5 will begin to give life all over the continent and allow you to gather crops and hunt animals. What I seek from you is to help these 5 people and create a continent strong enough to challenge the 9 other kingdoms of the world," Julius began to give his speech. Due to all the villagers being people who escaped from the dark districts of the kingdoms, they knew what Julius was speaking about. While it seemed unrealistic, they had nothing to lose so they fully backed him up. Once he was finished giving his speech, the villagers along with the girl and even Jun applauded for him. Seeing as he had taken care of everything he needed, he began to say his goodbyes to the girl. "I need to get going now, goodbye-" Julius was about to say the girl''s name but realized that she hadn''t given him her name yet. "Sorry but I don''t think I caught your name," said Julius. "Oh right, my apologizes my liege, my real name is Rosie," the girl said to Julius. "So I really did get king-zoned. Maybe in another life time Rosie," Julius told himself as his face began to get sad. "Stop moping around there, let''s get going Julius," Jun told him as he waited for him at the entrance of the village where the jade dragon was already waiting for them there. "Goodbye then Rosie, please work hard to revive this land," Julius said to her in a serious tone as he needed to make sure that the continent would be in perfect condition when he returned. "Goodbye Julius," said Rosie as she leaned in closer to him. Jun who was watching from a far could see as Julius just stood in place while Rosie stood extremely close to him for a moment before moving back. "What is that boy talking to her about? I hope he doesn''t tell her to over work herself just for the revival of this continent," Jun said to himself as he watched Julius finally say goodbye to Rosie and make his way towards Jun who was already on the jade dragon. For some reason Julius looked happy which Jun found odd. Once Julius got on the dragon and Jun forced his pet to fly into the night sky, Jun began to as his question. "What were you talking about with that girl? Does creating a kingdom of your own make you that happy?" Jun asked Julius as he turned around to see his student continue to smile and just ignore the questions he had been asked. Seeing as Julius was completely distracted, Jun decided that his student was probably tired. "You should probably get some sleep, I''ll tell my pet to go slower so it''ll take us until morning to make it to the next village, and don''t forget to cultivate while you''re sleeping" said Jun. "Yes master," said Julius as he laid off his back while looking at the stars from the sky. "So I''m not king-zoned anymore?" Julius asked himself. "I''m not king-zoned anymore!" Julius said to himself in his head. ¡­ "Wait, I feel like I''m forgetting something¡­ grand children?!" Julius asked himself as he got frightened before going to sleep. ¡­ Elsewhere in the world, more specifically at the castle which Mary lives in, Mary herself was in a large stadium like room which was covered in sand. In her hand was a Woden spear which she continued to swing extremely quickly in all directions even though she still had her bandages on from having to fight in a dungeon plus having to battle with Jun. Her eyes were completely sealed as he continued to imagine the movements of each of the 1000 blades with Jun had thrown at her, all while dodging and deflecting them. Each time she failed, she restarted before failing again. ¡­ "How long has she been in there?" One guard asked another guard which was watching her train. "She''s been like this for 2 whole days. She still needs to let her injuries heal but she won''t listen to the doctor. She hasn''t even eaten or drank and single thing and yet she keep repeated the same sequence of moves," the guard replied. "Wait have you been here for the past 2 days watching over her, Hendrick?" the guard which had first asked the question asked one again. "That would be correct if you to assume," Hendrick replied. As he said those words another guard came to go on his shift of watching over the queen. "Hey man, did you know that Hendrick has been here for 2 whole days watching over the queen even though he doesn''t have to?" the guard which asked the questions told the new guard which had came to switch shifts. "I know right. All she said was his name and now he''s love sick. I feel bad for him, he''ll soon wake up from his sad and hopeless dream," said the new guard before tagging out with the new guard which had come for his daily shift. He stared at Hendrick which just stood there mesmerized by the queen who continued to train. "I swear by my own life, I''ll make you pay for humiliating me Jun and Julius.. Mark my words, the next time I see you, you won''t live to see the next day," Mary promised. Chapter 46 - Liam "Wake up already! You''ve been sleeping for long enough," Jun told Julius as he forcibly woke him up from his slumber. "Okay fine, I''ll get up," said Julius as he rubbed his eyes as he tried to clear them from having slept so well. "Are we already here?" Julius asked. "Yes, we''ve been here for quite a while that the people of the village have gathered around us to see where we''re from or they might just want to take all our food if we had any," Jun explained as hopped off his pet with his student following behind him. ¡­ "Excuse us," said Jun as he tried to move through the people who were gathered around them as he tried to enter the village. "Hold it! You can''t come in without paying up," said one of the villagers as he stepped up with 5 others behind him. "Oh sorry, we aren''t here to live in this village, we just came to talk to someone," Jun explained with a gentle smile as he didn''t want to start trouble. "That doesn''t matter. Give us all your food materials, and the green dragon too. Or else¡­" said the man that stepped up while pulling out a short blade from his pocket. ¡­ "Thousand blades?" Julius asked. "Yes Julius¡­ thousand blades," said Jun as he continued to gently smile. <> Julius activated the only secret art he knew which made 1000 swords appear out of nowhere. Each one pointed at the man that had stepped up from all angles. Seeing this sight, the man froze up before dropping his blade. All the villagers including his comrades quickly ran away before in closing themselves in their homes. ¡­ "Let''s just get this over with," said Julius as he along with Jun walked towards the house which emanated the aura which the sought. After Jun helped Julius enter the house and place his palm on the subject''s head, Julius once again passed out as he got sent into the empty dark dimension. In front of him was a giant buff warrior with a war-hammer in his hand. He was much scarier than all of the other warrior Julius had seen from the other 2 subjects he had met. For a second, Julius doubted that his white glowing figure could win. However, those doubts would quickly go away as Julius saw his own figure standing in front of the war-hammer warrior. Julius'' figure was nearly twice the size of the warrior. Without wasting a second, the war-hammer warrior pulled his hammer back before preparing to bring it down on Julius'' figure. However, right before the hammer could make contact, Julius'' figure caught the hilt of the war-hammer before snapping it like a stick then holding on to the part which still had the top of the hammer. With a giant grin on its face, Julius''s figure held the top part of the hammer with its palm before slamming it into the warrior''s head and letting it fall into the void. Once that was done, just like his previous battles, the figure began to bombard the warrior with and endless amount of punches until the warrior itself fell into the void. ¡­ "Ow, my head hurts," said Julius as he realized that he fell to hard when he passed out. "So how did it go?" Jun asked Julius. "I think it was a success," Julius replied as right as he said those words a talk and buff man got up from the ground. "Where am I?" the buff man asked as he scratched his head. "Oh¡­ I guess not all of them look 16 years old," Julius said as he spoke what he was thinking. "16? How did you know I was 16 years old?" the buff man asked. "First of all you''re not 16, you look like you''re a 30 year old man who''s been training before he was even born," Julius replied. "Was that a compliment or an insult? Anyway, who are you people?" said the tall man as he looked down at Julius. The moment he did that, he felt compelled to get on his knee and beg for mercy for any disrespect he might have caused and so he did. "My apologies sir," the tall man said as he took the stance which Spike and Rosie took when they first met Julius. "Where''s my king like treatment?" Jun complained as each of the subjects which Julius had greeted had turned to be loyal subjects to his student. "Who''s that frail old man?" the subject asked Julius which made Julius giggle a bit as he looked at his master. "Frail? Why do they favour you more than me? I''m clearly the better one," Jun complained. "Ya ya, whatever makes you happy. Anyway," said Julius as he turned his attention back to the subject. "Look, I''ve already met subject 3 and 2, what subject number are you?" Julius asked as he wanted to get the process finished as quickly as possible. "I''m subject 4 but my real name is Liam," the subject replied. "Oh, this is the first one which has told me it''s real name without me having to ask," Julius said to himself as he had a pleased face. "Okay then Liam, I would like you to become one of my generals along with Spike and Rosie and then I will recruit the last 2 subjects¡­" Julius said as he explained what he wanted Liam to do until he returned from training. That task being that he wanted him to use his secret art to bloom life onto the continent until the day Julius returned. "Of course sir. It would be an honour to serve you," Liam replied to Julius'' request. "That''s great, now all we have to do is deal with all the villagers out side who''ll start complaining because you''re aura disappeared.. Be careful though, they might drive you insane from all the random things they speak about such as the heavens and disobeying the laws of nature," Julius advised Liam before finally getting out of the house to speak to the villagers. Chapter 47 - Too Dangerous Just as Julius had said the villagers had began to spout out nonsense as they pushed on their beliefs to be truth. "Hey, it''s that kid that made those swords appear out of nowhere," said one of the villagers as they saw Julius walk out of the home which causes all of them to get frightened. "Listen up! From now on, I am your king. Anything I say becomes law, in exchange for that, I will give you a life where you can enjoy living. More specifically, Liam here will provide you with that for the time being," said Julius as he brought Liam forward. "He will bring life to this dead village and the surrounding areas as well. All I ask from you is to give him your held when he asks for it," Julius said which left all the villagers speechless as if they didn''t believe him which wasn''t new as what group of people would believe a mere child which told them that he was going to get rid of all their worries. "Hey Liam, do you mind using a secret art called greenest grass? Don''t ask where I learned about it from because you should already know by now," Julius told him which Liam replied to with a nod. Liam who was a tall buff man with shining brown hair placed his palm on the exact spot where he was standing before activating his secret art. <> Just as Spike and Rosie did in their respective villages, Liam also brought grass, trees and crops to the village which was responded by the villagers with a dumb founded face. Unlike the previous times which he asked a subject to preform the secret art, Julius didn''t ask Liam to only keep the area which he gave life up to the village alone so Liam went beyond Julius'' expectations and allowed life to bloom in a an area much larger then the village itself which caught Julius by surprise. "I guess this continent will be filled with life before I know it," said Julius as he smiled from knowing that he was in dependable hands. "You''ll be able to take it from here," said Julius as he waved goodbye to Liam and began to head outside the village however he was once again stopped by the man which had stopped him and Jun when they tried to enter the village. Unlike the previous time though, he was alone instead of with his gang ¡­ "Uh.. thank you king¡­" the man began to speak before he stopped as he didn''t know Julius'' name. "It''s Julius, king Julius," Julius informed him. "Thank you king Julius for you''ve done for our village. We will follow you until the day we die," the man said as bowed in front of a 14 year old. "No problem, just help out Liam in his time of need. I need to get going now but how about we have a proper conversation when I get back one day?" Julius offered which the man nodded quickly in agreement to Julius'' request. "I will need your name if I am to find you again one day," Julius requested. "My name is Karl, sir," he replied to Julius. "Okay then Karl, I''ll come back to fulfill my promise one day," said Julius as he ran off to get on the jade dragon which Jun was already on. ¡­ "Way to go your majesty, you''ve become such an important figure," Jun mocked Julius. "Are you really jealous of a 14 year old kid? You''re more pathetic than I thought," Julius replied to his master. "Pathetic?! Okay then, we''ll see who''s pathetic when your training resumes after this mission is finally complete," said Jun as he prepared a sinister training regiment in his head to torment Julius with in the future. As they continued to argue, Jun''s jade dragon took flight as it headed North towards the second last village which they needed to go to. "After we get to this village, there''ll only be one left before we can returning to your training," said Jun. "What will my training even consist of when this is all done," Julius asked as he didn''t know what his teacher had planned for him. "I''m not quite sure myself but I was thinking about some physical body building then going to kill monsters in the wild before going to the first dungeon which you''ll probably find pretty difficult," Jun informers his student. "Dungeon?¡­" Julius asked as he didn''t know what his teacher meant by his words. "Yes, a dungeon. It''s an inclosed space where the only way to get out after you enter is to kill all the monsters inside it. It''s almost always a near death experience but at the end of it, you''ll gain tremendous amount of exp which can help you level up a couple times depending on how difficult it was," Jun explained. "What kind of monsters are in the dungeons? Are they like the frogs and lizards I fought?" Julius asked. "Well, there are a verity of dungeons which each have a different species of monsters. Of course there will be animal like monsters but the majority of them are humanoid beast which are capable of complex thought. If you manage to get strong enough, you might be able to even speak to some of them as the more difficult a dungeon is, the smarter the beasts inside it are," Jun explained. "Have you ever been in a dungeon?" Julius asked. "No I haven''t. It''s much too dangerous for someone like me who only cultivates through meditation. I could very easily succumb to the quick and agile movements of the monsters inside dungeons. However, you''re different, you''re a dual cultivator. You can do what I can do and also what I can''t. You were truly favoured by the heavens," Jun told his student before looking back to see the mesmerized Julius as he heard about dungeons.. There wasn''t even the slightest bit of fear in Julius'' eyes, all there was in them was excitement and anticipation. Chapter 48 - Greatest Fear "Are we there yet?" Julius asked. "Not yet," Jun replied. ¡­ "Are we there yet?" Julius asked. "Not yet," Jun replied. ¡­ "Are we there yet?" Julius asked. "Not yet," Jun replied. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ "Are we there yet?" Julius asked. "Yes we''re there! Are you happy now?! You can finally stop asking me the same question every 5 minutes!" Jun replied to Julius in an irritated tone. "Geez, no need to get so mad, I was only asking a question," Julius told Jun which just made his master even more angry by Jun managed to stop himself from killing Julius as he allowed his jade dragon to descend from the sky on to the ground right in front of the village. "So this is it? The second last village before we can finally complete this mission," Julius said as he got off the dragon and began to walk inside the village. The villagers were surprisingly much more kind that the ones from the previous village that Julius and Jun had went to which Julius didn''t complain about. However, as Julius and Jun continued to walk towards the house which the aura was coming from, they both sensed a familiar sent in the air¡­ it was the smell of flowers. Realizing what the smell of flowers meant, Jun got a sinister grin on his face as he quickly grabbed Julius by the wrist and began to drag him inside the home which the aura was coming from. All while this was going on, Julius had yet to completely figure figure out why Jun was so happy about. "Hey master Jun, did you ever think that we look like a couple of burglars as he enter random peoples houses?" Julius asked his master as he finally walked inside the home and closed the door so that Jun wouldn''t get pushed out of the house because of the aura. As Julius saw the person who laid in front of him, he realized why Jun had such an evil grin on his face. The next subject which Julius would have to wake up would be another girl which looked to be slightly shorter than Rosie and instead of having black, white or brown hair, she had blonde hair. "So what do you think Julius?" Jun asked while barely managing to stop himself from bursting out in laughter. "Let''s just get this over with," said Julius as he put his hand forward and Jun grabbed it to place it on the girl''s forehead. "It doesn''t matter who the girl is, I''ll always be loyal to Liz¡­ wait what? No, that''s not what I meant to think," said Julius in his head right before he passed out and was sent into the empty space at which he knew he would have to fight a female warrior figure. ¡­ However, instead he was faced with a skinny male figure which had a full body armour much like spike''s figure however in this figure''s hand was a battle axe. "Well that''s odd, I thought that the figure''s correlated with what gender the subject was but I guess that''s false. Maybe it has to do with how the person''s personality is," said Julius to himself as he watched as the glowing white figure of his appeared on the scene to fight the warrior figure. Unlike the previous time that the glowing white figure had fought a girl, it didn''t turn towards Julius to make a grin so that Julius would know that his chances with the girl were slim. Instead, his figure charged straight into battle to finish things off. "Well that''s odd, I guess it changed and has began to like me. Maybe it''ll be nicer to me from now on," Julius said as he began to get happy that the white figure was being so nice to him. Not wanting to waste any time, the two figures began their battle with Julius'' figure quickly disarming the warrior which held the battle axe in its hand before going in for its killer final move¡­ the deadly bombardment of endless fists. However even so, the warrior figure didn''t give up as while it was getting punched, it moved it left hand back to charge for a fist attack before finally throwing it at Julius'' figure. Even so, all of its efforts would go to waste as Julius'' figure dodged the first and continued its endless punches until finally, the warrior was defeated as it was sent to fall into the void. ¡­ "So was ur a success again?" Jun asked Julius after noticing that his student had awoken from his slumber. "Yes it was, there were a couple odd things but over all, I think I managed to get her on our side," said Julius as he watched as the blonde haired girl awoke from her slumber. Her smooth face and soft lips caught Julius by surprise as he couldn''t help but stare into her gleaming blue eyes. "Who are you people?" the girl asked with such a gentle voice that Julius couldn''t believe such a perfect girl could ever exist in the world. "Hello, I''m Julius and that right there is my teacher who''s name is Jun," Julius introduced himself before pointing towards his master to introduce him as well. After the girl looked at Julius closely, she was compelled to get on one knee and she bowed down to the one she would soon call king. "King-zoned again?" Jun asked as he watched what was going on. "Yes master, I''m afraid to say it but I''ve been king-zoned once again," said Julius while in his head he had other thoughts. "I managed to get out of the king zone previously so I''ll just do it again," Julius told himself. "How wonderful, you can cry about it later, let''s just finish the introduction before we go to the next village, and make sure to grab the girl as well," Jun told Julius as he headed for the door. "Girl¡­?" the blonde girl asked. "Yes, that''s what I said," Jun replied in a tone which sounded like he wanted to say "are you deaf or something?". "But¡­" "I''m a boy" Chapter 49 - Im A Boy "I''m a boy" The cursed words which not a single soul wished to hear at that moment had been uttered by the creature which Julius had woken up from its slumber. Such dreadful news shouldn''t have been experienced by anyone yet Julius had become victim to them. Even Jun didn''t know how to deal with the trauma and his coping mechanism became to just laugh at the situation as there was nothing else he could do. It was just a sad tale to hear. "Y-you''re a boy?" Julius asked as his voice stuttered in fear from hearing what he thought he heard. Being favoured by the heavens, Julius clasped his hands together as he began to beg that he was just dreaming and everything he heard wasn''t real. However, unfortunately for him, he would be lucky for once. "Yes I am, why do you look so surprised?" the subject asked Julius. Hearing what had just went on, Jun turned around to look at the poor Julius who looked like he had just died and came back to life while laughing hysterically at his student. "My apologies for my foolish teacher, let''s just get to the serious stuff," said Julius as he tried to restart the conversation with the second last subject from 200 years ago which he needed to speak to. "I''ve already introduced myself so what''s your real name and subject number. I already know about 3 out of the 5 subjects. Those ones being subjects 2,3 and 4 who''s real names are Spike, Rosie and Liam," said Julius as he tried to cover almost everything with a single speech so that the subject wouldn''t get startled as to why Julius knew so much about him and the other subjects. "Alright then, I''m subject 5, and my real name is Steph," the subject replied. "Well, it''s nice to meet you Steph. I hope we can get along. Although, I am not here to waste your time so I''ll just get to it already. I would like you to work for me and become one of my generals when I revive this continent and kingdom. You see, I already know about your mission to take down the 9 other kingdoms but you''ve woken up 200 years after the war ended so there''s no need to fight anymore. Instead, help me rebuild this place so that I can create a place where anyone, no matter if they are poor or rich can live a happy and comfortable life," Julius offered at which Steph replied with a quick nod while still bowing to Julius. "Thank you," said Julius as he smiled while preparing for the second part of taking over a village¡­ that being to talk to the villagers. ¡­ "Follow me Steph, this will only take a few minutes," said Julius as he walked out of the home while holding on to Steph''s hand. While everyone was mesmerized by Steph''s beauty, Julius quickly took him to what seemed like an open area of the small village which was only a few metres behind the crowd of people before giving Steph his first order. "You can use greenest grass right? I''m talking about the secret art just incase you don''t know," Julius told Steph. "Yes I do, would you like me to use it?" Steph offered. "Yes please and make it until the village walls only for the time being then you can expand it once I leave," Julius replied to him. <> As Steph activated his secret art, plant life began to bloom in the village as grass, trees, bushes and others of that sort began to form from the ground. Now, the villagers could continue to be mesmerized by Steph''s beauty and also the secret art he had used. The only problem was that the villagers thought that Steph was a girl just as Julius had previously assumed which Julius took note of as he was the way all of the male villagers looked at Steph. "Okay, listen up everyone. This village is my territory from now on. If you want to enjoy the luxury of having all these beautiful wildlife, you better accept what I tell you as the law. As such, from now on, you are to treat me as your king however, due to unexpected circumstances, I cannot rule over you for the time being so Steph will be ruling over you for now," Julius said as he brought Steph in the front to show to the villagers which in doing so got all of the male villagers to side with him. As for the female villagers, they were pretty satisfied with having plant life alone since they had never seen such a thing in their entire life. "Okay, take care Steph," Julius said as he waved to Jun who was still at the doorway of the house to signal that they should leave. "Oh and by the way, Steph is a boy," Julius said as he ran towards the jade dragon while Jun also did the same. Jun didn''t know why Julius was running but just in case his student did something dumb, he didn''t want to stay to bear the consequences. "Wha-" Julius heard that word from the male villagers as the dragon took off to fly towards the last and final village. Right before the village became invisible for them, Julius saw as Steph waved goodbye to Julius while smiling. "He''s a good kid," said Julius as he also smiled while waving back to Steph while not knowing if his message was received when in fact it had been received right before the jade dragon reached an altitude where Steph and Julius couldn''t see each other anymore. "I feel bad for them, they just had their hearts broken after finding out that Steph is really a boy. I can''t imagine how they must feel," said Julius in a tone which conveyed pity. "Weren''t you the first person to fall victim to Steph''s deceiving look?" Hun replied to him as he looked back at his student which had a face of denial. "Whatever makes you happy I guess," said Jun as he turned his head back around and began to direct his pet to the next and final village. Chapter 50 - Divine ¡­ "We''re finally here," said Jun as he allowed his jade dragon to descend onto the ground slowly in the evening sky. "We''re here?" Julius asked as he began to open his eyes from having been a napping due to him being bored out of his mind. "Yes, that''s what I said, now get yourself ready to mean the final subject," said Jun as his dragon finally landed on the ground. However to both their surprise, instead of the village being a dead wasteland, it was a blooming village with people laughing and enjoying themselves. The aura itself expanded out of the village walls and could be dry by both Julius and Jun. "Hey, what''s the deal with this place?" Julius asked his master. "I don''t even know¡­" Jun replied before his voice trailed off as he was completely mesmerized by the beauty of the village. It was like no other village that they had gone to, even with greenest grass activated onto them, those villages were nothing compared to this one. The village which Julius was currently facing even looked much bigger than the other villages. Having no choice but to find out for themselves, Julius and Jun entered the village and began to look for the source of the aura which they felt. The aura was weak, yet it was still existent. "Good evening to you," said a boy''s voice behind Julius and Jun which made the two of them jump back from being startled. When they looked at the boy who had spoken to them, the two realized that he was the source of the aura. It was a boy which looked to be the same age as the other subjects yet he looked shorter than Julius. The boy himself had red hair and wore a white toga just like his fellow subjects. "G-good evening, you must be subject 1," Julius said to the red haired boy. ¡­ "So you''ve finally come after me. I guess I can''t live my life in peace any more," the res haired boy replied to Julius. "Huh? What do you mean by that?" Julius asked. "Wait you don''t look like someone from 200 years ago," the red haired boy said as he began to get confused as to how someone who wasn''t involved in the war knew about him. "First of all, aren''t you supposed to be in a coma of some kind?" Julius asked. "Well¡­ not technically," the red haired boy replied to Julius. "Go on then, explain. I''ve already spoken with the other subjects and they''re already on my side so I want you to join me as well and be a part of my army to create a continent where people can live in peace and harmony," Julius said which made the red haired boy have an irritated face. "Oh really? Then name the other subjects with their real names," the red haired boy scoffed at Julius. "Sure! Their names are, Spike, Rosie, Liam and Steph," Julius replied proudly which made the red haired boy sigh in sadness. "Okay then, I should just start from the beginning. I along with 4 others were gathered and cast a spell on which would allow us to cultivate in our sleep until the day were we would wake up from that slumber so that we could take revenge out for the 10th kingdom just incase it lost the war. However, the waking up mechanism was a bit odd. The people who cast the spell on us didn''t have enough recourses to put a schedule on all of us so instead, they put the schedule just on me and told me to wake the others up after I did so I could accomplish the mission. It only made sense since I was subject number 1," the red haired boy began to speak. "So why didn''t you wake the others up?" Julius asked. "There''s a simple answer to that. There would be no point in us gathering and taking revenge on the other 9 kingdoms. If we did manage to kill all of them by some miracle, they would probably have a back up plan to kill us in the long run just like the 10th kingdom set us up. You see, the more one side fights, the harder the other side fights back. This struggle continues until both sides die out. So when I woke up, I kept quiet in hope that the others may never be awoken from their slumber yet, here you are telling me that you managed to do the task which only I was supposed to be able to accomplish," the red haired boy finished. "But my goal isn''t to fight. I just want to help the people of the dark district," Julius argued. "It doesn''t matter if you don''t want to fight, do you think the other 9 kingdoms will allow the cursed 10th kingdom and continent to be reborn? They won''t care who you are, they''ll eradicate both you and your followers," the red haired replied. "Then we''ll fight back¡­" Julius said as he cut off mid sentence when he realized what the red haired boy was getting at. "You see! There''s no point in fighting it, just allow things to continue the way they are. The less enemies there are, the less people have to die," the red hair boy replied which just angered Julius. "That''s wrong! That''s completely wrong! You act as is dying is worse than having to struggle to eat once a day. Do you genuinely believe that having to watch as a whole group of people which are only on another side of a thin wall eat as much food as they want, have all the cloths they could ever need and have every luxury which you dream of while you starve is better than death?! You''re just scared to fight in a battle yourself so you push your own false ideologies onto others. You''re just a coward," Julius insulted the red haired boy which looked to be more angry than ever. In the heat the moment, the red haired boy used a secret art. <> Chapter 51 - Too Strong <> The red haired boy used a secret art which if it had made contact with the normal Julius, it would''ve killed. That was why in that moment, Jun stepped in to stop the attack. Jun quickly stepped in front of the secret art which set the red haired boy''s hand on fire which was white due to the temperature of the flame. Knowing that his only way to survive let alone counter the attack would be for Jun to use a secret art of his own. <> Once activated, a large green shield with scales much like the jade dragon''s appeared in Jun''s hand and allowed him to block the punch. However, just as the divine fist made contact with the shield, Jun''s dragon shield ended up breaking into pieces, that wasn''t all though. To add on, the fist made contact with Jun''s wrist which was right behind the shield as it was what was holding up the dragon shield. Julius watched as the white flaming fist made contact with his master''s wrist and was forced to watch as the fist broke then twisted his master''s arm. ¡­ *Beep* ¡­ *Beep* ¡­ *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* Julius'' head began to spin as he heard beeping in his head which was that of a bomb which was about to detonate. In this case, a bomb was truly about to detonate. Unlike any bomb though, the one which was about to explode in that moment had one clear objective. Torment! Both Julius'' eyes began to glow white as his second entity completely took over his body. Julius walked over to the red haired boy and grabbed him by his head and began to levitate as he dragged him to a far off place. Julius didn''t even bother to look at Jun who was on the ground, bleeding from his injuries as the area which took most of the damage turned charcoal-black from being burnt. "Let go of me!" the red haired boy struggled as he attempted to forcibly make Julius let go of him. Although Julius hadn''t used a secret art, they were still flying which just brought up more questions since that shouldn''t be possible. Once they had reached their desired location, Julius dropped the red haired boy from the sky onto the ground which he got up from with no problem. As for Julius, he himself descended from the sky a few metres away from where the red haired boy way. "So you want a duel? I''ll give you a duel but you won''t live to tell the tale," said the red haired boy as he prepared to activate his secret art once again. <> Just as the red haired boy activated his secret art, dozens of not hundreds of circles began to appear in the sky, each one which had a middle that resembled the night sky. From those circles appeared large silver blades with ancient text on them, much like the one blade that Spike had summoned when the villagers tried to attack Julius. However, unlike that tile, there were multiple more blades than just a single divine blade. The red haired boy just arrogantly stood there was he watched his divine blades appear out of the spatial circles he had created. "You see that?! That''s the power I have! You should have never challenged me, now, you''ll die and then your teacher comes next," the red haired boy said as he laughed. "M-My teacher?" Julius asked as his voice changed from his own voice to the second entity who''s voice was much more sinister. However in that moment, the two entities merged and their thoughts began to align as the second entity began to believe that it wanted to save Jun. As such, it prepared to use one of its deadly attack. <> <> A beam of light began to appear which started off where Julius was standing and continued to expand until it would reach the red haired boy which it planned to kill. "How?! That was supposed to be erased along with the 10th kingdom! How could he have gotten possession over it?! It was the one thing which should''ve been erased¡­ the final scroll of the heaven tier scrolls! Damn you all, you failed your job and now this generation has to face the challenges which you worked so hard to erase!" the red haired boy began to spout nonsense as he began to run away from Julius as fast as he could so that the white light wouldn''t touch him. After barely escaping from the white light which would''ve killed him, the red haired boy turned around to see that the white light had stopped spreading and now he would be able to finish what he started. "You must be exhausted from having to use such a difficult secret art. It really is over for you now, my blades are prepared to kill you so you can begin saying your last words," said the red haired boy as he began to walk back towards Julius while he had his hands raised up in the air as if he was going to use them o control his divine blades which in fact he was going to do exactly that. However as he looked at Julius closer, he noticed that Julius wasn''t even the least bit fazed. It was as if he hadn''t even begun to fight seriously. "Okay then, let''s see how to you like this," said the red haired boy as he grinned while making all of his divine blades rain down upon Julius. Even with the thousand blades secret art, he wouldn''t be able to block it. Even if he wanted to use a higher level secret art, he would need to wait for its set up time which would finish only after he had taken all the damage from the divine blades. Julius was really cornered, even with his second entity, he didn''t know if he could survive the attack¡­ until a thought came to the second entity as it began to strengthen its fingers tips and made a claw like shape with both of them before placing them on the ground abruptly. <> Chapter 52 - Dimensional Twist <> Julius who had completely gone unconscious by now and had allowed his second entity to take over had just used¡­ magic. The most forbidden, cursed and hideous power which had existed in all of his world''s history. It had thought to have been erased from existence and yet, there was someone who could use such a power. "M-Magical Art?!" the red haired boy exclaimed as he began to tremble while moving back. "How?! Why?! It was supposed to have been erased! Even the subjects were forbidden from learning it, so why? Why does this child have all of these forbidden things?!" the red haired boy asked himself as he watched an enormous white magic circle appear on the ground. With each second that passed, the magic circle began to rise until it stopped the divine blades right before they touched Julius. However, that was not all the magic was meant to do. The white magic circle began to spin in clockwise motion however, instead of the divine blades which were standing on it, spinning it, the stood still and as the magic circle spun, they began to twist, hence the name of the magical spell. The red haired boy just stood and watched as his beloved secret art was twisted until it the blades finally broke, leaving him nothing but shattered garbage. Seeing this, the red haired boy got on both of his knees as tears began to flow out of his eyes like water fall. He had lost. "I-I lost!" the red haired boy yelled out in agony from his defeat. However, Julius'' second entity wasn''t done there as he made the white magic circle disappear with a snap and raised its right palm into the air. <> Before the second entity could finish activating its spell, Julius'' left arm gentle brought him right palm back down as ur halted the spell''s activation. A moment later, the white light in Julius'' eyes began to disappear as the real Julius returned to the control over his body. Next, Julius began to walk towards the red haired boy who had admitted his defeat. Although Julius himself was beyond exhausted and just wanted to fall into slumber for the new few years, he still walked towards the red haired boy as he had something to finish. ¡­ "What''s your real name, subject number 1?" Julius asked the red haired boy. "Why are you asking something like that at a time like this? Just kill me already! Don''t you want to get revenge for your master?!" the red haired boy demanded to which Julius coldly slapped him even though he was exhausted. "Only I ask the questions here! Now, what''s your name?" Julius asked once again in a harsher tone. "Ian, my name is Ian," the red haired boy replied. "Okay then Ian, from now on, I am your king. No questions asked, you will obey all of my orders as a thank you for me sparing your life¡­ no, you will obey me for the sole reason that I am your king. I would never kill my loyal subjects," Julius said as he corrected himself. Hearing those words, Ian just sat in the ground, unable to come up with a reply. "For my first order, let''s go back to the village," said Julius. Without even questioning him, Ian got up and held Julius up with his arm on his shoulder. "Yes sir," said Ian as he began his journey back to the village. ¡­ Once returning to the village where Jun was still trying to use a healing secret art to heal the wound which was inflicted upon him, Julius asked Ian himself to use a higher tier secret art if he had any which would be able to reverse the effects of the attack he used on Jun. In fact, Ian did have a secret art along those lines. Once healed, Julius explained to Jun what had taken place without mentioning the magic part. Of course, Julius also informed Ian to keep the magic a secret as no one could know about it. After everything had been taken care of, it was time for Julius and Jun go take their leave, however before they could do that, Julius needed to inform Ian of something. "Hey Ian, I know that you''re still worried about what will become of this world if the 10th kingdom is revived. I can''t guarantee that people won''t die. I can''t guarantee that people won''t suffer, however, I can guarantee you something. Before I met you, I wanted to create a kingdom only for the people who were suffering right now and leave all the rich people alone. While that seemed okay at first, now I see that it could cause a divide between people and I turn start problems in the future. What I''m basically trying to say is that I don''t want to just take the 10th kingdom, I want to take over the other 9 kingdoms alone and distribute the wealth so that not a single person will be excluded," Julius explained which almost made Ian tear up but he stopped himself and instead bowed while shaking his head up and down to show his agreement and gratitude. "So please, take care of his continent until I get strong enough to rule the world. I''ll be looking for your full support when that time comes," said Julius as he finally wakes goodbye to Ian as he went off to ride the jade dragon which Jun was already waiting for him on. ¡­ "So is he on our side?" Jun asked as his student got in the dragons "Yup. The mission is finally complete. I feel so tired, I think I''ll be sleeping for the next thousand years," said Julius as the dragon began to fly. "Oh no you don''t! Now that the mission has been completed, you''re going straight into training and monster killing then I''ll probably send you off to a dungeon too. I''m going to make you train like you never done before.. You''re going to pay for hogging all the spotlight during this mission," said Jun as he put on his familiar grin. Chapter 53 - Rush "Home, sweet home," said Jun as he finally made it to the mountain top where his home was. After both Jun and Julius got up from the jade dragon''s body, Jun sent his pet off to sleep on top of a nearby mountain top which was flat just like the one where Jun''s house was at. "Oh man, I can''t wait to get some sleep," said Julius as he opened the doors of Jun''s house expecting there to be his futon which he slept in. ¡­ "What''s wrong, get in already," said Jun as he himself stepped in front on Julius to get inside however, what he saw left him speechless. His entire house had been robbed and vandalized. Who ever would have done such a thing was either arrogant or stupid as Jun despite his old age was one of the strongest humans in the world only matched by the 9 kings and queens. Jun quickly rushed towards a walls which when he pressed opened up a secret compartment where he stored all his scrolls, including the shadow monster scrolls. However, once he looked inside, Jun was disappointed to find nothing in there. Whoever had robbed Jun''s house was looking to start a war. As Jun looked around and analyzed the room, he saw an emblem which he recognized. "Steward¡­ you''ll pay for this," said Jun as he grit his teeth. While Jun was having his own inner monologue, Julius continued to stand at the door while standing completely frozen in place. It even looked like he was about to cry. "What''s wrong with you? Can''t you see that they took the most valuable things I have," Jun said to Julius which made the prince begin to cry which just brought more confusion to Jun. "T-T-They took my comfy white futon," Julius said as tears began to flow out of his eyes in both anger and sadness. For some odd reason, Julius tended to build the strongest bonds with some of the most insignificant things such as his dead rabbit and now, his futon. <> <> "HOLD ON THERE! THEY AREN''T HERE!" Jun stopped his student from activating the deadly secret art. "Don''t go killing me for no reason. Plus, I think I know who stole your precious futon," said Jun as he tries to make Julius calm down so that his student doesn''t accidentally erase all of humanity. "Who was it?!" Julius demanded. "Do you see that emblem over there?" Jun asked as he pointed to a red sickle symbol on top of one of the walls in Jun''s house. "King Steward?" Julius asked as he gasped. "But why?" Julius asked once more. "Isn''t it clear? He''s trying to provoke us. That''s why he stole the scrolls and left his emblem. If he was truly after just the scrolls, he would''ve left no trace of himself here but instead, he took the scrolls so we couldn''t ignore him and also placed his emblem so we would know who to look for. Julius, I think he''s after you," Jun explained. "So why don''t you just go and take our stuff back. Since he''s after me only, if you go, you''ll be fine," said Julius. "It''s not as simple as that. First of all, I don''t even know if I can defeat him, secondly, what if while I''m gone, someone comes after you. That way, I lose my scrolls and I also lose you," Jun replied as he tried to think about a plan. "Okay then, what if I call my 5 subjects? You said that one of them could take on about 2 rulers so even if all 9 of them come, my 5 subjects would be able to beat them," Julius replied. "That wouldn''t work either. Even if you defeat the 9 rulers, you still would have to deal with their armies which include the royal guards and the civilians from their respective kingdom which have a large influence in the world. To add on, their job should only be to rebuild your continent for now. Nothing should distract them from that. For now, just think of it as if they don''t exist," Jun also shutdown another one of Julius'' ideas before finally coming up with one of his own. "There''s only one way to deal with this problem. That being that we have to storm the place ourselves," said Jun. "Wait what? We''re clearly weaker than my 5 subjects so how does is going there by ourselves have a higher likely of success than us going with my subjects," Julius asked in utter confusion. "You see, I''d you brought you ''subjects'', the other rulers would join in as they pose a threat to all of the kingdoms but if we go alone, it would just be seen as just going to get revenge on those who caused us harm so we would only have to deal with 1 kingdom," Jun explained. "Wait.. are you proposing that to alone wake war upon a whole kingdom?" Julius asked with a fake face of concern when instead he couldn''t me more excited to take revenge upon those who would dare to steal his futon. "Well it''s not technically war-" Jun began to say before getting cut off by Julius. "Yes! Let''s wage war on them!" Julius quickly said as he got rid of the fake act and decided to act as he truly felt. "You do realize that we''ll have to train you before we can go there right?¡­" Jun said which sucked all the joy out of Julius'' face. "Do I have to?" Julius asked as he began to complain. "Yes! How else are you supposed to even stand a chance against all those guards, let alone Steward himself," Jun scolded Julius. "Okay fine! But let''s start quickly, I don''t want to waste anymore time," Julius demanded. "Well you can start by sleeping," said Jun as they realized that it had began to get dark. "Okay then, first thing in the morning we do is train," said Julius as he went to sleep on the hard floor as he complained that his futon wasn''t there. Chapter 54 - Psycho ¡­ "So you''re finally awake," said Jun as he saw Julius'' eyes twitch as he opened them to greet the morning sun shine. "Do you not sleep? I''m actually being serious, I''ve never seen you sleep since the day I''ve met you," said Julius with concern. "Hmm, I sleep sometimes but not for long hours. That''s the benefit of cultivating through meditation, you end up not needing to eat for a while, I mean look at yourself, do you even remember the last time you ate?" Jun asked which shocked his student. "You''re right! I can''t even remember yet I barely feel hungry¡­ oh wait never mind," said Julius as he collapsed from hunger. ¡­ "My bad, I''ll go make something for you," said Jun as he ran out of the house and into the forest where he had first sent Julius to get food for himself. "I guess i overestimated the boy. I should be more careful of how I treat him," said Jun to himself as he went into the forest. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ "Wake up Julius! Your fried rabbit chops is ready," said Jun as he woke Julius up from his slumber from exhaustion. "What..?" Julius asked as he wondered what type of monstrous meal his teacher had made for his. However, there wasn''t a need to ask questions as Julius got exactly what he was told. It was fried rabbit meat on a steel skewer. "Thank you?¡­" Julius said as he accepted the only meal he could eat. While at first Julius expected it to taste horrible, he was ashamed to look at his master later on as it was surprisingly good. It almost made Julius wonder if his master was capable of using magic to make something look so horrible yet taste so good. "It''s good isn''t it?" Jun asked as he smiled proudly. "Surprisingly¡­ yes," said Julius as if he was disappointed in himself. "Great! Now that you''ve eaten, let''s get your training started," said Jun as he helped his student get up from from the ground. "What am I specifically going to do?" Julius asked as he wondered what type of training his master was going to make him partake in. "Well, we''re going to do a lot of focusing on you physical strength and since we want that to jump astronomically, how about¡­ bowlder smashing?" Jun offered to his student as if he had asked a normal question. "Umm¡­ is that even possible?" Julius asked his teacher. "Oh that''s right. You never really had a chance to explore your own strength since you rely on your second entity so much. How about you try not to let it take over when you''re scared and instead face your own challenges head on," Jun offered his student a piece of advice which Julius just nodded in agreement to. "Okay then, how about we take off for now," said Jun as he walked out of his house as he indicated that Julius should also follow him. Once outside, Jun continued to walk until he reached the new edge of the mountain top. The previous edge was a bit larger but due to Julius accidentally breaking off a part of it, the edge of the mountain top was a bit shorter. "We''re really high up here," said Jun as he looked down at the bottom of the ground which was barely visible due to the altitude they were at. "You''re right. Even though I''m not scared of heights myself, it''s a bit unnerving to imagine falling down from here," said Julius he looked down along with his teacher. "Yup¡­" said Jun before pushing Julius off the edge of the mountain. ¡­ "That''s it! I''ve had enough of this old man! I''m convinced that he''s a complete psycho!" Julius yelled in his head as he tried to find a way for him to survive before he hit the ground and got flattened into a human pancake. As Julius continued to fall, he began to feel tired as if he was going to go sleep but then, he remembered what Jun had said about not letting the second entity take over. While it wasn''t the least but wise to take the advise of the one who had thrown him off the cliff but nevertheless, he wanted to test out what would happen. Just like he originally thought, nothing happened. Julius just ended up hitting the ground really hard. Nothing special happened which would recuse him from hitting the ground. "Ow! Wait¡­ it doesn''t even hurt," said Julius as he got up from the ground as if he had just done a regular activity. "You see, nothing was going to harm you," said Jun as he himself landed on his feet from jumping off the mountain top unlike his student which had landed on his back. "Just so you know, it would be better if you just told me that I would be okay once I jumped off the cliff instead of pushing me without any warning," Julius argued. "Oh yes, I should''ve done that and you would''ve totally agreed to jump off a cliff even though until now, you that that a jump much less than that would kill you," said Jun sarcastically as he mocked Julius. "Fair enough I guess. How about we start my training already," said Julius as he attempted to change the subject quickly which made Jun sigh. "Sure, there should be a couple bowlders around here which I left after my students had went off to do whatever they wanted with their lives," said Jun as he began to look around in the forest under the mountain. "Found them!" Jun exclaimed as he pointed to a couple dozen large bowlders which had their top cut off. "Why is the top part of them missing?" Julius asked as he stared at the odd seeming bowlders. "Oh that¡­ I cut the tops of them so they''re easier to stack so my students could carry multiple of them at a time," said Jun nonchalantly. "What kind of monster would be able to pick up even one of these large rocks, let alone multiple of them at a time?" Julius asked himself as he stared at his master with a weird face wondering if his teacher would also turn him into a monster just like his other students. Chapter 55 - Density "Okay then, get to it," said Jun, indicating that he wanted Julius to pick up one of the many giant bowlders in front of him. "Are you sure I can pick it up?" Julius asked as he still doubted Jun even though he had just survived a full from a mountain top like it was nothing. "Did you not just survive falling off that mountain? Stop doubting yourself or you won''t make for a good king," said Jun as he lectured his student. "Fine fine, I''ll get started," said Julius as he walked over towards one of the bowlders with a slouched back to show that he didn''t want to do it and was instead being forced to do the task. Julius placed both his palms on the bowlders as he widened the space between his feet so he would be at his strongest when he picked up the rock. As he lifted the large bowlder, Julius'' face began to turn red from exerting so much of his strength as his nerves began to show just from trying to pick up the bowlder. ¡­ "Wait, is this thing hollow?" Julius asked as he stoped posing as is he was going to pick up the entire planet. In his one hand was just a single bowlder which Julius carried with ease. "It''s exactly as I feared, even this is too easy for you," said Jun in shame as how much of a good teacher he was that he might have made Julius reach a state of power which was too much for his own good. "So¡­ what are we going to do?" Julius asked as he tossed the bowlder like it was just a kid''s toy into the distance which caused many thees to fall down. "Oops," said Julius as he followed his master who had began to walk further into the forest in search of something which could actually challenge Julius. ¡­ "Try to pick this up," said Jun as he pointed towards a tiny pebble on the ground which Julius smirked at as if he was hearing a joke. "Sure master Jun, this will be so hard," said Julius as he mocked his teacher while leaning down to pick up the tiny pebble. To his surprise, he couldn''t do it. No matter how much he struggled, Julius wouldn''t be able to pick up the tiny pebble on the ground. However, Julius wouldn''t give in that easily as he placed his second hand on the ground and began to pull upwards with all his might until he was finally able to bring it 40 cm off the ground. "Wow! Good job! I didn''t think you could do it but you proved me wrong," said Jun in an overjoyed voice. "Why are you so proud? It''s just a pebble," said Julius as he continued to breathe loudly due to it taking a lot of his energy to hold the pebble. "What do you mean just a pebble? That''s a secret art enchanted pebble, it''s like you''re picking up a quarter of a while mountain," said Jun as he continued to be impressed by his student. "A-A mountain?" Julius asked as he began to smile, slightly proud of what he accomplished. However in that moment, Julius lost grip over the pebble and let go of it, only for him to drop it on his foot. "OW!" ¡­ "Ow!" ¡­ "ow!" ¡­ "ow¡­" Julius'' said could be heard all across the mountain range as Jun quickly moved the pebble off of Julius'' leg after deactivating the secret art. "Be more careful next time! But seriously, you''ve managed to accomplish so much in so little time. That''s why I cannot allow you to rest. You need to keep growing, for your own kingdom and¡­ for your futon," said Jun hoping that the last 3 words he said would encourage Julius. However, he was wrong¡­ as Julius was more than just encouraged as he began to to do arm curls with the pebble at first before beginning to run with the pebble in hand as if it was nothing even though his foot had basically taken the damage of 1/4 of a mountain falling on top of it. ¡­ "Master, please give me another pebble with the same weight as this one. I need to make sure my body is evenly trained," Julius requested to which Jun gasped before fulfilling his students request. <> After activating his secret art, Jun placed his index finger on another pebble before giving it to Julius. It was just as Julius hoped, both the pebbles were the exact same weight. With one pebble in each hand, Julius continuously ran across the forest endlessly while he kept talking to himself. "How dare you Steward, I thought you were one of the cool kings. You dare betray my trust?! I''ll have your head its the last thing I do! You could have taken anything except my futon but you still picked up the most priceless thing that belonged to me! Now just wait for me, your kingdom will turn into ruins soon enough, you''ll pay dearly for having the audacity to steal my most treasured object," said Julius as his face continued to grow with rage until he eventually didn''t even realize that he was holding the pebbles. All he thought he was doing was running in random directions with his fist clenched in anger. ¡­ "He''s been at it for 11 hours¡­ is he even human?" Jun asked himself as he hit Julius with a karate chop to the head which brought his student back from his thoughts into reality. "Yes master?" Julius asked wondering why his master had stopped him. "You''ve been running since morning until sun set, it''s time for you to get back inside to sleep while you cultivate," Jun told his student. "What do you mean, it''s still morning-" Julius began to speak before looking around to see that it indeed was dark. Seeing as his master was right, Julius stopped clenching his fists which allowed the augmented pebbles to drop onto the ground, in turn causing a miniature earthquake. "If his control over his strength is this bad right now, what will happen when he gets inside my house," Jun said to himself as he began to cry as he said farewell to his lovely home. Chapter 56 - Steward "Master Jun, I still don''t get it. Why would Steward take the scrolls just so we could go to him instead of just coming after me and kidnapping me?" Julius asked his master. "I see, we''re going to have to boost your intelligence as well. However, since you don''t know as of now, I''ll explain it to you. If Steward was to try to come to us, he would only be able to bring his best warriors to travel such a long distance. Without having a secret art such as my jade dragon, travel with large groups would be nearly impossible. As such, I alone could cost him a couple dozen of his best men. I might even be able to get him as well if he manages to slip up for a split second," said Jun as he attempted to brag to his student that he might be able to take on a ruler of a great kingdom and still come out on top. "On the other hand, if we were to go to his kingdom where he''s pulling all the strings and he has all the members of his military, it would be impossible to get out of there alive," Jun continued. "So if it''s that hard, how are we ever going to defeat him?" Julius asked. "Defeat him?! That was never the plan from the start," said Jun. "Wait what?! Then why am I going through all this training?" Julius asked as he grew worried and angry. "Look Julius, you''re very talented and you do work very hard but to defeat a ruler of a great kingdom, you would need to train everyday like you did today for a whole year," Jun explained to his student. ¡­ "So what if it''s a whole year? I can do it. I''ll keep training every day for a whole year then we can go and attack them and even win!" Julius proposed which made his master sigh. "The only problem with that is that Steward won''t give you that time. He''s not willing to wait a year for you to come to him so he would instead kidnap you once he grows tired of waiting and becomes desperate," Jun explained. "I still don''t see the problem with that. If I end up getting kidnapped, the other kings and queen will attack Steward together. Unless there''s something stopping them from doing so," Julius replied. "Well not technically but once you''re freed from Steward, the others will also make a move to capture you and the cycle repeats. That''s why we have to deal with Steward on our own," said Jun. "So what''s your plan?!" Julius asked in a complaining tone as Jun kept debunking but didn''t offer any plan of his own. "Well, I''m glad you asked because I do have a genius plan which will work marvellously. First, we train you until you''re ready to cause some damage to Steward''s kingdom but still get captured. Once this has been done, I will inform your father that not only has Steward taken the scrolls but has also kidnapped you. Knowing him and his strategic nature, he''ll come after Steward alone and manage to rescue you along with my scrolls and no one will learn about this event since your father will keep quiet so that you don''t get kidnapped by the others," Jun explained. ¡­ "That just sounds like my plan with extra steps!" Julius yelled at his master. "No it doesn''t, anyway, you should go to sleep and start cultivating for the night already," Jun tried to change the subject. "Whatever! By the way, what would happen if were to hypothetically defeat Steward?" Julius asked his master. "Well it''s not going to happen no matter how hard you try but if you were by some miracle to accomplish it, under kingdom law, you would be able to take control of his kingdom. However, there is a reason why the 9 rulers only get replaced when they die. That reason being that out of everyone in the world, not a single person can defeat them," Jun explained. "Wait, so why doesn''t one ruler challenge another and take hold of 2 kingdoms?" Julius asked confused as to why nobody else hadn''t thought of that. "Well, that would cause the balance of the kingdoms to go unstable so if one ruler tries to occupy more than 1 kingdom at a time, the other 8 would come after them," Jun replied as of that was an obvious answer. "I''m just asking hypothetically but if I were to some how defeat all of the 9 rulers, I would get to rule all the kingdoms as the sole king right?" Julius asked. "I guess so. We''re only speaking hypothetically though. Even so, if you were to take on the task of being a king, you would have to deal with making sure that all your citizens were taken care of unless you want a rebellion to occur. I don''t even understand why you''re so keen on becoming a king, it''s more work than fun. You barely have any time to spend time with your family," Jun explained. "What do you mean? My father spent plenty of time with me when I was a kid! You clearly don''t know what you''re talking about," Julius argued. "So he doesn''t know? How many things are his parents keeping a secret from him?" Jun asked himself as he began to grow infuriated as he learned that Julius didn''t know a lot about the world even at the age he was at. "Look Julius¡­ most kings and queen who have family usually don''t get the privilege of spending time with their family, so instead¡­ they either learn a cloning secret art or, once they have a child, they end up placing a figure head which will act as the child''s father or mother figure while the real ruler is elsewhere taking care of the kingdom from the back," Jun explained asked Julius acted as if he didn''t even hear a single world his master said. Julius was in complete denial, after all, what kind of parent would leave their child with another who their child would call "father" or "mother". Chapter 57 - One Vs. One "That''s not funny master Jun. You shouldn''t be joking about something like this," said Julius as he began to laugh. "Julius, I''m not treating you like a friend right now. I am your teacher and it''s my duty that you know everything which you need to know," Jun told his student in a stern tone. "But come on, my father wouldn''t do something like that. I''ve known him for my whole life," said Julius as tears began to flow out of his eyes while he continued to smile, trying to laugh in disbelief. Seeing his student in this state, Jun placed his palm on his student''s shoulder as he tried to calm him down. Jun expected a full blown out tantrum from his student and even thought that Julius would try to run away from the mountain. However, instead of that, Julius wiped away his tears as he looked at Jun with eyes of determination. "I understand, thank you for informing me. Master Jun, please give me the cloning secret art scroll, I would like to learn it," Julius said in a serious tone. "Well Julius, i don''t have any of the scrolls since we were robbed¡­ but there might be a way which I would be able to obtain the scroll," said Jun as he wanted to make anything which would cheer his student up happen. "You just try to go to sleep, I''ll go visit an old friend which has the scroll, I''ll be back by morning," said Jun as he walked out the door of his house while Julius went to lay on the hard floor in an attempt to sleep and cultivate. Luckily for him, he had exhausted himself from a whole day of running while carrying the augmented pebbles. ¡­ Jun called out to his jade dragon which came flying back to him before allowing his owner to ride on its back before taking off into the distance at speeds which he hadn''t gone at before. After only a couple minutes, Jun had arrived at a large kingdom which was a magnificent structural area which housed many rich and influential people. It was surrounded by an uneven circular wall which separated it from the dark distract. At the centre of the kingdom was a large multi building castle which was mesmerizing in the night sky. "You should be preparing to fight Henry so why? Why do you keep concerning yourselves with that boy," said Jun as he brought down his dragon from the sky into the large castle like structure without a care in the world as to how much damage he caused. Startled by the sudden appearance of a large jade dragon in the room, many people which looked like servants and butlers began to run away from the scene. After only a few minutes of waiting around, Jun was completely surrounded by the royal guards and other guards which were gathered to take down an unknown person who dared to attack a great kingdom in the dead of night. "It does not matter who you are, I as the captain of the royal guards of the sickle kingdom shall present your head before my king," said a man which carried dual sickle blades before charging at Jun as fast he possibly could. <> Using this secret art, Jun would be able to drastically increase his status points in all his aspects as he could have the physical capabilities to stand his own in the battle. "A cultivator through meditation? You don''t see those that often. This will be easy as long as I go for the kill first," said the captain of the royal guards from the sickle kingdom as he rushed towards Jun. However as he grinned while expecting to slice Jun''s head off clean, a sudden interruption occurred. For some reason, the captain wasn''t moving anymore and he didn''t see any blood on the ground. As he looked up, he saw Jun who had caught the sickle with his finger tips before it reaches his neck. "Is that all?" Jun said as he looked down at the captain as if he was nothing but trash before twisting and bending the sickle until it was completely useless. "Do you see your sickle? It''s completely useless, just like you in this battle. Now, tell me where the real Steward is before this entire castle takes a trip to hell," said Jun as he stared menacingly at the captain and then the rest of the guards. "Like hell I would tell you that. I would rather die here than give you such information," said the captain of the royal guards before moving away from Jun with a single leap. <> "Oh is that so? Don''t worry, I won''t be killing you but you said that you would present my head to your king right? So how about I present the heads of your wife and two daughters in front of you," said Jun as he scared the captain of the royal guards to a point where he didn''t even know if his heart was beating. "How do you know about them?" the captain asked in a trembling tone as he tried to ignore that Jun had just used a secret art which allowed to find every detain about a person. "Just tell me where Steward is and no one has to get hurt," said Jun which caused the captain to break and change at Jun once again with the sickle in his other hand. Unfortunately for the captain, Jun caught the blade once again before bending it to the point where is was unrecognizable. Once he had done that, Jun took the bent sickle out of the captain''s hand before holding the captain by the head and continuously punching him in the chest. "Just tell me where he is," Jun said as he continued to beat the captain while the other guards watched in fear. "N-never," the captain replied as he spewed up blood. "Let go of him Jun, this is a matter between me and you alone!" Chapter 58 - Scroll "Let go of him Jun, this is a matter between me and you alone," said a man with full golden armour which has engravings on it which flowed the colour dark green much like Mary''s bident except hers glowed the colour purple. In the man''s hands were golden sickles which had the same engravings as his armour. "Steward!" said Jun as he dropped the captain of the royal guards on the ground as he prepared to speak to Steward which had just came out of the crowd of guards near the staircase of the 3rd floor of the main castle. "Why isn''t the boy with you?" Steward asked asked as he began to walk towards Jun. "You should already know that I''m not here to settle the main matters right now. I only came here to retrieve a scroll from you, matter of fact, give me all the scrolls back and you can keep the shadow monster tier scrolls with you until I come here once again," Jun informed Steward. "You know I can''t do that. Either the boy comes here or you don''t get any of the scrolls," Steward replied. "Give it right now. Steward, I''m not messing around anymore, either I get the scrolls or your funeral will take place much sooner than expected," said Jun as he looked at Steward with eyes that meant business. "I guess we''ll just have to see about that. You know you''re out of your prime old man, you can''t defeat me," said Steward as he prepared to swing his sickle at Jun. "Then so be it," said Jun as he flipped back while activating 2 secret arts simultaneously. <> <> First, a layer of thick ice covered the entire floor which held the legs of everyone there in place before the second secret art activated which made lava balls come out of Jun''s hand and land on places where ice was wherever Jun directed them at. In doing so, Jun managed to melt the ice and create steam so he could hidden in the shadows as everyone''s vision became foggy. <> Jun used another secret art to make his hand change shape and form into a blade as he came in from the shadows while preparing to stab Steward. "You''ve used up a lot of your stamina from having to activate so many secret arts. How much longer can you go on before your old frail body fails on you," said Steward as he turned his head as his armour and blades continued to glow in the fog. "Got you," said Steward as he manages to cause a keep cut on Jun''s other arm before Jun''s hand blade could reach Steward. "I already told you Jun, you''re past your prime, it was a mistake to challenge me, specially in my home where you know I have my war armour," said Steward as the fog began to clear and Jun could be seen laying against a wall as he held on to the arm which had been cut. "I''ll let you live for now but if you come back here without the boy next time, I won''t be so generous," said Steward as he walked up to Jun with a look of disappointment as he expected more from his master. However even in his condition, Jun began to laugh hysterically which made everyone in the room think that he has gone mad from bleeding so much. "Perhaps you''ve forgotten your place. I was much too lenient when it came to your generation. You''ve even got the audacity to believe that you''re stronger than me. You''re nothing but an incomplete project," said Jun as he continued to laugh. <> <<->> ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ A few minutes later, Jun was standing up with his arm still bleeding but he looked completely fine. As for Steward, he was on the ground with his face pummelled and his armour completely destroyed. Most of the guards just continued to stand in horror as they couldn''t comprehend what had just taken place. "You!" Jun said as he pointed at the captain of the royal guards which barely looked alive. "Get me the box of scrolls, you can leave the rest of the scrolls here though, I''ll be coming back here another day," said Jun as he directed the captain of the royal guards which did as he was told. ¡­ Once Jun had everything he came for, he got on his dragon which was just watching from the side lines and prepared to leave. However, before he got on his dragon, Jun looked at Steward which stared back at him with his helpless eyes. Jun raised his middle finger at Steward before getting on his jade and leaving the kingdom. ¡­ The next morning, Julius woke up to see Jun who was sitting in the same room as him, being the living room where Julius slept even though there was one other room which Julius just used to store his belongings which he got from the kingdom before he left to train with Jun. When Julius looked at his teacher, he saw that he had bandages on his arm for some reason which instantly made Julius worry. "What happened?!" Julius demanded. "Oh this? I ran into some weak monsters and they managed to get to my hand before I realized it. I mean, my physical strength is pretty weak since I only cultivate through meditation," Jun lied as if he didn''t just go in the middle of the night to raid a kingdom, humiliate the captain of the royal guards there and also torment the ruler of it "I guess as long as you''re not seriously hurt it''s fine," said Julius with a sigh of relief. "Guess what though?! I managed to get you that scroll you asked for from my friend. I went to visit him at night and he luckily had it," said Jun as he didn''t want to inform Julius of what he actually did that night. "Thank you so much master Jun!" Julius replied as he accepted the scroll from his master who had shown it to him in his hand. "Wait, why did you even want it?" Jun asked which brought out a sinister grin out of Julius. Chapter 59 - Son "Wait, why did you even want it?" Jun asked which brought out a sinister grin out of Julius. "Well you said that you wanted me to get captured by Steward so I thought that instead of me going, I would sent a clone instead¡­" Julius offered. "Now that I think about it, it''s not a bad idea but why do you want to do that?" Jun asked his student. "Isn''t it obvious? I want to go train while Steward is busy thinking that he can use my clone as his own weapon," Julius said. "Fair enough. So what type of training do you have in mind?" Jun asked. "Well, I got to thinking last night and I came up with an idea. I was thinking that you should great an outfit which is weighed down to the same degree as the pebbles you gave me yesterday or more so that I can train while I live out my normal life," said Julius. "That''s¡­ actually a great idea. I''ve never tried something like that but it could actually work," said Jun as he raised his eyebrows in confusion as his student had actually made a suggestion which was useful. "But wait, since you''ll be training your body without doing anything, what do you plan on doing with the rest of your days? Maybe dungeon hunting? I can see that you thoughts things through," said Jun as he said words which never even came out of Julius'' mouth. "Umm, master Jun. That''s what I''ve been meaning to talk to you about. Since I''ll still be doing my usual training and still have free time¡­ I was thinking¡­ that maybe we could visit the other civilization on the continent side of the 9 kingdoms?" Julius asked as his heart pounded from worry that his master would scold him for even suggesting such a horrible idea. "Sure I guess, but why would you want to go there?" Jun asked his student. "Wait you''re not mad?" Julius asked in a confused tone. "No, why would I be mad? I''ve always wanted to go there myself and I can just use this as a an excuse. Plus, how dangerous can a group of people who don''t even cultivate be? It''ll be like a business trip," said Jun as he smiled at his student which brought ease to Julius. "Great then, let''s begin the preparations," said Jun as he began to walk out of the house. Seeing as his student wasn''t following him, Jun turned around confused. "Aren''t you going to come?" Jun asked which caught Julius by surprise for some reason. "Oh, you want me to tag along?" Julius asked before following his master onto the jade dragon which was waiting for them outside. "Where are we even going?" Julius asked. "Where else would we go? We''re going back to your kingdom to get supplies," said Jun as he turned to face his student who had just managed to get on the dragon. "No! I mean, no thank you. Is there a way for us to go to another kingdom," Julius asked. "Geez, do you hate your kingdom or something? Fine, we''ll just have to go to one of the smaller kingdoms then," said Jun as he forced his dragon to take flight. "Smaller kingdoms?" Julius asked. "Let me guess, you''ve never heard about them. The education department of the royal family must be horrible if you don''t know basic geography. Anyway, The great 9 kingdoms are at the centre of the over all great single continent which we have in this world. Outside of the great kingdoms is a great large circle right before the star shape of the continent begin to appear where thousands of smaller kingdoms are with their own peoples and cultures. "Really?! Then can we go there?" Julius asked in a very clearly excited tone. "Yes we can," Jun sighed before continuing. "I have connections with a few of them so I''ll be able to borrow a few gold coins and even some clothing for the both of us which look presentable so that we don''t stand out in the least when we go to the other 9 continents," said Jun which Julius just nodded to. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ After a while of flying, the jade dragon finally began to descend onto the ground towards a miniature version of the kingdoms which Julius had seen previously. As would be expected, the dragon headed towards the castle like building as Jun had connections with the ruler of the kingdom. After the dragon got close enough to the castle, Julius and Jun leaped off of Jun''s pet and landed on the front door of the castle where someone seemed to be waiting for them there. "Jun! It''s been so long! What would be the cause of this lovely visit?" Someone who was wearing a crown and a cape which was the colour of royal red and a white outline said as he walked up to Jun. That person was very clearly the king of the kingdom. To make things more obvious, there was a line of guards which stood at both sides of the castle entrance while the king was in the middle as he stood on the red carpet which stemmed from the castle entrance. "It had indeed been quite a while Allan. How have things been in the kingdom?" Jun asked. "Oh you know, things are still the same as the last time you were here. This kingdom has been at peace thanks to all your efforts. And who''s that behind you?" Allan asked. "Oh him? He''s my new student," Jun said nonchalantly. "S-Student?! I thought I would never see the day where you would accept another student. This is a magnificent sight," Allan said as he seemed both surprised and happy. "That''s actually why I can here today, I wanted to borrow some money and 2 suits for me and my student because we wanted to go somewhere but my student doesn''t want to go back to his own kingdom so we came here instead. Of course, just send the bill to Henry, after all, it''s his son''s expenses," said Jun. "H-His s-s-son?" Chapter 60 - Allan "Did I not mention that? Yes, this boy is Henry''s son," Jun replied to Allan. Hearing his words, Allan bowed to Julius immediately. "Greetings your majesty, it is an honour to be in your presence," said Allan which caught Julius off guard as he didn''t expect that type of treatment from a king specially since the rulers of the great kingdoms had never done anything close to that. "No no, it''s completely fine. You don''t have to bow or anything. I''ll be in your debt shortly so there''s no need to be so formal," Julius said nervously which made Allan raise his head once more. "Okay then, please follow me," said Allan as he headed inside the castle at which right before he entered, he spoke to one of the guards. "Please find the tailor and get him to us as fast as possible," Allan told the guard which ran off quickly as Julius and Jun followed behind Allan as he went inside the castle. While the 3 of them waited for the tailor to arrive, Jun and Allan began to talk about all the things they had done since the last time they saw each other. As for Julius, he just stood in the same spot as he listened to them taking endlessly until the tailor finally arrived like a hero which came to save Julius from boredom. The trailer quickly scanned both of them before shaking his head as if he had completely memorized what he needed to do. "Wait, can I come with you to see how the suit is made?" Jun asked in a rather suspicious tone. "That''s unnecessary but if you just want to watch then be my guest. I already have the exact size for the boy but the old man needs to have a new one quickly made for him, it should only take about 30 minutes at best so sit tight," said the tailor before going away towards the staircase of the castle as if he had a room stationed there. Of course, Jun went along with him while Julius was left standing there with Allan. "Please come with me sir," a maid said as she came up behind Julius. "Oh, okay," said Julius after getting startled for a moment as he had be surprised from the sudden voice behind him. He just followed her without asking any questions as being a maid at the castle probably meant that she could be trusted. After a while of going up the stairs onto the 2nd floor of the castle then walking around to find a room, the maid point Julius inside a room which was completely clean, meaning that it was a guest bedroom. After a short while later, the same made came back to hand Julius his suit. "Would you like me to help you put it on?" the maid asked. "N-no thank you. I''ll be fine on my own," Julius replied as he took her question to be very weird. After accepting the suit then closing the door to put on the suit, Julius came out of the room 20 minutes later with the suit put on as best he could. When the maid who was still waiting on him outside the door saw him, she quickly gave a look of disappointment before leading him back into the guest room. "My apologies prince Julius, I cannot allow you to be seen looking like this. Allow me to properly fix some things which you missed," said the maid as she fixed his shirt''s collar then properly tying his red tie. Next she smoothed out all the rough parts of the suit with her hands before pulling out a comb from her dress pocket which Julius hadn''t noticed before. Using the comb, the maid parted Julius'' hair in half and combed it to look more stylistic than an average bowl-cut middle part. In that moment, the maid which had been fixing all of Julius'' flaws reminding the prince of Liz who had taken care of him since he was nothing more than a baby. Having the maid there to oversee him and take care of him showed Julius how much he missed his home. Even so, he couldn''t go back yet, not in the shape he was in. He would only cause trouble for the kingdom which was why he needed to attain strength. ¡­ "Thank you," Julius said nervously as the maid finished fixing his mistakes. "It''s my pleasure," said the maid as she began to exit out of the room while also expecting Julius to follow behind her. Julius got the hint and went down the stairs with her. ¡­ "What took you so long!" a young tall man which wore a fancy black suit jeans along with a black shirt, black coat with a red tie in his neck. His black silky hair which was pulled back with a gel like substance made him appear to be more professional. ¡­ "Who is he?" Julius asked Allan which upon hearing Julius'' words burst out in laughter. "Come on, you''re joking right? How could you not know it''s me!" the man in the suit said. "I''ve never seen you in my entire life¡­" Julius replied with a straight face. "It''s Jun! I''m your master and teacher!" the young man yelled out. "Oh wow." "Mister Allan, are you sure you didn''t accidentally let a mad man into your castle on accident?" Julius asked. "No I haven''t young master. He indeed is Jun. He''s just in his true form right now," Allan replied. "True form?" Julius asked. "Yes, it''s my true form. I have a form which is my real body which never ages due to the rank of cultivation I''m on and I also have my old man body which is how my body would look if it did age. I prefer to use my old man body because it stops¡­" Jun said before stopping himself. "Anyway, with this body, I''ll be able to go where I promised you without looking weird," said Jun in a young man''s voice. "Oh that''s right, I forgot to ask, where are you two even going?" Allan asked out of curiosity. "Uh, we''re going to go to another one of the great kingdoms for a business trip with someone who might have a weapon I''ve been looking for," Jun quickly came up with a lie. Chapter 61 - Others While what Jun had said sounded suspicious, Allan had good faith in the person who had saved his kingdom long ago. As such, he didn''t bother interrogating Jun nor Julius as the 2 of them headed out of the castle and got on to the jade dragon which was waiting for them right outside of the castle entrance gates. Just as when the two of them came to the front of the castle, the guards which was made a straight line from both sides of the the red carpet were still there as would be expected. Once getting on top of the jade dragon, Jun allowed his pet to begin flying into the distance while Allan waved goodbye. "Master Jun, where are we going to go now?" Julius asked in an anxious tone. "We''re going to go to the magic wall of course. How else are we supposed to visit the other civilization in this world. Don''t worry, I took the liberty of borrowing gold coins from Allan. It doesn''t matter who they are, they would have to be insane to reject gold coins," said Jun as he pointed to his left pocket in his pants where there was a large pouch of gold coins. "Where even is the magic wall?" Julius asked in a confused tone. ¡­ "I don''t know," Jun replied. "WHAT?!" Julius yelled as he didn''t know if he should''ve been angry at his teacher or should''ve known better than to trust someone as brain dead as Jun. "Don''t yell, and anyway, all we have to do is continue to fly in a straight line until we see a wall," Jun said as he looked at Julius with a reassuring face. "At this point I don''t even know if I can trust you on what you said about the second civilization even existing," said Julius. "Relax, we''ll get there eventually. I''ve managed to prove myself as a trust worthy person many times so just trust me on this," Jun replied as he forced his dragon to fly faster. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ All while the two of them flew in the sky, Julius continued to think about how the other civilization would look like. "I wonder if they have 3 eyes, or maybe 4 fingers or even two heads. They probably eat with their mouths instead of using utensils," Julius thought to himself as he tried to imagine what people who didn''t cultivate looked like. To Julius anyone who didn''t know how to cultivate or even couldn''t do it in the first place was no better than an animal. In his mind, his own world was much superior to that which he was going to visit. "LOOK JULIUS! Do you see it?" Jun said as he pointed to something orange in the distance. Hearing those words, Julius rose his head up from the dragon''s back as he was attempting to sleep to look at what Jun was talking about. "Yes I see it! Is that the magic wall?!" Julius asked in excitement as he almost accidentally fell off the dragon. Realizing that they were so close to their goal, Jun allowed his dragon to fly even faster to reach their destination. Once they got close enough, Jun ordered his pet to make a landing right in front of the magic wall which spanned out endlessly. The place which the dragon had landed was a wasteland only composed of large hills and sand. "We''re going to be gone for a while so how about your go back home," said Jun as he got off his dragon and began to pulled his pet into his hands as the jade dragon began to decrease in size until is was completely gone. "So you CAN make it disappear into nothing," said Julius with surprised eyes. "Can you give me the scroll to learn the jade dragon summoning secret art when we get back?" Julius asked with puppy eyes as he tried to trick his master into giving him the scroll. "Nope, I''ll only give you the rest of the scrolls when you''re ready for them or when you complete your training," said Jun which put a look of disappointment in Julius'' face as he walked up to the magic wall. The magic wall was an extremely large cylindrical transparent wall which incapsulated all of the great kingdoms and the smaller kingdoms as well as he hid them from the other civilization. "So this is it huh? Julius, if this ends up being a fake wall and ends up killing me, please remember my name and engrave my legacy into your kingdom," said Jun as he let out fake tears. "I''m going with you idiot, now just try to go through it," said Julius. Hearing his words, Jun was a bit disappointed to hear that his student didn''t care for his safety. As last, Jun finally placed his hand forward and began to slowly push it through the transparent wall without expecting anything to happen. However, instead, the wall allowed Jun''s hand to pass through the wall with ease as if it was made out of water. Surprised at seeing this, Jun placed his entire body through the wall with Julius followed behind him as he closed his eyes if in fact there was something horrible waiting for them behind the magic wall. ¡­ "Where are we?" Julius asked as he opened his eyes to find that he along with Jun were in a dark alleyway. Confused as to why they were there, the two of them began to walk forward towards the exit of the alleyway. Once they got out of the alleyway, they were met by a large area which had so many things which they had never seen. There was large buildings which dwarfed the size of the castles which Julius has seen. To add on, those buildings looked to be constructed of only glass as well in Julius'' eyes. On the ground, there was roads where had separated sections for some kind of moving boxes which looked like more modernized caravans and humans.. The moving boxes or as Julius would later learn to be cars were moving all in one direction in one section and another direction on the opposite section. Chapter 62 - Conversion As Julius continued to look around at the magnificent modern world around him, he quickly realized that he and Jun were out of place. Although they had made an effort to wear presentable things in their world, they were nothing more than odd ducks in the second world. The other people there were wearing clothing much similar to what Julius had worn when he was sent off to train with Jun. The common attire was more casual clothing such as sweatpants along with a hoodie and a cap. Others wore shirts and shorts but not a single person wore a suit such as Julius and Jun which made them stand out even more, and yet, Jun didn''t look even the least bit bothered as they were in the second world to secretly infiltrate and yet they were standing out so much from the rest. Right as the two of them had made it out of the alleyway a group of 3 girls approached Julius and Jun who were standing there baffled at what they were seeing. While the 3 girls had initially approached the both of them, they looked to be more interested in Jun who was in his true form. "Hey there, my friend over here thinks you''re cute and-" one of the girls began to speak to Jun before he interrupted her. "Cute? You dare to belittle me?" Jun questioned her as there was a clear difference in the terminology they two worlds used and yet they spoke in the same language. "No no, not in cute as in she thinks you''re a baby, she think you''re good looking," the girl corrected herself as she pointed to her friend which she spoke for who was looking down at the ground with embarrassment in her face. Hearing those words Jun got an evil face as he turned around to face Julius. "You see that! Now I''m the one who''s hogging all the attention unlike the last time where we went to the 10th continent," said Jun as he arrogantly bragged to Julius. "Umm, Stacy, are you sure you like him? I mean his looks aren''t bad but it seems like he''s lost it," the girl who was speaking for her friend asked the one which liked Jun. The embarrassed girl just nodded which made her other 2 friends sigh in disappointment as if Jun wasn''t listening to them. "My apologies, this is Julius, I happen to be baby sitting him," said Jun as he pointed towards Julius as he didn''t want to reveal the actual reason there was a 14 year old boy beside him. Of course, he couldn''t tell anyone that he was raising a monster which will eventually rule the world. "Oh I see, that''s fine then, just give her your number and you can go out another day," the girl who spoke for her friend told Jun. "Number? Go out?" Jun asked as he had never heard those words used in the context which they were used in that moment. "Yes, is there a problem with that?" the girl who spoke for her friend told Jun. "Sorry there much be a miscommunication happening, what do you mean by number and going out?" Jun asked hoping that he wasn''t missing out on some crucial information. Hearing his words, the 3 girls continued to grow puzzled as they didn''t know where a person as clueless as Jun could''ve came from. "Are you seriously saying that you don''t have a cell phone?" the girls asked simultaneously. "No¡­" Jun replied hoping that he wouldn''t get yelled at. "Look mister, if you don''t like me just say so. There''s no need to lie this much," the girl who liked Jun finally spoke. Hearing all this go down, Julius finally stepped in as he couldn''t take listening to them continue to exchange in meaningless conversation. "My apologies for the convenience but as the baby sitter for my family, he is not aloud to carry what you call a cell phone. In fact, this is the first time which the two of us have been allowed to go outside due to it being my birthday wish. So please try to help him out," said Julius as he tried to end things as quickly as possible so they could start on the mission. "Oh wow, are you really a baby sitter for a rich but strict family? That''s understandable, so would you like us to help you buy a phone or would that be against the rules?" the girl which liked Jun asked. "It wouldn''t be a problem. I''m sure that my employers would find it in their heart to allow me to posses such a thing. Although I must ask, would it be okay to pay in gold coins?" Jun asked. ¡­ "Oh wow, so he''s rich-rich," the 3 girls all thought to themselves realizing that Jun was so wealthy that he didn''t pay for things with actual money and instead used gold itself. "Umm, well it would be better for you to go exchange the gold for real money so you don''t get scammed," the girl which liked Jun said, her name being Stacy. "Sure, let''s go do that then," said Jun as he happily agreed as the 3 girls began to lead the way. "Why do I feel like I''m being forgotten about?" Julius asked himself as he reluctantly followed behind Jun and the others. ¡­ After arriving at the store which exchanged gold for money, Jun went up to the counter and placed the pile of gold coins in the pouch which he had received from Allan before speaking to the cashier who he along with the 3 girls were speechless. "Sorry, it''s probably not much," Jun apologized which continued to baffle the people around him expect Julius of course as they wondered how much wealth Jun had. "Sorry sir but this seems a little too suspicious, I''m going to have to call in my boss to examine the pieces which you brought here," said the cashier before going toward the door behind him and calling an elderly man who came out without even bothering to care as he believed that what Jun brought was fake gold coins. Chapter 63 - Real ¡­ "I-IT''S REAL!" the old manager of the store yelled out as he almost had a heart attack. He quickly inspected all of the other gold coins as well and they were all real. "Timmy! Get all our funds out right here!" the boss yelled out as as told his cashier. The cashier quickly ran back into the room before coming out of there with a locked safe. "Look mister, I don''t know who you are but I''ll be able to offer you about 2 million in cash," the old manager said which perplexed Jun but seeing this, Stacy stepped in. "It''s the money most people use to buy things. It''s like little strips of paper," Stacy explained. "Oh, thank you," said Jun with a gentle smile which clearly had an affect on Stacy as he looked at the ground from embarrassment. ¡­ "Who even is this man? This isn''t the lame master Jun I know. I should convince him to take his previous form," Julius thought to himself as he watched what was going down. "Anyways, what do you say, do you want to trade in all of your money for now? I''ll even place it in a suitcase on the house!" the old man offered. "On the house means that it''ll be free," Stacy whispered as she was still embarrassed which Jun just replied to her with a nod. "Okay then, thats fine by me," said Jun as he shook the old man''s hand in agreement. After the old man placed all the cash in the suitcase and handed it over to Jun, the group of 5 left the store to go on with the rest of their plans. "Well, you two can go get Jun a phone and then have fun with your date. We''ll be leaving you alone," said the 2 girls as they waved goodbye to Stacy as Jun. However as they turned around, they were greeted by Julius who had a dead expression as if he couldn''t care less about anything they were doing. "Oh right, who is he again?" one of the girls asked. "Once again, his name is Julius. I babysit him. Actually, the gold coins I got was something like an allowance for him," Jun said as he explained who the 14 year old kid in the suit was which shocked the 2 other girls as if they had insulted royalty when in fact that was what they had actually done. "Well that makes things a bit difficult then because we can''t let him disturb your date but we can''t also leave him stranded because he''s an important figure," the two girls thought to themselves. "How about this then, we will take Julius to the arcade and you two can still enjoy your day. Let''s all meet back here by 10:00 pm. Don''t worry, we''ll cover Julius'' expenses. Stacy, make sure that he doesn''t open the suitcase in front of a lot of people or he''ll get robbed," the two girls said as they left Jun and Stacy off while they turned their attention towards Julius with their star shaped eyes as if they were going to try to start a connection with Julius so that they could get money from his family in the future¡­ that was actually what they were thinking. "Hey there Julius, since we already know your name, we better introduce ourselves. I''m Jessica and this is Emily," the girl who had initially spoke for Stacy first introduced herself and then her friend. "I doubt that you know what an arcade is so let''s just go there and you''ll see for yourself what is looks like," said Jessica as the two girls began to lead the way into a large glass building which even had doors which opened without having to be touched. Seeing that mesmerized Julius beyond belief. Next, they went inside a small metal room of some kind which had a lot of numbers on it which when they were pushed, they began to glow. However, that wasn''t the most interesting part as after the doors of the room closed, once they opened, Julius would be on a different floor of the building. While Julius didn''t bother in the least to give Jessica and Emily the time of day, he looked so intrigued by every thing which was anything related to machinery. "We''re finally here," said Jessica as she walked into a large open area of the building which had glowing lights of all colours and was full of people which were stationed at odd box looking things which looked to have something on them. Jessica and Emily went up to a cashier before giving him some paper which looked similar to the cash that Jun had received from the gold to cash store. In exchange for the cash, the cashier gave Jessica and Emily a cup which looked to be filled to the brim with bronze coins which the handed to Julius. "What should I do with this," Julius asked in a confused tone which the two of them simply smiled at him before leading him to an odd looking box thing and told him to place a coin in the slot which the machine had. "What do I do next?" Julius asked after he placed the coin inside. Hearing his words, Emily handed Julius a toy hammer before instructing him. "Just use this toy hammer to hit the animal which comes out of the little holes. But don''t hit it too hard, you looked like a strong boy," Emily said in a sarcastic tone as she would speak to any other child. So Julius did as he was told, of course he knew that he needed to hold back against the machine as he could very easily cause the building to crumble. After the first animal popped out of the hole, Julius quickly moved his hand and managed to hit the animal but due to him being surprised, he managed to hit the animal a little to hard, cause a little crack on the little animal which Julius and the two girls pretended to ignore. ¡­ Chapter 64 - Arcade Julius continued to play the arcade game which allowed him to hit the animal figure which looked to be metal. After almost breaking it with his first strike, Julius weakened himself as he continued to play the game so that he wouldn''t accidentally cause too much damage. Obviously, Julius didn''t even miss the animal even once as his speed was much higher than that of someone who didn''t train. He was able to quickly perceive where it would come out from then move his hand in that precise spot then repeated that process. This went on for what seemed like 30 minutes as the game only stopped once the player missed and it would keep increasing the speed until the player lost. Even so, Julius'' speed far surpassed that of simple technology constructed by humans and was easily able to match the movements of it. At one point, Julius even yawned in boredom. After going at it for 10 more minutes, Julius put down the hammer as he had gotten bored of the game and turned around to face Jessica and Emily however when he did so, Julius realized that his skillful display at the game he was playing had managed to gather a lot of people around him. ¡­ "Hello?" Julius said wondering why so many people were there as he looked around for Jessica and Emily which were in the crowd baffled as some random kid who had never even seen an elevator let alone played an arcade game managed to go on a game for 40 minutes while others were barely able to keep up for 5 minutes at best. Once Julius gave up on his own free will, everyone began to applaud him as they watched the endless amount of tickets which came out of the machine. Julius had even managed to catch the eyes of some of the workers and yet, he didn''t understand why they were all there. Seeing as Julius finished playing that one game, Jessica and Emily quickly stepped up to take him to another game after he took the tickets which he won. "Umm, am I supposed to take those things with me?" Julius asked. "Yes Julius, those are your rewards for managing to keep up with the game for this long. Most people aren''t able to play for this long which is why a lot of people are staring at you," said Jessica as she watched Julius pick up his tickets. "Those tickets are what you use to buy prizes once you''re ready to leave the arcade. I''ll show you how to do that later but what do you say to playing another game for now?" Jessica continued as she led him to another game. ¡­ Julius continued to play game after game for about 30-40 minutes each and only stopped when he was bored. There was not a single game which he couldn''t play to a point where it baffled all the spectators. Julius ended up getting treated like a king in there as he managed to gather so many people around him which watched him with disbelief. However once Julius finished one of his games, he noticed that Jessica and Emily where no where to be found. Not wanting to cause a scene, Julius didn''t call out to them but instead began to look for them on his own until he found them talking to 5 guys off in the distance where there weren''t many people. Julius just assumed that the games in that area weren''t popular but nevertheless he walked towards Jessica and Emily to ask them why the had left him there on his own. Without saying so much as a word to the other guys, Julius faced Jessica and began to speak to her as he interrupted one of the guys that was speaking to her. "Hey why did you leave me all alone there? You know that I''m not familiar with this place!" Julius complained to her. ¡­ "Who''s this runt? Get out of here, can''t you see that grown ups are talking?" the man which was talking to Jessica said in an angry tone. "Jessica, do you know this man?" Julius asked her, totally ignoring the man which had talked to him. Hearing Julius'' question, Jessica shook her head in disagreement. "Don''t ignore me while I''m talking to you," said the man which had been ignored by Julius before holding Julius by the head and forcibly turning him around before preparing to punch Julius. ¡­ "Does he really think that he could beat me? A regular human with no status point training and no cultivation thinking it could defeat me? I should mess with him," said Julius as he raised his hand forward in a fist like motion, making it so that his fist collided to the man''s fist. ¡­ "What''s with this kid?!" the man grunted as he pulled his hand back after hitting something which was harder than an iron wall. Seeing this take place got the attention of the other 4 men which looked like they were going to try to take Julius on all at the same time. "Wait hold on! Before you attack, please take note of what had just happened. Your friend tried to punch me and I countered yet he''s the one that can''t feel his hand. So think long and hard before you attack me," said Julius which upon hearing his words, the 4 of them bowed in apology before taking their friend who broke his arm to the hospital. ¡­ "What was that? Is your hand made out of metal or something?" Emily asked. "Hmm not really, let''s just say that I''ve been training my whole life for a competition which is why my body is this strong," said Julius as he clearly lied but Emily and Jessica didn''t bother asking any more questions. Seeing as it was getting late, Jessica took Julius towards the exit of the arcade which he got to cash in all his tickets and ended up with many large stuffed toy animals which Jessica and Emily helped him carry back to the meeting place where at the same time, Jun and Stacy were making their return from a long day. Chapter 65 - Figure As Julius along with Jessica and Emily continued to walk towards Jun and Stacy, Jun began to wave towards the others so that they knew that hun and Stacy were there. After reuniting, Stacy along with her friends said goodbye to Jun and Julius before leaving in the direction which Julius had come from. ¡­ "How much information have you gathered on this world?" Julius asked his master. "It was as we thought, this species of humans bid indeed very weak when it comes to strength. Even you could take on every single person they have in hand to hand combat at the same time and still win. However, I have made a new discovery. They have weapons which can cause enough damage to completely wipe at least 1/4 of a whole great kingdom. And it''s not like there area only one of them. There are thousands of them and if unleashed at us, we could get wiped from this planet. They are far more advanced than we are. While we had just recently been introduced to gun machinery, apparently they''ve had them available for over 400 years. In a war where both sides had equal preparation time, we would get completely annihilated," Jun said which broke Julius'' heart but also brought fear into it. Even the great kings and queen could stand no chance against the technology which this civilization of humans had. In exchange for sacrificing cultivation, they were able to come up with things which were much more powerful than any of the kings or queens of the great kingdoms. "So how do my 5 subjects stand up against these weapons which you speak of?" Julius asked as in trying to compare the actual strongest creatures from his world to what the new world had to offer. "I''m sorry Julius but even they might not be able to survive. However we still have one hope. That hope being you. For now we''re safe but if you wish to one day take control or become allies with this other world, you''ll have to go to the library of the limitless and take every scroll that they have to offer then absorb them," Jun informed Julius. While to others it might have looked like the two of them were fooling around, they had actually been researching the new world. Having Stacy, Jessica and Emily as their personal guides made their journey much easier and within one day, they were able to gain as much information about the world as they would have gotten in a month if they had tried to do it on their own. "Jun are you sure that even with the library of the limitless that I''ll be able to stand a chance against the weapons that these people have?" Julius asked as the two of them began to walk towards a nearby hotel which he had found out about while going on his date with Stacy. "To be perfectly honest, I''m not sure that even with all the scrolls that you would be able to survive, even so, many people will die in the process," Jun replied to his student. "Then so be it," Julius grit his teeth as he watched Jun give the cashier at the hotel the money she asked for. Of course she was baffled by the amount of money Jun had I the suitcase but nevertheless, she handed him his room key. Once inside the room, Jun dropped his suitcase on the ground and collapsed on his bed since there were two beds in the room, one for him and one for Julius. "Julius, about what you said earlier. What did you mean by ''so be it''?" Jun asked. When Julius had said those words, he was talking about confronting his magical powers since he knew that he had them. Even when the glowing figure took over, Julius knew that it used a magical spell which conformed that he had magic. Julius still didn''t want to rely on magic as it was forbidden for a reason and yet it was the only way that he could match the strength of the new world. As such he said those words to himself but accidentally said them out loud. Of course he was not going to tell Jun that he had magic as even if he was his master or friend. Julius would be executed if he indeed had magic. "I meant that I was going to train like I have never done before. Speaking about that, you forgot to chance the weight of my suit so first thing in the morning, make my suit heavier," said Julius as he himself collapsed on his bed before going to sleep so he could cultivate in his sleep. However unlike the previous nights which Julius went to sleep, something different happened. Although the continues to cultivate in his sleep, he was no longer in the calm sea but instead back at the empty dark space where his white glowing figure somehow always was. "So you''re finally ready to accept my powers? You wish to gain magic and all the heaven-tier scrolls right?" the white figure spoke to Julius for the first time which was shocking to Julius but he still answered. "If you''re the one who has that magic, yes I would like to have it," Julius replied. "No! You''re far too weak to be given magic. I cannot pass on such a valuable thing onto a creature which I do not deep worthy," said the white figure. "So what is it that you''re saying? Are you telling me that you''re going to continue using my body as you wish and still not going to obey me? You''ve got a lot of nerve, you realize that I could tell people that I have magic and I would be killed along with you, right? And don''t even try to make up some lie because I know that to pass you to another user, it must be done through a magical potion or pill," Julius said as he grinned from outsmarting the white figure. "You do make a good point but there are a couple flaws with that," the white figure replied to Julius in a disappointed tone. Chapter 66 - Flaws "What do you mean flaws?" Julius asked as if the white figure had lied to him. "While it is true that for me to get passed on to another user, it needs to happen through a potion or pill, it doesn''t mean that I can''t take over your obey and create the potions then in the last moment move myself into said potion before the next user drinks it. That way, you wouldn''t have control over anything and you won''t be able to stop me," said the white figure. Although it seemed like Julius was cornered, he still had one last thought. While at the castle he wasn''t forced to indulge in academic studies all that often, he was forced to learn basic king etiquette as he was next in line to rule that kingdom. That said, he needed to acquire negotiation skills and the ability to think on the spot which came in handy at this precise moment. ¡­ "Okay then do it. I mean Jun should be at the skill which you''re seeking. Even if you think he''s too weak, you can take over one of my subjects from the 10th continent. They''re already at rank 20 so you can''t complain," Julius said as he had figured something out. "Well, there''s no point in arguing. I can tell that you figured out why I''m assigned to be with you. It''s annoying but it has to be you and you should already know why that is," the white figure said to Yuki. "It''s because I, as the prince of the greatest kingdom in the world would have the resources at my disposal to reach my maximum potential and also build strong allies. All to defeat a single person who is referred to as the hero, right?" Julius asked. "That''s exactly right. There''s no one else better for the job. I thought about taking one of you subjects, that being Ian but he doesn''t have the willpower that you do. To add on, in the future, you''ll easily surpass him on your own, without my help," the white figure replied. "If that''s the case, why do you refuse to give me magic?" Julius asked. "Like I said, you''re not ready to use it. Magic actually has a lot of draw backs on your body as it drains it of most of its stamina. It''s like having to learn secret arts by the chanting method. If you choose to do that, they consume your stamina but for you, you''re able to use secret arts easily due to me just consuming them for you," the white figure explained. "Speaking of secret arts, is there a limit on how many of the scrolls you can consume?" Julius asked. "Not really. I''m pretty sure I can consume and endless amount of scrolls," the white figure replied which brought a smile to Julius'' face yet Julius still had another question. "What about the heaven tier scrolls, are there more of them and how many can you consume," Julius asked expecting there to be a couple more of the heaven tier scrolls and for the white figure to be able to absorb every single one of them. "There are a lot of those scrolls but they''re in the library of the limitless. However, I can not consume a single one of them. The only one which I know is one that I learned through the chanting method. The heaven tier scrolls are beyond this world, hence the name that they have," the white glowing figure replied which both disappointed Julius but also made him more curious. "Wait, I thought that they were supposed to be erased from this world just like magic, so why would the library of the limitless have them?" Julius asked. "That''s because you''re thinking of the fake library. Let me make you a deal, if you manage to impress me, I''ll allow you to go into the real library of the limitless and even might grant you some magic," the white figure offered. "Agreed," said Julius and right after he said those words, he woke up back at the hotel. "So you''re finally awake," said Jun as he was sitting on his bed while drinking coffee. "Good morning master," said Julius as he yawned. "Well, while you were sleeping, I managed to find out a couple more things. There''s this thing called the internet and you can ask it anything and it''ll give you the answer for it. It''s like having a magical item at your disposal. Anyway, I did some research and you should probably know about them," Jun said before beginning to explain. "Sorry master Jun but I''m not ready to learn right after I wake up. I want to do something," said Julius. "Oh really, what do you have in mind?" Jun asked his student. "What would you refer to as an impressive feat for me to accomplish?" Julius asked his master. "Well that''s an odd question but I''ll entertain it. You''ve been doing pretty impressive stuff so far but I have an idea which just might allow you to surpass even the great kings and queens in one to two months. However, that''s only when it comes to physical strength since you''ll need to get the fighting experience from going to dungeons and fights monsters in the wild. Even so, if you get too strong, it wouldn''t matter how masterful someone is in their technique, all it would take from you is one hit and your enemy would be defeated so I say that we go monster hunting before you get too strong," Jun suggested. "So we''re going to go back to our world now?" Julius asked. "I guess so. We''ve already got what we came here for. There''s no need for us to stay. We can come back after a while to see if we can get our hands on some samples of their weapons," said Jun as he got himself ready to leave with the suit case in hand. Julius followed him to the door as he wanted to get started training as well.. However once Jun opened the door, he was greeted with a large mob of people which looked pretty violent and they all had their eyes at Julius. Chapter 67 - Million "Hey, is that the kid that got in your way?" the giant man in the front asked as he looked back to face one of the members in the back which nodded in agreement. After a closer inspection, Julius remembered who the person that nodded was. While he had a cast now, he was the one which tried to fight Julius. "Hey there kid, you should learn to mind your own business but since you decided to hurt one of our own, we''ve come to give you some pay back," the tall man in the front asked. "Hey Julius, do you know these guys?" Jun asked with a blank face. "I know a couple of them. They were annoying the 2 girls which I was with yesterday so I got in their way. But they stooped so low as to hit a child so I taught them a lesson and I guess they came back thinking that they could win with greater numbers," Julius explained which made Jun sigh in disappointment. "You shouldn''t meddle with the matters of this world, now you''ve caused quite a lot of attention to be place on us," Jun scolded his student. "My apologies. I''ll be sure that he is punished adequately. Thank you for informing me about this," said Jun as he prepared to close the door before the man in the front forced it back open. "We''re not here to negotiate. That boy hurt one of my men and I won''t settle until I hurt him just as he did to own of my own," said the man in the front with a full black beard. "Okay then sure, go ahead but before you attack think about this. Do you not find it weird that this child manages to break the hand of a grown man without even trying? Maybe he''s such a normal kid but how would I know," Jun sarcastically warned the tall man. "I can do that too. I guess it''ll be a test to see which one of us is the strongest! I swear upon my gang''s pride I shall break every bone in this child''s body!" the tall man in the front said as he charged towards Julius with his fist clenched as he prepared to blast the 14 year old boy into oblivion as the people behind him cheered. ¡­ *5 seconds later* ¡­ "Please forgive me for stepping out of line. I should have taken your advice, I shall take me leave now," said the tall man as he ran out of the hotel room with his gang as he rushed to the hospital with his broken hand. "Okay then, let''s leave before more of them come after us," said Jun as he along with Julius left the hotel and began to make way towards the alleyway which the magic wall was so that they could return to their own world. As they were talking though, Jun spotted a sign that said "boxing for cash" which had 2 figures on the glass window of the store that looked to be fighting. The building itself looked massive and had nearly 20 to 30 floors which were all contrasted of glass in Jun''s eyes. It was clearly a fancy place. "Hold on Julius. I want to see what this place is about," said Jun as he took a quick detour into the store where there looked to be a cashier stand alone in the entire floor. To the right were 3 elevators and to the left was a door which looked to have stairs behind it. "Excuse me ma''am but what is it that this place does," Jun asked with Julius standing behind him as he awaited eagerly to return to his home world so he could train. "Well in here, people come to fight and who ever wins gets money. The more people that watch, the more money there is to offer. Of course I wouldn''t recommend it for someone such as yourself as you look too skinny for the other fighters. You would probably just end up getting hurt," the cashier said to Jun. "Don''t judge a book by its cover," said Jun under his breath before continuing. "Oh you''re probably right. If that''s the case, would you happen to offer any training classes. Not for me, but for him," said Jun as he brought Julius forward. "Hmm, he looks a bit weak but with the proper training, he could be trained to be a fighting machine in no time," the woman said before adding on. "Of course you''re going to have to pay a hefty price for that," said the woman as she noticed the expensive looking suits which Julius and Jun had. "I understand, how much will it be?" Jun asked. "Well it depends on which trainer you want. There is the beginner deal for 50 dollars an hour. Intermediate deal for 200 dollars and hour and for the expect deal, I''ll cost you 500 dollars an hour," the woman laid out the prices that they had. Of course she made them a bit more expensive so that she could take a cut of the money for herself but who would know since Jun looked to be very rich. "Look lady, I''m not looking for him to become some expert amongst other experts. I want him to become the strongest creature to ever live. How about I make this deal for you. I''ll pay 1 million in cash right now and pay another 9 million tomorrow. I want you to use every connection that you have to gather the best trainer for him and turn him into a fighting machine within one month," said Jun which almost caused the woman at the register to have a heart attack. "O-O-One million? DEAL! Please consider it done," said the woman before quickly rushing to call someone on the phone. "Hello boss. I know you said not to call unless it was important but it looks like it is important. We''re looking at¡­ 10 million in profit," said the woman as she whispered. Not even 20 seconds later. A man came out of the side ways door which looked to have stairs in it. It looked like he had just ran a marathon at the speed of lightning. "I''ll be taking over things from now on," said the man as he quickly began to breathe heavily from exhausting himself during his journey to the bottom floor at such impressive speeds. Chapter 68 - Training After some talking and negotiating, the boss of the building came to an agreement with Jun that he would find the best trainers in the world and turn Julius into a fighting machine but he would need 3 months to do it instead of the initial 1 month that Jun wanted. As for the money, Jun payed 1 million up front and also gave the rest of the money to the boss so that Julius'' life expenses would also be taken care of which the boss gladly accepted. The next day, just as Jun said, he returned with the rest of the 9 million which he said he would pay as he has gone off to his own world, borrowed more gold from Allan which he made Henry pay him back for later on. Seeing as all the money had been taken care of, Jun left Julius at the care of the boss who gave Julius his own room in the building while he awaited for the trainer which he asked to come as fast as possible due to the money which was at hand. The following day after, the trainer urgently came to the building to fulfil his duty. However before the trainer had come, Jun had used one last secret art on Julius which would momentarily make most of not all of Julius'' strength disappear. This secret art only worked if the victim agreed to it which Julius agreed to as it would make him less overpowered than he already was. Seeing as Julius was supposed to focus on technique alone instead of strength, that was what the trainer did. He didn''t bother to ask the client questions or give them advice as he wanted to stay on the good side of anyone who would have money to throw away that easily on some random weak kid. As the trainer expected, while he placed Julius and asked him to perform some basic techniques, Julius had quite a lot of trouble doing even the most easy things however as the days passed, Julius began to absorb the information like a sponge and began to preform the more complex moves with ease. This pattern continued to grow until there was nothing left for Julius to learn and yet there was so much time left. As such, the trainer called upon other skilled trainers which came along just to watch the rise of a monster and help raise it as well. Even with all the books and information which was available, Julius was picking stuff up too quickly. He even learned ancient martial arts which seemed to have been lost over time. With one month remaining until Julius'' training would come to an end but nothing for him to learn, Julius was sent to a training camp far off in the mountains. While it was a challenge for him to get accustomed to the training style which they used being to fight with a long ranged wooden pole that taught him to dodge quick attacks while also teaching him to attack quickly as well. The mountain training took Julius about 2 weeks which left him with another 2 weeks remaining which his main trainer used to fly him to another continent and send him to a school which taught the art of sword battle. While it would take several years for a person to master the art, it took Julius 10 days to master. After the flight back to the building which Jun was supposed to pick Julius up in, there were 3 days left which by that point, all the trainers had exhausted themselves and just allowed Julius to watch all the recorded fights from the best boxers which the world had to offer. Of course during those 3 months, Julius continued to cultivate in his sleep which allowed him to rank up several times. The only thing which Julius missed out on was strength and speed training as Jun hadn''t placed his density augmentation secret art of any of the clothing which Julius had. However in the up side, Julius would soon be able to show what all his training would result in. The reason which Jun chose to make Julius train in the new world instead of his own world was because the people of the cultivation world didn''t have to rely of technique since if him they had strength, they would win and that was how things worked. However, just to make sure that Julius would be unquestionably the strongest creature alive, Jun forced him to learn technique and also attain strength. It was indeed the birth of a monster unlike any seen before. After 3 more days, Jun finally came back to the building to pick Julius up so that they could go back to his own world and focus on his own training. Right at the sight of Jun, the cashier quickly called for Julius to come down from his room as Jun had finally come to pick him up. After about 10 minutes an elevator door opened and right away, Jun could tell that Julius was the one inside it. Such intoxicating aura which resembled that of death itself. There was definitely a change in how Julius was 3 months ago to that of now. Even monster would he helpless in the face of the demon called Julius. As Julius exited the elevator, he looked at Jun with eyes which looked so dark that it felt as if he was being swallowed by evil. "Hello there Julius," said Jun in a deep voice as he stared at his student back which had grown in height and also put on some muscle due to his eating regiments. "Hi master Jun! I finished my training," said Julius in a cheerful tone which shocked the cashier who thought that there would be a death match between Julius and Jun after seeing their stare down. "How was it? Did you learn a lot of things? Because I''m pretty sure your father is getting sick of us spending all his money and is hoping to see some results soon," said Jun as he himself became cheerful again. Chapter 69 - Eat After Julius explained what he had spent the past 3 months doing to his master, the two of they headed back to the alleyway where the magic wall was which kept the 2 worlds separated from each other. "Master Jun, what did you do for these 3 months while I was training?" Julius asked his teacher. "It was nothing special. I had to tell Henry that I was giving all the gold to some random trainer in a small kingdom since I couldn''t tell him that i was sending you in the other world because I''d he found out, he would surely kill me. After I dealt with Henry, I went back to my house to relax as I waited out the 3 months," said Jun. "What about Stacy¡­?" Julius asked his master. "Who''s that?" Jun asked with a blank face. "Give me your phone," said Julius as he took the cellphone which Jun had brought along with him to pick Julius up. Due to Julius spending a whole 3 months in the other world, he was able to learn to use technology to a certain extent. "I feel horrible for her having to fall for someone like you," said Julius as he showed Jun his phone''s screen. "She called you multiple times and even texted you. How could you not know this?!" Julius scolded his master. "Again, who is Stacy?" Jun asked as he completely forgot about the girl who he had met on the first day which he came to the other world. "Ooh, I remember now, let''s get out of here before we accidentally run into her," said Jun as he quickly walked through the transparent orange walls which only he and Julius looked to be able to see. "I doubt that you would run into her again seeing as how vast this world is," said Julius as he also walked through the magic wall where Jun''s Jade dragon was waiting for them in the wasteland. "Do you want to relax for now?" Jun asked as he climbed his pet. "No! I still haven''t forgotten what Steward has done. I plan on getting my revenge on him. He will pay for the crime which he has committed," said Julius as he himself got on the dragon with his eyes filled with ambition. "Well I think defeating him would be a little too ambitious. How about focusing on training your physical body for now and also levelling up through battle?" Jun asked his student as he commanded his pet dragon to begin flight and also snapped his hands which deactivated the secret art which limited Julius'' strength. "That''s fine but speaking about strength, can you change the weight of my clothing so that I can wear it while I kill monsters so that I can level up and also increase my status points?" Julius asked. "Don''t worry, I''ve already taken care of that. I''ve prepared an outfit for you at my house which you can wear that meets the criteria which you''re looking for. Seeing as Jun had planned ahead, Julius stayed silent as he watched the dragon soar through the sky while taking them back to Jun''s house. All while Julius continued to think about how things were at his father''s kingdom and also his own continent which his 5 subjects were growing life on while he was training endlessly. "Jun, you said that you went to my father''s kingdom to settle the matter about the gold right? So did you speak to his representative or did you actually speak to him," Julius asked as he thought about what Jun had to told him in the past about his actual father not being present in Julius'' life. "It was the representative. The real kings and queen almost never show themselves unless it is for important matters, the only exception being Mary who freely lives her life as he doesn''t have a partner nor children," Jun explained as they finally reached his house. "How formidable of fighters do you think that the representatives are?" Julius asked thinking back to how the representatives had very strong aura. "I should have mentioned this earlier but nearly all the representatives as the previous captains of the royal guards. As such, you can probably imagine how powerful they are," Jun replied. The captains of the royal guards were insanely powerful, the only ones who would be able to stand against them being the actual kings and queens or Jun himself who his limits were unknown. Of course there were the subjects who followed Julius and some other exceptions which Julius was yet to learn about. "Master Jun, I know that if I truly wish to start a kingdom of my own, I''ll have to go to war with everything that the 9 kingdoms have to offer. My subjects can probably deal with the kings and queens however, I do not know if they were have enough strength to deal with their armies, are there any more formidable people on this world which might be able to join us in the battle?" Julius asked as he hoped that there were more people who could help them fight which caused Jun to sigh. "Yes there is someone or some people who you might want to speak to if you''re looking to add numbers. They''re two liches who are capable of necromancy. It''s a secret art scroll of the shadow monster tier which allows the user to summon an undead army. However it can only be learned through the method of absorption. There are only 2 people who have ever tried to use it, those being brothers called Dae and Knight. If you were by some miracle to get rid of the damage that has been caused to their brain just as you did so when it came to the dragon tier scroll, they would most likely join us in the upcoming war," said Jun. "Well, I guess we know the next location we have to go to," said Julius as he got off the jade dragon. "But first¡­ we eat!" Chapter 70 - Shower After eating another dish composed of rabbit and vegetables, Julius stood up in anticipation as he wanted to see the outfit which Jun had prepared for him. "Master Jun, where is the outfit which you promised me?" Julius asked with a pondering gaze as he looked around the house for it. "Don''t be so stupid as to think would leave something that heavy here. It''s on the ground under the mountain. If I were to leave it here, this entire mountain could collapse," said Jun as he informed his student. While the way Jun spoke about the outfit frightened Julius, it only served to make him want it even more so he could train. Julius quickly rushed outside and leaped off the mountain top as if it was nothing before landing on the ground with ease. In front of Julius was a pair of black trousers and a black t-shirt which Julius attempted to put on. However just as Julius tried to pick up the t-shirt, he felt as if he was a baby trying to pick up a mountain. Even with the pebble training, this was just too much for Julius to handle but he wasn''t about to give up. By this point Julius himself had realized that he had a special ability which allowed to adapt to things quickly as long as he tried them and didn''t give up on them. It didn''t matter how difficult the task was, as long as Julius started on it, he would be able to master it in no time. As such, Julius, with all his might crawled inside the t-shirt even though it felt like he was getting squished by a mountain. Yet, Julius just continued to stay inside it until he got comfortable enough to move with the shirt. At first, Julius was only able to crawl until he could use all 4 limbs to crawl like an animal. Soon after he began to slowly walk until that itself turned into stable walking. Then came speed walking, after that came running. It was like watching a baby learn how to move but it was a sped up version of it. Seeing as he was able to move to a certain extent with the t-shirt, Julius attempted to wear the trousers which he experienced the same problem as he had done with the t-shirt. Nevertheless, Julius learned to move around in the trousers just as he done so with the t-shirt. After a while of getting accustomed to his new outfit, Jun himself handed Julius a pair of long yellow gloves which looked to be those that were used to wash dishes. Julius unknowingly accepted and watched as they fell on his toes with the might of 20 giant skyscrapers. It had turned out that Jun had augmented their weight so that they would be used as training items for Julius. Along with the gloves, Jun had also bright some boots to train Julius'' feet. "I feel like I''m going to die," Julius complained. "Would you like me to lessen the weight of the items? It''s totally fine, it''s too much for you to handle," Jun mocked Julius while trying to get him motivated. "No! Don''t change the weight, I''ll be fine. I just need a few hours and I''ll get used to this," said Julius. Hearing those words, Jun climbed the steep mountain and went back into his house so he could transform back into his old man form as he was growing tired of his real body. That entire day, Julius spent learning how to move around in his new training cloths, even though night had rolled around meaning that it was time for him to cultivate while sleeping, Jun allowed his student to skip out on one day so that he could go to sleep the following day feeling accomplished. The next morning, Jun went down to the ground under the mountain to check up on Julius who had begun to run at regular speed much similar to how he would be able to if he hadn''t done any training. This was of course due to the fact that he was wearing his weighted cloths and if he had taken them off, there would be an astronomical difference. Seeing as his student wasn''t tired, Jun headed back to the top of the mountain so he could rest for the day and check up on his student when night came. After night finally rolled around, Jun went down to the ground to see his student who was running at the same speed which he ran at when he had the augmented pebbles in his hands. That meant that Julius was able to match the speed of the previous version of him that wasn''t wearing any augmented clothing. The frightening part was what Julius would be able to do if he took his augmented clothing off. As Jun watched his student run, he realized that Julius had a different loo in his eyes, much similar to that he had when he first got out of the elevator. His breathing was concentrated, as if if something even came close to him, he would make it disappear from existence. As such, Jun simply cleared his throat which with that sound alone got the attention of Julius. "It''s night time already?! Time goes by so fast nowadays," said Julius not realizing that he had already trained through the first night and it was the second night. "Don''t worry, you can train again when you wake up, it''s not like the cloths are going to run away from you," said Jun as he watched Julius take off the weighted black t-shirt and trousers to reveal the white t-shirt and grey trouser which he had been wearing under it which were covered in sweat. "Come on, you can take a shower when we get home. I''ll fill the water storage with water using a simple secret art. It''ll be cold water though so don''t complain," said Jun as he begun to walk back to his house once again with his student following his from the back with a smile on his face.. For someone so strong, Julius was awfully causal and nonchalant which caused some strange looks from Jun from time to time. Chapter 71 - Weapons After taking a shower, Julius went back into the living room of Jun''s house where the two ate dinner before Julius went off to cultivate in his sleep. Julius still had a lot on his mind with everything that was going on and everything which needed to be done. The only time where he could truly let go of all that stress would be when he cultivated through his sleep. ¡­ "It''s been over 3 months since our last conversation and yet you haven''t done anything to impress me. Have you given up on the prospect of attaining magic?" the white figure said as it appeared from the darkness. "So it''s you again? Well, I do intend to hold up that promise. If you couldn''t tell, I''m getting much stronger than I used to be and you''ll see the results soon enough!" Julius argued. "Well, you better do it soon because time is running out," said the white figure before disappearing. "What do you mean time is running out?! I hate when they do this! It only causes me more headaches. He could have just told me what was going to happen if time runs out but no, he had to make it some kind of riddle which I figure out the moment before the disaster takes place," said Julius to himself before taking up. "Now that you''re finally awake, do you plan on training all day again?" Jun asked his student. "Yes I would like to do that however, would it be okay if you were to make it so that the weighted cloths continue increasing how much they weigh? I feel like they''re getting lighter," Julius asked of his master. "They''re not getting lighter. Instead you''re getting much stronger and durable. In fact, you''re increasing all your status points except your intelligence and bravery during this training. Nevertheless, I''ll do as you asked however there''s a limit to how much I can increase the weight. The only way for me to push it even further beyond is for you to agree to not use the weighted object as a weapon. Even so, there''s a limit to that as well. I believe that it''ll stop you from progressing beyond 3000 status points for health, physical strength, defence, speed and stamina. As for the your other stats, they''ll continue not to get affected by your training," Jun explained to his student. "I understand, just make sure that the weight increases a bit every few minutes or so until it reaches the maximum amount," Julius said as he went down the mountain to wear his black t-shirt and trousers along with with gloves and boots which he put on himself as if they were regular cloths. Jun followed behind Julius as he needed to be there to constantly adjusted the weight which was on the clothing. While at first the rate of changing the weight was rather slow, it quickly began to pick up momentum as time went on with Jun having to change the weight every few minutes just as Julius had asked of him. However, feeling sick of having to change the weight so quickly, Jun decided to increase the amount of weight he put on which caused Julius'' rate of progression to holt before picking up again. "Damn it, at this rate, he could reach the 3000 mark in 2 months if not in a single one," Jun said as he both got absorbed by fear but also with anticipation to see the reactions of everyone which the see the monster that had been growing while they continued to live their lazy and lavish lives. ¡­ *7 weeks later* ¡­ Just as Jun had expected, Julius had managed to reach the maximum amount of weight which could be placed on an object even after metering the special requirement. By this time, Julius still had the same figure which he had 7 weeks ago however his strength was much different. "Master Jun, are you sure you can''t increase the weight on this? It''s too light for me!" Julius complained as he continued to run around in the forest. "I already told you, you''ve maxed out what I could do for you. You can''t increase past this point. You should be proud of the strength which you have now," Jun told his students. "But still, I don''t think this is enough for me. Are you sure that if a war were to take place between the 9 kingdoms against my 10th, I would be able to win?" Julius asked as he continued to run around. "Well as long as you''re only facing the 9 rulers, in the state you''re in right now, you would probably lose," said Jun as he first raised his student''s expectations before crashing them. "But why?! I have over 1000 points more than what my father has in 7 out of 9 aspects," Julius complained. "Well that might be true. It even increases the chance that you might win by having 1000 more points than your father who has 2000 points. To add on, just as I told you previously, the gap between points is further than expected. Instead of being 1.5 times stronger than him, you''re more likely 3 to 5 times stronger. However, your intelligence is really low which is where your downfall is," said Jun. "Come on, how much could intelligence affect me? As long as I get one clean hit, I''ll be able to win," Julius argued. "That''s exactly what I mean, you think that it''s a simple fist fight when in most cases, the battle ends up being a weapon war. You still have yet to learn about treasured weapons and how overpowered they are. There are even some which if they touch you, no matter how powerful you are, they''ll still kill or seal you away," Jun explained to his student which fascinated Julius instead of scaring him. "Master Jun, where could I possibly obtain something like that?" Julius asked with a curious face as he stopped running and faced his master which brought a smile to Jun. "I guess we know where we''re going next," said Jun. Chapter 72 - Light "So where are we going again?" Julius asked his master as he took off his weighted shirt and trousers which made him feel a lot lighter than he left before. "We''re going to go to the greater market of all, the ''star shopping market''," said as he began to lead the way back up to the mountain top with Julius following him. Without meaning to, when Julius stepped on the mountain, he caused a little bit of it to separate from the mountain which made Jun turn around to give his student a look of disapproval. "Sorry¡­" said Julius as he began to walk more carefully up the mountain so that it didn''t accidentally cause the entire thing to get destroyed. "Anyway, like I was saying. The star market offerers hundreds of not thousands of weapons and armour which anyone can purchase for the right amount of money. Of course the best ones there cost the most as would be expected since so much time and effort goes into making them," Jun explained. "But what makes them special? Aren''t they just pieces of steel, I can just break them with my bare hands," Julius replied. "You see, you''re much too naive which is why we need you to start focusing on intelligence training. Nevertheless, I shall explain everything for you for the time being. The most valuable items in the market are not just made of steel but also infused with a special item called a core. More specifically a monster core which are often dropped by high level monsters either in the dungeon of in the wild. Items which are infused with monster cores often gain effects such as increasing the user''s status points by a certain percentage for a temporary amount of time. However, there are also some weapons in the world which have been infused with the ''lord class'' monster cores¡­" Jun said which brought curiosity to Julius'' face. "Lord class monster cores?!" Julius asked as his face lit up. "Yes, those types of cores are found in the strongest monsters this world has to offer and if their cores are infused into a weapon or armour, they gain a special trait. Of course the users of such a high weapon place a name onto them to signify their worth," said Jun as he finally reached the mountain top and got on his jade dragon with his student following behind. "What do you mean by special trait?" Julius asked with a confused face as the dragon began to take flight. "Special trait are abilities which the orbs give onto an item such as harnessing lightning or being able to produce poison," Jun explained. "So do the 9 rulers of the great kingdoms posses a weapon such as that?" Julius asked. "Of course, not only their weapons but their armour. They are all made by a special blacksmith which forges their weapons and armour out of gold but makes sure to create engravings on the item which he crushes the monster cores and places those in there. He''s a very skilled person and is known throughout all the land," Jun explained. "So I would need that type of armour myself if I want to stand a chance against the kings and queens?" Julius asked. "Yes indeed. However you should know that there is already a monster core which has been prepared for you which you would take once you were ready to become king over your father''s kingdom," Jun told his student. "I''m sorry but I can''t take that. It would feel dirty to stood so low as to use the gift of someone to defeat them later in with it. I''ll get my hands on my very own monster core," said Julius as the jade dragon began to descent from the sky into the ground where it looked to be a whole other kingdom which was filled to the brim with stores. "Amazing, isn''t it?" said Jun as he got off his pet and began to walk towards someone of the stores with Julius walking behind him. "So are we just looking around?" Julius asked his master. "Yes, there''s no need for you to purchase anything right now since we''ll just come back here to speak to the famous blacksmith once you attain a monster core of your own," Jun replied to his student. "Speaking of monster cores, do you know what special trait the one that''s waiting for me is?" Julius asked. "Not really but I have a vague idea of what it might be since I''m pretty sure your father spoke to me about it once. I''m not sure if this is 100% correct but I think it''s a monster core which allows you to control light itself. Even though your real father wasn''t able to be in your life, he still cared enough to give you the best core he had ever found. However, do not be misled as it probably partially had to do with him wanting his kingdom to be protected in the future generations as well," Jun replied. "L-Light?! If I had that, I would be able to completely annihilate every single one of the kings and queen and even be able to stand a chance against the weapons of the other world, master Jun, is there a way to obtain another one of the light monster cores?" Julius asked with anticipation. "Sadly, no. There has yet to be 2 of the same lord class monster cores. However do not be displeased as there are more monsters cores which are far stronger than the light monster core," said Jun as he tried to cheer his student up from missing he opportunity of a life time. "Are you lying or is that actually true?" Julius asked. "It''s actually true. Your real father is still struggling to get into the dungeons for cultivation level 85 and above. With your physical strength and other status points, you should be able to quickly surpass him, however you''ll need to do some intense intelligence training.. But seriously, you can worry about that later, for now, just look around this magnificent place," Jun instructed his student. Chapter 73 - Salesman After walking around for a couple minutes, Julius found a group of people which were gathered around a strange man with a long hat which had an enthusiastic look on his face. Julius felt out of place due to him dressed in a commoner''s cloths as compared to everyone else who wore rather expensive looking things. It wasn''t that he couldn''t afford them but more that he was wearing his training clothes. Nevertheless, Julius tried to watch from the back as the man in the hat continued his show. "And next ladies and gentlemen, I have a rare item to present to you. Some of you might have not even seen this item in your whole lives even if you came to the star market every day of your life. Without further ado, I present to you all the flame blade!" said the man as he pulled out a small dagger from the box beside him which the object he pulled out had a stainless steel blade and a gold constructed hilt. "This is a rare treasure which the famous magma golem hunter Zo has offered to sell out of her own generosity. Instead of keeping it, she allowed one lucky person to obtain it for the right price," said the man as he showed the blade around to the crowd which applauded him. "And for the moment you''ve all been waiting for," said the man as he placed the dagger in front of his chest before saying a chant and pointing it in the air. "Activate!" The man said as everyone watched as the blade part of the dagger turned into a small fire which expanded until it rose 5 metres towards the sky. However, right after that, the man made it change shape and the fire began to spin in circles while it showed off its capabilities. Once finishing showing off the dagger, the man made it change shape back into its blade born and began to wave it around in the eyes of the mesmerized people, including Julius. "What are you doing here?" the salesman snared at Julius with a disgusted look which got everyone''s attention on Julius. "It''s a commoner! Everyone, check your pockets to see if this trash has tried to rob any of us of our money!" The people began to panic as some of them began to gather around Julius as if they were going to attack him all at once. "What are you talking about? I''m the prince of the greatest kingdom in the world!" Julius argued but due to the months he had spent training, his hair had grown longer, his height had increased, his voice had grown deeper and even looked older. As such he was completely unrecognizable. "GET HIM!" one of them yelled out which caused all of them to jump at Julius who was panicking despite having enough strength to flatten the entire market like it was nothing. ¡­ "Do you people have a death wish!" a deep and dark voice said as he began to approach the people who had stopped before they had reached Julius. <> A thousand blades appeared out of no where and surrounded all the people including the salesman who had started all of the trouble for Julius. Seeing as there was a commotion, some tall and muscular people began to approach Jun who was the one who had created the thousand swords . "Come on old man, you know better than to protect a peasant. He probably snuck in here to steal something," the body guards said as they lightly touched Jun by the shoulder which caused him to turn around. ¡­ "Great master Jun?!" they yelled as they jumped back. Hearing their words, all the people who tried to attack Julius began to tremble in fear. "What is he doing here?" "I thought he only stayed in his mountain." "Why is he saving a peasant? Wasn''t he the one who raised the kings as queens of the great kingdoms?" "Do you idiots know what you just did?! You have offended Henry''s son. If his father were to hear if this, this entire market would be burned to the ground and every single one of you would be executed!" Jun yelled at them. "Wait so he really is the prince?" One of them asked as they looked at Julius who looked pretty annoyed in his own right. While everyone was scared of Jun or Julius'' father, the real danger what right in front on their faces. "We''re so sorry master Julius, please forgive us for our insolence, we''ll do anything for you," the people said as they bowed down to him. "Anything?¡­" Julius asked as he got a sinister smile. "Okay then mister salesman, how much is the blade going to cost?" Julius asked as he pointed to the special blade which he had in his hand. "Well it''s worth 10000 gold coins," the salesman man said the real prince of the item in a confused tone. "Okay then, each of you, give me 1000 gold coins," Julius demanded as he pointed at 10 of the people who had tried to attack him. Even though the hated wasting that much money, they gave out the coins as they didn''t want to get killed. "Okay then mister salesman, hand over the dagger," said Julius which the salesman instantly gave Julius the dagger and began to reach down to pick up the pouches of golden coins. "I didn''t say that you could take that," Julius said as he looked at the salesman with a disgusted face to pay him back for the way he treated him. "Step back everyone," said Julius as he got a gentle smile of his face. Julius then placed the dagger on his chest before saying the same chant that the salesman had said before lastly pointed the dagger at the pile of pouches filled with golden coins. "Activate!" The blade quickly extended and melted each of the golden coins into nothing as Julius made each of the arrogant people watch as he burned their money while continuing to smile. Chapter 74 - Zo "That''s what you get for treating me like trash. Next time, don''t just assume who someone is just based of the cloths they wear," Julius told the people at the market. ¡­ "But master Julius. Everyone does it. It''s not just us but everyone in your kingdom and the other 8 kingdoms. The poor get looked upon as they should. Why do you choose to defend them?" One of them asked as they continued to bow to the prince. "I see, you''re more far gone that I thought. You genuinely believe that a person''s worth is dependent on their wealth," Julius said as he smacked his head in disappointment. "But isn''t it that way? Why should a person who contributes less to the economy be viewed as the same as someone who runs a business which helps a kingdom develop?" another one of the people asked Julius which left him speechless for a moment before he answered. "While a person might be more valuable to a kingdom, or doesn''t give them the right to treat others like trash. Everyone can be killed by someone else. Not a single person can escape death, so why do you bother with ranking each other based on wealth and status when you''re all the same in death''s eyes," Julius replied before leaving after the people had no answer for him. "Wait master Julius," the salesman said before Julius could leave. "Yes?" Julius replied. "If Zo doesn''t get her payment for the blade infused with the monster core, she''s surely come after you," said the salesman as he tries to warn the prince. "Master Jun, do you know who this person names Zo is?" Julius asked his master. "Oh yes. I''ve heard of her numerous times. She''s actually quite famous. She was at one time a candidate to be the next captain of the royal guards for one of the 9 kingdoms however she was defeated by the current captain and after that day, she ran off to gain strength. Of course now she''s much stronger than that captain since Zo has more time to train so normally or would be good to stay out of her way, however I think it would be good experience for you to face off against her, but try not to go for the kill too quickly," said Jun out loud as the two left the market with Julius haven taken the dagger as compensation for the way he was treated. The two of them got on the jade dragon before going back to the mountain to continue with their casual training until Zo would arrive to confront them. That would come much sooner as only 2 days after the star market incident, a hooded figure arrived at Jun''s house with a small blade in hand. "Where is Julius?" Zo asked as she pointed her dagger at Jun''s throat after he had opened the door to her after she knocked. "You''ve already made it. We''ve been expecting you, please follow me," said Jun as he calmly moved the dagger away from his throat and began to walk towards the end of the mountain before jumping off of it with Zo following suit. "Julius! Zo has come," said Jun as he called out to his student which came walking towards the two hid his menacing aura enveloping Zo as if it was darkness itself. Nevertheless, Zo was prepared to face off against Julius who would be so arrogant as to steal from her. "Please don''t hold back against me," said Julius as he bowed down so that she would fulfil his request which she found puzzling. Zo was a tall woman which stood a little taller than Mary. She was relatively slim and had a smooth face but had eye bags probably from not getting any sleep due to her battles with monsters. Her weapon of choice was a small dagger much similar to that which Julius had stolen from her. "Don''t worry, I don''t intend to. I don''t fear your kingdom nor its people. You''re nothing but a slimy thief to me," said Zo as she got into a fighting stance while Julius took off his weighted cloths. Zo allowed Julius to make the first move out of pity however that would a fatal flaw. Julius took once step forward and just a moment later, he had disappeared from her line of vision. For some reason Zo felt as if she was getting chocked by a snake. Before she had realized it, Julius had managed to wrap his legs around her neck and managed to point the same dagger which he stole from her at her head before letting go of her seeing as she was hopeless to escape. Once let go of, Zo began to breathe heavily as she tried to catch her breath and begin to even understand what ha just happened. "Nice one Julius, where did you even learn to do that?" Jun asked his student. "Oh that''s right, I never got to show off my techniques until now. I learned a bunch of fighting styles when I was left to train for 3 months. I guess it really payed off," said Julius as he smiled before looking down at Zo who had her own blade pointed to her heart. "I, Zo Yun shall take my own life as I have disgraced myself by allowing myself to get defeated by a mere child, no less a child of a great kingdom," said Zo as she almost stabbed her self. "No!" said Julius as he rushed and slapped the blade out of Zo''s hand. "Zo, you said that you no king cared for the great kingdoms right? If that''s the case, join me and become my comrade, not as a comrade of the prince but a comrade of Julius!" Julius said as he helped Zo get on her feet which reluctantly accepted as she had been spared by him and that was the least she could do for him. "So what do you want me to do? Become your servant of something just like the maids at your castle?" Zo asked. "No, why would I waste your power on something like that.. I want you to become part of my army when I start a kingdom of my own!" Julius said as he brought light into Zo''s eyes. Chapter 75 - 10th Continent "What do you mean a kingdom of your own?" Zo asked in confusion. "Well it''s just as it sounds, I want to start my own kingdom. Well, more specifically a continent of my own. You should already know that the 10th continent is completely deserted so I have taken the liberty of making it into a safe haven for those who have to live in the dark districts. After I do that, I will take control over the other 9 kingdoms so that a war between different kingdoms won''t exist, instead everyone can live happily," Julius told Zo his ambitious plan. "You realize that the 10th continent is a wasteland right?" Zo asked him. "Yes I know, however, I have already found strong allies who have secret arts which can bring life to it. They''re probably bringing plant life to it as we speak. Just to clarify, they''re ancient weapons from 200 years ago which have managed to attain the the maximum rank in cultivation through meditation. There are 5 of them which are all capable of taking on 2 great kingdom rulers each if such a battle were to occur. My job would be to take care of their armies or vide versa with me being the one to take on the 9 rulers," Julius explained. "Are you sure you want to be telling me all of this? I might just backstab you," said Zo. "Don''t worry about that. I mean I managed to make 5, rank 20 people join my side so there much be something good about it right?" Julius asked her back. "Well I guess that''s true. I didn''t plan on turning my back on you in the first place. I guess I''ll agree to help you," said Zo. "Great! Sorry for taking your dagger, you can have it back now. I just wanted to see how I would match up against you," said Julius as he prepared to hand over the monster core infused dagger back to Zo. "No please keep it, think of it as a gift to my new king," said Zo as she pushed back the dagger so that Julius could keep it which he replied back to her with a strong nod as he tried to stop himself from crying as he had just managed to get another powerful ally at his side. "So what do you want me to do now?" Zo asked Julius. "To be perfectly honest, I''m still not done my training. Although my status points are pretty high, I still need to get my intelligence to grow and also my bravery as over as well. Along side that, I should probably start going into dungeons as well. So for the time being, I don''t want you to waste your time watching over me like a baby sitter, instead, please begin to train harder as well so that when the time comes, you can battle along side me to the best of your abilities," said Julius which Zo simply nodded strongly to before going off on her way to complete the task she had been assigned by her new king. "Wow, you really have a knack for getting people to follow you," said Jun as he saw Julius wave goodbye to Zo. "I guess so. I''m just glad to have her on our side. Speaking of getting people on our side, when can we go and recruit Dae and Knight, you said that those two have the ability to summon the dead and create an army for us right?" Julius asked his master. "Yes I did. However let us leave that for another time. For now, let''s get you to train your intelligence," said Jun. "You keep saying that but how do I do that?" Julius asked his teacher. "Well, I guess it''s time for you to finally receive this gift¡­" said Jun as he began to make his big announcement. "Julius Henry, I would like to congratulate you on gaining the right to go into the library of the limitless. You will go in there to complete the next stages of your training," Jun announced which caught Julius by surprise. "Wait so you''re saying I can really go inside the library of the limitless?! I will have access to all the scrolls and books the world will have to offer!" Julius said with an excited tone. "Hold on there, you jumped the gun there. I didn''t say that you would be able to touch the scrolls, only that you''ll be able to read the books the have there to increase your intelligence," Jun replied to his student. ¡­ "Wow, way to ruin the mood. Now I don''t even want to go there," said Julius in a lazy tone as he looked at the ground for something interesting to do. "Come on! This is a big deal! People would kill to be in your shoes! Anyway, you shouldn''t worry about the scrolls too much right now. You''re almost there since after you train you intelligence, all you''ll have to worry about is bravery which you can attain from going to to dungeons. You''ll be killing 2 birds with one stone," Jun tried to bring excitement back into Julius. "Okay fine, but after that I won''t agree to wait any longer, I''m tired of only having one secret art while you and the second entity have multiple," said Julius as he finally agreed to the conditions which his master had set. "So when do we go to the library?" Julius asked. "I mean, it looks like you don''t have anything else to worry about so how about we go right now?" Jun offered his student. "That''s fine by me, I been getting tired of running without being able to improve anyway," said Julius as he began to climb the mountain before finally reaching the mountain top in about 2 minutes. The two of them finally got on the jade dragon before once again taking flight to go to their next destination just as they had done so many times.. Although it looked like Julius was nearing the end of his journey to become the strongest person in the world so he could rule over his very own kingdom, that journey was just starting. Chapter 76 - Library After flying in the air for what seemed like hours, the two finally made it to their destination, the library of the limitless. The building which they had arrived at was a large structure mainly constructed of gold and bronze. At the front of the building were dozens of golden pillars which led towards the enormous double door entrance. The library itself was a large cylindrical building with half a sphere on top of it. To the sides of the cylinder were two square based prisms which were barely attached to the main building. The moment the Julius and Jun entered the magnificent library, they were taken by surprise to see such a clean and tidy place. Past the double door entrance were multiple guards which kept watch over the place. Inside it was a single librarian which was an old woman with glasses which was reading as book. "So where should we start?" Julius asked his master after the entered the library once Jun explained who Julius was. "Shhh. This is a library, try not to be so loud," Jun whispered to Julius but it was too late as Julius had caught the attention of many eyes. Nevertheless, the two of them continued to walk around the 3 story library in search of the books which Julius would read to increase his intelligence. After going through so many shelves and books, Jun finally stopped searching for books as he had found the first batch of books which Julius was going to read. Once ready, Jun took his student towards a semi large table where he seated Julius and gave him a large pile of books which were 17 in total before heading off. "What do I do with these?" Julius asked hoping that it wouldn''t be what he feared. "Read them of course," Jun replied which brought sorrow to Julius. Even though the prince knew that he would have to read books to gain intelligence, he still wanted to refrain from it as he had just realized how much of a gruelling task it would be. "I wish Liz was here to read these for me instead," Julius thought to himself before opening the first book. Right away Julius knew it was going to take him ages to finish reading even just the first book however, he still started anyway as it was the only way which he knew of to increase his intelligence. ¡­ While Julius was busy trying to even finish the first few pages of the first book, Jun headed off to speak with the librarian. "Excuse me ma''am," Jun said to the librarian. "Yes?" the librarian replied. "Could I have a large cart? My student will be in here for a long time," Jun told her. "Fine Jun, on regular occasions we would refuse but you''ve proved that you''re not a thief or a liar so I''ll give it to you. But make sure your student doesn''t mess up our books, they''re very valuable," said the librarian as she got up from her chair and went behind the door that was behind her. After a few minutes, she came outside with a book cart which was much different when compared to a regular cart. "Thank you," said Jun as he accepted the cart and began to once again search throughout the library in all its floors while picking the best books for Julius. However as Jun finished filling up the cart with books and returned to see his student, Julius had already got half way through the large first book. "Oh no it''s starting," Jun said as panic began to set in on his face. He quickly ran back to the librarian as he would need some assistance for a while. "Yes Jun, how can I help you now?" the librarian asked in a lazy voice. "I don''t have much time so I''ll explain it quickly. Basically, my student has a lot of status points in his skill aspect which allows him to learn almost anything really quickly after he gets a slow start on it at first. He''s already half way through the first book which I gave him and he''s only going to get a faster. Please gather all your assistants and ask them to look for books which are informative. If they can''t find any, just tell them to get whatever they can get their hands on," Jun quickly panicked however hearing those words, the librarian got up to see for her self if what Jun had said was true. As she looked at Julius, she noticed that he was already a bit over half way of the first book in the pile. Seeing that confirmed what Jun had said and the librarian called all her assistants and instructed them as Jun had told her. Once all of them began to go on different directions to accomplish the task at hand, Jun bowed to the librarian in thanks before going off to drop off the books in his own cart at the table which Julius was at. Over the few following weeks, Julius continued to read every book which was given to him extremely quickly. Of course Jun made his student stop and made him cultivate through sleep when night rolled around in the secret room at the back of the librarian stand however other than that, Julius'' days were spent reading without a break. However Julius wasn''t the one which was caused the most harm as that was the assistants and Jun who had spent all day and night bringing books for Julius to read at that moment of the following day. At some point, the library of the limitless ordered an official closing as no one else could be cared for due to how much time and energy Julius demanded. This was of course possible due to the status in the political world which Julius held. Due to that, Julius was able to get the library all to himself so that he could read without a break. After 5 long months and 1 week of nothing but reading and cultivation during sleep, Julius Henry had managed to read every book within the library of the limitless. "I''m finished." Chapter 77 - Speed "I''m finished," Julius announced as he stood up from his chair after closing his book. Once he looked up, he realized that the librarian, Jun and all the assistants were applauding for him. "¡­why is everyone clapping?" Julius asked with a confused face. "Julius, you''ve managed to finish reading every single book inside the library of the limitless in less than 6 months!" Jun announced proudly. ¡­ "WHAT?!" Julius yelled out. "Why do you sound surprised?" the librarian asked. "I didn''t know that I read that many books, I mean how do you guys know? The books are still in their shelves-" Julius said before cutting himself off as he looked around to see that all the shelves were empty and all the books were to the left of him, stacked on the ground which was the section where he placed the books he finished. "So I really did read all these books," said Julius before letting out a little laugh. "Come on, tell us what your status points are now that you''ve read this many books," said the librarian with a face of excitement. "Sorry, we can''t be giving out information like that. It''ll be all announced on Julius'' 18th birthday," Jun lied before telling the librarian and her assistants they he needed to leave. "But seriously, thank you all of you. You''ve done so much for us and I hope there will be a day where I can repay you for all your kindness," said Jun as he bowed to the librarian and the assistants before leaving the place with Julius. The jade dragon who was waiting for Jun outside allowed his owner and Julius to ride on it before taking them back to the mountain top where Jun''s house was. As the two of them soared through the sky on the jade dragon''s back, Julius couldn''t help but ask a couple questions. "Why did you lie to them?" Julius asked his master. "Would you want the world to know that you''re physically stronger than the current strongest person in the world after only 10 months of training? Do you know how much trouble you could cause for yourself?" Jun asked in a serious tone. "I''m sorry, I should be proud of you right now and I really am. If you wish to do so, I''ll allow you to go back to your kingdom so that you can visit your family and have plenty of time to get ready for your 15th birthday," said Jun as they two continued to go back to their home. "To be honest, if you had asked me that question when I first started training with you, I would''ve gladly accepted. But I think I have a better idea. How about following through with the lie you said at the library of the limitless and actually announcing my status points when I turn 18. Once it is announced, I''ll also announce the revival of the 10th kingdom. Until then, I''ll keep training. After all, I still have to cultivate through battle which I''ve been missing out on for quite a while," Julius said as he had a bright smile on his face. "You''re maturing so fast," said Jun as he wiped a single tear out of his eyes. "But seriously, I still haven''t forgotten about Dae and Knight. I still wish to get them on our side," Julius announced which made Jun sigh. "Julius, would you like me to give you the scroll which allows you to summon a dragon?" Jun asked his student. "Wait really?! I can really have a jade dragon of my own?!" Julius asked with excitement on his face. "Not just a jade dragon but you can summon a dragon with any colour that you wish. It can be red, blue, yellow, orange," Jun informed his student which just helped Julius grow with anticipation. "Yes please, I really wanted to have a dragon of my own!" Julius replied to his master''s request. "Okay then, it''s settled. When we get back home, I''ll give you that scroll," Jun said with a smile on his face with Julius following suit. After arriving at their cozy home, Jun went to open the secret compartment and where he had stored his scrolls however once he had opened it, there was nothing there. ¡­ "Steward¡­" the both of them said as the same time. "We forgot to go back and get the scrolls and my¡­ FUTON," said Julius as he grew to be menacing when he said the final word. Even though Jun had gone to Steward''s kingdom to get his student the cloning scroll so that he could train while the clone got captured and war broke out between kingdoms, that never happened since the two of them forgot about the event and never spoke about it. "Futon¡­" Julius simply said. "Well, we have our next destination. Get back on the dragon, we''ll be busy for a while," said Jun as the two of them walked out of the house and rode back on the dragon so that they could go to Steward''s kingdom and wreak havoc on it. "Futon¡­" Julius kept repeating as he had gone mindless from remembering his treasured belonging. While it seemed like Julius wouldn''t be a threat to Steward as he had basically shut down his brain, the opposite would be true as Julius was most dangerous when all thoughts in his head were shit down expect for a single one. After arriving at Steward''s kingdom, Jun forced his dragon to crash into the castle once again as he began to prepare himself for an all out war. "Prepare yourselves to die!" Jun announced as he got off his Jade dragon. "Come on, we just had that wall fixed a couple weeks ago!" one of the guards complained before looking at the majestic beast known as Jun''s pet. Seeing it, all the guards began to run so that they could call apron Steward and the royal guards who can in rushing in with their full battle armour. "I''ve been expecting you, JUN!" Steward yelled out as he came inside the hallway which Jun had crashed into. "No no, I won''t be in the battle. My student will be fighting you, and don''t hold back against him," Jun announced with a smile. ¡­ "Futon¡­" Chapter 78 - Forgetful Steward simply stood for a moment trying to understand what Jun had said. Hun had actually wanted Steward who was known to be one of the 9 rulers to fight without holding back against a simple child. "Are you sure you haven''t lost your mind Jun? Are you seriously suggesting that I fight at full strength against this boy? Even if he''s been training with you, it''s been only 10 months as opposed to the years which I spent training under you. If I actually do as you said, I''ll end up killing him," Steward said in his full golden armour which had engravings that gleamed the colour of dark green. "Yes I know. I''m not stupid Steward. I want you to see how much he has improved, if you want to kill him, be my guest," Jun replied. "So be it then, killing him might actually make you fight harder to avenge him," said Steward as he rushed at Julius with his dual sickles. "Why isn''t he moving?" Steward asking himself right before his attack made connection to Julius'' neck. "I guess it''s going go end like this. Jun, you overestimated the boy," said Steward as he made a grin. However in the last second before Steward could kill Julius, something strange took place. Julius seemed to have looked up at Steward and the next second, Steward was laying on the ground with his back as Julius had the dagger with was infused with the monster core that he had gotten from Zo pointed at Steward''s eye. "W-What happened?" Steward asked as he began to panini from not understanding what had just happened. The exact thing that took place was that right after Julius looked up to meet Steward''s gaze, Julius used his left palm to push Steward back but before he could get too far away, Julius leaped in the air before punching Steward in hot he chest, sending him back on the ground. Yet while all this happened, not a single person saw anything except the end result. Even though he was clearly out matched, Steward still stood up from the ground as he prepared himself to continue a battle which he would lose. "Damn you Jun. I won''t lose this battle!" Steward yelled out as he quickly leaped away from Julius before getting back on his feet. Next, Steward threw both of his sickles in the air as the began to spin. <> "I''ve won, I''ve managed to activate my special trait! There''s no escape for you," said Steward as he announced proudly while laughing. Without wasting a moment, Steward quickly got a hold of his sickles once more before leaping towards Julius at insane speeds while pointing both his sickles at the prince''s neck. "It''s over," said Steward as he closed his eyes before he took Julius'' life. "Where is my futon," said Julius in a calm tone but just those worlds alone brought the entire room to a stop as his evil aura began to leak out as it absorbed everyone and everything into it. The mental state of everyone in the floor was shattered as they felt themselves being swallowed by their biggest fears. Even Jun himself wasn''t immune to it. The aura coming out of Julius so was evil that it had stopped Steward and made him get on his knees while trying to stop himself for suffocating in the darkness. "P-Please let go, well give you anything you want," Steward begged as his voice began to disappear as his life flashed before his eyes. "My futon¡­" Julius demanded. "We''ll give it back, just spare our lives," the captain of the royal guards interrupted as he realized that no one would take Julius'' request seriously. Just as he expected, the plan worked as Julius'' evil aura disappeared. "Great!" said Julius as he began to smile joyfully while the atmosphere completely changed to that of a wholesome flower garden. "Somebody get this body his futon!" Steward yelled out as he never wanted to experience that type of torture ever again. A few moment later one of the guards came back to the floor where all the mess had taken place with the futon along with all the other belongings that were stolen which included all the scrolls. "Please take them back and never return here ever again," said Steward as he personally handed over the belongings. While Julius just happily took his futon and began to hug it, Jun looked at Steward with a confused look. "No Steward, I expect this to be brought back to my home. What would I do if one of the scrolls were to fall of the dragon? Think before you speak next time," said Jun as he lead the way or his student towards the jade dragon before they took off so that they could return back to their home. After the dragon began to ascend towards the sky, the two of them could finally begin their conversation. "Master Jun, you made sure to grab the dragon scroll at least right?" Julius asked. "Of course I did, what kind of teacher would I be if I were so forgetful," said Jun as he reached into his pocket to grab the scroll out of. ¡­ "You don''t have it?" Julius asked. "I don''t have it," Jun replied with a look of disappointment on himself. "Don''t worry, I can just learn it when they bring all the scrolls to your house," Julius told his master. "I guess so. Sorry, I think I just got caught up in the moment with you trying to kill everyone including me just because of a futon," said Jun as he looked back at his student which was still hugging the futon in his hand. Seeing Jun call him out, Julius quickly tried to hide the futon but was too late as Jun had saw that take place and began to laugh as the two of them returned back to the mountain top where they would wait for the scrolls to arrive before making their next move. Chapter 79 - Dragon Once they had arrived at the mountain top, Julius once again began his physical training even though it was useless to him since it didn''t provide him with any status points. All it gave him was something to spend his time on while he waited for the scrolls which Jun had demanded to get delivered into their home. After only just 3 days, a group of men approached the mountain top while Julius was still in the forest, training his heart out. Once the people who had come to deliver the scrolls had left, Jun quickly rushed down into the forest to speak to Julius who was keeping himself busy with running around while wearing his weight augmented attire. "Julius! Guess what came in today?" Jun yelled out as he rushed towards the forest. "Did the scrolls come in today?" Julius asked with a joyful attitude. "Yes they did, you can finally learn the dragon summoning scroll," said Jun as he finally made it into the first to meet his student. Julius quickly accepted the scroll before unwrapping it then placing it around his forearm so that he could instantaneously learn the secret art. Julius didn''t give Jun a second to go over the dangers which the method which Julius was using could pose. "I guess he never learns. Good luck I guess," said Jun as he watched over Julius who had passed out due to him needed to be teleported to the empty relearn which he would need to face the scroll tier monster. In this case, it was a dragon. "I guess it would make sense that a jade dragon secret art would be guarded by a dragon," said Julius to himself as he awaited for the white figure to come out of the shadows so that he could eat the dragon guardian and Julius would be able to go on with his day. "So you wish to take the secret art which this scroll possesses without having to go through the gruelling training? Don''t make me laugh!" the dragon guardian of the scroll said to Julius. "Any time now," Julius replied as he waited for the white glowing figure to come to his rescue. "What are you looking for boy? This is a matter which goes between you and I!" the dragon yelled at Julius which made it clear that the white glowing figure wouldn''t be coming to Julius'' rescue. "Dammit, I knew I couldn''t trust you! You betrayed me at the last second! Just you watch, if I ever see you again, I''ll rip your heart out and crush it in an instant!" Julius yelled out. "Who are you talking you?" the dragon asked in a confused tone with its deep voice which managed to gain Julius'' attention. "SILENCE!" Julius yelled at the dragon as he pointed at him to show his dominance. "What was that?! Do you have a death wish?" The dragon said as it brought its giant claw towards Julius as it tried to kill the prince. However Julius wouldn''t make it that easy as just when the dragon''s arm got close enough, Julius pulled his own arm back before clenching his fist and bringing it back forward at the speed of light. While at first when the two figures made contact, nothing happened however as the seconds passed, cracks began to appear all over the dragon''s hand which then spread to its body before the monster was smashed into pieces. "I told you to be quiet," Julius said as his dark eyes began to pierce into the darkness he was in. *clap* *clap* "You actually did it! I doubted you for a second but it seems like you really have improved," a familiar voice said in the distance. "So you ARE here!" said Julius as he turned back around to look at the tall white glowing figure clapping. "What''s with that look? You look like you''re mad," said the white figure in a joyful tone. "I''ll kill you! You traitor!" Julius yelled out as he began to leap towards the white figure with his fist clenched as he prepared to end it all right then and there. "Stop." the white figure said which caused Julius to completely stop moving. "Don''t get too confident just because you killed a small ant. To me, you''re nothing but an insect that I could kill if I wished to do so at any moment," the white figure''s tone began to change" "Wrong. You can''t kill me. No matter how much stronger you might be, there''s a reason why you can''t kill me nor can you transfer yourself into another body," said Julius. "While I was in the library of the limitless, I learned about something. It was the only mention of magic that the entire library had. That being something called soul exchange. There are still people who debate what it is which is why it hasn''t been removed from the library of the the limitless. Every other thing there which mentions even the slightest bit of magic has been removed," Julius began to speak. "Anyway, I learned that to use soul exchange, both parties had to agree for the transfer to work. You see, it seems pretty simple since it''s just two souls exchanging bodies but for you, that not the case. You''re a 3rd soul! For the transfer to work, both me and you have to agree for the transfer to work. The person who you get transferred into doesn''t get a say in this matter. You can try to scare me all you want but at the end of the day, you''ll never be able to kill me," said Julius with a smile on his face while still being frozen in time. "That''s only the reason why I can''t transfer out of your body. What makes you think that I can''t just kill you and die with you!" the white figure replied. "You see, I''m glad that I did that intelligence training! In exchange for not having a say in what soap goes into them, the 3rd party cannot be harmed by the soul that has invaded their body. Well at least that''s my hypothesis which by your expression means I''m right.. I''ve won," Julius announced with a grin. Chapter 80 - Nope Hearing Julius'' explanation made the whit figure sigh as if he had been winning a game of chess for the entire time but in a single turn, he had been checkmated. "Well, I guess I''ve been beat. What is it that you want now?" the white figure asked Julius. "You should already know what I want from you. There''s only one useful thing you can provide me, that being magic!" Julius demanded. "Okay sure, I''ll let you start learning magic but first I need to know your status points and your levels," the white figure requested which Julius agreed to. Even in the realm he was in, Julius was able to access his database. - [Heath: 3000] [Intelligence: 5000] [Bravery: 428] [Stamina: 3000] [Speed: 3000] [Defense: 3000] [Physical Strength: 3000] [Mental Fortitude: 10000] [Skill: 10000] - Cultivation through meditation [Julius Henry] [Rank: 15] [SP: 2,653,976/16,384,000] - Cultivation through battle [Julius Henry] [Level: 6] [EXP: 267/600] - "Wow, I didn''t even realize that I managed to rank up that much. Although my cultivation through battle level is a bit disappointing," said Julius as he announced his rank, level and status points for each aspect. "I guess I can allow you to start learning magic. It shouldn''t be too difficult for you due to your skill status points being so high. However I would recommend that you wake up for now and then you return once you go to sleep since you wouldn''t want to raise suspicion about you learning magic," the white figure said and before Julius could even agree, he had woken back up from his slumber. "You took a bit longer to wake up than the last time you did this, did something happen?" Jun asked with a worried expression. "No no, it was nothing. I managed to absorb the scroll fine. I want to test it out right now," said Julius as he got up from the ground with his hand placed forward. <> Just as Julius had hoped, the secret art allowed him to summon a dragon of his own. However unlike Jun, Julius'' dragon was crimson red as it resembled that of a ruby. "Wow," Jun said as he was left baffled as he had spent over a year trying to learn the dragon summoning secret art using the chanting method and now his student had done it within just a few minutes. To add salt to the wound, Julius didn''t have to use any of his stamina to summon the ruby dragon while Jun had to use a majority of his stamina for secret arts as powerful as the jade dragon. "Master Jun, now that I have my dragon, can you give me the other scrolls as well, I want to learn them already," Julius asked which his master looked back at him with a straight face. "Nope. I already said that I would only allow you to get them once your training was over," Jun replied to his student. "Fine! It''s not fair but I''ll wait until my training is finally over. I can already feel the end coming," said Julius with ambition. "Fair? What would you know about fairness? You were blessed with having the ability to master anything without having to go through the gruelling part of it. You have a second entity which acts as your guardian angel when you''re in danger and you were also born into a royal family. You''re the one who doesn''t know anything about fairness," Jun said in his head but not to his student as he couldn''t allow his disciple to learn that his teacher was jealous of him. "Well, you''ve got you hands on the scroll you wanted so what do you want to do now?" Jun asked his student. "I think it''s time we visit Dae and Knight," Julius said with an eager smile on his face which made Jun sigh. "Look Julius, the reason which I''ve been avoiding them is because they''re held prisoner inside one of the great kingdoms. If you were to go there, we could get in to a lot of trouble since we''ve already messed with Mary and Steward. If we keeping going like this, the rulers of the great kingdoms might just decide to hunt us with their combined power," Jun explained. "Please, I''ve been working so hard so that I wouldn''t have to worry about them and you even saw what I did to Steward. All I want is to get those two on my side and I''ll be happy for quite a while," Julius said with his puppy eyes as he begged to go to the great kingdom. "Okay fine! But we don''t be going in out casual cloths. We''ll be robbing the place! As such, we''ll need to get our selves a couple masks and black attire. To add on, we''ll also be taking your dragon to the kingdom since if they see my dragon, they''ll catch on but with your one, we''ll be able to be I recognizable," Jun finally agreed which made Julius happier than he ever imagined he would be. In just a couple of months, the Julius who was so formal that he even talked to his parents formally along with everyone else. The child who viewed as everyone as nothing but trash. The prince who had been trained since he was but a child to become king as everything would be handed to him. The peak of arrogance known as Julius who had always put up a fake front had changed into a man who found pleasure in training. Julius began to care for those below him and wanted to make a better world for them. He had begun to use his power and influence to actually cause a positive change in the world as he continuously trained in hopes of taking down those who wished to continue the cycle of unequal footing between people. "What are you spacing out for? We have to go get ourselves some robbery attire then we have a great kingdom to rob. You can be getting distracted!" Jun said to his student as he himself was already in the ruby dragon. With a joyful expression, Julius also got on the ruby dragon as he commanded his pet to begin flight. "You don''t know how to fly this dragon right?" Jun asked. "Nope!" Chapter 81 - Miracle After a few minutes of teaching Julius how to fly the jade dragon, the two of them could take flight and head towards the kingdom where the only two users of necromancy are said to live or more specifically are said to be captured in. "Who''s kingdom are Dae and Knight even in?" Julius asked as Jun began to take the lead on flying the ruby dragon since Julius didn''t know the world''s geography as well as Jun had. "We''re going to Sandra''s kingdom. She''s the one that''s decided to keep the two of them as prisoners. "I see, I''ve never really talked to her before so it might be a bit difficult if I ran into her," said Julius. "Don''t worry, the chances of us getting caught are slim!¡­ just kidding, we''re most likely going to get caught if we tried to sneak around. The best plan of action is for both of us to raid the place and while you engage all of the guards in battle, I go down to the prisoner chamber and take our two targets with us," Jun explained. "But wouldn''t that cause alarm across the other 8 kingdoms since there''s someone who can take on everyone that a whole kingdom can offer with ease?" Julius asked. "Yes it will but on the good side, they''ll never catch the robbers since they''re us and no one would assume that you, who has only trained for 10 months would be capable of something so insane. However, I should tell you from now that we''ll still be suspected of being the actual culprits so we''ll have to take everything we use on this trip to the 10th continent. That would mean leaving Dae and Knight in the hands of Spike and the others," Jun explained to which Julius just nodded before raising a question. "Wait, that would mean leaving my dragon there to!" Julius complained. "Of course it would mean that, if we still had this beast with us later on, it would mean that we were the robbers and we would instantly get caught," Jun replied. "You knew about this and still manages to hide it from me. You really are pretty sneaky master Jun," Julius said as he was pretty saddened that he would lose his pet right after he got it. After flying for some time towards a small kingdom so that Jun and Julius could acquire the robbery attire, Julius spotted something on the ground. "Monsters! Please let me battle them master Jun," Julius pleaded. "Why do you want to fight them? You''re much stronger than those weak insects. You could probably kill all of them with a single attack," Jun replied to his student which when he turned around, noticed that Julius looked a bit saddened. "Okay fine, you can go and fight them, but make it quick," Jun said as he told the ruby dragon to descend towards the ground but it didn''t listen since I was Julius'' pet. However, seeing this, Julius himself told his pet to go down to the ground near the monsters which his ruby dragon listened to. Seeing this, Julius arrogantly smirked at Jun. "Relax, it''s not that big of an accomplishment. In fact, it''s not an accomplishment at all. It''s only right that your pet listens to you," Jun said to his student. "Then why do you look so bothered by it?" Julius asked as his ruby dragon finally arrived on the ground to meet the monsters that were there. The monsters which Julius had spotted where a gang of goblins which looked to be around some kind of campfire. "Are they able to think just like us?" Julius asked as he saw the goblins who had achieved mastery over fire. "Yes, well to a certain extent. Think of them as humans who just learned to create fire. While impressive, it''s nothing compared to the complex things which we have in our kingdom let alone to the technology which the other civilization has," Jun explain. "Well it doesn''t matter now. They''re monster after all, and monsters need to be defeated," said Julius as he began to smile before charging towards one of the bigger green goblins. Seeing Julius, the goblin reached for its wooden club before placing it pointing towards the sky before bringing it down on the ground as it tried to attack Julius. However, seeing as it had agreed to battle, for a moment, Julius decided to get serious and at the flash of a light, Julius not only killed the large goblin but every other one as well which was in the area. Without even realizing what had just taken place, all the goblins got on their knees before falling simultaneously from having a whole punched into their chest. "Man, you were right master Jun. Are there and stronger monsters?" Julius asked as he began to walk towards his master who was waiting for him on the ruby dragon. "Well of course there are stronger monsters in the world. There are those much stronger than these and would even give you a challenge. However we don''t know yet since not a single person in recoded history has managed to defeat enough monsters to reach level 100," Jun explained. "But seeing how much stronger I''ve gotten, I should be strong enough to take on the super strong monsters which even the 9 rulers can''t, right?" Julius asked with a smirk. "To be perfectly honest with you Julius, the monsters which are meant for players above level 90 are on another level. Even the 9 rulers combined with their royal captains and guards couldn''t defeat a single monster of that tier. "Wait, are they seriously that strong? Where do they even live?" Julius asked. "The island called hell. It''s a place where there used to be frequent dungeon gates, however a few years ago a single dungeon gate appeared. Unlike the previous ones, it was large and red and instead of someone opening the dungeon, the monster inside it opened it himself. Even so, a full scale battle was launched to take him down but not a single scratch was left on his body," Jun explained. "The only miracle that happened that day was that no one was killed¡­ because they seemed too weak to have the honour to be killed by his hands," Jun finished. Chapter 82 - Activate "So what happened to him? Is he dead or alive?" Julius asked. "He''s still alive and chooses to stay on the island in wait for someone to come to challenge him and somehow be a difficult opponent for him. That opponent will probably be you. The only problem being that if you''re worthy but not strong enough to defeat him, he''ll kill you so he could honour you," Jun explained the monster which lingered in the island called hell. "So what are the 9 rulers going to do about him?" Julius asked. "There''s said to be another battle which will take place in a couple years. Right now all the 9 rulers are training for that day to come so that they wouldn''t have to face such a humiliating defeat once again," Jun replied as the two finally arrived at the small kingdom where they would buy their robbing attire. "Wait here, I''ll go in there myself and get us the clothing. It''ll be suspicious if both of us go in and buy the attire before shortly going to rob the great kingdom," said Jun said he got off the ruby dragon from a distance and told Julius to wait for him in the air so that he wouldn''t get recognized. After the short while, Jun came out of the kingdom and as Julius commanded her dragon to go down to pick his master up, Jun jumped from the ground and somehow managed to to land of the ruby dragon. "Secret art?" Julius asked with an annoyed face. "Yup, but you can do it too without having to rely on a secret art. It''s pretty easy especially with the status points you have," said Jun. "Ok ok, I''ll believe you for now but I''ll have to test it later," said Julius as his master handed him the attire which they were going to use to rob Sandra''s kingdom with. Julius quickly put on his fill black attire which was a black turtle neck with black trousers and a black mask. While it looked and felt weird, Julius endured it for the sake of the mission. After finally arriving at Sandra''s kingdom, it was night time which was perfect for Julius and Jun. Without wasting a moment, Jun leaped off the dragon so he could go inside the prisoner chamber. As for Julius, he crashed into the castle just as Jun had done in Steward''s kingdom. Hearing the noise, the guards at the front of the castle quickly went inside to check what happened, leaving the front doors of the castle open. As for Julius, once he has entered the castle, he told his ruby dragon to go wait outside for Jun which his pet listened to. However as the dragon was leaving, one of the guards quickly leaped towards it and tries to stop the dragon from leaving. Seeing this, Julius grabbed the guard with on hand and slammed him down on the ground. A few moments later, a woman in almost no armour came to the scene with nothing but a long yet skinny sword much like a katana. "Who are you and why are you attacking this place?" the woman asked Julius. However, Julius chose to stay quiet as if he were to speak, he could easily get caught. "Then so be it, you shall die without saying your last words," the woman said as he began to sprint towards Julius with her blade pointed towards Julius'' chest. While in the past Julius knew her to be Sandra, Julius knew that the real queen of the katana kingdom was elsewhere. As the fake Sandra began to charge towards Julius, the prince himself took a step forward which to her looked like a coupe steps as he closed the distance between them and managed to reach her side as he grabbed her katana with his blade hands and snapped it in half like a stick. "But how? No one should be able to defeat me! Who exactly are you?" the fake Sandra asked which Julius assumed her to be the previous captain of the royal guards. "My queen!" the current captain of the royal guards came spinning in as she tried to slice the head of the attacker which they didn''t know to be Julius. However the current captain wouldn''t have even the slightest chance at defeating Julius as Julius quickly looked up at her before pulling out the dagger with Zo had given him. "Activate!" Julius turned his small dagger into a long blade of fire as he used it like a whip to deflect the attack of the current captain of the royal guards while also burning her a bit. "A monster core infused weapon?! Not just anyone could attain those, we''re dealing with the real deal, someone call the true queen of the kingdom," the fake Sandra said. ¡­ "Who dares to enter my kingdom without my permission and starts all his mess. You shall pay for this this your life," said a figure as it began to walk through the crowd of guards with its armour clicking against itself. The figure which was appeared was a somewhat younger woman than the fake Sandra. She wore her full golden armour with its engravings which gleamed the colour pink like flowers. Her skinny ginger hair barely showed as her armour covered most of her features. However, one thing was clear. That woman was the real queen of the katana kingdom, Sandra. "Answer me at once, who are you?!" Sandra commanded but was ignored by Julius. "You can choose to stay quiet but you shall die here all the same," said Sandra as she swung her blade in the air which was a metaphor for declaring battle however as she did that, Sandra''s blade became the focus of Julius'' attention as he saw her golden blade continue to glow while it began to get surrounded with pink petals all around until Julius was completely frozen in place while he was mesmerized by the beauty which was in front of him. Julius even forgot where he was for a moment. <> Chapter 83 - Monster <> Frozen in place by the beauty of the pink petals in front of him, Julius couldn''t move for a moment. It was like time had stopped for him. He only snapped out of it when blood began to drip from his cheeks as he realized that he had been cut by the enemy. "Damn, I really put everything I had into that attack, I guess this won''t be as easy as I thought," said Sandra who was behind Julius. "Look, even if your durability is great, your attacks won''t land since I''ll just keep using my weapon to stop you. Just give up now and leave. This is an opportunity of a life time, I''m willing to let you escape with your life," Sandra said to Julius. However even with her offer, Julius stayed silent as he prepared himself to go all out in the battle so that he wouldn''t have to deal with Sandra''s weapon. Seeing that Julius was still willing to fight, Sandra just sighed before pointing her blade forward. <> Before Sandra could finish casting her weapons special trait, she stoped as her face began to quickly turn red as she tried to gasp for air. Without even being able to see what had taken place, Sandra was placed in a head lock where instead of using his hands, Julius used his feet to wrap around her neck while he pointed Zo''s dagger at Sandra''s cheek before slicing it just as Sandra had done to him. Once Sandra lost enough air to get on her knees, Julius let go of her so that she wouldn''t die since that wasn''t part of the plan. In that exact moment, Julius heard a whistle which was the signal that him and Jun agreed upon when it was time to leave. As such, Julius jumped out of the castle as landed on top of his ruby dragon which had already began flight before leaving the kingdom. "Did you get Dae and Knight?" Julius asked his master. "Yup," Jun replied as he pointed towards the two large skeletal figures with one being skinny while the other one was much wider. Although they were skeletons, they were very much alive as Julius could sense their aura. Both Dae and Knight wore robes which looked a bit too luxurious as they were covered in intricate designs with most of them being made of golden patches. "Wow, so those are the liches which are capable of necromancy. I''ll get to working on curing them once we get back home," said Julius. "How did it go with Sandra and her guards?" Jun asked his student. "As expected, they were no match for me," Julius said as he smiled while taking off his mask. "Then why are you bleeding?" Jun asked. "Well, I ran into some trouble at first with Sandra''s weapon. I thought that I wouldn''t be affected by them since my mental fortitude is so strong but for some reason, I was captured by it for a moment," Julius explained. "For a moment? You should be very grateful. Once anyone is captured by her flower garden, they can escape. The only way out is death," Jun explained. "Well I guess that makes me feel better about myself. Anyway, I should probably get myself to sleep, I need to cultivate right away," said Julius as he fell asleep, leaving jun in charge of the ruby dragon. As Julius went to sleep he woke up in the empty void where he had been so many times whether it was to talk to the whole figure, battle against other figures or even the scroll beasts. Nevertheless, Julius was very familiar with the place however he didn''t know why he was there in that moment. Julius looked around until he finally met the reason why he was summoned. Julius met the gaze of 2 enormous liches which were in a mage''s attire while they looked down at Julius. With just a single look, Julius knew that they were the figures of Dae and Knight. The most bizarre thing was that they weren''t moving on their own but were instead being controlled by strings as if they were puppets. The puppet master was an even larger figure which looked to have a human figure but was surrounded in black shadows. Instead of speaking like the dragons from the dragon tier scrolls, all the shadow monster did was laugh. Getting irritated of it, Julius leaped towards it as he prepared to kill the monster that was controlling Dae and Knight however it wouldn''t be that easy as right before Julius could reach the monster, a smaller human figure in armour leaped to counter Julius and sent him down to the ground of the void. As Julius looked around, there were hundreds of thousands of these soldiers all marching towards Julius with the intent to kill. "Necromancy? Dammit, I can''t kill all of them even if I use thousand swords a hundred times. If only I had another mass area attacking secret art!" Julius complained. "Perhaps I should take this," said a familiar voice and when Julius turned around he realized that it was the white glowing figure. Julius'' figure pointed his index finger forward before drawing a circle and pushing it towards the army of the undead. Everything which the circle touched turned to dust and all that was left were the two figures of Dae and Knight along with the shadow monster. Right as the shadow monster began to laugh as it put its hands up in a motion which indicated that he was going to use his stings to make the figures he was controlling do something insane, Julius'' figure jumped in and ripped the strings out of the shadow monster''s grasp before placing the shadow monster himself in a head lock. Finally, Julius figure began to twist the shadow monster''s head until it was forcibly decapitated. "What a monster," said Julius as he watched the white figure drop the shadow monster''s head into the empty void along with the rest of its body which was already falling. Chapter 84 - Change Once Julius had woken up from his slumber, he had realized that he was no longer flying but was instead on the mountain top where Jun''s house was located. "So you''ve finally woken up," said Jun as he continued to sit on the ruby dragon. "Yes and I think I have some good news for you," said Julius as the two skeletal figures known as liches woke up from their slumbers as well. "Where am I?" the two of the asked simultaneously with the same tired voice. "No way, you managed to wake them up without even touching them?!" Jun said in an over joyed voice. "I guess I did," Julius replied with a tired smile. "Sir! You''re the hero that saved us! Thank you for all you''ve done for us! We can''t ever repay you for the generosity you''ve showed us. If there''s anything we can do, please tell us and we shall do it or die trying," the skinny lich said to Julius. "I guess they all end up being loyal subjects after all," said Jun as he sighed. "First of all, how about you introduce yourselves to me," Julius asked. "But of course. My name is Dae and this one is my brother, Knight. We tried to absorb the shadow monster tier scroll but ended up in a permanent coma due to it. It even turned us into these monsters which you much find repulsive," the skinny one explained. "No no, I actually don''t mind. My name is Julius and this is my teacher, Jun. I woke you up from your slumber because I seek your power. I want to build my own world but the people who currently rule this world wouldn''t like that so when they find out about my plan, there will surely be a war which is why I want you to use your powers to create me an army," Julius explained. "So will it just be us 3 and the undead army? Not that we care, we''ll follow you to our graves," Dae, who was the skinny one asked. "No, of course not. I already have a couple strong allies which will be able to take down the leaders of the enemy. The only problem would''ve been their army which we now have so there''s no need to worry about that anymore since I have you. However it is still not time for the war to begin which is why you must go into hiding for now," Julius explained. "Why would we hide? We would like to serve you right away," Knight explained. "Thank you for your words but it''s not that I don''t want you at my side, it''s that for the plan to work, we need to keep our armies a secret. That way, when the time finally comes, the enemies won''t know what hit them," Julius replied. "I understand, so where shall we go?" Dae asked Julius. "Don''t worry, my pet dragon will take you to the place where you''ll be hiding. You should meet one of my other subjects there, just tell them that ''Julius'' sent you and you''ll be taken care of for the time being," Julius explained. "So would you like us to do anything in the mean time while we''re hiding?" Knight asked Julius. "Oh right, I have a question for you. Does it take any stamina or time for you to summon the undead army?" Julius asked hoping that they would say no. "Well, it doesn''t take any stamina out of us to summon them but it takes quite a long time to actually summon them. Plus we''ll also need an actual dead person so that we can summon them," Dae replied. "Aww, that''s a shame," Julius looked rather disappointed before he remembered something. "Wait, never mind what I just said, it works out perfectly. There was a war which took place there 200 years ago. There has got to be hundreds of thousands of dead people there which you can revive. And they''ll be able to join us¡­" Julius said before stopping himself. "Anyway, you should probably go, the people we rescued you from are probably looking for you," said Julius before getting off the ruby dragon along with his master before sending off the ruby dragon towards the 10th continent. "Wow, things ended up working better than you expected. You must be pretty satisfied. Would you like to celebrate?" Jun asked his student with a smile but when he looked at Julius, he saw that his student had a most sinister grin on his face. "Stop that, you look like a villain," said Jun as he karate chopped Julius on the back. "Sorry, I just got an idea from hearing that to summon the undead, you need to find a corpse," said Julius. "So what of it? Isn''t that to be expected?" Jun asked his student. "You still don''t get it? I''ll just make things more clear. Think of the royal graveyard," Julius said and upon hearing those words, fear began to set in on Jun''s face. "No, you''re not actually thinking of reviving every single one of the previous kings and queens of the great kingdoms!" Jun complained. "I am planning to do exactly that. If we have them on our side. It''ll be over before we know it," said Julius. "But that''s intruding upon the realm of the dead," Jun argued. "So what? I mean we''re going to do it to all the other people that died 200 years ago. There''s no difference between the two groups other than the fact that one of royalty while the other one is composed of commoners. You realize that my goal is to end the divide between the two sides so whatever happens to the commoners can happen to the royal members. Plus, why are you so worried about them, they''re already dead," Julius replied to his master. "I guess you''re right. Even I am not free of the ways of thinking which the world has made me learn.. Only you can change this world, Julius," Jun replied. Chapter 85 - Sandra While Jun and Julius were having their conversation, a meeting between the real kings and queens of the great kingdoms was requested by Sandra. "Why have to called a meeting between all 9 of us when you know the predicament which we''re in with Henry?!" Mary demanded. "Hey come on, let''s hear her out," Henry said in the circle which the 9 rulers where sitting in. "I know, if it wasn''t serious, I would''ve only called upon everyone except Henry," Sandra replied. "So what in the world is so important that we would need the help of someone who''s our enemy," said Steward. "Do you see this?" said Sandra as she pointed to a tiny cut in her cheek which caught the attention of everyone in the room. "A mysterious figure came and attacked me during the night. Not only that but he was easily able to defeat my representative, the captain of my royal guards as well as myself with ease. The odd thing was that he didn''t take anything of kill anyone before he left," said Sandra which baffled everyone in the room. "Wait what?! A single person was able to defeat you? But how?" Henry demanded. "I don''t know, I still don''t understand. He could''ve killed me but chose to let me live as if he was requesting a battle between us," Sandra explained. "Wait it might be Julius and Jun! I don''t know how but Henry''s boy was for some reason a lot stronger than myself, say Sandra, did the figure which attacked you crash into your castle?" Steward asked. "Yes! Did that also happen to you?" Sandra asked as she might have just found out who the person that attacked her was. "Did they come in with a red dragon too?" Sandra asked with a glimmer of hope. "No¡­ Jun has a jade dragon. It hasn''t been that long since I saw them so there''s no way that Julius could have learned such a high level secret art. Plus, he a user of cultivation through battle so he shouldn''t have a dragon in general," Steward replied which killed the light of hope in Sandra''s eyes. "Wait Steward, you said that Jun and Julius attacked you?! Why would they do such a thing?" Henry asked. "Well, I kind of tried to lure Julius in so that I could capture him for myself but somehow I was defeated by Jun a first time then they both came back however the second time, Julius was the one that defeated me," Steward explained which angered everyone in the room for what he tried to do. "Wait everyone, it has already happened so there''s no point is getting mad. The important thing is that we find out who the person that attacked Sandra. Not only does it cause a problem for you but also for me as well. Let us create a temporary alliance for now," said Henry. "So can we go and kill your son as revenge for what he did to me?" Steward asked. "First of all you deserved it, secondly, that was most likely not my son who you fought. It was probably Jun who made a clone of himself then changed its form to look like my son and fought against you. He probably did it so that you along with the rest of us wouldn''t dare to approach Julius while he''s training. I must say, Jun has taken quite a liking to Julius. Maybe he''s growing pretty strong. He might already be suitable to take on a guard or two," Henry said as he tried to praise his son. "Oh Henry how mistaken you are. Your son is the devil himself. I''m sure that Julius was the one in both incidents. If he''s grown this much, it''ll just make my victory against him that much more enjoyable," said Mary to herself as she didn''t mention a single thing which happened at her kingdom with Julius'' second entity to anyone. "So what are we supposed to do now? Is there even a guarantee that he''ll even show up ever again?" Mary asked as she tried to contribute to the conversation. "Well for starters, Sandra have you made sure that nothing valuable has been stolen for your kingdom?" Henry asked. "Yes of course, that was the first thing I did," Sandra replied as she had completely forgotten to check the prison chamber where Dae and Knight were being kept since they had no value in the eyes of anyone there. "Okay then, how about checking everything instead of just things which are valuable. That might give us at least a clue as to what the movies of the robber are," Henry instructed her. "Okay!" Sandra replied. "This meeting had come to a close, we shall resume here in a week after Sandra manages to gather the information about her castle," said Henry before calling a close to the meeting. ¡­ Once Sandra had arrived at the castle of her kingdom, she ordered an immediate search of everything on her castle no matter how invaluable they were. After searching for a whole 2 days, nothing was found missing however Sandra continued to search everything, multiple times until she finally remembered something. "No no no no no no, please don''t tell me they''re gone. Please for the love of everything good in this world tell me that they are still here," said Sandra as she ran towards the basement for the castle where the prison chamber was and where Dae and Knight were held prisoner. ¡­ "Master Jun, what would happen if someone found out that we stole Dae and Knight? They would easily know that we were building an army," Julius asked his master. "Don''t worry, I already took care of that. I managed to use the cloning secret art so that it still looks like they are unconscious," Jun reassured his student. ¡­ "Good, they''re still here," said Sandra as she looked at the unconscious skeletons of the cloned version of Dae and Knight. Now she could return back to the meeting and tell the rest of the kings and queens that truly nothing was taken from her kingdom Chapter 86 - Council "So master Jun, do you own the shadow monster tier scroll for necromancy?" Julius asked hoping that the answer would be a resounding yes. "Sorry Julius, I actually don''t have it. The truth is that I only have ownership of a select few scrolls of that tier which the world deeps to be too dangerous. The rest of them are either in the library of the limitless or inside the ''council of the strong''," Jun replied. "''Council of the strong''?" Julius asked in a confused voice since it was the first time that he''d actually heard of that place. Seeing that he had forgotten to mention it to his student previously, Jun began to speak. "The council of the strong composed of the most highly ranked guild masters in the world. They have their own separate building which they keep all of the world''s forbidden objects such as the shadow monster tier scroll which allows the user to use necromancy. It was recovered after Dae and Knight had stolen it before going into a coma," Jun explained. "What are guilds and what are guild master?" Julius continued to ask more questions since his master failed to teach him some things over the past 10 months. "Well, guilds are like a place for cultivators to hang out and talk to each other. Their main aspect is that they have missions which they give out to their members. Those missions could either be to help an old lady get her cat out of a tree or go to a village where monsters are terrorizing the place. Of course there are mission which send the members to dungeons as well too. Nevertheless, it''s a good starting point for anyone however, the reason which I didn''t sent you there also exist," said Jun. "Wait what? You didn''t send me there of purpose? But it sounds like a good place to be. I can finally be with other normal cultivators instead of just training by myself all the time," Julius complained. "Look if you think about it, most of your days have been spent on constant training, day in and day out. You even train while you''re sleeping. However if you went to a guild, the best you would do would be 4 hours of daily training and that''s only if you''re on of the most dedicated. The reason for this is because people are distractions. You''ll start talking to one of them and before you know it, it''s already night fall. That''s why I chose to keep you here. If you were to go there right as you were doing your training, you wouldn''t read the power you have now for at least 20 more years," Jun explained. "Are guilds really that horrible? Why would anyone want to join them?" Julius asked. "I never said that they were horrible. All I said was that they were a distraction. In actuality, they''re a wonderful place to find allies and people to bond with. The only problem being that your progress drastically decreases while you''re there," said Jun. "Now as for the guild masters, you should be able tell by the name alone what they do. They''re the leaders of the guilds. However, the council of the strong also exists as its own separate power which is composed of all the guild masters in our world and they''re usually spending most of their days at the council instead of at their guild, obviously because there are more people like them in the council of the strong," Jun finished explaining. "So master Jun, why can''t I go to a guild now? My training process has already finished. All that''s left is my cultivation through battle, as for cultivation through meditation, I''m nearly the end of it since the amount of SP I gain per day has drastically increased as well," Julius asked. "Well, I guess that would be fine. If you weren''t as wealthy as you are thanks to your father, you would''ve complained about how much of a cut some of the guilds take from their members," Jun agreed. "Take a cut? I would never agree to that. I need to save all I can for my very own kingdom. I would never give a single sent away for free," said Julius. "Then why did you burn 10 thousand gold coins are the market so you could teach the people there a lesson?" Jun asked which left Julius embarrassed. "Anyway, most of the guilds pay rather horribly for someone like yourself. The only ones which would pay to your satisfaction would be the missions which are meant for extremely strong people," Jun told his student. "Yes but that should be a problem right? Even if my cultivation through battle level is low, my actual strength should be more than enough for those mission," Julius asked wanting confirm his hypothesis. "Obviously, that''s only to be expected. However I should warn you now, if you decide to join a clan, join one of the best in the world so that you can get the best there. Of course since it''s rated so high, the people there will be strong and you''ll probably end up getting a cut of all the money you make there," Jun explained. "Don''t worry about that, I think that I have a perfect plan to deal with the problem is something like that every arises in the guild," said Julius with a gentle grin. "Anyway, do you have a full face mask I can wear while I''m there? I don''t want people to know who I am while I''m in the guild," said Julius. "Well, it won''t be a problem. You shouldn''t need a mask. I''ll just cast a secret art on you so that you can walk around normally but to other people, you''ll just look like some regular poor kid," said Jun. "Sure, by all means go ahead. As long as it works, I''ll be fine," said Julius which Jun nodded to. <> ¡­ "Perfect, even I can''t see your original form.. With this, we''ll be able to get you into the clan without a problem," said Jun with a smile. Chapter 87 - Match Once the illusion had been set up, the two of them walked near the edge of the mountain which Jun''s house was on before calling upon Jun''s jade dragon. Since they didn''t have anything else to take care of, the two of them instantly rode of the dragons back before taking flight towards the location where one of the world''s strongest guild was so that Julius could register there. While the two of them sat on the jade dragon, Julius got a chance to sleep through the night and until they finally arrived that the guild. When morning finally rolled around, Julius woke up in the middle of the sky as they were still flying. "Are we still not there yet?" Julius asked as he finally woke up from his slumber. "Nope. I slowed down my dragon''s flying speed so that you could get enough sleep. Anyway, if you want, I can make him go a lot faster and we''ll be there shortly. It should only take a few minutes," Jun offered. "Sure, go ahead, just let me get a grip on the dragon-" said Julius as he tries to hold his arms around the jade dragon without hurting with with his overwhelming strength, however before he could do that, Jun ordered his dragon to go at its top speeds, almost making Julius fall off in the process. After only 6 minutes, they had arrived at their destination. One of the greatest guilds in the world. The building itself was extremely large and could be compared to that of the castles at the great kingdoms. The building itself was in a small kingdom. Unfortunately for the ruler of the small kingdom, their castle was smaller than the guild building which was rather shameful. The guild building was similar to that of a colosseum the exception being that it was much taller and the inside did have a celling. The front of the building had a big sign which said "Battling Barbarians". "Is that the name of their guild?" Julius asked in a perplexed tone. "It actually is. Try not to make fun of it though, you can get in a lot of trouble for it since it''s basically a crime to insult them," Jun told his student as he got off the jade dragon and began to walk towards the guild building instead of just staring at it from afar. "Got it, don''t worry, I''m actually trained in faking things so that others feel better about themselves. It was part of my king training at the kingdom," Julius said as he follows behind his master. Without saying a word, the two of them walked inside the guild building and began to head for the front desk as they assumed that anyone could just register into the guild. However that was clearly wrong as they got many stares from everyone inside the building. "Hold on there old man, you can''t just get into this place and start walking around like it''s your home. You either pay a fee or you get kicked out," said a young gentle man in a fancy navy blue suit and brown hair that was pulled back as he stood up to stop Jun from going any further. "Is this true?" Julius asked the woman as the register of the guild which shook her head in disagreement. "Hey runt, you better start listening to me if you want the best for yourself. And you!" the man in the navy blue suit said as he turned towards the lady behind the register. "How many times do I have to tell you to mind you own damn business?!" the man yelled at her which made her turn away in fear. "Oh sorry sir. I didn''t mean to offend you. Please, we''ll pay the fee. Actually, we would be willing to pay double the fee if you beat me in an arm wrestling match," Julius offered which got the man in the suit laughing. "Sure kid, I''ll entertain you. However just for your arrogance, I''ll increase the amount you pay me after I wipe the floor with you," said the man in the suit as he sat back down at the wooden table he was at before he got up to interrupt Jun. Of course Julius got on the other side of the table and clasped hands with the man in the navy blue suit. Their little match got the attention of many of the members since they wanted to see how humiliating it was going to be for the kid who so arrogantly challenges one of the members of their guild. "Who wants to bet?!" one of them offered. "Come on, everyone knows that Sylvester is going to win. It''s not even close. You might as well be insane if you think this tiny commoner is going to win," another one argued. "I''ll bet on the kid winning," said a man in the back that was drunk to a point where he didn''t even look like he had a brain. "You hear that everyone?! Bet on Sylvester winning, it''s like earning free money! This is your last chance to win free money," said the man who started the betting game as everyone rushed to put in their votes with everyone except one man voting that Sylvester would win. "On the count of 3, the match starts!" "3!" "2!" "1!" "I hope Sylvester doesn''t break the poor kid''s arm," that was the last comment made before the results of the match were revealed. ¡­ "B-But how," said Sylvester as he brought out his hand up from the broken table which Julius had slammed his enemies hand into, in turn breaking the entire thing. "No! That kid probably cheated! Another match! And this time, I''ll take him on!" one of the people in the back yelled out to which Julius agreed and took on every single one of them at different tables before breaking them one by one. All while the drunk man who bet that Julius would win got all the money he could ever need for the rest of his life. Chapter 88 - Ozel "Hey Julius, are you alright? Why are you humiliating all of them like this?" Jun asked his student after he had broken the last table in the guild and caused everyone to fear him. "Because¡­ of her," said Julius as he pointed to the register. "She''s the only one here who actually does any work yet all of these worthless worms treat her like trash," said Julius as he grew more furious. "I''m home!" said a tall old man as he walked through the doors of the guild just as Julius and Jun had but instead of the guild members disrespecting him, they hid behind him. "Who dares to defile my home?!" the old man yelled out as his eyes began to light of in flames. "I-It was him!" one of them said as they pointed at Julius. "How dare you enter my treasured home and destroy it?! You shall be pay for your crimes with your life!" the old grew furious however the same applied Julius who was glad that the leader of the guild had come and he would have an opportunity to teach him how to actually hun his guild. "Oh, it''s Ozel," said Jun in a casual voice. "Jun? What are you doing here? Anyways help me kill this vermin that has dared to cause havoc in my home," said the old man. "Will the both of you shut up!" the girl at the register said as she pulled out a a large double edged sword and pointed it at the old man first before pointing it at Julius which caused the prince confusion since he was just trying to help her. "Fine, fine, just don''t go berserk again," said the old man as he calmed himself down along with Julius who was just confused by this point. "Wait, what is happened?" Julius asked. "I''ll explain things for you. First of all this old man is the guild master of this place. We used to be friends a long time ago but he got too busy taking care of the guild. Next, the man who bet on you winning is probably one of the strongest, is not the strongest person in the guild but he chooses to hide that power and mask himself by getting drunk all the time. Lastly, the girl. I realize that you probably thought that she was just a weak little girl but that''s only because she has dual personalities. She''s actually strong enough to kill all of them," said Jun as he pointed towards the members of the guild which had challenged Julius. "Wait is that true?" Julius asked the girl who had returned to the front desk of the guild which nodded in a shameful way. "Wait Jun, why are you speaking to this criminal in such a nice tone? He must atone for his sins," Ozel, who was the guild master of the guild asked. "Because he''s my student! I was planning to keep it a secret but since it''s you, there''s no point in hiding it," said Jun, of course he kept the part about Julius being the prince of the greatest kingdom in the world a secret. "Y-Your student?! But you swore of training people for the rest of your life. If you''re willing to train people once again, please take all of these useless trash bags and help them make something out of their worthless lives," Ozel asked of Jun. "Sorry Ozel, this one was a special case. He has a knack for learning quickly. It''s only been about a year since I took him under my wing and he''s almost finished his training. I only brought him here so that he could be assigned dungeons," Jun told Ozel which disappointed the old man. "Then so be it. I''ll allow him to take missions here and-" Ozel began to speak before cutting himself off. "Only a year?! And he''s almost done his training?! Jun, you''ve got to be lying to me! Are you saying that your training which many people couldn''t complete even in 20 years only took this commoner a single year?!" Ozel began to panic. "Actually, I''ll just see for myself," said Ozel as he placed his hand forward to shake Julius'' hand which Julius agreed to. ¡­ "I seriously hate you Jun. You''ve once again raised a demon. If only you would take more students or at least teach the rest of us your secrets," Ozel complained before getting back to Julius. "Anyway, you can join our guild and you''ll be safe here. I want deduct any money from you as well since you''re Jun''s student but I''ll make you work until you can''t feel your limbs," said Ozel to Julius which the prince nodded quickly to. "How old is he?" Ozel asked randomly. "14, but he''s almost 15," Jun said nonchalantly. "So it''s been less that 1 year since he''s even been able to cultivate?! Well, you''re always full golden surprises. Just try not to give me a heart attack. Anyway, I want him to stay with us until he''s 18. Which I presume you know to be when the celebration to see his growth is," said Ozel as he brought Julius to the front desk so he could register at the guild. Of course both Julius and Jun agreed to the terms that Ozel had set. "Cece, register this boy into our guild will you? I''m going to make him start his first mission right away," said Ozel before leaving to talk to Jun. "Hi there," Cece said with a bright smile which looked a bit forced and she looked more scared than anything. "I guess that dual personality thing was true," Julius thought to himself before continuing his registration process. Julius answered all the questions that he was asked which were mainly about what he would do during missions and how confident he was in his abilities. Other than that, he as also asked about his name, age and things along those lines which he answered truthfully Julius was a common name and he looked nothing like the prince of the greatest kingdom in the world so there was little room for suspicion. "Well, it''s great to have you on our team.. Please continue to look after us and we''ll look after you," Cece said with a smile on her face. Chapter 89 - Ranks "Master Ozel, I''ve registered him into our guild," said Cece as she called upon the guild master. "That''s great! Now to give him a mission," said Ozel and he took at one of the 2 boards where the guild kept their missions. "Actually, this might be too difficult for him. Let''s just have him accompany one of the members who already has a mission and then we''ll see what type of mission he''ll be able to handle," said Ozel as he looked around. "Hey you! You''re going on a mission soon right? Have him accompany you and tell us what you think of him," Ozel pointed at Sylvester which just wanted to die from the embarrassment of having to act as an escort for the kid who humiliated him. "What''s problem? Are you saying that you won''t do it?" Ozel asked as he looked to get more angry before Cece called him to the counter. After she whispered something to his ear, Ozel changed his mind before stopping himself from laughing after Cece had explained what had taken place before he had arrived. "Change of plans, Cece, you pick out a mission and take the new kid with you. Sylvester, since this was all your fault, you''ll be taking over the register," said Ozel which Sylvester agreed to without complaining. Sylvester instantly walked to the side of the front desk where there was a small door which allowed him to go behind it and take over while Cece left so that she could take Julius on his first mission. Right after Cece had left the front desk, it was as if her whole personality had changed. She looked a lot of serious that before which made Julius assume that she changed personalities when he exited her job area. "Do you have a preference as to where you would like to go and what monsters you would like to fight?" Cece asked Julius. "Not really, I''m fine with anything," said Julius. "Okay then, just incase something were to go wrong, I''ll pick a mission where I can fight for myself and protect you as well," said Cece as she picked up a poster from the board of missions before going back to the front desk. "Hey Sylvester, pass me my blade," said Cece which Sylvester listened and gave her her pitch black double edged blade. "If you don''t have anything else to take care of, it would be best if we were to leave now," said Cece which Julius nodded in agreement and walked out of the guild with her. Seeing the two walk out of the guild, Jun just simply waved goodbye before returning to his conversation with Ozel. ¡­ Once near the exit of the small kingdom, Julius began to look around for a dragon of some kind which he assumed would take him to his destination. "Why are you zoning out, we''ve got a mission to complete," said Cece as he was half way inside a caravan already. "Oh right, I forgot how rare cultivators who use meditation are, let alone those who can use the dragon summoning secret art," Julius said to himself before running inside the caravan. "Where are we even going?" Julius asked Cece since he still didn''t know what the mission was about. "We''re going to a mountain range close of one of the grey kingdoms, more specifically, that of the queen called Sandra," said Cece which brought chills to Julius since it hadn''t been that long since he battled against her. The most memorable thing being her flower garden technique. "What will we be doing there?" Julius asked. "From what the mission has described, it should be a dungeon which is about a C+ rank. Since you probably don''t know about guild rankings I''ll just explain," said Cece. "There are ranks from E to A. Each one representing 20 levels of what a cultivator should be. While rank E represents levels 1-20, rank A represents levels 81-100 and the other letters correspond with their own level respectively. The C+ is because it is in the higher level of the 20 levels meaning that it is from level 56-60 while levels 41-45 would be C- and 46-55 would just be C rank. I hope that made sense," said Cece which Julius nodded as it actually made sense to him due to his increased intelligence. "Anyway, there''s no need to worry since I''ll be looking after you. We''ll find out what kind of monsters we''ll be facing once we get to the dungeon," said Cece as she tried to reassure Julius. "Thank you," Julius replied. ¡­ After a while of riding inside the caravan, it had came to a sudden stop and the driver got up from his seat and knocked inside the rider''s compartment to tell Cece and Julius that they had made it to their desired destination. Hearing the knocking, the two of them quickly got out of the caravan before Cece payed him with a couple silver coins which she had with her. "Let''s get going, we''re almost there," said Cece as she began to climb the mountain where the dungeon gate was said to be since the caravan wouldn''t be able to get them across the mountain. Julius followed behind her as that was all he could do. After walking for come time, the two of them made it to where the mountain''s peak should''ve been but instead there was a crater of some kind which inside it had green grass and clean water while in the middle of all of that was a single double door which nothing behind it. "Wow, it''s beautiful," said Julius as he began to go inside the crater of the mountain. "Be careful not to fall," Cece warned him before going doing with him towards the double doors. "This is it. After you go in, there''s no turning back. Are you sure you''re ready for this?" Cece asked Julius to which he nodded before the both of them placed their palm of either side of the door and pushed it open together before walking inside of it.. The doors automatically closed behind them meaning that their battle had already started. Chapter 90 - War Hero "What is this place?" Julius asked himself as he tried to see in the dark room before the place lit up on this own. "This is a dungeon. Most of the time, the dungeon is composed of more than a single monster with them making a group and forcing you to battle them all at once," said Cece. "Then we must be lucky since we only have to battle a single one," said Julius with a smile of his face. "No, it''s the complete opposite, it''s horrible when it''s a single monster because it''s strength along with its other aspects are astronomically boosted. This dungeon could be a B if not a B+ tier!" Cece said as she placed her hand in front of Julius so that he doesn''t get hurt in the battle while she pointed her blade at the centaur in front of her. The dungeon''s inside was much larger than expected with there being many trees and bushes in the area. It looked much to peaceful for the half horse-half human hybrid. Nevertheless, Cece jumped into battle as she went in to cut off the centaur''s head so that the battle would end quickly but before she could so that, the centaur raised its two front feet and kicked her back into the dungeon''s wall. Although it was a devastating blow to Cece, she still got up from the ground and rushed to the centaur''s side before swinging her blade at the monster. Even though it had made contact with the monster, no damage was dealt to it. It was as if Cece had hit a block of solid steel. That was when things became clear. This dungeon would be her grave. Even so, she had to try to defeat the monster, not for her but for Julius. "I can''t allow him to die here. He still has much to live for. My luck ended on the worst time possible," said Cece as she one again stood up from the ground so that she could charge at the centaur. However the monster had enough of letting Cece attack all she wanted to. As such, the centaur kicked her back and before she could get up, it charged at her and began to endlessly stomp on her until she couldn''t move. "I should probably intervene. Honestly, I should''ve interrupted this a long time ago. I really thought she stood a chance though," said Julius as he began to walk towards the unconscious Cece. "R-Run Julius," she said in her weak voice. Seeing that Julius was walking towards it, the centaur turned to Julius as it prepared to kill the boy. However before the centaur could land its feel on Julius'' face, the prince quickly leaped up and slapped the face of the human which was on top of the centaur. "Wait!" said Julius which the centaur instinctively listened to as it watched Julius pick Cece up and lay her in a way were her back was on the dungeon''s wall as if he was trying to make her watch because in truth that was his intention. After laying her on the dungeon''s wall, Julius quickly disappeared from the centaurs vision and nothing seemed to happen for quite a while. The centaur just waited for something to happen but for a long time nothing happened. However in truth, that wasn''t what happened at all The moment right after Julius had disappeared from the centaur''s line of vision, Julius had decided to constantly punch every single part of the centaur until all of its bones were shattered. Even so, that wasn''t enough as right after that, Julius got of the centaur''s back before it could fall and wrapped both his hands on the centaur''s head. "I don''t know what your name is glowing white figure, but you were the one who taught me this," said Julius to himself before twisting the centaur''s head and decapitating the monster before dropping its head in front of Cece. "I feel a bit sleep for some reason. Well a little nap won''t hurt anyone," the centaur thought to itself before closing its eyes, never to open them ever again. Seeing as his mission was completed, Julius grabbed Cece by the shoulder and began to drag her out of the dungeon until they had made it out of the double doors of the dungeon. Once outside, the dungeon disappeared on its own before leaving behind a large pouch of golden coins. "How am I supposed to carry the both of them?" Julius asked himself before he thought of a ridiculous idea. Julius placed Cece in a princess carrying position before placing edge of the the pouch which contained the golden coins in his mouth and then leaping off the mountain and with a single jump, Julius went down from the top of the mountain, all the way down until he had reached the place where the caravan was waiting for them. "We''re ready to leave," said Julius as he placed Cece inside the caravan along with the pouch of gold and himself inside too. "The man who had not been sure if he just saw a man jump off a mountain and land like it was nothing, rubbed his eyes to make see he wasn''t hallucinating before beginning the ride back to the small kingdom where his new clan was in. ¡­ "We''re here," the caravan driver said which woke Julius up from his slumber since he had finished the mission during the night and made it back in the morning. "Oh thank you," said Julius before giving the caravan driver 10 gold coins which he assumed to be more than enough to pay for the ride and took Cece along with his pouch of gold back to the guild building. To add on, he had also placed Cece''s black blade in the pouch of gold but not far enough so that it wouldn''t poke a while in it. Once inside the guild building where Jun and Ozel where still talking, Julius entered the room with Cece in his arms and a pouch of gold in his mouth as if he was some war hero. Chapter 91 - Ungrateful "What happened?!" Ozel asked as he ran to take Cece out of Julius'' hands. "I''m not really sure. She said something about a single monster being stronger than a couple of different monsters in a dungeon," Julius told Ozel. "What?! You guys ran into a single monster dungeon? Well, that was unlucky. Those things are pretty rare," said Ozel as he walked up the stairs of the building of the guild and took Cece to a room so she could rest while he figured out what took place at the dungeon. "So how did you manage to get out of Cece already passed out?" Ozel asked Julius once he returned after putting Cece to rest. "Huh? I killed of course, what else could I have done?" Julius replied nonchalantly. "So you''re saying that you took down a beast which put Cece in the state she''s in now on your own without a weapon?" Ozel asked sarcastically as if he was stating an unbelievable thing. "Yes I did¡­ what of it? Is that supposed to be a big accomplishment?" Julius asked with a straight face. "Y-You''ve got to be kidding¡­ Jun, would it be okay if I were to test him? His life might be put in danger though," Ozel asked as he turned to his old friend. "Knock yourself out. I didn''t train him for 10 months straight for him just to die to some dungeon," Jun replied to Ozel which the guild master walked towards a board in the first floor of the guild building and took of a single piece of paper on it before handing it to Julius. "Show this to one of the caravan drivers and he''ll take you to the precise location. Once you''re there, you''ll be able to challenge the dungeon. If you manage to come back alive, I''ll have no choice but to accept you to be stronger than everyone in this room except myself and Jun of course," Ozel told Julius. "So you''re telling me to risk my life just to prove something to you? Although you said that it would make me stronger than everyone in this guild except you right?" Julius asked. "Nope, I said everyone in this room. The real powerhouses of this guild are off in missions so that would exclude them," Ozel replied. "Okay fine, just give me the paper," said Julius as he snatched the mission paper out of Ozel''s hand before taking some gold out of the large pouch he had brought in and headed for the door. "Hey kid! Learn some manners," said Ozel as he stopped Julius from walking out of the room by grabbing him by his shoulder. However, Julius'' instincts kicked in which made him duck down so that the hand wouldn''t be on his shoulder. Next, Julius placed his palm on the guild''s floor before bringing his foot up to Ozel''s face as if to kick him before stopping once he realized what he had done. "Sorry," said Julius as he stood up normally once again before leaving to go on his mission. ¡­ "What was that?" Ozel asked as he turned around to face Jun. "What are you looking at me for? You''re the one who challenged him? Look Ozel, he''s not some arrogant kid that goes around treating others like trash because he believes that he''s better than them. No, that''s not true at all. He knows he''s better than them. Yet in most cases he tries to act like a kind kid which is all the more reason not to get in his way when he''s focused. Because if you were to do that, even you would¡­ die," said Jun which sent shivers up everyone''s spine. "I guess there''s no point in fighting it any longer I guess. I''ll just have to accept that you created a monster that has surpassed even you and I," said Ozel as he went back to the front desk area to sit on a stool beside Jun so that they could continue their conversation. "Say Jun, why don''t you start your own guild? I mean that boy will eventually turn 18 so he can leave my guild and join yours as your right hand man. It''s not like you''re too old either, most of us guild masters are users of the meditation technique so we live for much longer than the regular people. There''s no reason for you not to start your own guild, just to make things even worse for us, you''re a great teacher so you would no doubt raise a couple monsters just like that boy," Ozel told Jun. "Look old friend, I don''t have a secret teaching technique which turns the average loser into a king over night. Most of the time, I pick those who''re clearly talented and I make sure they work hard. Doing that, I make sure they polish themselves but in truth, they were always gems, just gems that needed a little cleaning," Jun explained. "Say Jun, do you think anyone here is a gem?" Ozel asked. Jun looked around yet he looked clearly disappointed. "Sorry to tell you but none of them are gems. I guess with hard work they could grow to be strong but it won''t be anything compared to those who are talented but also work hard as well. The most problematic part is that instead of going on missions they just sit here all day drinking booze until they pass out, maybe if they worked harder, they would be at least twice as strong as they are now," Jun stated. "Twice¡­?" Ozel said to himself before growing extremely red in anger as he stood up to face his guild members. "Get up! All of you!" Ozel yelled at them which made everyone of of them sober and followed his instructions. "You''ve been blessed to gain an analysis by Jun, from this day forward, there will not be a single day where you don''t take a mission! You lot are too lazy, maybe if you didn''t drink all day, we would be able to take down the ''levitating light'' guild! Now get out right now!" Ozel yelled which every member of the guild got up from their tables which had been installed recently after Julius had broken them before going up to the board to take a mission and head our before Ozel could kill them. Chapter 92 - Acting Hero Once everyone had left the guild building due to Ozel''s remarks, the guild master continued to speak to Jun. "So Jun you still haven''t told me, why do you refuse to make your own guild?" Ozel asked. "It''s too much work. What would I gain from creating my own guild. The only perk is being able to go to the council of the strong. Other than that, it''s endless paperwork and having to deal with useless people joining your guild. I would just like to enjoy my peaceful life and train a student or two when they''re extremely talented," Jun replied with a smile of his face as he imagined the days of him simply drinking tea at his house in the mountain while breathing in the fresh air. "Come on, that''s not all being a guild master is all about. You also gain fame and wealth but most of all, you gain family. You become surrounded by people who care about you and each other as if they had the same blood, it''s a bond that can''t be found anywhere else," Ozel argued. "Sure, you might enjoy that but all I see of it is a nuisance. I won''t judge you for what you find joy in but I''m sure it''s now for me," Jun replied. "That''s why you''re going to die alone," said Ozel as he made a childish face as Jun before going back to catching up about what they''ve done during the time they hadn''t been together. Well it was mostly Ozel speaking since Jun mostly spent his days relaxing. ¡­ "Excuse me, can you take me to this place?" Julius asked one of the caravan drivers. "Sure but it''ll cost you a lot," the caravan driver said as he assumed that Julius wouldn''t have the money needed since the illusion cast on his made it look like Julius was a poor commoner. "How much will it cost in gold coins?" Julius asked the driver. "Gold coins? He''s got to be bluffing. There''s no way that a kid like him has something so valuable," the caravan driver thought to himself. "It''ll be 2 gold coins for the trip from here and back," said the caravan driver as he just wanted to get the conversation over with. "Great," said Julius as he handed the driver the 2 gold coins from his pocket before jumping into the passenger section. "Let''s get going, I want to get there as fast as possible," said Julius as he wanted to finish the mission in record time. "W-What? He actually had the gold coins and he gave them to me like it was nothing. If he some rich family''s kid that''s playing some sort of social experiment¡­ at the end of it, if I treated him well, he''ll give me a lot of gold coins? I better play it safe and be nice to him as well as do as he says," the caravan diver said to himself before whacking his horses so that they would go at top speeds. "We''ll be there in a couple hours in we continue at this speed. It''s rather far so a couple hours is the best I can do," said the caravan driver out loud so that he could impress Julius more. ¡­ Just as the caravan driver had promised, in a just a few hours the caravan came to a sudden stop as the caravan driver wiped sweat off of his face and yelled out. "We''re here!" he yelled out which let Julius know that it was time to come out of the caravan. "Thank you so much sir. It''ll only take me a short while to complete this mission. I''ll be back as soon as possible," said Julius as he took the mission paper out of his pocket which told him to look for a dungeon gate. "Now¡­ where could it be?" Julius asked himself as he looked around in the open grassy field for a double door standing in the middle of nowhere. "Is that what you''re looking for?" the caravan driver asked as he point to a double door right to the side of Julius. "Oh, thank you. I can''t believe I didn''t see that before," said Julius as he walked towards a the door and opened it wide before going in there. "Wait why didn''t I realize this before? He''s too young to be in dungeons, I should stop him now," said the caravan driver to himself as he rushed to stop Julius. "Don''t go in there! You''ll get killed!" the caravan yelled as he reached out for Julius arm and after a final push managed to get a hold of Julius wrist. "Good, now that I''ve got you, we can leave this place in one piece," said the caravan diver as he turned around only to see the closed double door. "Oh no¡­ we''re locked inside!" said the caravan driver as he began to panic from the fear of having to deal with actual monsters. "Why did you follow me in here? Don''t you know these places are dangerous?" Julius asked with an annoyed face as the lights of the dungeon began to light up as they revealed the dry ground which was cracking and had began to turn crimson red. The dungeon was extremely hot and there were Murillo large dog looking things in there. "Hell hounds," Julius said as he turned around to face them. "Stay here, you''ll be in danger if you go up against them. "But no! I can''t allow you to fight them on your own, you''re just a kid," said the caravan driver as he got up and held Julius by the wrist before pushing him back so that he would face the hellhounds even though he knew that he was far too weak for them. "I seriously hate people like you. Sacrificing yourself while trying to act like a hero won''t make a difference.. We both know that you''re too weak for them so just step back and let me do my job then you can do your job later," said Julius as he stared dead into the caravan driver''s eyes as he stepped forward to face the hell hounds which were getting hungry and wanted to eat someone. Chapter 93 - Purgatory "Just leave this to me," said Julius as he leaped towards one of the hell hounds which was getting ready to pounce off the caravan driver and eat him. Julius quickly pulled out the dagger which he had received from Zo. "I''ve been meaning to use this for quite a while now but never got the chance. Now, how did it go again," Julius said to himself as he pointed his blade forward as he prepared to slice the head of the hell hounds clean, however before he could do that, a clear set of instructions came to his head which was exactly what he was looking for. Julius stopped himself mid jump before landing back in the ground. Once on the ground, Julius shoved the dagger in his hand into the ground as he clasped his hands together. <> Julius had previously used a sub category which the core that was infused with the blade allowed but in activating the specific trait, Julius had finally managed to draw out the full capability of his blade. Just as Julius used the special trait of his blade, the entire dungeon became engulfed in the fire which stemmed out from Julius'' blade. Every single one of the hell hounds in the dungeon got burned to a crisp, in turn instantly dying. Even the caravan driver almost got hit by the flame if it wasn''t for Julius noticing him last minute and stopping the flame from reaching him. Once he had finished his mission at the dungeon, Julius walked out of the dungeon as the caravan driver followed him in awe. After the two had exited the dungeon, the double doors began to disintegrate into nothingness as is they were never there in the first place. After disintegrating, a large pouch of gold appeared where the dungeon''s entrance used to be which Julius picked up and began to head towards the caravan which was near him after placing the dagger which Zo gave him back into his pocket. "Who even are you?" the caravan driver asked wondering how such a small child could be a monster capable of slaying multiple hell hounds at once and also have possession over a blade that was infused with a monster core. "Huh? I''m just a guild member of the battling barbarians," Julius explained. "I already knew that since they''re the only guild in our kingdom but still, that wouldn''t make any sense since all their strong fighters end up travelling by foot or by a house which is their own since it''s faster anyway. Why would someone like you take a caravan?" the caravan driver asked. "¡­I forgot I was fast. Oh but an actual reason is that I don''t know where the dungeon was located since I''m not familiar with the area," Julius replied. "You''re weird kid. Get inside, I''ll take you back to the kingdom. If you ever need a ride from now on, just ask me and I''ll give them to you for free since you saved my life and all," the caravan driver offered. "That probably isn''t a good idea since I''ll be going on missions every day. Don''t worry, I''ll still come to you but I''ll continue to pay for the rides since you probably have a family of your own to take care of. It would be wrong for me to indirectly harm them," said Julius as he entered the passenger section of the caravan. As the caravan driver stopped himself from crying due to how kind the commoner was to him, he got on the driver section and began to drive the caravan as fast as he could do that Julius could get back to his guild as soon as possible. ¡­ After only a few more hours, Julius had made it back to the kingdom where his guild was stationed in. "We''ve made it back home," said the caravan driver as he watched Julius walk out of the caravan with the pouch of gold in hand. "Thank you once again for saving my life, it was an honour serving you," said the caravan driver. "What''s you name?" Julius asked the caravan driver which he found very puzzling. "Alex, my name is Alex sir," the caravan driver replied. "Okay then, wait just a moment here Alex, I''ll be back," said Julius as he rushed off towards the guild. "That sure is one weird kid," Alex thought to himself. ¡­ "Look here Ozel! I got the gold from the mission! What do you have to say to that?" Julius asked as he yelled out loud once he had gotten inside the guild. "No way, he actually did it," said Ozel with a surprised face. However the people who were more surprised were the other guild members. "How come he gets to call you with just your name?!" "Why doesn''t he call you ''guild master Ozel'' like the rest of us?" Julius just stood proudly while he heard all of the complaining. "You can call me Ozel when you can clear a B- ranked dungeon in less than a day with the travel time included while being on your own. Can any of you useless trash bags do anything even close to that?!" Ozel yelled back at them before turning his attention back at Julius. "Good job Julius. You have been moved to the higher echelon in this guild. You''ve proved yourself so of course you''ll be treated better. You''ll be provided with your own room in the guild and you''ll be provided with higher tier missions," said Ozel in a regretful tone yet a happy one as well since he didn''t want to admit that Julius was strong but he was happy that Julius was at his side. "Thank you guild master Ozel. By the way since the gold is mine, I''m going to go waste all of it right now, I''ll be right back," said Julius as he ran out of the guild building without allowing Ozel to finish. "Wait¡­ did you hear that Jun?! He called me guild master Ozel! You see, he respects me!" Ozel said in a proud voice. "Is gaining the respect of a kid that impressive to you?" Jun asked sarcastically. "You know what I mean," said Ozel as he sat back down on his stool. Chapter 94 - Alex Once Julius had made it outside of the guild building, he rushed to speak with Alex who was his caravan diver that he told to wait for him while he dealt with some business inside the guild which was to speak to Ozel. "Oh you actually came back, I thought you were just toying with me," said Alex. "No no, I wouldn''t dream of doing something like that. But seriously, have this, you need it more than me," said Julius as he passed the large pouch of gold coins which he earned from clearing the dungeon. After standing still for a while, Alex finally replied back. "I''m sorry but I can''t take this. Please take it back. You were to one who earned it," Alex said as he pushed Julius'' hand back. "Stop being so stubborn. This is why you got stuck in the dungeon with me in the first place. Just take it and think of it as a gift. I''m sure your family would appreciate it as well. "Even so, it wouldn''t right to take something so valuable away from you," Alex argued which made Julius sigh from disappointment. "Okay then so be it," said Julius as he dropped the pouch of gold on the ground before disappearing from Julius line of vision. "Where did he go? And why didn''t he take the pouch with him," said Alex as he looked around just incase Julius was there. While at first he thought of going inside the guild to return the money, he remembered all the rumours about how harsh the members of the guild were. "I''ll just take it since if I don''t, someone else will. If I see him another day, I''ll just return this to him," said Alex to himself as tied his horses to a pole with the other horses before taking the pouch of gold and beginning his journey to walk towards his home. After a while of walking in the darkness and as Alex neared his house, he was stopped by a group of 3 which surrounded him. "Hey there man, what do you have in that pouch?" one of them which was wearing a full black outfit with a mask, similar to a robber''s attire asked Alex. "Please leave me alone, this is the silver I''ve earned to feed my family over the last 10 days. I have starving children, please allow me to see them," Alex begged as he lied since he couldn''t allow the pouch to be stolen. "Of course we''ll allow you to see your family but you''ll be leaving the pouch of silver here," the first one which spoke said to Alex. "Please allow me to go for now, I''ll pay you every day from now on. I really have a debt to pay today," Alex continued to lie. "That''s too bad, I guess we all have our own struggles," said another one of them before pushing Alex back and opening the pouch which Julius had gave him only to realize that silver wasn''t in it. Better yet, it was gold. "We''ve hit the jackpot! We''ll never have to work another day in our lives!" the 3 of them said at the same time. "Please, that gold isn''t mine. I''m not allowed to give that to anyone," Alex begged. "Huh? You''re still here? Get lost you liar before we decide to kill you!" one of them told Alex who ran away from the scene towards his house with tears in his eyes after failing to keep the gift which Julius gave to him. ¡­ The next day, instead of heading towards his horses so that he could start driving his caravan for low level guild members, Alex rushed to the guild building of the battling barbarians so that he could speak to Julius even though he knew the dangers of the place. "Excuse me but is there a really strong kid which belongs to this guild?" Alex asked even though he was trembling from fear. "And who might you be? Are you looking to start some problems?" one of the guild members asked Alex in an arrogant voice. "Stop that!" Ozel said to the guild member before turning his attention to Alex. "I''m pretty sure you''re talking about Julius. What business do you have with him," said Ozel and at that same time Julius walked down the stairs of the guild as he yawned. "Why are you yelling this early in the morning?!" Julius complained before seeing Alex who was standing in the centre of the first floor. "Alex, I''m not going to take back the gold. I told you that you can keep it," Julius said in an irritated tone. "That''s actually why I came here today. Not because I wanted to return it to you but because I can''t. Since you disappeared last night, I decided to hold on to the gold until we next met so that I could return it to you but while I was walking home, I was robbed so I can''t return it to you," said Alex as he looked down since he was ashamed of himself. "What?!" Julius asked in an angry tone. "Please forgive me, I''ll find some way to get the gold back and repay you," Alex pleaded. "That''s not the issue here! Who robbed you? Tell me right now?" Julius asked as he grew furious. "I don''t know, it was the middle of the night and they were wearing black cloths wire a mask," Alex explained before Ozel interrupted. "Give it up Julius. There''s no point in chasing them. They belong to one of the strongest guilds in this world and they have connections to many other guilds, the people who robbed this man most likely belong to the guild known as ''dark day''. They''re into pretty shady stuff like robbery and things of that sorts. It''s gotten pretty common so they best people can do is get home before sun set. Starting a fight with them would basically mean that you''re starting a war!" Ozel told Julius. "Don''t worry. I''ll be going in on my own.. I''ll be a one man army," Julius replied as his eyes darkened. Chapter 95 - Aura "Don''t worry. I''ll be going in on my own. I''ll be a one man army," Julius replied as his eyes darkened. "It''s not worth it. Even with your power, you won''t be a match to all the strong members which the guild along with allied guild have. You''ll just end up throwing your life away. I won''t allow you to do that! Specifically now that you''ve started to respect me!" Ozel yelled. "Relax. Just let the kid do as he wishes. Even if he ends up getting defeated, he won''t die, that''s one thing I can guarantee," said Jun as he called back Ozel. "You should be more worried about him that me! You''ve spent so much more time with him," Ozel argued. "That''s precisely why I''m telling you to let him go. You''ve yet to see the demon he is. And to be honest, I''m not sure you would like to see that sight in the first place," Jun warned Ozel. "Okay fine! But you better come back here in one piece! You hear me Julius?!" Ozel yelled as he watched Julius walk out of the guild building. "Got it guild master Ozel," Julius replied as he walked out with Alex following him so that he could apologize more. "Cece, give him IT," said Ozel as he turned to the girl which worked at the front desk of the guild which also acted as a serving stand which sold booze. "Are you sure?" Cece asked with a confused face which Ozel replied to with a nod. Seeing this, Cece opened a compartment inside the front desk before pulled out a long blade of some kind which was already sheathed in a black sheath. "Wait up Julius," said Cece as she followed the boy who had just left guild before handing him the sheathed katana. "What is this?" Julius asked her with a confused look. "Believe me, it''ll come to be very useful in your battle," Cece said before leaving after handing him the blade. ¡­ "Like I was saying, if there''s anything you ever need, I''ll do it before you can even ask," Alex continued. "Why are you like this? I said it''s okay. I''m going to get the gold back for you and then you can give it to your family just as you should''ve have previously. But since you''re so persistent, I want you to take to to the place where the guild known as ''dark day'' is located," said Julius. "Of course! Consider it done¡­ wait, I CAN''T ALLOW YOU TO BATTLE THEM FOR ME!" Alex yelled in worry. "But you said that you would do anything I said? Are you saying that you lost both the gold I gave you and you''re not willing to listen to me?" Julius asked sarcastically so that Alex would listen to him which made Alex regretfully get his caravan ready. After getting ready, Julius got inside the caravan which after that, Alex began to long journey towards another small kingdom where the dark day guild was located. ¡­ "W-We''re here," said Alex in a quiet tone hoping that Julius wouldn''t hear him so that he could just turn the vehicle around and go back to the kingdom that he came from. Unfortunately for Alex, that wouldn''t happen as Julius jumped out of the caravan with his anger filled expression as he held tightly to the blade which Cece had give him along with the dagger which he still had on his pocket that Zo had given him. "You can go back now. I don''t want you to see what''s about to happen," Julius ordered to which Alex nodded to and headed back from where he came from. Right in front of Julius was a large building which dwarfed the even the batting barbarians guild building. The building itself was made of half black stone while the other being made of a white glowing stone of some kind. The front of it had a page sign that said "Dark Day" which told Julius that he was where he needed to be. Without anything said, Julius walked inside the building like was normal. The inside of the first floor was rather similar to that of the guild he was from except everything was bigger. At one of the buildings was a crowd which were all laughing. At a close glance, Julius noticed 3 people who were the centre of attention as they showed off piles of gold coins while everyone else stared at them with envy. "Hey guys, that''s so much gold! Where did you get them?" Julius asked with a fake overjoyed expression. "Haha, we stole them from some poor idiot who was carrying them in the middle of the night. We almost scared his soul away," one of them said as he continued to laugh. *Drip* *Drip* Not even a second later, Julius'' fist was covered in blood as he had broken one of the robber''s noses and made him unconscious. Seeing this, everyone instantly jumped back as they prepared to fight him all at once. "Why are you fighting us? We''re all part of the same guild! Come to think of it, I''ve never seen you before. Who are you?" another one of the robbers asked. "I am the grim reaper," said Julius as he stared into the robber''a soul which in that moment caused darkness to leak out of Julius'' body that made everyone in the room start suffocating. This had only happened one other time and Julius hadn''t even realized it and even now, Julius didn''t fully understand what he was doing. All he knew was that he was letting his hatred out. "That was my gold you stole! I gave them to him as a gift and you dare steal something which doesn''t belong to you?! I''ll make all of you pay," Julius continued to grow furious. "What''s all the noise about?" said a voice as it walked down from the stairs of the building which didn''t seem to be affected by Julius'' dark aura. "Save us, guild master Hermes" one of them pleaded as their voice disappeared. Chapter 96 - Meteor "Hey kid, I''ve never seen you around here. Are you a new member?" the buff man which was walking down the stairs with his bald head and long beard said in a cold tone. "Are you the guild master of this guild?" Julius asked the old man. "Yes, so what of it? Are you the one who''s making my subordinates struggle to breathe?" Hermes, who was the guild master of the guild asked which made Julius what he was doing and immediately stop as he wasn''t there to kill. "Tell me, what brought you here? I mean you must realize who we are right? Not that it matters since you won''t get out of here alive. It''s unfortunate but nearly all of our strongest members happen to be present today," said Hermes. Wanting to prove his point, Julius pulled out the dagger which Zo had given to him from his pocket before disappearing from Hermes'' line of vision. The next moment, Julius appeared in front of the old man with the dagger pointed at his neck yet Hermes looked to be unfazed. "So you think you''re some sort of big shot just because you have some speed? Let us show you what real speed is," said Hermes before he , himself disappeared so that Julius couldn''t see him. "Us? Is he referring to multiple others who are on par with him being present? Even so, they shouldn''t be a problem for me," said Julius as he began to look around for Hermes. The very next moment, Julius felt an overwhelming presence behind him which clearly had the intent to kill. As such, Julius quickly turned around before catching the hand which had a short blade in it that was to be used to kill Julius. "I guess you''re not all talk," said Hermes before disappearing once again so that he could attack Julius one again. "I won''t fall for the same truck two times," said Julius as he turned to his side before he leaped forward and pointed his palm out while he had his fist pulled back. For a moment, Hermes who was completely invisible was confused if Julius could actually see him or if he was just attacking randomly and he got lucky. "Found you," said Julius as he brought his fist forward to meet Hermes'' face. ¡­ "But how? Hermes asked as he began to get visible once again. "So an invisibility monster core¡­ no, it was a secret art. You''re the guild master so most if not all of your attacks will be secret arts," said Julius. "So what?! They''ll still be enough to defeat an arrogant kid like you. After all we meditation cultivators have to work for much longer hours than you who battle for your strength. In the end, while you might be physically stronger, we can compensate for that with our secret art. Now, say your final words as you''re about to face one of my strongest secret arts, a dragon tier secret art which will wipe the floor with you," said Hermes as he got up from the ground with everyone cheering for him as the members of the guild began to stand up as Yuki had stopped suffocating them. "Guild master?! Is everything alright?" two individuals asked as they appeared right in front of Hermes. One of them was a young man with short blonde hair what wore a full suit of armour as if he was a royal guard for one of the great kingdoms. On the other hand, the other individual which appeared was a young lady which had slim hands and legs and barely wore any protective gear. For someone so slim, she was remarkably tall as she stood to be taller than both guild master Hermes, the young man who came with her and of course Julius as well. She wore long yet slim black trousers with a metal small chest plate as he carried her long double edged sword while her long black hair swung back and forth. "No, nothing is okay right now. Call upon the others. We might have a little pest that needs to be exterminated. I''ll hold him back until the others arrive," said Hermes as he prepared to cast a secret art. "Don''t worry, I''ll wait until the others arrive. How about we take this outside though? This place is a little too crowded for everyone to get a chance to attack me," said Julius which angered Hermes more. "You arrogant child, I''ll teach you a thing or two. Fine, let''s go outside and wait for them to arrive. It''ll allow you a little longer to enjoy the few minutes of life that you have," Ozel replied After the two went outside, the young lady and young man went upstairs and told the rest of the members which were in the higher echelon of the guild about what Julius had done and as such, the rushed down and went outside to kill the pest which dared to get into their home. "Is that him?!" one of the strong members yelled out as he got out to look for the one who dared to disrespect their guild. "Calm down, once everyone is here, we can kill him with ease," said Hermes as he told the ones which already came to join him. After everyone was gathered the two which had come down first also came out of the guild building to indicate that everyone had been summoned. Seeing as the preparations had been made, a couple of them charged at Julius so that they could be the ones to kill him. "Wait!" Julius yelled out. "What is it now? Are you too scared to die now?" one of them taunted Julius. "No, it''s not that. I want the guild master to use his secret art first," Julius requested which made Hermes'' blood boil. "That''s fine by me, I guess I get to kill you," said Hermes with a smirk as he raised his palm towards the sky and began to chant something which was familiar to what Jun did whenever he used a secret art. <> Chapter 97 - Realization <> After only a few moments a hint meteor began to fall from the sky as it approached Julius at insane speeds. "I guess it''s over, there''s no way he could survive something like that." "Why were we even called here if guild master Hermes was going to get the job done anyway?" "Well, I''m going to go back to sleep." Even though Julius heard all their comments, he still continued to stand still as he awaited to the meteor to fall on him. "I guess even he has accepted his fate," one of them said just as the meteor landed on Julius and looked like it crushed him. ¡­ After the members began to head back as the assumed that Julius was dead, the meteor which was on the street''s ground began to make a cracking sound until moments later, it broke open like an egg. ¡­ "He''s actually still alive! Maybe he''s tougher than we expected, everyone, attack him all at once!" Hermes demanded seeing as Julius didn''t have a scratch on him which Hermes would only realize after he had sent out the order. After hearing his words, the members reluctantly agreed and leaped towards Julius all at one. <> ¡­ "No¡­ why is he able to use such a powerful secret art?! He''s a cultivator through battle so why is he even able to use secret arts let alone such a power one?!" Hermes asked as his members stopped as they watched themselves get surrounded by 1000 blades as if they would get stabbed to death the moment they took a single breath. "You still don''t get it, let me show you the difference between you and I," said Julius as he clasped his hands. <> <> <> <> "This is a dream right? I''m just dreaming. There''s no way this could be real," said Hermes as he fell back from fear as tears began to flow out of his eyes while he continued to move away from Julius. "Why are you so scared of those blades? It''s not like they can do anything? They''re like tooth picks for us," the one with short blonde hair and full armour said to the guild master. "You idiots! Who was the one who brought this monster to us?! Don''t you see what he''s doing? He''s using the same secret art consecutively. Not only that but it''s the second highest tier of a secret art that is comparable to the meteor that I created. It doesn''t even end there¡­ I believe that he uses both cultivation through battle and cultivation through meditation¡­ the double cultivator!" Hermes stated as he began to smile from the fear taking over as he couldn''t believe what he was saying. Although all of the members which were called out to battle Julius were scared, there was one amongst them which still stood with pride. It was a tall and muscular man with sharp teeth that wore a tight red t-shirt and black shorts. "What are you scared of? It''s just a kid? There''s no way a child could beat adults let alone people like us," the man in red said before rushing towards Julius. In response, Julius brought down several hundred of his blades to create a shield for himself. However with a couple punches, the man is red managed to break the wall of blades which Julius created before once again charging at Julius who himself once again brought more of his blades to act as a shield. After a few exchanges, the man in red managed to break all of the 5000 blades which Julius had at his disposal. "You see that everyone?! We can still beat this arrogant rat!" the man in red stated which convinced the others to join him as they readied themselves to battle Julius. Even the guild master got up as he believed that they had a shot at defeated Julius. ¡­ <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> ¡­ "Come on guys, it only took one of me to take down 5000, so with all of us, we can take down 10000 with ease!" the man in red yelled out which the others nodded to in agreement. However, it was at this moment that the guild master knew that they were fighting a losing battle. No matter what they did, they would never defeat Julius. Realizing that, Hermes got on his knees as began to cry from the mental defeat. "Come on guild master Hermes! As our leader you should start the battle, we can win this!" the man in red told Hermes which just continued to cry. By the point most people had come outside to see the thousands of blades which surrounded the kingdom. Some of the hid while others stood in awe. A little crowd had even formed to watch the battle from afar while the weaker members of the dark day guild watched from the glass windows of the first floor. "You don''t understand. There''s nothing we can do to defeat him. Even if you destroy these 10000 blades, he''ll just make 20000 of them. Have you noticed that you''re the only ones getting tired and he''s not even breaking a sweat?! That''s because he consumed the secret art instead of learning it. He doesn''t require and stamina to use the secret art meaning that he could summon an infinite number of them! Have you even realized that he''s not fighting back?! He''s clearly toying with us! He doesn''t see us as a real threat," Hermes yelled at his subordinates which made things clear. Once Hermes had finished his speech, the sky grew darker as it began to rain while one by one, each of the members got on their knees indicating that they had accepted their fate.. They had realized that they would die that day. Chapter 98 - Hermes "We''re all gonna die," one of the higher echelon members said as tears began to flow out of her eyes just like the other members, including the guild master. "Huh?" Julius asked in a confused tone. "Go on, we''re not scared of death! We''ve accepted that we might die in missions so getting killed in any occasion is fine by us!" one of them replied to them. "What are you talking about? I''m not going to kill you, I''m not insane," Julius replied. "Wait, what? So why did you summon all these blades?" the man in the red shirt asked. "So that I could defend myself. Why do you think I haven''t been attacking you?" Julius asked in a confused tone. "But you''re the one who started this! So just finish it!" Hermes chimed in. "First of all, I only came here because a friend of mine was robbed. If you didn''t involve yourself is such things maybe you wouldn''t be at my mercy right now," Julius explained. "Wait so you came all the way here to get revenge for your friend? What type of revenge are we talking about?" Hermes asked. "I was just hoping that I could beat up the ones that robbed him and take the gold and leave but the more I beat up, the more people that came and now we''re here," Julius replied. "So you''re not going to kill all of us?¡­" the young lady with the king trousers and small chest plate asked. "No! I don''t have anything against you people. Even though I don''t agree with what you do, that''s not what I''m here for. I just wanted to take back what belonged to me," Julius replied which made all of the members wipe their tears and get up from the ground. "But seriously, I demand that you kick out the 3 which robbed my friend from your guild and I also recommend that you stop stealing from others. I mean I know that you wouldn''t want me to come back here and repeat what took place here today," Julius said. "Don''t worry all of that will be taken care of. I''ll personally return all the gold that was stolen from you as well," Hermes offered as he slowly walked back inside the guild building. For a few moments, yelling took place before Hermes returned outside with 3 people who he personally literally kicked out of the guild and handed the pouch of gold to Julius. "Thank you for sparing our lives. If it wouldn''t be too much to ask, would you please join our guild? From how you came on your own, I believe that you''re not in any guild. We can offer you could ever ask for here, you wouldn''t even have to lift a finger for the rest of your life," Hermes offered. "Sorry old man but I actually am in a guild already. It''s not for the perks they provide but so that I can get stronger, I have a certain goal and to reach it, I''ll need to train every single day until I''m ready to take it on," Julius replied. "That''s a shame, are you sure there''s nothing we can do to change your mind?" Hermes asked. "Well, I''m only staying in that guild until I turn 18. So when that happens, I might come back here depending on how well your reputation is," Julius replied. "Wait¡­ if you''re not 18, how old are you? You''re probably a prodigy so you''re most likely 17 or if you didn''t take a single break, you would be 16 off just your looks and that sounds insane on its own," the young lady with the long trousers and small chest plate said to Julius. "Do I really look that old?! That''s great! I''m starting to look like a man!" Julius stated proudly. "But in all seriousness, I''m 14 years old, but don''t worry, I''ll turn 15 soon!" Julius stated which made everyone who heard him go quiet. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ "Did I say something wrong?" Julius asked. "F-F-Fourteen?! I think I''m going to faint. We were all helpless in front of a child who hasn''t even spent 1 heat in cultivation, how can we call ourselves one of the greatest guilds in this world?!" Hermes asked in shame. Just like Hermes, everyone was equally shocked. "Sorry, I would love to talk more but I''ve got to go now, goodbye," said Julius as he began to walk away in hopes that he wouldn''t get chased. "Wait! It would be rude of me not to get you a caravan to take you back to the kingdom which you came from," said Hermes as he accompanied Julius. Once the two arrived near the end of the kingdom where the caravan drivers were, Hermes quickly talked to one of them which rushed to give Julius a ride. "How much will the price be?" Julius asked. "Oh don''t worry, it''s already been covered by guild master Hermes," the caravan driver said quickly. "Did you threaten him?" Julius asked with an irritated face. "I swear I didn''t! I actually told him that I would pay him extra if he managed to take you back to your kingdom fast enough," Hermes argued. "Okay then, thank you for that. Oh right, I should tell you where I want to go. Just take me to the kingdom where the ''battling barbarians'' guild is located in," Julius said. "Oh wow. So you belong to that guild," said Hermes in a lacklustre tone. "What about it? Is that a bad thing?" Julius asked. "We''ll not really but compared to ours, they''re nothing but an incest. However, there is a rumour that they have an ace member which had not been heard of for 10 years. At first I assumed that would be you because of your strength but you''re much too young to be him. So I guess there are 2 ace cards in that guild. I wonder which one of them would win," said Hermes as he thought out loud. "Anyway, come back to us when you leave that clan, we''ll always have our doors open for you," said Hermes as he waved goodbye while Julius returned to his own kingdom. Chapter 99 - Yes After a few hours of travel, Julius had finally made it back to his own kingdom as the caravan came to a sudden stop. Once realizing that he had arrived at his desired destination, Julius got out of the caravan before waving goodbye to the driver. ¡­ "Guess who''s back!" Julius yelled out proudly as he entered the guild building in the middle of the night. "So did you change your mind and finally realize that you can''t take on a whole guild on your own?" Ozel asked as he laughed. Hearing his words, Julius brought forward the large pouch of gold which was half the size of his own body which left Ozel with his mouth open wide. Now, Jun was the one that was laughing. "So tell us what happened," Jun demanded as he finally calmed down his laughter. "Well, they weren''t as strong as guild master Ozel made them seem. I just used the one attacking secret art I know and kept repeating it until they realized that it was pointless to continue fighting me. "Secret art? I always thought you were a battle cultivator. I wouldn''t have guess that you were a meditation user instead. Or you just might be a battling cultivator which learned some basic secret art. Say, which secret art did you use?" Ozel asked, expecting Julius'' reply to be a monkey or tiger tier scroll. "It was pretty simple, I just used thousand swords secret art which I learned through the instant absorption method," said Julius with a smile. ¡­ "That''s a dragon tier scroll, I thought you were a battling cultivator?" Ozel asked. "I am," Julius replied. "But you also said that you used a dragon tier scroll which must mean that you''re a meditating cultivator," Ozel countered. "I am," Julius replied. "SO ARE YOU A CULTIVATOR OR BATTLE OR MEDITATION?!" Ozel yelled in confusion. ¡­ "Yes." Julius replied with an innocent smile. "Ozel I''m not supposed to tell many people this but Julius is a double cultivator. He can cultivate through both methods and he can absorb scrolls through the instant method and doesn''t get affected at all. That''s why I told you to let him go to the battle," said Jun which left everyone in the room speechless. "So why are you telling everyone of this?!" Ozel asked as he panicked. "It''s not like anything bad will come of it. Plus, even if the news spreads, it''ll take quite a while for the news to reach Henry," Jun mumbled to himself so that no one could hear him. "Oh right, what was this blade you gave me?" Julius asked Cece as he showed the black sheathed blade that he had received from Cece. "You didn''t use it in the battle?! Well I guess you didn''t need it anyway. Just hold on to it, you would make better use of it than anyone else here," Ozel replied. "I still don''t know what it is though so can you just tell me instead of making me think of a possible answer on my own which I won''t find out the real answer until I''m on the brink of death?" Julius asked with a concerned face. "Okay fine, it''s not that serious. I''ll tell you so just stop panicking. The blade in your hand is a monster core infused blade. In truth, it''s thought that it''s infused with two monster cores. It had been secretly passed down for many years between a mysterious group of people until it ended up in the hands of the previous guild master of this place. After he passed away, he left us with this blade to pass on to someone who could put it to use. In truth, no one has been able to unsheathe the blade since it had been placed on it-" Ozel explained and while that was happening, Julius who had been holding the blade so that the sheathe would face the ground, caused the sheathe of the blade to fall off like it was butter. The blade itself was a stainless steal silver blade however it was infused with many gem like rocks which were most likely cracked parts of the monster cores. ¡­ "Where can I get one of him from?" Ozel asked Jun wondering where he found such a person which would be able to break the expectations of everyone constantly. Seeing what had just happened, Ozel began to laugh in disbelief as it was all he could do. ¡­ As everyone continued to laugh at the sight which Julius had caused due to him doing something which no one had ever been able to do without even trying, Julius himself changed his expression. "Hey what''s with that look Julius? You look sick? Come on, you just took down a whole guild on your own, it''s time we celebrate!" Ozel demanded and when he got no response, him along with Jun began to get worried as tears began to flow out of Julius'' eyes. "It''s heart is beating." Julius said right before he passed out and in that moment his sword''s sheathe returned back on the blade as if it was a magnet. "Where am I?" Julius asked himself as he woke up in a familiar place. "Welcome back Julius, it''s been some time since we last talked. How have things been?" the white glowing figure asked. "Oh it''s just you. What happened to me in the real world? What was with that blade? It felt like it was alive," Julius said in a shaky voice. "That''s because it was alive. All monster cores are just the souls of the monster that was killed that managed to stay in a solid form due to the strength of the monster''s will. That''s why weaker monsters don''t produce cores," the white figure explained. "But still, I can''t feel the heart of the monster that has been infused with the dagger that Zo gave me but I can feel it on this one," Julius complained. "Well that''s obvious. The blade was produced much before the modern way of creating monster core infused weapons.. However don''t let that make you think that it is a weaker blade as it has much more power in it than you could ever believe," the white glowing figure replied. Chapter 100 - Ace ¡­ In a place far away from where Julius was, there lingered a person inside a dungeon who just sat on the ground as he ate something. The person who was eating was a large man that looked to be in his late 30s. He was eating a large ball like object about the size of his palm. The glass object continued to glow the colour red as it continued to be consumed by the human. ¡­ The human was consuming a monster core. "How long has it been since I ate real food?" the human asked himself as he stared at all of its scars. "I''ve spent the past 10 years in this place yet there''s no end to the monsters which I have to face. They constantly attack me without even giving me a single break. I haven''t even slept a full night since I got to this place. I used to think that dungeons had an end to them but for this one¡­ I don''t think I''ll ever be able to get out of this hell," the human thought to himself. "I seriously need to stop talking to myself. I think I might be going insane. I mean it would only make sense, I''ve been here for 10 years. Who wouldn''t go insane after this many days of constant battle. Honestly, maybe it''s time to end things. I wanted to see the guild at least one more time. I''ll miss you guys, I had fun with you guys while that short time lasted, I truly wish I got to spend more time with you guys," said the human as he heard a noise. [Year 10 | Month 8 | Day 17: Complete] [Year 10 | Month 8 | Day 18: Start] "Well at least this noise tells me how much time I''ve spent in this hell hole. This is the day my struggles end. I give up!" the human yelled out. ¡­ As he said those words, a large creature resembling that of a mage in a black cloak appeared from nothingness until it presented itself right in front of the human. "Just get it over with! I''m done fighting, I already know that this place has no end. I''ve lost myself during these part years. I''m sure that my guild has also moved on as well. I have nothing to live for anymore. *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* "Good job human, you''ve managed to last this long. Thank you for all the years you''ve wasted here. You can leave now. Now that you''ve lost the will to fight us, we have no need for you any longer. Goodbye," said the mage as it along with the entire dungeon began to disappear. ¡­ "Is it finally over?" the human asked as he got on his knees while he cried tears of joy. "I can finally go home," said the human as he got back up on his knees before finally taking his first step in the outside world after 10 long years. After taking his first step, the human felt as if he had taken a hundred steps . "Wow, when did I get this fast? I feel so light. I''m pretty sure I remember where the kingdom was. At this speed, it shouldn''t take me a lot of time before I make it back to the kingdom and¡­ I''ll be able to see the guild once again. They''ve probably grown up so much. Some probably got married and others had children. Even though I wish I had the opportunity to experience all those things for myself, I would be glad if I get to see the guild members alone," the human thought to himself as he sprinted in the direction where he thought the kingdom was located. After only a half an hour of straight running, the human had finally made it to the front door of the guild which he called home, the ''battling barbarians'' guild. One he walked inside the guild, the first thing he noticed was that there were a lot less members than he remembered. "I''m home!" the human yelled out as he was given strange looks all around. "Who are you?! Are you looking to start trouble in the middle of the night?" one of the guild members who were on the first floor asked the human which had just walked through the guild doors. "What? No, I''m a member of this guild!" the human argued. "I''ve been in this guild for 8 years and I have never seen you a day in my life. Get out of here you poser for you get disciplined," the guild member argued. "Can you idiots stop all that yelling?! Julius just passed out! He can''t rest while you idiots are yelling!" Ozel yelled as he came down the stairs to scold whoever was yelling at that time of night. "Sorry guild master, there''s just this beast who came in here without permission and starting claiming that he was a member of this guild," said the guild member which had stopped the human who had escaped from the dungeon with his life. ¡­ "Steven?¡­" Ozel asked as his voice chocked from the shock. "Ozel!" the human yelled out as he rushed to embrace the guild master. "Do you know him guild master?" the guild member who had stopped Steven asked. "You morons! He''s the lost ace card of the battling barbarians guild, Steven Basil!" Ozel yelled as he hugged Steven. "Where did you go you moron?! All of the higher echelon have been worried sick about you. Any chance they get, they spend it looking for you!" Ozel yelled at Steven. "You won''t believe the hell I''ve went through for the past 10 years. I''ve spend every single one of those days stuck in an endless dungeon which presented new monsters every single day. Fighting became drilled into me. It has become an instinct for me by this point. I had not choice but to fight them however after all this time with no end in sight, I finally gave up. I accepted my fate and allowed myself to be killed.. However instead of getting killed, once my will to fight was gone, I was allowed to be free once again," Stevan explained. Chapter 101 - Accidental Upload Note from author: This chapter was uploaded to early due to scheduling it to release much earlier than was initially planned. Please skip this chapter and read the next one to continue the story. After getting everyone ready to leave on the ruby dragons which Julius had summoned, each of the 8 members of the attack force headed out on their own towards a kingdom that was programmed into the dragon''s head where a member of the attack force would face a king or queen of a great kingdom. Of course Julius matches up all of his subjects with the kings or queen that would be possible for them to defeat. That said, Julius sent himself towards the kingdom which his own father ruled over, that being the kingdom of the sword ruled by king Henry. ¡­ After travelling on the dragons for nearly 2 whole days, the first member of the attack force arrived at the castle which they would attack. That kingdom being the kingdom of the sickle ruled by king Steward. The attacker from the attack force which Julius sent out was one of the 5 subjects of Julius which had first been conquered. That said fighter was Liam. "I see. So this is the place where my king wished to send me so I could fight in his honour. Do not worry my liege. I will not return back to you until I have the head of the enemy which you wish death upon!" Liam yelled out as the ruby dragon which he was riding on came crashing down into the castle which belonged to king Steward. Although it had only been 2 days since the scene that Julius caused at the balcony of his own kingdom during what was supposed to be the greatest day on his life, Steward was already waiting for a challenger such as Liam to arrive inside his castle. Steward had even bother to put in his whole king golden armour which had engravings on it that gleamed the colour dark green. "I presume that you''re the fighter that prince-. No, just Julius. I assume that you''re the fighter which Julius had decided to send over to attack me?" Steward asked as he prepared to spin his dual sickle blades so that he could activate his weapon''s special trait right away. That clearly meant that Steward was no longer willing to sit back and hold back his strength just for the sake of toying with others. Steward fully intended of quick and merciless murder. Even so, Liam wasn''t the type of person who would allow himself to get killed by someone else just because they had determination in their eyes. Specially now that his king, Julius was depending on him. "And what of it? Do you think you''ll defeat me just because you know my identity? You''re surely mistaken-" Liam began to speak before Steward basically teleported away from Liam''s vision before reappearing in front of him with a golden sickle to the neck of Liam. "I see you''re underestimating me. Maybe I should teach you a thing or two about being wary of the rulers of the great kingdoms," said Steward as he prepared to finish the battle right then and there before Liam spoke as well. "No. You''ve got this entire situation all wrong. You''re the one who''s underestimating me," Liam replied as the illusion began to clear as now instead of Liam being the one who was about to die, it was Steward this time as Liam had cast a secret art which would allow his arm to transform into a blade that would be pointed at Steward''s neck. "Nope, I refuse to die at the hands of anyone except Julius himself! Not that someone like him could ever defeat me! I''ll kill you first and then I''ll kill him right after," said Steward as he kicked Liam off so that he wouldn''t have the advantage anymore. However surprisingly, it was much too easy for Steward to accomplish such a feat however due to him being self absorbed just like all of the other kings and queens due to their status, Steward believed that he was so strong that he barely needed to use his full power to defeat some random lackey like Liam. "What''s wrong?! What happened to all that talk huh?!" Steward asked while laughing hysterically as he pummelled Liam with an endless barrage of punches. Even so, Liam just stood there as he took every single one of those devastating attacks without saying a single word. "You''re weak! You''re all weak! You''re just a group of over confidant teens who gained too much power, too quickly! Did you really believe that a king such as myself would be defeated by an arrogant child?! I''ll teach you to never be so argent again!" Steward continued to yell as he finally spun his sickles in the air at which their special trait finally activated. <> Using his special trait, Steward created a whole different image for Liam to look at while he wouldn''t know what would be going on in the real world. Although the special trait had failed due to Liam''s superior mental fortitude, Steward wouldn''t know of this until a few moment later. However in that moment, Steward began to mock Liam before he would kill off the subject of Julius. "Oh how great this feels! I''ll finally be able to get my revenge on that retched Julius! I''ll kill his servants then anyone who he loves! I''ll make sure he experiences the greatest hells of this planet!" Steward yelled out as he went in for the finishing kill as he moved at the speed of lightning as he prepared to slice Liam''s head off clean using his sickle. ¡­ However instead of this taking place, Liam instantly clenched his fists to the point where blood was coming out of his hands due to his nails cutting his skin before hitting Steward as hard as he possibly could towards the ground. With just a single attack, Liam was able to make Steward go unconscious as he finally let out all the rage that was boiling up explode. "You are nothing but an incest in the face of my king! How dare you believe that you would be able to defeat my king let alone touch him!" Liam finally spoke. Chapter 102 - Keep The Gold After explaining what he had been doing for the past 10 years, Steven was once again accepted into his own guild. Once this had taken place, Steven began to meet with the members of the battling barbarians which had entered the guild after Steven got captured by the dungeon. "Sorry to ask but who''s this person named Julius? I heard you talking about him like he was an important figure," Steven asked Ozel. "Oh right, you still haven''t gotten a chance to meet our newest member of our guild. He just passed out because of something so you''ll have to wait until he wakes up but trust me, you two together might make us an unstoppable force. I can''t believe we got you back at the same time we received a power house like Julius, we might actually be able to take the title of the strongest guild in the world from the ''shining stone'' guild," said Ozel as he sat Steven down on one of the stools at the drink desk of the first floor before asking Cece to get him a drink. "Cece, get him our finest booze will you?" Ozel asked. ¡­ "Cece? You mean the kid who had just turned 14 when I left this place?" Steven asked with a surprised face. "I guess that would be right, she''s 24 right now so I guess you''re thinking of this Cece," Ozel replied. "No way, have I really been for this long that I can''t remember how the people of this guild look?" Steven asked himself out loud before receiving his booze and drinking it as if it was air itself. "You''re probably hungry, what do you say to going out to get you enough food to make up for the 10 years you haven''t eaten," said Ozel as he began to walk towards the exit of the guild. "It''s fine, I can cover my own fees," said Steven only to realize that he didn''t have any money. Not just that but the pockets he had reached into to find gold coins were empty as they were cut. In fact, Steven didn''t even have a shirt on and all he had instead was a tattered pair of jeans. "Sorry, it seems that I''ve lost my gold coins. If it wouldn''t be too much to ask, could you cover it for me today and I''ll pay you back another day?" Steven requested. "What do I look like to you, some kind of monster? Get up and let''s go. I already said that I would cover the fees for you and don''t you dare try to pay me back," said Ozel as the two walked out on the middle of the night so that they could eat or more specifically, so that Stevan could eat. After arriving at the food centre area of the the kingdom which were already closed aside from some night time stores, the two went into a small store that served only meat comprised dishes from the looks of it. It didn''t matter to Stevan as he went in without a question and ordered a small meal before basically inhaling it like air. "Go ahead, order as much as you like," said Ozel and after being pushed so many times, Steven''s broke and he began to order nearly everything on the menu and yet he was never full. He just kept eating for hours on end. It wasn''t like he was eating slowly either as the owner of the store had trouble serving Steven with the complex and also simple dishes they had. "Is he even human?" The owner asked after he rushed to the back of the shop to bring out the food that Steven had ordered. "Even I''m not sure. Sorry for causing you so much trouble, I''m willing to pay you extra for making you work so hard," Ozel offered the owner. "No no, by all means, the more he eats, the more profit we gain so there''s no need to pay extra. In fact, we should be thanking you for coming since business has been dry lately, but thanks to you, we might actually be able to pay for the necessary upgrades that this place desperately needs," the owner replied to Ozel. While the two of them talked, Steven continued to fill his boundless stomach with food which the owner occasionally interrupted his conversation with Ozel to get from the back once the chef finished preparing it. "Thank you for the meal!" said Stevan as the sun began to rise up while clasping his hands along with bowing at the same time to Ozel. "Don''t worry about it, you''ve already payed me back for this by returning to our guild, I''ll cover this," said Ozel as he handed the owner of the store a relatively large sack of gold coins before walking away. "Wait sir, this is much more than you needed to pay, you still have to collect your change," said the owner of the store. "Are you satisfied with the meal you''ve had?" Ozel asked Steven which the shirtless post ace member of the battling barbarians replied to with an enthusiastic nod. "Just keep the gold. You need it more than us plus my friend here has been satisfied so there''s no need for us to collect change from you. Thank you for allowing us to dine at your establishment," said Ozel before leaving while the store owner was speechless. Once Steven and Ozel had left, the owner took the large pouch of gold to the back of the store to show the chef which had tears in his eyes from the amount that they had received. Even though Steven and Ozel had gotten pretty far away from the shop, they still heard the happy yells of the owner and chef which brought smile on their face as they had managed to be the highlight of someone''s day. "Do you think the other members will recognize me even though it''s been 10 years?" Steven asked out of the blue. "Of course not. Even though you were the ace card of our guild, you used to be extremely skinny and always never got hurt. Now you have countless scars along with a giant''s body. Even I ha trouble remembering you.. The only reason I knew was because I can sense your aura," Ozel replied. Chapter 103 - Pass Out "Don''t worry though, it''s not like any of us have changed what we think of you. They''ll all be glad that you''re alive. However that''ll have to wait until they return," Ozel explained. "Sure I guess. I''m pretty tired right now so I''ll be going to sleep," said Steven as he walked through the doors of the the guild and walked towards the stairs to go to he 3rd floor so he could sleep as opposed to the the 4th floor where Julius was resting. ¡­ "How come you describe the weapon to be so powerful? It''s only a normal blade which had been infused with 2 monster cores. That means that it is only 2 times stronger than a normal monster core infused weapon," said Julius to the white figure as they were still having their conversation. "That''s not entirely true. Just as Jun has already explain to you multiple times, you can''t just use numbers to determine the strength of someone or something as there are many variables which apply that might change the final outcome. Nevertheless, you should hold on to it, it''s extremely powerful, the white glowing figure explained. "Wait since it was made long ago, could it also posses magic as well?" Julius asked with a curios face. "There are a few things which lead to believe that it doesn''t have magic but it had something else though. From the looks of it, it was made in the year 0000 as apposed to the year we''re in right now being 1609," said the white figure. "That''s an oddly specific year, is there anything special about that year, Julius asked. "You would have no way of knowing this along with everyone else on your world but something happened which caused the new calendar to be born. That being the Great War," said the white glowing figure. "I thought the Great War took place 200 years ago meaning that it would''ve been the 1400s," Julius argued. "That''s because you believe that small event to be the Great War. Let me tell you about the real Great War. Long ago there used to be a whole planet filled with regular people. They didn''t know cultivation nor did they know magic. However that would all change once the earth let out its first heart beat," the white figure began to explain. "For no reason at all, a heartbeat could be heard all across the globe. However after that one sound, the earth went quiet and never said a word ever again. However due to that heart beat, people began to receive information which they had never heard of before which automatically taught them how to cultivate and use magic. It only took a few months until the first strong cultivators existed. After training endlessly just like you and also having magic by their side, people began to grow to power extremely fast. There was no judgment as to who could cultivate nor use magic. It wasn''t judged by class or wealth as everyone had the same change but whoever worked the hardest reaped the best rewards, the white glowing figure continued. "However there were a group of people which were unsatisfied with the ways of cultivation and magic so they decided to leave and take the extending parts of the large ground area while the cultivators and magic users took the middle of the 1 large continent. I believe that your blade was created at the dawn of magic and cultivation where there was plenty of magic in the world to absorb," the white figure finished. "What do you mean to absorb?" Julius asked in a confused tone. "Well, magic has to come from somewhere and that place is from the plant life. However as time passed on, there weren''t any more plants to take magic from since magic is created through life force. As such, a new method was invented to capture magic. That being magic from within. As such magic would just tire out a person instead of killing a plant. However, you blade was from the era which used plants and it seems that to make the blade absorb the two monster cores, a great deal of plant life was killed as it was a nearly impossible achievement. Yet it was achieved which is all the more better since the method which the magic was gotten provides a more pure type of magic," said the white glowing figure. "But I thought you said that the blade didn''t have magic," Julius argued. "While the blade itself might not have direct magic, I believe that the monster cores themselves absorbed some of the pure magic and in turn grew in power, that is why I believe the blade to be such a valuable thing," the white figure finished. "So what do you think I should do with the blade?" Julius asked. "For now, I suggest that you pretend to leave on a mission and head off far into the mountains. Once you''re there, try to gain control of the blade. Even if you pass out, I''ll forcibly wake you up. If you were to stay here, waking you up would cause too much attention as it would raise many questions," said the white glowing figure. "Well if that''s all then, I''ll do as you said," Julius replied and once he finished saying those words, he woke up from his slumber with a gasp. "So you''re finally awake," said Ozel and Jun as they sat on stools while they had been watching over him. "Sorry for passing out like that. I hope I didn''t worry you too much," said Julius as he apologized. "Don''t worry about it, we''re just glad you''re alive," Ozel replied. "Thank you for looking after me, however I wish to continue taking on missions so that I can grow in strength as soon as possible," said Julius as he realized that the blade sheathed blade was right beside his bed on his night stand which brought relief to Julius. "That fine but I would like you to meet someone first, I think you two will get along just fine," said Ozel. ¡­ Chapter 104 - Unsheathe "Julius, meet Steven," said Ozel as a buff tall man who had a lot of scars across his arms walked into the room white wearing a tang top and light blue shorts. "Steven, meet Julius," said Ozel as he pointed towards the small kid in the bed. "This is a joke right?" the both of them said as they looked at Ozel. "What''s wrong, you don''t like each other already?" Ozel asked them. "No it''s just weird that you would introduce a small kid to someone who looks like they''ve been to every war to ever exist," said Julius. "Come on, he''s not that scary," said Ozel as he looked up and down at Steven. "Never mind, you were right," said Ozel with a shameful tone. "What do you mean?! I''m not that scary, I''ve barely changed since the last time I was here," Steven argued. "Go ahead and look in the mirror," said Ozel. "You know what?! I will! And I''ll return here to tell you the exact same thing. ¡­ "I''m sorry, you were right," said Steven in a sad tone as he returned from the bathroom in the 4th floor once he looked at the mirror. "It''s not that bad, it''s just unexpected. Anyway, nice to meet you Steven," said Julius as Steven walked towards Julius to shake his hands. "Nice to meet you too," said Steven with a firm handshake that was returned by Julius. "Wow, you''re pretty strong. Maybe one day you''ll be as strong as me," said Steven in a sarcastically arrogant tone. "Speaking about being stronger, how would you two say go a friendly fight? Jun''s prized pupil versus mine," Ozel asked in a tone which made it seem that he was confident that Steven would win. Hearing the way that Ozel spoke, Jun gave Julius a look which told him that he better accept the duel. "That''s fine by me," said Julius as he stood up from his bed. For a moment, Julius felt weak and as if he was going to fall down as he hadn''t full recovered from his interaction with the double monster core blade however he wasn''t going to let that be known as he needed to master the use of his blade. "Okay then, how about now?" Steven asked. "Sorry but I want to do something first before our battle. How about we do it one week from today?" Julius asked. "I don''t mind, plus it''ll give me more time to see what I''m capable of in this world. To add on, we can also invite spectators," said Steven which Ozel also agreed to with a confident smile. "Well you two seem confident. I hope you can keep that same attitude when the battle starts," said Julius as he picked up the black sheathed blade and began to walk down stairs to get a new mission. As he was doing that, Julius remembered to ask Cece for the pouch of gold he had brought in the previous day and she gave it to him as she had been holding on to it for him until he woke up. Once that had been done, Julius went to the one of the two boards to pick out a mission which he just picked a random one a whim since he didn''t plan on doing it anyway before showing it to Cece and leaving the guild for the time being. ¡­ "Come on Jun, admit it. Steven is gonna wipe the floor with Julius. No matter how talented a person is, there''s no way it could compare to 10 years of constant battle. He might even be able to take on king Henry, the current strongest man in the world," said Ozel. "I don''t know about that, we haven''t even see the best that Steven can do. Maybe he could show us right now and then I''ll see how he matches up against Henry," said Jun. "Oh right? I forgot you were also the teacher of the 9 rulers of the great kingdoms as well which allows you to address them casually. Anyway, I would like the showcase to wait until the battle and we''ll all see what Steven is really capable of against a prodigy such as Julius," said Ozel. "Suit yourself but don''t blame me if your prizes ace ends up getting a few bones broken," said Jun in a passive aggressive tone. ¡­ "This should be a good place to start my training," said Julius as he began to breathe heavily as he started to inhale and exhale. Once he had managed to calm himself down, Julius slowly unsheathed his sword which was okay as it opened. He didn''t feel anything wrong until the sheathe fully came off which caused Julius to calm down. As Julius opened his eyes, he realized that he was in an empty space which recognized to be the same as where the glowing white figure usually spent his time. However before Julius could speak to the figure, something happened. "Wake up!" said the voice of the glowing white figure which caused Julius to pass out in the empty realm and wake up in the real world. "I guess he really did wake me up just as he said," said Julius as he got up from the dry grass to see that his blade had already sheathed itself once again. "This is going to take a long time, I can already tell," said Julius as he unsheathed the blade once again only to pass out and wake up once more. Julius repeated the process of passing out before waking up once again many times per day until a break through happened. For once, right after Julius unsheathed his blade, instead of passing out, he got on his knees from feeling weak and sick which meant that he was feeling weak. However, after a short while, Julius passed out as it became unbearable to wield the blade. Just as he expected, after Julius passed out, he woke up once again only to try the same procedure once again.. No matter how many times he failed, Julius kept trying as he wasn''t simply wanting power or was in need of it¡­ Julius was hungry for power and nothing was going to stop him from getting it. Chapter 105 - Elements ¡­ "How long has it been since I started this training?" Julius asked as he once again passed out from exhaustion. "Today is your 6th day. It seems like your limit for now is 3 minutes of uninterrupted sword wielding. It would''ve been better if you could at least keep up for 10 minutes but I guess the preparation time given to you was too short. Just head back to the guild for now. It''s already night time, your battle takes place tomorrow morning," the white figure advised as Julius was forced to wake up in the real world. "No, not yet. I can''t go back in this sorry state, I have at least grow stronger even if it''s by a bit," said Julius as he unsheathed his blade quickly before pointing it at the sky in anger. In that moment, the blade told Julius something which would be a valuable to him in the near future. As such, Julius tried it out the moment he received the instructions. "This might end up draining me of all my energy but if it works, it''ll be worth it!" said Julius out loud. <> <> <> Just as Julius activated both of the monster cores on the blade, lightning emerged from the sky and made contact with the very tip of the slave in Julius'' hand before the line of lighting itself began to explode rapidly like a chain affect all in the same area which the lighting was in. "So cool!" Julius yelled out with an overjoyed expression before he exhausted himself and passed out once again. Down at the kingdom which the battling barbarians guild was, people began to talk after hearing the lightning which was followed by the explosions since the mountain which Julius had snuck off to wasn''t that far away from the guild building. "That was odd, is it about to rain?" said Stevan before going outside to see that there was not even a hint of rain. "Nope, it''s not raining. How weird, anyway, it''s not like that matters. Tomorrow is my battle with Julius. I''m looking forward to defeating the one who you said brought ''dark day'' to shame all on his own," said Stevan with excitement on his face before heading back to the front desk to drink with Jun and Ozel. ¡­ "Wake up already, if you don''t, you''ll be late for the fight and you might even lose by forfeit," the white figure''s voice said. "What¡­ OH I ALMOST FORGOT!" Julius yelled as he woke up from his slumber before grabbing the blade sheathed blade and running back towards the kingdom to face off against Steven. ¡­ "Look who finally made it," said Steven as he greeted Julius at the front of the guild building. "I made it back just like I said," said Julius as he gasped for breath. "That''s fine, it wasn''t like we were going to do anything anyway. Without further ado, let''s head down to the basement of the guild building," said Stevan as he began to walk towards the stair case of the guild building. "Oh that''s right, I always wondered what the downstairs of the place looked like," Julius said as he followed Stevan along with Ozel and Jun. "It''ll be a surprise. But don''t worry, my of the other guild members are already down there waiting to see the fight," said Steven which just confused Julius. "Okay I guess," said Julius as he followed the tall buff man. After walked down the stairs for what felt like at least 10 whole minutes, they made it to their location as a single door was waiting at the end of all the stairs. Once Steven opened the door, everything became clear. A large grey stone constructed colosseum like building was revealed until the stairs with over a hundred people watching in the side lines that Julius himself recognized to be part of the guild while hundreds more were also present which were invited to watch the fight. Those being the normal civilians. "Sorry Julius but I guess I''ll have to defeat you in front of all these people, no hard feelings?" Steven asked to which Julius simply nodded in agreement. At this point Steven had grown to be more confident and reached out to seem more arrogant than anything. Even so, Julius knew what he had to do so he stayed quiet when it was possible as he along with Steven took their sides and the rest of the people went in the sidelines to watch from afar. ¡­ "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the battling barbarians'' colosseum. Today, you will have the privilege of watching the two strongest members of the guild battle. To my right, Steven who had spent over 10 whole years in an endless dungeon and had finally returned. Today, he''ll be able to show what 10 years of constant battle looks like. To my left, Julius who was personally trained by the same man who guided the current rulers of the great kingdoms and managed to humiliate the ''dark day'' guild all my himself. Please give our two fighters a round of applause," said the commentator as he introduced the two fighters with a yell that was strong enough for all the people to hear him. "3!" "2!" "1!" "BEGIN!" <> <> <> <> From Steven''s mouth came out water at such a high pressure that it put a fire hydrant to shame. Next the ground became covered with ice at it stuck to Julius''s feet before covering the prince''s entire body. After that, the ground began to crack everywhere as it broke all the ice that had just been created barely leaving Julius safe. Lastly, from the crack in the ground popped out large plants which wrapped around Julius which was still in the ice like a cocoon. ¡­ "How is he doing that? He doesn''t have a monster core infused weapon! You''re probably asking yourselves that right about now. The reason I''m able to do this is because I ate monster cores for fun!" said Steven as he revealed his sharp teeth as he grinned like a villain before laughing. ¡­ *Crack* Chapter 106 - Dual *Crack* *Crack* *Crack* *Crack* *Crack* *Crack* *Crack* *Crack* *Crack* *Crack* *Crack* *Crack* *Crack* *Crack* *Crack* *Crack* "The fight isn''t over you idiot," said Julius as he broke out of the ice jail he had been placed in. Seeing that Julius had managed to free himself, Steven rushed at Julius before prepared to punch the prince. However, Julius himself would prepare a counter fist to block the punch which Steven was about to throw. For a moment, the two were at a stale mate before Steven pushed Julius back by adding more power to his fist. "It doesn''t matter how talented everyone says you are, I''m still the ace of this guild and no one will take that away from me!" Steven yelled out as he let all of his pent up anger out on Julius by bombarding the kid with an endless barrage of punches. "I told you Jun, Steven will wipe the floor with Julius," said Ozel as he watched the bloodied Julius get up from the ground. "Maybe he''s taking this a bit far," said Ozel before calling out to Steven. "Stop the match! It''s over, Steven has won!" Ozel yelled out to which Steven turned around his his blood thirsty eyes before yelling back. "This match is only over when only one of us is left standing! This is a death match!" Steven yelled back at them which made Ozel stand up and prepare to cast a secret art go stop the ace of his guild who had clearly gone insane. "Guild master Ozel, please just trust me," said Julius as he wiped the blood off of his face. "You know Steven, I''ve always suspected that there was something wrong with you. I was reassured by guild master Ozel but now I can see that I was right¡­" Julius began to speak. "I was hoping to save this for another day but¡­" Julius said as he prepared to unsheathe his blade however he remembered something. "How could I forget! It''s been so long since I''ve used that state but it should still be available for me," said Julius to himself before closing both his eyes. Once he opened them once again, one of Julius'' eyes were glowing white as a white blade with a glowing blue engraving in the middle appeared in his hand. <> Without even wasting a moment, Julius who half of his body was taken over by the glowing white figure swung his blade from being pointed at the cleaning towards the ground as a large burst of energy was let out of it as it headed for Steven. "Ha! You call this an attack, watch as I block this pathetic attack on yours!" said Steven as he attempted to catch the bust of energy with his bare hands. Unfortunately for him, that was were his arrogance came to an end as the bust of energy caused him to pass out as it left half a large cut in Steven''s body from the top of his forehead all the way down to his stomach. "Wow he actually did it, he beat that monster," said Ozel as he began to slowly clap before it turned to a proper applause that was followed by the crowd as well. However it wouldn''t be that simple as Steven got up front the ground even though he was clearly past his limits. "You know what, I have a better idea for you. This is no longer a simple fight, I''ll make sure to subjugate you with my power," said Julius as he allowed the glowing white blade To disappear which also made the white glow in his eyes disappear as well. Once Julius had let go of the power boost which he received from the glowing white figure, he picked up the blade sheathed blade on the ground before finally unsheathing it. "What is he thinking?! He''ll pass out if he does that!" Jun yelled out in an angry tone but was surprised to find that Julius was standing as if nothing had been wrong. "It''s time!" <> <> <> Just as he had done the previous day, Julius caused a burst of lighting to occur however, instead of it coming from the sky onto the blade, the blade was the one producing it just like the previous night however it had happened so quickly that Julius thought that it came from the sky which was also why there wasn''t any rain after that event. Nevertheless, after the burst of lighting was released from the blade, the lightning changed its shape as it turned and twisted around the exhausted Steven before finally exploding, in turn finally finishing the wild beast off. After doing so, Julius himself passed out just as the explosion also forced Steven to pass out as smoke came out of his mouth. Seeing that, both Jun and Ozel rushed to help Julius and take him to a place to rest. Steven was not seen as a concern for them anymore as he was seen as nothing but a wild beast due to the way he had acted. ¡­ "Did I pass out again?" Julius asked as he woke in the the same bed that he had after he passed out once he used the sheathed blade for the first time. "Yes you did. But don''t worry, you won the battle. As for Steven, he will be kicked out of the guild for his actions. No matter how powerful someone is, we don''t tolerate that type of behaviour in our guild," said Ozel. "I''m sorry, that all happened because of me," said Julius. "No it''s not your fault. People who act like that don''t belong here," said Ozel. "Wait a minute. It would be a waste for someone so powerful to just go wandering around or even worse, for him to end up in another guild. I think I have a place where he could stay," said Julius to himself as he got a rather sinister thought in his head. "You''ll be a part of my army soon enough¡­ Steven." Chapter 107 - Nap "So where''s Steven right now? Did you already kick him out?" Julius asked hoping that the answer would be no. That day was, Julius'' lucky day. "No we haven''t yet. You''ve done quite a number on him so we''ll have to wait until he recovers before we can actually kick him out. Along with that, we have to pay him severance since we''re firing him and he''s not jus quitting on his own," said Ozel. "Great! Now I can add him to my collection," Julius said to himself. "Are you sure he''ll leave though? I mean it''s still his first week back after leaving and he hasn''t seen the members which he knew in the past," Julius asked as he tried to become understanding so that he doesn''t present himself as a harsh person. "I doubt he''ll resist. After all, if we have you to personally defeat him and even if that fails, the grandmaster of the council of the strong will be summoned," Ozel explained. "I''ve been meaning to ask, what is the grandmaster like? I''ve read a few books about him but they''re all vague and none of them explain what he''s really like and how powerful he is," Julius asked. "Think of the grandmaster as just a higher being. He''s a man who''s managed to reach rank 20 in cultivation through meditation. Along with that, he has several shadow monster tier scrolls at his disposal. In truth, he can probably defeat king Henry. The only reason the grandmaster isn''t considered the strongest is because he never chooses to display his strength," Jun stepped in and explained. "So I basically have 5 grandmasters at my disposal?" Julius asked himself as he thought of Spike, Rosie, Liam, Steph and Ian. "Wow, he''s amazing! Being able to defeat the strongest person in the world isn''t something that most can brag about," Julius lied. "Anyway, is it okay for me to see how Steven is doing?" Julius asked. "That''s a weird question. Why would you want to see the man that was about to kill you? However, if you insist, we''ll come with you for your own safety," said Ozel as he stood out of the chair that was beside Julius'' bed. "That''s fine by me but you should be more worried about yourselves, I don''t think that you would be able to handle his strength," Julius sarcastically bragged as he got out from the bed and grabbed his sheathed blade before walking out of the room first then returning after a few seconds. ¡­ "Where is his room again?" Julius asked which made Ozel and Jun laugh before they led the way towards Steven''s room which he was resting in. "Wow¡­" Julius said as he looked at Steven who had a lot more scars than he used to have previously, most likely because of the dual special trait that Julius had used along with the half glowing state. "Be careful, he could wake up and attack you at any time," said Ozel as he sat down on a chair which was placed near the wall of the room. Beside him were 3 other empty chairs which Julius and Jun took 2 of, leaving 1 empty. ¡­ "So are you done examining him? It would be best to leave until he woke up on his own," said Ozel as he didn''t want Julius to get hurt anymore. "Don''t worry about me guild master Ozel, I''ll be fine here. I was hoping to stay here a bit longer. To be completely honest, I want to be here when he wakes up," Julius said with conviction in his voice which made Ozel sigh. "I would''ve forced you to leave if you were anyone else since we''ve al seen what he''s capable of. However, out of everyone in the whole guild, you''re probably the only one who can stop him, so you know what, sure. You can stay here as long as you want. Jun and I will be going down stairs to get some drinks and head off to explore the kingdom," Ozel said as the two left the room. As Jun was leaving behind the guild master, he turned around to give Julius a serious wink. "So he knows what I''m trying to do. I''m glad he doesn''t oppose the idea," Julius thought to himself as he sat down and waited endlessly for Steven to wake up. ¡­ After almost a whole day of sitting in the room, something happened. It was the middle of the night at which Julius had already begun to cultivate in his sleep when the white glowing figure sensed something. "He''s waking up, you better wake up as well," said the white glowing figure as he forced Julius to stop cultivating and wake up from his slumber. When Julius looked at the bed, he realized that Steven was no longer there. "How was your nap?" Julius asked as he turned to his side where Steven was sitting on the one extra chair that no one had sat on. "Why are you here?" Steven asked in a deep yet quiet voice so that he wouldn''t be heard by anyone. "I have my reasons. First of all though, do you hate me?" Julius asked straight away. "Of course I do! Because of you, I''ve lost the title of ace, I''m even going to get kicked out of the guild which I just returned to after so long," Steven said slightly louder than he should have. "How is that my fault though? It was your own fault that you''re not stronger than some random kid. It was your own fault that you tried to kill me out of jealous. Steven, you don''t hate me. You hate yourself," Julius replied. "N-No. I can''t hate myself. I''m amazing, I''m strong and dependable. I''m a kind person and being justice to the world!" Steven argued. "That''s who you used to be. You''re no longer that Steven. You''re someone else now. As such, I have a place for the new you.. A place where you won''t be looked down upon but instead will be seen as a valuable ally," said Julius as he raised his hand for a hand shake as he smiled with an ever so slight sinister grin. Chapter 108 - Confusing "What are you talking about?" Steven asked the child who sat beside him. "I''m saying that I have a place where you can go to and live for the time being," Julius explained. "Why would I want to live in a place where you tell me to?" Steven asked in a disgusted tone. "It''s in the 10th continent. Right now, it''s getting turned into a utopia where people can live no matter who they are. However it will only take proper shape once I return to it as it''s king," Julius explained. "The 10th continent?! Have you got mad with power? No matter how strong you are, if you go ahead with something like that, the 9 kings and queen will come after you and kill you!" Steven yelled before realizing that he had been too loud once again. "You don''t understand yet, I''m not alone in this. At my side, I have 5 people who can match the grandmaster in power. Along with that, I also have other strong allies and an army made of the undead. I know better than anyone who my enemy is. This battle is already guaranteed to go in my favour. So I''m asking you, would you like to join the good side and win, or die with the evildoers?" Julius asked to which Steven made a slight smirk before shaking Julius'' hand. "You''ve got yourself a deal," said Steven as he shook Julius'' hand. "What exactly are you two plotting?!" said Cece as she walked inside the room which was already slightly open. ¡­ "Damn it, we''ve been caught, I guess the only way to escape out of here is to kill her and then run away! If I kill her, they''ll blame me but since I''ll already be going to the 10th continent, I''ll never get caught," said Steven. "You''re right. It''s a hard decision but it''ll have to be made, sorry Cece," said Julius as he nodded meaning that Steven could kill her. "No, stop! That''s not why I''m here. First of all why is it so easy for a kid like you to order someone''s death?! Secondly, I''ve been listening to you two talk for a while now. You really have to made sure that no one heard you next time," said Cece as he closed the door behind herself so that no one could hear them. "So¡­ you''re not going to eat us out?" Julius asked. "Not really. I don''t have any reason to do so. I mean I guess I would be compelled by law but it''s not like I can be proven guilty of slightly helping you guys," said Cece. "Wait, what do you even gain from helping us?" Julius asked. "When I think about it, I really don''t gain anything. The main reason why I won''t tell anyone right now is because if I do, there would be a big fight. Guess who is left to clean up all the mess? Me! I hate it when I have to do more than this job asks me to," Cece complained in a rather angry tone which seemed more realistic than her previous attitude. "Is that why you let all those guys walk all over you? So you don''t have to deal with the mess afterward?" Julius asked. "Of course! Why else would I act that way? Do you think I have even the least bit of respect for any of you?" Cece asked. "Wow, I thought I was disrespectful but she''s on a whole other league," said Steven as he watched this go down. "What about on the mission you went with me?" Julius asked about the time where he had saved Cece''s life. "As much as I would like I lie and say that I was just setting you up so you would get killed, that''s not the truth. You actually did save me that time. So think of this as me returning the favour," Cece replied. "You realize that you''re letting a kid who had an army at his disposal along with 5 comrades who can match the grandmaster in power and wishes to revive the 10th continent go free, right?" Steven asked. "When you say it like that, I guess I can''t let him off that easily," Cece replied. "Hey! Who''s side are you on?" Julius asked as he turned to Steven. "I''m just kidding. Do whatever you want. As long as you don''t kill me and I can have a job in the future, I''m fine with whatever you do," said Cece as she left the room. ¡­ "What''s her deal?" Julius asked in a confused tone. "Even I don''t know. She''s changed a lot since the last time I saw her. I wonder what made her this way," said Steven. "Anyway, going back to what I was saying, you''ll be going my army right?" Julius asked. "Yes, I have agreed to that. Although I must ask, how exactly do I get there?" Steven asked. "Don''t worry about that, I''ll just get a dragon which you can ride on until you reach the continent. Once you''re there just ask around for someone named Spike, Rosie, Liam, Steph, or Ian. Once you find them, tell them that Julius sent you to be a part of the army and you''ll be welcomed with open arm," Julius explained. "Wait you were actually serious about this? I though this was kind of a kid''s bluff. You''ve got to have a few screws loose but I have a few issues of my own so I guess I''ll risk it?" said Steven which annoyed Julius. "Of course I''m serious. Anyway, wait here, I''ll call back my dragon," Julius said. "Don''t worry, my running speed is more than enough. I should be able to reach the continent in 1 day maximum," said Steven as he opened the window of the room which he was resting at. "It''ll be fun to see where this leads me," said Steven as he jumped out before landing on the ground then running at his extremely fast speed towards the 10th continent. Chapter 109 - War-hammers "This could be quite troublesome. I can''t trust Cece yet since all I have is her word that she won''t betray me. On the other hand, now that I''ve managed to recruit Steven, the preparations are completed. Even if I don''t manage to get started on my cultivation through battle, the strength I have right now should be more than enough for me to defeat all my enemies," said Julius as he went back up to where his room was before finally going to sleep. ¡­ The next morning, right after Julius got up from his bed, he headed down stairs to be greeted by everyone in the guild including Ozel and Jun. All of them had their attention turned to him while staying silent. "She told them, didn''t she? I''m going to kill that girl! Julius thought to himself as he walked to greet Ozel. Although Cece had pointed out before, Julius had decided to ignore why he was so open about killing others. While murder wasn''t that uncommon in this world due to the views of people, it was basically unheard of for needless murder or killing so casually. In this world, murder was justified if it was done in the form of self defence or in the honour of the king it queen which ruled the kingdom. "Good morning guild master Ozel," Julius said in a concerned voice without trying to make it seem like he had done anything wrong. "Do you know what you did wrong?" Ozel asked Julius as his voice grew deep. "No sir, I am pretty sure I have done nothing wrong," Julius lied. "Don''t lie to me damn it!" Ozel yelled back which Julius believe that he had been caught. "I have to take action now. It was my fault for letting her escape with that information. I''ll burn this whole kingdom into ashes if I have to," Julius said to himself. "Fine, I admit it-" Julius began to speak before getting cut off by Ozel. "How dare you take Steven on your own once again?! You should already know what you haven''t fully recovered! Why would you take someone like him on in a fight?! You''re lucky you beat him and chased him away, however don''t let someone as foolish as this happen ever again!" Ozel yelled. "What¡­? I guess she really didn''t tell him. I''ll just play along so that nothing can be ruined," Julius said to himself. "I apologize guild master Ozel. This will never happen ever again. I should have notified you when he shower signs of waking up instead of home taking him on my own. Please forgive me," Julius lied to which Ozel had smiled. "Don''t worry, I could never stay mad at you. And anyway, don''t you have some gold to give to a caravan diver? You still haven''t spoke to him since you left, right?" Ozel reminded Julius who replied with a gasp of shock. "You''re right! How could I forget something so important! I''ll be back soon," said Julius as he ran back up to the 4th floor where his room was before running back down stairs with a large pouch of gold in his hand as he ran out of the guild building. ¡­ "Alex! Alex!" Julius yelled as he sprinted towards a caravan driver which was preparing to take a customer to their desired location. "Julius?" Alex asked with a gasp of joy as the two finally reunited. "What happened at the guild?! Are you sure you didn''t lose any limbs," said Alex as he looked around so see if Julius still had both his arms and legs. "Yes, don''t worry, I''m still fine. Better yet though, I have brought you back the pouch of gold like I said," said Julius as he handed Alex the pouch. "I''m sorry but I still can''t accept it. It''s yours please don''t made this hard," said Alex. "Are you saying that I risked my life to get this and you won''t accept it?" Julius asked as he guilted Alex into accepting the pouch. *Ahem* Someone cleared their throat to get the attention of Alex in a rather rude way. "I didn''t pay you to stand still and talk to some random kid. Now get me to where I asked you to take me or else¡­" said the woman in Alex''s caravan. "Oh sorry, I better get going. I can''t disappoint the customer," said Alex as he scratched his head as began to get on the driver area of the caravan to which the horses where tied. Even though Julius didn''t like the way the woman spoke to Alex, he didn''t want to cause any more problems for Alex. "That''s what I thought you peasants," the woman said to the both of them. "Huh? Who do you think you''re talking to?" Julius asked the woman as he turned around to face her. "Who do YOU think you''re talking to? I could have you killed within a single day," said the woman in the caravan. "Back off Julius! She means business. She''s the blood relative of one of the great kings. She''s the sister of king Wilson, the ruler of the great kingdom of war-hammers!" Alex announced. Hearing Alex''s words, the woman smirked as if she had won and wanted Julius to beg for his life. "She''s Wilson''s sister? Who would''ve known that Wilson had a sibling. Now that I think of it, I think I saw her at one of the other 4 tables which the other guests sat at on my birthday. How interesting," Julius thought to himself. "Okay then, by all means, call upon your brother! Let''s see what he can do to me," Julius replied to her. "What are you saying?! It doesn''t matter if you took out a guild on your own. The kings and queens of the great kingdoms are on a whole other level!" Alex yelled at him. "Silence driver! Unless you wish to join this arrogant boy in hell?" said the woman which forced Alex to stay quiet even though he wanted to do something to help Julius. Chapter 110 - Brother "Don''t worry boy, I''ll call upon my brother and he''ll deal with you and your entire family. You''ll face the consequences of speaking that way to me," the woman said. "You peasant! I have changed where I would like to go. Take me to the flying station. I would like to go by miniature dragon and speak to my brother at once. You better not slow down for even a moment of you wish to keep your life," the woman told Alex. "As for you little boy, you have just a few days to run away. Not that it matters. You''ll be searched for far and wide. There will be a bounty placed on your head and you won''t even be able to sleep in peace. You just ruined you life," the woman said as he laughed while Alex started the caravan on his journey towards the flying station. "The flying station huh? I''ve read about those even though I have never seen them in person. Im pretty sure they''re all controlled by the grandmaster and act as transportation vehicles on long distance trips. It''s nothing fancy though as they''re just miniature dragons with the same shape as my ruby dragon or Jun''s jade dragon," Julius thought to himself. ¡­ After travelling for many days, the woman who was Wilson''s sister finally arrived in the kingdom of the war-hammer. ¡­ "What?! Who dares to disrespect my own sister then also goes ahead to invite me for a duel?! I shall slay this insane man at once!" Wilson announced as he sat on his throne. "Well he''a not a man. He''s more of a boy," Wilson''s sister added. "Man or boy, whoever is foolish enough to insult me or my sister shall be greeted by death''s door," Wilson announced. "How old is this boy?" Wilson asked out of curiosity. "Don''t worry brother, I have already gathered all the information you need. The boy in question is 14 years of age. He had dark black and hair and his name is Julius," said Wilson''s sister. "You moron! Did you run into Henry''s son by any change?" Wilson asked in an irritated tone as he believed that his sister was wasting his time. "Of course not, he looked nothing like the prince. This boy is much more dirty. He looks to be a peasant from the dark district even though the smaller kingdoms don''t have those. It would be a blessing to him if you were to end his life," said the woman in an arrogant tone. "So be it. I''ll grab my war armour and hammer. It''ll be good to make an example out of that boy so that something like this never takes place ever again," said the real Wilson before getting up from his throne and heading towards another room of the castle. ¡­ "What''s wrong Julius? You used to be so eager to take mission yet you haven''t went on a single one for the past week. Is everything alright with you?" Ozel asked as he greeted Julius who was in his own room. "Huh? Sorry, I''m just waiting for someone to come," Julius replied as he continued to lie of his bed with the sheathed blade at his side. "''Waiting for someone''? Is it a girlfriend of yours or something?" Ozel asked while trying to make more of the child side of Julius appear. Ozel expected an answer like "ew, no! That''s disgusting!". However, he received a much different answer which befitted Julius'' real personality. "No it''s not that. I just got in a fight with king Wilson''s sister and now I''m waiting for him to come here so I could defeat him and show him that he needs to teach his sister some manners," Julius replied in a nonchalant voice. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ "Hmmm. Very interesting," said Ozel as he put on a simple smile and walked away from Julius'' room as he hadn''t processed what Julius had just said. "WHAT?! You moron! Your ego has grown too much and now you think you can take down a ruler of a great kingdom?! Even by some miracle, if you defeated him, you would have to face the remaining great rulers and their whole armies!" Ozel yelled as he began to panic. "Try not to have a heart attack old man," said Julius. "You''re the one that''s going to cause me a heart attack! Do you realize what you have just done!" Ozel continued to yell at which point Julius stood up from his bed and placed his palm on Ozel''s shoulder. "It''ll be okay," Julius said as he gave Ozel a thumbs up. At that precise moment, there was a call made out to Julius. "JULIUS!" Wilson''s voice roared throughout the whole kingdom. "Speak of the devil. Don''t follow me and tell everyone to stay out of this. I''ll take care of this on my own," said Julius as he jumped off the side of the window before quickly sprinting behind Wilson without getting noticed. "Hi there Wilson! It''s great to see you here," said Julius. "So your name really is Julius. I first thought that my sister was joking but I believe her now. You look nothing like the prince," Wilson said out of the blue. Wilson who was a tall and large man and was extremely muscular stood there with his full golden armour and war-hammer which both had engravings just like the other kings and queens'' armour. However his engravings glowed the colour of bright orange as it also matched Wilson''s bright ginger hair and beard. "So do you have any final words little boy?" Wilson asked as he raised his war-hammer as to squish Julius like a bug using his weapon. "Yea I do. I want to fight somewhere else. I don''t like this place," Julius replied. "Fight? This will be your death alone!" Wilson replied. ¡­ Just a second later, Julius disappeared from Wilson''s eyes before Wilson felt a tap on his shoulder from the back. It was Julius. "So can we go somewhere else now?" Julius asked with a smile. "S-Sure," Wilson replied with a slightly worried tone. Chapter 111 - Wilson After only Wilson and Julius walking together for quite a while, the two had arrived at a near by mountain range which was the same place that Julius had went to train a week before his battle with Steven. "Let me ask you something boy," Wilson said as they two stood 6 metres away from each other. "Sure, go ahead," said Julius. "Were you the one who attacked Sandra''s kingdom in the middle of the night?" Wilson asked as he completely believed that the Julius he was about to face and prince Julius were completely different people because their faces and bodies looked nothing alike due to the secret art which Jun had cast on Julius. "Yes I was, so what of it?" Julius replied. "Well I guess that would mean that you weren''t the one who attacked Steward since you''re not prince Julius, right?" Wilson asked which gave Julius the perfect idea. "Wait what? I only attacked Sandra. I had no intention of attacking the other kings or queens since you''re all relative to each other and Sandra was weak," Julius replied as he lied. Due to the fact that he had attacked Steward in self defence, he couldn''t be blamed for it. However if they had found out that he was the one who attacked Sandra, Julius would get in quite a lot of trouble. "Wait the son of Henry was able to attack one of the kings? Isn''t he my age?" Julius asked as he tried to get more information out of Wilson. "Yes he is but it''s most likely that his teacher who is known for his stupendous strength who attacked Steward in prince Julius'' honour. Nevertheless though, I have been meaning to ask, why did you attack Sandra? Did you have something you wanted for her?" Wilson asked as he also wanted information out of Julius. "Good, they don''t know that we took Dae and Knight. But this also proves that Mary hasn''t ratted me out either. If things continue like this, I''ll have nothing to every worry about," Julius thought to himself before answering Wilson. "Not really, she doesn''t really have anything I''m looking for. I just wanted to see how I would match up against her and she was quite a disappointment," Julius replied, "Is that so? If that''s the case, why don''t you work for me? You would instantly be promoted past the captain of the royal guards and become my right hand man. With your power, I could overthrow the power which Henry has over this world and instead, I would have the greatest kingdom in the world!" Wilson offered. "I guess it would make sense why you would envy him. But still, I have no reason to work for you," Julius replied. "What do you mean no reason?! You could have as much money, food, power, fame and even women, although I doubt someone of your age would want that," Wilson replied. "It''s a little tempting but I''ll have to pass. It just doesn''t seem like something I would want," Julius replied. "Come on Julius. You look like a pretty poor kid. Think of your family, your friends, hell I could flood everyone everyone you know with enough gold to make them go insane," Wilson began to beg for Julius'' aid. "Aren''t we getting off track? I need to first beat some sense into you so that you''ll tell your stupid sister to have some manner," Julius replied which brought back Wilson''s rage. "What did you say about my sister?" Wilson said as he brought his war-hammer towards the sky before slamming it back down on the ground with the force of 10000 elephants. <> Just as Wilson activated his weapon''s special trait, the hammer which had slammed into the ground cause cracks to appear all over the ground until it reach Julius which almost fell into the deep hole that was created by Wilson''s weapon. "I should end this quickly. If I don''t, I could seriously end up in a whole lot of trouble," said Julius as he leaped off the small patch of ground which was barely stopping itself from falling. Once Julius had leaped off of it to propel himself towards Wilson, the patch of ground fell into the seemingly endless pit. As Julius continued to fly towards Wilson, he tried to reach for his sheathed blade which he realized that he had left in his room back at the guild building. "I guess this will have to do," said Julius as he pulled out the small dagger which Zo had given to him from his pocket. "I''ve got you now!" said Wilson as he lifted his war-hammer before swinging it sideways to meet Julius. "It''s just a dumb hammer, I can easily block it," said Julius as he brought his left hand forward to take the hit. <> ¡­ Apparently there was a reason why the special trait was called "break" as something in Julius'' arm as definitely wrong. "You feel that?" said Wilson as he looked at Julius who was on the ground with his left land completely numb and limp. "That''s the power of my special trait! The power behind it is insane, if I was only able to hit Henry even once, he would be in a coma right now," said Wilson. "Come on now Julius. Staying here as you look at your broken arm isn''t going to fix anything. Let''s just get this thing over with," said Julius to himself as he used his right hand to plunge the dagger which Zo had given him into the ground before finally closing his eyes. <> Within a matter of seconds, the entire forest became covered in smoke and fire as Julius had allowed the flames of his weapon loose. Nothing would save the forest for the hell that the weapon would invoke. ¡­ "Now I see why Sandra lost. All it took was a single attack and now I''m at his mercy. How pathetic. A king like me brought to this sorry state by a little kid," Wilson spoke in a weak voice as he laid in the black forest of the mountain. "Goodbye Wilson," said Julius as he placed the dagger in his pocket before heading back to the guild building. Chapter 112 - Reappearance ¡­ "What happened to you?!" Ozel asked in a worried tone as he watched Julius leap off the ground and get inside his room through the open window of the 4th floor in the guild building. "I just had to take care of something," Julius said nonchalantly as he walked towards his bed and falling on his back on it. "''Something''?! You''re talking about a whole king of a great kingdom, no less Wilson. He''s rumoured to have the most destructive power due to the monster core in his weapon!" Ozel yelled. "Don''t worry, I took care of him. To be perfectly honest, I think Steven was more of a threat. I actually had to use everything in my arsenal to defeat Steven. As for Wilson, if I didn''t underestimate the strength of his war-hammer, I would''ve been perfectly fine," Julius replied. "Wait actually? Are you saving that Steven managed to accumulate enough strength to match that of the great kings and queens? Maybe he should be disposed of. I should call on the grandmaster," said Ozel. "Wait, I''ve been meaning to ask you. What was the white thing in your eyes when you fought against Steven? When that appeared, a large white blade with a blue engraving on it also appeared. Is that some sort of unheard of monster core?" Ozel asked. "I can''t allow him to know about the second entity. I can''t call it a secret art either as he would''ve heard of it by now if it was one. The best thing would be to lie and tell him it was a monster core just like he assumed which allows me to summon an invisible blade," Julius said to himself before replying to Ozel. "It actually is a monster core. It''s one which allows my blade to appear in my hand at any time. It''s a pretty rare one," said Julius hoping that would be the end of their talk. "Where did you even get something like that. It seems crazy powerful," said Ozel. "Damn it, now I don''t have an answer. I''ve been backed into a corner," Julius thought to himself as he tried to think of a lie on the spot. "Now that I think about it, exactly a week from your battle with Steven, you went somewhere on a mission. The B ranked dungeon which you went to with Cece only took you a few hours at most to clear which means that you probably went to a more dangerous dungeon to train for your battle with Steven. Once you cleared it after several days of battle, you were rewarded with that monster core which would explain why you looked so exhausted. You really tried to play it off like you were just doing casual stuff. Your ego must really big but unfortunately for you, I''m too smart to get tricked by you," Ozel said with a smile as he believed that he had actually figured out everything. ¡­ "Wow, he just continues to give me the lies that I need. This is almost too easy," Julius thought to himself. "Wow, how did you know?! Did I really make it that obvious?" Julius asked as he lied to Ozel. "Haha, you might be a fighting genius but your intelligence is no match for the great guild master Ozel!" Ozel stated with pride. "I guess Jun didn''t tell him about my 5 months at the library of the limitless," Julius thought to himself. "Well, I''ll leave you here to rest. Your arm should recover on its own considering the strength you have. You don''t really need a doctor, so I''ll be leaving now," said Ozel before leaving Julius to rest. As such, Yuki went into deep slumber as he could no longer take the pain of having to deal with his broken arm. "I might as well cultivate," said Julius to himself as he begun to cultivate in his sleep. ¡­ "Oh so I''m here once again," said Julius as he flouted in the empty void. "Why did you summon me?" Julius asked the white glowing figure. "I didn''t summon you. You subconsciously wanted to come here in your own," the white glowing figure replied which puzzled Julius. "I don''t really have a reason to want to be here. However, now that you mention it, I''ve been meaning to ask you something. You said that once I do something impressive, you''ll allow me to learn magic yet you haven''t. I have humiliated multiple great kings and queens, what is more impressive than that?" Julius asked in an angry tone. "Don''t worry, you''ll understand soon enough what I meant. Your time will come soon," the white figure replied before Julius woke up. ¡­ "Damn you, I''ll show you something impressive. I don''t even need magic. I can do everything in my own. I was stupid to think I could rely on you," said Julius with haste as he walked down the stairs of guild building to get a mission and head out for the day so that he could level up as much as possible before his 18th birthday. However when he got down stairs, everyone was gathered around the one of the two boards which offered missions. "I can see that your hand has healed," said Ozel as he was the only one to greet Julius. "Oh right, I nearly forgot about that," said Julius as he moved his arms around to see that everything was working properly. "I see it''s a busy day. Why is everyone looking for a mission? Is today some sort of special day?" Julius asked. "Well that''s not exactly what''s going on. Quite a contrary actually. Everyone is trying to avoid a single mission," Ozel replied. "Why would they want to avoid a mission? Isn''t their job to take on missions?" Julius asked. "That is true however there is a reason why everyone wants to avoid that specific mission. It is because it has been seen here before, 10 years ago," Ozel began to speak. "It''s the mission which trapped Steven in the dungeon for 10 whole years." Chapter 113 - The One Who Sits On The Throne "It''s the mission which trapped Steven in the dungeon for 10 whole years," Ozel said to Julius. ¡­ "How is that even possible? Isn''t the dungeon supposed to have disappeared once Steven had been let out of it?" Julius asked. "I know, that''s what makes this dungeon so troublesome," Ozel replied. "Where do these mission come from? Aren''t you the ones who place them on the board?" Julius asked with a confused face. "That''s actually not true anymore. Each guild master would have to use a secret art which keeps track of the missions in their area and place them on their guild boards. That used to be the case until a few years ago when the mission I assigned sent Steven to a dungeon which he couldn''t get out of. That caused the grand master to take over all missions and assign them to whichever guild can take them on respectively. After that had happened, nothing like Steven''s case took place until this day. It seems like even now with the guild master taking over, this mission seems to have reappeared," said Ozel. "How odd. How do you even know it''s the same mission?" Julius asked wanting to make sure if there was even the slightest bit of a chance that Ozel was mistaken. "No, it''s the same mission. We could never forget. It''s an E- ranked dungeon with the title ''The One Who Sits On The Throne''. Steven originally took it as a joke because of how stupid it sounded. However it has been engraved on our minds and we can never forget it," said Ozel. "I thought most of the members here weren''t here when Steven had disappeared," Julius said as he was confused. "Of course I was the one to notice it and told everyone its tale which is why they''re all standing here," Ozel explained. "So where''s Jun?" Julius asked as he couldn''t see his master anywhere. "Seeing as you''ve become quite accustomed to this place, he said that he''ll be going back to his mountain. He also said to return to the mountain in 3 years which is when your 18th birthday is," Ozel replied. "I see¡­" Julius said before running back up to the 4th floor of the guild building and grabbing the sheathed blade on his nightstand before once again running back down. "Guild master Ozel, I want to take that mission!" Julius announced with a yell. "No! I want to take it! I want to gain the same power which Steven has! Plus it''s not like it''s dangerous, I can leave at anytime by simply giving up! It''s a free ride towards unmatchable strength!" another person in the guild replied. "Hold on now, are you saying you''re willing to battle dangerous monsters every single day without a break?" Ozel asked the one who argued with Julius. "Never mind, it''s not like even with 10 years I''ll be stronger than the current Julius. I take back what I said," the one who had protested replied before returning to drinking his booze. "As for you Julius, you can go," said Ozel. "Wait actually? You''re going to let me take the mission?" Julius asked in a surprised voice. "It''s not like you''re going to listen to me if I were to refuse to let you go on it. So do whatever you like. However don''t you dare die, you''re a proud member of the battling barbarians! You have a duty to return to us in 3 years. Until then, not a single person will speak of this cursed mission," said Ozel which almost brought Julius to tears. "Thank you!" Julius said out loud before bowing from respect to his guild master. Once taking the mission from the board, Julius headed out of the guild building and headed towards the caravan district of the kingdom to meet with Alex who happened to be Julius'' favourite caravan driver. "J-Julius?" Alex asked as his soul almost left his body. "Hi there Alex! Why do you look so shocked?" Julius asked in a nonchalant tone. "How are you still alive? You''ve got to get away from here! King Wilson is probably still after you!" Alex warned his saviour. "Don''t worry about him, I won out fight and I can assure you that he''ll never challenge me," said Julius. Hearing those words, Alex became lightheaded and almost fainted from the shock. "Wait, you''re saying that you took on a great king in battle and you not only survived but also managed to defeat him?!" Alex yelled out. "Yup, that''s exactly what I''m saying. Anyway, can you take me to this place?" Julius asked he passed the paper which the mission was written on to Alex. After looking at the coordinates which were written on the mission paper, Alex gave a quick nod and told Julius to get inside the caravan. "How much gold will it cost?" Julius asked as he reached into his left pocket to get some gold coins he still had on him. "What?! No way! I can''t let you pay. You already saved my life, my pride and gave me enough gold to last me several lifetimes. I could''ve stopped working and enjoyed my life in the large which I bought with the money you gave me. However I will continue to drive this caravan everyday and allow you free tips as it is the only way I could ever reply you," said Alex with with much more resolve than he had ever showed. "Thank you I guess," Julius replied as it was new for Alex to act this way which caught Julius off guard. After a long trip which lasted several days with lots of breaks, the two had finally arrived at the location where the mission had told Julius to arrive at. "I shall wait for you to finish the mission," Alex announced. "Actually, please go back home. Trust me, this will take quite a while. Just believe me," said Julius to which Alex agreed as he knew that he could believe in Julius. Once Alex had left the area, Julius opened the doors of the dungeon. "Let''s see what this place is made of," said Julius with a grin. Chapter 114 - Great Encounter "So you''re saying that you fought with the one the had attacked Sandra?!" Henry asked as an immediate meeting was called after Wilson had recovered from his battle with Julius. "Yes I did. I have also managed to gather some information that you should all be aware of. The person who attacked Sandra is also named Julius however, he is not prince Julius but some commoner with that name. His strength is indeed just as Sandra described. However, he lacks experience as he dashed straight into my monster core infused war-hammer and I was able to land an attack before he began to take the battle seriously and finished me off," Wilson explained. "Wait what? Could I have been wrong? So not only is the Julius which I fought super strong but there a second Julius who''s even more fearsome. This is getting worse and worse," Mary thought to herself. "How sad Henry, your son is still training his heart out with Jun but yet there''s another kid who''s around the same age as your son and also bears the same name yet that one is much more powerful than your son," Steward taunted Henry. "Don''t worry Steward. You should know by now that I have prepared to give my son the ultimate monster core. With it, he''ll be able to over take any opponent that gets in his way, no matter how powerful they may be," Henry replied. "So you''re speaking of the light monster core? I''ve wanted that thing for so long. Why do you insist that you give it to that child, he''s not worthy of it. Why not take it for yourself?" Steward asked. "Helping the enemy? Well, no matter. Right now, our fight has come to a necessary stop as we''re facing a being with threatens the very existence of our world it would be best to remove the commoner Julius from the equation. Let us unite our forces and kill that monster before it grows beyond the point where we can do anything about it," said Henry. "YEAH!" the rest replied in unison as they all shared a common enemy. ¡­ Once the meeting had come to a close and the kings and queens began to leave as they needed to head for their kingdoms and prepare for the battle, Steward stopped Henry as he wanted to speak to him. "Hey Henry, I''ve been meaning to ask, aren''t you going to check up on your son? You haven''t seen him in almost a year, actually you haven''t ever properly met him. All you do is watch from the sidelines but you know what I mean," said the real Steward. "You know, as much as I would love to. I love surprises even more. I want to see how much Julius will have grown by the time he turns 18 and it is time for his ceremony. It''ll be wonderful to see how much he''s grown and how much he will continue to grow after he is given the monster core," Henry replied. "Sure, suit yourself but don''t go crying when you find out that he''s much weaker than you expected," said Steward as he also left the room to head for his kingdom. ¡­ After weeks of gathering their most elite forces, the 9 kingdoms'' armies and rulers gathered around the kingdom which the guild know as the ''Battling Barbarians'' was in. "I know the guild master here, let me go in first," said Henry as he stepped forward and entered the small kingdom before quickly sprinting towards the guild building. "Hello there Ozel," said Henry as he walked inside the building. Just as everyone saw Henry, they began to bow as they didn''t want to get killed from showing disrespect. That also included Ozel. The reason which everyone knew that the real Henry was the one who walked in was because of the golden armour with black glowing engravings on it. It didn''t matter who wore it, the colour scheme of it always meant that it was the king of the kingdom of swords, the kingdom which Henry currently ruled over. "Good evening my liege, what bring this unexpected visit?" Ozel asked. "Where is Julius?" Henry asked in a rather harsh tone. "Do you speak of your son or the one which is in my guild," said Ozel. "The one who joined your guild. Where is he?" Henry replied in a stern voice. "Why do you wish to know his location sire?" Ozel asked. "I am the one who asks questions here! Now, tell me where he is if you value your life," Henry began to grow more angry. "My apologies sir, Julius is off on a mission right now. I don''t believe that he''ll be able to return any time soon," said Ozel. "And why won''t he be able to return?" Henry asked at which at this point he was only seconds away from chopping off Ozel''s head with his double edged golden blade. "I''m afraid I can''t tell you," said Ozel which finally brought Henry to the point where he couldn''t take it anymore and swung his blade at Ozel''s head. ¡­ "You dare try to murder a member of the council of the strong? Even for you Henry, this is too far. Do you seek a war between our two sides?" the white glow asked as she caught the swing of Henry''s blade with was only inches away from cutting off Ozel''s head. "Grandmaster?!" Ozel asked as he jumped back in surprise. "You''re the grandmaster? I always thought you were a man," Henry said as he took control of his blade once again. "It doesn''t matter what my gender is, there are bigger problems which I must take care of right now, such as dealing with you," said the glowing female figure. "Henry, I will warn you only this time, if you go ahead and attack another member of my council, this will mean war. A war between those who use mediation and those who use battle to cultivate," the grandmaster warned Henry. "Then so be it! War shall take place!" Henry replied. "It saddens me to do this but I have no choice. Our battle will take place once your son returns to you.. That way, we can wipe you all out at once," the grandmaster said which Henry gave one nod before retreating as he needed to prepare for a war on a scale which was unheard of. Chapter 115 - Grandmaster "Grandmaster, why did you call this meeting so suddenly?" a person asked as they sat in a room which was an auditorium which contained every single guild master in the world. In the middle of the stage was the guild master who had turned off her whit white glow to reveal who she really was. The guild master was a tall woman with skin smoother than anything perceived by a human in the history of all of humanity. It even looked like it gleamed in the room which was enough to blind someone. All her sharp features continued to enhance her beauty as there could not be a single flaw in her body. Her white silky hair which resembled the show was the icing on top. The grandmaster wore a white robe the colour of her hair with blade high heels as she began to speak of the plan she had set out even though all of the other guild masters were distracted by her beauty. "Wow, I didn''t know the grandmaster looked like this. I mean we have never even seen her face let alone her actual body," one of the guild masters whispered to another as they were mesmerizes by her body. "I always thought the grandmaster was an old guy, I''m pretty sure that wasn''t just me either. I think that was what everyone expected her to be since she ways communicated using a microphone," the one beside the first guild master who whispered replied. "Will you two stop talking!" the guild master yelled at them. ¡­ "I think I want her to yell at me again," said one of the ones who got yelled at as they both began to feel lightheaded from being blessed with her attention. "Anyway, like I was saying, I have summoned you here because we''ll be going to war," the grandmaster said which made the whole room gasp before talking amongst themselves. "Who are we going to be fighting?! Who would dare to challenge us and our guilds to a war?!" one of them yelled as they asked their question. "I''m afraid you don''t understand, the war will not include your guilds. It''ll only be us against the 9 kingdoms and everyone else who uses cultivation through battle. It''s a war between us and the rest of the world," the grandmaster announced which just began to worry the other guild masters. "How are we supposed to win?" "It''s a hopeless fight!" "We''re all going to die-" ¡­ ¡­ With a sudden stop, everyone in the large room began to laugh their hearts out. Not a single person seemed to be worried about the war which would take place in 3 years. They all looked like they were enjoying themselves. "So it''s time?" one of the the guild masters asked. "Yes, it is time indeed," the grandmaster replied before smiling. <> ¡­ "Welcome to your real home," said the grandmaster as all of the guild masters exited the building which used to be know as the "council of the strong". "So this is the greater sky!" one of the guild masters said as he looked around at the new place they were in. "Yup, this is it. The island which floats above the sky. No one except for us know of this place," said the grandmaster as he showed everyone around the large village which they had been teleported in. "Like I said once before, this is the creator sky, a place which the doomsday plan had been being stored all this time. On the occasion that a war such as this starts, I have made all the preparations to defeat our enemy. The island which the guild masters had been teleported to was a relatively small one and compared to the size of a small kingdom. It had only small homes and no large structures such as castles or large guild buildings. All expect one which was a large slim white tower which the guild master would expose with true use later. "To go over what this place actually does once again, I built this place to raise people who would only cultivate through meditation and learn how to use secret art scrolls so that when a war eventually took place, we would have an army of our own," the grandmaster explained. "So if you already have the army ready, why don''t we just attack them right now?" one of the guild masters asked as if the grandmaster was being stupid. "I wouldn''t take such reckless measures. There is a reason why I brought you all here. It is so that you can train. Although you are strong in your own right, you can all use some training. Remember, you''ll have to face every single member of your guild on the battle field, no matter how weak or strong they are. All their forces will be combined and you''ll be responsible for taking them out," the guild master informed them. "So what is it that you''re proposing that we do here? It''s not like we have access to the library of the limitless anymore. It''ll probably be shut down until the war ends," Ozel finally spoke. "Don''t worry about that. You see, there''s a dark truth to secret art scrolls. However that is a story for another day. Right now, do you all see that large tower?" The grandmaster asked as she pointed towards the large tall slim tower which stood out throughout the entire tower. "Yes?¡­" the guild masters replied in a confused tone. "That tower has access to many different secret art scrolls which even the library of the limitless doesn''t have. They''re all extremely powerful which is why I brought you all here. You along with the civilians which have been raised here shall learn most of not all of the secret art which are stored in that tower. With their power, we''ll be able to finally take over the world and will no longer have to hide in the shadows like we''re some evil force," the grandmaster explained which got everyone to cheer for her. "Let the learning begin." Chapter 116 - Loyal Dog "What''s wrong Henry? Why do you look upset and where''s Julius?" Wilson asked as Henry came back towards the small kingdom''s entrance where the army was waiting. This was of course before the guild masters and the grandmaster had their meeting. "Forget about Julius, he''s not at the guild anymore. He''ll be gone for quite a while from the sound of it but it doesn''t matter. He''ll on our side soon enough. That goes with all the members of all the guilds as well," said Henry. "No¡­ don''t tell me he came in," Wilson said as fear began to take over them. "It''s not a he, it''s a she. The grandmaster dared to challenge my authority. This means war. I shall not allow her or her people to live any more," Henry stated. "So you''ve gone off and started a war between the two sides which govern this world," Wilson said as he was irritated. "What are you going to do if we refuse to help you in this war," Wilson asked. "I know you''re going to help me. You don''t have any other option which is why even Julius will join us. Anyone who uses cultivation through battle will have no choice but to join us. If not, they''ll just get killed by us for being traitors or by the enemy as they would be seen as vermin. No one has a choice in this battle other than to fight," Henry explained. "So you already accounted for everything when you chose war. Do you honestly believe that it was the right choice? Many people will die, even a couple of us, the kings and queen might get killed as well," Wilson told Henry. "Of course I knew that. That''s why it was all the more difficult. However it is a sacrifice I''m willing to make. I want a better world for Julius to rule over. I cannot allow the power struggle between our two sides to go on for another generation. This long battle shall come to an end soon enough?" said Henry as he began to retreat from the small kingdom as preparation were needed to be made for the upcoming war. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ "Do you know why I have called you here, Roger?" Henry asked the fake Henry who stood in his place to watch over Julius and take care of casual affairs. "No sire, I do not. Please bless me with the knowledge which I must know," Roger replied. "In 3 years, it''ll be time for Julius to return back to this kingdom but it''ll also be time for the war to begin. Knowing about his special status point problem, I already know he''ll make into a fine comrade in battle. However, since it''ll be his 18th birthday, he will also come to learn about how I am his real father. I predict that he will grow to resent me for quite a while and might even try to ally himself with the enemy to get revenge," Henry began to explain. "What I''m getting at is that once we tell him about the truth, we will take one of two actions. The first one being that he gets a little angry but still remains on our side, in that case, I will give him the light monster core. However in the unfortunate scenario where he decides to overreact and decides to join the enemy, I want you to eliminate him," Henry asked of Roger. "But of course. My emotions will not get in the way. Even though I might be a fake father who has looked over that boy since his birth, more than anything, I am a loyal servant. I shall accomplish any task which my kings orders me to," said Roger as he got on one knee from respect to Henry. "Good. I know I can always rely on you. Plus you should already know this but Julius will probably be a very difficult person to defeat, not that I doubt your strength but if it gets to the point where you have no other choice, I ask that you use the light monster core for yourself and quick equip it to any weapon of your choice. That way, you''ll be able to use it right on the spot but it''ll be of no use later on," said Henry. "Wait, you still know how to quick equip a monster core right?" Henry asked. "I would never forget something you have been so generous to teach me yourself sire," Roger replied. "All I have to do it make sure that the inside of the core is touching an object and as long as it is doing that, the object will be able to use the core''s special trait. The best way to use this method is to stick one''s blade right in the middle of the core and use it while the core is still stuck to the blade," Roger explained as if he was a robot. "Good, now that that''s in order, I have some other matters to take care of," said Henry as he left the room which he spoke to Roger in so that he could attend to his own matters. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ *3 years later* ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ "You thought that you could defeat me just because you have some tricks? Too bad for you. Have fun in hell!" a young man which stood at the height of exactly 190 centimetres said as he stabbed a cloaked figure with his blade which looked to have gems stuck to it. The young man had long silky back hair which stretched up to his neck. His hair looked to be very oily. Other than his hair, the young man didn''t seem to have any other hair such as a beard of moustache. After the cloaked man which had just been stabbed disintegrated, the young man sheathed his blade in a pitch black sheathe and looked up at the ceiling of the some sort of cave he was in. "Congratulations, Julius Henry" "Dungeon: The One Who Sits On The Throne" "Status Of Dungeon: Cleared" "Time: 3 Years | 9 Days | 21 Hours | 34 Minutes | 26 Seconds" [Candidate For New Heaven''s Emperor: Julius Henry] "Would you like to go to heaven for the new emperor contest?" [YES] [NO] Chapter 117 - Options "Would you like to go to heaven for the new emperor contest?" [YES] [NO] "Huh? What is all of this?" Julius asked after hearing the robotic announcements after he had killed the last monster in the dungeon. "Would you like to turn GUIDE on?" the robotic voice asked after it heard Julius'' confusion before presenting Julius with a blue screen that had two options. [YES] [NO] ¡­ [YES] "GUIDE has been activated." "I shall now explain what the new emperor contest is. From the beginning of time itself, there has always been a ruler of heaven. That person being named the emperor of heaven," the robotic voice began to explained. "Wait what? So there''s really a place called heaven?!" Julius asked with a shocked voice. "Please save your questions for later. As I was saying, heaven has always had an emperor. The emperor is an immortal being in heaven however there is a single being who surpasses even the emperor, that being the emperor of the greater heaven," the robotic voice continued to explain. "Once the emperor of the greater heaven feels that the emperor of the normal heaven has done enough and there needs to be a new emperor, the emperor of the greater heaven kills the ruler of the heaven below them," the robotic voice said. "That brings us to today. Once the last emperor of heaven was killed, we were tasked to search across many multiverses to find candidates so that they could become the new emperor. You, Julius Henry have completed the seemingly endless dungeon which was placed in rapid mode instead of daily which allowed you to clear it in less time than the one who failed," the robotic voice explained. "''The one who failed''? Could they be talking about Steven?" Julius asked himself before agreeing with himself. "Now, do you have questions?" the robotic voice asked. "I actually do. Is heaven actually real?" Julius asked. "Yes," the robotic voice replied. "Is the contest a battle between all the candidates to see who would win and the winner becomes the emperor?" Julius asked. "Yes," the robotic voice replied. "What type of battle is it? A battle royale or an intellectual battle?" Julius asked. "I cannot reveal that information just yet," the robotic voice replied. "If I click on the YES option to go to heaven for the contest, what will happen?" Julius asked. "You''ll be teleported into heaven where you''ll be in a coma until the final candidates arrive since there will need to be exactly 100000 participants in the battle. You''re candidate #98532 so you still have some time left," the robotic voice explained. "One last question then, since I still have some time left, can I continue to stay here and once the final candidate arrives, can I be teleported to heaven automatically?" Julius requested. "Yes. If you wish, I can make you a better offer. Since no one will know you came last, since you''re still about 1500 people early, how about you continue to do as you please in this world and just inform me when you want to head towards heaven," the robotic voice offered Julius an even better offer. "Wait you would really allow that? Thank you so much! I really want to do a couple things before I leave," said Julius which made the [YES] and [NO] buttons to go to heaven disappear. "Since you can change your choice at any time, I''ll be watching over you from now on so if you have any questions, just feel free to ask," the robotic voice told Julius. "Sure I guess. Since you offered, why are you being so nice to me? I really don''t get what I did to deserve this kind of treatment, not that I''m complaining, I''m just confused?" Julius added. "Well it''s simple really, you''re currently the candidate who holds the clearing speed record. From what I can tell, you have a very good chance of winning this contest so I''m trying to set a good connection with you before you eventually become emperor," the robotic voice replied. "That would make sense. I also have another question, will there be aliens in the contest since you said that you went to multiple multiverses to find the candidates," Julius asked. "No, there will not be aliens. In fact, there are no aliens that exist. The heaven''s first emperor dictated that no other species other than humans would exist all throughout the ground realm which is where you live in now," the robotic voice explained. "Wow, we''re so lame that we''re the only ones called the ground realm while the others are called heaven and the greater heaven," Julius thought to himself. "Since I''ve cleared this dungeon, can I leave now?" Julius asked as he wanted to see everyone after 3 years. "Yes sir," the robotic voice said and in that same moment, the dungeon Julius was in began to disintegrate into nothingness. "Wow, I really did finish the dungeon. I wonder how much stronger I am now than I used to be," Julius asked himself as he turned around to be greeted with a mountain of treasure and weapons. "Wha-" Julius said with his mouth opened wipe from surprise. Even though he was a prince, Julius had never seen this much gold, most likely due to him never having gone to the treasury of his kingdom. "What am I supposed to do with this?! I can''t even carry a small portion of it without me losing balance and dropping it on the floor," Julius complained. "Plus, does this mean that all the candidates get all of this as well? It kind of makes my accomplishment less significant than theirs," Julius said as his voice trailed off from sadness. "Don''t worry about that. Luckily for you, this is a special batch do you you breaking the cleaning speed record. Most people only get half the gold you got and no weapons.. Since you cleared the dungeon by about half the time as the previous record, you have been rewarded with all of this and the earnings of the previous record holder shall be taken from him and be given the regular gift bag," said the voice which brought a sense of pride back into Julius. Chapter 118 - Shock "Even if it means that I''m the only one who had this treasure, it means nothing since I''ll probably never be able to carry it," Julius complained. "Don''t worry about that, let me introduce you to the storage ring. It allows you to place anything inside of it and as long as you have this ring, you can just pull anything out of it when you wish or put anything inside of it," the robotic voice explained like a hero that had come to save the day. "Wait so if you mean anything, does that mean that it had no limitations?" Julius asked with a surprised tone. "Well, most of these rings in the greater heavens have a limit as to how much they can store and many of them wouldn''t be able to store all this much. However, lucky for you, I''m willing to bet everything on you. Please take this ring," the robotic voice said as a silver ring with a red gem in the middle of it feel from the sky and made its way to Julius'' index finger. "What do you mean?" Julius asked as he didn''t understand what the voice meant by betting on him. "This ring allows you to store and endless amount of objects inside it. All you have to do is point the ring at an object and wish for it to be in the ring and it''ll happen. Try it if you don''t believe me," the robotic voice told Julius. "Sure¡­" Julius said as he pointed his ring towards the mountain of gold coin pouches, blades and other weapons. "I wish for these objects to be in my ring," Julius said to himself. Just as he was told, the ring''s gem began to glow before absorbing all of the gold and weapons like a vacuum. "Wow it really worked!" Julius announced as he watched all of his treasure go inside the the ring and once that had happened, the red glow on it disappeared. "How do I take stuff out of it though?" Julius asked. "All you have to do for that is just to point the ring forward and wish to see a hotbar which is a small screen at shows you 4 of your objects per row. Since the ring I gave you is a very special one, there is an infinite amount of columns. To scroll up and down from it, just use the triangles beside the hotbar. The triangle pointing up makes you scroll up while the triangle pointing down leads you down. You get all that?" the robotic voice explained which Julius nodded. "Now, I''m pretty sure to close it all I have to do is just wish for it to close," Julius said to himself and he followed through with that which actually worked. "Good job, you managed to learn how to close your hotbar without any help," the robotic voice congratulated Julius. "Thank you for all you''ve done to help me. I have one more question though, what exactly did you mean by you were betting on me to win?" Julius asked in a curious tone. "Don''t worry about it," the robotic voice had changed to be that if a gentle young woman''s voice which had startled Julius. After those words, their conversation ended and Julius didn''t bother to speak anymore as he was confused and didn''t want to deal with a scare like that. "Wow! I finally cleared the dungeon! I can finally go home to the guild and relax. I''ll be able to see Ozel, Jun, Cece, everyone in the 10th continent and even, Liz¡­" Julius said to himself before drifting off. Even though he had grown in the past 3 years, some things never changed. "I think I remember the way back to the kingdom, I mean, I didn''t study all the geography for nothing," said Julius as he began to sprint towards where he believed the kingdom which hosted the ''Battling Barbarians'' guild was. ¡­ "I''m back!" Julius yelled out as he opened the doors of the guild building expecting there to be a big celebration for him. "Huh? What are you doing here you loser? Are you drunk of something?" one of the guild members asked. "Why are you so quiet? Do you want me to punch your teeth in or something?" the guild member continued to taunt Julius. "What are you talking about? I''m Julius, don''t tell me you all forgot about me," Julius said in a confused tone. "And where''s guild master Ozel? I was hoping to see him on my first day back," Julius said casually which made everyone remember the over powered kid who had taken the mission which had caused Steven to be trapped inside for 10 whole years. "Oh it''s you Julius! We didn''t recognize you. You''ve grown so much and your hair is long too¡­ and you stink," one of the guild members made a joke. "Haha very funny," Julius replied. "Don''t worry about guild master Ozel, he just went off to do an errand, he''ll be back soon," Cece lied as she approached Julius. "Something is off, I can feel it," Julius thought to himself and began to look around very closely. "GET HIM!" one of the guild members yelled out as about 20 people jumped on top of Julius as they tried to secure him in place. Seeing what was happening, Julius prepared to kill all of them but decided to calm himself down so that he could gain more information. "Why are you doing this?! Please let me go! I thought we were friends," Julius lied as he tried to make thing believable. "Sorry Julius but things are different now. They aren''t like how they used to be so get used to the changes. We''ll soon be going to war and we need you on our side so we''ll do everything on our power to make sure you join us," Cece explained as she tied Julius which some sort of glowing chain which probably meant that it was a monster core infused chain. "War?! With who?!" Chapter 119 - King "War?! With who?!" Julius asked in a concerned tone, not for the people who would die but because he was already planning to start a war of his own. "A war between those who use meditation and those who use battle to cultivate. The battle between the two sides which rule over this world is coming very soon. The day that the prince of the kingdom in swords, Julius Henry returns marks the start of the war," Cece replied. "On my birthday? But why? Actually no, that makes things easier for me. Since a war is already going to occur, if I join as a 3rd party, it''ll be a 3 way war," Julius thought to himself. "So why have you tied me here?" Julius asked as he went along with it. "There are allegations which state that you attacked both king Wilson and queen Sandra. For those crimes you will be punished by death. Although that is how it would''ve happened before the war, there is a new mission for you. Seeing as you''re pretty strong, you shall join us in the war and serve your punishment in the line of duty," Cece announced. "I still don''t understand why I''m tied though," Julius told her. "It''s so that you don''t escape and run off to join the meditation side. Right now, we''ve sent one of our comrades to call on king Henry so he can deal with you accordingly," Cece replied. "Okay then, I guess I can get my answers from him. But I have one more question, do you know what has happened to Jun?" Julius asked Cece. "I''m not really sure but he should be on the side of the meditators, that''s where he belongs anyway," Cece replied which didn''t make any sense to Julius but he chose to stay quiet and wait for his father to arrive so that he could figure out what exactly happened which caused this war to start. ¡­ After waiting for a couple of days, Julius was finally greeted by his father. Of course Julius was offered food but always refused. While half of it was in retaliation for being tied up, the other half was because he didn''t need to eat. Due to his high in in cultivation through meditation, Julius didn''t need to partake in the daily activities which helped the average human survive. As such, Julius just sat on the ground as he was tied to a pole in the middle of the guild building. "Hello there, I assume that you''re Julius," said Henry in his golden armour as he greeted Julius while looking down at him as if he was an insignificant ant. "Hi Henry," Julius replied as casually as possible but sounded a bit angry as he didn''t even want to look his real father in his eyes. It brought disgust to him that he had been lied to his entire life. "First of all, it''s king Henry to you and why do you seem angry?" Henry asked as he tried to tolerate Julius'' rude behaviour since he wanted him on his side of the war. "Well, HENRY, what do I owe this visit to?" Julius replied still not giving a single ounce of respect for his father. "Look here boy, you seem like a reasonable young man. You should know that I don''t tolerate this kind of behaviour. If you call me by just my name one more time, you''ll lose your life," Henry threatened Julius. "Please I dare you, just go ahead and strike me with your blade. Perhaps you forgot what I did to Sandra and Wilson. If you even dare touch me, I''ll crush your skull with my bare hands," Julius said as he looked up at Henry with hate in his eyes. "Oh is that so? Then just try to break out of the chains you''re in. There''s a reason why you haven''t been able to break out of them, it''s because they''re infused with a crazy strong monster core. I doubt even I can break them," said Henry before kicking Julius in the chin for disrespecting him. "What now? I''ve touched you and yet nothing has happened to me," Henry said as he looked down at Julius as he prepared to kick him once again. "Remember, it was you who decided to do this to yourself," Julius said as began to flex his arms and push outwards. Everyone just watch as the chains struggled to hold Julius in which he continued to stretch and bend them until they eventually snapped. Julius got up from the ground to look down at his father with his eyes completely black. For a moment, all Henry could see was pitch darkness as Julius took his first breath and his hot dragon breath suffocated the room from just its aura. "What was that about me not doing anything?" Julius asked Henry in a menacing tone as if Henry were to say the wrong answer, they would be his final words. Having being defeated without even a proper battle, Henry got on his knees as he was left speechless. "Who are you?" Henry asked as his voice began to tremble. "I am KING," Julius answered before leaving the guild as he was finished with his business there. He couldn''t bear to look at his real father for even another second. Every time he looked at the real Henry, Julius wanted to puke until he was dead. All the years which he thought he had been spending with his real father were nothing but fabricated lies. <> ¡­ "Take me to Jun''s house," Julius instructed his dragon who had disappeared from the 10th continent and reappeared in front of Julius. Seeing as his pet was back, Julius got on his ruby dragon before heading off towards Jun''s house which was a little far from the small kingdom he was in. ¡­ "My liege! Are you okay?" Cece said as he ran to help Henry get back in his feet. "Don''t worry, I''m not hurt but it looks like he''ll be a separate problem which I have to deal with on my own," Henry replied with a dark tone. Chapter 120 - Unnecessary Anger After flying at extreme speeds for what seemed like only an hour due to Julius'' flight tolerance increasing with his strength over the past 3 years, Julius arrived at the mountain top which Jun lived on as he stood on top of the ruby dragon with his arm crossed. ¡­ "No¡­" Julius said as he looked at the burned house which used to be that of Jun''s. There was nothing which remained of it other than the black wood which made up his house. "Please no, not like this, I can''t lose him. Anyone but Jun," Julius said as he leaped off the Jade dragon to look through the rubble of the burned house. However after looking around for 5 minutes, Julius couldn''t find a single trace on Jun. "Hey you! What do you think you''re doing here?! Don''t you know there is a restricted area?!" A guard yelled at Julius. "Where''s Jun?!" Julius asked he turned around with his pitch black eyes. "I don''t have to give you any answers! Now get on the ground before I attack!" the guard yelled at Julius which just made the prince more angry. "Why? Why would you kill him of all people?" Julius asked as he reached for his sheathed blade but realized that he had placed it into his inventory which was his ring. "I WILL MAKE YOU ALL PAY!" Julius yelled out as he reached into his pocket to pulled out the dagger which was given to him by Zo before plunging it into the wet grass on the mountain top. <> A wild and uncontrollable fire began to emerge out of the ground as it spread from a single point being where Julius placed placed the dagger all the way to the other mountains in the mountain range. The fire covered such a large area that people from far and wide could see it. The blade not only spread outwards but also outwards as Julius had created a large pillar of fire which was the size of the the entire mountain range. Even the devil would pale in comparison to the fear which Julius had placed into the hearts of all the people who saw the great pillar. "Is this what hell looks like?" the guards who had been stationed in the area asked themselves before getting burned to ashes. ¡­ "Queen Sandra! It''s an emergency! The great mountain range which is near the kingdom of swords had been set on fire, please come outside, it should be visible from the very end of the dark district. Hearing those words, the real Sandra quickly stood up from her throne before sprinting towards the end of the dark district where people were already gathered. ¡­ "What is that?" Sandra asked as even she was frightened by the sight. "¡­Hell," one of the peasants from the dark districts replied to her subconsciously as the continued to watch the fire dance. "Who would be capable of something like this? It should be impossible to exert this much fire power no matter if the person is used a monster core nor a secret art. It just isn''t possible," Sandra said as she remembered something. "No¡­ it''s him. The devil has returned," Sandra said as she remembered Julius who had attacked in the middle of the night. "Please don''t tell me he''s going to join the battle," Sandra said as she feared that whoever had him fighting for them, they would easily win the war. It was the absolute worst time for him to show up as well since everything seemed to be going well with the preparation for the war. ¡­ "Jun, why did you have to die Jun!" Julius continued to yell in agony. "Can you stop with all that yelling?!" a familiar voice yelled at Julius in an angry tone. "I didn''t die you moron. After all I still have a promise to fulfil," said Jun as he walked out from the fire as he greeted Julius who was in a small inner circle which didn''t have fire on it. "B-But the house," Julius said as tears still flowed from his eyes from both sadness and being overjoyed. "Of course the house got burned down. Don''t tell me you haven''t heard about the war which is coming up," Jun replied. "They wanted to find you to make sure you were safe when the war would start but since you were off in the dungeon, I had no other choice but to run. After all, I still had to continue living so I could finally meet you once again when you grew up and I''m glad I made that choice," said Jun as Julius hugged him. "You look a lot different that what I remember you to be. I guess time really does fly," said Jun. "This isn''t actually my real look, remember you cast the illusion on me? That thing is still on so even I don''t know what I really look like," said Julius. "Oh, I should''ve mention this to you before but I deactivated it a lot time ago. After I made sure that you went into the continuous dungeon which had trapped Steven, I deactivated the secret art since you would look unrecognizable once you left the dungeon on you own," Jun explained to Julius. "Oh¡­ so this is what I actually look like?" Julius asked in a confused tone. "Yup." Jun replied as if there was nothing wrong with what he said. "You moron! I wouldn''t have fought with my father if I knew this was my real body! Now I need to create a fake body once again so that my father doesn''t know that this me and his son are the same person," Julius yelled at Jun which made Jun laugh as the fire began to disappear. "You seriously already fought with your father? How long has it even been since you left the dungeon?" Jun asked as he continued to laugh. "A couple of days¡­" Julius replied in an embarrassed tone. "Man, you''ve only been out of the dungeon for only a couple days and you managed to start a fight with our greatest enemy," Jun said as he continued to laugh. "What do you mean by ''our enemy''?" Julius asked. Chapter 121 - Our "What do you mean by ''our enemy''?" Julius asked. "You can''t be serious right? Are you also joining the battle on the side of the meditators?" Julius asked Jun. "I''m afraid so. This is the only choice which I have. After all, I am a cultivator through meditation, I have nowhere else to go," said Jun. "You can join my side as well there''s no need for you to meaningless fight just because you have no where else to go. Join my side instead and let''s unite all the people of this land so we can all live together in peace and harmony," Julius offered. "Look Julius, I''m sorry but all this time, I haven''t been telling you the truth. I didn''t actually think that you would think that you could defeat the 9 rulers. I thought it was just a dream had as a kid so I chose to entertain it. However as time passed, you began to actually accumulate formidable allies. You managed to gather people who could stand up to the very best. Right now, you could actually take down the 9 rulers with the power of yourself and to your allies however, that''s where you stop. If you tried to jump into this war, not only will you be attack by the 9 rulers but also by the guild masters and the grandmaster herself. Please, just join us. You, being able to harness both battle and meditation will be excused from death, that also goes for the 5 subjects and your other friends will also be spared due to your contribution. So listen to me this time Julius, come join us," Jun told his student. ¡­ "I''m sorry Jun, I won''t be able to do that, I still have a dream which I wish to fulfil," Julius replied which brought sadness to Jun. "I understand, well, do you mind if u show you what you''re turning down before you make your final call?" Jun offered which Julius reluctantly agreed to by nodding. "Okay then, please keep an open mind about what you''re going to see and remember that if we just kill our enemies, we''ll be able to start our more peaceful way of life which doesn''t require battle in the least. To add on, you could enjoy the life you''ve always wanted. Me and you can even spend more time which would allow us to go back to the other civilization," said Jun as he tried to tempt Julius. <> After Jun summoned his large jade dragon, the two once again got on its back just like old times. "Where are we going?" Julius asked. "Just watch, it''ll be a surprise for you," said Jun as he forced his jade dragon to begin flight towards the sky. After flying upwards for what seemed like hours, the two had finally made it to their desired location. It was a large island with seemed to be in the sky even though gravity shouldn''t have allowed for that to happen. "What is this place?" said Julius as he stared at the heaven which was this sky island which he had stepped on. It was truly a magnificent sight to behold. "Beautiful, isn''t it?" Jun ask Julius as he stepped off the dragon before landing on the island''s ground. "It is¡­" Julius replied as his voice trailed off while looking all the perfectly built buildings and houses. All the happy people who seemed to be lingering around as the ran and played with their families. "This could be our world is you were to just help us defeat the battling cultivators," Jun told Julius which made his student have a sad smile of his face. "You know Jun, it''s really saddening because this is the exact place I envisioned that I would build when I took over the world," Julius replied. "So just join us and we can make your dream a reality," Jun urged Julius. "But, this isn''t real. That''s why I''m so sad. It''ll never be real either. This isn''t the real island. This is just a fake to trick me into joining you, isn''t it? I''m not mad Jun, I''m just disappointed. I mean after all, you were the one who increased my intelligence, I know that just like the great kingdoms, there is a dark district to this place. A place where people are overworked for the goals of the ones who are above them," Julius replied. "If you know about that, they you must also know that is impossible to create place where everyone can live happily. It''s just not possible! That''s why the world is divided. There are those who live a life of happiness but that is granted through the struggles of the ones below them. You can never achieve a perfect balance!" Jun argued. "I used to think that too. That was why I was on the verge of giving up my dream but something just changed my mind, I have a plan to make sure that my dream comes along well. If you wish to stand in my way in the battle field, then so be it but I won''t hold back," Julius told Jun. "I''m sorry Julius," said Jun as a group of people leaped on top of Julius, however this time, they were much stronger unlike the ones at the guild building, not that Julius couldn''t kill all of them at once. "I''m sorry Julius but I cannot allow you to participate in this war. You will be forced to sit this one out. Your friends in the 10th continent will also be spared as well. Please don''t take your anger out on me, this is for the best," said Jun as he walked away from the scene. "Hello there Julius," said a woman with glowing white hair and a white robe. "I am the grandmaster, from now on, you''ll be under my custody. I will take care of you until this was us over," said the grandmaster as she helped Julius get up from the ground once the people who jumped on him got off. "Like Jun said, please don''t hate him, he''s only doing what''s best for you.. If not for him, once this war had come to an end, we would have killed you," said the grandmaster as she brought Julius who''s eyes were filled with sorrow close to her chest before holding him as if he was a pitiful baby. Chapter 122 - Ice Age "But why though? What made all of this start? Why is everyone at each other''s throats? Why is all happening right after I got back?!" Julius asked as he continued to get embraced by the grandmaster. "Julius, son of Henry and Julius the unknown figure which attacks without reason. Most people believe those two to be completely different people. In fact, only me and Jun know that they''re the same person," the grandmaster replied. "So what of it? That doesn''t explain why all of this is happening?! Who started all of this?" Julius asked in an angry tone. "It was you. You were the one who started all of this?" the grandmaster gently replied. "Huh? This isn''t the time for jokes, try to be serious right now!" Julius yelled at her. "No Julius, I''m not lying to you right now. What I speak of is the truth, you see, it all started when you insulted Wilson''s sister. After she had called Wilson himself to fight on her honour, you defeated the king of the war-hammer," said the grandmaster. "I already know all of that. What I want to know right now is why this was has started," Julius replied hastily. "I''m getting to that part. Anyway, after you defeated Wilson, you headed off to the endless dungeon which one of the guild members of Ozel''s guild was stuck in for 10 years. Once you had left, all of the kings and queens decided to merge their forces in pursuit of you. Yet, when they got to the kingdom, they couldn''t find you," the grandmaster began to explain what Julius had missed while he was inside the dungeon. "Once they couldn''t find you, Henry began to take his anger out on Ozel who didn''t want to turn you in. Hearing that Ozel wasn''t willing to cooperate, your real father was prepared to kill Ozel. In that moment I stepped in and saved Ozel. However in doing so, Henry wouldn''t back down which is when the war was declared. It was set to be on the day of your 18th birthday but seeing as you''re already back and we can already kill you right here, right now, there''s no need to wait any longer. It''s over¡­" said the grandmaster as she lifted Julius'' head from her chest. When Julius turned around he saw that Julius was completely surrounded with people who looked to be extremely formidable. "What?! What happened to the deal you made with Jun?!" Julius asked the grandmaster. "Come on now, did you really think that it was going to be that easy? Of course I''m going to kill you, that''s what I planned for from the start," said the grandmaster. "So what do you think Jun will do when he finds out that you''re doing this?!" Julius asked her. "I''ve already planned for that, Jun won''t be knowing that you died. I''ve already set up a fake version of you. Of course it won''t hold up for a long time since I don''t know what you two have done but it''ll be enough until the war is over. Once the war has come to a close, Jun''s life will also meet its end," the grandmaster explained. "You traitor! I''ll kill you!" Julius yelled out as he let out a punch which just passed through the grandmaster. "Unlike you Julius, I think my plans out, this is where you''ll meet your end. Please, welcome the 10th division of my army," said the grandmaster before disappearing. When Julius turned back around he was met with a large crowd of people marching towards him with the numbers of at least 1000 people. "So you''re Julius huh? Word is that you defeated Wilson on your own, is that true?" one of the people in the very front of the ground said to Julius. "Man this seriously sucks. I didn''t think I would have to deal with this many people all on my own. It would be bad if I were to kill them so I guess I''ll just have to knock them out before things get too bad," Julius thought to himself. "What''s with that look punk? You think you''re better than us or something? I''ll show you something which you won''t be able to take your eyes off," said the very first person to speak as he walked in front of Julius and activated his secret art. <> <> At first, Julius along with a large area of ground behind him were cover in thick ice. Since Julius was in front of the man who used the secret art, his comrades weren''t affect by it. Next, the ice began to heat up quickly until just a few seconds later, the entire thing exploded all in one go. "I guess he was really nothing after all," said the man who had caused Julius to get captured in ice before he exploded. "That''s the 10th division captain for you! The guild master of the ''Freezy Chill'' guild, Albert!" the crowd behind Albert cheered as they saw the talk man with long black hair turn back and walk towards them with his arms spread out, signifying his victory. "You see that? The guy who defeated a great king was nothing compared to me! We can win this war with ease! Now join me my soldiers, let us kill those dirty apes!" Albert yelled out as he got the full support of his followers. "Albert, do you know what it means to kill? Do you know what it truly means to take a life?" a familiar voice said from the shadows of the smoke which had been caused due to the explosion from Albert''s secret arts. "No way¡­ he couldn''t be still alive, could he?" one of Albert''s underlings as as he began to tremble in fear. "I told you all but you didn''t listen! We can''t beat him because he is¡­" a man from the crowd began to yell. "Listen Albert, do you know why I have yet to beg defeated? It is because I am¡­" Julius said. "The strongest!" Both Julius and the man who started yelling from the 10th division said at the same time. Chapter 123 - Tornado "Huh? Don''t you know when to stay down and die? You''re gonna regret ever bothering to get back up!" said Albert as he watched Julius get out from the smoke and face him once again. "Don''t worry, I''ll show the power of the division captains! I''ll teach you to say put like a good dog!" said Albert as he prepared to charge at Julius with his bare hands. <> A secret art had been activated but Albert wasn''t the one to do it as the captain of the 10th division of the meditation army continued to charge at Julius. Seeing this, Julius also began to run towards Albert as he wanted to some revenge for the explosion that he was forced to take to the face and body. "I''ll kill you!¡­ Just kidding," said Albert as he came to a sudden stop while he waited to Julius to attack him as they were very close to each other. As Julius threw his revenge punch, everything began to slow down for him as he saw a person beside him who leapt from Albert''s back. The man to Julius'' side had a golden pole in his hand. The man had moved too quickly to allow Julius to dodge or counter since he was already focused on Albert. "Damn-" Julius thought to himself before the golden pole hit him on the head and he was sent flying off as if he was just a messily insect. Seeing this, everyone began to cheer as they celebrated the attack that had landed. "We''ve won! He can''t get up from that! All thanks to vice captain Caesar''s efforts! Our captain''s rock!" The other soldiers began to celebrate. The attire of the soldiers of the 10th devision was a white thick leather jacket with long white brushed polyester fabric made pants along with black shoes. Truly an odd sense of fashion yet it somehow fit them. "Don''t worry, he should be dead. No matter how strong that boy is, there''s no way he would survive such a hit to the head. Let''s pack things up," said Caesar as he began to walk away casually not like his captain who liked to show off. "You dirty fighting scoundrels! I''ll kill you all!" said Julius as he got up from the ground with his head bleeding. "Just get back on the ground and die of blood loss, stop fighting us, this is a pointless battle," said Caesar is a calm and collected voice. "Like hell I would die like this!" Julius argued back. "Oh is that so? Then let us show you why this is a pointless battle. Our collective division consists of 100 guild master and 900 underlings. I''m out while army, there are 10 divisions which means that even if you defeat us, you''ll have to face 9 other divisions which only get stronger as you progress through them, just die already!" Caesar said as he began to loose his cool before relaxing again after taking a few breathes in and out. "Okay men! Let us show him what we''re made of! Let us show him what the 10th division is made out of!" Caesar yelled out which everyone yelled back in agreement with an enthusiastic "YEAH!". <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> ¡­ Over 100 people in the crowd activated the first secret art which Julius had learned from Jun. Of course while it did bring him sadness that his first secret art would be used against him. However in the other side of things, he was happy to see it once again since it had been so long since he had seen the move. "How''s this Julius?! You think you can stand up to over one hundred thousand blades all aimed at you?! Well then, good luck in hell!" Caesar yelled out and at that precise moment, just like Caesar had said, over one hundred thousand blades began to fall onto Julius like rapid rain. "Maybe it was okay for this war to start. I can show people scumbags like you that the world isn''t just black and white. Just because you have something powerful on your side doesn''t mean you''ll always win. Just like how if you have more numbers, it''s not guaranteed that you''ll win," Julius began to speak. "Ha! Look at him, he has gone insane for fear of death! Well too bad, you''ll going rot in hell wether you like it or not!" Caesar said as he began to laugh. "You know, you''re pretty weird. It seems like you''re always changing your attitude as if you''re unstable, I wish I got to learn more about you Caesar," said Julius as he let out a gentle smile. "As for this battle, let me show you all a sight you''ll never be able to forget. Prepare to face your worst nightmare and engrave the sight you''ve about to see into your brains for the rest of your lives. I''ll show you the fruits of all my labour for the past 3 years," Julius yelled out. <> Even though special trait had been activated, there was no weapon in sight. They couldn''t see a single weapon glowing because of the monster core it would have absorbed. "How odd¡­" said Caesar as he looked around to see that there was not a single weapon in sight. Although not a single object was growling, Julius''s chest had began to grow as he continued to inhale while his chest began to glow. "No that can''t be possible right? That''s just insane! It has never been heard of!" said Caesar as had finally realized what was happening and began to run. "What are you so scared of? He''s already pretty weak! All we have to do is land a couple more hits and he''ll go down for every," said Albert as he was confused since he never even considered the possibility of what Julius had done. "He''a no human.. He ate¡­ a monster core," said Caesar as he began to cry in fear. Chapter 124 - Funeral "He''a no human. He ate¡­ a monster core," said Caesar as he began to cry in fear. "No! That''s can''t be! It shouldn''t be possible! There''s so much toxic material inside of that that the last person who hate one died by just taking a single bite. There''s no way this kid managed to eat a core and managed to gain its powers as well. He actually hate the heart of a monster. Wouldn''t that make him¡­ A monster?" Albert asked he continued to back away. Once Julius was finished inhaling, the glow in his chest began to dim down before quickly returning back to how it was as Julius began to exhale and released a whole tornado out of his mouth. "No way, how are we supposed to face something that big?" the members of the 10th division asked themselves as they stared at the large tornado in front of them which easily towered the building where the grandmaster kept her scrolls. "What the hell is this?! I didn''t sign up for this. This was supposed to be easy! Who set us up with a battle against the devil?!" Caesar asked as he yelled out. "No Caesar, this is far from the capabilities of my powers. I always thought that this special trait was a bit bland. You think so too right? It could use a few changes," said Julius with a grin as he pulled out the dagger which Zo gave him from his pocket. "Activate!" Julius yelled out as he pointed his dagger at the tornado he just created. In doing so, the fire from the dagger quickly spread all throughout the tornado until all that was left was a spinning fiery hell. "Who exactly is this man?! Why does he have so much power?!" Albert complained as he got on his knees now that he accepted his death while everyone ran away to save themselves. "It was good working with you¡­partner," said Caesar as he turned towards Albert while Julius directed his flames towards the 10th division and watched as all of them began absorbed in the fire tornado. "You asked who I am¡­ I am king," Julius replied as he released the concentrated flames before they could touch anyone. "But why? Just kill us all while we have the slightest bit of pride left in us," said Caesar. "No!" Julius replied with a shout. "Why not! We''re your enemy! We played dirty and wanted to kill you and next we were going to kill your beloved teacher! We were going to wipe everyone you loved off the face of this planet!" Caesar yelled at Julius. "Because, from now on, the 10th division is under the rule of Julius. It belongs to me and me alone!" Julius replied which shocked everyone and left them with gaping mouths. "So what do you say? Want to join me?" Julius asked as he placed both his hand forward towards Albert and Caesar so he could help them get off their knees. The two quickly looked each other in the eyes before taking Julius'' hand and getting back in their knees which made Julius smile. "As a symbol of us joining your side, let us show you our loyalty to you," said Caesar and Albert as they took off their leather jackets and ripped them which declared that they had no longer affiliated themselves with the 10th division nor meditation army. Seeing this, the rest of the people began to walk towards Julius as they wanted to join his side as well as they had nowhere to go. "Not a single one of you is going to join his side!"a loud male voice yelled. "Have you forgotten who we have at our side?! The grand master and all of the other division captains! Even if those two idiots decide to leave like traitors, they''ll just be replaced! Stay on our side, the winning side!" the male voice yelled as the speaker stepped up to meet Julius'' gaze. "Igor?!" Caesar yelled out. "Be careful Julius, he''s a heartless drone which only listens to the grandmaster. The worst part is that he''s pretty strong too. Don''t worry, we''ll take care of him," said Caesar as he stepped up in front of Julius with Albert following suit. "This reminds me of the time Jun protected me from Mary. Back then, I didn''t have the power I needed so I was always getting protected. But now, things have changed. I have the power to be the one protecting others," Julius thought to himself as he grabbed Albert and Caesar by the shoulder. "It''s okay, let me be the one to protect you," said Julius as he pulled the two of them back and he stepped up to face Igor. "Men! Let''s prepare to end what our failures of captains started. This is for everyone we love and cherish!" Igor yelled out which got the army back to being arrogant in their powers. "Failures? Don''t kid yourselves. Just because you lack the brain power to realize that this battle will lead to your deaths doesn''t make you smart. What do you think would have happened if those two didn''t join me? They would have been killed along with all of you! They just made the smarter choice which makes you angry because it wasn''t you who decided to do it first!" Julius yelled back. "Shut up already you arrogant kid! I''ll make sure to kill you!" Igor yelled as he began to say a chant so he could activate a secret art with everyone else following him. "No Igor, this isn''t a battle which I will lose. Not because I hate you or because I want to gain something from this battle. No, it''s none of those things. I simply can''t lose, that isn''t an option for me anymore," Julius replied and without saying a chant, Julius activated his secret art. <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> ¡­ On his own, Julius summoned exactly one hundred thousand blades. "This is your funeral, Igor!" Chapter 125 - Bluff "This is your funeral, Igor!" Julius yelled out as he made his fists clash while announcing his statement. "Call me a demon, a devil, a monster, I don''t care about any of that, the only thing I''ll ever be is king," Julius said as he placed his palm forward which made all of his blades face directly at Igor. "What the hell are we supposed to do now?! How are we ever expected to win against a monster like that?! You saw him create all of those blades without dropping a single sweat. Tell us commander Igor, how do we win?!" the soldiers of the 10th division began to turn to Igor as he was their only hope now. "No! No! No! This wasn''t supposed to happen! Why? Why are you able to directly consume the scrolls?!" Igor yelled out at Julius. "No way¡­ he''s joking right? There''s no way a dragon tier scroll can be consumed right?" said one of the soldiers as all hope became lost and he got on his knees. "What do you mean consume?!" one of the soldiers who wasn''t a guild master asked as he was confused why everyone looked so worried. "It means to attain a secret art through a dangerous method. Using it can cause permanent brain damage and usually ends with people in a coma which is why almost everyone uses the chanting method to use secret art. However there are those who are either brave or stupid who choose to use the consumption method for lower tier scroll, but this¡­ it''s unheard of for a person to master a dragon tier scroll using the consumption method," a guild master from the 10th division explained. "So what of it?! It''s still the same secret art, we can counter him!" the member of the 10th division who had asked about the consumption method replied to the guild master. "No, you still don''t get it, in exchange for risking your life, you''re rewarded with being able to use the secret art you just risked your life for without consuming any stamina. That means, if he wanted to, Julius could flood the entire planet in blades and he wouldn''t even break a sweat," the guild master replied which made all who heard those words lose their minds. "We''re dead, why did this have to happen! Why didn''t we just listen to Jun! Now we''re all going to die!" another soldier from the 10th division yelled out. "Igor please save us!" "Igor!" "Igor!" "Igor!" Everyone from the 10th division turned towards Igor who was just as helpless as them. It wasn''t like he could stop the monster in front of him. "M-Men, strength your hearts, we can defeat him if we just combine our power," said Igor as he trembled in fear but it was still enough for some people to get up to and start to slowly approach Julius which made Julius sigh in disappointment. "I thought it would come to this," Julius said as he clasped his hands and his chest began to glow the colour orange. <> Within a few seconds, every single one of the one hundred thousand blades became engulfed in flames. "Want to give up now?" Julius asked at which at this point, Igor was completely broken as chose to run away. After a few seconds, the rest began to run away as well. "Hold it! He can leave but you can''t!" Julius yelled as he allowed Igor to escape while he forced his blades to create a wall to stop the rest of the 10th division from escaping. "Damn it! So this is where we did," the soldiers complained. "No you morons! I won''t kill any of you. I''ve said this before and I''ll say it again, the 10th division is under my control from this day forward. Please accept me as your new leader," said Julius as he bowed while standing. "Wait so we''re not gonna die?" one of the guild masters from the 10th division asked in a voice which had relief in it. "No you will not. I will protect you for anyone who tries to harm you," said Julius which brought out a genuine smile on the faces of everyone there. They really could stay alive. Hearing those words, all of the remaining members of the 10th division took off their leather jackets and tore them apart just like Caesar and Albert to signify that they were no longer working for the meditation army. ¡­ "Is that so? You''re saying you would protect anyone here? Then prove that, right here, right now," said a man as he brought himself forward with a hostage with him as he pointed a knife at the hostage''s neck. "That''s the vice captain of the 9th division, Charley!" Albert yelled out. "Don''t use my name you dirty traitor! I''ll make sure to torture you well after I deal with this trash," said Charley as he looked at Julius. "So what do you say Julius? Mind killing yourself? I would be willing to let this one go if you do that simple task for me," said Charley with a fake smile as he looked at Julius with his exhausted eyes. ¡­ "What''s wrong? You can do it right? So all of that was just a bluff right? You wouldn''t actually end your life for some no body, you''re just full of lies-" Charley began to speak but was instantly cut off as he blinked his eyes. One moment he was standing up straight with a hostage in hand. However when he opened his eyes after blinking, he seemed to be on the ground as he nose continued to bleed as he looked up at Julius who had the hostage in his hand. "Are you alright? I''m sorry you had to go through that, I should have been able to stop him before that took place. I hope you can forgive me," said Julius to the hostage who was just glad to be saved as he nodded in agreement with Julius'' request. "Please, go to the side lines, I have some trash I need to deal with," said Julius as he got up and looked Charley in his eyes with murderous intent. Chapter 126 - Humour "What the hell happened to me?" Charley asked as he struggled to breathe. "Did you just see that? Just like a flash of light, Julius disappeared and knocked the 9th division''s vice captain down the the ground. That''s one hell of a beast!" the members of the 10th division who were currently under the command of Julius said. "Now now, Charley don''t you go off losing?" said a deep voice as a figure fell from the air and landed in the ground right on top of the already injured Charley. "Are you trying to kill me?!" Charley yelled out in pain and agony. "Don''t sweat it, you''ll be fine," said the figure as they got up off of Charley. "No way, they''re all here already! That''s the captain of the 9th division, Kento! That just mean the entire 9th division is here as well," said Albert as they all heard marching towards them. "That''s right, you traitors are going to pay!" said the figure who had came from the sky said. "But first, I''ll have to take care of you, Julius," said the figure who was also known as Kento said as he turned his attention towards Julius as he went in for a punch. "Do you have a death wish?" Julius asked as blocked the punch and clenched his fist before handing a devastating blow to Kento''s right cheek. "Haha, that was good but-" before Kento could even get a full sentence out, Julius went in for another punch. "I''m done listening. This isn''t talking match, this is a real fight," Julius said as he bombarded Kento with an endless fury of punches. "What the hell is this guy made out of? Why can''t a block a single punch?" Kento asked himself as he felt himself getting weaker and more sleepy. "Are you done yet? You know you can''t beat me like this," said Julius as he looked down at Kento who was gasping for air. "You''re right, I''m not meant for hand to hand battle," said Kento as he back away as looked at his 9th decision who were on the other side of the 10th division. Due to this, Julius was at the front of the 10th division with the Albert and Caesar in front of him. Seeing as he enemy was on the other side now, Julius walked forward to be in front of Albert and Caesar along with the rest of the 10th division. "Listen up everyone! Stay back and watch. I will make you all believe in me as your new leader. I''ll make you believe that the world which I dream of is possible!" Julius yelled out which got him the encouraging cheer from his newly acquired 10th division. "Huh? So a one man army. You''ve got to be pretty stupid if you think that we''re as weak as those guys. The 9th division is on a whole other league," said Kento. "While it may look like I''m fighting this battle alone, that''s the furthest from the truth. All of these guys behind me as gonna fight just as hard. Their encouragement will allow me to wipe the floor with you!" Julius yelled back at Kento. "Is everyone ready?! Let''s show em what the 9th division is made of!" Kento yelled out as he helped Charley get back on his feet even though his nose was leaking blood like a tap letting out water. "YEAH! LET''S HIT EM WITH ALL WE''VE GOT!" the members of the 9th division yelled out as they began to chant different secret arts depending on the area they were in. <> Multiple giant blades began to fall towards Julius who simply caught them and dropped them to the ground as if they were just toys. <> A seemingly uncountable amount of canon balls began to head towards Julius at top speeds before finally making contact with him. Even though each of them packed a devastating attack output, Julius kept letting them explode on him as they didn''t really affect him in the least. "What''s the deal with him?! He seems unfazed by all our attacks! Is he even human?" the members of the 9th division asked. "Don''t worry, I think I figured out what his weakness is. I don''t know how I didn''t realize this yet but Julius is just an overgrown baby with the dream of becoming some fantasy hero," said Kento as he began to laugh. "Don''t you all get it? All we have to do is attack his precious 10th division, there are far too many of them for him to protect so as long as he keeps trying to save everyone, he''ll tire himself out!" Kento continued. "So everyone, get ready, we''re going to be killing some traitors!" Kento said with an evil smile. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ "I-can''t-breathe," said Kento as he began to lose his breathe. "Who¡­ is doing this?" a guild master from the 9th division asked as he also began to lose his breathe. "This battle is between you and me, I swear that if any of you are to touch my precious 10th division, I''ll kill you all right here," said Julius as his menacing aura which appeared ever so often became more prominent. It began to suck the life out of each member from the 10th division. "Please¡­ someone¡­ help us," said Kento who was on the ground as he tried to get air into his lungs some how yet he couldn''t do anything about it. "That''s enough," said a gentle voice as a familiar hand grasped Julius'' shoulder in a calming way. Without even turning around, Julius knew who it was and stopped suffocating everyone. "Jun! You''re still alive! I''m so happy!" Julius yelled out as he got distracted. Due to that, what he thought to be Jun punched him in the face and knocked him to the ground. "I''ll kill you! You''re going to pay for everything you did! I''ll make sure to end your life right here!" Jun yelled at Julius. ¡­ "But how did you manage to do this grandmaster?! A shadow figure asked as it stood beside the grandmaster who was watching from her tower where she placed all of her of her scrolls. ¡­ "Illusion is a funny thing," the grandmaster replied. Chapter 127 - Disappoint "Illusion is a funny thing," the grandmaster replied. "What do you mean? There''s no illusion up right now? It''s just Jun fighting his own student," the shadow figure replied. "I see so you haven''t noticed it yet, have you? I guess it would only make sense since I spent so much time crafting it," said the grandmaster as she turned towards the figure beside her. "You see, I''ve been using a secret art which slowly implants fake memories into the target. Of course if I had used a secret art which instantly places the target in the illusion, Jun would''ve known right away which would deactivate the illusion. As such, I opted to use a slower version of it where it slowly replaces his memory instead," the grandmaster began to explain. "Oh, so you''ve slowly began to place him in an illusion," said the figure beside the grandmasters "No, that''s far from the truth. Placing him in an illusion would be much too simple. I''m literally overwriting his memories. Right now, he believes that Julius was killed and the one who did it was the captain of the 3rd division, Ozel. However my goal wasn''t to make Jun kill Ozel. Instead, I wanted him to kill his own student so I placed a final illusion secret art with the memory replacing one so that he thinks that Julius is Ozel. As such, Jun would kill his own student without even knowing it," the grandmaster explained. "Wow, you''ve really thought this through. So in the end, Jun would kill his own student and remain on our side. However, how do you intend to finish him off after the war? He''s quite a powerful figure," said the figure beside the grandmaster. "The answer is quite simple. All I''ll have to do is reveal the truth to him. Once he learns that he was the one responsible for killing his own student, he''ll break. I''m the end, he''ll be the one do end his own life. Everything will fall into place and we can start our own empire," said the grandmaster with a gentle but sinister smile. "But grandmaster, you know who Julius is. He''s made quite a name for himself for defeating the the great kings and queens with ease. What are we supposed to do if Julius defeats Jun. I''m mean, he''s just an old man," the figure beside the grandmaster said. "Mr. Green, who do you think brought all of these things together. Who do you think brought this island to the sky? Who do you think started this whole civilization of humans? Who do you think created the tower which I store all those secret arts?" the grandmaster asked all these question to the figure that stood beside her who was names Mr. Green. "Of course it''s you, who else would have the strength and intellectual power to do something so great?! You are the best of the best, you stand above everyone as the supreme ruler!" Mr. Green replied. "No Mr. Green, that''s wrong. Just continue to watch this fight. ¡­ "What the hell is wrong with you Jun?! It''s me! How could you attack your own student?!" Julius asked as he yelled after getting back up from the punch which Jun threw at him. "My student?! You killed him! You took everything away from me! He was supposed to be the light in a new era! You said if he joined us, you would allow him to live, the grandmaster even agreed so why?! Why did you kill Julius?!" Jun continued to yell as he charged towards Julius and began to beat who he believed to be Ozel while tears flowed out of his eyes. "What are you talking about?! I''m still alive! Can''t you see that?!" Julius replied to Jun as he continued to get pummelled by Jun''s punches. "I can see you''re alive and I''m going to take care of that! You murder! I''ll make sure this is your grave!" Jun yelled out and he began to chant something. <> <> In that moment, Jun''s right arm became covered in pure gold as he also created 1000 blades to go up against Julius. "Huh?! I don''t understand why you want to kill me but that secret art won''t be nearly enough to kill me Jun!" Julius replied as he prepared to put some sense into his teacher. "Oh don''t worry, I''m well aware of that," Jun replied as he forced each of his blades to touch his hand which instantly turned the silver blades into golden ones. Once that was done, Jun directed the blades towards Julius so that they could kill him. The new golden blades began to fly towards Julius at speeds which were unheard of. "Why are they so fast?! Could his golden hand really allow these things to fly at this speed?! Even with my new found power, I doubt I can dodge them all," said Julius to himself as he quickly tried to think of a strategy to dodge all those golden blades. "Got it!" Julius said as he leaped up on the golden blades one by one as he dodged all of them. However at the final blade, the golden blade moved away, causing Julius to lose his balance and fall to the ground. As he fell towards the ground of the island, Julius noticed as all the blades began to turn towards his and fall towards his body as well. "Golden Blade Works!" Jun yelled out in anger as he forced his blades to go at an even faster speed as the all fell towards the same spot which Julius had landed in as Jun fully intended on murder. ¡­ "Mr. Green, remember when I asked you who created all of these things that us mediators have? It wasn''t me who did. It was actually my predecessor. He was the one who prepared all of this for us. He created all of these things so that we could defend ourselves when was came, he was truly kind man," the grandmaster said with a smile which confused Mr. Green. "Don''t disappoint me, former grandmaster Jun." Chapter 128 - Mr. Green "Don''t disappoint me, former grandmaster Jun," said the current grandmaster which caught Mr. Green by surprise. "Huh? What are you saying grandmaster? I thought you were the only grandmaster throughout history!" said Mr. Green with a shocked voice. "Of course I''m not idiot. I only took over about 200 years ago. The grandmaster before me was Jun, of course he could''ve continued to rule as the grandmaster but something changed in his heart after the Great War," said the grandmaster. "But that''s impossible! The longest a human can live up to is only 100 years! Do you imply that Jun and you are much older than that?!" Mr green asked with as he was still shocked. "That''s exactly right. You must know by now that ageing of different for those who are a higher ranked remediation cultivators. You also should know that when''s person cultivates, aging is completely stooped for them which is why we tend to live for longer years that those who choose to battle but it''s not like we actually can experience them since we''re just paused while the world around us continues to live," the grandmaster explained. "So in the end, it must not make sense to you how Jun nor I manage to stay alive for this long yet we never seem to die. That had a simple explanation. It''s the feather of eternity," the grandmaster continued. "There was once a great bird which descended upon our world. Once reached our planet, it but off one of its feathers and gave it to the first human in this world. That human was the first grandmaster, grandmaster Victorius. As long as the first grandmaster held on to that feather, he would never age a single day in his life. Unlike what most people think of grandmasters, they are not some divine creatures that protect themselves from the temptations of the world," said the grandmaster. "In fact, it''s the opposite, they choose to indulge in every desire which the have since they don''t fear death. Victorius ended up having many children over thousands of years but in the end, he began to lose him mind from having to watch hundreds of his friends and family die of old age while he got to live, in the end, he decided to let go of the feather so that he could die," said the grandmaster as if she had completed the story. "So did the first grandmaster die right away because all the years he had cheated caught up to him?" Mr. Green asked. "No, in fact it was the opposite, all the years which he had lived, he would have to live out again. It was a repeat of everything he had gone through. Over the next few thousand years, Victorius had many children which he didn''t care for and just left them to die but in his final years, he met a young man named Jun. Jun revealed that his life had been hell since his father left. His mother had died and he had to do whatever it look to survive. At one point he was even a slave for some traders. All who was to blame for that was Jun''s father, Victorius," the grandmaster continued as Mr. Green grew to be more invested into the story. "To get revenge for the hellish life he had lived, Jun cut Victorius in half and ended his life for him so that he wouldn''t die of just old age. In his final moments, Victorius told Jun where he had left the bird''s feather, also known as the feather of eternity. Even though Jun hated his father, he went to see what his father''s last words were really about. It was there which Jun found the feather of eternity and became the 2nd grandmaster," the current grandmaster finished her story. "Wow, so did Jun decide to use his power for something good so that he wouldn''t turn out just like his father?" Mr. green asked with sparkling eyes as he wanted to learn everything about the grandmasters of the past. "Not actually, you see, just like I said before, Jun had lived a life of hell. He didn''t care for the world no the least, not that he cares about it now either. So instead he decided to do whatever he desired. It didn''t matter how wrong it was, he did it if he wanted to. The only thing which he refrained from was having children as he didn''t want to turn out like his father," the grandmaster continued. "So did he just give the feather to some random person then?" Mr. Green asked. "No he didn''t. He actually did have a child in the end but we''re not on that part yet. Like I was saying, he didn''t have children until the Great War 200 years ago. The war lasted over 20 years and in that time, Julius had seem the worst of the world. He grew sick of living and wanted to end it all. So, he decided to opt for the same path as his father which was death. However he knew he couldn''t just leave the feather as it could end up in the wrong hands," said the grandmaster. "As such, after almost a thousand years of having the feather of eternity, Jun returned the feather where he found it and had his first child, me," the grandmaster continued. "He raised me well actually. He told me all his stories and shielded me while the war was going on. He was truly a man which I looked up to and so once the war had come to an end, he told me to find the feather of eternity so I could take over as the 3rd grandmaster," the current grandmaster finished. "So why would you kill your own kind father?! And why are you telling me all of this, it seems like pretty secret information," Mr. Green said. "I tend to let information like this slip when I''m happy.. Sorry, it has happened before, but don''t worry, it''s not like anyone will know about our little conversation," said the grandmaster with large evil grin. Chapter 129 - 3 Birds With One Stone "What do you mean grandmaster? What do you mean no one will know about this?" Mr. Green asked in a concerned tone. "It''s exactly as it sounds, you''re going to die here today Mr. Green. Don''t feel bad though, it''s not your fault. Things like this always happen. I just let some information out by accident and now you have to die. No hard feelings," the grandmaster replied with a smile. "You witch! I hope you die a horrible death!" said Mr. Green. "Come on, don''t be like that. Don''t you want to go out while I still think of you as a good subordinate?" the grandmaster asked with a fake smile as she prepares to embrace Mr. Green before killing him. "Go to hell you monster! I hope all your plans fail! I hope Julius comes after you and kills you!" Mr. green yelled at the grandmaster as he began to move away from her even though they were in a small space being in the tower where she kept all of her scrolls. "What a shame, it would have been a pleasure to grant you any wish but unfortunately, that one isn''t possible. Remember, I can''t die since I have the feather of eternity. You''re going to die here and no one will be able to avenge you," said the grandmaster as she continued to walk towards Mr. Green who realized that there was no hope for him. "Okay then, you win. But before you kill me, tell me why you''re doing this? Why do you insist of killing the father that loved you so much?" Mr. Green asked which made the grandmaster clearly angry. "You really wanna know why?! Because he decided to have another daughter! In fact, this whole war wasn''t to protect my pride, I just needed a reason to kill Mary! And while I''m at it, I can kill two birds with one stone by also killing Jun!" the grandmaster replied. "You see, I always thought that Jun loved me. I thought he spoiled me with love and affection. However that was never the truth. In fact, he never even saw me once until the day I was given the title of the new grandmaster. The one who raised me was just his clone who he made up to mold me into the perfect grandmaster. I was just a tool to him! Worst of all, I forgave him. I understood that he needed to take care of this island so that if there was ever a war between the two cultivation methods, we would always win. I really did forgive him," said the grandmaster as tears came out of her eyes. "But after so many years of me being the grandmaster, I came to learn that he had another daughter. A daughter which he raised with actual love instead of creating a machine. He didn''t make a clone raise her but instead raised her himself. He allowed her to pick her cultivation method and even taught her both of the methods. He didn''t rush her to become a great cultivator, he raised her to only be his daughter. I seriously hate her which is why I want to kill the queen of the kingdom of bidents, queen Mary!" the grandmaster announced. "When I first found out about her existence, I wanted to destroy everything. I wanted to kill the both of them right then and there. However it wouldn''t have been enough, it wouldn''t have satisfied me. So first, I separated the two of them. It was really easy, all I had to do was kill Jun''s wife who was Mary''s mother. All I had to do after that was wait as Jun continued to get more strict on his students after losing the love of his life. Although he raised them to be monsters, he never once considered the emotional scars he left on them," the grandmaster continued to explain. "But even after that, Mary stayed with him. She never once gave up on Jun. Unfortunately for her, I wouldn''t give up on my goal as well. I used every mind control secret art possible to make her hate Jun until she would finally leave him and start a life of her own. It was actually fun to watch as Jun''s life began to crumble. Everything he had in his new life, I kept taking away. That was his breaking point. Not many people know this but people have died training under Jun. However those who survived became the people who dominate this world in the form of the great kings and queens. That''s why they wouldn''t hesitate to kill him if he got in their way. Just like how he was a monster with them, they would act like monsters towards him," said the grandmaster. "Everything was going well and I watched from afar as Jun''s life went to hell. However one day, a new student showed up. It was the son of the great Henry, Julius Henry. He looked pretty weak and was basically trash compared to all the other students, I pitied him because I knew he would die from Jun''s training. However that wasn''t what had happened. Instead, Julius surpassed all of Jun''s expectations, he was the perfect student. He never failed his teacher no matter how challenging the task was. Jun had found a new light. He could finally live in peace," the grandmaster continued. "But I would be dammed if I was going to let that happen. I planned to kill Julius on my own but after some research, I found out about the never ending dungeon. So guess what I did? I made Wilson''s sister appear in the same area as Julius. After Wilson and Julius fought, I planted the never ending dungeon quest in the guild which he was in. While he was gone, Wilson would come back to get revenge for getting beaten and would confront Ozel which is where I would make my entry. I would start a war between our two sides and make it so that it starts right when Julius returns. In the mean time, I would get Jun to come to this island and weaken his brain until he could be placed into an illusion and kill his own student! You see Mr. Green, I planned it all, every second of it was part of my plan!" the grandmaster yelled out as she revealed her massive plan. "I win!" Chapter 130 - Juns Judgement "No way, how though? How could a single person plan out so many things and have them go in their favour? Are you even human?" Mr. Green asked in fear as he couldn''t help but shiver in fear from hearing the grandmaster''s plan. "Of course I''m human. It''s just that I''m better than everyone else. Just like you said before, I am supreme. I stand above all as I am the only thing worthy of being perfect," said the grandmaster as the sun touched her body and the light began to make her smooth skin glow as he smiled at Mr. Green with pity. Truly perfect in both beauty an intelligence. "I guess this is where I die," said Mr. Green as he later on his back while he prepared the grandmaster to kill him. <> "My life was really trash. I was always serving one person or another until I finally became the servant of the grandmaster. I always settled to be someone''s sidekick. I really regret that, maybe in another life," said Mr. Green to himself as he closed his eyes as the grandmaster began to prepare to stab him. "Wait no! I''m still not dead! I can change the outcome of this battle! It doesn''t have to end here, I don''t have to die here. Jun doesn''t have to die, and Julius doesn''t have to die either. He''s the only one who can change the tides of this battle! I don''t care how hopeless this battle is, I''ll save Julius," Mr, Green said to himself before quickly getting up before he could get stabbed and leaped out of the balcony of the tower. After that Mr. Green sprinted as quickly as he possibly could towards Julius. By this point, the grandmaster had also closed her eyes so she could peacefully end the life of Mr. Green but unfortunately for her, the blade in her hand would simply make contact with solid ground instead of it touching the body of Mr. Green. "No, he dared to believe that he was better than me?! I''ll kill you Mr. Green, I''ll make sure that today is the final day you''ll see the sun rise!" said the grandmaster as she rushed toward Mr. Green faster than he could run away towards Julius. Once she caught up to him, she leaped in the air before kicking Mr. Green by the head and knocked him to the ground. "Give it up Mr. Green! It''s the end of the line for you, you''re dying right here! What brought this sudden change in attitude? You had first accepted that you were going to die, so why do you choose to struggle like an animal that''s about to be slaughtered. You know that you have no where else to go, so stop grasping onto life!" said the grandmaster as she began to walk towards Mr. Green with her basic blade in hand as he prepared to decapitate him. "I don''t care if I die here today. But if I''m going to die, I''m going out with a bang!" Mr. Green yelled out as he began to chant something. <> "No way, where did he learn that?! More over how come I never heard of it?!" the grandmaster asked herself as she watched Mr. Green teleport away from her. "It doesn''t matter, it shouldn''t take much to find out his location, he only has about a day or so left before I find out his precise location and kill him. But still, I don''t understand why he would teleport away. He knows that I''ll catch him soon anyway. What could he possibly accomplish within just a day?" the grandmaster asked herself as she turned to see the match between Julius and Jun. "Get up Ozel! I know you''re still alive! I know my golden blades alone wouldn''t be able to end your life!" Jun demanded as Julius got up from the rubble of golden blades which not even one cut him. "What''s gotten into you Jun?! We were supposed to friends! No, we were family. So why?! Why do you want to kill me now?!" Julius asked in desperation as both the 10th division and 9th division watched in confusion as the two people who were supposed to be friends were about to kill each other. .. "Well at least it''s nice to see that this fight is about to come to an end. Go on Jun, use it, your ultimate secret art. ''Jun''s Judgment''. How long has it been since I''ve seen you use that heaven tier secret art?! Well, no matter. It''s your only hope to defeat Julius but it''ll work out in the end. After all, it''s your ultimate move!" said the grandmaster as she continued to watch but suddenly a figure appeared beside Julius, however at the same time, Jun began to cast his ultimate attack. <> <> "IT HAS BEGUN! YOU CAN''T DO ANYTHING ANYMORE MR. GREEN!" said the grandmaster as she began to laugh like the devil. "Listen to me Julius, you do not know me but I have to tell you something," said Mr. Green as he teleported beside Julius as he began to gasp for air as he had exhausted himself from using such a powerful secret art. "Sure, but make it quick, I need to brace for this attack," Julius replied as strong winds began to emerge out of no where and everyone began to lose their grip on the ground. "Jun is in an illusion. Well, it''s more like his memory has been permanently changed. I''m pretty sure he''ll soon forget about you. But right now, Jun believes that you''re Ozel! In his fake memory, Ozel killed Julius. So he''s getting revenge for his student. Right here, right now, you''re facing Jun''s full might. I don''t know if Jun ever expressed much emotion towards you but he really did care about you! You were all he had! Everything was taken away from him! And the one who is responsible for all of this is her!" Mr.. Green yelled as he pointed towards the grandmaster who was laughing hysterically. Chapter 131 - Feather After hearing what Mr. Green had to say, Julius just stood there as he watched the grandmaster laughed. "We don''t have much time left before Jun attacks us but you also have to know that she''s the one who''s been planning this entire war out. She sent you off to that dungeon. She set up the conflict between you and Wilson. She manipulated you and the ones who care about!" Mr. Green yelled out before falling on the ground as he couldn''t speak anymore and needed to just breathe for a while. "DIE!" Jun said as he began to release a light from behind him which looked to immobilize anyone it touched. Even so, Julius didn''t care and began to walk towards the white light. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING JULIUS?! YOU''RE OUR ONLY HOPE!" Mr. Green yelled out in a desperate voice. ¡­ "You''ve got my back right?" Julius asked but not a single person knew who he was talking to. Most people who heard those words just assumed that he had gone crazy from getting cornered. "Of course, partner," the voice of the white glowing figure replied in a joyful tone as he had finally accepted Julius. "Damn it all! We''re all gonna die here!" said Mr. Green but in that precise moment something happened. "Sorry Jun, I hope you can forgive me for this," said Julius as he punched Jun with all his strength and knocked him out with a single punch which caused the white light to stop before disappearing. As for the grandmaster, she instantly stopped laughing. "What the hell happened?! Why did the light stop?!" the grandmaster asked as he watched a single man walk towards her with his silky back hair moving back from the wind in his way. All in his eyes were darkness. It was Julius. "No way! He shouldn''t be able to move at all. No matter how powerful someone is, once they''re hit with that attack, they shouldn''t be able to move even an inch for a whole week!" said the grandmaster as she realized what Julius'' intentions were to kill. As such, she took a step back as she was going to try to run away for her life, however the moment she took a single step, Julius practically teleported to her with his blood thirsty eyes looking into her soul. Julius held the grandmaster with her neck as he lifted her in the air while she struggled to breathe. "How dare you! I''ll kill you!" Julius yelled out. "You can''t change-" before she could even finish her sentence, Julius punched her in the face with all his might which was more powerful than what he had done to Jun yet she was still awake. "You-" the grandmaster began to speak again but it just made Julius more angry as he gripped on to her neck even tighter and began to continuously punch the grandmaster''s face with no remorse. "H-He''s really going to kill her, Julius is going to kill the grandmaster master!" the members of the 9th division said in fear. In that moment, as Julius continued to punch the grandmaster, someone or to be more specific, a group of people began to attack Julius by firing beams of light towards him then attacking him with ice, magma, lightening, and all sorts of other elements. "Look it''s the 2nd division! And that''s 2nd division''s captain, Ozel! He won''t stand a chance against them!" the 9th division said as they believed that they were saved. Once the 2nd division stopped floating in the air and landed on the ground, Ozel walked towards Julius and placed his shoulder on Julius. "Let her go Julius, that''s enough," said Ozel in a call voice. "Huh?" Julius said as he didn''t even look back at Ozel. "Let her go or all be forced to kill you!" said Ozel as he gripped onto Julius'' shoulder even harder. "Who do you think you''re speaking to?!" Julius said as he turned around to face Ozel with his eyes which were only thinking of murder. Julius'' eyes were open wide as his pupil''s had gotten to be just a single dot as they stared deep into Ozel''s soul. "Who the hell are you? Y-You''re not Julius," said Ozel as he tried to move away in fear however Julius instantly back-hand slapped him in the face. "KNEEL!" said Julius as the dark and sinister aura which caused everyone to lose their breath returned. Everyone from the 2nd division was forced to get on the ground as they struggled to breathe, even so, they all got on their knees as it was Julius'' command. There was no way around it, even if they didn''t want to, they all automatically did it as if it was second nature. "You can''t change anything Julius. Jun''s memories are already corrupted. Soon he''ll forget about you! All the times you spent together will mean nothing to him! You''ll be forgotten about! You''ll be nothing but a stranger to him!" the grandmaster yelled out. "You! SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Julius yelled out as punched the grandmaster''s face off. He literally caused her face to disintegrate from just punching it. There was nothing left of her head and Julius just carried a headless body for a moment. After few seconds, the grandmaster''s head grew back good as new. It was like nothing had happened to her. "How are you still alive?!" Julius asked her in an angry voice as he one again punched her and caused her head to disintegrate. "It''s the feather! She had a feather which allows her to never die! As long as he has it, you can''t kill her!" Mr. Green yelled out as he wanted to help Julius as much as he possibly could. "That''s right. Do you get it now?! Every time you kill me, I''ll be reborn. You can''t defeat me, I will just regenerate good as new," said the grandmaster with an evil smile. "Okay and? I don''t care about that, as long as I can torture you more, it''s all the same," said Julius with his fake blank eyes as he began to choke the grandmaster until she was no longer able to breathe. Chapter 132 - Acceptance "Keep going Julius, attack me as much as you want or can! In the end, you''ll never truly be able to defeat me! I''ll never die!" said the grandmaster with pride. "Like I said, I''m fine with that, I''ll just continuously torture you until the last thing you''ll want is to stay alive," said Julius in a dark tone and he continued to suffocate the grandmaster while punching her. ¡­ "Do you have no pride? Beating a woman to this level is unheard of! You''re a disgrace to your family and loves ones! Didn''t anyone teach you that you shouldn''t hit women?" the grandmaster asked with her bloodied face. "I don''t care who or what you are. You chose to hurt the person who I call family, and now, you''ll pay for everything you did to him!" Julius yelled as he placed his right palm on top of the grandmaster''s head why he held her up with his left palm on her neck. Once his right palm was on the grandmaster''s head, Julius began to crush it with all his might until it eventually couldn''t take anymore and broke apart before once again regenerating. "Why are you doing this?!" the grandmaster asked in an exhausted tone. "Because I know your weakness! You said that you couldn''t die, not that you couldn''t feel pain! So since you''re so smart, how about you figure out a way for you to get out of this situation, after all, you are the intelligent grandmaster," Julius mocked the grandmaster as he began to beat her with his bare fists. "Do as you like but I''ll never accept defeat, no matter many times you kill me, I''ll still get revived. No matter the injures I gain and the pain I feel, I know I''ll just be reborn so I have nothing to fear," the grandmaster replied. "Oh is that so? Where''s the feather you use to make yourself live forever?" Julius asked in a nonchalant tone which made the grandmaster laugh as him as if Julius was insane. "Like I would ever tell you were it is! It''ll always remain with me and I''ll never die!" the grandmaster replied. "Oh really? That''s good then, I was just making sure that you wouldn''t die on my when the fun is just getting started," said Julius as he twisted the grandmaster''s left arm to the point where he joints got dislocated. In that moment, the grandmaster yelled out in agony like never before. However a few moments later, she would stop as time basically reversed on her body and brought her arm back to how it was before Julius dislocated it. "Y-You see, I''m pretty fine," said the grandmaster as he tried to stop the small tears from coming out of her eyes while she continued to breathe in heavily from the previous impact of her hand being dislocated. "I do see what you mean. I''m so happy for you! I''m glad that you survived because I''m going to do that again but worse," said Julius as he dropped the grandmaster on the ground and grabbed a hold of her right forearm. Once he held her right forearm with both his palms, Julius simply smiled before snapping her bone as if it was a stick. However, before the grandmaster could even feel the pain, Julius moved towards her right forearm and did the same thing he did to the right one. For a solid minute, all the could be heard through the entire sky island were the screams of the grandmaster as she helplessly rolled around on the ground from the pain which Julius was inflicting onto her. "Get up!" Julius said in a menacing tone as she saw that the grandmaster''s arms were beginning to heal. "What type of monster are you?!" the grandmaster asked as she couldn''t bear the pain anymore. It was just too much for her. "I said get up!" Julius yelled at her as he picked her up by her face and slammed her into the ground as he shattered her skull and killed her. "I''m done! Take the feather! I don''t want to live anymore!" the grandmaster yelled out as she pulled out the feather of eternity from her chest once he had recovered and handed it to Julius. "Just end this right now! That''s what you want right?! You want to kill me so do it!" the grandmaster yelled out as she began to lose her mind. "But mark my words, your precious master will never remember you, no matter how hard you try," said the grandmaster as she placed the feather forward towards Julius so he could expect it. "Oh my, are you giving up so soon? Sorry to tell you but it won''t be that easy," said Julius with a gentle smile as he calmly took the feather from the grandmaster''s hands. "RETURN JUN BACK TO HOW HE USED TO BE!" Julius demanded as he slapped the feather onto the grandmaster''s face so that she couldn''t die and began to repeatedly punch her until she began to lose consciousness. "So¡­ this is what I get for all my actions. I guess I''m being punished by the heavens for living out such a life. I guess I deserve it," said the grandmaster as she fell to her knees from being beaten so much. "You know Julius, I was lying, I can''t replace anyone memories. A secret art like that would probably kill me. I just used illusions the entire time so that you would lose hope but in the end, I was the one who lost hope¡­ I give up," said the grandmaster with tears in her eyes. "So please just do me a favour and kill me. I don''t want to live anymore," said the grandmaster. Julius stared back at her with a cold face and punched her face so hard that her skull went off her body as well. ¡­ "Why am I still alive?!" the grandmaster asked as she thought that she had let go of the feather but when she looked at her shoulder, she realized that Julius had placed the feather there which would mean that she wouldn''t die. "But why?" the grandmaster asked. Chapter 133 - Bavol "What''s your name?" Julius asked the grandmaster as he ignored the question which she had asked in the first place. "Vivian, my name is Vivian Jun," the grandmaster stated. "Jun? That''s the same name as my master, what a weird coincidence," said Julius. "It''s not a coincidence, Jun is my father and the seconds grandmaster," Vivian replied to Julius. "WHAT?! Then why in the world are you trying to make your father''s life a living hell?!" Julius asked loudly. Once Julius asked his question, Vivian explained the entire story which she had told to Mr. Green. The story of how the grandmasters came to be along with the creation of the sky island. The tales of Jun and how he had 2 daughters. Even though she didn''t know it, Vivian felt compelled to let out everything as if it was a burden which she had endured for far too long. "I see so Mary is your half sister?" Julius asked to which the grandmaster replied with a nod. "Since I''ve answered your questions, now it''s your turn. Tell me Julius, why are you allowing me to live? It would make your life so much easier," said Vivian with a disappointment face as she clearly didn''t want to be alive. "The reason is simple. Before I had killed you for the last time, you were your own person. You had your own will and life to live. However now that you''ve been resurrected, none of that matters. From now on, your life along with everything you have belongs to me. Vivian, from this day forward, you belong to me," said Julius as helped Vivian stand up from the ground by placing his hand forward. "HUH?!" Vivian along with everyone asked as they heard Julius'' words. "I meant that I said, your life''s purpose is to serve me. There''s no room for negotiation!" Julius announced. "I guess that makes more sense. Even though he''s almost 18 years old, he still has the mind of a 14 year old. Of course I''m the one to blame since I set him up with that dungeon that wouldn''t allow him to understand the meaning behind certain sentences. I mean who would serious say ''you belong to me''?! What an airhead," said Vivian in her head as she stood up from the ground. "So then what do you want me to do for you?" Vivian asked in a rather harsh tone. "By the way, Vivian is too long, can I just call you Vivi instead?" Julius said in a nonchalant voice. "What''s up with this kid?! Doesn''t he have the slightest bit of pride? Asking if he could address someone as powerful as me so casually!" Vivian said to herself. "Y-Yes," Vivian replied before instantly regretting it. "You moron! You were supposed to say no! How are you going to redeem yourself after this?!" Vivian asked herself in anger. "Great, Vivi, I''ll be taking over as the head of the meditation army. All these soldiers are now mine," said Julius with a kind smile as he turned to face Vivi who just nodded while being embarrassed that she was getting called by a nickname for the first time in her life. The 10th and 9th division along with their captains and vice captains just stood there with a blank expression as they didn''t understand how the two people who had been at each other''s throats just a moment ago could be acting like they were friends. The reason why Vivi was allowing Julius to speak to her so casually and agreed to everything he said was firstly because as he said, her life belonged to him so she didn''t have any choice but to agree. However the reason why she was okay with how Julius treated her was because he actually treated her like an individual human. He didn''t look at her as if all she was worth was her beauty or her status of being the grandmaster. He had been the first to even ask her about her name and also place a nickname upon her. As for Julius, his reason for letting go of his blood lust was because his goal was accomplished. As such, he didn''t need to put up a fierce wall anymore. He had managed to save Jun and managed to make it so that he would remember his student. As long as the goal was accomplished, Julius didn''t have a need to torture others. "Us become yours?! Who decided that?! I won''t allow you to become the leader of my people! We were born to only serve the grandmaster and the grandmaster alone! You''re nothing but an insect! An insect which I will squash right now!" a booming voice said as it threw a large spear right at Julius as it hoped to kill him but Julius ended up stopping it with just a finger as he stared back where the voice had come from before a single figure fell from the sky as it called back it''s weapon into its arms. The figure held the spear around its shoulders while walking towards Julius. "I don''t care who you are but I''ll only ever serve the grandmaster," the figure said as he totally believed that he would defeat Julius. "Be careful, he''s the 1st division captain, Bavol. His strength surpasses that of Jun however Jun would always win in a death battle because of his final secret art. If not for that, Bavol would be the strongest meditation cultivator only second to me," said Vivi. "Wait Vivi, I have a question," said Julius. "Hmm?" Vivi replied as she was curious as to what Julius wanted to know. "Why didn''t you use any secret arts on me? From the sound of it, you should be pretty strong," said Julius at which when she heard the question, Vivi looked at Julius with a slightly annoyed face. "Because I need to say a chant before I can cast a secret art. I couldn''t chant anything because you were chocking me so much and only allowed me to speak when it was my turn to reply for your comments," Vivi replied. "Oh right, sorry about that," Julius said as he properly handed back the feather of eternity to Vivi. "Please hold on to this, I have something to take care of," said Julius as he turned to face Bavol. Chapter 134 - Joker "Hey there Bavol," Julius said with a smile and a wave. "Don''t speak to me like we are friends! I''m here to kill you-" Bavol began to speak before Julius teleported away from where he was. "What the-" Bavol said as before he could finish his sentence, Julius reappeared above him and punched Bavol''s neck so that Bavol would face the ground. "You''re pretty strong," said Bavol as he got back up with his blood gushing out of his mouth. "This fight is out of your league, I didn''t train for 3 whole years just to be defeated by a self absorbed moron!" said Julius as he slowly walked towards Bavol and kicked him in the chest, effectively knocking him down permanently. "Does anyone else wish to challenge me to see who''s fit rule over this army?!" Julius looked around for a single person with the 9th and 10th division which were present and after some time, not a single person said anything as they had seen what Julius was capable of. It would be like a baby fighting a monster. ¡­ "We do!" said a group of people which looked to be an entire army as they marched towards Julius together. The group was much larger than the combined divisions which were already present. "It''s all of the remaining divisions, they''ve come to launch a combined attack at you!" said Vivi in a concerned tone as she began to watch towards Julius. "It''s okay, I''ll protect you," said Julius as he turned to face Vivi which was slightly shorter than him. "No Julius, you''ve done enough for me, let me show you why I''m the grandmaster," said Vivi as she stood in front of Julius and began to chant something. "Move out of the way grandmaster. You''ve clearly been corrupted by that devil. We''ll deal with you later, right now, he''s out main target," said the man who was leading he army who was most likely the first division vice captain since Bavol was taken down since he chose to act in his own. "You really thing you worthless trash are actually even the least bit as powerful as I?! Don''t get so cocky just because you saw the strength difference between me and Julius and began to think that any of you could take me out. I''m still many worlds stronger than you all combined," said Vivi as she began to walk towards the vice captain of the first division. The two stood off against each other as they stared each other down while they were only a single meter apart from each other. After waiting for some time, the vice captain of the first division moved his hand. ¡­ With only half a second passing since the vice captain of the first division moving her hand, Julius teleported into the air as he reappeared while floating beside the first division captain and Vivi. "Hey there, there''s no need to kill. He''s probably pretty strong, we could use him in our side," said Julius with as gentle voice as he rested in feet in the ground while speaking to Vivi who''s hand he had caught. "What as you talking about?! I was about to kill her instead!" the vice captain argued in a hostile tone. "Oh really? That might actually be true. If you''re so sure of being as strong as her, I''ll move at the speed which she was about to attack you. Your task will be to stop me from knocking out every single person in your army. If you fail, I''ll kill you," said Julius in a joyful tone excerpt for the last sentence where his tone changed to be quite serious. "Okay then," "3!" "2!" "1!" "Go!" As if he was lightning itself, Julius began to speed through the crowds of people as he went at the fastest speed he could. Even though he had promised that he would try to keep it the same speed as Vivi''s punch, Julius got carried away. To add on, it wasn''t like anyone would know the difference. "Where did he go?! I can''t see him. Why can''t I see him?! Am I really going to die?! There''s no way he could knock out all these people right?! He probably ran away, that''s what he had to do because he was too scared to face me," said the vice captain to himself as he couldn''t comprehend the concept of someone being so much faster than himself as he couldn''t even see them move at all. ¡­ "Done!" said Julius as a joyful tone as he snapped his fingers. At the same time, just like a delayed effect all members of the army which had been brought that were comprised of captains, vice captains and guild masters all fell to the ground as they had been put in an unconscious state. "You''ve got to be kidding me, there''s no way someone like this should be alive. Why! Why is he so powerful!" the vice captain of the first division yelled out as the agony and helplessness became evident in his voice. "You know what this means right!" Julius yelled out as he clenched his fists as he prepared to punch the vice captain of the first division with all his power which would probably destroy not only the body of the vice captain but also the island itself with ease. "No! Please don''t kill me! I don''t want to die! Forgive me! Please let me live," said the vice captain as he fell on the ground from fear and still attempted to crawl away from Julius. "It''s too late now! Your fate has been sealed! You see all of your troops, I didn''t simply knock them out! All of them are dead!" Julius yelled out as he saw tears come out of the vice captain''s eyes. ¡­ "Just kidding, welcome to the team!" Julius said in an overjoyed tone as he placed his palm on the vice captains shoulders. "B-But everyone is dead," said the vice captain as he still continued to cry while all of the soldiers began to stand up again. "That was part of the joke too," said Julius as he let out an innocent smile. Chapter 135 - Vivi "Don''t scare me like that!" the vice captain yelled at Julius. "Anyway, forgive me for acting like such a coward. I should have accepted my death with honour from the start. Please end my life here. It''ll be the right way for me to go," said the vice captain of the first division. "What are you talking about? You''re on my team now. I didn''t let you live just so I could kill you. I wanted you on my side and now that you''ve been defeated, you''re going to be forced to join me," Julius replied in a casual tone. "But why?! I tried to kill you! I led a whole armed all for the purpose of ending your life yet you''re choosing to let me go, why would you do something so foolish?!" the vice captain asked. "I can answer that for you," said Vivi as she interrupted Julius before he could answer. "Vice captain of the first division, Erwan, the answer to your question is very simple and I''ll explain it to you right now. Julius never intended to kill you from the start. That was why he stopped me from killing you. Of course since I''m much faster than you, even though I''m nothing compared to Julius, I''m still able to move my hands as a speed which you can''t perceive. I fully intended I kill you in that moment and I would''ve done exactly that if not for Julius stepping in and saving you," the grandmaster explained. "I still don''t get it though, why would he go through so much trouble to convince me to join him instead of just killing me," vice captain of the first division, Erwan asked in a confused voice. "Frankly, I would''ve done that. However I don''t know if it was pure luck or the knowledge he has but he made the right call. If he had chosen to rule over us using fear, there would most likely be a revolt. Instead, he wants everyone to genuinely love him," Vivi explained. "But instead that dangerous? People can love someone and still hurt them," Erwan replied. "You still don''t get it, do you? Julius'' type of love is different. He doesn''t make you love him because you feel some sort of way about him or because he showed you kindness. You''re supposed to love Julius because amongst everyone, he stands as king. He is truly the only person worthy of being called the supreme one," Vivi explained. "Stop that Vivi, you''re making me blush," said Julius in a childish tone. "But seriously, will everyone else be okay with me taking the lead?!" Julius asked as he yelled towards the army of people who had just woken up from Julius knocking them out. Hearing his words, all of them were extremely frightened as they didn''t want to face him in an actual battle so they stayed silent. "Since there''s no one arguing, I''ll assume that you''re fine with me being your new leader. Now that that''s done-" Julius began to speak before once again getting cut off. "HOLD IT!" a a familiar voice yelled out as a figure began to walk towards Julius in an exhausted manner. "Who dares to defy Julius?!" Vivi asked as she looked at the figure who she didn''t even know due to his insignificance. "Hey Vivi, let me take him as well. I have some unfinished business with him," said Julius in a serious tone as he began to walk towards the figure. "What do you want Igor?! I already know that you''re the only person who chooses not to follow me. I don''t care though, you can go on your own separate journey, I won''t force someone like you to join me. You''ll just most lucky start a rebellion," said Julius as he clearly wanted Igor gone. "Well that''s too bad since I don''t think I can let you walk away from here scot-free. You''ll be only living this place and headed for the afterlife," said Igor in a voice which want arrogant at all, instead, it sounded more sad and regretful. "Come on, you''ve seen what Julius is capable of. He easily knocked down most of our collective army in just a few seconds. What do you think a no body like you can accomplish?" Vivi asked Igor. "Thank you grandmaster. At first I was hesitant about going through with this. I believed that I had a shot with you if I kept trying. I believed that I would eventually make you mine. I trained day in and day out but I was never able to catch up to the strength of my own captains let alone the other divisions. It truly was hell but I pushed on every single day because I dreamt about a day where I would be with you. After 3 whole years of getting no where, I had started to lose hope but even so, I continued to push. However, now that I know that you don''t even know my name, I finally have courage," said Igor with a smile. "I really appreciate it. Without you, I would have never realized how helpless and weak I was. I would continue living out my days as a slave that just had a large fantasy is his head. For the truth which I have just learned, I thank you, Vivian," said Igor with a sad smile as he pulled out a scroll from his pocket and began to eat it. "What is he doing? Is he that hungry?" Julius asked in a casual tone. "No you moron! This is far more dangerous than a regular secret art. Only a few should know this but there aren''t actual only 2 ways to learn a secret art. There are 3. The first is the chanting method which is the safest option. The second is the one which allows you to consume the secret art which also allows the scroll to be reused. However there is a 3rd which no one other than me and Jun should know about. That one being the reverse consumption method.. Instead of you consuming the scroll, the monster inside of it consumes you," Vivi explained. Chapter 136 - The Incarnation Of Evil "The monster inside of the scroll consumes you instead? How though? Is that even possible?" Julius asked in a very one confused tone. "Yes it is. By actual eating the scrolls in its physical form, you''re accepting all of it and so, that scrolls can''t be used by anyone anymore. Of course if there were copies of it made, those can still be used but it there weren''t any copies of it, not only can''t it ever be used again but it also gains an insane amount of power. Of course that all depends on what tier the scroll is. I just hope it''s not that one-" said Vivi as she watched the body of Igor get enveloped in a black substance much similar to a shadow as it began to completely surround Igor until nothing could be seen of him. "No¡­ it''s the worst outcome we could have asked for," said Vivi as she began to slowly move away from the area. "What do you mean?! What''s going to happen to Igor?" Julius asked in a concerned tone. "Look Julius, he ended up consuming the highest tier or scrolls excluding that of the secret tier. He had consumed a shadow monster tier scroll! We''re going to have to actually battle that monster! Many people here have never even seen it and now they''re going to have to either fight it or get killed by it," said Vivi as she began to get scared. "Wait you said that the monsters only get that insane power boost if it''s the only scroll in the world right? The library of the limitless probably has a copy of almost every scroll so I doubt that would happen," Julius said to Vivi. "Even so, how are we supposed to defeat that thing?! It''s much stronger than anyone and everyone here!" said Vivi as she hoped that she was dreaming. "If that''s the case then, leave everything to me, I''ll protect my new army!" said Julius as he faced the now giant shadow monster that had consumer Igor. "You''re going to die here Igor!" Julius said as he began to walk forward like a hero that was about to kill the villain in a single punch. "B-Beserker Mode: On" said the shadow monster in a raspy voice as red glowing engravings began to appear around the shadow monster''s body. The shape of the monster began to change as it morphed into a monster that was unheard of. Julius had seen the regular shadow monster before but this was something else. It was truly what a pure monster would look like. The incarnation of evil. The shadow monster''s figure began to change as its hands became dark sharp claws along with its feet taking on the same shape. The shadow monster also grew wings which followed the same colour scheme as its body with it mainly consisting of black due to its shadow like body along with the red glowing engravings all over its body which had appeared after something called the berserker mode activated. "Do you have something to explain to me?" Julius asked Vivi in an annoyed voice. "I think I know here he got that scroll. There is only one place where he could have gotten that scroll. What I don''t know is how he learned about the reversed consumption method," said Vivi. "Wait, where did he get the scroll?!" Julius asked. "From my tower where I keep all my scrolls, that''s the only place where he could have gotten it," said Vivi. "But that doesn''t explain why he got a power up. All secret arts should have a clone of them in the library of the limitless. That doesn''t explain why Igor was able to attain a secret art of this level!" Julius replied as Igor was almost done forming into his new body. "I can''t say it! I''ll tell you in secret if you manage to defeat him. If I were to reveal that type of information here our in the open, it would cause a catastrophic change in our world," said Vivi to which Julius nodded in agreement to her conditions. However as the two of them finished speaking, Igor had finished being taken over. There was nothing left, the transformation was complete. Igor was no longer alive, all that remained was the berserk shadow monster. The shadow monster roared as it charged towards Julius with both with large arms trying to squish Julius instantly then devour the prince. "Igor, I don''t know what made you go this far. Even though you clearly seemed to like Vivi a lot, you would never reach her. Not because you were just weak physically, but also mentally. You just sat in the side lines without making a move. All you did was watched and you were surprised when she didn''t know you who you were. What else were you expecting to happen? All of this is your fault and you only have yourself to blame," Julius began to speak as he closed his eyes and started to take in deep breaths. "You might think that by giving up your life for this temporary power that you''re going to drag everyone with you to hell. Unfortunately for you, I won''t make that dream of yours come true. You''re going to die here, wether it is the shadow monster or Igor I''m speaking to right now," Julius said as the shadow monster brought its palm forward as it tried to reach for Julius as it wanted to kill him. However, Julius simply placed his index forward and when the two made contact, there was a small pause before the berserk shadow monster exploded and there was nothing left of it. "H-How?" Vivi asked in a confused, yet grateful voice filled with relief as she would be able to live another day. "Are you even human?" Vivi asked Julius who simply looked back at her with his reassuring smile. "Now Vivi, I believe that you wanted to tell me something about why it was so easy for Igor to get his hands on that scroll," said Julius. "Fine, I guess you do deserve to know the truth since you saved not only me but everyone here," Vivi replied before beginning to explain the information which would change Julius'' view of the entire world. Chapter 137 - Interruption After taking Julius far away from from where everyone else was standing due to being shocked that events which had transpired just a few moment ago, Vivi began tell Julius about the reason as to why Igor was able to attain a secret scroll of that power which also didn''t have a copy with such proficiency. "Where do you think the scrolls which contain secret arts come from?" Vivi asked which confused Julius as he had never asked himself that question before. "Now that you mention it, it seems like I''ve never known where those scrolls come from. Do you happen to know?" Julius asked Vivi in a confused tone. "That''s what I thought. Even though you''re very talented, there would be no way for you to actually know where the scrolls come from. It''s not even your fault since even if you tried to ask around, no one would know the answer and they would just tell you that they have existed for quite a long time on their own," Vivi began to speak. "So if they haven''t just been around for all of eternity, where do they come from?" Julius asked. "That''s a great question. The scrolls which contain secret arts come from¡­ magic. I know it sounds crazy but just bear with me. The only people who know about this are Jun and I. The reasoning being that he was the person who started creating the scrolls once magic had been forbidden. More specifically, he did this so that the balance of power between the battling cultivators and the meditating cultivators wouldn''t grow that much. In truth, cultivating through meditation only grants you inner peace. It doesn''t grant you any real strength like those who cultivate through battle," Vivi spoke. "As such, Jun created a final hope for our people. Those being secret arts. He infused them with magical energy. Of course the stronger the magical spell was, the more draining it was which was why the user of it had to be a certain rank to learn it. It was the perfect thing that our people needed to match the strength of the battling cultivators," said Vivi. "Of course after creating the scrolls, Jun had to come up with a believable explanation as to what the scrolls were and how they came into existence. Since he couldn''t reveal that they were created with magic, he told the previous kings and queens of the great kingdoms that the secret art scrolls had been found in an ancient mountain. Of course while it was difficult to believe him at first, Jun had some credibly since he worked with them during the war against the 10th kingdom. That was how the scrolls were introduced into the world. Of course anyone who wanted to create a copy of a secret art needed to learn the copying secret art which its main purpose was to make it look like the scrolls were something ordinary. Of course by doing that, Jun made sure that there were no loop holes in his explanation," Vivi continued to speak. "After only a few years, magic had been rebranded to be known as secret arts. Our world still uses magic even though it is forbidden since no one knows about it in the first place. Of course that brings me to our previous conversation about how that man Igor was able to get his hands on that secret art scroll. Since Jun retired from being a grandmaster, his last mission was to teach me how to create secret arts for myself so that I could use it in my time of need. Of course the more advanced scrolls took longer to create but that would be expected from any activity," said Vivi. Now that she was finished speaking, Vivi expected Julius to call her a liar or act super surprised and even jump back several hundred metres away from the shock. But instead, Julius just stood there for a few seconds as he thought over what he wanted to do with his new found information. "Hey Vivi, you said that magic can be taught right? So¡­ do you mind teaching it to me?" Julius asked. "Absolutely not. I forbid you from ever learning magic from anyone other than me. I told you to wait so that''s what you''re going to do! You think just because you found someone else who knows magic that they''ll be able to teach you it as well I as I will?!" the glowing white figure''s voice suddenly began to start yelling at Julius once it had heard him speak. "Ow! What was that for?!" Julius said as he held his head as he got a headache from getting yelled at. "What do you mean? I haven''t even answered your question yet," said Vivi in an innocent yet sad voice as she had been scolded without even doing anything bad. "Not you Vivi, it''s someone else," said Julius as he tried to cool his headache. "Anyway, why do you even refuse to teach me magic?! I''ve already proven myself to be more than capable of handling the job. I''ve managed to defeat plenty of the strongest people in the world. I''ve taken down armies. I cleared the impossible endless dungeon as well, what else could you possibly want from me?" Julius asked in an annoyed voice while Vivi just stood there as Julius spoke to himself like a crazy person. "Umm" "Julius, are you okay?" Vivi asked in a concerned voice as she had begun to believe that Julius might have suffered a severe brain injury during his battles on the sky island. "I told you to wait so that''s what you''re going to do! You better never, ever think about learning magic from someone else. Only I''m allowed to show you how magic works. Trust me it''s for your own good," said the white figure''s voice which Julius just let out a disappointed sigh. "Sorry Vivi, ignore what I asked about you teaching me magic, I don''t need you to teach it to me.. Anyway, thank you for your explanation. Chapter 138 - Coffin After Vivian and Julius had their talk, the two of them began to walk back towards all the divisions who were waiting for their next instructions. Of course Julius who was trained from a very young age to lead people, he had a speech prepared on the spot. "Listen up everyone! I know that many of you still have many questions which you wish to ask about how things are going to run now that I''m the new leader of this army and if we''ll be going to war. The truth is that we will still be facing against our enemy. However what you might not know is that you''re not alone I''m the war. Along with me joining, an army of my own will join you on the battle field. So don''t fear anyone or anything as I''ll always be looking out for your backs. The goal of this war is to have zero casualties!" Julius yelled out to the army in front of him. Even though they were about to kill him a few moments ago, all of them couldn''t help but give up on their previous goal of defeating Julius. Instead, they felt compelled to follow him which meant that all his training was paying off as everyone in the army cheered for Julius. It didn''t matter if they were a captain, vice captain, a guild master or even a soldier which was created by Jun. All of them cheered Julius on. At that same moment, Jun woke up from his unconscious state as he could hear a lot of shouting. "What''s all this noise?" Jun said as he got up from the ground. The moment he did that, everyone around him began to move back as they didn''t want to get paralyzed again. The power which Jun held was enough to cause people nightmares. "Oh hi there Julius, how have you been?" Jun asked casually as he began to walk towards Julius who was having his speech but was interrupted as everyone had went silent when Jun woke up from his slumber. "Is he okay?" Julius asked Vivi which nodded in agreement. "I already deactivated the illusion on his brain and even took the liberty of erasing everything he had done during your fight out of his memory while you were speaking," Vivi replied which Julius looked back at her with a slight nod to signify his gratitudes "What happened to me? The last thing I remember is saying goodbye to you and next I wake up to you giving a speech while I''m knocked out. You could''ve at least brought me somewhere safer. I mean where what would you do if I got stomped to death," said Jun as he finally reached where Julius was speaking. "Uh, welcome back to I the team," said Julius with an awkward tone as he didn''t know what he should do or how much of his memory Jun had retained. "What do you mean welcome to the team? I''ve been in your team since the first day you met me. Are you sure you haven''t lost your mind?" Jun asked. "Anyway what happened while I was out?" Jun asked casually while everyone just watched with a confused face as they were convinced that Jun had a dual personality. "To put it simply, I fought these guys and won. Now I''ve become their leader and we''re going to go attack the battling cultivators," Julius replied. "How long was I even out for so that all of this would happen without me knowing?!" Jun asked with a surprised face. "Only about a couple minutes. I was the one who actually knocked you out too," Julius simply replied. "What?! Why?! I could''ve helped you in the battle. Don''t tell me that you''ve already starting thinking that I''m a set back to you. You''ve gotten a bit too over confident over the past few years. Maybe it''s about time I show you my real power," said Jun as he spotted Vivian behind Julius. "Actually never mind, I have something important to take care of. You can go on with your speech," said Jun as he began to go towards Vivian who was the current grandmaster. "Hey Vivian, would it be okay for us to go somewhere and have a talk for a bit?" Jun asked. "Why would I ever do that?! After all these years you never cared to speak to me. Why should I give you the chance to speak to me now just because you feel like it?!" Vivian replied with a harsh scowl. "Vivi, please go with him," Julius interrupted her to which after hearing his words, Vivian did as Julius told her. While Jun and Vivian walked off to have their talk, Julius continued with his speech which had been interrupted by Jun waking up from his slumber. ¡­ "I''m sorry Vivian. I''m sorry for everything. I''m sorry I wasn''t a father. I''m sorry I only pretended to care about you so that you could take over as grandmaster. I''m sorry I couldn''t even be the one to teach you and instead set up a clone. I''m a horrible person let alone a father figure," Jun began to speak. "Okay and?! I''ve already know that for years! Do you just expect all those years of hell to go away with a simple apology?! Even if your clone treated me well and made me think of you as a good person, how long did you think it would last?! You know Jun, I was the one who was so close to killing you. I found out about your other daughter Mary! I made her leave you! I made your life miserable just like you made mine! I put you in an illusion so you could kill your own student! I did it all, I wanted to make sure that you paid more than double for the pain you caused me! You''re so lucky that Julius was your student. If not for him, you would''ve been in a coffin right now!" Vivian yelled at Jun as she confessed to everything. "I know." Chapter 139 - Bye "I know. I''ve known that you discovered the existence of Mary a long time ago. I knew that you were the one who sent her away from me. You were the one who tried to change me into a horrible person. Yet, I did exactly as you hoped. I knew that you tried to me make me kill my own student. All this time, I''ve known that it was you," said Jun with a sad smile. "Then why didn''t you stop me?! Stop lying to yourself! There''s no way that you would know about the illusion I placed on you!" Vivian yelled out. "I did it all for you Vivian. By the time Mary had been born, I realized my mistakes. I realized that instead of treating you just as a host for the title of grandmaster, I should''ve treated you like my daughter. All the hell you made me go through, I endured it all so that I could feel better about myself. I didn''t want to live in regret for the rest of my life. It was the only way I could think of to make up for everything I made you go through. Having a daughter which I could raise just because I loved her made he realize how horrible of a father I truly was to you. In the end, I couldn''t bring myself to face you. Instead I waited until you called upon me and did as you told me," said Jun. "Wait if you knew all that, are you saying that you would be willing to kill Julius for me?" Vivian asked. "Don''t get me wrong, there are many things I would do for you but that isn''t one of them. Julius isn''t just my student anymore, he''s my family. I would never kill him just like I would never kill you," Jun explained. "You''re lying! Why did you use your heaven tier secret art then?!" Vivian asked in a panicked voice to which Jun simply smiled. "Julius is no longer someone I can complete with. It doesn''t matter who he''s facing, Julius will always win. He had transcended the level of strength that anyone in this world has. I used the secret art just to show you how strong Julius was. He wasn''t even affected by my secret art. To be honest with you, I don''t think he even needs anyone here. He could go fight the war on his own and still win. Even though we were all his enemies today, Julius continued to hold back his so he wouldn''t kill us. The only person he had killed was Igor I believe. He only did that because he posed a threat to the lives of other people. It was a necessary decision. Plus he had turned into a monster. Julius would never kill a human, I know that to be a fact," said Jun. "Hey there, don''t go praising me too much, you don''t know when all of that will get to my head," said Julius as he walked up behind Jun which had startled the old man. "Don''t scare me like that!" Jun yelled as he hit Julius on the head. "Ow! There''s no need to be so aggressive. Anyway you guys are taking too long to talk. Anyway, Vivi I want you to stay here and lead over the 10 divisions for the time being. Let''s all meet up at the location where the war is going to take place on the day of the war. I''ll bring along my army. For now though, I''ll be taking Jun with me and going back to the 10th continent to get my army ready," said Julius with a smile as he grabbed Jun by the shoulder. "Uh, ok," said Vivi with a gentle smile which was a complete turn from her facial expressions which she was making while she spoke to Jun. "But I''m not done talking to her," Jun struggled as he was being pulled away by Julius. "I don''t really care, you''re coming with me. We have a war to take care of," said Julius as he didn''t Jun to get away from him. "Bye bye Vivi, and like I promised, you can deal with Mary as you wish when the war starts," said Julius as he waved a final goodbye to the grandmaster. "What did you do to my daughter? Did you hypnotize her or something?! Why is she treating you so well and she''s treating her own father like garbage?" Jun demanded to know as he saw Vivi wave back to Julius with an embarrassed facial expression. "Maybe because I didn''t make her only purpose in life to be a grandmaster then abandon her to have another daughter and treat her better. After that, instead of apologizing, I didn''t stay silent for years as she continued to suffer," Julius said with an annoyed tone. "Oh so you''re not an airhead after all. I misjudged you. Anyway, stop taking cheap shots at me! I apologized for my mistakes!" Jun argued. "Did you really though? You just gave her an explanation. How about actually apologizing for once," Julius said in a serious voice which wasn''t angry, it was just disappointed in Jun. "You''re right, thank you Julius," Jun replied. "VIVIAN, I''M SORRY!" Jun yelled at the top of his lungs that even everyone in the army could hear his words. Even though Vivian still didn''t forgive Jun, she simply nodded as at least he had made the first step which was more than enough for the time being. "Anyway, now that I''ve taken care of that, are you finally ready to meet everyone from your army for the first time in over 3 years?" Jun asked as he hoped Julius would be excited. "Huh? That was just a lie. I still have over a month until the war. We''re going to go back to my father''s kingdom first. I was too close to losing you today. So we''re going to fulfill the promise I made to you so long ago.. Im going to show you the woman of my dreams," said Julius with a gentle smile as he couldn''t help but feel excited to finally see Liz again. Chapter 140 - True Happiness "Wait actually?! I thought you were just toying with me back then. Better yet, I thought you were joking about even having feelings for anyone. Plus why would we go to your kingdom now? You said that the woman of your dreams was the daughter of one of the great kings or queens, they won''t be in the kingdom until the date of your birth. That''s why they even have my house surrounded . They''re waiting for you to come back and they''re probably thinking that I kidnapped you," said Jun. "Oh and where did you get that ring?" Jun asked as he stared at the ring in Julius'' finger which was secretly a large storage where he kept everything he own except for the dagger which Zo had given to him which he kept inside his pockets for emergency use. "Oh I just got this as a gift from a friend of mine before I entered the dungeon," said Julius casually so that Jun wouldn''t know that he was given a treasure from the heavens. "You might want to put that away. If the woman you like sees that, she''ll assume that you''re engaged or worst, married to another person," said Jun as he gave Julius a word of advice which Julius listened and took the ring off and placed it in his pocket before walking off with Jun. While the two were walking towards the end of the island, Vivi had taken control of the army and began to reorganize things and continue the preparations for the upcoming war. Once Jun and Julius had reached the end of the island, Julius called upon his ruby dragon. <> Once the red dragon had been summoned, the two got on it and began to head towards the kingdom which Henry ruled over as that was where the woman which Julius liked was in. "So Jun, when we''re you planning to tell me that you were a grandmaster huh?! What''s the deal with keeping so many secrets?" Julius asked right after the ruby dragon began flight. "Oh so Vivian told you about that," Jun said with a regretful voice. "I didn''t have a choice in the matter, my father, the previous grandmaster forced the duty upon me and I couldn''t refuse. In fact, he was rather harsh with me as well which was why I had tried to introduce the concept in a calmer way to Vivian so that she wouldn''t hate the concept of it but it seems like I failed," said Jun. "No don''t worry, you didn''t fail. Vivian is a wonderful young lady," said Julius as he tried to reassure Jun. "You know that she''s over 200 years old right?" Jun asked with a straight face. "Wait what?! She doesn''t seem to be 200 years old. I mean her body would make sense because of the feather but mentally, she doesn''t seem like a 200 year old person. I guess this world had many surprises. Anyway, we''re nearing the kingdom as we speak," said Julius with a smile as his dragon was moving at very fast speed which Jun didn''t know that his student was capable of since he didn''t realize that Julius'' tolerance had increased as well. "Wow! This brings back memories," Julius said as he looked down at the large kingdom from the sky as he looked down at all the small people going through with their daily tasks. Julius chose to ignore the dark districts though as he didn''t want to ruin his mood plus he would take care of that problem soon enough. "Oh right, Jun, place an illusion on both of us so we don''t get recognized," Julius said with a smile as he was too excited to meet Liz. "Okay, okay, just don''t jump off from excitement," said Jun as he began to say a chant. <> ¡­ Once the secret art was completed, Julius and Jun decided to leap off the dragon as they found a near by alleyway where they could land without causing a commotion. After they had jumped though, they realized that their mission wouldn''t be possible as Julius fell face first into the ground while Jun landed without a problem. Even though their landing causing quite a lot of attention, Jun continued laughing at Julius as he couldn''t help but laugh at Julius who was so exited that he face planted into solid concrete. "Haha so funny. Let''s get going now," said Julius as he walked out of the alleyway with a lot of people staring at him with concern and also with a confused face as he seemed familiar. That was because Jun had made it so that Julius would look like an older version of the 14 year old Julius if he had taken care of himself as the real Julius was trapped in a dungeon for 3 years so there would be a clear different but his father would recognize him as his son. Right after the two walked out of the alleyway with Jun laughing at Julius, a small girl ran into Julius which looked to be only a toddler. Once she had ran into Julius, the girl fell back and began to cry. With concern in his eyes, Julius quickly picked up the girl and began to slowly move her back and forth so that she would stop her crying. "Amy! Amy, where did you go!" a familiar voice said as it shouted for someone called Amy. "What a commotion. I guess some people in this kingdom don''t have any manners, I mean who yells in broad daylight," Julius thought to himself. "Please someone help me find my daughter," the same voice said in a desperate tone. "Oh I guess they''re looking for their daughter. That would make sense then, it''s probably this girl, I should hand her over," Julius thought to himself as he began to walk in the direction of where the voice was coming from. ¡­ Just as the sight of her daughter, the woman quickly took her daughter out of Julius'' hands without even paying attention to Julius. "Oh thank you so much, I don''t know what I would''ve done without my daughter," said the woman in front of Julius who was the mother of Amy. Amy being the girl which Julius ran into. ¡­ "Liz¡­" Chapter 141 - Grim Reaper "Liz? Is that really her? Why does she have a child? It must be someone else''s right? Why did she call it her daughter? I''ve only been gone for four years, there''s no way she could have changed so much in such a short amount of time right?" Julius asked himself as he tried to stop tears from escaping from eyes but he failed. No matter how powerful he was physically, seeing what was in front of him was too much to bear. "Oh my, is that really you prince Julius?! You''ve grown so much that I didn''t even recognize you. What are you doing here, you should be at the castle. Your father has been worried sick about you," said Liz as she finally recognized Julius. "Like he would ever care about me, he''s a worthless piece of trash which never bothered to say anything to me my entire life. When was he going to tell me about the fact that he had set up a fake father for me so that he wouldn''t have to worry about raising a child," Julius said to himself as he continued to cry. "Come on Julius, why are you crying? Are you surprised to see me after so long? It makes me happy that you remember me," said Liz with a smile on her face while Julius continued to stay silent. "It hurts. Why does my heart hurt. It feels worse that getting actually stabbed. Why is this so painful?" Julius continued to ask himself as he continued to cry from his heart being shattered. "Come on Julius, it''s not like you to cry in public, control yourself. You''re just seeing an old friend," said Jun as he wiped the tears off of Julius'' blank face. "Let''s get going now," said Jun as he began to help Julius walked by grabbing the prince by the wrist and taking him towards the castle inside the kingdom. As the two began to walk towards the castle, Julius saw a person which he recognized to be the right hand man of the captain and the vice captain of the royal guards. The vice captain walked up to Liz with an angry face and before she could say anything, he slapped her on the face before dragging her away by force. Even though people were there, they did nothing because of the status he had. "J-Jun, he slapped her," said Julius as he wanted to help Liz out. "Come on Julius, you wouldn''t want to start problems before the time is right. That would ruin the war planning," said Jun with a smile as Jun began to walk on his own. Seeing as Julius had managed to calm himself even a little bit, Jun let out a sigh. "So that''s the girl you liked? How unfortunate. It''s truly a shame that you came back so late. If we had returned when you turned 15 instead of 18, maybe we could have stopped this," Jun said with a compassionate voice. "Of course there is always the option of asking your father to split them up which he probably could but won''t. He most likely plans to win this war then force you to marry one of the the daughters of the great kings so that you could take over 2 kingdoms later on and hold political influence for the time being. I''m sorry Julius, there''s not much I can do," Jun apologized. "On the bright side though, you can look forward to Rosie. You remember her, right? She''s one of your 5 subjects, I''m pretty sure she''s waiting for you," Jun said as he tried to cheer Julius up. "It''s fine Jun, there''s no reason for you to try so hard. I''m a grown man. I can face my problems on my own. I''ll be fine said Julius as he brought his arm up to his eyes and wiped the last tears off his face as he began to walk towards the castle''s entrance which was heavily guarded. "Who goes there!" one of the guards yelled as they watched Julius quickly stomp towards them. "Stop right there!" the guard yelled at Julius and when he didn''t stop, the guard began to charge at Julius with the blade pointed at Julius. Without even a glance, Julius grabbed the blade before squeezing it until it bent then kicked the guard so hard that he passed out right there. "Don''t get cocky just because you beat one of us!" the rest of the guards yelled out as they all simultaneously charged towards Julius. "Kneel!" Julius yelled back as the dark and sinister aura began to envelop all of them and forced them to kneel just as Julius commanded. Once they were under control, Julius walked past them and entered the castle to which his fake father who was the previous captain of the royal guards was already standing there. "Julius! Is that really you?! My son! I''ve missed you so much. Where have you been? And look at you, you''ve grown to be such a strong and fine gentleman," said Julius'' fake father as he faked his personality just as he was commanded by the real Henry. "What''s your name?" Julius asked in a cold tone as he stared deep into his fake father''s eyes which made him very nervous. "C-Come on, don''t tell me you forgot your old man''s name just after 4 years? It''s Henry of course," said Julius'' fake father. ¡­ "What''s your real name?" Julius asked as he vanished for a moment before reappearing beside the fake Henry and pointed the dagger which Zo gave him at the fake Henry''s neck. Once Julius had asked his question, bloodlust oozed out of Julius'' body as the dark and sinister aura began to spread all throughout the castle. Anyone and everyone who felt its presence instantly had the urge to puke from fear. All of them felt the presence of death breathing beside their necks. As if they said a single word, they would instantly get killed. Of course Jun was shielded from this as Julius had no intention of harming him. "I-It''s Roger, my name is Roger," the fake Henry answered as he almost died from just Julius'' presence alone. It was like Julius had become a completely different person. Chapter 142 - Knight "It''s so nice to meet you Roger. My name is Julius," Julius replied with a passive aggressive smile. "So you about it right? Have you turned your back on us and joined the enemy?" Roger asked Julius as he reached into his pockets, preparing pro pull something out of it. Julius wouldn''t know it yet but the thing Roger was reaching for was the monster core that was supposed to be bestowed upon Julius if he allied himself with the great kingdoms. If Julius instead were to became the enemy, Roger had the authority to quick equip the monster core and use it to defeat Julius. "No of course not. I was never your ally from the start," Julius replied with a sinister smile. "That''s it-" Roger began to speak as he had heard enough, it was time for him to take action. "Hold it right there Roger!" a familiar voice said as it came down from the stairs of the castle which were located in the front of the castle entrance. The stairs were a curved double stair case which met up at the same point of the second floor. Of course they were covered in red carpet as any royal castle would be. "Don''t make a move yet, I want to show my son what he''s dealing with. He most likely got a little too confident during the past nearly 4 years. Allow me to teach him just like a father would," said the man who had stopped Roger in his tracks. That man was Henry who Julius fought before. "So Julius, you must be pretty shocked that I''m your father instead of Roger being your biological dad. Even so, that doesn''t give you any right to turn your back on your people! You''re at that age where you like to argue a lot so I''ll let this slide. Just join up with us and I''ll even give you the strongest monster core we''ve found till this day. Everything you want can be yours. Plus, it''s not like you can defeat me," said Henry as he gave Julius one last warning. "Apparently you don''t understand what type of situation you''re in. Let me just make myself clear," said Julius before turning to face Jun who was behind him. "Jun, remove the illusion," Julius said to his master. "Jun? Don''t tell me that man behind Julius is Jun! I should''ve expected something like this from him!" Henry thought to himself in anger. "Are you sure Julius? This could cause major problems for both you and the meditation army. You would be declaring war right now," said Jun as he tried to calm his student down. "Do it now!" Julius yelled as he was getting impatient. Seeing that his student wasn''t willing to take his advice, Jun did as he was told and removed the illusion on both himself and Julius. Now, Henry could look at the tall man with oily long black hair. The same man which had caused the war and started troubles which haunted Henry for years, the wandering Julius. "No! Why did it have to be you! Why Julius? Why?!" Henry yelled out as he began to move back as his worst fears had come true. "You knew this entire time! You knew and you chose to torment me instead of just telling me how you felt! You even attacked my friends and me, your real father as well! How dare you?!" Henry asked in a heart broken voice. "How are I?! You''re the same guy who left a stranger to act as my father while you did your own thing! And you act like it was a necessary thing! Tell me, what serious thing have you done since the day I was born other than this war? Keep in mind that I was the cause of this war in the first place," Julius told Henry. ¡­ "That''s what I thought! You have nothing to say to yourself. Of course you don''t because all you really are is a self absorbed over grown child which doesn''t have the capability to raise his own child. You''re a failure as a human being," Julius began to insult Henry as he said everything which Henry never admitted but knew was true. "So what now? Do you plan on killing me? Go ahead, let out all your anger and kill me if you can, it''s not like anything will change. I thought Jun would have taught you this by now but I guess I was wrong. I''ll just teach it to you. Murder is never the solution, it''s just a temporary stop, before you know it, someone else will come to take out their revenge-" Henry began to speak before getting cut off as Julius disappeared and punched Henry on the face before he could finish his speech. "Look me in my eyes and tell me of it looks like I care even one single bit! I don''t care about your philosophy or what you think will happen to me in the future. You should be concerned about what''s going to happen to you right now. Listen to me Henry! You''ll be dying here today! Julius announced as he prepared to punch a hole right through Henry''s head. However before he could could do that, Henry yelled something out. "Now Roger! Do it!" Henry yelled out which snapped Roger back into reality as the fake father for Julius had been frozen in fear. However due to being called by the only man he gave al his loyalty to, Roger pulled out monster core which was in his pocket and placed it on the top of his blade before forcibly piercing the monster core through the middle and sliding the monster core through so it wouldn''t move out of place. "Huh? You think that lousy monster core will save you just because it''s rare?! Well I''ve got new for you. You''re going to die here right with him-" Julius began to speak before Roger began to glow and then disappearing just like Julius usually did before reappearing again and kicked Julius back a couple metres back. "Leave my king alone!" Chapter 143 - The Warrior Of Light "Leave my king alone!" Roger yelled out at Julius who was kicked by several metres back by Roger. "What the hell was that?" Julius asked himself as he got up from the ground. "I won''t forgive you for hurting my king! I don''t care if you were my acting child for 14 years, my loyalty belongs to king Henry and I shall prove that by presenting him with your head you traitor!" Roger yelled out as he began to glow once again before disappearing into light. Just a second later, Roger reappeared in front of Julius and kicked him once again in the face. This time however, Julius stood his ground as he didn''t move even half an inch. "Huh?" Roger replied as he tried to put more force into his kick while in midair but still failed as Julius stared at him with his dark eyes before grabbing Roger by the leg and slamming him on the ground. "What the hell is happing?! I kicked you at the speed of light and you''re still alive let alone blocking my attacks like they are nothing to you," Roger said in a frustrated voice. "Wrong. If you were really kicked him at the speed of light, I would''ve been dead jus like you said. However, as you can see, I am not dead. The reason for this being that you''re not actually kicking me at the speed of light. All you''re doing is turning into light so I can''t see you then kicking me once you return to your human form. The only problem I see with this is that you blade isn''t the only one who''s turning into light but you''re also turning into light itself. Why is that?" Julius asked with a curious tone. "That''s because of quick equipping," Roger replied as he got up from the ground shaking as Julius had most likely broken some parts of Roger when he slammed him on to the ground. "Quick equipping?" Julius asked as he just continued to grow with curiously. "Yes, quick equipping. It''s the act of quickly forcing a monster core to activate by making an object touch the inner part of it. Of course there is a draw back to this. That being that it has a time limit and while the seconds you have decrease, the monster core begins to melt until it turns into nothingness when the timer is over," said Roger as he showed Julius the gooey bright yellow substance on his arm. "Since I have the monster core parts touching my body as well, I''m able to use its powers. That of course until the liquid evaporates at which I will no longer be able to use the monster core," Roger explained. "So why are you explaining this to me instead of taking advantage of the little time you have to attack me?" Julius asked with a face that indicated that he thought that Roger was an idiot. ¡­ "You''re right!" Roger yelled out as he began to swing his blade in all directions. However when he bad began to swing the blade, all of it expect the hilt disappeared as the invisible blade began to attack Julius relentlessly. It even managed to make a few cuts on Julius. "Wow, that''s very odd, I would have never expected to actually get cut by a blade. Specially one which is wielded by someone as weak as Roger. I mean compared to regular people, Roger is pretty strong but when he is compared to the likes of Henry, Mary, Steward, Sandra or Wilson, he pales in comparison. There is only once explanation for this," said Julius as he leaped off the ground towards the side as he tried to dodge the relentless attacks but he was caught by the blade as it slashed his left cheek, leaving a small cut in him. "I thought so! There''s only one was a blade like that could get so much stronger from a monster core. At first I thought that the monster core only allowed the user to turn themselves into light but when they wanted to attack, their power would be the same as usual but there are a few things in play here," said Julius as he stopped trying to dodge the blade and began to walk forward towards Roger who was now scared as he was doing his best to keep a distance by attacking his enemy but Julius just kept moving forward. "The most likely thing that''s happening right now is that every second that passes, the blade grows with speed and power as it is fighting for the last time. This is clear by the sudden ability of the blade being to catch up to me even while it''s trying to attack. However, there is something else as well," Julius continued to speak to himself while now standing right in front of Roger who thought that it was over for him. "Hey Roger, can you punch me?" Julius asked which caused Roger to question of Julius had lost too much blood from being cut so many times. "Huh? I guess it works out in my favour so sure," said Roger as he put everything into a single punch and made direct contact with Julius'' right cheek. Even so, Julius just stood there as if he didn''t feel anything and closed his eyes before continuing to think to himself. "It''s just like I thought. His physical strength has increased as well. That said, that''s not because of the running out effect of the monster core. Instead it''s most likely the base effect of the monster core. I noticed it with his first kick since it was much stronger than what he was supposed to be. Now I''m starting to regret not taking that monster core. I could''ve made better use of it since monster cores can become more powerful as the user grows in strength," Julius said to himself before opening his eyes once again to look down at Roger who looked terrified. "You knew that you couldn''t win this from that start," Julius said with a disappointed sigh as he placed his hand on top of the monster core which was still on Roger''s blade before crushing it along with the blade itself. Chapter 144 - Compromise "So this is it huh? I''m going to die here. Well, I''m good to have served you king Henry. I loved a fulfilling life thanks to you," said Roger as he closed his eyes as he prepared himself to be killed. "Why is everyone in this world so obsessed with dying? Anyway, I''m not here to kill you Roger. That wasn''t even why I came here. Although I do feel much better after letting out all that steam thanks to beating you guys up," said Julius with a happy smile. "So what did you come here for?" Roger asked as he put enfaces on the "did". "Oh that''s right," said Julius as he turned to face his real father, Henry. "Why did you let Liz marry the vice captain of the royal guards even though you knew about his reputation?" Julius asked which confused both Roger and Henry but Jun just stood in the back as he listened to their conversation. "Huh? Are you talking about the servant you used to spend a lot of time with? Why would you care about her, she''s a nobody," Henry asked with a confused tone. "Just answer the question. Why did you let her marry someone like the vice captain. Even if you didn''t have any more options, why not give her to the captain of the royal guards instead?" Julius asked in a desperate tone. "Since you seem to be so interested in this topic, I''ll just give you the answers. First of all, the vice captain of the royal guards is a pretty important figure in this kingdom. He''s the 6th most important person in this kingdom after me, Roger, your mother, you, the captain of the royal guards, then it''s him in that respective order," Henry began to speak. "Of course if that servant was to be given to someone, she would have to go through the hierarchy. That said, I don''t want her. Roger wouldn''t have her either since he is proclaimed to be married to your mother. That goes both ways with your mother. Next is you which is impossible in every way you think of it. I mean a kid like you being with a fully grown adult which has taken care of you for most of your life? You see what I mean? Anyway, the last person she would have to go through would be the captain of the royal guards, if you don''t know by now or just forgot, the captains of the royal guards are forbidden from getting married as it is their responsibility to become the acting king once the prince takes over as king and has a child of his own," Henry explained to his son. "Of course with all that out of the way, the vice captain can take any woman he wished. In this case, that was your servant. I mean, I don''t understand why you''re so interested in her. Is it that you still want her to read you bed time stories even though you''re almost a full adult now? I just don''t get it," said Henry and when he looked at Julius he realized that it might be something else as Julius looked to be hurt by Henry''s words. Especially the part about how Julius and Liz would never work out. "Wait Julius, you don''t mean that you like that servant?! It''s not possible at all but it seems like it," said Henry and exactly when he said those words Julius made a slight reaction which exposed his intentions. "You moron! Why didn''t you just say so! If you want her, she''s all yours. All you had to do was ask. Did you somehow forget who you are?! You''re my son! The prince of the greatest kingdom in the world. If all you wanted was a mere servant of our kingdom, you could''ve asked years ago and it would have been fulfilled," Henry began to get angry and happy at the same time. Once Julius had heard Henry''s words, he clearly looked to be hooked on the idea which he was being presented. "So I see that your interest has been peaked. I see then. Well, not all the words I said were true. In the past, if you had asked for her, I would have refused it as just like any prince should, you would only marry someone who is of equal or slightly less of a status than you such as the children of the other great kings or queens. This allows for more political influence as well as control over greater land mass. However, seeing as you, on your own are a threat to our entire forces, I''m willing to make a deal with you Julius," said Henry with a slight sinister smile. "Of course all you have to do is join me Julius. Join our side and help us take down the meditation army. If you agree to do that, Liz will be all yours. There''s no need for you to stress anymore. The vice captain can be executed if you want for the sin of laying his hands on your future wife. You can even have your own small kingdom to rule over with Liz until I retire and you''ll be able to live as the rulers of this beautiful kingdom on your own. You''ll have the best life you could have asked for. You wouldn''t have to worry about a single thing. Along with that, Liz will never have to work a day in her life as well. You''ll be her knight in shining armour," said Henry as he did everything in his power to make Julius join. Even for Julius, it was a good deal. He wouldn''t lose anything as he was the one who controlled the meditation army. If he agreed to join up with the battling cultivators, that would mean that the meditation army would have to do the same. As such there would be no enemy, hence there would never be a need for war. "You''ve got yourself a deal, Henry," said Julius with a smile as he shook his father''s hand. Chapter 145 - Fake Goals "Wait so you''ll really join my army and help us take down the meditation army?!" Henry asked with a surprised face as he didn''t believe that it would be that easy to convince Julius. "No Henry, you seem not to understand. The meditation army is under my control now, there will be no war. If I were to join you, the meditation army would have to join your side as well. If that were to happen, there would be no enemy, hence no war," Julius explained. "That''s great then! I guess everything is resolved. We won''t have to worry about anything then. Everything can go back just like it used to be," Henry said with a revealed face. "Although I must apologize, the gift which would have been give to you on your birthday is gone now since we thought that you would be our enemy. I hope you can forgive us for that," said Henry with an apologetic half bow. "Don''t worry about that. That''s fine since I don''t really need to rely on monster cores all that much anymore. However I should inform you right now, our alliance also comes with a cost," Julius began to speak. "I knew it. It would never be that easy to deal with you. There would always be something that had to be done before that," said Henry in a regretful tone. "So tell me, what is your condition for the alliance?" Henry asked as he hoped that Julius wouldn''t ask for something insane like to kill one of the great kings or queens. "I want Mary dead," Julius requested. ¡­ "Why did it have to be that?! You could have asked for anything other than that! Why would you want to kill a great queen?!" Henry asked as he began to panic. "To be perfectly honest, I''m not the one who wants to kill her. The reason person who wants to kill her is the grandmaster. Those two are sisters and the grandmaster wishes to kill her," Julius proposed. "I see so it''s a family matter. I''m just confused as to why Mary has never mentioned that she was related to the grandmaster," said Henry with a confused face as he began to think. "That''s not even the worst past. If you can believe it, Jun is their father and he''s the reason for the conflict in the first place," said Julius as he pointed as Jun who was simply standing still as he watched all of the events transpire. "How do you somehow always find yourself in the middle of the biggest problems in this world?" Henry asked Jun with an irritated face. "Anyway, I''m afraid I can''t fulfill your request. To kill a whole queen of a great kingdom just because my son wishes to do so would cause great conflicts between the great rulers. It would be best to come up with something else," said Henry. "Well I guess our deal is off the table. If Mary won''t get killed, I cannot come to a peace treaty," said Julius. "I''m not don''t speaking. Anyway, like I was saying. It''s true that it would be a problem if I killed her. However, if the grandmaster deals with Mary herself in an assassination format, no one will suspect a thing. Even if things gets bad and she''s found out, the great kings would most likely join their forces to try and take out the grandmaster. However without Mary''s forces, it''s a pointless battle," said Henry. "But what if they still decide to walk into a pointless battle which they''ll lose all for their pride?" Julius asked as he tried to account for every possibility. "Don''t worry about that, if they still propose a temporary alliance, I''ll just refuse. Without 2 great rulers and their forces on their side, the other 7 wouldn''t dare to attack the grandmaster," Henry replied. "Okay then, what if they combine their forces to attack you instead? How will you deal with that?" Julius asked. "That''s simple. I''ll just ally myself with the grandmaster''s army which is now under your control. With you acting as a gateway for the alliance, they''ll have no choice but to accept that Mary has died. Of course, this would also open up a chance for you to take over her kingdom but first we need to reveal who you really are to Wilson and Sandra since they still want to kill you, or at least the version of you that attacked them," said Henry. "I guess everything had been taken care of. Everything can go along as planned for my birthday then," said Julius with a smile. "Oh and¡­ um," Julius began to speak but couldn''t manage to get the words out. "Don''t you worry about her. I''ll take care of that problem on my own very soon," said Henry with a thumbs up which made Julius feel safe hence he smiled. After dealing with Henry, Julius turned around to speak to Jun as they would need to head back to the sky island to inform the grandmaster to come down to the kingdom which Henry ruled over to speak over Mary''s assassination plans. "Don''t worry about anything Julius, I''ll inform Vivian and I''ll bring her here with me. As for you, just focus on getting ready for your birthday, it''s going to be a very special day," said Jun as he gave Julius a wave goodbye before borrowing the ruby dragon and heading out towards the sky island. "I actually did it! I managed to accomplish my goals! I feel so happy that my heart is about to burst. I still can''t believe that Liz will soon be mine and the war is already over! I''ll be happy with Liz as we live on our very own kingdom. Vivi will be able to kill her sister and she''ll be able to live out the rest of her life in peace. Jun will also get a chance to rebuild a connection with his first born daughter as well. Everything is working out for me," Julius thought as he smiled. "Yet, I feel like I''m missing something." Chapter 146 - Remembering Goals After having his conversation with Henry and seeing Jun leave, Julius finally began to settle back into his home which he hadn''t seen in nearly 4 whole years. ¡­ "Woah! This is my room, I haven''t been in here for so long and yet it looks exactly the same. Although I can tell that someone had been keeping it clean for me," said Julius as he walked into his room before leaping on to his bed face first and he remembered all the good times he had while he lived in the castle. "I don''t want to ever leave this place again! My bed is so comfortable, I regret going off from this place! I mean I had to sleep on the ground of a dungeon for 3 whole years, I can''t believe that I''ve been missing out on this!" Julius said as he remembered something. "No-. It really is true! A good bathroom really exists!" Julius yelled out as from happiness as he went inside the bathroom right beside his room which was designated to be his own. "Please forgive me my body, you can enjoy this luxurious life once again. You won''t have to worry about a single thing from now on," Julius said as he apologized to his body for treating it so harshly for the past almost 4 years. ¡­ "FOOD!" Julius yelled out from pure joy as he looked at the large table which was overflowing with many different kinds of sophisticated meals prepared for Julius. "I thought that since you have returned to us, we would have a feast to celebrate this momentous occasion. Although I doubt that the 3 of us can finish even a little part of it let alone the whole thing," Henry stated as Roger, Julius and himself were only present in the dining room at that time. Without even saying a single word, Julius began to get started in his work as he finished one meal after another within a matter of seconds. It was as if his stomach was boundless. After just a few minutes, the entire table was completely cleaned up and not even a single bone was left there. Julius quickly cleaned his face with a napkin before sitting back down like a true gentleman. As for Henry and Roger who didn''t even get to eat anything as they were too amused at the speed Julius was eating at, the both of them just laughed at how comedic Julius'' appetite was. "Would you like seconds?" Henry asked his son. "No thank you. But, will there be dessert?" Julius asked replied back with a question which just made Henry laugh some more. "Alight my liege and his two guests, I have come to throw away the excess food-" the server began to walk towards the table in a calm manner before looking at the dinning table only to be left with an open mouth and a confused face. "I know right! That''s how we reacted too. Anyway, he would like some dessert as well so make it quick," Henry told the server which made the server who was attending to the needs of the royal members snap back into reality. "But of course sire," said the server as he called his team to clean up the table and bring a full batch of desserts for Julius to enjoy. Just like will the meal, Julius ate everything there within a matter of minutes as Henry and Roger just watched in amazement. ¡­ "Oh man, I''m pretty sleepy, I''m going to call it a night for now. Sorry for eating everything. That was my first meal in 3 years. You guys should probably get some food for yourselves as well," said Julius as he began to head towards his room to enjoy his good night''s rest in his king bed. As for Roger and Henry, they continued to laugh about Julius before getting some food like Julius suggested as they talked about what Julius had said. ¡­ "Wait, he said that was his first meal in 3 years. That''s a lie right? That couldn''t actually be done by a human being," said Roger as he began to eat once his meal was presented to him. "Although it''s unlikely, there is a small chance that might be true though. Of course he would have to be a meditation cultivator which he isn''t so he''s probably lying," Henry replied. "Wait! Now that I think about it, the two of them had come by riding a red dragon instead of Jun''s green dragon. Who would lend them something like that?" Henry began to question some things. "I mean when you think about it, Julius was born with really high status points for the aspects which would allow him to learn the secret arts. You don''t think that¡­" Henry began to speak. "Julius is a double cultivator?" both Henry and Roger said at the same time. "But that''s crazy, how would that be possible? If anyone tired to do that, they would be pretty weak since they would need to balance their time for both methods of cultivation. It''s not possible at all," said Roger. "But time and time again, Julius had managed to show us that for him, nothing is impossible. If what he said was true and he didn''t eat for 3 years, that would mean that a child who has been starving and fought against a whole army on his own before taking over it just defeated the both of us like nothing. Not to mention that just a couple days ago, he managed to defeat me as well. That child is on a league of his own," said Henry. ¡­ As for Julius himself, he was sleeping in his comfortable bed as he was able to sleep instantaneously due to him overworking himself along with having just ate so much after 3 whole years. Of course just like always, Julius cultivated in his sleep as he didn''t have that privilege in the dungeon since it was set on rapid mode. However instead of simply sleeping and cultivating, Julius was taken back to a familiar place while he slept. The empty void. "Is this what you wanted to achieve?" Chapter 147 - Assassinations Julius woke up from his slumber with an abrupt gasp as he quickly jumped up from his bed. He woke up in the same room which he had lived in for 14 years of his life. For the first time in almost 4 whole years, Julius could say that he got a good night''s rest. Even so, there was something on his mind. "What did he mean if this is what I wanted to achieve? I mean Liz is the one I''ve been working so hard to impress, what else could he more important than that," Julius said as he turned around to his side so that he could get up from his bed. ¡­ "I didn''t say that out loud, did I?" Julius asked himself as he stared at a familiar figure who was sitting next to his bed with a confused and red face. "Good morning prince Julius. It''s a pleasure to work for you once again," said Liz as he calmly stood up from the chair beside Julius and began to walk towards the door of his room as professionally as possible. After Liz had left the room, Julius smacked his head from embarrassment. "How did I not see her?! Could I be going blind?!" Julius asked himself as he didn''t want to even think about the embarrassment. As such, he quickly hid his head under his pillow. After a few more minutes of deliberating if he should run away from the castle, someone knocked on his door before welcoming himself inside. "Hey there Julius," said Jun as he entered the room with a casual tone. "Huh? Why are you hiding your head under a pillow? Did you by any chance wake up from your sleep with a gasp when accidentally say something embarrassing like how you feel about that girl and when you woke up, she was beside you. Hearing those words, she turned red and ran away, and now you''re deliberating if you should run away from the kingdom for ever?" Jun asked casually which got Julius to get his head out of his pillow. "It''s scary how accurate your guesses are," Julius said as he finally got out of his bed and began to get ready for his day. "Another point for me!" Jun said with a happy face. "Anyway master Jun, you still owe me something. I want to go back to the library of the limitless along with having every single one of the secret scrolls which you have. Since I have completed my training, I would like to receive my reward," Julius requested. "Come on, do we really have to do this right now? It''s almost your birthday, shouldn''t you be getting ready for your big day or trying to make advances on that maid?" Jun asked. "A promise is a promise. I kept mine so you have to keep yours as well," said Julius as the two walked out of his room to find Henry which usually would have been impossible to reach however due to the current circumstances, he would be reachable in a few minutes. In the past, he would spend most of his days in far away lands or sometimes hide in secret rooms of the castle. However in the more near past, he had been spending most of his days in the castle so that he could send orders for the preparation of war. Lastly, now that the war had been called off, Henry was busy making the preparations for his son''s birthday. After all, it would be the greatest celebration the world had seen, even one surpassing that of Julius'' 14th birthday. "Hey Henry," Julius said in a casual tone as he walked up to his father. "It would be more polite of you to refer to me as ''father'' or ''king Henry''," said Henry as he turned his attention towards his son. "Don''t blame me. You''re the one who decided to be an absent father. Anyway, Jun and I will be leaving to get some things. We''ll be back soon though so don''t worry. I just thought you might want to know," said Julius and without even waiting for a reply from his father, Julius left the castle with Jun following behind him. "That kid could really use a good teaching of manners. He might even embarrass me on his own birthday. I cannot allow my name to be tarnished after I worked so hard to keep my image as a hero," said Henry with a regretful tone. "If only I was stronger than him, he wouldn''t be so cocky around me," said Henry as he watched his son leave with Jun. "By the way master Jun, how did it go with Vivi? Has she agreed to the conditions?" Julius asked Jun. "Oh right. I forgot to tell you, but she agreed. Mary will be executed on the day of your birthday since that''s the only day which security will be weak in her kingdom. The plan is to ambush her before she leaves her kingdom, that way, she''ll be dead and it''ll take a while for anyone to notice since everyone will be so busy for your birthday," Jun explained. "Good job. Although it''s a wonderful plan, it''s still weird knowing that an assassination will take place on the day which I''m expected to be the happiest on," Julius said as they two reached the exit of the castle to be met by Julius'' ruby dragon. "You wouldn''t believe it but most assassinations actually take place on important days such as your birthday. In events such as these, there''s always bound to be people distracted so that getting the job done will be much easier. I''m just saying that you shouldn''t feel too bad about something like this taking place on your birthday. In fact, a couple assassinations probably took place on your 14th birthday and more will take place in a few days as well," Jun explained as he tried to cheer Julius up but instead just got him more bummed out. "I don''t really understand how that was supposed to make me feel better but thanks," said Julius as the two got on the ruby dragon. Chapter 148 - Revisit "Hey Jun, is it true that secret arts come from magic?" Julius asked his master. "So I see that Vivian has told you about it. Yes they do. But why are you asking me this now of all times?" Jun replied with a confused expression as the two rode on the ruby dragon. "If that''s the case, why not just teach me how to create those scrolls?" Julius asked to which Jun replied back to him with a simple answer. "Sure I guess I can teach you it some other time. But how about you focus on learning the secret arts which have already been created right now then after you learn those and you still have an idea as to a secret art you would like to create, I''ll teach you how to make it," Jun replied. ¡­ "Oh right, I forgot I already asked this to Vivi then stopped," Julius remembered that the white glowing figure forbade him from learning any type of magic from anyone other than him. "Actually master Jun, forget what I said. I don''t need you to teach me magic or how to create secret art scrolls," Julius replied with an awkward smile. "Huh? Are you sure? Suit yourself I guess, it''s your loss," Jun replied before going silent as the two continued to fly towards the library of the limitless. Once arriving at the place which Julius had spent 5 while months increasing his intelligence aspect in, the two of them entered the place which looked to already have some visitors. Even though it was a place admired by many people, only the most influential figures of the world could go inside it. "Hello there Jun. I can see that you like to only visit this place when you need my help," said the librarian as she looked over to see Julius standing beside Jun which made Jun let out an awkward laugh. "Anyway, what do you want?" the librarian asked Jun in a tone which made it seem like she didn''t want to waste much time. "Sorry to ask but I think we might need to use the entire library once again. Would it be too much to ask you to get everyone out of here for us?" Jun pleaded. "Have you lost your mind?! We had to face an outrageous number of backlash the last time we had to close this place down for 5 whole months and you made all my staff work their hearts out. You''ve got to think that I''m insane if I would allow something like that to take place once again," the librarian yelled at Jun. "Don''t forget that this place is a library. You should mind the volume you raise your voice to," Jun said to librarian which made her even more angry but she manages to keep herself quiet as she didn''t want to embarrass herself. "Anyway, like I said, I won''t be able to do something like that for you anymore. I''m done dealing with you and your outrageous requests," the librarian said in an angry yet quiet tone. "Come on now, don''t be like that. We just need a week at best," Jun pleaded. "No way! I won''t even allow it for a single day! Anyway, why are you even here, you know that you''re a wanted criminal for kidnapping the son of Henry. War is going to take place soon so you better get out of here before someone notices who you are," said the librarian as she warned Jun. "Oh right, I guess it would make sense that you didn''t hear yet. Anyway, the war has been called off. Julius here managed to take control of the meditation army and managed to come to compromise with Henry. So the war won''t take place anymore. However don''t worry, Julius'' birthday will still take place so you can come as I guest I''ve invited," said Jun which just left the librarian baffled but she managed to keep her composure. "Wait first of all is that prince Julius?! I thought you just brought over a new student and wanted to redo what we did the last time. Secondly, is what you say actually true? Is the war really called off?" the librarian asked Jun. "Yes, have I been the type of person who would lie?" Jun asked the librarian confidently. "Yes you have lied before but you don''t do it very often so I guess I''ll believe you. Anyway, the best I can do is only a week. Any more than that could cause riots. Unlike normal riots, these would be from the most powerful people in the world, I don''t think this library could handle such a force," the librarian explained as he got up before speaking to her employees. One by one, all of the employees began to walk to anyone who was in the library and informed them that they needed to leave the place immediately as it would be closing for a week. Even though many of the customers weren''t too pleased with the news, the listened and left the place without too much of a problem. ¡­ "Okay now that they''re gone, which book are you looking for?" the librarian asked Jun. "Actually, Julius and I aren''t here to read some books, I''m here because Julius would like to learn all of the secret arts this place has to offer," Jun replied. ¡­ "I''m convinced now, you''ve los every single brain cell you''ve ever had! A secret art takes at least a whole month to learn. How do you expect him to learn thousands of them in just a week?!" the librarian yelled at Jun properly since no one expect them were there. "Oh that''s right, I hadn''t thought of it that far. Even if Julius were to consume each one in 5 minutes, he would only learn 12 an hour. That would mean, in a day he would only learn about 144 secret arts. Which would only allow him to learn only about a thousand secret arts by the end of the week," Jun said. "You''re acting like that''s something small," the librarian replied with an annoyed expression. Chapter 149 - Comparing Strength "Don''t worry Jun, I got this," said Julius with a smile as he had a perfect plan in mind. "Sorry ma''am, would it be possible for you to just bring all of the scrolls out right now? I believe that I might be able to get this done in quite a short amount of time," said Julius with a confident face. "Uh¡­ sure if you want. I don''t know why you would need them all right now but you''re the boss so okay," said the librarian before instructing her employees to start getting every secret art inside the building ready and place them in a triangular stack. Once they all finished the task that they had been assigned, the employees took a few steps back as they watched Julius work his magic. Julius began to move towards the stack before taking the top piece off the pile and placing it on the floor and spreading it wide. After doing this, Julius returned towards the large stack which was much taller than him, once he returned to it, he took a large leap in the air and took the top 2 scrolls there and got back down on the ground with ease. Once on the library''s floor, Julius walked towards the area which he had laid the first scroll. Once he had arrived there, Julius placed one of the two scrolls in his hand on top of the already spread our scroll and spread out one of the two new ones on top of it, as such, created a 2 layered spread out secret art scroll on the ground. After doing this, Julius laid the second one of the two secret art scrolls he had grabbed onto the ground and spread it out, in turn creating 3 lays. As time went on, Julius continued to take two of the scrolls at a time before bringing them to the spread out stack of secret art scrolls and placing them on them, as such adding to the ever growing layer. After what seemed like hours, Julius was finally completed his task as he looked up at the large stack of spread out scrolls. There were so many stacked papers that it even looked to be comparable to the large book shelves in the library of the limitless. "What do you want to do this this now? Did you just do this to waste our time?" the librarian asked as he had absolutely no idea what was about to take place before his eyes in a few moments. "I don''t know if this will work due to the ways the scrolls are staked by there''s no shame in trying," Julius thought to himself before leaped into the air until his right forearm was at a higher elevation level than the highest spread out secret art scrolls before placing his forearm on it. "If this works, I should theoretically be able to gain every single one of the secret arts in one try. However that also would mean-" Julius began to himself before passing out as his forearm made contact with the secret art scroll on the top of the stack. Once this had happened, Julius fell from that high all the way to the ground only to be caught by Jun who moved in at the last second as everyone else was baffled at what Julius had just done. "Jun you don''t think that he would be stupid enough to think that by stacking multiple secret art scrolls, he''ll be able to consume them at once right? I mean is that even possible? That''s absurd and unheard of! If that were possible, he just sealed his own fate," said the librarian in a panicking tone. "Don''t worry about him. He''ll be fine. I know than he will make it out of there alive, after all, he is my student," said Jun with a confident smirk even though he was the most worried out of everyone there. Even for Julius who was a known genius and prodigy, this many secret art scrolls at the same time is just insane. It was a suicide mission. ¡­ As for Julius, he was once again awoken back at the familiar place which he had been to so many times. The empty void. The place which he along with the glowing white figure spent their time talking. The same place which he battled the shadow monster figure to regain the sanity of Dae and Knight. The same place which he helped awaken Spike, Rosie, Liam and Steph. He had so many memories there however, that place would now turn into a war zone. Hundreds of every animal from every tier was present. That included the many dozens of dragons along with even some shadow monster figures. There were plenty of monkeys and tigers as well. Every single one of them looked at Julius with the intent to kill. "Look what you''ve done now. Do you really think that your strength alone would be enough to defeat all of them? All these majestic beasts who are on one side and you on the other. Do you have a death wish or something? I guess I''ll have to step in," said the glowing white figure as it appeared in front of Julius as it prepared to take on every single one of the beasts on its own. "No, I know I won''t be able to take them all out on my own. However neither can you. Even for someone like you, this match up is too difficult," Julius replied. "So you think I''m weak huh?" the glowing figure asked in an irritated tone. "No that''s not what I meant at all. Think about it. For example let''s say that you''re a 25 year old strong man. And think of those beasts as nothing more than 10 year old kids. Sure you''ll be able to take on a couple dozen and maybe even hundreds of them.. However if there were these number of 10 year olds and you had to fight them all, you would eventually be overpowered by the sheer number of them that were there," Julius explained. Chapter 150 - War "So if that''s how you feel and I truly can''t defeat these beasts, what are you saying that I should do? You know full well that we can''t get out of this. You signed up for this and now unfortunately I''ve been dragged into it as well. I have no choice but to fight them if I want to live," said the glowing white figure. "Yes I know that. That''s why I have a better idea, how about we take them on together? After all, I''m not the same weak kid that you always protected, I''m able to stand up and fight for myself as well," said Julius with a smirk as the white glowing figure looked down to face Julius before nodding in agreement. "Sure," the glowing white figure replied as the two of them charged towards the army of majestic beasts while the beasts did the same as they rushed to clash with Julius and the glowing white figure. Right as the two groups clashed, Julius and his comrade got separated as they both quickly got surrounded by an uncountable amount of monsters. Wasting no time, Julius quickly rushed to punch a dragon right on the face but the attack was barley dodged by the dragon. Before the dragon counter counter attack, a shadow monster came in between them and punched Julius from the top to which Julius put his hand up above his head to block the attack and succeeded in his goal. "This is going to be a lot more difficult than a thought," Julius thought to himself as before he could even finish he thoughts, he was swarmed by dozens of tigers as they all attempted to bite him at the same time. "Get off of me!" Julius yelled out as he pushed every single one of the tigers off of his body with an angry face. Tired of getting bombarded by an endless amount of attack, Julius began to throw punches in all direction as that way, any monster which would come near him would get instantly killed. Although it was a dumb plan, it worked as those who couldn''t see what Julius was doing careless leaped towards him only to be killed with a single punch. Seeing as they couldn''t take care of Julius with their bare fists or claws, the monsters began to activate their secret arts as Julius was now getting hit by long ranged attacks such as those who could control whole tsunamis, thunder storms, fire tornadoes and all sorts of varying attacks. Any attack which could be thought of was used against Julius. "Oh so is that how you want to do things here? So be it then, say hello to your endless hell," Julius said with an angry smirk. <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> ¡­ Julius continued to summon an uncountable amount of blades. Even when all that could be seen from the naked eyes through out all of the empty void where blades, Julius continued to summon them while yelling out each time. Even though he was starting to get a headache from all that yelling, Julius didn''t stop. "I''m tired of just being a punching back for you idiots! Just because you have the numbers you think that you can continue to attack me without consequences?! Then welcome your doom! Not a single one of you here will walk out of this alive!" Julius yelled out as he prepared to make every single one of those blades rain hell onto the beasts. However before that could happen, a certain figure stepped up. It was a pretty small shadow figure who walked calmly even though it looked to be the end of the battle and it was about to die. Without making so much as even a single expression, the monster leaped up in the air before lightly pressing its index finger on of the uncountable number of blades. <> Just like the name of the secret art stated, rust began to take over the first blade that the shadow monster touched before it finally consumed all of it and turned it into dust that disappeared into nothingness in the void. Next, 2 of the blades began to get consumed before turning to dust as well. 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, the number of blades which were getting consumed by the rust continued to double as the speed which they rushed increased as well. Within just a few minutes, every single one of the blades which Julius had summoned turned into nothingness. "What the hell! Why can''t I get even a single win here?! They have a counter to everything I have. No matter what it is, they have it here! I guess this explained why no one expected me to go through with the plan. It''s a death trap," Julius said as he fell on his knees from realizing how hopeless he was. Soon, Julius began to laugh as he was losing his mind. Even so, he began to get swarmed while the monsters tried to be the first ones to kill him. "I guess this was too much for him to handle. It would only make sense though, he doesn''t know how to use any form of real magic and can''t bend it to his will. I guess this will be all left for me," said the glowing white figure as it continued to create many magic circles which caused the beasts to change shape, decrease in size, explode and things of that sort. "So this will be the first and last time I''ll lose a fight. Seriously, and right after I got Liz back. Wait a minute, I can''t lose this, I just got her back, I don''t have the option of getting defeated! If my secret arts won''t work, I''ll just make one that will!" Julius said to himself. "Secret Art: Beat The Hell Out Of Them!" Chapter 151 - Dark Wind Force Energy "Secret Art: Beat The Hell Out Of Them!" Julius yelled out confidently as he began to grip onto the bodies of any monster hanging onto him as he crushed their bodies as if they were mere insects. Even though Julius had yelled out something random instead of an actual secret art, it seemed to be working so he wasn''t going to complain. As opposed to his previous way of killing being a one shot attack which would cause a quick and painless death, Julius chose to do things a little differently. He constantly reached for whatever he could get his hands on as he completely overpowered the bones of the monsters as he crushed them into pieces, in turn causing them to die however their deaths were slow and very painful. Julius didn''t care anymore as he was out of options and the only way for him to survive the battle he was in was to kill mercilessly. "Huh? So you''ve gained some confidence just because you defeated the weaker ones? I guess it''s time I step up and show you that you''re nothing compared to me, the great dragon which controls-" a dragon began to speak before it was instantly killed by Julius who leaped into the air and forcibly crushed its skull before it could finish its speech. Time after time, the monsters which were there tried to pick fights with Julius as they resorted to using their own secret arts to do as much damage to Julius as possible. "I don''t care if it hurts. I can''t stop moving. I have to continue. My life isn''t just lived for myself. I live for Liz as well," Julius announced as he kicked down a tiger which was standing in his way before taking a few more steps forward to face a shadow monster. Even that was no match for Julius as he punched a whole right through the chest of the beast. After dealing with so many of the monsters there, that still wouldn''t be enough as they were more than enough monsters for Julius to repeat what he just did a couple more dozen times. "Give it up, you''re fighting a whole mighty army all on your own. You won''t be able to survive this battle. Soon you''ll over use your stamina and be too exhausted to move. That''s when some of us will step in and finish you off. We''ve already won this battle," said one of the monkeys. "Oh is that so?" Julius said as he walked up to one of the monkeys that was standing in his way before grabbing his head using his right arm and the rest of the monkey''s body with his left arm. After getting a good grip, Julius began to pull until he had ripped off the monkey''s head from its body even though the monkey had yelled in agony as this took place until it eventually went quiet due to its death. "Wow, he''s an actual monster. He has no remorse for anyone that stands in his way. Maybe this battle isn''t so useless after all. This will come to help me very soon," said the glowing white figure to itself before continuing to use its various magical spells to kill many of the monsters that were present there. "Did you demon!" a lion yelled out at Julius before sprinting to the human and attempting to bite his head off. Unfortunately for him, Julius wouldn''t be merciful as before as he grabbed the lion by its upper and lower teeth before splitting its body in half by force. "Does anyone else yearn for death," Julius offered the monsters. "No way, I''m not about to die here. This battle isn''t worth it," said a couple of the beasts as they began to turn away and sprinted away from Julius since they didn''t have plans to die for no reason. "Who said you could leave?" Julius asked as he breathed down the neck of one of the tigers while letting smoke out of his mouth as fear enveloped the beast. "Please let me live, I don''t want to die here," the tiger pleaded. "I guess you should''ve known that I didn''t want to die either before you attempted to kill me as well. You should only blame yourselves for trying to kill me. If you hadn''t done that, maybe you would have lived," Julius said before laughing after he finished his statement. "I apologize once again. I never intended to let you live from the start. You were always going to die here. You just made the process quicker by pissing me off. Now close your eyes and accept your fate," Julius said with an evil smirk as he placed his right palm on the head of the tiger and his feet on the tiger''s shoulders. Next, Julius pushed down on the shoulders of the tiger while he pulled the head of it upwards. Due to that, in just a few seconds, Julius had decapitated the monster that was trying to run away. "Don''t think that I''ve forgotten about you either," said Julius as he began to move like lightning itself while instantly killing off the other beasts that had tried to run away by either punching, kicking, or decapitating them. After taking care of them, Julius turned his head towards the crowd of monsters who were frozen in place after being traumatized due to what had just taken place in front of their eyes. "Now, who would like a quick trip to hell?" Julius asked as he began to charge towards the crowd with an evil expression. The tables had completely turned from Julius being the one who was frightened at the sight of his enemy. Even though he hadn''t admitted it, he had completely accepted that he might die during this battle. Now however, Julius was the one overflowing with confidence. As for the monsters which had the unfortunate luck of having to face the newly transformed Julius, they were all completely consumed by fear as they could smell death itself breathing down their necks. Chapter 152 - Smoke "Is this what hell feels like? No matter how strong any one of us is, they just keep getting taken down by him! Is there really no hope for us to defeat him?" one of the monsters asked as they watched Julius tear apart their comrades before he made his way to the one who had stated those words. "You seem to be quite talkative, maybe you would like to talk with your friends once you see them in your next life!" Julius said as he took another life like it was nothing. The battle of Julius and the glowing white figure against all of the secret art scroll monsters that were stored inside the library of the limitless went on for what seemed like ages as neither side was willing to give up. Not that they had the option of giving up in the first place. However after going on for so long Julius had once again began to slow down as each punch was taking more out of him than he wanted. Instead of being flawless in his dodging, Julius was now getting hit a couple of times before he killed another monster. "You see! We were right, he''ll eventually run out of energy! He can''t keep up with our numbers. Charge a him with everything you''ve got!" a large dragon told the other scroll beasts. "Damn, even after the speech I gave and with all that bragging, I still couldn''t defeat them. Am I really this weak? Even after clearing the endless dungeon and gaining countless monster cores, I''m still useless. Wait! Monster cores! How could I forget about something so important?!" Julius said as he unveiled the last thing he had in his arsenal. The final weapon which would decide his fate of if he would die or live. <> Just as the name of the special trait trait stated, it allows Julius to summon an endless number of arrows which fell from over the heads of the monsters as they pieced them. <> Using this special trait, Julius was able to create a forest much larger than any he had ever seen before. One which had trees and bushes which moved to Julius'' will as they turned and twisted while straggling his enemies before finally killing them. <> Julius took a deep breath before exhaling. However unlike a normal exhale, this time when Julius did it, a large patch of smoke began to merge with the crowd of monsters which caused them to run into each other while causing havoc since they were looking for Julius but they couldn''t catch him due to them not being able to see anything in the smoke. "It''s time! You''ve all fell for it, you''re going to burn in hell!" Julius yelled out to the crowd which was still in confusion. <> Julius unexpectedly literally took a bit of the smoke, however this caused a deadly affect. With the sound of his teeth clicking and making a sound, a large explosion took place as the smoke screen which Julius had set up exploded. Due to its large range, Julius was miraculously able to change the tides of the battle once again as he wiped out an outrageous amount of monster all in one attack. "Nice one Julius! Don''t give in! We''re almost there," said the glowing white figure as he cheered Julius on through the battle while he himself wasn''t having any difficulties at all. "Got it, I''ve got this under control," said Julius as he prepared to use the same special trait combo once again. <> Julius had began to speak but was cut off as a skinny shadow monster leaped out of no where and kicked Julius on the chin, causing him to lose focus. Before Julius could even process what had happened, let alone counter attack, the shadow monster disappeared and once again kicked Julius but now so that he would get pushed to the side. However that wouldn''t be enough as the shadow monster disappeared once again before kicking Julius on the head, causing the prince to fall face first onto the ground of the empty void. This exchange of attacks went on for a few more seconds before Julius grew exhausted of being a punching bag and decided to fight back. Julius finally caught a kicked before it landed on his face and held on to the shadow monster''s foot for dear life. There was no way Julius was going to let an opportunity of a life time pass him. "You seem to be pretty quick on your feet, how about we fix that?" the bloodied Julius asked as he snapped the foot of the monster which he was holding on to. For a couple seconds, all that could be heard was a loud screeching sound of the shadow monster''s yell of agony. "Oh it seems you didn''t like that very much. It''s too bad it''s about to happen again," Julius said with a smirk as he grabbed the other foot of the shadow monster before shattering the bone of it without a moment of hesitation. The shadow monster continued to cry out in pain and suffering with no one coming to answer is call for help as it was a war where everyone would fight for themselves. However there seemed to be at least one monster that was willing to have a heart as it thought about helping the shadow monster. It was a monkey that was very hesitant about the decision. However after debating with itself for a while, it decided to step up to help the weak shadow monster. ¡­ "You must think that you''re pretty strong if you believe that you''re enough to save him," said Julius as he teleported past the crowd of monsters as he appeared in front of the monkey which took a single step.. In the moment, the monkey''s soul basically jumped out of its soul as without a second wasted, Julius grabbed it by its shoulder using his left palm and punched the monster''s head with his right hand, in turn instantly decapitating the monster and allowing the dead body to fall into the empty void. Chapter 153 - Consumption "Hey Jun, are you sure he''s going to be alright? It''s been 6 days since he passed out. He hasn''t eaten nor moved during that entire time. Are you sure he''s going to make it back to us? I know you believe in him because he''s your student but there are times where you must accept the truth," said the librarian as she spoke to Jun who was still watching over Julius in the empty library of the limitless. "Yes I know. Just give him one more day, he''ll be back. I know he will," said Jun as he prayed for the safety of his student. "Please Julius, just come back already. It was my fault that I allowed you to go this far. I sent you in an impossible mission because I believed that you could do anything. I should have known that everyone has their limits. I over estimated you," Jun said to himself as he held back his tears of sadness from feeling like a complete and utter failure. ¡­ "Why aren''t they dead yet?! We''ve killed so many of them and they still keep coming. How many of time are even there?!" Julius complained to the glowing white figure as the stood back to back from being surrounded by the monsters. "Wait! That might be it. Julius, use the dagger in your pocket and create the largest solid ball of fire around the area we''re in," said the glowing white figure as he thought that he might have figured something out. "But why? Isn''t that just a waste of my stamina? I can''t afford to waste all of it on an attack that might not kill them due to its attack potency being lowered due to the size of it," Julius replied. "Don''t try to get smart with me! Just do it!" the glowing white figure yelled back at Julius as he held back the monsters that were charging at the both of them. "Okay fine! Don''t complain when we''re both death then," said Julius as he quickly pulled out the dagger which Zo had given him from his pocket. "I didn''t actually think that I could bring the objects from the outside world inside here. Well at least it came in handy," said Julius as he activated the special trait of his weapon. <> Due to Julius already being used to his blade and having extraordinarily status points in all of his aspects, he was able to control the burst of flames and change their shape to resemble that of a large ball as it covered all of the monsters that were present in the empty void. "Wow, it actually worked!" Julius said as he had managed to cover the area he had wanted. After a few minutes of the burning ball existing and stealing a seemingly endless amount of of Julius'' stamina, Julius was forced to deactivate his mass area attack. To no surprise, a large amount of monsters were killed but those were only the weaker ones. The monsters which were already strong or hadn''t been weakened by either the shadow monster nor Julius stayed alive. "I-I told you that it would be no use," said Julius as he gasped for air from exhausting himself. "Nope, you''re wrong. Look up," said the glowing white figure which Julius in fact did and he was faced by a single figure in a burned cloak that was floating above everyone as he continued to move his fingers in a weird motion. After closer inspection, Julius realized that the figure was a shadow monster and in its fingers were strings. "Is that a monster?" Julius asked the glowing white figure as he was beginning to lose his vision from exhausting himself so much. "Yes it is. From the looks of it, that''s the puppet master. I believe that he''s controlling the already weakened or dead bodies of his comrades. Of course if they''re clearly dead, he won''t use them since that would blow his cover. That''s why we haven''t figured it out until now," said the glowing white figure. As he was talking though, the same shadow monster which Julius had broken the legs of began to walk towards the tired Julius before snapping both of Julius'' forearms to the point where Julius couldn''t move them anymore. However instead of yelling out in agony, Julius simply flinched before kicking the shadow monster which had broken his arms on the head. As such, instantly knocking out the monster with a single attack. "Hey, are you alright? I can take it from here. Why don''t you just take a break?" the glowing white figure said as he fought off the monsters which were approaching him but was not able to get a single break himself to stop the one controlling them all. "N-No," Julius said as he tried to catch his breath. "I need to take care of something," said Julius as he leaped in the air while doing multiple summersaults in the air before finally stopping and landing a devastating headbutt on the puppet master. For a moment it seemed like black lightning was coming out of their heads as time itself stopped. As would be expected the both of them passed out as Julius has landed an attack which would have been enough to basically kill the monster and he passed out due to pushing himself past his limits for over 6 days. After landing the attack, everything stopped as all of the monsters stopped moving and fall to the void as they had already either been pushed past their own limits or were already dead. "You did good Julius. You''ve impressed me," the glowing white figure finally admitted. ¡­ When Julius woke up once again, he saw Jun staring a him with eyes that looked to be dead while tears flowed out of them as if they were a water tap. It was as if Jun had accepted that his student had already died. "Can you stop crying on me? Look at my cloths, you''ve gotten them wet," said Julius in an annoyed tone. "Y-You''re alive." Chapter 154 - Jun "Y-You''re alive!" Jun yelled out in pure joy and relief as he embraced Julius after finally seeing his student which he had assumed to be dead, breathing, blinking and speaking. "Of course I''m alive. Why do you sound so surprised? Did you actually think that I would die?" Julius asked his master with a confused face. "Of course I did! You''ve been asleep for over 7 days! We''ve already overstayed our welcome yet the librarian still allowed you to stay here!" Jun yelled Julius. "There''s no need to yell so much. You should by happy instead. After all, I completed my mission," said Julius with an arrogant smirk. "So I see he has awoken from his slumber. Well you two better get out of here right now since you''re done with your business. Next time make sure you know how long you need to stay for before you come!" the librarian yelled at the both of them. "She''s right. Let''s get going now. You can tell me about what you did for these past 7 days on our way back to your father''s kingdom," said Jun as he walked out of the library with Julius following behind him while the librarian and her employees began to reorganize the secret art scrolls which Julius had unwrapped and laid on the floor since he didn''t need them anymore. After walking outside of the library, the two got on the ruby dragon which belonged to Julius before asking the majestic red beast to take them back to the kingdom which Julius was both into. As they rode the dragon while the sun began to set, the two started their conversation on what had happened over the past week. "So Julius, what took you so long to come back to us? You scared me to death! I actually thought I would never see you again!" Jun complained to his student. "Woah, are you saying that I''m an important figure in your life and you would go into a deep state of sadness?" said Julius in a goofy sinister voice to which Jun responded by whacking him on the head. "No, I do not need distractions like you in my life. Don''t forget that I''m only here because your father asked me to train you nearly 4 years ago. You should be grateful that I even worried about you," Jun replied with a fed-up tone. "What ever helps you sleep I guess. Anyway, I went through hell and back while I was battling those monsters," said Julius as he spent the entire ride back towards the kingdom which his father ruled over by talking about his battle with all of the beasts which ruled over the scrolls. It was exactly when the ruby dragon had made it back to Henry''s kingdom that Julius finished his story and got off the dragon. "Wait, since you killed all of the monsters from the scrolls. Does that mean that you can use every single secret art that was stored in the library of the limitless?" Jun asked as he also got off the ruby dragon as the two of them both walked towards the entrance of the castle so that they could also greet Henry since they hadn''t seen him in some time. "I don''t know. I haven''t tried it yet. Now that you mention it, I should probably give it a try," said Julius as he pointed his palm forward while preparing to use one of the many secret arts he had consumed over the past week. "No! Stop that, you could probably destroy this entire kingdom if you accidentally used one of the stronger secret art. Hell, with your strength, you might be able to do that with even the weaker secret arts," Jun said as stopped his student by grabbed him by his wrist so that he wouldn''t use a secret art. "Come on, don''t be a party pooper. Fine, but the next time I''m in an open field, don''t blame me if all hell breaks loose," Julius said with an irritated tone. "We''ll see about that," said Jun while the two continued to walk towards the castle in the dead of night as it had taken them quite a white to get back to the kingdom. ¡­ "Who goes there?" the guards near the entrance of the castle asked as they pointed their swords at Julius and Jun since they couldn''t see who they were clearly in the night. "Hey there, relax. I''m Jun and this is the prince of this kingdom, prince Julius," Jun explained to them. Hearing those words, the two guards which had stopped them took a close look at Julius and Jun before apologizing for treating them harshly. "Sorry for startling you. It''s just protocol. It''s a bit difficult to see in the dark," the guards apologized before letting the two of them in. Once inside the castle, Jun and Julius were greeted by some maids which led them to Henry who seemed to be talking to one of the butlers before finally spotting Jun and Julius. "Oh I see that you two finally decided to come back. I was starting to worry that you two wouldn''t make it back in time for Julius'' birthday," said Henry as he made a bad joke. "Anyway, you two must be hungry. I''ll get the castle chefs to make the both of you something to eat before you go to sleep," said Henry before instructing a near by maid to tell the chefs to make dinner for the two. ¡­ After waiting for about an hour, Julius and Jun were presented by a feast which covered all of the large table. Seeing this, Jun prepared to start eating before he was stopped by one of the butlers. "Excuse me sir," said the butler as he drew a line with a white chalk across an area on the dinning table. "The food inside the line is yours sir Jun. The rest of it is for prince Julius. It is a request sent down by our great king, Henry," the butler explained.. Although a bit shocked, Jun didn''t complain since the food inside the line was more than enough for him. Chapter 155 - Surprise "Sure but why has he requested something like this? It''s not like Julius could eat all of that in his own-" Jun began to speak as he turned his attention towards Julius who had stopped paying attention to anything else around him. Julius was currently inside a world of his own. Soon, Jun would see why Julius was assigned to consume so much more food than Jun. Julius began his meal by taking a bite of the large turkey that was in front of him. All it took was a few seconds before all that was left of the turkey was only its bones. Meal after meal, Julius continued to consume anything that was edible without the least bit of worry as to how much he was eating or how he was eating it. Within just a couple minutes, Julius had finished his own designated area and was still looking for more. "Hey, is there dessert?" Julius asked the butler which was standing beside Jun who was left baffled as he had just watched a 17 year old kid eat a feast meant for multiple families in just a couple of minutes and still had room for dessert. "Would that be enough of an example to answer your question?" The butler asked Jun who still could barely move before moving on to answer Julius'' question. "Yes prince Julius, they''re in fact is dessert. It''ll be presented to you shortly," said the butler before heading towards the kitchen to grab some staff to help him take away the empty plates that Julius had eaten the food that were on top of them. "Are you going to finish your food or what? You better finish all of it before dessert comes out. It''ll make you look rude if you don''t," said Julius as he looked at Jun who still hadn''t taken a single bite of his meal. "First of all, how would me not finishing my food in a couple minutes make me rude? And secondly, how did you even eat all of that and still manage to have room for dessert?" Jun asked out of pure confusion. "For your first question, it makes you rude because someone else who''s eating with you finished their food and you on the other hand didn''t. That makes it seem like you don''t like the chef''s food because someone else can clearly appreciate their work while you just stare at it as if it''s disgusting. Or at least that''s what it''ll look like. As for your second question, the answer is actually really simple. In fact not knowing it makes you look like an idiot. The answer is that there is always room for dessert. It doesn''t matter how much you ate already, you''ll always have room for sweet confectioneries," Julius explained proudly to which Jun changed the way he viewed his student from being a 17 year old one man army to a 10 year old stupid child. "Hey! Stop that! Stop looking at me like I''m a stupid child!" Julius yelled at Jun. "For once you''re the one who managed to guess accurately," said Jun to his student in a joyful tone. "That doesn''t make it better!" Julius yelled back. At that same moment, the employees began to bring the dessert which Julius had requested. Seeing this, Jun began to eat his food as quickly as possible so that he wouldn''t be looked at an arrogant and rude person. However in the process of doing this, some of the food got stuck in Jun''s throat and Julius laughed as Jun drank the wine that was presented beside his meal as quickly as possible so that the food would go down. "So you think your own master almost dying is funny huh? I should teach you some respect!" Jun said in an angry tone once he wasn''t struggling to breath from having his throat clogged. "Hold on there Jun, it''s also rude to get up from the dinning table before you''re done eating all the meals which the chef has prepared. Seeing as there is still some dessert left, you''re going to have to wait," Julius told Jun who was about to get up from his seat to scold Julius. "B-But you literally got up from your seat just a moment ago!" Jun complained as he sat back down. "I got up from my seat so I could reach the rest of my food. Doing that isn''t rude but in fact respectful to the person who made it," Julius answered humbly. "That has to be made up. There''s no way that something like that could be true!" Jun replied as he turned towards the butler for some back up. "I''m afraid that prince Julius is correct in what he speaks of. In his case, getting up from his seat to enjoy the meal was a very polite thing to do," the butler replied to which Jun let out a sigh of defeat as he sat quietly while eating a single slice of strawberry cake while Julius consumed all of the other desserts before Jun could even finish his small slice of cake. "You really are a monster in both fighting and eating," Jun said to Julius who didn''t care in the least since he got to enjoy his food. "I''m done for the day, there''s no way that I could even do a small task from now on. It''s finally bed time," said Julius in a lazy voice while getting up from his seat. One of the butlers guided Julius to a place where he could wash his hands and clean up his face before sending him off to his room. After having been welcomed back into his blissful life, Julius didn''t have a reason to complain anymore as he had found peace. There would never be a need for him to live in a less than perfect environment. Once having finished with his perfect day, Julius walked into his room with no one following him as the guide had left after leading Julius to the floor of the castle where the prince''s room was in. After entering his room so he could sleep, Julius was greeted by a familiar person. "Liz?" Chapter 156 - Embarrassment "Hello there Liz? Is there something you needed from me?" Julius asked in a nervous and confused tone. "Not really. Is it wrong for your baby sitter to check up on you?" Liz asked Julius, still as beautiful as ever. "Come on now. I''m almost 18, it''s embarrassing when you call yourself my baby sitter," Julius replied. "I guess you''re right," said Liz as she let out an awkward laugh. "I''m sorry. I''ll just get straight to it then. So prince Julius, why do you want me of all people?" Liz asked as he stood up from the chair she used to always sit on white reading Julius his bed time stories and began to move closer to him. "Uh. Um. Uhh," Julius tried to reply to Liz but with her asking him a question such as that so randomly and moving closer to him by the second made him so nervous that he couldn''t get his thoughts straight. It was like everything he thought of crumbled before the thought itself even completed, let alone for it to become a whole sentence. "Tell me Julius, why me of all people. You could have any other human being you wanted. It wouldn''t have mattered what their opinions were, not that they would refuse such an offer in the first place. However if they were to do so, you could just force them to agree. It just doesn''t make sense, so tell me Julius, why?" Liz continued to push Julius to the limit. "B-Because-" Julius began to speak however in that moment, Liz held Julius hand as she stood only a few centimetres away from him while looking into eyes eyes for an answer. *Beep* ¡­ "Ahahahaha," some began to laugh loudly at Julius. It was a familiar male voice which he heard many times before. "Oh, so I''ve come back to the empty void," Julius said in a disappointed tone while hearing the glowing white figure laugh at him. "Will you shut up already?! It''s not funny!" Julius yelled at the glowing white figure. "Of course it is. You passed out at the touch of a woman! Are you really that pathetic that all it would take to completely defeat you ins''t a whole army of majestic beasts but instead the touch of a single woman?!" the glowing white figure asked Julius he continued to laugh at him. "If you think that''s so funny, how about you fight me then?!" Julius yelled out. "First of all, battling me won''t solve the problem you''ve created for yourself. I mean imagine an almost 18 year old warrior whose been called a demon and a one man army multiple times, getting completely knocked out by a helpless girl''s hand? You really are pathetic," said the glowing figure as he continued to laugh at Julius. By this point, Julius accepted his failure and began to shut himself off from everything by crouching and putting his hands around his head so that he couldn''t hear anything. "But seriously though, is this how you''re going to let it end? Are you actually okay with just passing out right here and letting that girl see you in that pathetic state?" the glowing figure asked Julius. "What other option do I have? I should have just allowed those monsters to kill me. Now I''ve ruined everything I''ve worked so hard on. She''ll only see me as a pathetic child from now on," Julius began to down on himself as he wanted to die from the embarrassment. "Well that''s not technically true. There''s something I can do to help you out. However you''ve got to promise me that you''re not going to freeze up while talking to her. Instead, talk to her properly," said the glowing figure. "Huh? What are you talking about? It''s clearly over for me. My entire life of over. It won''t be long before word spreads that I was knocked out by just a woman''s touch," Julius said as he grew more disappointed in himself by the second. "No, it''s not over! I can use a very powerful but draining spell to turn back time for you. You''ll only have one try to do this so you better make it worth it," said the glowing figure. "What?! First of all, if you had something so powerful, why is this the first time I''m hearing about this?! Secondly, please go ahead and use it already, I can''t live with the embarrassment of having her look at me like I''m a weak child," Julius hurried the glowing figure. "Okay I''ll do it, but you better not mess anything up. You''ll only have one chance to do this," the glowing figure warned before activating the magical spell. <> ¡­ It was as if time had actually went back by a few minutes as Julius found himself walking towards the door of his room with full belly. The only thing which he felt the previous time he did this was absolute joy, now, all Julius could feel was anxiousness and fear as he wanted to do everything perfectly. There was no possible way he would mess up. That just wasn''t an option for him. "Hello Liz," Julius said as he opened the door of his room. "Is there a reason why you''re here?" Julius asked as he tried to make everything sound natural but also present himself to be more cool. Once again the exchange that Julius had with Liz the first time took place. The worst part being that Julius reactions hadn''t changed. Instead, he was more nervous than the first time. Liz was still as curious as ever as she wanted an answer for her questions and she wasn''t willing to give up. She continued to move closer towards Julius which just made the prince''s heart race to a point where it felt like it was going to pop out of his chest. The nail on the coffin was when Liz decided to grab a hold of Julius''s hand once again just like she had done so before the glowing white figure turned back time. *Beep* ¡­ "Please kill me." Chapter 157 - New Beginnings "Please kill me," said Julius in a pathetic tone as he had reawakened back at the empty void once Liz had held his hand even after the glowing white figure had turned back time for him. "How? Just how? I don''t even understand how you could let this happen two times and even after I went through the trouble of turning back time so you would get a second chance. Are you really that weak?" the glowing white figure asked Julius. "Please just give me one more try! I know I can change it if I get one more chance. I''ll tell her exactly what she wants to know. I just can''t mess this up, I''ll do anything for another chance," Julius pleaded for the glowing white figure to turn back time once again. "I''m sorry to tell you but I can''t. I told you this before but it takes a lot out of me to turn back time and that you would only have one chance at this. However instead of thinking it through, you messed up worse than you did the first time," the glowing white figure told Julius in a disapproving tone to which Julius let out a sigh. "You know, I didn''t need you to turn back time in the first place. I''m pathetic. Even though I''ve been in countless battles and turned the tables in many of them, this is the one battle which I''m genuinely scared of. Hey, do you mind if you just wake me up instead of turning back time, I want to take this challenge on by myself," said Julius as he stopped feeling sorry for himself as prepared to actually make a change in his life. "Sure, that sounds much better," said the glowing white figure as he did just as Julius requested. ¡­ Julius opened his eyes back in room. After trying to see where Liz was, Julius realized that she was looking down at him. Seeing this, everything began to make sense, Julius was currently laying his lead on Liz''s thighs. ¡­ "Oh you''re finally awake prince Julius! I was so scared, please forgive me for startling you. I didn''t mean to do that, I just wanted to get an answer from you," said Liz as she spoke to Julius. Before things could get more awkward, Julius took a deep breath and lifted his head off of Liz''s thighs as he prepares to answer her questions. "I''m sorry Liz. I didn''t mean to pass out, that was pretty embarrassing but now I''m ready to give you your answers. To be perfectly honest, there''s not much to it. The truth is that I like you, I always have. I spent the past 4 years training so that nothing could get in our way. Saying it out loud makes me realize how selfish it sounds because I never bothered to consider your feelings as well," said Julius as he confessed to the woman of his dreams. "But Julius-" Liz began to speak without calling him prince Julius. However before she could say anything, Julius interrupted her. "I know you probably want to refuse my confession. After all there are many reasons why you would want to reject me, but please I ask that you hold on to your answer until my birthday. I don''t care if it''s going to hurt me, I would like to prepare myself for that before I hear it," Julius requested as he did a short bow to Liz. Hearing his request, Liz simply nodded once before leaving the room to allow him to get some sleep. ¡­ "Man, this suck! I can''t get any sleep! I can''t stop think about what Liz is going to say on my birthday. It''s not fair that it''s so many days away from now. I really want to know but I also don''t want to know. It''s so frustrating," Julius said to himself as he tossed and turned while he tried to sleep through the night. However after much thought, Julius suddenly stopped thinking about the topic negativity nor positivity. "Whatever happens, I still have to keep my composure. It doesn''t matter what her answer is, I will have to accept it since I can''t force her to like me. She can choose what she does with her life. Who am I to decide for her? And anyway, it''ll be my birthday so hearing the news there will make it so that I can''t break down, it''s the perfect plan," Julius said as he smiled with a smile he did not mean. "I wonder though, what happened to Liz''s child and her husband, the vice captain of the royal guards," Julius thought to himself before finally going to sleep before he could think more about his question. The next morning, Julius had woken up from his slumber with blurry vision. However, he was able to see that there was a figure sitting on the chair which Liz usually sat on. "Liz? Why are you here? I told you that our appointment in on day of my birth," Julius said as he began to blush. "I''m not your weird maid crush. I''m Jun. Now stop daydreaming and let''s getting going," Jun said as he looked down at his student with a weird face of disappointment. "Come on! Why can''t anything go my way!" Julius complained as he got up from his head with a furious attitude without brushing his teeth or washing his face. Instead of doing anything else of that sort, Julius simply followed his master as they apparently needed to go somewhere. "Wait, where are we even going? I thought we finished up everything that we needed to do. I''m already plenty strong, I don''t want to train anymore for a while. I want to rest some more here. I mean they have so much food after all," Julius complained to Jun. "Julius do you remember the island which I told you about quite a while back? The one with monsters that were over level 90? There''s news that they have decided to make their move.. The monsters of ''death island''," Jun began to speak. Chapter 158 - Death Island "Wait what?! I thought that there was only one monster there and it never decided to move. Instead it decided to stay on the island as it awaited for a worthy opponent. Why is it making its move now of all times?!" Julius asked his master since he didn''t want anything to go wrong in the world, specially at a time like this were it was almost his birthday and the most important one he''ll ever have at that. "I have a theory as to why the monster decided to make its move now instead of any other time and when you think about it, it makes a lot of sense," Jun began to speak. "If that''s the case, tell me already, Julius told his master. "Well, I believe that it has decided to make its move because of you Julius. Now hear me out. The reason for this was because it finds you worthy. You see, in the past when all of the rulers tried to challenge the monster, it didn''t even bother to kill them. However now that it has sensed that you are upon this world, it seeks to challenge you to a duel. To be frank, you should be a bit honoured since the same creature that didn''t even feel the need to kill the strongest people in the world feel that you''re worthy of being killed by it," Jun explained. "I don''t really understand why I should be happy that someone or something is trying to kill me but okay. But seriously, what am I supposed to do now? Is it trying to assassinate me or is it looking for an actual battle when we''re both at our best?" Julius asked. "I don''t know that information myself. The best course of action would be to either stop caring about everyone and just hide or go to the monster right now and challenge it to a duel," Jun told his student to which Julius let out a sigh of resentment. "Sure, let''s get going I guess, there''s not much I can do here anyway. It''s better to just go and challenge him to a battle while I wait for my birthday to come. It''ll at least give something to do while I wait for that day," said Julius as the two walked outside of the castle without saying a word to anyone such as Henry or Roger since they might have to leave to quite a while. After getting outside, Julius called upon his ruby dragon which descended from the sky in just a couple of seconds and allowed Jun and Julius to ride it. "Julius, don''t you think that you should at least inform Henry that you''re going to be going to death Island?" Jun asked his student. "To be honest with you Jun, I''m not even sure who my enemy is. I don''t know if I''ll die or live. I don''t know if I''ll make it back in time for my birthday either. Do you think my father would allow me to go to death island which consequences such as this?" Julius asked back. "No¡­ you''re right. I''m sorry for doubting you. Just be careful there, the monster is a quite a beast on its own. The worst outcome would be being that the monster you''re about to face is only level 90 and there are 10 others which range from level 91 to level 100. I just hope that it''s not that," said Jun as the two of them silently rode the dragon in the morning sky while heading towards death island. After arriving at the destination, the ruby began to descend from the sky as it wanted to drop the two of them off at the island since it was their destination. However before it could do that, Julius telepathically told it to slow down. "Jun, I''ve been meaning to ask you, how do we even know that the monster has even decided to make its move? Did it somehow write a letter to us telling us that it is about to attack all of humanity if I don''t fight it in a battle?" Julius asked in a sarcastic voice. "Come on, you shouldn''t be making jokes at a time like this. But to answer your question, it cut off its own arm and threw it at the castle which you live at. The distance between the two locations is enormous which should just give you a clue as to how powerful the enemy you''re about to face truly is. The standing theory is that it located your aura from all the way in the island and sent its hand the there since Henry would recognize it since he had been traumatized by it. Unlike most dungeon monsters, it seems like this one is capable of intelligent thought. It created a whole plan to drag you out," said Jun. "Wait so that would mean that my father already knew that the monster from death island made its move. So where is he right now?" Julius asked his master. "Most likely, he''s inside a meeting with all of the other kings and queens as they try to come up with a plan to defeat the monster. Seeing as it has decided to make a move, they can no longer keep quiet, they have to attack back to not only protect you but to also get rid of the fear which haunts them at night when they''re trying to sleep," said Jun as the ruby dragon stayed at the same place while the two talked. "So that means that they''ll try to bring an attack force to take on the monster. That''s unfortunate since that will give me little time to try to take on the monster on my own. However I can''t blame them since they need to get their revenge as well. Although, I doubt that they''re strong enough to take it on. I guess it''s once again my job to do everything," said Julius. "Take Jun back to the kingdom," Julius told his ruby dragon before standing up from the dragon and leaping down on the ground to face the fabled monster which is know as the strongest monster on the face of the planet. Chapter 159 - Ghosts "What do you mean that the monster from death island has made its move?! There''s no way that''s possible!" Wilson began to yell at Henry. "What I speak of is the truth. Have a look at its arm for yourself," said Henry as he showed Wilson the large black and red arm of the monster which had traumatized both him and everyone else in the room. Just seeing the large demonic forearm made everyone in the room gasp from the fear. "Damn it all, why did it have to be now?! After all these years of leaving us to live in peace, why has it decided to make its move now?! How are we even supposed to defeat something like that?! Even though some of us have stopped training, the rest of us have occasionally been growing our strength. And yet, it''s very clear that we''ll be no match to that monster. We''re all just going to be toyed with again. That''s not the worst of it either. If it was simply to just let us leave after we''ve exhausted ourselves, that would have been fine, however it chose to slowly break each of our bones until we lost consciousness before doing the same thing the next day after our bones had healed. It was a real trip to hell! The only reason we even survived was because Jun was put outside the island so he could rescue us if something happened to us after 10 days and we didn''t return!" Sandra began to panic as she stated the past events that took place on that island. "That''s not even the worst of it. That demonic creature is capable of complex thought. It probably learned its lesson from our last encounter. If we go back now, there''s no guarantee that we''ll make it out of there alive," Mary added on to the conversation. "Then what else are we supposed to do? If it decides to leave the island and attack our kingdoms, many people will die. Since it did us all a favour and sent its arm out to us, that''s a generous warning. Our best approach to this should be to gather our forces and attack it with everything we have," Steward offered up a plan. "To be honest, that''s the best thing we can do right now. If we were to wait that monster out, it could target each of us at a time and kill us one by one. Even if a single one of us is dead, it drastically decreases our chance of victory. The mission will be as good as impossible," said Henry. "But think about it Henry, an attack with all our powers combined didn''t work back then when we were more than motivated enough to give it our best. How effective do you think this plan will be if we go into with the same plan but now we''re scared instead of motivated?" a king who wore glasses in the meeting asked Henry. "I can see what you mean by that Astaroth but we don''t really have any other option, we''re going to get killed either way. However if we give our lives willingly instead of letting him come to us, he''ll most likely give up on the rest of the humans since they''re weak," said Henry as he replied to the man in glasses. "So this is a suicide mission, isn''t it?" Astaroth asked Henry. "Yes it is. I''m sorry it had to end this way," said Henry with a saddened face. "Are you sure that even with ''that'', you won''t be able to turn the tides of the battle?" Astaroth asked Henry. "The level which ''it''s'' at isn''t capable of doing much. It''s just a couple party tricks that can go a long way if they''re used properly. On ''their'' own, such as in this situation, ''they'' won''t be very handy," Henry replied. "Well there''s no point of crying about it. Let''s just get our main attack forces ready and let us go back there. After all, it was meant to happen this way. We lived by accident the last time we went there. Let us go out like we were supposed to!" Wilson yelled out as he tried to boost the morale of everyone in the room. "Yeah!" they all cheered back. Even though they didn''t want to die yet, they had accepted that this was the way things were meant to be. They only saw themselves as lingering ghosts. After waiting until there were only a few days until Julius'' birthday, they had all gathered their forces and decided to meet near the end of Wilson''s kingdom since that was the one closest to death island. Death island was a large plot of land that was separated from the cultivation world by a large lake as the island sat in the middle of it. Throughout all of the cultivation world, death island was the only island on its existence since the cultivation world had no idea about the other civilization which lived up right beside them. Once meeting, the people who were present where the kings and queens, the captains of the royal guards and the vice captains of the royal guards for each one of the kingdom''s except Henry''s one which no one said anything about. "You must all know what we''re going to go in to today. This is a battle that is completely pointless to fight. We will all die on that island just like we were supposed to all those years ago. Now, join me and let''s die where we were supposed to!" Henry yelled out to which everyone cheered back as they all rushed towards the end of the ground on their horses until they reached where death island''s lake started. Once reaching there, they had gotten on a wooden ship which was already waiting for them there to lead them to their deaths. Even though they were going to walk to their own deaths, all of them seemed surprisingly happy. After their ride on the ship which took a couple hours, they had finally arrived on the island where they would face the same monster that appeared in their nightmares. ¡­ "What the hell happened here?" Chapter 160 - Dont Worry "What the hell happened here?" The group of people which consisted of the kings and queens of the great kingdoms, the captains as well as the vice captains of the royal guards all asked at the same time as they stared at the saw the gate which was on death island was gone along with 11 monster heads being laid down on the ground. The island had turned pitch black as if it was burned multiple times. In the distance was a single person which looked to be eating some sort of a red circular object which most members of the group assumed to be an apple. The man who was eating the apple looking object was sitting on top of a large bolder even though his cloths and skin were clearly burned and had many cuts on him. After closer inspection, the had realized that the man who was eating the red object was Julius which was on the brink of passing out as blood kept flowing out of the cuts on his body with his weak eyes staring off into the distance as they didn''t look at anything specific. "Is that you Julius?! Why the hell are you were? Do you know how dangerous this place is? You could have died here. And what happened to the monster that was here? Why do you look like this? Tell me Julius, what happened?!" Henry began to ask all these questions before realizing that what Julius was eating was not an apple but a monster core. "D-" "Don''t worry." Those words were Julius'' before he passed out from exhaustion as he couldn''t keep it up anymore. However Julius didn''t lose consciousness by falling off the Boulder that he was sitting on. No, Julius had changed. Julius passed out with his eyes open and without moving a single inch. "What do you mean don''t worry?! Look at the shape you''re in! Are you sure you''re even alive? You look completely exhausted, that''s not even the worst of it. You have so many cuts on your body that I can''t even count them all! Why did you challenge the monster on this island?! You know that you can''t defeat something as powerful as it-" Henry began to speak as he along with everyone there turned their heads to look at the 11 monster heads on the ground. One of those heads were that of the monster which they had come to get killed by. "No way¡­ you don''t think that-. I mean it''s not even possible right? If the theory stays to be true that the monster we faced is only level 90 and level 91 to level 100 monster still existed, that would match up perfectly with the amount of monster heads on the ground. But there''s no way he could do something like that right? It''s just not possible," Wilson said as he began to get goosebumps from the sight in front of him. Not because he was happy that Julius took care of the enemy and they didn''t have to die but because Julius was a greater monster than anything they''ll ever see. "Come on, we should be grateful that we don''t have to die now. I mean I doubt any of you actually wanted to die here. I can sense the fear from all of you along with myself," said Henry as he saw his hands shaking from just looking at the decapitated heads of all the monsters. "Let''s just leave this place before some other monster comes out of nowhere," said Henry as he prepared to grab the passes out Julius and leave the island only to be stopped by a red dragon. "A monster already?" Henry asked as he backed away and prepared to defend his son. "Relax there Henry. I''m taking the kid back. I''m responsible for his safety now, you guys can get going on your own," said Jun as he got off the ruby dragon that belonged to Julius before carried the prince and placing him back on the ruby dragon and leaving without saying a word to any of the others. "Red dragon?¡­ That''s the one which attacked me 3 years ago!" Sandra yelled out as she remembered the attack which took place at her kingdom by Julius who had come to steal Dae and Knight. Even now, none of them knew about the army which Julius had in the 10th continent. "You just realized? That was the dragon which belongs to my son, Julius. I''m pretty sure I already told you that he was the one who attacked you. Even Wilson mentioned it to you after his battle with Julius a couple years ago," said Henry as they all began to head back towards the ship which they had just gotten off of before heading back to their own respective kingdoms with a sense of relief now that they didn''t have to get killed but a sense of fear because the person who had saved them was stronger than they could ever imagine. ¡­ "Queen Mary, you don''t seem so good. Is everything alright? Is there anything I could do for you?" one of the Mary''s servants had asked her as he saw the concern on her face. "Oh no, don''t worry about it. It''s nothing, it''s just something that happened today. I feel very uneasy," said Mary as she began to think of some way to defeat Julius as she still wanted to get revenge by killing either Jun or Julius. "Actually, there''s something which I want. Could you call Hendrick here for me," Mary requested of the servant who was speaking to her. "Of course, it''ll only be a moment," said the servant before bringing her Hendrick. The guard which had been loyal to her and stayed at her side after the first time she had called him by his name instead of referring to him as just a random guard. "Good evening my queen, how may I be of service to you today?" Hendrick asked her as he bowed out of respect for her while he closed the door behind him after he had entered her room. "Come on, there''s no need to speak to me so formally, just call me Mary," she replied with a kind smile. Chapter 161 - Tomorrow "Why does my head hurt so much. I feel like it''s going to burst out of my head," Julius said as he woke up from his deep slumber from having to experience such pain. When he had woken up from his slumber, he realized that he was in his comfortable bed meaning that he was back at the kingdom which his father ruled over. When Julius turned to his side, his vision was a bit blurry but he could see a figure sitting on the chair which Liz usually sat on to read him stories. "Oh I see that there''s someone in that seat. Going by the events which happened last time and now that the figure looks like Liz, it must be Jun! My eyes must be playing tricks on me!" Julius thought to himself as he thought that he was a genius to figure something like that out so quickly after waking up. "Hi there Jun," Julius said in a calm and collected voice while expecting to be congratulated for figuring out who was sitting on the chair. However instead of Jun speaking to reply to Julius, a familiar gentle lady voice was the one that replied. "Sorry prince Julius but Jun isn''t in this room right now. It''s only me that''s here. I apologize if that disappoints you," said Liz in a formal tone. "Plus you shouldn''t think of girls you like to resemble old men," Liz said in a whisper just so that Julius could hear her. "Uh- I''m so sorry. I didn''t mean it like that. It''s just that the last time I thought it was you who was sitting on the chair, it was my master Jun. Please don''t take offence by what I said, I was just trying to seem smart," Julius said quickly as he lifted his body off the bed so that he could apologize properly to Liz, only for him to go back down as he couldn''t bear the pain any longer. Hearing Julius words made Liz giggle as she couldn''t believe what he was saying as it was nothing like the fabled demon or one man army he was known to be. "You must think I''m pretty pathetic. Laying on a bed, not even able to move for a small second. I''m sorry couldn''t present myself in a better way to you," Julius apologized to Liz to which she began to get serious. "You know Julius, before you reached the age of 14 and began your training, you used to be so much more elegant in the way you did everything. You were the definition of perfect. There was nothing that was out of your grasp. I think that was why I was so hesitant about accepting your confession. It was because to someone like me, that version of you was unattainable. You didn''t seem real," Liz began to speak. "Even now, you''re still far away from me, if not farther than you used to be before. However there is one clear difference between the you 4 years ago and the you that''s here now. The difference is that you get injured. You have weaknesses. You''re not afraid to admit your mistakes. Julius, even if you''re still unattainable for me, at least I have something to grasp at," said Liz with a smile before heading out of the room so that Julius could rest. "Man her speeches are amazing. I wish I could come up with something like that. If I could, I would have her head over heels in love with me. I guess I can''t have everything this world has to offer," said Julius as he went back to sleep since he felt accomplished with himself. He could finally take a little break. "What''s up Julius, I heard that you woke up from your slumber. Wanna go to a kingdom with me? Apparently they''re having a cool celebration there," said Jun as he barged into the room with a casual tone and without a care in the world right after Liz and Julius had their conversation and Julius was about to go back to sleep. "Life isn''t fair," Julius thought to himself as he began to cry from feeling sorry for himself. "Hey what''s wrong? Why are you crying? Are your injuries from your battle still hurting you? You must be pretty weak," said Jun in a casual tone. "Oh you''re right. I forgot that you were the strongest creature on this entire planet. I wonder why you didn''t bother to help me fight all those monsters even though you were clearly near by," said Julius in an irritated tone while mocking Jun. "If I had came into the battle, it would have been over too quickly. I mean I would steal all the spot light and you would never get to enjoy being the hero for once. I''ve already been seen as the saviour of the world too many times, I''ve gotten tired of the title so I''ll just pass it on to you. Of course you''ll never be as good as me but you''ll have to take what you can get," said Jun with a sharp reply to Julius'' mockery. Although both of them knew that what Jun had said was false, it was a pretty good come back to Julius'' insults. "Anyway, how are you doing? Are you almost completely recovered?" Jun asked his student in a casual tone. "Why are you so obsessed with me getting better so soon? It''s only been a day. It''s not like it''s my birthday tomorrow. I still have plenty of time to do whatever I want," Julius said to Jun with a casual reply. "Oh so you must not know then. It truly is a shame. You still believe that you''ve only been asleep for only a single day. How amazing it must feel for you to be go ignorant," said Jun with pity in his eyes. "Just get to the point already, I''m tired of waiting in suspense," Julius said in an angry tone while speaking to Jun. "Julius, you''ve been asleep for a lot more than just a single day. Your birthday is in fact tomorrow," Jun broke the news to the prince. ¡­ Chapter 162 - Healing ¡­ "Huh?! You''re joking right? There''s no way I''ve been asleep for that long!" Julius complained to which Jun just turned his face away in shame. "I mean what am I supposed to do? I can''t even move right now. How am I supposed to recover until I''m presentable by tomorrow?!" Julius said as he began to panic. "Don''t worry Julius, it''ll be fine," said Jun. "''Don''t worry''?! It''s going to be the biggest day of my entire life and all I can do is stay in bed?! Come on Jun, how am I supposed to ever look the people of this land in their eyes and tell them that I managed to get this injured right before this day?! I''ll never socially recover from this. I''ll be known as the prince who got completely paralyzed right before the biggest day in any prince''s life! Even after death, this event will be spoken about! Why does everything bad happen to me?!" Julius complained. "What do you mean that everything bad happen to you?! Did you forget that you''re literally a prince who doesn''t have to ask for anything and it is instead given to him without him having to do a single thing. You were handed everything from birth. To add on you were blessed with extraordinary cultivation abilities. You''ve been anything but unlucky your entire life but just because you faced a single challenge, you think that you''re cursed forever," Jun got angry at Julius for being ungrateful. "I guess when you say it like that, it sounds wrong but still, I can''t afford to be in this sorry state when I go to present myself in front of the entire kingdom. You must at least understand that much," Julius replied. "Yes I do. There''s actually an easy fix for this, I don''t know why you haven''t thought of it on your own yet," Jun said to his student. "What do you mean? If there''s a way to fix me, Please do it right now! I don''t want to stay like this even for one more second!" Julius complained to Jun. "I guess consuming all of those secret arts all at once made you forget which ones you have and what you can do. I guess I''ll have to remind you. Now, think of a secret art which will allow you to heal yourself, there should be at least a few which you have," said Jun. "Oh you''re right! How could I forget?!" Julius said as he remembered something very important. <> A green calming light began to surround Julius as it closed all of his cuts and began to return his bod back to its original state as if nothing had happened. "It''s working! I did it! I''ll be able to go to my birthday without any problems!" Julius began to cheer from happiness as he felt completely better. ¡­ *Slash* *Crack* With every second that passed, Julius'' wounds began to open up again as his bones started to break once more as well. It was like the secret art he had used had no effect on his body. Once more, Julius was forced to lay down on the bed from exhaustion. "What happened?! Why didn''t the secret art work? What''s even worse is that the pain is stronger than it used to be," said Julius as he tried to stop himself from screaming in agony. "I can''t stop now. I was so close to getting rid of this problem. I have recover by tomorrow. I don''t have a choice!" Julius yelled out as he prepared to use his secret art once more so that he could heal his wounds once again. <> ¡­ *Slash* *Crack* <> ¡­ *Slash* *Crack* <> ¡­ *Slash* *Crack* No matter how many times Julius tried to return his body back into the state it was in before he went to death island, he kept on failing for seemingly no reason. After trying so many times, he was beginning to lose hope as he laid back down on the bed while tears came out of his eyes due to the immense pain he was feeling. "Jun, please help me, I don''t want to stay like this forever," Julius begged in a desperate voice. "Look Julius, I hate to break it to you but you''ll most likely not recover in time for your birthday," said Jun in a disappointed voice. "What do you mean?! I have to. If I don''t, I might never recover and stay in this bed for the rest of my life," Julius pleaded as he began to get more desperate that he already was. "Don''t worry about your birthday. I have a plan to take care of that. However, there is something that concerns me and that is why you can''t regenerate from your injuries. Although I do have a theory which seems like it would be true," Jun began to speak. "Most secret arts can be used as long as they''re learned. However the effectiveness of them all depends on how weak the enemy is and how strong the user is. That means that of you used an attack type secret art such as the thousand blades, they would only do damage under the condition that your opponent couldn''t stop them. Of course if they could stop them, the blades would have no effect," Jun continued to explain. "As such, the same rule would apply to defensive type secret arts in that they can''t defend an opponent which is vastly stronger than the user. Of course that would apply to healing type secret arts as well. That would mean that if the injury was inflicted by an opponent which was stronger than the user or an opponent which was a great challenge to the user wouldn''t be recovered. However don''t fear as you will not be bedridden forever," Julius explained. "How do you now that?" Julius asked as he was starting to lose hope. "I know that you won''t be injured forever because you''re awake right now. If the injuries on your body were permanent, you would be in a coma right now instead of speaking to me," Jun told his student with a smile. Chapter 163 - Ronald "So what am I supposed to do now? There''s no way I can go on my birthday like this, I feel so defeated," said Julius as he didn''t even want to stay alive anymore from the embarrassment he thought himself to be. "Like I said I have a plan. Instead of you going to your birthday in this sorry state, I''ll go for you," Jun replied to his student. "Huh? But how would that work? Wouldn''t everyone just know that you''re not the prince but just some old man that snuck into the castle?" Julius replied while looking at his teacher is if he was stupid. "That''s not what I meant you moron. I meant that I would go as you by creating an illusion to make myself appear like you. That way, you can stay here and rest while your social image won''t be damaged in the least," Jun recommend to his student. "I guess that does sound like a pretty effective plan. The only problem is that you don''t know how to act like a prince. To add on, when they do the status overview presentation in front of the whole kingdom, those status points will be yours and not mine," said Julius. "So what? Most people would be surprised to find that their prince has such impressive status points for his aspects. However if it bothers you that much, I can use a secret art which temporarily makes me stronger than I actually am so that they would at least make it look like you''re a cultivator through battle," Jun replied which began to convince Julius to go with the plan. "Sure then. But don''t mess anything up! This is the biggest day of my life," said Julius as Jun replied with a nod before leaving the room. Once Jun left, Julius let out a sigh of worry and relief as he didn''t know if Jun would be capable of presenting Julius as a good. "Well at least he''s bothering to even stand in my place in the first place. I should just be grateful for that," Julius thought to himself as he was finally ready to go to sleep. However that wouldn''t be the end of his worries as another person came into the room right as Julius was about to go to sleep. ¡­ "Who ever is stupid enough to enter this room at a time like this must have a death wish," Julius said in his head as his bloodlust grew towards the person who was coming near him. "Good morning Julius. There are news that you have awoken from your slumber. If you don''t mind, I would like to ask you some questions about the event which places you in this state," said a familiar voice. "No way, is that actually him. I mean I haven''t talked to him in such a long time so it feels weird. Could it be the current captain of the royal guards?" Julius asked himself as he turned his head to face the seat which Liz usually sat on only to see that his guess was correct. "Ronald, is that really you? I haven''t seen you in so long," Julius said to the current captain of the royal guards. "That should be my line. After all I''m not the one who disappeared for 4 years without saying anything to me," Ronald replied to Julius. "Come on, it wasn''t my fault. It was last minute so I didn''t even get to say goodbye to anyone except my mother and father," Julius replied. "Anyway, how have you been? I''ve heard that you''ve become a lot stronger than you used to be. So what do you say, wanna have a sparring match with your old sword instructor?" Ronald asked Julius. "Like I could ever challenge you in this state. I can''t even move anymore," Julius replied in a tired voice. "Well to me it just sounds like you''re scared of me," said Ronald as he tried to crack a joke. "Oh just you wait until I''ve fully recovered. You won''t even know what hit you. You''ll be knocked out before you can even take your first step," said Julius with a smile. "We''ll see about that," Ronald said happy that things between them weren''t as awkward as he had thought. "Anyway Ronald, how can I help you today? Is there a reason why you came to see me?" Julius asked. "Oh right. I nearly forgot but I came here about the events which took place on death island. Please answer these questions truthfully," said Ronald as he got serious. "Sure," Julius replied as he couldn''t sense anything bad coming from Ronald. "Firstly, why did you go to death island. To add on, why did you go there with no back up and not even telling anyone that you were going there?" Ronald asked Julius. "That''s a lot of questions at once but I''ll do my best to answer them. I went to the island because I heard about the monster from there making its move. Seeing as my birthday was approaching, I wanted to get rid of that threat before it ruined by birthday celebration," said Julius. "As for your second and last question, I went there on my own without telling anyone because you would just hold me back. I know it sounds rude to say this but I can''t battle and protect all of you guys there while battling those monsters. I mean look at me right now. This is me after fighting freely. What do you think would have happened if I had something holding me back from fighting at my best? I would have been dead by now," said Julius. "I see, thank you for your cooperation. We appreciate you answering our questions. I''ll be taking my leave now. And Julius, I hope you get better soon," said Ronald before leaving the room after changing his tone to be back to the friendly version right before he left. "I guess seeing as who he is, it would only be expected that he has to act serious all the time, even when he''s already so casual with the people he''s speaking to," Julius thought to himself before finally being about to call it a day and go to sleep at last. Chapter 164 - Eighteen On the day of Julius'' 18th birthday, while the real prince was sleeping so that he could recover from his battle on death island, Jun had already cast an illusion to make himself look like Julius so that he could take his place during the global celebration. The only people who knew of the state Julius was in were Henry, Roger, Ronald, Jun, Liz as well as Julius'' biological mother. Other than those people, no one else knew about the state the real Julius was in. Even the kings and queen along with the captain and vice captains of the royal guards from the other kingdoms had no idea and were simply told that Julius had already recovered from his injuries due to his great status points for each of his aspects. After Jun and Julius had their conversation on the illusion plan, Jun had went and told Henry which was a relief for the king as he didn''t want to ruin the reputation and good name of him along with his son. "Are you ready Jun? Remember this isn''t like a normal birthday. The actual birthday ceremony will take place after this event. This is the one event which everyone in the kingdom has been looking forward to for their entire lives. Be sure not to mess anything up," Henry told the fake Julius. Of course the person who spoke was Roger but he needed to act as Henry for the people of the kingdom. "Got it," Jun replied with a simple nod. "Man, you really do look like Julius. I can''t even tell the difference between the two of you," said Henry with an astonished look. "That''s because there isn''t a different. It''s the perfect illusion although the more perfect it is, the more it drains. To make things worse, I''ll have to activate the secret art which will make me stronger so that people won''t ask why my status points are low. After all they can''t find out that Julius is a double cultivator," Jun explained. "I see, I guess that would make sense. So are you ready?" Henry asked as he began to walk towards the door which closed off the balcony which Jun or more specifically the fake Julius would go on to present himself to the entire kingdom as their prince. "Yes I am," said Jun with a confidant smirk before walking out of the room he was in and onto the balcony while wearing a royal cape around his neck while also wearing a clean white suit with a royal blue tie. Of course Henry walked behind Julius before going towards his side so that he could introduce the fake Julius to the kingdom. Before speaking, Henry quickly cleared his throat as it was time to make his speech. Seeing that Henry was getting ready to speak, everyone in the crowd went quiet instantly as they didn''t want to be perceived as criminals for disrespecting the king. "Good morning my citizens! You must all know why you are here today! It is for the grand ceremony known as the prince overview event! These events don''t happen that often so you should consider yourselves very lucky that you''re able to witness such a great event with your own eyes," Henry began to speak. "However what makes this day special isn''t the day itself but the person who it''s about. Please say hello to your prince, Julius Henry," Henry introduced the fake Julius as he held him by the wrist and lifted his arm high in the air. Seeing this, everyone began to cheer as loud as they could to greet the prince before stopped once Henry cleared his throat once again. "Over the past 4 years, the prince of this kingdom had went on to train under my own previous teacher. He had only completed his training a little while ago. Now you must be thinking that almost 4 years to train is a long time but keep in mind that the training he completed took me over 15 years and I still couldn''t complete. That should give you an idea as how powerful my son had become over such a short amount of time. However for those who don''t understand it yet, let me tell you only a few things he has managed to do since he returned from his training," Henry began to explain which clearly peaked the interest of everyone there. "Right after returning from his training in a dungeon, he was surprised to find that his master had left to go somewhere. After searching for him so some time, he was sought out by the meditation army and they had planned to make him join their forces. However instead, their plan back fired and he ended up seizing control over their forces. If you don''t get it by now, I''m saying that the Great War which was about to take place in our land was stoped thanks to my son," Henry said before the ground cheered even louder for him this time. Once more after a while of cheering, the crowd stopped after hearing Henry clear this throat. "Now all of you must be pretty impressed with the prince of your kingdom but his heroic acts don''t stop there. If you would all remember, a little over 10 years ago the 9 kingdoms gathered all of their best forces and headed towards an island which had reported strange activities. Upon going there, we were faced with a monster unlike any we had ever seen before. It completely defeated us and to make things worse for us, the monster didn''t kill us just to show how worthless we were compared to it. As such, we named that island ''death island''. We thought we wouldn''t hear any news of it ever again since the monster didn''t care much for humans however just a couple days ago, we had heard that it had began to make its move. In a final effort to stop it once and for all, the 9 kingdoms once again gathered their greatest forces and began to head towards the island only to find it empty.. The only figure which was there was¡­ Julius!" Henry yelled out as the crowd continued to cheer their hearts out for their prince. Chapter 165 - Happy Birthday *Sigh* "It sounds like they''re having fun out there. It really sucks to miss out on your own birthday. Specially when it''s an important one like this. I wish I hadn''t gotten in this sorry state. At least it''s better than having to battle those monsters in this kingdom instead though so I can''t complain," Julius said to himself as he laid down on his bed. "I''m tired of this! I want to go outside already! Wait, since I can''t be presented to the people like this, I can just go outside and watch from the side lines. Seeing as how all the guards are distracted, I can leave the castle from a secret exit and hang around the kingdom without getting recognized," Julius said to himself before getting out of his bed only to fall face first onto the floor. "Oh right, I forgot that I can''t walk," Julius said to himself. "Well, if I can''t walk, I''ll just have to crawl," said Julius as he crawled all the way from his room towards the castle''s doctor''s office. The reason being that there would be hand crutches. "Found them!" Julius announced to himself once arriving at the doctor''s office and finding the things he was looking for. After crawling for a bit more, Julius finally managed to get his hands on the wooden crutches and began to walk using his feet. "Although this feels a bit weird, it''ll do," said Julius before going back into his own room to grab a cloak from his closet as it was filled to the brim with every single type of article of clothing imaginable. After gathering everything he needed, Julius walked towards the sweet exit inside the castle and walked outside from the back of the castle and slowly made his way towards a clump of houses were he hid behind while walking towards the back of the large crown near the castle of the kingdom. After walking for some time and believing it was safe for him to come out, Julius who was still in his brownish cloak came out of the shadows and began to walk around the empty streets of the kingdom. "I really forgot how amazing this place was. It gets hard to admire the area when there are so many people walking around the streets each and every day. Plus since I get to look at it so often, I think of it as a regular sight when in fact, it''s anything but regular," Julius said to himself as he took in a deep breathe. After walking around for a couple minutes, Julius could hear something which sounded similar to that of a human. "What is that? I thought that everyone was gathered at castle for my birthday celebration ceremony. It''s odd but I''ll let it pass. Although, it would pretty funny to see their reactions then the prince of the kingdom himself confronts them. Their souls will literally come out of their body," Julius said to himself while letting out a quiet laugh and walking towards where the sound was coming from. After making a few dozen turns, Julius could hear the noise getting louder meaning that he was getting closer to the source of the sound. "Wait, that voice sounds familiar. But there''s no way that would be possible. I''m probably hearing things. There''s no way, right?" Julius asked himself as he began to walk faster while limping due to him being so injured. With every step Julius took, the noise just kept increasing in volume until he had finally reached and open alleyway in between a couple houses where there were two figures. ¡­ "I can''t believe he actually said that! How much of an idiot is he?! Him saying those embarrassing words should just have him revoked of the title of prince!" the vice captain of the royal guards said as he laughed hysterically. "I know right! All it took for him to pass out was just a single touch! How can someone so weak be allowed to take control of a kingdom like this!" said Liz while laughing along with the vice captain. "You know what, you should be king of this kingdom. That''s what this place needs! Not that moron Henry or his idiot of a son," Liz told the vice captain. "That''s so kind of you to say. Of course you''ll be my queen. There''s no doubt about it," said the vice captain of the royal guards. "Don''t worry, it''ll all take place very soon. All I have to do is get married to that prince which he''ll agree to within an instant. After that, I''ll just poison his father with the blood of that high level monster you had killed when you were at your prime. With that, Henry will no longer be a problem," Liz began to state her plan. "Then once the king is dead, Julius will take over as the new king which I''ll just poison him as well until he''s dead. With no king to rule but a single queen. I''ll marry you and you''ll be king while I become your queen," Liz said to the vice captain as she looked at him with joyful eyes before embracing him. While those two had their conversation, Julius just stood there as tears came out of his eyes like water. His face had completely changed to that of someone on great sorrow. "I should have know something was off but I didn''t. I bought every single one of her lies without ever questing them. I was treated just like a baby who''s mind hadn''t even fully developed. Even with me having grown so much in power and age, I''m still the moron of a child I always was. I''ll never change from being the failure that hides in a fake persona! I''m weak!" Julius said to himself while crying before finally getting on his knees after dropping the wooden hand crutches. "Huh?! Julius?! Why are you here?!" the vice captain asked in a panicked voice. Julius'' head went completely blank with his eyes wide open as he saw a single figure in his head. The glowing white figure who looked to be grinning like it was the best day of his life. "Happy birthday, Julius." Chapter 166 - Orchestra "Happy birthday, Julius," the glowing figure said as he appeared in Julius'' head with an evil grin on his face. "This is the exact second you were born. How unfortunate for you to see something like this when you were supposed to be having fun instead," the glowing white figure said in an insincere tone. "Now, let me teach you how to use real magic. After all, you have reached the age requirement to learn magic," the glowing white figure spoke to Julius. What the glowing white figure spoke of was the truth as no one who was under the age of 18 could learn magic. It was only when they had reached that age that people could use magic. Hence why Spike and all the other subjects of Julius couldn''t use any magical spells but could use secret arts. The reason for this being that secret arts were the kid''s version of magic. Due to them not being able to use magic, the children of the magic era were taught how to use secret arts for the time being until their potential for magic was unlocked. That said, those who reached the age of 18 would completely forget about secret arts and move on to learn magic and become great magic users. While Julius was being spoken to by Liz and the vice captain of the royal guards along with the glowing white figure all at the same time, Julius kept quiet. His head had gone completely blank as it failed to process what was in front of him. He had been completely played and toyed with. There was no coming back for him. "Julius this isn''t what it looks like! You''ve got the wrong idea, he forced me to meet him. I had no intention of getting back with him. He''s just a monster who likes to torture me because of the power he has in this kingdom. Please Julius, do not hate me. Instead, please save me! I need your help!" Liz lied to Julius as she was even willing to allow herself to escape while letting the vice captain get executed because that was what would happen if word got out about the plan which they had. The same plan which would cause the death of Julius along with Roger who the vice captain and Liz thought to be the real Henry. The only way for them to escape was to blame each other so that they could survive while the other one dies. "She''s lying! She''s just a maid who''s been holding resentment because she was forced to take care of you ever since you were a kid! She had been planning to murder you for a while and I am currently investigating her! You can trust me right prince Julius? After all I''m part of the trusted royal guards. I''m even the vice captain of it. Who would I be to betray you my future king?" the vice captain lied to Julius as well so that he might have a chance of survival. Julius'' heart continued to pound at an exponentially increasing rate while his breathing got quicker as well. Julius'' eyes seemed to be that of a dead person which they tired to wipe what they had seen away from Julius'' head. "Move away Liz! I''ll kill him right here! There''s no way we can let him live," said the vice captain of the royal guards before bringing out his sword and attempting to slash Julius'' neck right off his head. It was at that moment that he knew, he messed up. Right before the vice captain of the royal guards could slash off Julius'' neck, everything came to a stop. Not just the movement of the vice captain but also the mouth of Liz who was telling him to stop since it was too early to kill Julius. Even Henry stopped speaking while the crowd stopped cheering. It was as if time had completely stopped while everyone was still able to see and think but not move. The only one who was capable of moving around was Julius who just continued to cry from the pain and agony he was feeling. Suddenly, trumpets began to play as if they were announcing the coming of an important figure. A few moments later, a sad yet fear evoking song began to get played all across the kingdom. All that had listened to it could only describe it as the song of death itself. While that song played in everyone''s heads, a black and dark shadow began to consume Julius from all directions as it smothered the crying prince until he was placed inside a perfect sphere. Within the span of only a few seconds the black began to heat up and it went from black to red then orange, next was bright yellow before it finally turned pure white. However instead of exploding like man would have thought, the white ball began to decrease in size as it wrapped itself around the body of Julius as if it was a white leather suit. All that remained once the transformation had come to a close was a single figure with long white hair that was pointed towards the sky which had a white jumpsuit on him. His white blank eyes with his sad and pity filled expression just added to the horror of the situation as he looked like a true monster. The new Julius simply walked towards the frozen body of Liz before tapping her body gently with his index finger which allowed her to move once again. "You saved me! Julius you''re my hero. Please forgive me-" Liz began to speak before suddenly stopping as she felt herself get weaker and start going down on her knees. Before she had finished her fake apology, Julius had clenched his fist and punched a whole into the middle of her chest. "W-Why?" Liz asked as she was bleeding from her mouth as he began to lose consciousness. In her final moments, Liz was embraced by Julius who only felt pity for her. ¡­ "Blood is really warm." Chapter 167 - Duke-Drake "Welcome back Julius," the glowing white figure''s voice greeted Julius back inside the empty void as Julius passed out while standing on his own two feet. "What do you want," said Julius in a defeated tone as he just wanted to shit himself away from all creation for a while. "Why do you look so defeated? You still have so much to look forward to," said the glowing white figure in a sarcastic tone. "Can you toying with me for just a second? This isn''t the ideal time to cracking jokes. I don''t even feel like talking right now," Julius replied in an irritated tone which just made the glowing white figure begin to laugh out loud at how ridiculous Julius sounded. "You''re acting like that woman was your entire world," the glowing white figure mocked Julius. "That''s because she was! Now I don''t have anything. She toyed with me until I finally broke and killed her. I literally killed a whole human being. I should just be killed already!" Julius yelled out as tears began to come out of Julius'' eyes even in the empty void. Seeing Julius cry as he felt sorry for himself, the glowing white figure got angry for once and slapped Julius as hard as he could with this giant hand. "Ow! What the hell was that for? Are you trying to start a fight with me or something?" Julius said as he wiped away his tears and clenched his fists as he prepared to battle the glowing white figure to the death. "That''s what I thought. He does have some pent up anger. I should help him out," said the glowing white figure as he decreased his body''s size into that of a regular human and quickly punched Julius on the face. In doing this, the glowing white figure had managed to anger Julius to a point where he was ready to go all out in battle even in his base form where he didn''t have his white cloths and white hair. "Hey! What''s your name?! I''ll make a grave for you in the outside world!" Julius announced as he allows his bloodlust to roam loose. "Drake, call me Duke-Drake!" The glowing white figure yelled back as he went in for a punch at Julius only to be blocked by the prince who simply punched Duke-Drake on the face and managed to make contact. However that wouldn''t be the end of their battle as they continued to go blow for blow. Not a single one of them even hesitated to punch the other with everything they had. Punch after punch. Block after block. Neither of them seemed to have any plans of giving up. Even though their punches had drastically slowed down and weakened, they continued to beat each other to a bloody pulp. "Rot in hell!" Julius said as he jumped as high as he could even his weak state before hitting his head on Duke-Drake''s head. ¡­ The final attack. ¡­ With Julius managing to land that attack, both of them fell on the ground from having exhausting themselves to the point where the couldn''t move their bodies anymore. "Why can''t I punch you?! I still have to deliver hundreds of more punches to your stupid face!" Julius complained as he tried to move his fists to no avail. At that moment, Duke-Drake brought a stop to his serious attitude as he once more laughed at Julius. "What are you laughing for? I see that my devastating punches have brought you to insanity," Julius said with a confidant smirk as they both laid down on the empty void which simply looked like they were floating in empty space. "No I''m not laughing because of that. I''m laughing because you''re back to your usual self. You see, all it took to change you back was a little sparring session to get rid of all that sadness. In the end you never lost anything special. You always had everything you wanted and will ever need," Duke-Drake told Julius. "B-But-" Julius tried to speak before Duke-Drake cut him off once again as he needed to tell the person who''s body he was embodying something important. "Plus, you better not have forgotten why you''ve been waiting for this day for so long," Duke-Drake warned Julius. "Huh? Why would I forget? Today was the day that I would receive my answer from Liz about my confession. But seeing as she''s dead now, I guess I''ll never get that answer," Julius said in a joking tone while being slightly serious. "You moron! So you really did forget all about your real goal. Liz was never your real objective from the start! How did you let a single woman distract you from your mission which you''ve been working so hard to accomplish?!" Duke-Drake yelled at Julius. "What do you mean? I haven''t forgotten anything. I''ve managed to complete all my goals. I''ve managed to reach level 100 after my 3 years in the endless dungeon. I''ve also finally reached cultivation rank 20 due to me having been in sleep while cultivating after my battle in death island. I''ve also managed to absorb many powerful monster cores. I''ve consumed an uncountable amount of secret art scrolls. There''s not much that I have to do," Julius said in a nonchalant voice. "Are you really sure that you don''t have to do anything else? Think back to when you first started training with Jun. What do you remember your goal being?" the glowing white figure asked as he tried to help Julius remember on his own. "Are you talking about the trip of the other civilization where I spent a couple months learning all the martial arts techniques I could find along with many other fighting styles? Or what about my battles with Wilson, Sandra, Steward or even Mary?" Julius asked as he paused after saying the last name. "Why do I remember something important happening while I was at Mary''s kingdom? I just can''t put my finger on it," Julius said as he tried to think. ¡­ "How could I forget! That was literally the most important think I could ever forget. I still have to go back to¡­" Julius began to speak. "The 10th continent!" Chapter 168 - Forgetfulness "What?! You actually forgot about it?! I thought you were just joking!" Duke-Drake yelled at Julius. "Come on you can''t blame me," Julius tried to help his case. "Yes I can blame you and I will do so! How could you forget something so important! You literally forgot about the lives of millions of people just for some random girl that ended up being a traitor!" Duke-Drake continued to yell at Julius. "Okay fine! I''ll get started on the plan. After all, today is the perfect day to do this," Julius replied. "You better fix things when you get back there," said Duke-Drake before sending Julius back to the outside world. Due to Julius now having calmed down, the devastating effects which he had on the entire world had come to a sudden stop. Of course Liz was still dead however people were no longer frozen in place. "L-Liz!" the vice captain yelled out as he went to embrace his dead wife after Julius let go of her bloodied body with his one and only goal in mind. "You monster! How dare you kill her! I''ll kill you! I''ll make you pay for what you''ve done!" the vice captain of the royal guards yelled out as he allowed Liz''s body to rest in peace before charging at Julius with a clenched fist. "Huh?" Julius said before punching the vice captain so hard that his nose was completely crushed and he was forced to go back on the ground. "Don''t be mistaken. I''m not the same Julius who held back against people just because they were humans. Make one more attempt to attack me and you''ll be seeing your wife in hell," said Julius in a stern tone before turning towards the castle so that he could get started with his preparations. "You think it''s that simple to just kill someone''s wife and simply get away with it?! I''ll make sure you regret the day you were born!" the vice captain of the royal guards said to himself as he grabbed his sword and tried to attack Julius who''s head as been turned back. Before the vice captain''s blade could stab Julius, the prince quickly turned around as if he had been expecting the attack before pulling his arm back and releasing a devastating punch right on the vice captain''s face. The man who had dared to challenge Julius had no chance of survival and that was proven just as Julius said since the vice captain''s head had been completely blown off just at the sheer impact of Julius'' punch. "I had already warned you what would happen if you tried to attack me. You can only blame yourself for the fate that you''ve brought upon yourself," said Julius in a cold tone before taking a large leap from the alleyway he was in all the way to the balcony where Roger and Jun were acting as Henry and Julius. ¡­ "Huh?" "Why are there two princes?" "Could one of them be a spy?" "An imposter?" "Does the prince have a secret twin brother?" The crowd which was gathered near the castle began to ask themselves all these questions as they stared at the two identical princes which were present. "What they hell are you doing here Julius?! Are you trying to ruin everything for us along with yourself?" Jun and Roger asked Julius at the same time. "No I''m not and I don''t care about this stupid party you guys are having. Anyway I have an announcement to make," Julius said as he pushed both Jun and Roger out of the way by force. "Hello everyone!" Julius said with a joyful smile on his face. "I know this must be very confusing for all of you to look at so I''ll explain everything very quickly. I''m the real Julius. The one beside me is my teacher who can use an illusion type secret art which he used to act as me so that you wouldn''t be disappointed. The reason being that I had gravely injured myself during my battle on death island but now I''m all better," said Julius as he continued to smile while proving that all his cuts were gone. "Anyway, now that I''ve recovered, I have something important to tell you all. Would you guys be okay with having the people of the dark district merge with the main land?" Julius asked the crowd while continuing to smile. "Of course not!" "Why the hell would you suggest something so idiotic?!" "Do you want us to live beside some animals? This isn''t a farm!" "Is that supposed to be some kind of joke?! This isn''t a comedy show!" "We would never even want to spell the same air as those peasants let alone live beside them!" Julius could hear all of those comments being thrown out as the people began to get entitled and show their sinister side as they did not consider other people even human due to the vast difference in wealth which was created systematically. "If that''s how you feel then you must be okay with having war come to you right?" Julius asked he began to smile even more than before. All while Jun and Roger continued to fear what Julius was planning. "Julius stop talking! You''re going to dig yourself into a hole that you can''t get out of!" Jun finally spoke. "Jun I wonder why you didn''t remind me about the dark districts and the 10th kingdom when I had clearly forgotten about them. It truly makes me sad that we never really shared the same goal," Julius said as he replied to Jun before turning his attention back to the people. "War?" "What is he talking about? Didn''t he just stop a massive one from occurring between us and the meditation army? Why would he want to start a new one?" "Has he gone insane after going into death island? I guess no one can truly have everything in the world." "You''re probably wondering why I''m saying this but the answer is pretty simple. I want to start my own kingdom.. My own great 10th kingdom!" Julius announced with a large evil smirk on his face. Chapter 169 - The Dawn Of Evil "My own great 10th kingdom!" Julius announced to the crowd. Upon hearing those words, everyone including Roger and Jun gasped as even Jun''s illusion wore off from him being so surprised that Julius would go along with such a reckless plan. "1-10th kingdom?!" "We''re all done for!" "The demons from 200 years ago have taken over the prince''s body!" The crowd began to panic just at the mention of the 10th kingdom. It was like boogieman had been summoned to terrorize all the people in the world who had magically been turned to a bunch of children. "Save us! Someone! Please help us!" the people of the kingdom began to cause havoc on the ground from having fear they would be killed soon. "Fear not my people! Your hero has come to save the day once again!" the real Henry yelled out as he appeared on the roof of the castle while looking down at both the people of his land as well as Julius. "Oh hi Henry. Do you mind if I tell you something-" Julius began to speak before getting cut off by his own father. "Do not speak to me you vile creature! I shall present your head to my people as a symbol of our united strength!" Henry continued to speak until Julius finally gave him a reply. "Are you sure though Henry? I mean we''ve already had a battle between us and last time I checked, that didn''t end well for you. I don''t think you would want your people to see you in that sorry state," Julius replied to Henry with a lazy tone. "Do not spout your lies in my beloved kingdom! I shall slay your for all the sins you have committed!" Henry yelled out as he pulled out his golden sword out to show everyone who just gasped at it. "No way!" "I''ve heard rumours but I never believed them!" "The rumours which state that each of the great kingdoms have a false king of queen and that they also have a real king as well as a queen. Who would have thought that those unbelievable rumours were indeed true?" The crowd began to speak at the sight of the golden blade which had man engravings on it which gleamed the colour black. Seeing the crowd was cheering for him, the real Henry began to make his move as he first activated the special trait of his blade even though he wasn''t wearing his golden armour black engravings as well. <> Henry instantly turned into noting but dust before literally going inside the shadows of everything he could see as he approached Julius who wouldn''t have a clue where his father was coming from to attack him. "Got you!" said Henry as he reappeared from the wall of the castle behind Julius as he pointed his blade at his sons neck. Without hesitating, Henry prepared to jab the blade right into his son''s neck but for some odd reason, time seemed to stop as Henry saw the following few events which would take place. Julius quickly saw the body of his father coming out of the shadows as he prepared to stab Julius. However the prince of the sword kingdom and the new ruler of the 10th kingdom wouldn''t make it easy for Henry as Julius quickly grabbed the blade in the last moment from the side before slamming it onto the balcony. Before Henry could even react, Julius simply punched his biological father with the back of his fist which was enough to instantly knock out the current ruler of sword kingdom. "Hey there! You can''t be going to sleep already. You still owe your beloved people an explanation as to what just happened! What happened to being their hero? What happened to you killing me? What happened to me telling lies huh?" Julius asked his father who was bleeding from his nose as that was where Julius'' fist had made contact with his father''s face. "Wake up!" Julius said as he punched Henry once again but this time at the side of the current king''s head. As if it were a miracle, Henry had somehow regained consciousness. "That nice, now you can apologize to your people for your lies," said Julius as he smirked while lifting Henry by the head and showing the pathetic sight to all the people of the kingdom so that they could look at their defeated hero. "Now say it! Admit that you''re a fake hero who just likes to lie to his people so that he could boost his own self esteem! Admit you''re nothing but a coward! Admit you''re not only a useless father but a useless human being in general!" Julius yelled out to Henry who didn''t seem to give in even for a second as he resisted the demands of Julius who just kept growing in anger. "Please stop that Julius! You''ve gone far enough!" Jun told his student. "Jun who''s side are you even on? You didn''t even remind me about the dark districts when they were my biggest concern before," Julius began to question his own master while holding up Henry. "Look at you Julius. I didn''t tell you because I never wanted you to change. When someone goes into war, they aren''t the same person when they come out of it. War is the most horrible thing to befall this planet. I never wanted the arrogant but kind kid to change. I never wanted you to become a ruthless villain who just killed to accomplish his goal without even caring for the lives of others. To kill someone is to completely erase them from existence. Murder is the worst crime anyone could ever commit and it can never be forgiven," Jun told his student. Hearing those words, Julius had a change of heart. He would not kill anyone else. He had already taken the lives of 2 people and that would be the last two he would ever take. On the other hand, torture wasn''t out of the table. Julius continued to squeeze Henry''s head until the king couldn''t bear any longer and had to give up of he wished to challenge Julius and bring him down once and fall fall. "I admit it! I''m not a hero! I''m a failure!" Henry yelled out so that everyone the kingdom could hear him loud and clear as he accepted his defeat. Chapter 170 - Loyalty Is Key "No way¡­ he really admitted it," said Roger as he began to tremble in fear seeing as how easily his king had been defeated. "What am I doing? My king is being tormented and disgraced by this evil scoundrel and I''m just standing back as I watch like a simple spectator! How useless have I gotten over the years?! Am I seriously going to let him disrespect my king on his own land?" Roger asked himself as he prepared to change towards Julius and stop him. ¡­ "Prince Julius, I''m going to have ask you to let go of king Henry immediately," the current captain said as he stood beside Julius while point a sword to the side of the prince''s neck. "Or what? You can''t possibly think that you''ll be able to stop me right? I mean just take a look at what I''ve done to the king which you love so much. I''ve completely beaten him to a pulp and he''s just now admitted defeat. If you want to lose your life that badly, you should have asked more politely," Julius replied to the current captain of the royal guards. "You leave me no choice then," said the captain of the royal guards as he prepared to kill off Julius who he had known so so long out of his sheer loyalty to the king. "I''ve already warned you but it seems that I need to clearly show you how much of a power gap there is between us," said Julius as he quickly turned his head, faster than anyone could see before literally breaking the blade in the current captain of the royal guards by biting it with his bare teeth. "Holy hell, where did you get strength like that?" the captain of the royal guards asked as he tried to move away from Julius while still holding on to the broken blade in his hand. "Oh no, there''s no getting out of this. I need to make an example out of you," said Julius with a smirk as he dropped king Henry on the balcony before turning his attention towards the current captain of the royal guards. Without asking any question, Julius took a big step forward and grabbed hold of the broken piece of the blade in the hand of the captain before squeezing it until it was just a piece of twisted metal. "Come on now Edward, you must still have some fight in you. There''s no way that you could already be out of will to fight, right?" Julius asked as he continued toy with the captain of the royal guards just like Liz toyed with his own emotions. Before Julius could grab a hold of the current captain of the royal guards, Roger finally summed up the courage to chalk he Julius as he roared before punching Julius right in the cheek. Even though it wasn''t very effective, it had caused just the right distraction as Julius turned around to face Roger while the current captain of the royal guards took the chance given to him to whack Julius on the head with the squeezed peace of metal that used to be a sword. A miracle took place in that moment as the twisted metal had made contact with Julius''s left side of his forehead and managed to cause a king and deep cut on the prince''s forehead as the part which had made contact with Julius'' head had been a twisted sharp path which had caught on to Julius'' skin a tore it open. "Nice one!" Roger congratulated the current captain of the royal guards before quickly remembering that he was in a less that favourable position. "Uh oh," said Roger in a worried tone but Julius once again turned his head towards the current captain of the royal guards as he was more of a threat than Roger. "I see that I should have taken care of you from the start," said Julius as he forcibly took away the piece of metal in the current captain''s hands and threw them down towards where the crowd was standing. Next, Julius grabbed the current captain of the royal guards by the head and slammed him into the wall behind him so that he wouldn''t be able to move for a while. "Is that all you''ve got? I mean it was pretty cool of you to come in so quickly to save your king but look where that has go you," Julius said in a sarcastic tone as he turned his attention towards Roger to get revenge for accidentally causing the cut on Julius'' head. "I guess this is how I go out. I don''t mind, at least I''ll die with honour," said Roger in a confidant voice which made Julius stop. "I''ve never really understood that phrase. When you die, you''re not left with anything. Your wealth, fame, glory, knowledge, and even honour will mean nothing as you won''t be able to reap the fruits of your labour anymore. So in truth you''ll never die with honour. To add on, if you believe that you''ll be remembered just because of the way you died, you''re mistaken as after someone dies, sure their loved ones will remember them for a couple years but eventually they''ll be forgotten about. This actually reminds me of a saying. It goes like ''a person doesn''t die when they''re killed, they die when they are forgotten''. And just like the saying states, you''ll be forgotten about," said Julius as he allowed all of that information to sink into Roger''s head before preparing to punch the previous captain of the royal guards into oblivion. In that moment, Roger closed his eyes as he accepted his fate. ¡­ "Am I dead? I guess you really don''t feel any pain when you die," said Roger with a sigh as he opened his eyes to see that he was very much alive. In fact, Julius had stopped his first before it reached Roger''s face. "I already promised that I wasn''t going to kill anyone," Julius said with a smirk before finger flicking Roger into a wall. Chapter 171 - Long Awaited Encounter While Julius was having his fun at the balcony of the castle as the crowd watched with suspense and fear, the kings and queen of the great kingdoms along with any other important guests had already been seated in the closed off dinning room as they awaited for the man of the day, that person being Julius who they didn''t know had reverted back to his old plan. "Aren''t Henry and Julius taking too long? It''s been quite a while since they started their speech. I''m getting too hungry, if I have to wait another minute, all this food will be gone in an instant," said Wilson as he stared at the food with an urge to eat all of it by himself. "Don''t be such an animal, specially at an occasion such as this. Have some manners will you?" Sandra told Wilson off. Luckily for her, Wilson''s sister wasn''t able to hear her due to everyone else having conversations of their own going on in the other tables. "Anyway, where''s Mary? I see that she has forgotten about her manners as well. She''s probably spending all her time with that worthless guard they call Hendrick. It''s not a good image for a queen such as herself to hang around mere peasants. Maybe that''s why she''s yet to find a husband," Sandra added as she tried to insult Mary while she wasn''t there. "You''re just jealous because she''s better looking than you. I can see that old age hasn''t been so great for your body," Astaroth who was the king which wore glasses countered the insults which Sandra was throwing. "Will you all just calm down? Let''s try to be civil here. After all were supposed to be the ones to lead by example," Steward stopped the hostile conversation from going on any longer. "I guess you''re right. Although I''m still confused as to why Mary hasn''t come here yet. It''s not like her to be late. Specially to events as big as this," said Wilson. "I already told you, she''s probably with that nobody of a guard Hendrick. I mean if she''s just going to go for anyone, why not pick one of the captains from the other kingdoms. After all the captains and vice captains of the royal guards for the kingdoms which are run by females also have to be females since they are meant to act as replacements for the queen when she eventually gets married," Sandra added. "Sandra! Don''t speak like that in a place such as this!" Astaroth yelled at Sandra which finally gave up on trying to run Mary''s reputation. ¡­ *A couple hours earlier* ¡­ "Are you sure you''ll be alright Mary? Please just let me accompany you there. I''ll get too worried about you if you go there without allowing me to protect you," Hendrick told Mary. "It''s okay. Don''t worry about me. I''m plenty strong. And I''ll be back soon too, we can talk more when I get back but I seriously have to leave right now. I cannot bring shame to this kingdom''s name," said Mary as she prepared to head out towards Henry''s kingdom. "I wish I could take you with me but there are already a couple unpleasant rumours flying around about us. If they were to see us together, they''ll just think of worse things to say about us," Mary said as she saw a frown appear on Hendrick''s face. "But you know, if we were to get married, they would be able to say anything about you since you''ll become king of this kingdom with me," said Mary as he pulled something from the pocket of her long red sweat pant like pants which looked to be a small box. "Hendrick¡­ will you marry me?" Mary asked Hendrick as she got on one knee. Seeing this, Hendrick burst into tears as he couldn''t believe what was happening right front of his eyes. "Of course!" Hendrick relief as Mary played the diamond ring around his finger. "I know that it''s a bit out of tradition for me to propose instead of you doing it. I mean if anyone were to see this, they would definitely think of us as weird people so I hope you''ll forgive me, I just couldn''t wait any longer," Mary apologized. "I do have to admit that I would have liked to be the one to propose to you instead but I always feared that you would refuse and end what we already have so I must apologize as well. However do not worry about you being the one to propose. I mean after all, everything we do would looked to be weird," Hendrick said with a gentle smile as he said goodbye to this future wife. "Okay then, I''ll marry you as soon as I get back!" Mary promised Hendrick before leaving the room and heading towards the caravan which was waiting for her out the castle so it could take her to the kingdom which would celebrate the birthday of Julius. "Did something good happen my queen, you seem much happier than before. I mean it is the birthday of prince Julius however you look extra happy today," said the caravan driver as he watched Mary get inside the passenger side of the caravan. "Yes. In fact something amazing happened. I just can''t wait," said Mary with the biggest smile on her face as she imagined her wedding with Hendrick. She would make sure that it was a grander event than even Julius'' 18th birthday. "I see. Don''t worry. You won''t have to worry about waiting for much longer. Just for you, I''ll take you to the kingdom as fast as possible," said the caravan driver as he assumed that Mary was excited for Julius'' birthday when in fact the reason which he looked so happy was because of her thoughts about her wedding. As Mary continued to daydream about the upcoming best day of her life, a single female figure appeared right beside the queen as if she had teleported inside of the caravan when in fact that was exactly what the female figure had done. Without saying a word, the figure just sat beside Mary before finally speaking. "Hello, sister" Chapter 172 - Past And Present "I guess Mary isn''t going to show up. It''s already too late for her. I feel bad though, she''s going to face serious back lash when word gets out that she skipped prince Julius'' birthday," said Sandra. "Speaking of prince Julius, where is he and his father? Do you think we should check up on them?" Wilson asked Sandra along with the other kings and queen who were present in the dinning room. "Learn do have some patience. Even if they are taking longer than expected, this is their celebration so we have no choice but to wait until they show us. Although I do agree with you since the food is starting to get cold," said Astaroth with a frown of disappointment. ¡­ "I-I''m not done," said both the current captain of the royal guards and Roger at the same time as they got up to continue their battle with Julius. Seeing as they were both willing to go on, they turned to face each other before giving a single nod and charging towards Julius in a last but hopeless effort to defeat him. "I see you still haven''t learned the difference in our power. That''s fine though, I guess I can toy with you a little more," Julius said as he prepared to punch both of the captains in the face so that he could knock them out in a single final attack. However before Julius could do so, something else happened which changed the course of the battle. <> A group of thick grass appeared behind Julius as the began to tie themselves all around Julius'' body while restraining him. Seeing that he was held back, the current captain and Roger charged in and managed to both land a punch at Julius. "So you''ve betrayed me as well? I see then, I guess this is where part way¡­ Jun!" said Julius as he ripped the grass which was restraining him with his bare arms. "Are you three ready to say your final words?" Julius asked as he prepared to cast a secret art of his own. "Make it four!" Henry yelled out as he leaped towards Julius before hitting him with a devastating headbutt. "One against four? Man this isn''t fair at all," said Julius with a saddened look. "It does matter if it isn''t fair! We don''t care about playing dirty! We will defeat you Julius!" Henry yelled back. "No I fear that you misunderstood me. Four people is far too little. You should have at least brought an army or two," Julius said as he pitted the four people in front of him. "You know, I''ve been meaning to you a couple of the shadow monster tier secret arts for a while but I never got the chance. I guess I''ll take advantage of the moment," said Julius as he raised his palm forward. <> Julius was almost done casting his secret art before he remembered something which made him stop. "Actually, let us continue this on the real battle field. I hope you''re ready for a war to come to you," said Julius with a smirk. After finishing his speech, Julius whistled which caused his ruby dragon to descend from the sky and come crashing down towards the balcony at which Julius leaped on it and began to head towards his next destination. Seeing that Julius had finally left and they didn''t have to die, Jun, Roger, Henry along with the current captain of the royal guards all fell of their knees from having exhausted themselves so much. Even the crowd who were just watching from a distance felt extremely exhausted after watching that battle. However the sudden silence would come to an end as the people finally had a chance to process what had just happened which caused them to start panicking and cause havoc as they even began to stomp on each other as they tried to run away from what was coming. War. ¡­ After Julius had gone far enough from the kingdom, he himself finally got a chance to catch his breath. "Man I''m so excited! I can''t hold it in any longer. I just want to use all of the secret arts I''ve learned so far. No! I must wait until the war begins. That way I''ll surprise everyone, including myself," Julius said to himself while going to his next destination. However unlike what most would expect, Julius wasn''t heading towards the 10th continent. That place would be the last place he would go after he had gathered his other forces. The place he was going to right now was the sky island which the meditation army was still at. ¡­ After arriving at the island which his dragon knew where it was due to it already having went there, Julius was greeted by Vivian herself which was surprised to see his ruby dragon but nevertheless, she was happy to see him back. "What are you doing here Julius? For a second I thought that you were Jun because he came not so long ago to tell me about the peace agreement you made with the 9 kingdom," Vivi said to Julius. "Oh right¡­ about that," Julius began to speak. "So I remembered that my original goal cannot be achieved with peace so I''ve decided to go into war with the 9 kingdoms," Julius said to Vivi. "So you''ve come here to ask me to help you in a dangerous war which would get many of my own people killed? You expect a grandmaster such as myself to go along with such a crazy plan?" Vivi asked Julius in a somewhat angry tone. "No, not at all. To be quite honest with you, I don''t need your help the battle. I just came here to ask that you do not interfere in this battle-" Julius began to request before stoping when Vivi cut him off before he could finish. "Of course I will help you," Vivi said with a joyful smile as if it was nothing to her that many of the people that trust her would die in a war just because he wants to do anything for Julius. Chapter 173 - Mission Complete ¡­ "Uh, okay then. I''m not going to complain about getting any help from a force like yours. Thank you," Julius replied to Vivi who had just offered him her assistance in the war he would be going into. "So when and where is the war going to take place?" Vivi asked to which Julius just looked at her with a blank expression as he looked to her for an answer. ¡­ "So you didn''t think of a date when you declared war upon the 9 greatest kingdoms? Well¡­ there is 8 now to be exact," Vivi asked Julius. "Huh? What do you mean 8? I mean I beat up Henry but I didn''t kill him," said Julius as he tried to understand what Vivi meant. "Oh, you mean Mary right? So I assume you''ve taken care of her?" Julius asked to which Vivi nodded in agreement. "Yes I did. The ruler of the bident kingdom, Queen Mary is no longer a problem," said Vivi. "Great, then I assume that I can depend you to get your 10 divisions prepared for the war. I''ll be counting on you," said Julius before getting on his ruby dragon and taking his leave as he had other plans. "I was thinking about reviving the previous kings and queens of the past great kingdoms but now that I have the meditation army along with an army of my own at my side, it would just be overkill," Julius thought to himself while flying towards the 10th continent as he would finally need to speak to his own army after being away for so long. "Although I do kinda feel bad about Jun. I never wanted to become enemies with him. However it''s too late now. I have to fully commit to my promises. I cannot turn back now," said Julius as he continued to fly towards the 10th kingdom. "I''m still concerned though. Can I really trust Vivi? I mean I trusted Liz with all my heart and in the end she betrayed me. What reason do I have to trust Vivi? After all I only met her not so long ago. If someone who I knew for all my life could betray me, what would make someone I only met just a couple days ago loyal to me? Heck, why should I trust the people in the 10th continent. For all I know, they could be plotting a plan to ambush me and kill me," Julius said to himself as the emotional effects of Liz''s betrayal began to take affect as he didn''t know who he could trust anymore. "Although I shouldn''t worry too much about it. I should just have my guard up so that of anyone tries to backstab me, I can easily kill them at the drop of a dime," Julius thought to himself while continuing his journey. After flying for so long in the air, Julius could start looking at the 10th continent which was nothing like the desert wasteland he remembered it to be. Julius could now see a large portion of it was covered in green. Most of it was plain grass instead of a whole jungle as it would cause competing wildlife to appear of a large forest on that scale were to exist. As such short grass with a couple small forests along with some trees and bushes spread around everywhere was the perfect design of a continent Julius could as for. Upon closer inspection, Julius could see the many new villages and smaller versions of kingdoms had started to appear everywhere as the population had a sudden boom. Even so, most of the villages and kingdoms were occupied by only a few people which caused Julius some concern as it didn''t make sense as to how a few people each could build so many magnificent structures. However that wouldn''t be the end of the surprises Julius would see as he would soon meet a large kingdom which even dwarfed that of the kingdom which king Henry ruled over. "What is going on here? There''s no way the people of the 5 villages which were barely alive built all of this on their own. Even with the help of my 5 subjects, this is insane work," Julius admitted as he began to direct his ruby dragon to head towards the large castle in the middle of the large kingdom. Inside of it, Julius could see a large number of people being hundreds of not thousands of times bigger than the total population of the 5 villages Julius brought back to live 4 years ago. "I need to get some answers right now. There''s no way that this was all possible in just 4 years. They had to have used some kind of illusion secret art to trick me into seeing this. I can''t imagine them actually being able to create such complex buildings," Julius said to himself as he finally landed his ruby dragon near the front of the castle before stomping towards the castle entrance as he needed to ask whoever ruled that kingdom some questions. "Who goes there?! Don''t you know that only high ranking personal can enter this place? You''re not authorized to enter the castle! Leave now or speak your final words!" said two guards which were dressed in silver armour and held spears which blocked the path to enter the castle. "Huh? Move out of my way! Do you not know who I am? I am the owner of this entire continent, I have some questions to the person who placed this kingdom here," Julius said as the two guards who had something odd about them finally snapped and began to charge towards Julius only to have both their spears broken as if they were a stick them forced to kneel as Julius punched them in the chest to the point where they couldn''t stand anymore and had to get on their knees to breathe. "Now don''t get in my way next time," said Julius as he prepared to open the doors of the castle only for them to be opened from the inside. "Welcome back, king Julius," said the red haired Ian with a smile. Chapter 174 - Ian "Woah, is that really you Ian? You look so different," said Julius even though Ian had only gotten a little taller and had also grown out his red hair. "Come on, I''m still the same Ian from the past. Anyway, come on in, we''ve been waiting for you," said Ian as he led Julius inside the castle. "Wait are you saying that you seriously built all of this on you own?" Julius asked with a surprised face tp which Ian was left confused. "What do you mean? You''re the reason why all of this exists. If you hadn''t sent over Dae and Knight to summon the dead, we would never have all of these things. After all, it was their undead soldiers which were responsible for building all these large and complex buildings all so that you could arrive in a magnificent land to rule over," said Ian as he explained what had caused the construction of the large kingdom in the 10th continent. "Oh that''s right! I nearly forgot about the Dae and Knight. How are they doing?! Did they manage to get integrated with you guys properly?" Julius asked with a concerned face as he didn''t want those two to feel alienated since they had arrived after the 5 subjects had already awoken from their slumber. That idea even reminded him of someone else who would be in a worse situation. That person being Stevan. "Before I forget, how is Stevan doing in here? Is he getting along with everyone as well?" Julius asked with a little concern in his voice. "Why do you sound worried? And to answer your question, Steven is actually doing pretty good here. Although he has gotten a little too comfortable here," said Ian as he continued to walk Julius up some stairs towards somewhere which Julius didn''t even know of but continued to follow Ian as he trusted him. "Uh- I don''t understand what you mean," said Julius as the two finally arrived at the room which they had been walking towards the entire time. Inside of the room were all of Julius'' subjects along with Dae and Knight. Of course Stevan was also present there as they all drank tea and ate biscuits like classical people. At the sight of Julius, though all of them dropped their tea for the utter shock as they hadn''t expected Julius to be there. The only one who knew he was coming was Ian who only found out because he had cast a detection secret art which spread all around the continent. Just as Julius was in range of it to be detected, Ian picked up the signal and prepared to meet Julius and the events which followed took place until Ian brought Julius to the room. "Julius!" Spike yelled out in an overjoyed tone before quickly changing as he remembered who he was talking to. "Please forgive me my king, I did not mean to offend you. I was simply too overjoyed at the sight of your face. I hope you can forgive me," said Spike as he kneeled. Seeing Spike do this, all of the other subjects followed suit from utter respect to Julius. Even Dae and Knight kneeled as they had also been rescued by Julius. Of course Steven was the only one who was left standing as he had no reason to bow. "Kneel!" Spike told Steven with a whisper that sounded clearly angry. "No, I have no reason to bow to him," Steven replied in a casual tone. "Yes you do! Our king was the one who had given you a place to stay when you were left on your own so kneel! Or perhaps I should teach you a lesson," said Spike as he had enough of Stevan''s arrogant attitude. "Huh? So you want to start a fight? Have it your way! But don''t blame me when I break your skull!" said Stevan as he clenched his fist while Spike prepared to cast a secret art. *Bonk* Julius had enough of both their arguing and whacked them both on the head so they would start fighting. "Spike, I can understand why you would want to maintain the respect which my name has attained in this land and I appreciate that. But seriously, there''s no need to go that far. You don''t have to kneel to me and neither do you all," said Julius as he helped all of the ones who were kneeling to get back on their feet as Julius had transformed into some sort of motherly figure. "As for you Stevan, you should learn to be more grateful," said Julius as he rolled his eyes while Stevan did the same. "Anyway, is it really true that you managed to bring life to the undead of this land so that they would create all of these structures?" Julius asked as he turned to face Dae and Knight. "Yes it is. I thought you would instantly notice. Specially when you saw the guards. After all, all of the undead in the Continent have eyes which are pitch black. It''s something that you can''t ignore," said Dae as he looked at Julius with a confused look as he didn''t know how Julius didn''t notice. "So that''s why I kept feeling that there was something off about those guards! I knew something was off but I just couldn''t put my finger on it. However now that you mention it, you''re right. Nevertheless, it''s still very impressive that you managed to create so many working drones that will create the land for all the people which will be brought into this kingdom. "It makes us glad that you think so highly of our work. We will continue to do everything in our power to help you succeed in your plan. After all, we''re indebted to you for saving us from a life of being in a coma. "Speaking about your plan king Julius, since you came back to us, it must mean that it''s time, right?" Ian asked to which Julius'' face turned serious before giving a single nod. Chapter 175 - Intellectual Battlefield "Yes I am prepared to make the move. I''ve been gathering power over the past 4 years in preparation for the event that''s going to take place soon. I hope you all are ready as well," Julius stated to everyone in the room who just gave a simple one strong nod in agreement that they were fully committed to giving everything they had to help Julius with his plan. "Then let us head out!" Julius said as he planned to take charge and lead his men and woman into the battlefield to conquer the world. ¡­ "But I have to take a break first," said Julius before going back to sit on one of the couches that was in the room. "Uh- are you sure you have the time to be relaxing king Julius? It would be best to strike our enemies while they''re still not prepared for battle. We would have the clear advantage as we have been prepared for multiple years already. We can just head out right now and crush all of them before they know it," said Liam as he advised his king. "It''s alright. There''s no need to panic. After all I''m the strongest," said Julius with a smirk. "That doesn''t even make any sense! You''re just saying that to you with us! We need to attack soon or we''ll lose the battle before we even know it! It doesn''t matter how strong of person someone is. If there are the right amount of numbers, they could take that person out without a hitch," Liam replied with a panicked expression as the king which he had met while Julius was in his calm and collected state which he put up as a facade had turned into a lazy sloth who liked to move everything last minute. "Okay then, answer this. Who would win in a fight, a trillion lions or the sun?" Julius asked. Even though it was a stupid analogy, it could be applied to the situation they were in. "Huh? What does that have to do with what we''re talking about now?!" Liam asked. "It has everything to do with what we''re talking about right now! You said that with just enough numbers, a group can defeat a single strong person right? So answer this, who would win in a fight between a trillion lions or the sun?" Julius asked once more after explaining in depth what he meant by the question he had asked just a moment ago. "I see but it''s still a stupid analogy. Anyway, in this case the sun would win as even if the lions covered the sun, they would just die instantly after making contact with the sun," Liam replied with a quite a sensible answer however the other subjects also had their own thoughts to add. "What about the blood that gets released while the lions are getting killed by the sun? Wouldn''t that just cause the sun to cool down and die out much quicker?" Spike asked which was a reasonable thought. "No, I think you''re both wrong. The lions would never even reach the sun in the first place. Before they could make contact, they would just either combust or burn to death from the heat. Since they would die from a distance, the blood cooling down the sun wouldn''t be a valid idea either," Rosie added to the conversation before turning towards Julius and blushing. Seeing this reminded Julius of the short time he had spent with Rosie and caused his face to turn a bit red as well. "Well let''s say for the sake of the argument, the lions were able to make contact with the sun. They would be able to cool it down with their blood eventually right?" Steph asked before he turned to face Julius. In that moment, Steph as well blushed just like Rosie. ¡­ "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT?!" Julius asked in a yell after remembering that Steph who looked more feminine than even Rosie was a male. "But we have to also account for how realistic the situation would be. As such, wouldn''t it make more sense for the lions to start off the battle from a far off distance since they wouldn''t be able to magically teleport towards the sun and attack it all at once?" Dae added on. "If that''s the case then the lions would also need to wear space protective gear. That would at least give them a little more defensive capability so that they could approach the sun even more. We also have to account for the possibility that they might use each other as meat shields to protect the rest of the group from the sun, that way, they would definitely be able to reach the sun and attack with full force," Knight added to what his brother had said. "Well I think you''re all going about this the wrong way. There''s a much simpler answer to this question. How much pee could the lions produce? If they all peed on the sun all at once, they could probably extinguish it without a single casualty. That would get ride of the problem of them being too close to the sun after all," said Stevan with the smirk. ¡­ "I see that you''ve all been left speechless by my amazing idea. You''re probably asking yourselves why you hadn''t thought of that idea on your own. Now you''ll be left to regret your stupidity for the rest of your lives," Stevan continued to brag. ¡­ "Should we tell him?" Rosie asked as she whispered to Spike. "No. Let''s leave him be for the time being. Let him soak up all the stupidity that just escaped from his mouth. Maybe that will teach him a lesson or two," said Spike as he stared at Stevan who was laughing arrogantly. "I think you''re all mistaken. This entire question is meaningless unless you create a ratio to where our king would be the sun and the enemy would equate to the lions. Since we can''t do that, we''re just answering a pointless question.. In the end, all that matters is that we believe in our king," Ian finally spoke as he brought an end to the debate. Chapter 176 - Karl "Ya you''re right. Sorry I doubted you. I was just try to insure that nothing went wrong," said Liam and he vowed to Julius. "Don''t worry, you were right to feel that way. Anyway let''s stop it with the formal talk for now. I''m so tired," said Julius as he takes from not having properly rested ever since he saw Liz and the vice captain of the royal guards talking about their plan to murder him. "Are you okay my liege? You seem saddened by something," Ian asked as he noticed a sad expression on his king''s face. "It''s nothing really. I''m just sad that I''ll have to battle against my old master. I really would like to avoid that battle at all costs," said Julius with a saddened look on his face. "Oh you''re talking about the old man who came along with you when you visited each one of us right? I was wondering where he had gone. I guess that explains it," Spike said with a curious expression. "Please my liege, do not burden yourself with such small matters. You are a whole different species compared to those animals. However if you feel that you cannot take the responsibility of taking on your own master, I will have the pleasure of taking him out. I apologize but a betrayal is unacceptable, no matter who is behind it," said Ian with a serious look on his face. "I understand. Do what you must. Ive already laid waste to two lives already. What is it if some others get taken as well? As long as the people who survive and live happily are greater than the ones that died, it''ll have been done for a good cause," Julius replied with a fake smile as he had accepted Ian''s proposal but had not fully accepted what the proposal was offering. "I understand, please rest assured that I''ll keep my promise or I''ll die trying," Ian said in a respectful tone. However right after that exchange, there was a sudden knock at the door which Julius was greeting everyone in. "My apologies for intruding," said a single man as he began to walk inside and speak to Liam. "I''ve already make sure that the 112th new kingdom has began its construction. New workers are being moved in as we speak," said the man before he prepared to leave. Due to the fact that only really strong people or meditation cultivators could sense Julius'' aura, the man who had walked inside the room had no idea who Julius was. "Uh, Karl are you sure you want to leave before greeted him?" Liam asked as he looked at Karl then Julius. "Karl? That sounds like a pretty familiar name. I don''t know when or where I heard it but it seems for familiar, yet I can''t put my finger on it. How did I forget about it?! I hate this feeling so much! Just when I''m about to remember it, I forget everything and have to start from the beginning once again," Julius said in an angry but disappointed tone. "Sorry sector leader Liam. I''m afraid I do not know this person," Karl apologized as he looked at Julius with a type of look that seemed familiar. In that moment, everything clicked as Julius remembered who the man who had just spoken to Liam was. "Wait are you thee Karl?! The gang leader which had tried to stop me from entering Liam''s village and once I tried to leave, you came back to apologize to me and promised to make this land a magnificent place?" Julius asked with a surprised tone. Hearing this brought a shock to Karl as well as he realized who the man he was standing in front of was. "No way! It couldn''t be him right? Could it really be king Julius m?! Why didn''t I notice before? There would only be one reason that a man would be in a meeting with all of the 8 sector leaders! It has to be him," Karl thought to himself as his heart began to race while panicking. However in a last effort to fix his mistakes, Karl instantly got on one knee as he prepared to apologize for offending his king as he didn''t know if Julius liked to serve severe punishment to those who even offended him in the least. "There''s no need to be so formal! Just because I''m a king doesn''t mean that I''m arrogant and can''t recognize the hard work of my loyal subjects. Karl, I appreciate all the work you''ve done to nurture this land so it may be fit for those who are soon going to live in it. Rest assured that I will make a large statue in your honour to recognize how much you''ve contributed to this land," said Julius as he helped Karl get back on his feet. After hearing Julius'' world through, while Karl cried the rest of the people present looked at Julius with puppy eyes as if they were asking for something as well to which Julius knew exactly what they were referring to. "Yes, you can all have statues of your own after the plan has taken its course and has been completed," Julius told them with a sigh to which they all began to celebrate from the joy of having recognized as well. "Wait you said that the 112th kingdom had begun its construction, right? That''s quite a large number of kingdoms. I''m pretty sure we can fit almost everyone from the dark districts in them for the time being. Of course once we take over the other 9 kingdoms, we''re going to have to transfer most of the people back or just keep them here while we distribute the wealth that we manage to get for the other kingdoms," Julius said with a proud smile as if everything was coming together which in fact it was. "My liege, I understand how excited you must be to get everything going. However I must ask, how do you plan to create jobs for all the people who will be coming to this kingdom? After all, you wouldn''t want the economy to crash, right?" Ian asked which brought Julius'' heart to a sudden stop. Chapter 177 - Creating A Civilization ¡­ "Huh? Economy? Jobs?" Julius asked in a confused tone as if he hadn''t even given those topics the slightest bit of thought when he decided that he was going to create a kingdom of his own. ¡­ "I see so it''s just as I feared. Please give your big ideas much more thought next time before you decide to go through with them. After all, if you cannot provide jobs, there would be no source of income for your people. Hence they won''t be able to buy anything and they would eventually die from starvation or things along those lines," Ian told Julius in a disappointed tone. Although Julius had been planning the creation of his very own kingdom or to be more realistic, his very own continent for such a long time. It was surprising for both Julius and his subjects to find out that he hadn''t thought about giving the new citizens of his land some jobs. If Julius didn''t plan for the economy, that lost likely meant that Julius didn''t plan for other important aspects which were essential for the survival of a civilization. Some examples of these included health care plans, educational paths and thing of that sort. "I''m sorry Ian! I didn''t mean to forget about all of that! I just wanted to give a place for all the people in the dark district could live at without having to envy the people who had just on the other side of a wall for the rest of their lives. "I understand that you had good intentions but things aren''t quite that simple. I do not mean to cause you any offends however it is essential to fully plan things out before you act on them. Although you shouldn''t concern yourself too much with such matters for the time being. I had a hunch that you had forgotten about all of this things since you never bothered to instruct any of us to began the construction of facilities which would allow your continent to flourish. As such, you don''t have to worry about anything as I''ve already taken care of it," said Ian in a responsible tone which brought a light into Julius'' eyes. "Is that really true?! Did you actually already take care of all the extra work for me?" Julius asked in an overjoyed tone. "Of course I did. What kind of subject would I be if I were to allow disasters to befall my king?" Ian asked rhetorically. "I guess you''re right. But still, I want to thank you for all you''ve done to help me! Without you guys, I don''t know where I would be right now. So please accept my gratitude," said Julius as he began to once again trust his loyal subjects. "It is our honour to be blessed with your kind words. However we would also like to thank you for all you''ve done for us. After all, most of us would still be inside a coma if it weren''t for your generosity. Even those who you didn''t rescue physically, you rescued them mentally. For that we would also like to extend our gratitude as well," said Dae as he bowed down to Julius. All of the subjects follows suit. The most surprising one being Stevan who also bowed down to Julius even though he wanted to keep up with arrogant facade. "Okay let us bring an end to all this mushy stuff. I want to know what you''ve done so far to help develop this continent even more that it was initially," said Julius''s he turned to face Ian so that he could get some answers. "Well for starters we''ve already began the construction of several industrial factories. This would have been basically impossible if not for the secret art which Dae and Knight have possession over. That said, all we needed to do was revive some of the most brilliant minds of the past and overwork them until they were able to come up with the blueprints for all the types of buildings we needed. Seeing has how they''re already dead, the revived soldiers could work for hours on end without needing a single break. Although we don''t know if that because they can''t feel pain or because they''re forced to do everything which Dae and Knight tell them. Of course, that doesn''t really matter. All that matters is that the buildings which are going to help you raise to the top are already under construction and will soon be completed," said Ian with a smile as if he hadn''t just admitted to enslaving the dead and thinking of it as no big deal. "I''ll just pretend to ignore that. After all, how much pain can people who are already dead feel?" Julius asked himself as he tried to make all the bad thoughts in his head disappear. ¡­ *In the minds of the zombies who were working hard to build a hospital like building* ¡­ "What did I ever do to get resurrected just so that I could be a working drone for some random guy? It''s been so long since I''ve gotten a chance to rest. My arms and legs have gone completely numb from being over worked. I truly don''t understand what I did to deserve this torture. It''s not like I can even scream for help since I can''t do anything without the permission of the person controlling me. If I ever get feee from this curse, I''ll kill the person who''s making me go through this hellish torture!" one of the undead soldiers said to himself as he spoke in his head as that was all he was allowed to do. ¡­ *Back at the castle where Julius was speaking to his subjects* ¡­ "Anyway like I said. There''s no need to worry about those revived soldiers, theres absolutely no way that they could be exhausted.. I mean after all, they haven''t shown any signs of fatigue! So we''ll work them to death!" Ian said with a smile and a thumbs up without realizing he had just said he would kill the undead who are already dead. Chapter 178 - Deployment After what seemed to be hours of just drinking tea and and eating biscuits, everyone in the room which Julius was in looked exhausted from simply talking so much. "King Julius, I must ask though. Do you not feel that it is time to attack the enemy? If we manage to start moving our troops right now, we''ll be able to reach at least one of the great kingdoms in a single week. In doing so, we can eliminate each one of them one by one," Ian offered. "I see what you''re saying. However I''ve changed how I would like to do things. I would prefer it if we all just attacked each one of the great kingdom rulers on our own. With all of us here, that would make for eight people right?" Julius asked as he counted Ian, Liam, Spike, Steph, Rosie, Dae, Knight, along with himself. "Yes but there are 9 kings and queens. That would still leave one more ruler open to be attack," Ian argued. "Fear not, one of the queens of the great kingdoms has already been killed. That would only leave 8 kings and queens remaining. If we all take 1 ruler of a great kingdom each, we''ll be able to come out of this war victorious as he would have defeated all of their leaders. Without a leader, an army is as good as dead," Julius explained. "What about the captains, vice captains, remaining army members along with other strong individuals who are willing to take the role of leader?" Ian argued back. "You do make a good point there. The best thing to do for now is to just send out the army of the undead that we already have here. By the time a new leader steps up to lead the armies of our enemies, we will have an army of our own which will guarantee our victory," Julius replied with a confidant smile. "I guess you really do think quickly when it comes to battle. Although that would only be expected seeing as you''ve trained for so long and gained experience through countless battles. I would only expect the best from my king," said Ian. "So now that you''ve decided to attack the kingdoms right now, when shall we take our leave?" Spike asked Julius. "Hmm, how about right now? Unless you are all busy with stuff that you have to do. If that''s the case, we can just reschedule the attack for another date," Julius said in a nonchalant tone. "No! Anyone who would make the king wait so that they could accomplish their own selfish desires deserve nothing less than death as punishment! We shall move out as of this moment!" Spike yelled out filled with determination. "Like I said before, there''s no need to go all out with your formal speeches. We''re friends after all," Julius said as his hands began to sweat from the awkwardness in the room after he had said those words. "F-Friends?" "You really consider us your friends?" All of them asked Julius at the same time from feeling surprised however Julius took it the wrong way. "Uh- was I not supposed to consider you my friends? I mean after all we''ve known each other for a pretty long time and after everything you''ve done for me, there''s no way I couldn''t see you as my friends," Julius said which brought everyone in the room to tears except for Stevan of course. "Come on, stop it with the crying. We have a war to go into. You wouldn''t want your enemies to see you in this pathetic state, would you?" Julius asked them a rhetorical question to which they all shook their heads in disagreements they wipes away their tears and headed outside the castle so that they could move out. After going outside, both Dae and Knight closed their eyes as they informed all of their undead soldiers to start moving out and head towards the 9 kingdoms so that they could take care of the small fry. Seeing that his very own undead army had began to make its move, Julius smiled before he began to cast multiple secret arts being the same one. <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> After summoning a ruby dragon for each member in his army which were the subjects or better known as the sector leaders, all of them began to leap on top of their respective dragons. "So how are we exactly to drive these dragons?" Stevan asked he got on one of the dragons which wasn''t for him. "Stevan, you''re not supposed to come with us to the main battle. I would be better for you to lead the undead army instead," said Julius as he wanted Stevan to get off the ruby dragon so that Knight could hop on it. "Huh? What do you mean I''m not supposed to come with you guys?! I''m arguably the strongest person out of everyone here except for you," said Stevan as he complained about Julius'' decision. "Even if you may have the strength, you''re much too reckless in battle. You enjoy to focus only on attacking and often can''t defend yourself. That makes too risky for us to take you with us," Julius explained hoping that Stevan wouldn''t throw a temper tantrum. "Come on! I promise to take this seriously! I''ll do everything in my power to help you out, just please let me enjoy the right of being in the battle! I haven''t fought anyone or anything in so long. I feel like I''m starting to lose myself," Stevan pleaded as he begged to be allows you fight along side Julius. "Fine! But you mess even a single thing up, I''ll be forced to remove you from the front lines," Julius finally gave in. "Knight, do you mind if Stevan takes your spot in the battle?" Julius asked to which Knight humbly shock his head to indicate that he didn''t mind at all. Chapter 179 - Liam Vs. Steward After getting everyone ready to leave on the ruby dragons which Julius had summoned, each of the 8 members of the attack force headed out on their own towards a kingdom that was programmed into the dragon''s head where a member of the attack force would face a king or queen of a great kingdom. Of course Julius matches up all of his subjects with the kings or queen that would be possible for them to defeat. That said, Julius sent himself towards the kingdom which his own father ruled over, that being the kingdom of the sword ruled by king Henry. ¡­ After travelling on the dragons for nearly 2 whole days, the first member of the attack force arrived at the castle which they would attack. That kingdom being the kingdom of the sickle ruled by king Steward. The attacker from the attack force which Julius sent out was one of the 5 subjects of Julius which had first been conquered. That said fighter was Liam. "I see. So this is the place where my king wished to send me so I could fight in his honour. Do not worry my liege. I will not return back to you until I have the head of the enemy which you wish death upon!" Liam yelled out as the ruby dragon which he was riding on came crashing down into the castle which belonged to king Steward. Although it had only been 2 days since the scene that Julius caused at the balcony of his own kingdom during what was supposed to be the greatest day on his life, Steward was already waiting for a challenger such as Liam to arrive inside his castle. Steward had even bother to put in his whole king golden armour which had engravings on it that gleamed the colour dark green. "I presume that you''re the fighter that prince-. No, just Julius. I assume that you''re the fighter which Julius had decided to send over to attack me?" Steward asked as he prepared to spin his dual sickle blades so that he could activate his weapon''s special trait right away. That clearly meant that Steward was no longer willing to sit back and hold back his strength just for the sake of toying with others. Steward fully intended of quick and merciless murder. Even so, Liam wasn''t the type of person who would allow himself to get killed by someone else just because they had determination in their eyes. Specially now that his king, Julius was depending on him. "And what of it? Do you think you''ll defeat me just because you know my identity? You''re surely mistaken-" Liam began to speak before Steward basically teleported away from Liam''s vision before reappearing in front of him with a golden sickle to the neck of Liam. "I see you''re underestimating me. Maybe I should teach you a thing or two about being wary of the rulers of the great kingdoms," said Steward as he prepared to finish the battle right then and there before Liam spoke as well. "No. You''ve got this entire situation all wrong. You''re the one who''s underestimating me," Liam replied as the illusion began to clear as now instead of Liam being the one who was about to die, it was Steward this time as Liam had cast a secret art which would allow his arm to transform into a blade that would be pointed at Steward''s neck. "Nope, I refuse to die at the hands of anyone except Julius himself! Not that someone like him could ever defeat me! I''ll kill you first and then I''ll kill him right after," said Steward as he kicked Liam off so that he wouldn''t have the advantage anymore. However surprisingly, it was much too easy for Steward to accomplish such a feat however due to him being self absorbed just like all of the other kings and queens due to their status, Steward believed that he was so strong that he barely needed to use his full power to defeat some random lackey like Liam. "What''s wrong?! What happened to all that talk huh?!" Steward asked while laughing hysterically as he pummelled Liam with an endless barrage of punches. Even so, Liam just stood there as he took every single one of those devastating attacks without saying a single word. "You''re weak! You''re all weak! You''re just a group of over confidant teens who gained too much power, too quickly! Did you really believe that a king such as myself would be defeated by an arrogant child?! I''ll teach you to never be so argent again!" Steward continued to yell as he finally spun his sickles in the air at which their special trait finally activated. <> Using his special trait, Steward created a whole different image for Liam to look at while he wouldn''t know what would be going on in the real world. Although the special trait had failed due to Liam''s superior mental fortitude, Steward wouldn''t know of this until a few moment later. However in that moment, Steward began to mock Liam before he would kill off the subject of Julius. "Oh how great this feels! I''ll finally be able to get my revenge on that retched Julius! I''ll kill his servants then anyone who he loves! I''ll make sure he experiences the greatest hells of this planet!" Steward yelled out as he went in for the finishing kill as he moved at the speed of lightning as he prepared to slice Liam''s head off clean using his sickle. ¡­ However instead of this taking place, Liam instantly clenched his fists to the point where blood was coming out of his hands due to his nails cutting his skin before hitting Steward as hard as he possibly could towards the ground. With just a single attack, Liam was able to make Steward go unconscious as he finally let out all the rage that was boiling up explode. "You are nothing but an incest in the face of my king! How dare you believe that you would be able to defeat my king let alone touch him!" Liam finally spoke. Chapter 180 - Rosie Vs. Wilson While Liam was in his battle with Steward. The next member of Julius'' attack force had arrived at their destination. That being the kingdom of war hammer that was ruled by king Wilson. The fight which would be fighting Wilson was no other than Rosie herself. "I see that the great kingdoms have evolved and changed so much over the past 200 years. It''s a shame I wasn''t able to watch it grow. However now I can watch their destruction before my king rebuilds them from scratch," said Rosie as the ruby dragon which she was riding on top of also crashed into the castle that Wilson lived in. Just like Steward and the other 6 rulers, Wilson was already wearing his golden armour which gleamed the colour orange as the buff man carried his large war-hammer and began to approach Rosie. "So you must be the king of his kingdom. I''ll be the one who''s going to take you on in battle!" Rosie announced with confidence only for all of that to be shut down by Wilson''s following words. "Please leave this kingdom. I refuse to battle against a female, no matter who they are or who they work for. I just can''t battle a female warrior as I fear that I might cause too much damage to them," said Wilson as he did a quick bow of apology so that Rosie would leave him alone. "Huh? You''ve got some nerve underestimating a subject of king Julius! I''ll make you regret those words!" Rosie yelled at Wilson with a clearly angry tone as she prepared to cast a secret art. "I feared that this would be your decision. Please forgive me for what I''m about to do. Don''t worry though, I''ll make it quick," said Wilson as he activated the special trait of his weapon. "This should be easy! How dare he mock me and call me weak just because of my gender?! I''m going to make him pay-" Rosie began to say in her head however all of he thought were brought to an abrupt stop as the special trait of Wilson''s weapon had managed to make direct contact with Rosie''s body. In turn causing the same incident which happened with Julius when he had underestimated the power of Wilson but on a worse level due to Rosie not having the defensive capabilities which Julius had. Rosie''s entire left arm along with the left side of her rib cage had been completely broken. "What the hell was that?!" Rosie asked in a desperate voice as she couldn''t comprehend how a man like Wilson was able to inflict so much damage on Rosie. "Please forgive me, I really didn''t want to do this to you. I even hoped to kill you in a single attack but that didn''t work. I apologize for what I''m about to do but I''ll make sure to end this battle right now," said Wilson in a sad tone as if he really didn''t want to hurt Rosie. Wilson''s attitude for never striking a woman was passed on to him by his own sister who made sure to engrave that ideology upon Wilson''s head. "Oh hell no! I''m not about to get hit by an attack like that again! I rather die than have to experience that hell once again," said Rosie as she moved her right hand forward which hadn''t been broken before casting a secret art as quickly as she could as it was the only way she would survive, let alone defeat Wilson in the state she was in. <> With no weapon in hand, Rosie began to move around the room which Wilson and her were in as if she was a fly that couldn''t be caught by a mere child. "So you''ve chosen the path of running away? I''m afraid I cannot let you escape after what you''ve done. I''ll have to take your life today-" Wilson began to speak but was stopped as what seemed like a knife was pointed at his neck. However upon closer inspection, it was no blade but was the hand of Rosie that looked capable of easily decapitating Wilson. "Give it up. You''ve lost," said Rosie as she began to breathe heavily from having broken so many bones and lost so much blood as she felt herself get weaker by the second. Luckily for Wilson, he noticed the slight weakness that Rosie was showing and took full advantage of that as he quickly pushed Rose far away from his body before slamming his war hammer into the floor of the room his was in. In turn causing the entire floor of the castle to crumble down to the next floor. In doing this, Rosie lost her balance and fell to the ground of the second floor as she laid face first on the rubble. "It''s over for you. The first attack I managed to land decided your fate. There''s no way you can come back from such a disadvantage. I''m sorry to tell you this but you''ll be dying here today," said Wilson as he lifted his hammer over his head and prepared to slam it onto the body of Rosie. "Dammit! Why did I have to be so arrogant?! Now I''m going to die here as the only person who probably failed their mission! Why am I so weak! I won''t be able to even look king Julius one last time¡­ king, Julius!" Rosie yelled out as she instantly moved away from Wilson''s hammer with his left side of his body still being broken. Even so, Rosie''s eyes were opened wide as if she had just woken up from a wonderful dream. "I need to win this! I need to win this so I can look at my king once again!" Rosie yelled out as she leaped towards Wilson with what seemed like to be an upcoming headbutt. "I still have my golden armour, with this, even if she lands an attack, she''s be the one suffering more damage," said Wilson with a grin.. However right before Rosie''s attack landed, she vanished from Wilson''s sight. Chapter 181 - Spike Vs. Sandra "Where the hell did that girl disappear to?! I can''t allow her to escape from this place if it''s the last thing I do-" Wilson began to speak only to get knocked out with a single attack by Rosie. Right after Rosie had gotten close enough to Wilson, she used a secret art know as "flashing kicks". Using it, Rosie disappeared from Wilson before using her legs midair to kick away his golden helmet and make direct contact with Wilson''s head. As such, Rosie had brought a swift end to her battle with the king of the kingdom of war hammers, Wilson. ¡­ Right as Rosie had brought her battle with Wilson to a close, Spike finally arrived at his own destination being a large kingdom that looked magnificent but Spike knew that he had a job to take care of and was not there to sight see. As such, Spike crash landed into the castle of the respective kingdom''s castle he was sent into just like Rosie and Liam had done. ¡­ "I''ve been awaiting you, Julius!" Sandra said out loud before the dust had even cleared as she was so sure that Julius himself would come to fight her. However instead, another body had come to fight in his place. "Huh? Who are you supposed to be?" Sandra said in a tone which made it seem like she didn''t care in the least as to what Spike was planning as in her eyes he was just an insect. "I see you''re the type to underestimate their opponent and overestimate their own strength. I guess I''ll just have to demonstrate the power gap between us," said Spike in a calm tone as he cast his first secret art. <> A large spatial gate in the sky opened as it began to allow a large blade which was easily the length of the castle began to fall on the exact spot where Sandra was standing. Even though Sandra knew that Spike had cast a secret art, she didn''t bother to do anything about it as she was still inside the castle and didn''t know what kind of threat was actually approaching her. "Anyway, I''m getting quite bored of this so I think I''ll just end the battle right now. Say your final words you ignorant kid," said Sandra as she prepared to use her golden katana with engravings that gleamed the colour pink. <> Rose petals began to rain all around Spike as they created an illusion to which Sandra could disappear without Spike ever realizing it. "A special trait huh? I guess monster core use has evolved to the point where weapons could incorporate the monster cores without making them very visible. Soon, monster cores might even become invisible and you won''t know that someone has them in their weapons. Although we''re not at the point yet so I''ll take advantage of the situation to defeat her," Spike said to himself. "From what it seems like, I''m starting to panic which means that it''s a special trait that controls the phycological behaviours of the target. Knowing that, I only have one way to escape from it," said Spike as he closed his eyes. "Secret Art: Afterimage Barrage" Using this secret art, Spike was able to move so fast that they were multiple afterimages of him which caused Sandra to hav an impossible chance of actually making contact with Spike''s body. "Dammit! I hate secret art users! That''s why I was so excited to go to war with that stupid meditation army and wipe their people from the face of this planet!" Sandra complained as she brought an end to her weapon''s special trait. Seeing as Sandra''s petals stopped falling from all directions, Spike stopped with his secret art as well as he prepared to head towards Sandra at the max speed he could travel at. "Oh I see. I think I have a way to defeat him after all," said Sandra with a sinister grin as she plunged his katana into the ground. "What the hell is she doing? Does she want to die that badly? I guess I''ll grant her the wish she wants so badly," said Spike as he prepares to slice of Sandra''s head with his bare hand. However right before his attack landed, Sandra let out a smirk before activating the special trait of her weapon once again. <> "You might be thinking that my special trait is only one which allows me to hide myself in the shadows but that''s only a side effect of my blade''s actual special trait. Now watch as you get enveloped by my petal tornado!" Sandra yelled out as a late tornado which started at where his blade was plunged into the ground began to swallow Spike as it left him he took to counter attack or escape. The petal tornado which was in front of him not only lifted Spike from the ground so that he couldn''t move but also slashed him dozens of times so that we would slowly be weakened. After a few minutes of torturing Spike, Sandra finally brought a stop to her flower petal tornado as e finally allowed the dizzy and exhausted Spike to fall on the ground for the first time in a while. "How nice. Look at you now. You''re at the mercy of my hands. Although I truly feel bad as for a moment I believed that you had a shot at defeating me because you outsmarted me. I guess it''s even so long since I used the full capabilities of my blade that I nearly forgot that I had it in the first place," said Sandra as she slowly walked towards Spike. "I guess this is how you''ll go out. You should be honoured that I allowed you to survive so that I could kill you with my very own hands. That''s more than a moron like you deserves," said Sandra with an evil smirk. "Aww, what I shame. You had nearly killed me," said Spike with a smirk of his own. "Now, FALL!" Chapter 182 - Ian Vs. Astaroth "Now, FALL!" Spike announced as his bloodied body looked up to face the clearing of the castle which had a crack on it due to Spike crash landing with the dragon that allowed him to travel to Sandra''s kingdom. "Did you hurt your head that badly? There''s nothing that could possible fall-" Sandra began to speak right before getting cut off as a large blade which was several times the size of her body fell from the sky and broke into her castle which created another hole in the ceiling of her castle. Without giving Sandra any time to react to what he had done, Spike allowed his blade to fall from the sky and land directly where Sandra was standing. Unfortunately for her, that would be her doom as there was no time for her to react and due to how powerful of a secret at the one which Spike used was, it was over for her. No matter what she did after that, it wouldn''t matter as the blade would make direct contact with her body. Spike''s enormous blade fell in less time than it would take for Sandra to blink her eye. As such, it was over for her. After the blade fell on Sandra''s body, Spike simply began to walk away from the scene as he already confirmed his victory. ¡­ Spike Vs. Sandra ¡­ Spike wins. ¡­ The next member who would be going into their battle would be Ian which was headed for Astaroth as that was who Ian ended up heading towards. Of course Ian would have no idea on who he was fighting since Ian had never or spoken to Astaroth in his life. "That''s pretty odd, I guess he must use a trident as his weapon of choice," Ian thought as he stared at the seemingly uncountable amounts of flags where all had a trident symbol on all of them. Of course each of the other kingdoms had the same type of decorations to them but they weren''t noticed by the other members who went to take care of the kings and queens of the great kingdoms. "I better end this quickly and join but with Julius again so that I can be present when the real war starts," Ian told himself in a confidant tone as he directed his dragon to fly towards the castle like building in the kingdom he was sent to kill the ruler of. Without even bothering to question if the glass or the rubble of the castle would hurt him, Ian instantly dived inside the building while crossing his hands as if he had no fear in his heart as to what happened to him. He was confident to a point where nothing seemed to bother him. Although that shouldn''t be confused with arrogance as Ian was far from arrogant. He didn''t think that he was going to win, Ian knew that his victory was guaranteed. ¡­ "Well, well, well, what do we have here? Some random soldier that just wandered in out of nowhere? You must be one of Julius'' underlings. How unfortunate for you. Your leader truly thinks that a gang of kids can just wander into the nine greatest kingdoms on the face of this planet and just kill all of their rulers? Even if you are still children, you must have some common sense, or at least enough to make you understand how hopeless your cause is," Astaroth said in a calm tone as he began to belittle Julius, Ian and the other members of the main attack force that was sent out to eliminate the 9 kings and queens of the their respective kingdoms. Astaroth himself was dressed in the same golden armour which all of the other kings and queens wore. As for him though, the engravings on both his armour and weapon where neon blue as the mimicked the ocean in broad daylight. As for Astaroth''s weapon, Ian was correct in his assumption as Astaroth''s weapon of choice was really a trident which was constructed with the same gold that was used to make all of the great ruler''s armour and weapons as well. "Wow, that''s a lot of talk from someone who hasn''t even gotten the chance to battle me. Well, I guess actions speak louder than words. I''ll just take care of this quickly," said Ian as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. <> "I''ll just explain every single one of the secret arts that I''ll use since you really can''t do anything to defend yourself from them. I mean, like you''re not on my level. This isn''t meant to mock you, you''re just not that guy," said Ian. "This first secret art is meant to stop any type of movement which would happen. As such, you won''t get a single change to attack me," Ian explained. <> "This next secret art is used to make it so that these chains which are currently wrapping around you hold you still for a while even if you manage to break out from the previous secret art," Ian explained his second secret art which was starting to make evident how hopeless it was for Astaroth from the start. <> "Lastly, this is the final secret art that I''ll need during this battle. You should just give up on all your hopes and dreams. You now have no way of escape. I''ve sealed you in here and you''ll soon die. It was truly unfortunate for you that you had to come into contact with me, maybe if only you met one of the others, you would have had more fun before you died. Although things like this happen and the best thing to do right now is just accept it," said Ian before turning back around to face his dragon so that he could leave the kingdom and head towards Julius and help him when it comes time to face the armies of the great kingdoms. "You''re funny kid, I have to commend you for your seemingly unbeatable attack sequence. However it has a major flaw," said Astaroth with a smile. "Special trait:-" Chapter 183 - Dark Truth "Special trait: Water Works" After Astaroth had made his outrageous claim that Ian would not be able to defeat him, Astaroth activated his own special trait which was directly connected to his own weapon. Using his special trait, not only was Astaroth able to turn his trident into water itself but also managed to turn his own body into water before sliding down on the ground so he could move away from the area which the chains that Ian had cast so keep Astaroth in place. "You see, there was never a chance of you actually defeating me. Just you alone turning around after you managed to put me inside silly trap shows how inexperienced you truly are in the art of combat," Astaroth explained to Ian. "Oh really? So what do you plan to do with me now? You must want to have a battle where you show off some of your moves before killing me, after all I''m your enemy so it would only make sense, right?" Ian asked while keeping a sarcastic tone. "Why do you still sound like you think you won? Perhaps I didn''t make things clear enough. You are not going to leave this place with your life," Astaroth explained to Ian. "No you''re mistaken. I must apologize first though, it was my fault for truly not making it clear how much of a difference in power and knowledge there is between us. I hope you do not blame yourself too much as you are but a mere monkey in front of me," Ian told Astaroth. "What are you talking about? Can''t you see that I broke out of stupid trap? Now you''re completely open to any attacks which I wish to throw at you," Astaroth explained to Ian as he was fully convinced that Ian had to be hallucinating or something as Astaroth as clearly winning the battle he was in currently. "Are you really sure about the fact that you escaped?" Ian asked Astaroth and his enemy finally finished turning back into a human from being nothing but a puddle of water. Just as that happened, Astaroth froze in place as he couldn''t even budge a single centimetre. No matter how hard he tried, taking even a single step was impossible as his feet refused to move from the ground. "Oh, what''s that? You can''t move? How confusing right?" Ian asked as he mocked Astaroth who was bragging about how he had basically defeated Ian as he had managed to escape the trap that Ian had set for merely a moment. As such, Astaroth assumed that Ian would be rendered hopeless for the rest of the battle, only to find out that he couldn''t even move anymore. To make things worse for Astaroth, the chains which Ian had cast right after the immobilization secret art began to once again wrap around Astaroth''s body, however this time, the temperature of the chains seemed to be much hotter, as if they were starting to burn and engrave themselves in Astaroth''s skin which they were indeed doing. "I won''t give up! All I have to do is just escape from this once again and then I''ll be able to maintain my liquid state then I''ll just manipulate my special trait to kill you! You still haven''t won-," Astaroth began to speak only to be cut off by the sound of something falling before shortly the sound of glass shattering and things breaking which took place all in a matter of moments. "Goodbye whoever you are," said Ian before turning around, just as his back faced Astaroth, the divine blade which was cast long ago slammed into Astaroth''s body and finally brought their battle to a close. ¡­ Ian Vs. Astaroth. ¡­ Ian wins. ¡­ The final member of the original 5 subjects which still needed to his his battle was Steph which seemed awfully calmer about the situation than everyone else. "I wonder who my opponent will be? Maybe a pretty woman that has a hero complex? I hope that''s my opponent, it would be more fun to toy with someone like that, plus I would get to stare at her as well which is a perk. Although with my luck, anything should be possible because the universe loves me," said Steph as he crashed into the castle like building in the kingdom which he was sent in to eliminate the king or queen of. After getting inside the building, Steph stayed quiet as he looked around for anyone which seemed to stand out in the crowd to be the leader of the kingdom. Since Steph wanted to do his job properly, it was essential for him to find and eliminate the king or queen of the kingdom. Although for him, he didn''t agree with quick elimination, just the finding part would have been enough for Steph as he wanted to enjoy his time on his first journey. "Who''s that pretty girl? I know she just basically committed a huge crime but I feel like forgiving her," said one of the guards which was on duty which Steph seemed to overhear. "I guess overtime I forgot that I still looked more like a girl due to the rest of the people in the 10th continent already knowing that I''m a boy. This should be a little fun," said Steph to himself as he began to walk in an elegant manner so that all of the other guards would be distracted by his beauty. "I''m tired of just standing here! I''ll make my move!" one brave guard said as he stepped up to make a move on Steph. "Excuse me fine lady, how may I help you today?" the brave guard said to Steph as he wanted to seem like a kind person to him so that he could impress the one he liked. If only he knew the dark truth about Steph. "Get away from that creature at once! That''s clearly the enemy which I must take down!" an old man came out from the shadows as he carried a golden staff while wearing a full golden armour set which had engravings that gleamed the colour brown. Chapter 184 - Steph Vs. Clement "My lord, please forgive me for stepping in your way king Clement. I truly did not see you. I shall do anything to atone for my sins," the guard which was trying to speak to Steph but unintentionally got in the way of king Clement said as he stepped back while trembling in fear which just showed the fear that the kings and queens put on their own subjects. "Never mind that, just step out of my way so I can deal with that thing," said Clement as he set his eyes on Steph as he knew that he needed to defeat him as quickly as possible. "I assume that you''re one of Julius'' comrades that was sent out to deal with me? How foolish, I would have expected a damn army but he just sent a single person to battle against me? Let alone a woman?! Have I really become to be viewed as just an old man?" Clement said as he worried more about his own reputation than his opponent. "Uh- sorry sir but I''m actually a boy," said Steph which left everyone except Clement speechless. The reason for this being was that Clement didn''t believe what Steph had said in the least. As such, there was no reason for him to be surprised. "No you''re not. I mean I can understand that you''ve started to get scared because of my presence but that''s just how things go. No matter what you say, you''ll still end up dying. whether you''re a boy or a girl, your fate remains unchanged, after all, you''re the enemy," Clement said as he was dead set on killing Steph. As for the guards which had been caught off guard by Steph''s words, they quickly returned to their senses as what king Clement said had made sense to them. After all, there was no possible way that a man could look so feminine. Or at least that was what they thought. "Do they seriously no believe me? I mean what reason do I have to lie about my gender. Although I should finish this battle as quickly as possible so I can join everyone else in the main way, I want to you with these guys just a bit more," Steph said to himself as he placed his hands on his shirt and began to pull it upwards so that he could take it off. ¡­ "Is she seriously taking off her shirt? How shameless." "No way! Today is the day that we all get lucky. I mean this job is the most boring one in the entire world so stuff like this should be appreciated. I can''t believe that this is really happening. Maybe this''ll change my life for the better." "Well, I''m not going to complain." The guards began to think and say all these things as Steph slowly began to take off his shirt. As the shirt got ever closer to his chest, the suspense grew massively all for the big moment as everyone including even king Clement was watching. After waiting for so long, the crowd''s eyes had began to turn red from not wanting to blink since they didn''t want to miss the show by blinking for just a second. However Steph didn''t want to keep everyone waiting either so he finally fully pulled up his shirt only to reveal a flat man''s chest. Everyone who had been praying that Steph was truly a girl, which was basically everyone began to lose their balance as they also started to feel really light headed from realizing that they were ready to give everything up for a man. Truly the most shameful part of their lives. Even king Clement seemed a bit surprised that Steph was truly not lying about the fact that he wasn''t a girl but was instead a man. "I see, my apologies then criminal. You look like quite a female. Nevertheless, like I said previously, you will meet your end here. Do you have any last words?" Clement asked Steph as he prepared to end his enemy''s life. Seeing as the battle could not be delayed any longer, Steph finally made his move. <> A secret art which was able to instantly break apart the base of buildings which would caused them all to crumble. Without wasting any time, Steph''s secret art began to erase parts of the castle which Clement lived inside which at first only caused little things to fall over but as the seconds passed, things began to turn truly for the worst. Within just a single minute which king Clement spent watching an analyzing the secret art that Steph had used, both Steph and Clement along with almost all of the guards which were standing on that floor fell straight through that floor along with several other floors beefier finally coming to a stop. Once Clement began to look around at where he exactly was, he realized that he was inside the basement of his castle. That meant that not only his he fall through the floors of the castle but the people who were on the lower floors also got crushed by the floors above them. "You¡­ you killed my guards, my maids, my servants. You demon boy, I''ll make you pay!" Clement yelled at Steph which just brought a smile onto Steph''s face. As Clement began to look around his surroundings, he noticed the dead bodies of all the people which resides inside the castle. Although Clement had never expressed his emotions to the people which worked for him, he truly did care about all of them. "Special Trait: Gathering Ground" Once Clement had activated his staff''s special trait, it began to flow as it seemed to also effect the ground which was turning into a smoother substance that could move on its own while flowing lines thick liquid. After turning the ground below him into a liquid like substance, Clement forced it to split into 10 parts before he reshaped them into polls just like his golden weapon. "Mud duplication? How interesting, I wonder how far he can push his special trait," Steph thought to himself with a curious face. Chapter 185 - Pain "I will make you pay!" Clement yelled out at Steph. "Relax old man, you know that all of them were useless if they couldn''t survive a fall from that height. They were all just deadweight. You''re better having them dead since they would just distract you from your moan battles," Steph told Clement which seemed to clearly anger him. Right as Clement grew too tired of having to listen to all the nonsense that Steph was talking about and was about launch his attack, he heard something nice inside the rubble. "Who''s there?!" Clement demanded as he thought that maybe Steph was working with someone else that was hiding. Fortunately for Clement, that wasn''t the case as he recognized two figures rise from the rubble with little to no injuries of their bodies. "I see that you two are alive. I would expect nothing less from my captain and vice captain," said Clement in a relieved tone as he let out a sigh since at least his very best soldiers were still alive. "Of course, how could we die and leave out king all alone. We''re only allowed to die once you have passed away. Until then, no matter what happens, death isn''t an option for us-" the two guards which were the captain and vice captains of the royal guards began to speak to their king however Steph began to get quite bored of having to listen to their conversation. As such, he made a move so that he could bring that conversation to an end. <> Steph quickly covered his right fist in crimson flames before leaping towards the captain of the royal guards that was still busy talking to Clement with a smile. Without a second wasted, Steph hit the captain''s head so hard that after just a little extra push, it had been hit so hard that his head was decapitated. Seeing this, Clement and the vice captain of the royal guards just stood there with shock and a horrified look. They couldn''t believe how quickly Steph had killed the captain. Although Steph had only met the captain of the royal guards inside king Clement''s kingdom and was nothing but a stranger to him, to Clement and the vice captain of the royal guards, he was much more than that. He was a friend, comrade and basically family. They had spent years together as they headed into missions together. Even though Clement was in a higher than both of them, they still continued to speak like friends amongst each other. As such, to Steph, he had just killed some random guy. However for both Clement and the vice captain, Steph had just taken away one of the most precious things in their lives as if it was nothing. At that point, Clement began to lose it as Steph had taken away too much from him. He couldn''t allow someone who harmed him both emotionally and mentally to continue living like nothing ever happen. "I''ll kill you!" Clement announced as he got a clearly frustrated look on his face that looked like it only sought revenge and nothing else. Within just a few seconds, Clement hand managed to turn a large area around him into mud which his lifted off the ground and created hundreds of different weapons which were all created from the mud on the ground but were forced to take shape due to the powers of the special trait of Clement''s weapon. Without any hesitation in his eyes, Clement forced all of his mud weapons which looked just as strong as regular weapons of not stronger to get launched at Steph. Without even the least bit of worry in his eyes, Steph casually dodged all of the weapons which were thrown at him. However, right as one of the weapons was about to hit him, Steph leaned his head back to create an arch of some sort so that he could dodge one of the mud blades that was thrown at him. Unfortunately for Steph, that would be the wrong move to make as he felt a little tap on his back but didn''t turn around. "You''ve lost," said the vice captain of the royal guards inside Clement''s kingdom as he was crouching while pointing a very sharp dagger at Steph''s back which meant that Steph had been cornered. "Nice one! I''ll finish this right now!" said Clement as he saw his chance go finally get revenge on Steph. However instead of complaining or looking scared for even a second, Steph began to laugh out loud which confused both the vice captain and Clement. "What are you laughing for? You''re going to die right now!" Clement yelled at Steph which was replied by Steph with a single grin. "I''m sorry to tell you but I won''t be dying today," said Steph as he allowed his back to fall on the dagger which was on the dagger than was being held by the vice captain of the royal guards. Although both of Steph''s enemies thought that Steph was being stupid for basically taking his own life, that was far from the truth which they would realize in just a few moments as Steph lifted his body up once again while the dagger was in his chest while looking not the least bit injured. "What now? I mean I have been stabbed but now you don''t have me cornered anymore. If I want, I can easily kill you both," said Steph in confidence as he looked both his enemies in the eyes. "Actually, actions speak louder than words," said Steph as he let out another grin before clenching his hand once again to create a fist and punch the vice captain so hard that he died in an instant. Unlike the captain of the royal guards, the vice captain''s head wasn''t decapitated but it didn''t matter as Steph smashed to kill his opponent with a single attack once again. However that was the last straw for Clement as he had lost everything. He no longer read anything to live for.. There were already very little things which Clement derived pleasure from and Steph had just killed two of them right in front of him. Chapter 186 - Dae Vs. Christopher "Muddy murder!" said Clement as he announced the name of his move. Within a couple of seconds a large structure of mud began to construct itself in all directions as it began to surround Steph. "I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" Clement continued to repeat those words over and over again as the pain and agony was too much for him to handle. Not only had his captain had been killed but his vice captain as well which he shared a close relationship with in the same day right in front of his eyes. Before he could even get a chance to process the death of his captain, his vice captain was now killed which was just enough to push Clement off the edge and cause him to use the full capabilities of his weapon and special trait. "First I''ll kill you then I''ll come after Julius since he''s the reason all these people died! I''ll make you pay! I''ll make you all pay!" Clement continues to yell as Steph. "Yes continue to yell for me! Keeps suffering! Don''t stop!" Steph said in a clearly joyful mood as he was over the moon with what was taking place. He clearly seemed to be deriving pleasure from watching Clement suffer. "Endless folds!" said Clement as he unveiled a new attack of his which caused a giant sheet of mud to appear in front of Steph. Without wasting a second, the sheet began to fold only to be avoided by the quick movements of Steph. As the seconds passed, the sheet continued to fold as he tried to incapsulate Steph while moving in front of him and attempting to close. With his fold, the movement speed of the sheet of nut increased drastically to the point where it was getting extremely difficult for Steph to dodge the mud sheet. After just a couple of folds, Steph was gasping for air and didn''t even understand why as he was winning by a margin just a couple seconds ago and now he was gasping for air due to some random ability of Clement. "Oh you''re having trouble breathing I see. Well too bad, you never cared when you killed my two friends so why should I care how much you''re suffering?! I''ll make sure that I kill you with my very two hands!" Clement told Steph in a tone which both showed off pain and happiness due to Clement being said that his two closest friends were killed but happy that he would finally get the opportunity to avenge them. "Ya maybe this has gone long enough. I''ve had my fun and now it''s just exhausting. I guess all good things must come to an end," said Steph as if he was sad that he was finished playing a cane like he didn''t just kill dozens of people all to make someone mad and now that they''re not fun to toy around with anymore, he was going to kill them. <> Tired of having to keep dodging the folds of Clement''s special trait, Steph finally decided to bring a stop to their battle in the form of his final secret art. One which allowed him to summon a seemingly uncountable amount of trees from the ground and make it so that they wrapped around Clement''s body. Even though Clement was clearly enraged which should have made him several times stronger than he already do was, he still wasn''t able to escape out of the vines which wrapped around his body while restraining him. Due to this, Clement was unable to move for the next few moments. After all, that was all Steph would need to bring their drawn out battle to a close. Even though many people would have be either frightened or more mad, Clement finally stopped resisting and allows his body to relax. He had finally accepted his fate. "Do you have any last words?" Steph asked before making it so that one of the shaper vines would pierce through Clement''s skin and instantly kill him. However instead of saying something sappy like "tell my family I love them" or something vengeful like "I''ll see you in hell", Clement just stayed quiet and smiled before Steph gave him a single nod and brought swift end to the battle. ¡­ Steph Vs. Clement. ¡­ Steph Wins. ¡­ After Steph''s battle was the next person who had finally reached their destination. That being Dae who had arrived at a kingdom that had flags which all had symbols of bows and arrows which most likely meant that the king to queen of the kingdom used a bow and arrow in their battles. Without bothering to even hesitate and think of a plan, Dae simply forced his dragon to dive straight into the the castle building inside the kingdom which caught all of the guards which stood in that floor jump away with a gasp of surprise as none of them had expected a literal dragon to come so close to them, let alone crash inside one of the castles of the great kingdoms which just made everyone around him think that he was a psychopath since no sane person would ever dare to attack a castle, let alone a castle that was controlled by a king or queen of a great kingdom. "Well well, what do we have here?" a young man''s voice said as he stepped out of the shadows to greet Dae. The young man which had come out to greet Dae was wearing a a full set of golden armour much like his comrades which each ruled over a great kingdom of theirs. Just like Dae had predicted, the weapon of choice for the king of the castle that Dae was in was a bow and arrow which also were golden and had engravings on top of them.. To top things off, they gleamed the colour silver as they shined inside the castle while seemingly staring Dae down. Chapter 187 - Special Arrows "And who might you be?" Dae asked the gentleman who had come on the golden suit that gleamed the colour silver. "How rude of you. You were the one who broke into my home and now you''re asking me to introduce myself with you doing that first. I must say, you''re the first who I have met that has manners that are so foul," said the man in the golden armour and also carried a bow and arrow. Well more specifically arrows but was only holding a single one in his hand while he carries many in the basket which he held over his shoulder. "To be perfectly frank with you, I don''t really care who or what you are. As long as I can kill you and get this interaction over with, I''ll be fine. However when you meet someone else, it is good manners to introduce yourself first, although telling you that won''t matter now since you''ll be dead before you''ll be able to use that advice. After all, you''ll be dying by my own hands," said the man I. Golden armour which Dae was about to face in battle. "Speaking about good manners, it would be better that I tell you my name now so that you can remember who killed you. My name is Christopher, king Christopher to be exact. That is the name of the man that is going to put an end to your life," said Christopher as he fired one of his golden arrows at Dae without allowing Dae to concentrate or even gather a reply to the small speech that he had made. Instead, he began firing his special arrows so that he could kill his enemy quickly. "Special Trait: Multiplying Arrows" Just as Christopher activated his special trait that belonged to his arrow, it began to multiply as multiple other golden arrows with glowing silver engravings began to also fly towards Dae. "If he can just multiply his arrows, why does he bother to carry more than one since arrow?" Dae asked himself but he was about to see soon why Christopher carried more than one arrow around him. Of course due to the speed at which the arrows were flying at him, Dae would have no idea of knowing this but the shade of silver on the bow that belonged to Christopher and the arrow which was fired were just a little different to the point that barely anyone could recognize a different even by inspecting both tools properly let alone someone who had to think quickly on how to dodge the arrows instead of analyzing the colour of the two tools. Unfortunately for Dae, that information would be crucial as right after he had dodged all of the arrows that were fired at him which caused them to stick to the ground which made them seem useless however Christopher let out a single grin which seemed to inform Dae that he had fell for a trap. "Special Trait: Expanding Ice" Just as Christopher let out those words, the arrows which were inside the ground began to start getting colder and within seconds, they began to allow thick shards of ice to bloom out of them as if they were flowers before they had gotten so big that they had completely surrounded Dae. "A weapon with two special traits?! That''s what you''re probably asking yourself. I mean I would be surprised too if I saw a single weapon multiply many times then turn into ice. That should have been impossible and that assumption would be correct. Of course I''m not lying to you right now. I truly do not posses a weapon capable of handling 2 special traits on his own. Instead I have 2 weapons which both have special traits. That being my bow which allows arrows to multiply so that multiple arrows get fired at my enemy and also my arrows themselves which are each infused with a lower tier monster core. Even so, due to them being connected with such a high grade weapon and being used in combination with a high tier secret art, they''re able to preform repetitively well and usually cause me no problems," Christopher began to explain to Dae in a rather kind tone which was a bit surprising to say the least. "Now, I''ll make another prediction. You''re probably confused as to why I''m being so nice to you right now and why I''m explaining the full capabilities of my weapon to you. The reason for that is quite simple. There just isn''t any way for you to escape. I''ve won," said Christopher with no sarcasm in his voice, all that was there was only confidence as he didn''t doubt himself in the least. "Now? Let''s continue where we last left off," said Christopher as he let out a sigh and reached for a random arrow inside the bucket which he carried behind his back. From it, he pulled out a golden arrow which had bright red engravings on it and fired it right at Dae sparing any time. "Special Trait: Multiplying Arrows" "Special Trait: Flaming Rain" Right after Christopher had fired his arrow, he caused it to multiply just as he had done with the previous arrow. However he chose to do something different this time as instead of activating the arrow''s special trait after it had landed on the ground, he did it while it was still mid air. Due to that, the golden arrows became engulfed in bright orange flames as they rained down at Dae which could only dodge them as if he had attempted fo catch them or even touch them in the slightest, he would surely pay for it in the form of injuries. Even though it had seemed that Christopher had failed his goal as Dar was able to dodge the flaming arrows quite easily, that was all according to his plan as they had landed on top of the ice that was created by the previous arrows. Once the flaming arrows made contact with the ice, they began to melt it and created water which made Dae''s cloths wet.. Although that might have seemed harmless at first, it has a deadly effect which would be revealed very soon. Chapter 188 - Crushing Ego "What was the point of that whole attack sequence? All you did was get my cloths wet. Other than that, your bows did nothing except waste time," said Dae as he didn''t understand what Christopher''s goal was since he hadn''t really accomplished anything. "I knew you were going to ask that. Of course predicting what a simple minded animal is going to think isn''t all that impressive when you think about it. After all, there''s only a hand full of information people like you can processes as such, it''s only a process of elimination that would be needed to completely out play you and gain an easy victory over you," said Christopher as he made fun of Dae''s thought process. Hearing those words made Dae quite infuriated but he knew that he would be able to kill Christopher soon enough so he just kept gritting his teeth while waiting for the perfect opportunity. "Of course I should get to the main point which is why I bothered to waste two arrows to get back to the same place. Of course to you it seems like I''m back to square one but in reality, I''m much ahead of you. Well, I guess it would be easier to just show you than explain it to you. After all, I doubt one with the same brain capacity as a monkey would be able to comprehend such complex thought," said Christopher while continuing to mock Dae. "Seriously though, how stupid does he think I am. Does he really believe that I don''t know that he got my cloths wet so that he could make it so that his following arrows would hit me? Although it''s a bit sad that he thinks he has out smarted me. After all, what taking place now is the exact opposite of what he thinks," Dae said to himself as he already knew what Christopher was planning. "Although in most scenarios, he would have won by this point since his strategy is almost flawless, there is one slight problem with it. Since he didn''t allow me to use any of my attacks yet, he''s fighting me under the assumption that I''m a cultivator through battle which is obviously not the case. Due to that, I have access to multiple secret arts which I can use without moving my body. As such, I can make any long ranged attacks useless when they come at me. Such a shame, I''m about to destroy his ego before he even realizes it," said Dae to himself as he continued to pity Christopher since he wouldn''t have any idea what hit him. All while Dae was having this conversation with himself, Christopher went on which his attack as he pulled out a an arrow from his bucket of arrows which had engravings that gleamed the colour yellow. Seeing as he wanted to win as quickly as possible and laugh at Dae''s corpse while calling him all sorts of names. However Christopher would soon realize that things wouldn''t go according to his plan due to a slight miscalculation. "Special Trait: Extended Explosion" Using his special trait alone," Christopher was able to duplicate his arrows so that there were multiple of them and right as they got close enough to Dae, Christopher caused all of the arrows to explode all at once so that even if by some miracle the Dar which had his cloths wet which would drastically slow down his movements managed to somehow dodge the arrows, the explosions would not allow any room for error since they would cover a larger area than the arrows by themselves. "It''s over. Although I shouldn''t have expected more for some animal that managed to run inside my home and think that he could defeat me. You should have expected to lose so don''t resent me if your next life," said Christopher as he began to walk away from where Dae''s corse would be once the explosion''s smoke finally cleared up. "Don''t worry I won''t resent you. Of course I expect you not to resent me as well once over brought your life to an end as well," said Dae in response to what Christopher had to say. Just hearing Dae''s voice sent chills down Christopher''s smile while also putting a lump in his throat as visible fear and confusion began to take over. There was just no possible way for Dae to be alive. After all, he had been slowly down and even if he somehow managed to dodge the arrows, there was no possible way for him to dodge the explosions. To make Christopher''s fears even greater, when he looked at where Dae was standing, he realized that Dae didn''t look the least bit injured and was somehow standing in the same spot that he had been in which meant that Dae didn''t even bother to dodge Christopher''s attack. "H-How though?" Christopher asked as he stared at Dae''s palm which was pointed forward while holding up a clear shield which seemed to be the reason why he was still alive. "Is that your weapon''s special trait? Even if it was, there was no way for you to bring it out and activate its special trait within the time that it took for me to lose my sight of you for just a moment which I used to activate the explosion. If that were to be true, you could''ve just moved away easily. Even if your cloths were wet which would cause you overall speed to greatly decrease, that would still leave you with plenty of speed to run away for the explosion area and some to spare," Christopher began to think of every possible way that Dae could have survived his attack but none of them made sense to him. The reason being that he thought that Dae might have a used a super complex strategy so all of his guesses were similar to that when in fact, the reason why Dae had survived and even took no damage was because of a very simple phenomenon known as being a cultivator through meditation. "Tell me Christopher, do you know what secret arts are?" Chapter 189 - Steven Vs. Emily "Tell me Christopher, do you know what secret arts are?" Dae asked which seemed to shock Christopher right as he heard those words. "Your face tells me that you do intact know what they are. Of course I knew what you were planning. I mean you made it so obvious. Only a moron would fall for something as stupid as that. Which was exactly why pretended like I didn''t know what you were planning. In the end, you were the moron. It''s truly amazing to see the tables turn after you spent all that time bragging about your intelligence. Although you wouldn''t feel too bad, I mean who would expect an animal such as yourself to know that you were just getting toyed with," said Dae with a grin as he used the very same insults that Christopher had used to mock Dae when he believed that he was winning the battle by a great extent. Seeing this, Christopher grit his teeth in frustration as he pulled 3 different golden arrows and fired them all at the same time. After doing this, he caused all of them to duplicate multiple times while being in midair. "Oh no you don''t," said Dae as he knew exactly how to counter the arrows that were coming straight for him. <> Using his secret art, Dae summoned a seemingly uncountable amount of arrows which surrounded Christopher along with the arrows that were midair. Without wasting anymore time that he already had, Dae forced a couple of his blades out of the thousand he had summoned to fly towards Christopher''s arrows and collide with them so that they could be rendered useless. "Dammit, if that didn''t work, nothing else that I have is going to work on him. Maybe for once I''ll swallow my pride and run away. I mean after all if I get away from him, I can help King Henry fight his opponent instead. So technically I''m not even running away, I''m just swallowing my dignity out of the kindness of my heart to help someone else in need," Christopher told himself as he tried to justify the fact that he was going to run away from his enemy because he was simply too weak. Of course there was no way that Christopher was going to admit that, instead he tried to make up some excuse as to why his coward attitude could be justified. Even so, he couldn''t truly be blamed for it since he always lived a life where he was better than almost everyone else that existed in the entire world. The only ones who ever came to his level of power were the other rulers of the great kingdoms. Other than them, Christopher treated everyone else like trash since he whole heartedly believed that he was better than them which in most cases was the truth since he had been trained by Jun himself. Although it was morally incorrect, he was the one in power so he could speak down to everyone else and not a single person would be able to stand up to him. Just as Christopher began to run for his life as he wasn''t ready to die, Dae let out one last sigh of disappointment. "The moment you run away is when you have truly lost the battle," said Dae before directing all of his remaining blades at Christopher which was running away before impaling him with as many blades as possible. As for the renaming blades, he allowed them to fall on the ground before turning away so that he could head towards Julius and assist him in his battle which would be much more difficult than the battles the rest of them would have to face. ¡­ Dae Vs. Christopher. ¡­ Dae Wins. ¡­ After Dae''s battle was over, there was only one final battle other than Julius'' battle which needed to take place. That being Steven''s battle which Steven himself eagerly awaited as he wanted to let off some steam which he had been holding on to for several years since he wasn''t in any real battles. "I can''t wait! I bet my opponent is going to be a large 20 foot giant with unparalleled strength which is a living threat to this world! Man I can''t wait! It''s going to be so fun, the exchanges of attacks we''re going to have will be immeasurable. Our battle shall last for servers days with no one even resting for so much as a second. Truly the ultimate test of strength," Steven told himself as he couldn''t wait much longer since he had wanted to get started with the battle as quickly as possible. Due to this, just when Steven could see the kingdom where his dragon was heading to, he couldn''t wait anyone. As such, he literally leaped of the dragon as he believed that it was going far too slow. Hence, he picked the choice of flying down to the ground before sprinting so fast that he made the dragon look like a turtle. Within just a couple minutes, Steven had gotten close enough which was when he chose to leap in the air and crash inside the top floor of the castle which was most likely where the ruler on the kingdom resided in. Steven assumed this because the castle was most likely set up so that the challenger would clear the early floors which had weaker opponents and face stronger ones as he headed upwards. Due to this, not only would it allow the ruler of the kingdom to face an exhausted version of the challenger but also give the ruler of the kingdom to plan the perfect way to counter their opponent and defeat them with ease. However Steven wasn''t stupid even with his brute like nature. As such, he knew exactly where the strongest person inside the kingdom would be inside which was where he headed right away. With the brightest smile on his face, Steven crashed into the castle with his arms wide open as if he was going to hug his opponent just front the pure joy of his upcoming battle.. Unfortunately for Steven, his opponent would be much different that he had initially imagined. Chapter 190 - Steven’s Merciless Battle "Who dares to intrude my kingdom at this hour?!" a woman''s voice yelled out in anger as she heard bricks and glass shatter when Steven broke into the top floor of her castle. "Relax there lady. I''m not here for you. Im looking for the ruler of this kingdom. Probably a 10 or 20 foot giant with a long beard and axe. Have you seen him anywhere?" Steven asked as he looked around with suspense as he didn''t know how much longer he could wait before his excitement would take over him. He couldn''t help but feel anxious since he wanted the perfect opponent. "I don''t know any 10 nor 20 foot giant with a beard and axe but if you''re looking for the ruler of this kingdom, you''re looking at her," said the tiny woman which at best was only 5 foot tall and covered in golden armour which gleamed the colour of dark pink. "Huh? I''m not talking about the ruler''s wife. I know that you take over sometimes when your husband isn''t home but I''m looking for the man of this house!" Steven began to get irritated at what he thought were lies that were being told by the woman. "Actually, that must be pretty weird. I mean I understand that my opponent would be very tall but him being married to someone so short must be a little weird. I mean she''s at least twice to 4 times shorter than him. Nevertheless, I''m not here to judge, as long as he''s a formidable opponent which he will be, I have no reason to complain," said Steven as he thought out loud. However hearing those words seemed to anger the tiny woman which had claimed to be the ruler of the kingdom. "I won''t repeat myself once again so listen carefully! I am the queen and also the ruler of this kingdom! My husband is not 10 or 20 foot tall. He is a regular human being and not some giant. And for your information, I happen to be stronger than him so if you''re looking for a fight, you''ve got yourself an opponent!" the woman stated in a clearly irritated tone. "Okay lady. I understand that maybe you get left in the shadows because your giant of a husband takes all the spot light but there''s no reason for you to lie and claim to be the ruler of this kingdom as well as saying something as outrageous as you being stronger than him. Since I''m feeling generous today, I''ll cut you some slack. What about if I defeat you, I can battle your husband?" Steven offered as if he was actually giving the woman which he was able to battle a really good deal which she could never refuse. However it had the exact opposite impact as she looked angrier than ever from both being mocked and embarrassed in front of her own guards which were trying not to laugh as this all went down. Seeing as Steven was going to continue being persistent in his belief that the real ruler of the kingdom was a large giant which held a large axe and had a beard, Emily, who was indeed the true ruler of the kingdom decided to agree to Steven''s conditions since she was quite confident in her own abilities and knew for a fact that she would be able to humiliate Steven and get revenge for him embarrassing her in front of her guards. As such, she gave Steven the reply he wanted. "You know what, sure. If you can defeat me, I''ll bring out my husband which is a 30 foot tall giant with an orange beard, battles with an axe and drinks the entire kingdom''s supply of booze until he knocks himself out from being so drunk. That''s what you are looking for right?" Emily asked sarcastically but Steven took her words quite seriously as he had been day dreaming of fighting a strong opponent for so long. "3-30 foot?" Steven asked he even looked like he was drooling just as the fact that he would get to fight someone so tall. As such, his eyes quickly filled with determination as he had no option but to win. "But I do have to warn you, I''m quite the strong opponent!" Emily stated which Steven seemed to not be listening to as his eyes looked too focused on their goal. Without wasting anymore time than he already had by speaking to Emily, Steven''s chest began to glow just like they had done when he battled against Julius which meant that he was activating his special trait already. He could do so since he had consumed monster cores to survive while he was trapped inside a dungeon for 10 long years. Due to them being his only source of food, his body gradually began to adjust so that it could consume the monster cores. In exchange for all those years of pure hell, Steven gained the abilities of all the monster cores he had absorbed and was now able to use them as if they were his own powers. "What the hell?" Emily asked herself with a clearly shocked face as she didn''t understand how Steven was able to laugh a large beam of fire right from his mouth and direct it at her without using any sort of weapon. Due to her visible confusion, she was frozen for just a second before she realized what she had to do. Emily quickly raised the small one handed golden axe in her hand and activated its special trait so that she wouldn''t be hit by Steven''s attack. "Special Trait: Wave Split" Using her special trait, Emily was able to quite literally cut the wave of fire that Steven had fired at her with ease. "Oh, how intriguing. I guess that mean I can''t use long ranged attacks anymore. Well, it''s not like that matters.. I have multiple other methods of defeating her, although this might be a bit cruel," Steven said to himself as he felt slightly bad for what he was about to do but for some reason his face had a grin on it. Chapter 191 - Steven’s Recognition Without wasting even a single breath, Steven launched his entire body at Emily while carried a large grin on his face which was terrifying for Emily since Steven was a giant compared to her. Well even though he was basically a giant to her, she thought of him more to be a gorilla than anything else as he was too dumb to be considered a person in her opinion. "Close combat huh? You probably think that my axe is only capable of preforming attacks which only counter long ranged attacks but you''re mistaken. My axe is capable of much more than that and you''re going to learn that the hard way," Emily said as she kept those thoughts to herself. "Here he comes. All I need is just a single slash and I''ll be able to end this match faster than he can blink his eye," Emily said to her self as he awaited for the perfect second so that she could cut Steven up into little pieces. However, Steven wasn''t an idiot when it came to battle. After all, he had been in battle after battle for 10 straight years without any breaks. Due to that, he gained the experience to break apart any and all of his opponents moves unless they were massively stronger than him like Julius who was not only blessed with talent but also had the best teacher the world could offer. Just to add on to his many blessings, Julius was able to visit the other civilization of the world to learn all sorts of fighting techniques which the part of the world he was in never thought of as the heavily relied of strength instead of technique. Due to all of these factors working together to help Julius, he was able to defeat Steven even though he had been training for 10 long years. Even so, just because Julius was able to defeat him, that didn''t mean some regular ruler of a great kingdom could do the same. Steven had actually been expecting Emily to pull a last minute trump card to defeat him in the only millisecond which Steven would be open for any attacks. So instead of mindlessly rushing into a charge, Steven waited for the moment the smallest movement was made by Emily''s body. In this case, it was her arm as she brought it towards to slice Steven right when her got close enough. Seeing as she was timing her attack and most likely calculated the amount she should move her hand, he knew that if he boosted the speed at which he was moving midair, he would be able to land his attack without suffering any consequences which was exactly what he did. Using his special trait, Steven caused his speed to increase drastically within that single moment so he could be accelerated so much at he would make contact before Emily''s axe could even scratch his legs. Due to being sent flying at such high speeds, Steven couldn''t turn his body midair and kick Emily and instead had to opt to slamming his head right into her chest. Fortunately for Steven, that strategy worked, maybe even a little too well as he herd her ribs crack as his head made contact with her golden armour. Even though Steven had literally slammed his head into solid hard gold, he wasn''t the one that suffered the damage but was instead the one who was wearing the armour. After slamming into Emily, Steven got up from the ground so that Emily could admit her loss and finally show him towards where her husband was. After all, that was the only reason Steven agreed to fight her. However one unfortunate thing did in fact happen to Steven. That being Emily wouldn''t be able to admit her defeat due to her dying after Steven had delivered that devastating blow to her. "Ah what a shame," said Steven as he began to walk away after seeing Emily''s lifeless body on the ground. However as Steven continued to watch away from the scene, he heard some laughing coming from a couple of guards which were laughing at the dead body of Emily. Even though he didn''t care about Emily, Steven was particularly angry in that moment so he turned her head towards the guards that were laughing and looked them dead in the eyes which seemed to make them quiet down as a cold chill was sent up their spine. "Why are you laughing?" Steven asked one of the guards which brought fear not only to the guard that was asked but also all the other guards in that room. "Sorry sir. I didn''t mean to laugh. To make up for my mistake, please allow me to show you to our queen''s husband so that you may battle him since you seemed quite interested in him," the guard replied as he believed that if he offered Steven something which he wanted, he would be able to be forgiven for his sins. However the exact opposite of what he had hoped happened as Steven looked even angrier than before. "Don''t make me repeat myself! Tell me, why did you laugh?" Steven asked which brought worry into every guard as they believed that even the slightest wrong word could get them all killed. However someone instead of the guard that was asked replied in quite a drunk and cocky tone. "Why shouldn''t we laugh? She pretended that she was some strong person that could take down everyone and even thought that she would humiliate you since you humiliated her first. In the end, that pathetic woman humiliated herself not once but twice! It''s quite pathetic when you think about it. Although maybe I should take over this kingdom. I mean I''m not quite as foolish as that ignorant woman," the drunk man said to Steven which had crossed the line. Having heard enough, Steven basically teleported in front of the drunk man and slapped him across the face so hard that his head twisted before eventually breaking off and falling to the ground. "Now tell me, who''s the weak one?" Steven asked while looking down as the drunk man with disgust. Chapter 192 - Absorbed In Thought "Listen all of you! You are nothing but mere insects compared to your queen! You are filth, trash, lower than scum, you do not even begin to scratch the surface of the power she had. Simply because I defeated her so casually does not mean that you have any right to doubt her strength as even thousands of people as weak as you would not be capable of the simple task being to defat her. Learn your place you mongrels," Steven told the guards which where inside the castle which Emily ruled over. Although they had all seemed to be judging Emily for her so called weakness, not a single one of them showed a hint of doubt in her power, specially after the show Steven had put on for them by literally slapping one of their own comrades in the face so hard that their face twisted and popped off their head. Something as gruesome as that surely had to have traumatized a few of them. Not only because that act alone was so disgusting and horrifying but also due to the fact that none of the guards had really ever experienced something as scary as what took just a moment ago. The guards had never realized just how much Emily was doing for them. While all of them spoke to each other while basically doing nothing all day due to the peacefulness of their kingdom, Emily spent nearly all her time searching for any and all threats to her kingdom and eliminated them quickly and efficiently. Of course Emily did all of this out of the urge to help out her kingdom and as such never told anyone so she could never truly take credit for her actions. Hence the guards thought process in which the believe whole heartedly that Emily was nothing but a bossy useless queen which abused her power to force her guards to do all her work for her. In truth, the guards were the lazy ones as they spent nearly all their days getting paid for doing nothing all day. "Now listen, I don''t have time to listen to you people. As long as you get the message, I''m done speaking to you. Just remember to not make fun of someone who is so vastly stronger than you. You have not earned the right to speak about your queen in that matter just yet. Instead of talking horribly on the one who is the sole pillar to your kingdom, how about you make yourselves useful and actually increase your strength so you could actually contribute something for your kingdom," Steven gave his final words before leaving the kingdom as he needed to head towards Julius as he wanted to help him in his own battle as soon as possible. Although Steven had grown to have more respect for Julius, the main reason which he wanted to arrive where Julius was located was because he knew that there would be plenty of strong opponents to go around. As such, he would need to arrive early or he wouldn''t get the chance to battle someone and go all out in that battle. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ As for Julius himself, he was still on the ruby dragon as he was finally getting closer towards the kingdom where his father was. He was finally ready to go into battle. "It''s almost time. Although I know the outcome of this battle, I''m still a but nervous. However I am glad these are not emotions out of fear but excitement. It''ll finally be a good way to let out all the pent of frustration in my system. I cannot blame anyone anymore, it is just the way things are meant to be. It was my own fault for thinking that Liz would have even the slightest bit of affection towards me. However I still need a place let all of this anger out on. Unfortunately for my father, that is going to have to be him and all his precious guards. Although I do regret Jun''s choice to turn his back on me. I mean is my father really that much more important to him that he would willingly give away his life for that?" Julius asked himself. "Jun should know better than anyone how this battle will end. Yet he still chose the losing side, why Jun, why would you sacrifice your life for nothing," Julius continued to ask himself as he fell deeper in thought until the point he didn''t realize that he was right beside the castle where his father was waiting for him. The ruby dragon didn''t stop moving as Julius'' head was subconsciously telling it to move forward. Nevertheless, Julius wasn''t caught off guard by the debris that flew everywhere around him. In fact it was quite the opposite, Julius was much too calm as his body stood in the same place while it went inside the castle as if he was looking down at all the creatures who were inside it. "So we finally meet Julius. Are you finally prepared to take me on in battle? I mean why else would you make such a grand entrance?" Henry asked Julius as he stared his own son down as if he was nothing more than the enemy. "Please do not speak anymore. I am not here for simple conversation. I have one job and one job alone. I am here to kill my enemies, names and titles have no meaning here. All I recognize you all from this point forward is my enemy. It doesn''t matter how many of you there are, you are all the same or me. "Oh no, you sound so harsh. What has happened to you? You used to be so gentle and kind kid. Look how you''ve turned out now, you''re here to kill your own father like it''s a regular chore-" said Henry began to speak before cutting himself off so that he could laugh. "I''m just kidding.. All you should know is that you''re arrogant attitude won''t remain the same after you see who''s working for me," Henry said with a grin as a couple figures appeared from the shadows. Chapter 193 - Back "What do you mean by that? You think just because you have a little extra people on your side you''re going to defeat me? If that''s the case, you''re lacking in brain power more than I thought," Julius said to Henry however he quickly shut his mouth when he saw the figure which was walking towards him. Well there were 4 figures but only 1 of them was a real surprise as he never expected her to be there. "Vivian?" Julius asked as he saw the leader of the cultivation through meditation army. "What are you doing here? I never gave the signal to move out. There''s no need for you to exhaust yourself with this battle. I''ll take care of these guys," Julius said to Vivian with a glimpse of hope in his eyes as he honestly believed that she was still on his side. "Julius, you should know this already-" Vivian began to speak at which Julius'' brain stopped registering anything and only repeated the same word over and over again as it rejected everything which was being thrown at it. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no," that same word continued to loop inside Julius'' head as he couldn''t possibly accept that even Vivian had betrayed him to join the enemy. "But why?" Julius asked as he tried to find even the slightest bit of reasoning as to why Vivian which seemed to be the only one who was ever fully on Julius'' side had decided to turn her back on him just like everyone else. "Julius, don''t make this harder than it has to be. You know that both the battling army and the meditation army will be working together to defeat you. It doesn''t matter how strong you are, this battle is guaranteed to be on our side. Just give up now and accept your time in prison as punishment. Even after that, your father might allow you to rejoin society as the prince so you can serve at his side," Vivian offered to Julius as she tried to make an enticing deal with Julius. While it would have worked on anyone else, Julius had already experienced the life of a prince. He had been one for most of his life after all. As such, to him, it was more important to go through with a battle which he believed he would win but his enemies also believed that they would win. "So it''s all of you against me now huh? Well, it''s not like that matters, with the army that I have on my side, I should be well on my way to defeat all of you without even so much as lifting a finger. My victory in this battle has been guaranteed long ago. It just seems that you''ve all forgotten who you''re dealing with. However if you genuinely believe that this battle is going to be a walk in the park, you''ve got one thing coming," said Julius as he stared down all of his enemies. "You!" Julius yelled at Mary as he finally seemed to recognize her presence. Due to Mary and Vivian being related, Julius began to connect the dots as he realized who was the culprit for making Vivian change sides at the last minute. In the eyes of Yuki, it was 100% Mary''s fault. Julius had a less than pleasant experience with Mary which would explain his hate for her. In most cases, he would be willing to at least start a causal conversation and even wouldn''t mind talking to get for a bit. However, Mary had taken it too far by making it so that Vivian joins the other side. "Just you wait, all of you will learn my true power when my very own army comes here. Once they arrive here, it''ll be over for all of you," Julius told Henry and everyone else who was there which included Roger, Jun, Mary, Vivian and royal guards. "Oh about that, we already know," said Henry with a smirk as he had already planned to deal with Julius'' army. "Huh? What are you talking about? How would you even find out that I had an army before I told you. Wait," said Julius as he realized that Jun basically knew everything about Julius and as such he would be able to give Henry and everyone else valuable information on Julius since he was with him for a large majority of the time that Yuki was training all to come back to his kingdom at the age of 18. Realizing that Jun was carrying precious intel that was crucial to Julius'' plan, Julius simply grit his teeth in regret now that he had his plans given for all the enemy to see. "I see, although I don''t understand how that would help you. It should only make you realize that you''re all done for. If Jun really told you everything, you would know that all of the other kings and queens are being completely defeated as if this moment. Not a single one of the will survive. You do know that right?" Julius asked as he tried to frighten Henry but it only caused him to grin more as if that was exactly he wanted to happen. "That actually works out perfectly in my favour. I don''t even have to do anything anymore since your army will be going all my dirty work for me. I should really be thank you. However we''re past the point of turning back so lets create a show by using this battle," said Henry with an arrogant grin. "I still don''t get it though. How do you plan on dealing with my army. You still don''t have a plan for dealing with such a massive and powerful army. I would be so cocky if I was in your shoes," Julius warned Henry. "Don''t worry about me. And don''t worry about the plan either.. All you need to know is that there is one," Henry replied with a smirk. Chapter 194 - The Real Goal "So what I''m hearing is that you''ll allow my too generals as well as my army to arrive here all in one piece? If I''m not going insane, that''s what I heard so tell me, is that what you truly said to me or would you like to retake your words?" Julius asked his father which was king Henry. "Nope. You''ve heard me correct. I''ll be letting you being your entire army here is you wish. It doesn''t matter how many people you bring with you, in the end, you''ll still lose to me. In fact, the more people you bring, the easier it''ll be to take you down," said Henry as he bragged to his own son. However the words that came out of Henry''s mouth weren''t those of simple bluffs. In fact, every word which Henry had said was true. It would make his job easier if Julius had more people around him, all for one very simple reason which Julius would experience first hand in just a few moments. However in that moment, Julius genuinely believed that his father was too overconfident in his own abilities and was underestimating his son. Unfortunately for Julius, that was far from the truth as Henry knew better than everyone else about how truly dangerous his own son was. As such, the only person who was underestimating their opponent was Julius himself which while he did believe that his father was strong, in Julius'' subconscious mind, he believed wholeheartedly that taking down his father would be a simple task which he could complete with his eyes closed. However that was not that case as Henry made sure to not reveal his trump card until the final moment. "Well so be it then. I''m not going to complain. I''ll probably enjoy seeing you all struggle against just a single one of my elite warriors. Let alone 7 of them. Not just that but the 8th one is coming here was well by leading the real army which I have prepared to go up against your armies. This will be very entertaining," said Julius as he couldn''t wait for the second which he would be allowed to leap towards his father and cause unspeakable damage to him. Julius planned to let out all of his frustration and anger which he had been holding in for quite some time. With the addition of discovering that Vivi had also betrayed him to join his father''s side, Julius was finally starting to break down as everything which he worked for was being taken away from him as he watched from a far. Nevertheless, all of that prince training that had been engraved into the subconscious thought process of Julius was paying off as Julius didn''t blow up in anger and started throwing a tantrum. Instead Julius handled the situation in the best way he could have do so. That being to keep his cool and wait out until his elite warriors and army all arrived just as Henry had asked. To Julius, all it was a single way of measuring how strong the other army was but Henry''s goal was much more than that as it was complex and not single 1 dimensional thought. Surely will all that suspense, Julius'' father would have a ability which was much stronger than anything Julius could ever throw at him. Why else would he be so confidant. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ After quite a while of waiting, the first member of Julius'' elite squad which was sent out to eliminate the kings and queens of the great kingdoms came. That being spike which simply greeted Julius himself then stood still as he understood that something was about to take place. Hence the reasoning as to why no one was attacking each other. The next person to arrive was the ever so excited Steven which couldn''t wait another second before he would get the chance to break every single person''s skull. Even though he had a magnificent battle with Emily, Steven was not done. He wanted to push himself past the point of no return. All he wanted to do was fight and destroy. He wouldn''t show a single ounce of mercy to anyone who got in his way. However seeing that he was the second member of the squad to arrive on the scene disappointed Steven as he wanted to arrive there before everyone else to get in the action. The part which confused Steven was the fact that no one was attacking each other which didn''t make sense they were enemies of each other. Unlike Spike, Steven didn''t take note of the waiting that was taking place and instead thought that his comrades were frozen in time. As such, he would move in quickly to dispose of his enemies and save his comrade and king at the same time like the hero he believed himself to be. Without even saying a single word, Steven rushed forward towards Henry with a devastating punch which would have caused immense damage to the king that ruled the kingdom of the sword. However someone came to stop Steven as it was not time for him to attack yet. While it would have been expected that one of Henry''s comrades to step in to block Steven, they were all too slow to even think about blocking Steven, let alone actually accomplishing the task. The person who actually moved in faster than Steven and brought him to a halt was none other than Julius himself which wanted to wait until everyone was actually there. "What do you think you''re doing? The enemy is standing right in front of you and you''re just going to sit there and watch them instead of fulfilling your role as king?" Steven asked Julius which simply looked him in the eyes before giving a calm response. "I understand that you yearn for battle however now is not the time. Please wait a little longer. After that, I''ll allow you to attack all of them at once all by yourself if you wish.. Just listen to me for now and back down," Julius requested of Steven which simply nodded with an irritated tone but in truth, he couldn''t help but be excited as he would soon get the chance to take on everyone in the room by himself without having to share them with the other members of the elite squadron that worked for Julius. Chapter 195 - Although Although Steven only wanted to set aside everything that was human in him and kill every single one of the enemy members in the room he was in, that being a floor inside the castle which king Henry ruled his kingdom within, Steven managed to keep his cool as he was promised that if he managed to calm down and wait until everyone from Julius'' forces were to be present in the area. After that, Steven would get his wish of fighting all of the enemy all at once without having anyone interrupt him. One by one, the remaining elite members of Julius'' army began to arrive. Julius simply greeted them with a nod which helped them understand their situation. Unlike Steven, they managed to analyze the situation before taking action which meant that they didn''t make fools of themselves like Steven. "Hello there everyone," said Steph as he was the final member to arrive at the destination. Steph quickly gave a nod to Julius which indicated a greeting. By this point though, Steven had fallen asleep due to him not being able to wait until Steph could arrive. However, before Steph could even say his first word, Steven woke up with a jump as his eyes widened. Steven simply didn''t say a single word and instead gave Julius a glance which seemed to ask Julius for permission one last time before Steven would go all out against king Henry as well as all the other enemies of Julius. Julius wasn''t going to keep Steven waiting as that might cause Steven to become threat instead of an ally, so instead of making the wiser decision of making a plan with all of the members of his elite attack team, Julius gave Steven a nod of agreement which notified the Steven who was hungry for battle that he was allowed to do as he pleased. Steven gave one last glare before leaping straight towards Henry as he wanted to kill him with a single blow. After all, Steven needed to start the show with something impressing. That being to kill the strongest one in the room from the enemies side with a single blow which would cause all of the other opponents to tremble in fear as Steven killed every single one of them one by one. Although Julius wasn''t the type of person to enjoy killing people even if they were his enemies, he didn''t bother to stop Steven as Julius had gone through far too much and his mental fortitude was starting to deteriorate. "Where have I felt this feeling before? It feels so familiar," Julius said to himself as he tried to think of the feeling he had in his head. Julius felt nauseous and didn''t want to even speak, let alone move. After thinking long and hard and coming to no exact conclusion, Julius decided to close both his eyes and tried to imagine the day which he felt the same feelings he had now. Although it was disrespectful to Steven that Julius was closing his eyes and focusing on something other than his own comrade''s battle, Julius didn''t care in the least. Well, more specifically, he didn''t find any value in the battle which Steven was having as the outcome had already been decided. As such, Julius concerned himself with something which he valued a lot more, that being his mental health. After what had happened with Liz then Vivi just a moment ago, he didn''t know who he could trust. He didn''t know if the whole world would turn its back on him and force him to fight all his battles on his own without anyone being there to assist him. Julius had already abandoned by his father, teacher, and even his own mother disliked him. No matter what Julius did, he could never seem to succeed in building meaningful relationships with his loved ones. In the end, Julius was always getting betrayed. After closing his eyes for a while and allowing all his thoughts to pile up one on top of another, Julius'' head began to go blank as it couldn''t think of any possible way to function any longer. Julius was having so many thoughts occurring inside his head all at once that his brain had to stop thinking all together and completely restart. "Hey king Julius, are you alright?" Spike asked as he saw Julius'' body to wobble before falling towards the ground only to be caught by Spike a moment before he hit the ground. "What''s wrong sure?" Spike demanded with a clear look of concern as he didn''t want his king to have been injured in the least, let alone to die. Even the topic of death was quickly taken out of Spike''s head as there was no way that he would be able to comprehend the death of his king. If that were to actually take place, Spike would be in denial for the rest of his life. Luckily for him, Julius wasn''t dead, he just passed out from thinking too much. However due to that, Julius was placed into a dreaming like state where he envisioned things which weren''t there. For a while, Julius went with the flow of things as he didn''t even realize what was going on. Due to him having passed out without any warning, Julius himself didn''t know that he was dreaming and instead thought that everything which he was experiencing was in fact real. Julius only realized that he was dreaming when he spotted something familiar inside his dream like state. Although for most of his unconscious journey Julius getting transported to random places and nothing made sense, this time when he was hallucinating, things were very vivid and descriptive. Julius saw himself inside a dark room as an old man began to panicking as he experimented with potions.. The old man looked to be in a panic for some reason as he kept taking occasional looks at Julius as if he wanted to make sure than Julius was there which was a little weird until Julius himself realized that what he was experiencing was not just a dream but a whole memory. Chapter 196 - As As the old man continued to move around, Julius began to finally piece things together as he finally made a sudden realization. This exact event had taken place during his life. More specifically when he was nothing but a mere child. It was actually the first memory that Julius had in his entire life. That being for good reason too as something horrifying took place during that day. In the moment which Julius had realized that he was experiencing his first memory once again, the old man finally committed the act which caused Julius to be scarred for life. That being to end his life and cause Julius'' brain to force him to pass out. During that time, Julius was much to young to witness a murder of someone, let alone a suicide. Seeing that take place right in front of his eyes left a permanent print inside Julius'' head. Although Julius had gotten used to the concept of death as well as murder, for some reason, no matter how much he tried, he could never forget that day. Julius'' trembled in fear any second he remembered that event. For someone that killed without a second thought, as if it was second nature, the one thing which Julius could never get over was that old man''s death. There was just something menacing about that even at the age where Julius was at and what he had witness, that event alone would be the most terrifying one of all. Right as the old man inside Julius'' dream to his own life, Julius began to panic. Although he had witness endless murder, mostly by his own hand, Julius couldn''t help but feel sick as he tried to hold back the urge to puke. Tears began to flow out of Julius'' eyes like water. Before long, Julius'' eyes lost their colour and turned completely white as Julius once again passed out due to that horrifying event. However with that happening, Julius was not sent back the real world so he could face his own mental breakdown that was caused by the betrayal of so many people. Instead, Julius remained in an unconscious state where he would make a revelation which would get him one step closer to unlocking his full power. ¡­ In the outside world though, Steven was busy rushing towards Henry as he prepared to end the king''s life with a single blow. Although Jun, Mary, Vivian, as well as Roger were all concerned, Henry himself looked awfully calm as if he knew exactly what he needed to do to get out of that situation but also to completely and utterly defeat Steven so that he would never even think about attacking Henry ever again. <> <> "No way¡­" Ian said in a terrified tone as he could believe what was happening. The only other time where he saw a heaven tier secret art being used was by Julius himself which he thought was an insane accomplishment. That was one of the reasons which he was glad to have been working for him. However seeing that Henry can use such a powerful secret art as well, Ian was at a loss for words as all he could do was tremble in fear as something like that truly had insane capabilities. "STEVEN MAKE A RUN FOR IT! THIS ISN''T ON OUR LEVEL!" Ian began to yell out to Steven however it was far too late as Henry let out a final grin which announced that he was victorious. A ray of dark light began to envelop the entire castle as everything inside it that was presumed to be an enemy of Henry began to get corrupted by it. Just a moment later the dark light disappeared only to reveal the people who were consumed by it had been on the ground. They were completely unconscious. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ "Wait for it," Henry said before snapping and at that exact moment, all of the elite members of Julius'' attack squad stood up quickly like they were robots. Although they physically didn''t look different, mentally, they were completely different creatures. They could no longer even be considered human as they were living robots for Henry. "Shall we kill him?" said Spike to Henry as he pointed towards the unconscious body of Julius who was still in the dreaming world. "There''s no need for that. I would actually like it if he were awake when I kill him. I want him to suffer quite a bit for making me go through all of this hell. Although I still don''t want to resort to killing him just yet. I would prefer it if he simply agreed to join my side. I mean I''m his father, why is he being so stubborn. Although I shouldn''t let personal feelings in matters such as these. If he doesn''t cooperate, I''ll have no choice but to kill him myself as I shall suffer that burden," Henry said with both a happy and regretful tone as he never wanted things to come to this. Henry believed that if Julius hadn''t been born so talented, he wouldn''t have had the confidence to process the idea of even betraying his father, let alone actually going through with the plan and getting pretty close to accomplishing it. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ "So I''m back here again," said Julius as he remembered the place he was now transported to. That being the realm in which he and the white figure, Duke-Drake spoke multiple times. They also had their battle will all the scrolls from the library of the limitless there was well. It was a special place for Julius as it was the only place where he could truly find peace. "I''m guess you have something to do with this, don''t you Duke-Drake?" Julius asked with a sigh as he expected another revelation to take place once again. It was always when Julius was in time of need that his powers which he received from that pill that old man had given him when he was a child activated to protect him and help him defeat his enemy. "Since you already know why you''re here, I guess I won''t waste your time," said Duke-Drake as he prepared to inform Julius about something that was quite important. Chapter 197 - Do "Do you remember that day where you were kidnapped for the first time? Well I mean there''s not really a point in asking as it was quite the event which should''ve left quite the impact on you. As such, you should be able to remember nearly every part of it. The one which is most important is when the old man opened several portals and dropped all of the books as well as tools he has with him into those portals. Now tell me Julius, what do you think happened to all of those materials which were dropped into the empty void?" Duke-Drake asked Julius. "Well shouldn''t it be pretty simple? I mean he looked so worried so my guess is that he destroyed them all by pouring all of those experiments into that portal. My hypothesis is that he wanted to destroy them all before anyone else could find them and discover what he was planning. To be completely honest, I''ve always believed that the pill he gave me that day was supposed to kill me or to make me an enemy of my father. Well when I think about it now, maybe that really was the purpose of the pill. However I doubt it as I still have complete control over my body meaning that I''m not being controlled. Nevertheless, I believe that those portals are a trashing system which the old man used to cover up his trails," Julius replied as he thought that his answer was the one which Duke-Drake was looking for. "You''re mistaken," said Duke-Drake which brought out a disappointed face in Julius which quickly turned into that of curiosity as he wanted to know what the real purpose of the pill he was given as well as the real power of the portals were. "The pill which was given to you wasn''t so that you could be sabotaged later in life. In fact, that''s couldn''t be any further from the truth as the pill itself was the thing which gave you all this extra power. Without it, you would have been nothing but a normal child. You would still be training under Jun so that you could some day become the king of the kingdom which your father rules over. So I''m all truth, the pill was the cause of the war you''re about to be in. However do not mistake it and see it as a negative as if you hadn''t started this conflict with your father, things could have gone very wrong. Although you might see yourself as the villain in this case due to how many people are fighting against you but that''s not the truth. You''re the only person who''s actually willing to go so far for the lives of others, no matter their wealth. If you win this war, you''ll have control over all the kingdoms and the people of the dark district will be able to live in a world where they don''t have to ask themselves if they''ll be able to eat every day. You''re the hero Julius," Duke-Drake reassured Julius. "Now I must get back to the main topic at hand, that being the portals. The portals which the old man who forced you to swallow the pill created weren''t trash cans but instead a storage system much like the ring you received after you cleared the dungeon which you spent 3 years inside. However this one being on a lesser scale. The ring which you were given comes from the heavens which is much better than anything which we could produce in this world. Nevertheless, the portal storage system which the old man used had a specific use. That being to store things which you''ll need," Duke-Drake told Julius. "''That I''ll need''? How would he know that? It''s not like he could read the future or anything," Julius said as he thought that Duke-Drake was bluffing. "Well that would be correct. The old man wasn''t capable of actually seeing the future. However that doesn''t mean that he didn''t know the future," Duke-Drake stated to Julius which just confused the prince which was now the king of his very own kingdom. "Huh? What''s that supposed to mean?" Julius asked in utter confusion. "It means that while he wasn''t able to see into the future himself, he knew what would take place. That being a large war between Henry and you. Of course you might still be wondering how this is possible. The simple answer is that that old man comes from a family which for 200 years and been planning to stop Henry. Even before he was born, there were plans being made to get rid of him. The major problem was there was no way to actually reach him as his family was already the king and queen of the kingdom. As such can there would be a large number of guards always at the ready to defend him. Not that it would matter since all that the family which planned to kill Henry needed to do was to rely on the plan which was passed on to them by the first person in their family to start the plan. If you couldn''t tell by now, the first person in their family was the one who saw into the future and predicted what Henry planned to do. As such, he used his precognition abilities to create a plan all to stop him. That being that he needed to control the events which would take place for several years so that everything would line up properly and he would be able to rest in peace knowing that he saved the world. One thing I should mention is that if you haven''t also realized, the plan which the first person in the family was based upon you being the person to defeat Henry. The pill, you learning all the secret arts, me, all of these things were planned ahead of time.. The only one which wasn''t planned was you ascending into the heavens however it works out for both sides so there''s no reason to complain," said Duke-Drake as he began to explain to Julius the history of the world. Chapter 198 - So "So you''re telling me that everything I do and will do is planned for me right? So you''re going to tell me that if I join up with Henry for the sole purpose of proving your statement wrong, that will also be a part of your plan?" Julius asked Duke-Drake in quite the irritated tone. "Listen to me Julius, what I am telling you right now is the truth. I have never given you false information before. So please do not try to do anything without thinking about it first. There''s nothing you would gain from joining Henry''s side. He is our common enemy, all you have to do is defeat him and all of your dreams will come reality. You will have no reason to watch all the people from the dark districts suffer any longer. You''ll have the power to actually make a change for once instead of watching from the side lines without being able to do anything and think of yourself as completely useless," Duke-Drake told Julius in hopes of making Julius change his attitude as the last thing that the world needed was for someone like Julius to join forces with Henry. "Like I should trust u now! You''ve been using me like a tool this entire time, I can''t even do anything without thinking of you''ve planned this all along. For all I know, you could have already watched this conversation go through previously and in the end you end up getting what you wished for," Julius said as he didn''t know if he could ever trust Duke-Drake after the revelation that was dropped upon him. However hearing Julius'' words, Duke-Drake simply let out a sigh of disappointment before getting ready to resort to another plan. "Look, I told you that because I believe that you''ll make the right decision. I mean after all, I could''ve waited until you had defeated Henry to tell you this however instead, I am willing to be honest with you. However it seems that you would like to be more stubborn. As such, I might as well tell you everything about this world. You''ve probably heard many stories about how the world which you live in came into existence. You heard about the Great War which took place 200 years ago that caused the defeat of the evil 10th kingdom and allowed the other kingdoms to live in peace. However that''s not the full story. As such, I would like to tell you to prepare yourself for what you''re about to hear," said Duke-Drake as he was finally willing to resort to his final method of regaining Julius'' trust. "I should mention this to first though. Before the start fo the Great War, there were not 10 kingdoms. Instead there was only one kingdom in this world, that being the same one which is now referred to as the 10th kingdom. That was where all of the cultivators in this world lived at that time. Although the cultivators believed that they were the only people in the world, they would soon be mistaken as a group of people which had never even heard about cultivation came in contact with the cultivators," Duke-Drake began to speak which seemed to peak Julius'' interest. "You remember the people from the other civilization on the planet right? Those people''s predecessors were the ones which had approached the people of the first kingdom in our side of the world. They were explorers who wished to learn about the magical powers that those within the kingdom possessed. They were completely and utterly baffled at the concept of being able to create elements from their hands and be able to defeat anyone no matter the age gap by simply training enough times. As such, they asked the people of the first kingdom to teach them their ways," Duke-Drake continued. "The people of the first kingdom were so generous and as such, they decided to help the explorers out. They taught them the ways of magic and how to create magical spells. However the explorers quickly grew to be addicted to using their magical powers. They trained day in and day out as they wanted complete mastery over their magical powers. To people of the first kingdom, magic was a simple tool used in every day life to make one''s job easier. However to the explorers which had stubbled upon magic for the first time in their lives, they were looking at a weapon capable of bringing the end of the world. As such, they quickly created a barrier to stop anymore explorers from the other human civilization from coming to the magical side of the world," Duke-Drake continued to speak. "After blocking off the entry between worlds, the explorers began to build kingdoms of their own and continued to learn and expand their knowledge of magic. They quickly surpassed the people of the first kingdom which had not yet learned the limits of magic. However seeing as the explorers were getting very powerful, some of the people from the first kingdom began to grow their magical power quickly and efficiently. Those who were quick to see an upcoming war for the power to rule the land were indeed quite fortunate as they had been blessed with the knowledge of the future," Duke-Drake commented. "Even after this had occurred, peace continued throughout the world for quite some time. However this all changed when a new ruler took over on one of the 9 extra kingdoms which the explorers built for themselves. That being the predecessors of Henry. The first king from that family line was quite harsh. He was not fond of jokes and was much too serious for his age. Even in his early 20s, he had the look of an old man which was in extreme thought. He always seemed to have something on his mind. Such overwhelming stress would be capable of inducing death upon someone.. Nevertheless, his looks aren''t what matters now but instead what his family does," said Duke-Drake as he looked at Julius which had his eyes opened wide like he couldn''t wait even another second for the tale to continue. Chapter 199 - Thee Prodigy "Although from what u said previously, the family which Henry comes from isn''t entirely bad. The first member from their family to ever take power did it by force meaning that he killed off the entire royal family and also became unquestionably the strongest in the kingdom which meant that no one could argue with him as he was now the real king. Although you might have been expecting something amazing to happen, nothing special after that took place. After taking power, that man who took the title of king by force simply lived a peaceful life before getting married and having children of his own which they themselves had children of their own as well," Duke-Drake spoke which seemed to have caused a shift in Julius'' emotions as his face seemed rather bored and no longer interested. "Nothing interesting happened for quite a while actually. The cycle of kingship continued to be passed on throughout the family until something happened. A single child was born 14 years before the Great War. That child was also part of the ruling family that controlled one of the 10 kingdoms at that time. That child was believed to be a prodigy. Not just a prodigy but instead, thee prodigy. He was assumed to be perfection itself. A single flaw could never be found on him. If the word perfect was in the dictionary with an image beside it, the image would depict that child," Duke-Drake continued to speak again which now seemed to have grasped Julius'' attention once more. "You see, that child was thought to be the person that would bring peace to the world. He was a perfect child that had good manners, talented and did as he was told. He was a machine that would bring peace automatically to the world. However those who thought of that child as that couldn''t be more wrong," said Duke-Drake. "The day in which that child turned 14, he killed his mother, father, siblings, royal guards and everyone who tried to get in his way. The child didn''t have anything off about him as if he was getting controlled by an evil spirit or anything. In fact, he couldn''t look more natural. It was as if the mask had been lifted off his face. Next, that child went on to declare that he was the new king of that kingdom. Within just a few days, he forced the other 8 kingdoms, all except the 10th kingdom or the first kingdom as it was known at that time. Although that child wanted to take control over the first kingdom, he couldn''t as their forces were nearly double that of the combined forces of the 9 other kingdoms. However that 14 year old child was not the type to simply give up so easily. As such, the child declared war upon the first kingdom and unleashed his full wrath into the people of that kingdom. With the combined forces of the 8 other kingdoms as well as his own kingdom, the 14 year old prodigy managed to somehow come out victorious in that battle. In the final moments of the war, the child lifted the head of the leader of the first kingdom high in the air for all the people to see. With that, the battle was brought to an end. However unlike what most people believe, the people who somehow managed to survive the war from the first kingdom''s side ended up being assimilated with the 9 other kingdoms," Duke-Drake explained. "However the prodigy couldn''t leave his mark in history being that he killed so many all for the purpose of feeling powerful. As such, he rewrote history in which the 10th kingdom would be considered evil and magic would be rebranded as secret arts. It''s quite the tale. However the people of the original first kingdom were not happy with how the battle ended and ended up resenting the world due to the outcome of the battle. One of those people being a predecessor of the old man who gave you that pill. If you remember before, I told you that there were those who saw the war coming and decided to train right? The predecessor of the old man who gave you that pill was one of those people. In fact, he was one of the people that participated inside the war and was a huge factor of it due to him being such a powerhouse. However after the defeat of his kingdom, he cursed the prodigy child every day. However he knew that he would be no match for him, as such, he formulated a plan to get back at the child," Duke-Drake said which with each world caused Julius'' eyes to widen as the story was reaching its climax. "Due to the predecessor being under watch nearly all the time, he wouldn''t be able to train as it would risk the possibility of him getting too strong and being able to defeat the prodigy. As such, he decided to focus on another type of magic that would not be seen as harmful in the least. That being observation magic. A type of magic that was really only useful for long ranged attacks since vision wasn''t really that important in battle as long as the attack landed with minimal vision would have allowed for that. However that was not the goal of the predecessor. What he sought was for the ability to see into the future. It was quite the stretch to believe that a magical ability that increased one''s vision would allow them to tap into the future however it was worth a shot as the predecessor had nothing to lose. Seeing as that he wasn''t training his body to master a particularly dangerous magical spell, the guards allowed him to do as he pleased which was a fatal mistake as the predecessor would in fact receive exactly what he was looking for. That being the ability to see into the future.. The reason why he wanted to do this was so that he could bend the fate of things in the universe so that the prodigy would face quite the painful death however what the predecessor would find out was much worst than he could ever imagine," Duke-Drake said which simply killed Julius with suspense. Chapter 200 - What He Saw "Like I said, what the predecessor had wanted the ability to see into the future for was so that he would be able to manipulate things to work out for him so either he could escape being under constant watch or somehow be able to cause the prodigy which had brought the fall off the original kingdom the most gruesome death. Either of those options would have been fine for the predecessor to accept. He would have been okay with dying after that. However due to his increased power and ability to increase his magical powers at an extreme rate, the predecessor to the old man which gave Julius the pill that made prince much stronger than he was originally intended to be had made quite the realization. Not only could he look into the near future but also many years ahead as well. At first it was only small glimpse of the far future in which he saw destruction and an unbeatable army. At first he thought it was memories of the Great War, however as the days are passed and the visions continued to increase in detail, the predecessor realized that the destruction in his visions were much worse than the one he was to go through the Great War. Just to put that into perspective, he had just gone though the war which was recorded to be the worst one in all of history. For him to claim that there would be a war even worse than that which he just experienced was completely outrageous. No one would believe him, not even for a second. The predecessor knew this for a fact which was why he decided on an alternative solution. Instead of actually telling the people of his time about what he found, he decided to come up with a way to transport the message about ten upcoming war over 200 years into the future," Duke-Drake continued to enlighten Julius with the story of how his life was planned. "Of course there was no actual way for the predecessor to somehow pass down the knowledge of what he learned to multiple people as it continued through that group for many years to come. In all truth, not many people from the original kingdom survived the Great War. Most of them had died in the war and those who were lucky to survive took their own life as they rather die than live under the rule of the same person that brought on their doom. The reason why the predecessor had stayed was because he still wanted to get revenge for his kingdom. However seeing as there was a much bigger threat coming up, he completely forgot about his plan to exact his revenge and put all of his focus on coming up with a plan to stop all that destruction. Nevertheless, he would have to do it alone since there was no one who he could trust," Duke-Drake continued to speak. "Although he might have been alone, there was one loophole for the predecessor to actually get some assistance with his plan and actually make his job a lot easier. That being to have children of his own. Of course it would be difficult for him to actually have children since he was labeled a demon due to him being from the original kingdom which was the enemy of all the 9 kingdoms. As such, not only would he have to find a spouse but also manage to have a child so that he could pass on his information off to them and they could do the same to their children. As such, creating a path until the job could be passed on to the final member of their family and the 200 year quest would come to an end with everything being set to stop the destruction," Duke-Drake continued. "Although he thought that the hardest part of his journey would be to find a spouse but that was far from the truth as it took him only a couple months to accomplish that goal while also considering that he was under constant watch by the guards of the kingdom. Next was having a child. For his goal, all he needed was a single child to which he did manage to bring upon the world. He along with his spouse managed to raise the child for about 2 years before they had brought a conclusion to their marriage as the predecessor only used his wife for the child and was never emotionally available to her. The most devastating part about this for the predecessor was that he wouldn''t be able to pass on his information onto his son. However he wouldn''t give up that easily as he already had invested too much into his plan," Duke-Drake continued to speak. "After waiting 10 years after he and his wife had gotten divorced, the predecessor chased after her and killed her after he killed the guards which watched over him. On the few days he was getting hunted down by all 9 kingdoms, the predecessor spent all his time telling all the information he knew to his child. He didn''t spare any details as it was essential that he passed on that information into his son. However after constant attempts at making his son memorize everything and still failing, the predecessor gave up and instead came up with another plan to achieve his goal. That being to write that information into a book and giving it to his son so that he could read it when he was ready. After the predecessor finished this, he went back to the kingdom he left and told the guards that he killed his son so that they wouldn''t hunt him. In the end, the predecessor gave his life to save the future generations as he saw something that no one else did. That being the rebuilding of the 10th kingdom if everything worked out. If that was the reward for all his hard work, the predecessor was glad to do it as many times as possible. As for his child, he passed on the information to his child and his child did the same until the book reached the old man. However I might be boring you. Why don''t you take a look at it for yourself," said Duke-Drake as he forced a dusty brown book to appear from nothing and tossed it to Julius at which the book opened to a page on its own.. After opening, Julius decided to give it a read. Chapter 201 - Dear Julius Dear Julius, I am writing this letter to you 200 years ahead of time. I know you must be pretty confused about what''s going on around you and how all of this is possible. After all, there would have to be multiple loops holes for the idea of future sight to exist. However it''s not as complex as you may believe. While you may believe that you have free will in this world, that''s the furthest from the truth. Anything and everything which pertains to this realm is controlled by the fate in this realm. There is not such thing as truly being in charge of your own destiny. Everything you do is this universe has been written already. All you can do is follow those rules without making yourself realize that you''re being controlled. The moment you realize that you''re being controlled and actually believe it is when you''re able to live freely. You''ll realize that there truly is no way out of this hell you call your life. All you can do is let your body work on its own as it tries to find itself a place inside this world. All while that happens, allow yourself to relax and put your mind into auto pilot. That way you won''t have to worry about anything which may cause you stress. While everyone sees you as the average person, you''ll be relaxing as you''ve accepted that date is the only thing which truly dictates this world. Any king, queen, prince or princess would be able to truly rule over people as in the end, they are only capable of holding the power in their possession due to fate. If it wasn''t in their destiny to be a king, they wouldn''t have been born a king. If it wasn''t in their destiny to be a criminal, they wouldn''t have been a criminal. All things in this world only take place due to fate. As such, you must be wondering if someone can truly be blamed for their actions. Well technically not. Of course everything has been written out for them before they were even born so who can blame them. However most do not hold this type of thought process as the most believe that it doesn''t matter why something happens, if it''s violent, they do not agree with it. In some circumstances, it might be the opposite. Nevertheless, I''m getting side tracked. What matter right now is the fact that you stay alive. You need to do everything in your power to stop Henry. I wish I could''ve been there to say this to you myself but I am truly sorry for my actions. Because I was born in the wrong period of time, you are now left to deal with the problems which in couldn''t. Once again, I''m truly sorry. No child should ever have to go through what time gone through. It truly pains my heart to place such a burden on you. However even though it is one of my greatest regrets in this world, I wouldn''t change any part of it. Specially because if I were to change it, I would cause the entire time line to crumble into dust. I hope you can find it In your heart to forgive my selfish decisions. I didn''t mean to cause so much pain and suffering. The training you''ve gone though as well as all the emotions you must be feeling must be a lot to deal with. In all truth, I wish I could have done more for you, however due to the time gap between when this letter is written to the date it will be received is just much too long. I will be long gone when you receive this letter. Although I am making it sound as if I am a villain in this situation, that not true at all. Everything I''ve done so far has been for the sake of helping you in your mission. In truth, you would have always wanted to have helped the people which will die if you abstain from this battle. The only reason which you may be feeling hesitant is due to the fact that you found out that all your actions since birth were being controlled. However this isn''t entirely true. In all fairness, all humans are being controlled by fate. No one truly has the powers to change fate. Even if someone where to randomly throw a bottle to test their theory, that wouldn''t be a random action. Instead it would be considered sort of fate as if that person wasn''t willing to doubt the explanation which I gave right now, they wouldn''t have had the urge to test the theory out, if they hadn''t done that, they wouldn''t have had the answer to their question to prove if they are truly being controlled by fate. Like I mentioned before though, only a certain few can see the lines of fate. Everyone is controlled by it and only a few people can walk though it. There are the group which I mentioned before which allows to push themselves earlier so that they are not held by the confines of fate. I am one of those people. I somehow managed to tap into the future sight type magic which I am grateful for since I will now be able to stop the destruction of the world. The important part is that you shouldn''t doubt yourself or your beliefs. In the end, the only way to truly escape being controlled by fate and destiny is to believe so much in yourself that you start to believe that even destiny itself is no match for you. Such overwhelming power and aura that everyone around you will be forced to follow you. That''s the type of man this world needs. Specially considering what your father''s secret art is, you''ll need something along those lines ti defeat him. All I have to say that you should be careful round him. He is not the man to hold back just because you are his son. He will do anything and everything in their power to defeat you. Sincerely, Sin Chapter 202 - Interesting "Umm, well that was interesting. I mean the letter could just be something you created using a secret art or a magical spell which I don''t know about. However I am not going to bother with investigating you. I trust that this is the real deal. However due to that, I would like to look into this just a bit further," said Julius as he flipped though the next couple pages of the book as he quickly skimmed through it in search of a specific topic although Duke-Drake wasn''t sure what that topic was. "Well, as long as you return to your senses, that''s Al I''m looking for. However if you wish to continue to look through this book, please feel free to do so. All I want from you is your assistance and if you spending a couple extra minutes reading the journal of the family line which gave you your powers will help with that, feel free to take as long as you wish," said Duke-Drake as he encouraged Julius to do as he pleased which Julius did in fact plan on doing. After looking through the boom for quite a while, Julius reached the last couple of pages where his eyes widened as his hands stopped flipping through the pages. Julius had found what he was looking for which brought joy to him. The information which Julius was looking at read like this. ... ... ... Dear Julius & Sin, I hope you two are finally happy that you got what you want. You ruined the lives of so many just to stop this war which cannot even be proven to be coming. I mean for all anyone knows, what Sin said could be a blatant lie to ruin the lives of multiple generations. Although I shouldn''t really care anymore. My life is reaching the end anyway. My body was forced to age at 5 times the speed it would have usually all for the sake of creating the tool which was supposed to be passed on to Julius. My life had to rot away while everyone else didn''t have to do anything but just the very basic and simple stuff. Since the day I was born, I was tortured constantly by my father who forced me to repeat that I was just a tool thousands of times every day. At first I didn''t understand what the goal of that was but in just a couple months, I was so absorbed into the idea of being merely but a tool for for you people, I stopped thinking of myself as human. Anytime I got injured or sick, I simply ignored it as tools and objects cannot get sick. Their job is to preform the task they were given. If they could not complete the task that they had been given, that makes them completely and utterly useless. In all honesty, that was what I believed about myself. I willingly nearly killed myself by forcing myself to learn a countless amount of spells and secret arts. Even though my mind was on the brink of breaking down every single day, I didn''t give up for even a second. I thought of myself as simply a tool and nothing else. That''s the corruption that you two have caused upon me. And what''s even worse is that I won''t be able to hear both of you greedy people say thank you to me. You''ll never know my name, what I looked like or how I lived my life. Well Sin might be able to but Julius, I can already sense that you''re going to be quite the troublesome person to deal with. When I think about it, I''ll be kidnapping a literal child from the royal family just a few days ahead of the date which i am writing this letter. I''m a bit glad that I decided to wait this long to write it. After al, my fate was decided long before I was born. As such, anything and everything I do has been seen from the future. As such, it doesn''t matter what I do or how I act, I know that there will be no dire consequences since all my actions are being controlled. It''s a bit sad when I think about it but at the same it, it''s quite a burden to not be able to know if anything I do is decided by myself and not the deeds of Sin. However that''s not really important since in exchange for my fate, I can do whatever I wish since all my actions are being controlled. Plus I''ll be getting killed soon so I don''t really have anything to look forward to. This feeling reminds me the time where I had feelings for someone. I mean I would never get a chance to speak to her so there''s really no point in holding it in anymore. It''s truly unfortunate. If I ever got the chance to live a normal life, maybe I would be brave enough to tell her how I feel. This isn''t just about being brave though. After all, no matter how much courage I have, it will amount to nothing in the end. I have a task to accomplish and once I have completed that, all I''ll have left to do is bring my life to an end. I wish I could''ve lived a different life. Nevertheless, there''s no point in of tiring myself any more than I already have. My goal should now be to accept what I must do. It''s not my fault and neither is it anyone else''s. It''s simply the way which things were meant to happen. Although everyone wishes to change certain parts of their lives. They can''t really do anything expect do the same thing they''ve been doing their whole life every day once again. No one has the power to bend fate. I mean expect Sun himself since he can see past that due to his precautional abilities. As such, the only choice for the rest of us is acceptable. Anyway, that''s enough of a rant from me. I just had to get some things off my chest. I''ll be doing the job which I was assigned even before birth soon. I hope that makes the two of you happy. Sincerely, Bell Chapter 203 - Well "Well that was quite the story to read. Although now I get a little sense of what they felt. I guess that those two''s stories is going to be as interesting as the book gets. At least I got the information over sought out for so long though. I couldn''t have ever imagined that the person who kidnapped me at a young age was going through so much pain and suffering. Not that it matters. I mean there was literal people who are at the ready to go into an all out war and fight to the death while he''s complaining about not having a leisurely life in which he would be would be able to live happily with the girl of his dreams. Wow he had it easy. Imagine if the only thing one had to worry about was the girl which they like. Things would have been so much simpler. Instead I''m thrown into a plan which I was never told about and be manipulated for my entire life. He said that he thought of himself as a tool however now, all I''m seen as is a tool as well. The only reason which Henry doesn''t want to kill me is because he believes that I could make quite the valuable asset. All he cares about is increasing his wealth and power which is one of the reasons why I hate him so much. He''s never taken into consideration on how I feel and what I wish to do. Bell had no right to refer to himself as a tool as more than anything, people hate it when I''m not useful to them. If that quality of mine isn''t present for them to exploit, I am thrown away like a piece of trash. That is my duality," said Julius in an angry tone as he couldn''t bear to listen to someone who went through significantly less than him talk about going through so much pain. This was because he believed that if he could get through something, everyone else could as well. As such, Julius found it infuriating when someone like Bell claimed to be have been treated like a tool when he never actually went through the same or equal to the pain Julius went through. "Okay Julius, relax now. There''s no reason for you to get frustrated. It was just a journal written by an old man. There''s no need to for you to go that far," Duke-Drake said to Julius in hopes of making the king calm down and prepare for the battle that he was going to be heading in to shortly. Although Julius was still not in the right mind set, he began to calm himself to allow Duke-Drake to speak and explain to Julius what would take place in just a couple minutes. "Okay, thank you for actually listening to me. Anyway, I should mention that in the outside world, what you''ll see instead what you left off with. You won''t be having Steven, Spike, Rosie, Liam as well as all the others on your side anymore. What is awaiting you in the outside world is a large army comprising of not only your enemies but also your comrades as well. Henry has finally used his ultimate power, that being a heaven tier secret art much like the one which you have under the name ''Julius'' judgment''. That secret art allows him to covert any enemies which are aren''t too much stronger than he is under special conditions into friends which will fight for him whenever he even thinks that he''s in danger. Your comrades wouldn''t even need to receive a command from him as even the slightest intention of hatred towards you will case them all to leap at you at once and apprehend you. To make things worst for you, they''ll all be boosted from their original strength with means that you''re dealing with a much better improved version of your army," Duke-Drake continued to explain to Julius. "So what I propose to you is that instead of going into battle once again while having nearly no control over your emotions, allow me to take control of your body once again. Allow me to merge with it and in turn cause your white form to activate once again. Let us unlisted true hell onto them," Duke-Drake offered to Julius an offer which couldn''t be denied for several reasons. The only way for Julius to actually be victorious in the battle ahead of him would be to I trust his body onto Duke-Drake and allow him to do as he pleased. "Sure. However I would like that you do not harm anyone which I may want to keep alive. That includes everyone from my army," Julius said to Duke-Drake with was a bit surprising. Not due to the fact that Julius wanted Duke-Drake to do his job while keeping many people safe but because of the people Julius didn''t want to be saved. The reason why it didn''t matter how many people Julius wanted to keep alive was because there was a secret art which would allow Julius or more specifically, Duke-Drake to highlight all the people he wanted to keep safe quickly so that he wouldn''t kill them and everyone else could be seen as the enemy. "Wait, what about Jun, Vivi, and even Roger? I mean they didn''t really do anything bad to you. They were just forced to join his side. I bet that they would love to join up with you once again if we just manage to get Henry to deactivate his secret art," Duke-Drake said to Julius as he tried to reason with him. After all, it didn''t make sense as to why Julius would be so harsh on the people who he built such close connections with. "Did I mention those people to be one of the people which I want spared?" Julius asked with a grin to which Duke-Drake shook his head in disagreement. "Exactly. Kill everyone who is not a part of my army," Julius told Duke-Drake to which the glowing white figure had a grin on his face as well. "Let the fun begin!" Chapter 204 - Eyes Julius'' eyes opened wide once again as he finally awoke from his state of slumber only to find that he was completely surrounded by not only Henry''s group but also his own comrades which gave him a somewhat distasteful look as if he was a disgusting pig. "I hope you enjoyed your little nap because from this point forward, we''ll make you experience true hell," said Henry as he looked down at his son which was still laying on the ground with the most bored and blank expression. "So you think this will be easy huh? Okay then, just lay down there and lets see if this battle will be as easy as you believe it will be," said Henry with an angry smirk as he wanted to be taken seriously but he also knew that after Julius experienced some of the attack power which his own comrades would throw at him, he would quickly change his mind about being so arrogant. "Go, kill him," Henry commanded. Of course he didn''t want them to kill Julius and only wanted them to injure him to the point where he wouldn''t be able to resist. Due to the way in which Henry''s secret art worked, that message would be conveyed to his new subjects even though it wasn''t said by him and was only intended. The first person to rush towards Julius was Steven which was already in the mood for battle. However due to being under Henry''s secret art, he decided to use that ambition on Julius instead of for Julius. "Oh, I guess this should be fun. Although I should probably take extra precautionary measures," said Julius who in reality was Duke-Drake operating the body of Julius. Instantly, Julius'' hair turned white as it once again pointed towards the sky. His eyes turned sad while their colour changed to the same as Julius'' hair. A white jumpsuit that gleamed began to cover Julius as if he was wearing a superhero suit. "I should technically be taking this seriously, however Julius has gone through far too much. Maybe it''s time I take care of him for once. I''ll allow him to rest for a bit. Just until he can gather his thoughts and be in condition to take over once again. As for now, I should have some fun," Duke-Drake said to himself as he looked at Steven who was still charging towards him. "Oh no, how unfortunate. I would have loved to kill you right here and wipe that arrogant look off your face but under Julius'' rules, I am not allowed to do that. So be grateful as you will leave this place alive. Although I can''t guarantee that you''ll be great shape after I''m done with you," said Julius with a smirk before moving towards Steven. With both of them approaching each other, they would meet sooner than expected. Steven reached his arm forward as he prepared to punch Julius'' jaw but that came to an abrupt stop as Julius simply brought a single finger, that being his index finger, forward before lightly tapping Steven''s hand. In what could only be described as a literal instant, Steven''s body stopped moving completely as the time warping effects of the white form which Julius took on was activated so that it would only affect Steven. "What now? Where did all that confidence go? You can''t attack me anymore. How does it feel to be nothing more than an object that''s at the mercy of their opponent? Must be feeling pretty pathetic," Julius mocked Steven before spitting on his head and moving forward towards Henry. Seeing what Julius had just done which should have been nearly impossible. Henry began to lose his cool as he couldn''t think of a single way to defeat an opponent which had complete control over the way in which time operated. "Please just calm down Julius, there''s no need for you to go that far. Let''s just sit down and have a talk for a moment," Henry offered as he could sense that if Julius laid his hand on him for even one second, Henry''s life would be ended in a mere instant. "Don''t worry Henry, let me take care of this," said Jun as he stepped up in front of Henry to take on their common enemy. That being Julius. <> <> <> <> Right after activating both secret arts at the same time, even Julius could feel the terrifying power which was about to face him. Mary''s body began to get fuelled by the secret art w that Henry had cast on her. Although Duke-Drake was not worried at first, now her was thinking if he got to cocky and underestimated his opponents. Due to how experienced Duke-Drake was, he instantly knew that 2 heaven tier secret arts were at play. Due to that, he had no choice but to unleash all his power all at once. The only problem was that he didn''t know if with all of that if he could defeat the new Mary. With every second that passed, Julius could feel Mary growing in power as hai presence alone was starting to suffocate him. As such, Julius knew what he needed to do, that being to eliminate Mary as soon as possible. Without wasting any more time than he already had, Julius leaped quickly towards Mary so he could kill her with a single blow, that way, she wouldn''t be able to be a threat to Julius any longer. After all, eliminating all the threats to Julius was Duke-Drake number one priority. Although Julius did in fact make direct contact with Mary''s body, it did not go as he had planned as Mary didn''t even look like she took any damage. To make things worse for Julius, it seemed like she just kept growing in power. Although it did seem like Julius hasn''t done any damage to Mary at all, that would be proven wrong as he spotted a small cut on her face which Julius thought to be a huge accomplishment for some reason. However it wouldn''t be that easy to cause permanent damage to Mary as she didn''t plan to make Julius'' life easy by making him confident. After what he had made her go through, Mary had only one plan. That being to make Julius experience the most horrible, unbearable pain the world had to offer. "Dammit, looks like the second secret art did in fact give her the ability to heal from any wounds. Although I hate to be on the losing side, I have to give these two credit for backing me into a corner. Although if this was all I was capable of, I wouldn''t be the real Duke-Drake," said Julius as he wasn''t about to let himself be defeated so easily.. As such, he had a plan to come our victorious in his battle. Chapter 207 - Judgment <> <> Left with no other choice but to use his ultimate technique, Julius allow himself to relax and allow everything to be done for him. He didn''t want to continue battling someone which he clearly didn''t like. Even in general, Julius didn''t want to be in battle in that moment. All he wanted to do was allow everything which cause him pain to disappear. As such, for the first time in his life, Julius preformed his ultimate secret art, that being his heaven tier secret art which caused death to anything it touched on his own. This meant that for the first time, Julius wasn''t knocked out when he resorted to his final attack. A light wave began to surround him and Mary as it absorbed the two of them but not anyone else. Due to Duke-Drake being in control of Julius'' body, he was able to make it so that the range of the attack didn''t continue to increase after it had absorbed its intended target, that being Mary. "Now Mary, say your goodbyes, you won''t have to live in this world where you would be chasing the shadow of others. Whether it was me, Henry or even your own sister, Vivian, it would no longer matter to you since you''ll be dead. Join the one who you care about in the after life. This is no longer a place for you," said Julius to Mary as he expected her to die instantly. However like as most things that happened to Julius, things didn''t go as he had planned. Without even flinching for even a second, Mary simply punches Julius so hard in the face that it sends him flying towards a wall where he is slammed into it and left there to suffer in pain. However that break wouldn''t last much longer as a second later, Mary leaped towards Julius before grabbing him by the head and slamming him into the wall again and again. By that point, Julius was in enmesh pain so he tried to pull Mary''s hand off his head but to no avail and Mary continued to slam his head for a straight minute. Julius now being infuriated simply grit his teeth and placed his feet on the wall which he was being slammed into before using that to push himself towards Mary so that it would confuse her and allow her to let go of Julius which in fact did work but caused something worst. That being the wrath of Mary. Before he had enough of torturing Julius, he had somehow escaped from her grip. As such, he was more infuriated than ever and planned to do her worst. Seeing Julius even look alive brought Mary so much anger that she didn''t know what to do with her self. All she wanted to do was kill, kill and kill. Due to her already being infuriated and being given all that extra power which kept increasing drive Mary past the point of insanity. She was no longer a human but another monster plus creature which needed to be eliminated from the world. "How disappointing. I was looking to converse with you some more but at the rate you''re going, that won''t be possible anymore. As such, I must bring this to an end now," said Duke-Drake with a sigh of disappointment which proved that he could have taken care of Mary even in her demonic state if he had ever wanted to. After he said those words, Mary simply continued to grow with anger to the point where she grit her teeth so hard that they had began to bleed and blood could be seen coming out of her mouth. "How disgusting. You look like a mad dog. You don''t even deserve to die at the hand of one of my magical spells. I shall bring this to an end at once," said Julius as he placed his index finger on the Mary which now was a muscular giant due to her being bombarded with so much strength boosts. After doing so, Julius had caused Mary to stop right where she was he had using his time altering abilities to stop her from moving. However that wasn''t the real reason although it was part of it. The real reason as to why Julius had used that ability was so that he could stop one of the two heaven tear secret art which was placed on Mary to stop working momentarily. That being the secret art which allowed her to heal from any wound nearly instantly. Due to that, Julius wouldn''t have been able to defeat hear no matter how hard he tried as she could simply regenerate from nothingness. As such, Julius needed to get rid of the core of his problem, that being Henry''s secret art. Although Julius could have just killed Henry to deactivate it, he decided to keep Henry alive until the end so that when he killed him, it would be the icing on the cake. However there was also the possibility that the heaven tier secret art would stay active even after the death of its user since it affected someone else. Either way, Julius had brought a stop to his main problem which mean that the rest of his job was relatively simple. That being to kill Mary. Seeing as his task was long overdo, Julius simply walked in front of Mary and looked her dead in the eyes with a blank expression as his white hair swayed back and forth in the air as his white eyes stared into her soul. Without even the slightest bit of remorse, Julius twisted Mary''s head in a clockwise motion before snapping it right off her head and killing her. After doing so, Julius unfroze her to see if Henry''s secret art would still allow her to regenerate but thankfully, it didn''t do that as her body was killed before it could regenerate. As such, Mary way no longer a threat that Julius would need to worry about any longer as she was dead as now she would be able to speak to Hendrick whom she cared so much for. Although Mary might have gotten peace, that wasn''t the case for Vivian and Jun which now had to take revenge. Chapter 208 - Why "Why you?!" Vivian began to yell as she began to charge towards Julius in an angry manner so that she could use everything in her arsenal to defeat Julius right then any there. Due to her having the feather of eternity at her disposal, she was already dangerous and now that she had just witnessed the death of her sister which for some reason she randomly started caring about, Julius was left with no option but to eliminate her as well. "Please do not hold any grudges against Julius. I don''t know why you decided to switch sides to help the opponent but you can only blame yourself for your fate. Try not to die to easily Vivian," said Duke-Drake as he spoke out of Julius body while warning the current grandmaster that he wouldn''t be holding back against her. "I doubt I''ll have to rely on actually using any secret arts. I think that my hands alone should be enough to get the job done," Julius said to himself before clenching his fists and preparing to literally punch a hole right though Vivian''s chest. "Not so fast," said Julius as he whispered into Julius'' ear was startled Duke-Drake quite a bit as that was the last thing he would have expected. "Dang, this is going to be more troublesome than I thought. Having to deal with both of them and having to account for any and all events which might take place is nearly impossible. All I have to do is finish this quickly Zo the faster I kill them, the better-" Julius began to say to himself before a suddenly interruption caused him to stop his thought process. <> Using this secret art, Jun was able to summon countless amounts of trees and bushes. However they were not merely some ordinary bushes that simply stood in their place. These plants were special in the way the grew to wrap themselves around Julius and extend their branches and leaves to suffocate their enemy. No matter how hard Julius tried to fight them off and remove the off his body, it was all pointless as they kept growing back and torturing him. As such, Julius decided to take the battle just a little more seriously. "Special Trait: Forest Fire" When Julius activated this special trait which he received after consuming one of the many monster cores which he ate non stop inside the dungeon he was in for 3 years, his entire body began to glow red as that was where the monster core''s activation taking place. That being inside Julius himself. After activating his special trait, Julius was able to burn away all of the greenery that was summoned by Jun to hold off Julius for just a bit. That plan of Jun did in fact work as right after Julius escaped from the greenery, he was hit by another devastating attack but this time it was created by Vivian. <> Using this secret art, Vivian turned some of the ground around her into liquid metal before throwing it at Julius and allowing it to quickly harden so that it would get the shape of Julius and incase him in it like a trapped sculpture. The liquid metal was already hot so that it would cause very painful burns to anyone who even touched it in the least. Anyone expect Julius. Due to the large power different between the two opponents, it wouldn''t have mattered if Vivian had repeated the same secret art to an unconscious Julius over and over again until she eventually passed out from exhaustion. Julius would still be able to break out of the metallic encasement she had make for him. As for the temperature of the liquid metal, to Julius, it only felt like lukewarm water on his body. No matter how hard she tried, Vivian would not be able to cause any severe damage to Julius. After waiting for some time to see if anything special would happen, Julius broke out of the metallic encasement that was made for him as he had wanted a bit more action but was disappointed to find out that the real attack fo Vivian was just a plain encasement as if Julius was just some random toy that needed to be stored in a mold. With quite the disappointed look on his face, Julius simply walked up to Vivian and slapped her so hard that she instantly fell to the ground not because she lost control over her feet but because the force of the slap was so hard that it basically commanded her to go on the ground at once. "Be careful not to lick the ground," said Julius as he mocked Vivian. "Back off," said Jun as he leaped into the air before kicked Julius in the cheek only for Julius to stand still and not even move a single inch. "Huh? You''re still here old man? I thought you learned your lesson by now but I guess I better show you that no matter what you do, you''ll never be on the same level as me," said Julius as he grabbed Vivian by the neck and lifted her in the air while squeezing down on her throat. No matter how hard she tried, Vivian couldn''t breathe. As much as he struggled for a single breathe of air, Vivian could not do it as Julius was squeezing her neck so hard that her airways where completely blocked. "Please let go of her! She''s all I have! You''ve already taken Mary from me. I never even got the chance to build a proper relationship with one of my daughters. Please don''t take her away from me before I can atone for the things I''ve done. I just want her to forgive me," said Jun as he began to cry so that Julius could spare Vivian who was the only family that Jun had left.. Due to his history with his daughters, Jun wanted to make it up to them after the conclusion of the war but by the way things were going, Jun would never get that opportunity as proven by Mary. Chapter 209 - Live "So you want me to let her live even after you''ve both tried to kill me multiple times? That''s quite the request to place on me. I mean do you seriously have no pride left that you''re begging the man which you''ve tried to kill multiple times to spare the life of someone you care about? You really can''t get more hopeless than that. Although I can''t really blame you. You''ve always been a selfish old man. One that only cares for himself and what he cares about. If it doesn''t benefit you, you don''t care about it. Even so, you still act like a generous person who''s goal is to help others bloom when in truth, you simply enjoy watching from the sidelines as others fight to the death. My guess is that you derive pleasure from the sorrow of others which makes you a sadist. I never took you to be that way but I guess you always end up learning something new," said Julius as he continued to get calmer and calmer which gave the impression that he would be willing to let Vivian live even though he never stated that or implied that for even a second. "Are you seriously going to let her live?! Thank you so much for being so generous! I cannot express how grateful I am. I will run away from here right now and never look back. Please, if you ever need anything from me, you know where to find me. I will put my own life on the line to assist you," said Jun as he thanked Julius for sparing Jun''s daughter however Julius simply gave Jun quite the confused look as if he didn''t understand what Jun was saying. "Why do you look so confused? I mean you''re going to let my daughter live right? Please tell me you are. She''s all I have in their cruel world," said Jun to which Julius simply bursted out laughing as he couldn''t contain himself any longer. He couldn''t believe the words that were coming out of Jun''s mouth. "How are you going to bring up that this world is cruel when you''re literally living scum? You''ve never done anything good in your life. All you do is trample over the lives of others while acting innocent. You never regretted doing what you did to both your daughters. You only want them to forgive you so that you could manipulate them. That''s all you''ve always wanted to do. You toy with others and use them as tool by building relationships with them in which you make them believe that you''re their only source of happiness. As such, they become willing to give up their life for you. You really are living trash Jun," said Julius as he called out Jun for what he was trying to do. "You were probably going to try to guilt both Mary and Vivian into thinking that you''re a good person then use them both in the war all to help out Henry. I can''t believe that you would be willing to sacrifice your own two children just to help out Henry. Although seeing as how you think, it shouldn''t be that surprising. You''ve always valued yourself more than others. As such, you''ve entrusted your life to Henry and exchange, you do everything that he tells you to do like a loyal dog. You''re simply being used by him but you think that you''re using him instead. The amount that you lose compared to what you gain is far too large of a gap to consider the situation you''ve placed yourself in a way in which you manipulate Henry. In the end, the master manipulator was always being manipulated like a puppet," said Julius as he continued to call Jun out on everything that he did which Duke-Drake believed to be disgusting behaviour. "But how?" Jun asked in a terrified tone. Most would have thought that Jun was asking how he could be blamed of so many things which a scumbag would do when he was just the average nice old man. However the words which Jun stated had a different meaning which only Duke-Drake understood. That being that Jun wasn''t asking why Julius accused him of so many harsh things. That was far from what Jun was asking. In truth, Jun was asking how Julius found out about all of those actions which meant that Jun didn''t plan to deny not even a single one since they were all true. Jun didn''t even bother with trying to lie himself out of his situation as there was something else clearly at play which would allow Julius or more specifically Duke-Drake to know all the secrets which Jun swore to take to his grave as all the deeds which Jun committed were all which scum of the worst committed. "Oh so I was right. You did in fact do all those things. The reason being that you believe Henry will protect you under any conditions. Well, that was quite entertaining. So I might as well just tell you how I found out all these things. It''s simple really. I''ve know about this for quite a while. There were just a few instances where your existence didn''t make any sense. There were those who loved you more than their own families and then there was those who despised you. it just didn''t make sense on how people could have such different outlooks on the exact same person. As such, I decided to do some investigating of my own and found some stuff about you that are less than pleasant. If you''re wondering what I used to find out those things about you, it''s magic. Nothing too complicated. I just used the very thing which was available to me and used it to find out everything which you did in your life while Julius was operating his own body. It seems like it was useful since I mangers to find all this out.. Now it doesn''t matter how nice you try to act towards me, I''ll always know that you''re just a lying, selfish scumbag," Julius told Jun. Chapter 210 - Ruin "So it''s come to this huh? Well I guess you''ve ruined everything for me. Now I can''t even get Vivian to side with me since she knows the truth as well. I''m a bit disappointed to say the least. I would''ve like to live peacefully for just a little longer but u guess I need to restart once again. I''ll have to find new people to trust me then use them all to fight my battles for me. It shouldn''t be that difficult though. I already got experience from doing it to my daughters as well you you," Jun said to Julius. "I mean you only have yourself to blame-" Julius began to speak before quickly getting cut off as Henry leaped towards him while Julius was distracted and grabbed Julius by the face before throwing him off to the distance. "Nice one. I knew I could always depend on you," said Jun as he thanked Henry for saving his life from Julius which was planning to kill both Vivian as well as Jun at the same time. Of course Julius also planned to kill Henry, Roger as well as anyone else which would be considered an enemy however during that time frame, Julius was focused on something else. That being to kill Jun first. "So you''ve also finally decided to join the battle as well. I might as well start going all out as well. There''s no point in holding back," said Julius while running towards Henry as he didn''t want to waste any time. All Julius wanted to do was to kill everyone who wasn''t considered a comrade as quickly as possible then get away from there. His plan wasn''t to play around or anything. All he was send to do was to kill a certain few individuals. Although he did get distracted on his journey, Julius was now taking his job seriously and was now prepared to take on both Henry as well as Jun and also anyone who had the courage to stand up to him as well. Without wasting any time, Julius leaped high in the air which was a bit confusing as Henry was right in front of him. It didn''t make sense as he would skip over a whole person like it would make a different. However it did in fact makes things different as Julius was never aiming to attack Henry first. In fact, his real target all along was none other than Jun. Seeing as how he had caused him a lot of trouble as well as pain, he needed to be the first one to be killed. Julius quickly reached for the neck of Jun and snapped it in half before anyone else could stop it. Vivian who was now on the ground as her legs were too weak to continue simply cried as she mourned the dead''s of both her father as well as sister. No matter how much she cursed Julius out of pure hate, it made no different as he was took the one winning the battle. After killing Jun, Julius simply kicked Henry back so that some distance could be created between the two of them. "Well, well, would you look at that. You said you would protect him from anything and he believed you. Look where that got him. That''s truly unfortunate. He was killed before he even realized what was going on. I mean that''s what he gets for trusting a liar such as you," said Julius as he spoke to Henry. "I presume that you''re still angry about the fact that I was never in your life despite being your biological father? If so then it doesn''t make any sense for a couple. The first is that you shouldn''t get mad at me. I mean I rule over the entire kingdom. Guess who has to regulate everything inside the kingdom and make sure that everything is in order. I''m also the person who keeps peace around this place. Without me, this entire kingdom would be in ruins right now, there''s really no reason for you to blame me for my actions," said Henry as he tried to reason with Julius while using a passive aggressive tone as he didn''t quite believe wrath he was in the wrong and that Julius was the one that should have been apologizing for his actions. "You''re really that self centred that you think it works like that in this kingdom? You''re more than a useless father. I can''t believe that you actually thought that was a good reason for as to why you literally skipped out on my entire life. You didn''t even bother to say hello once a year or something. I was never never a single explanation or anything. And you genuinely believe that you''re in the right?" Julius began to ask as the presence of Julius began to overtake that of Duke-Drake. "First of all, all the points which you mentioned are completely invalid. The only thing which actually keeps peace inside the kingdom are the royal guards. Although they are not technically The strongest in the kingdom, they still outclass many of the people in this world so they can defend others if they wished. Even so, if you wanted to take credit for even the slightest bit of peace kept in this kingdom because of you, that wouldn''t even involve you actually doing something. It only literally includes your name. People don''t fear you. They fear the idea of you. If you think about it, nearly no one knows who you are unless you tell them your tittle of king. The parents tell their children stories a powerful and brave warrior who became the king and saved the lands. You see, people only know you because if the stories written about you, no because of what you''ve actually done. No one has ever seen you use a cool power. In all truth, no one even knows who you are. I mean they know who the king of this kingdom is but it doesn''t make a difference.. In all honesty, Roger would actually make more of a believable king than you think people have actually seen him in person multiple times unlike you who randomly appeared out of no where like a father returning back into their child''s life after they found out their child had won the lottery," Julius explained to Henry. Chapter 211 - Ungrateful "Oh so you''re going to go that far huh? I see you''re not holding anything back like the ungrateful son you are. Do you realize just how privileged and spoiled you really are? Don''t ever forget that since you''re my son, you ended up living in the most luxurious place anyone has ever seen. You never had to worry about what you were going to eat or where you were going to go to sleep. You didn''t have to worry about doing chores and never even worried about having to find a job. Everything was given to you from the day you were born. Do you know why? Because you''re my son. No other child in this entire world is as privileged as you. While others have to go to sleep on the ground wondering if they''re going to east the next day, you stuff your face food with the finest foods this world has to offer before going to sleep on a bed big enough for a family to sleep on. It doesn''t matter if you don''t agree with the morals I hold but you have no right to judge me. You never had to go through any struggles. Even if I lived a life similar to yours as a kid, my life was turned up side down when I became king. Day in and day out, I had to over work myself In both training as well as regulating things in this kingdom," Henry began to speak as he talked about the struggles he had to face during his life. "Tell me Julius, have you ever wondered why you never went to see your grandparents? Well that''s because they''re all dead! You''re mom''s side of the family is different but my parents died when they went to battle a dungeon together. It was mis-ranked and they both died that day. Do you know how it feels to have both your parents die while you were a kid? I didn''t have anyone left for me. They both died when I was only 15. One of the butlers decided that he was going to claim their money and take over as king so he kicked my out of the castle and tried to rule the kingdom for himself. At the age of 17, I returned and tortured him until he took his own life. A year after that, I finished getting my life together and managed to stabilize myself. That was when my life went down hill again," Henry continued to speak about his life. "The day I turned 18 years of age. A random old man came to me and told me that I was his son and he was the real king of the kingdom. I hated him with my guts. Just looking at him make me sick however I couldn''t deny that he was much more powerful than me. As such, I tried to train on my own so that I could kill him one day. After failing countless times to reach the strength needed to kill him. I decided to get a mentor and that was when I found Jun," Henry continued to speak. "For so many years I trained every single day with the single goal of killing my real father. I used the excuse that I was training so that I could be a great king for my kingdom but that couldn''t be furthest from the truth. I despised him with every ounce of my body. When I was left all alone and had to train my heart out to reclaim the kingdom, he wasn''t there. When I was left alone to morn the deaths of my parents, he wasn''t there, all he returned to do was pass on the duties of king to me and retire in peace. There wasn''t a single day where I didn''t think about killing him and letting out all my pent up anger at him," Henry continued to rant to Julius. "So after years upon years of constant training to kill that man, I finally gave up. Jun''s training was just too hard for me to complete. However I kept trying in fear that my father would somehow be able to defeat me. But when I finally reached my limit, I returned back to the kingdom to face hun. At that time, I didn''t care if I lost the battle, all that mattered to me was that he would be dead by my hands. As such I rushed back to the kingdom to battle my biological father," said Henry. "After arriving, I crashed into the castle after killing the royal guards in the front before confronting my father. To my surprise, his menacing aura which has overwhelmed me the first time I met him was gone. It was as if I was facing just a regular human being. Nevertheless, I took the battle seriously right from the start and leaped towards him before punching a whole in his chest. To my disappointment and surprise, he was dead. I thought it was an illusion due to it being so easy to defeat him. In fact, I didn''t believe I had killed him for nearly a whole year. I couldn''t get any sleep during that time as I thought that he was hiding and waiting for the perfect moment to kill me. However after waiting so long and being sleep deprived for what felt like an eternity, I gave up. I would have rather died than have to live every day in my exhausted state. To my surprise once again, he didn''t appear to kill me. He was really dead. After that day, I stopped my training with Jun since I had no use for it. Although I was pretty strong at that time. I wasn''t nearly as strong as I would have liked to be. Which brings me to my next topic which I know you''re dying to know. That being where I was able to acquire such powerful secret arts.. Or if you''re more familiar with them, where I was able to obtain 3 heaven tier secret arts and how I am able to stay alive even after learning to use them," said Henry with a grin with made Julius'' eyes widen with curiosity. Chapter 212 - Look "By the look on your face, I assume that you would like to know where I was able to acquire such dangerous weapons and have them at my disposal. Well it''s your lucky day Julius. Since this will be the day in which you will die, I might as well tell you everything which you wish to know so that you are able to rest in peace," said Henry as he tried to taunt Julius while apse still trying to peak his interest. "You see, after I had killed my own father, I still sought out more power. I wanted to become the strongest human to ever live on this planet. As such, I needed to find away to option more power quickly so that I could remain unchallenged. However power like that isn''t easy to come by. Unless someone were to train relentlessly to achieve such a powerful state, it was nearly impossible to become that strong. As such, I decided to take a journey of my own to look for something, maybe a relic of the past which blesses one who touches it with seemingly endless amounts of power. I searched across the world with nothing to show for all my struggles. Due to my status as king, it was easy to get inside kingdoms and look for anything, even a single clue which might reveal a treasure of some king. Nevertheless, I was left with nothing. In just 3 years, I had spent all of the money I had set aside to go on this journey and had nothing ti show for it. In a heave of desperation, I decided to look in a place which I never thought to look into before. That being the 10th kingdom," said Henry which puzzled Julius since he had been to the 10th kingdom multiple times but still never found anything interesting. Specially something which would lead him into receiving power similar to what Henry had described. Even so, Julius didn''t bother to question Henry as he was till curious to learn more about what Henry was talking about and how he had gotten his powers. "Once I arrived there. I realized that the place was empty. There was nothing but empty lands everywhere. Even after searching the whole continent for a single area where humans might have lived, I couldn''t find a single thing. As such, instead of looking throughout the entire continent, I decided to go to the only place which most likely had any old relics. That being the actual kingdom inside the 10th continent. More specifically, the castle inside the kingdom as that was where the ruler of the kingdom would have resided 200 years ago and might have left some treasure behind before he was killed," Henry continued to speak of his journey inside the 10th kingdom. "That was probably the Mara test decision I could have made as the moment that I entered the kingdom, I realized that I had hit the jackpot. Not only was there an endless amount of gold and precious gems which would increase my wealth by at least 10 fold even though I''m the king but there were piles upon piles of books which seemed to have valuable information as they were mixed into the pile of treasure. To finish it off, there was a glowing bowl that had exactly 5 scrolls inside of it. It was heavily decorated as if it was the most precious thing in the entire world. At first I thought that the owl itself was the treasure but upon closer inspection, I realized that the real treasure of the castle were the scrolls inside the bowl itself," said Henry. "I quickly examined the scrolls thinking that they were nothing more than useless tools or an instructional guide on how to use all the money left however that was far from the truth. The moment I unraveled those scrolls, they latched on me without giving me a change to react which caused me to pass out instantly. I don''t know how long I was knocked out for but it was about 6 months. When I woke up though, I looked completely different. I wasn''t the same angry king which found the slightest things to get mad at. I was far from that, I learned to me much more collected. I had also lost weight but my muscles remained which helped me look even better. However after being amazed at my body for so long, I needed to know what had caused me to pass out at that time," Henry continued to speak. "When I I looked at the unwrapped scrolls on the floor, all I could see what that they were all blank. It was as if there was nothing special about them. However I still felt like I was missing something so I closed my eyes for a moment and allowed myself to relax. My body was still fatigued from being in a slumber like state for so long. However after closing my eyes, I could feel my body healing itself at unimaginable speeds. It was insane to think about as even the best healers which I knew in the world weren''t capable of healing at even a fraction of what I was able to do. That was when I realized that I had consumed a secret art. However even so, no secret art which I had heard of art that time was capable of doing something as unimaginable as that. As such, I began to search for answers. I began to quickly skin through the couple books that were in the room as I liked for answers. Luckily for me, the first book I grabbed had all the information which I needed." Henry continued to explain. "The book revealed the true history of the world as well as what a heaven tier scroll was.. Although I was first caught off guard by the information which I was consuming, I soon began to accept who I was and prepared to attain total control over this world just as I should have from the start," said Henry as he finished explaining to Julius how he was able to attain not 3 but 5 whole heaven tier scrolls. Chapter 213 - Ice Core "Wait you mentioned that you had 5 heaven tier secret arts yet so far I''ve only seen you use 3 of them. Does that mean that you still have 2 left which you still have at your disposal?" Julius who was just Duke-Drake in Julius'' body asked as he wondered if he would have to push himself even more just to deal with a pest like Henry. "Oh wow, it looks like you can actually do math even though your maturity is that of a child," said Henry as he mocked Julius. "Sure, I''m the immature one when you ran away from the responsibility of taking care of you child so that you could live your life. I''m the immature one when you tried to lie yourself out of a confrontation with your son. I''m the immature one when you couldn''t admit that you''re wrong and is just a selfish dead beat of a father who can''t admit that he''s a horrible person," said Julius. During this entire time, Julius and Duke-Drake would switch whenever they needed to as some times, Julius wanted to be the one to express his emotions and hatred for Henry. "Although it doesn''t really matter now, the battle is already over. I wish that you changed your mind and joined me in my conquest to rule the world just as our family was supposed to do. However in the end, I have resort to killing my own son. Please do not hate me for what I am about to do," said Henry as he had a lump in his throat as he prepared himself to kill his own son. <> <> <> <> Using his first, or technically 4th heaven tier secret art, Henry began to lift the surrounding ground around the castle which was blank due to Julius having erasing it so that he could show Mary just how weak she was compared to him. After lifting the ground in the air, Henry forced the ground to take a ball like shape as it floated in the sky above the castle which Julius as well as Henry were in. Due to all the debris flying everywhere, it caused the roof of the castle to be destroyed and tossed into the debris that was going into the giant meteor like ball that was floating high in the air. After doing this, Henry''s second or 5th heaven tier secret art took action as it quickly began to cover the outer layer of the meteor with a thick layer of ice. However, that wasn''t all as it went on to seep into the cracks inside the ball of debris before filling it as well this the hardest ice anyone could have imagined. "Goodbye Julius," Henry said as he pointed his finger towards the ground which told the meteor to begin falling towards the castle. Henry wasn''t worried about what would happen to himself if the meteor hit him though as he knew that even if it caused catastrophic damage, he would just regenerate from it using one of his 5 heaven tier secret arts. "Why are you saying goodbye as if this battle has already come to a close? We both know that I''m not that easy to defeat. I mean if I was really that weak, I wouldn''t be here right now in an all out war against you while I''m all alone," said Julius as he leaped in the air towards the meteor that was falling down towards the ground before attempting to punch it and in turn cause it to shatter into an uncountable amount of pieces. Unfortunately for Julius though, it became clear why the secret art that Henry had used was labelled as a heaven tier secret art as Julius wasn''t able to do not even a single scratch on the meteor which was coming down towards him. "Oh so you get it now? This battle was over the moment I said it was concluded. There was no point in you bothering to try and prove that you could actually take down the meteor let alone defeat me. As far as I know, you only have a single heaven tier secret art at your disposal while I have 5 times the amount of them that you have. This battle was always going to go in my favour," said Henry as he continued to belittle Julius as the seconds passed. "Wow, well that was interesting to say the least. I mean I expected it it to have a bit of resistance but this is just too much. Not that I can''t take care of it. It''s more troublesome now that I have to use more of my power but it doesn''t look like I have a choice," said Julius as he leaped towards the meteor once again however this time with a much calm demeanour as he finally stopped mid air right in front of the meteor. Julius simply placed his index finger forward and literally flicked the meteor with his bare finger. What was off was that instead of staying still and resisting Julius'' attempt to break it down, the meteor almost instantly shattered into countless amounts of pieces all at the same time as if it was weak glass that was hit with the strongest hammer that the world had ever seen. The meteor didn''t even turn into full debris pieces. Instead, it looked to be dust itself as that was how much damage Julius'' attack had caused to the meteor. "What the hell? How is this possible?! Just a moment ago you were knocked back like you were nothing but a mere insect however now you have the urge to be some big shot that''s able to take out the combined attack of 2 heaven tier secret arts just because you managed to block a meteor which I created. Don''t start getting so cocky. Both of us here know that the winner of this battle will always be the same. I will always come out on top," Henry stated as he taunted Julius. Chapter 214 - Good Old Days "Henry, I''m afraid you still don''t understand how powerful I really am. This is no longer a battle in which we are equals in the least. I am leagues upon leagues stronger than you. Just because I haven''t been using my full power to defeat you doesn''t mean that we''re equals or even worse, that you''re stronger than me. You don''t have even the slightest bit of a chance in detaining me. All I have been showing you so far is nothing more than a facade to trick you," said Julius as he took a final deep breath before signing. Julius was finally done messing around. With a snap of his fingers, everything in the world came to an abrupt stop. All that still could move was Julius and Julius alone. Anyone or anything else in the world, whether it was alive or dead, it couldn''t move, breath, speak or do anything which Julius didn''t allow it to do. Only Julius had control over the world in the moment. He was the true king. Some might even call him the king of time. After forcing Henry too stop in time, Julius leaped in the air before charging towards Henry at top speeds without stopping for even half a second. Right after leaping towards the king of the kingdom what Julius was currently in to take part in the war, Julius used both his feet while mid air to kick Henry in the ribs. At that point, Julius was literally stomping on Henry''s ribs although that didn''t matter as Julius couldn''t care less if he had hurt Henry. In fact Julius planned to do the same thing he had just done once again as he didn''t believe that Henry had received the punishment which he deserved. As such, without even bothering to waste any more time, not that Julius could actually waste time since it was frozen but nevertheless, Julius kicked Henry in the chest once again so that he could deliver even more plain than he had already done. ... After continuing to repeat this process for so long, Julius was finally ready to unfreeze time as he knew that the attacks which he had thrown at Henry hasn''t technically landed since Henry was still frozen in time however when he gets unfrozen, it makes ur so that all of the previous attacks all land at the same time on their opponent. That opponent being Henry. Just as Julius planned, after time began to move once again, Julius saw as Henry''s body moved in all directions as he was finally experiencing all the attacks which Julius had stacked on him. From what Julius had seen, it could be described as watching someone with a late reaction having to experience a devastating amount of attacks all at the same time. The constant movement of Henry made it clear that he was very helpless. Due to him also being distracted by trying to block hits that he was getting bombarded by, it gave Julius the perfect opportunity to get his revenge on Henry. ... "Behind you," said Julius with an evil grin as he appeared right behind Henry once the bombardment of attacks finally came to a stop. However while Julius had managed to accomplish his task of actually scaring Henry, something else happened which scared Julius himself. ... "How about you worry about what''s behind you," said Roger as he tried to cut through Julius'' neck right after saying those words but unfortunately for Roger, the gap in strength between Julius and Henry, let with someone as weak as Roger was far too large for a surprise attack ti work. As such, all Julius had to do was dodge the attack and literally back flip so that he would land behind Roger. Without wasting any more time, Julius kicked Roger at the back of his knees which make him lose his balance and fall to the floor as his ankles twisted form the sudden shock of having to fall in such a manner. "What now Roger? You really thought that a simple tactical such as that would be enough to take me down? Even though you''ve lived with me for so many years, it seems that even you don''t understand just how powerful I am. Although I can''t blame you. Have your fun with Henry and everyone else. However do not make an enemy of someone who you cannot defeat such as myself. There was just no way in any universe that you would be able to kill me," Julius explained to Roger. "Well I guess that brings our battle to a conclusion. Although I would have liked to see more from you guys, I shouldn''t have expected too much from you guys, I have to say I''m a little disappointed at how you turned out. I thought that you would be much stronger and actually place me in near dearth situations multiple times. However it seems like I was mistaken. I was from from how strong you really are. Well I worded that incorrectly, I should''ve said that I was disappointed in how weak you really were," said Julius as he mocked both Roger as well as Henry which were on the ground from exhaustion and humiliation. "Well from what I''m seeing now, it seems like you two have given up. So tell me, would you like a quick an easy death or would you prefer a longer one in which you die like true warrior. Not that means anything or changes anything as the war you die doesn''t dictate how you lived your life. The way you died is one of the most useless information to learn," Julius said as he gave both Roger and Henry a choice in which way they wanted to be killed. "Well well, you''ve gotten quite cocky just because I decided to let you have a little fun. Don''t be mistaken Julius, during this battle you might have won, however the war is just beginning," said Henry as he got up from the ground as if he was ready for round 2 and was willing to give it his all. <> <> Chapter 215 - King’s Slumber <> <> After activating yet another secret art, Julius was forced to watch as life itself began to pour into all the people who he had killed which included all the people who he placed inside a snow globe before crushing so that he could prove his strength to Mary. "What''s happening? This shouldn''t even be possible. I killed all of them so why are they all alive again?" Julius asked in a panicked tone as he didn''t want to repeat what he just did all over again just to end back where he started. "That''s a very good question Julius. You see, I''m quite glad that Vivian had taught me how to create secret arts. If not for that, I would have been finished right now. I mean you killed all of my strongest allies and were too close to killing me. However due to Vivian actually teaching me a life saver of a technique, I was able to bring them all back from the dead. Yes, you heard that right, I brought them all back from the dead meaning that you were successful in killing them all. However due to my new secret art, I was able to restart this entire battle, the only different being that you''re now much weaker than when we started. As such, it''ll be a lot easier to take you down," Henry explained to Julius. "Oh is that so? I would love to see you try-" Julius began to speak only to be completely stopped before he could finish his sentence. Right before Julius could have finished speaking, Steven quickly got up from the ground and rushed towards Julius before grabbing him by the neck as he used his forearm to push Julius towards the ground and sit on top of his chest as he continued to bombard him with a fury of punches. The odd part about this being that Steven''s attacks actually hurt Julius and were doing an exceptional amount of damage. "Get off me!" Julius yelled out before activating a special trait of fire to blow Steven off of his body so he could actually fight properly. However right as Julius did this, Mary came from behind him and stabbed him in the back of the chest with her bident which was now as good as new. After realizing that he had been stabbed in the back, Julius tried to turn around only for Mary to spin her bident and cause a large whole to form in Julius'' chest as blood poured out of his body like a fountain. "What the hell is happening to me?" Julius asked himself as he quickly used the special trait that was already activated to quickly seal his body shut by burning the whole in his chest so that the bleeding would stop and the feeling of passing out would go away. Since Julius had multiple special traits as well as secret arts for healing, he knew that he would be able to use the them later on to return his body back to the state it was at before Henry had caused all of his allies to be revived since Julius needed to focus on his offence instead of his healing capabilities. "Okay, I should start going all out," said Julius even though there was a literal whole in his chest. However before he could actually fulfill the promise he made to himself, Vivian appeared out of no where and shoved her blade inside Julius'' mouth before backflipping midair and kicking Julius in the chin so that the blade would go thought his nose and even make contact with his brain. Seeing as he was on the brink of death, Julius or more specifically, Duke-Drake began to panic as he never planned for the battle to go this way. He planned on defeating everyone there and killing them so that Julius could be satisfied with the outcome and would not be in a mentally unstable state. However seeing the way things were going for Duke-Drake, Julius wouldn''t be able to see the reality which Duke-Drake wanted to create for him. In fact, Julius wouldn''t be able to see anything in general as he was going to die soon. ... ... ... "I''m sorry Julius. I let you down. In the end, I wasn''t able to do anything for you, I just ended up making things worse than they already were. Please forgive me for causing things to end like this. It was never my intention to lose this easily," said Duke-Drake with clear regret in his voice as he didn''t want to die yet. If he allows Julius'' body to be killed, he would be the reason 200 years of planning would go to waste and that was the last thing he wanted. Although he had said this to Julius, Julius himself stayed quiet as he didn''t bother to respond to what Duke-Drake had said. "I see, so you must be that disappointed in me that you''re not even willing to talk to me. I understand, it''s my fault it ended this way after all," said Duke-Drake as he tried to stop himself from feeling an unimaginable amount of guilt. However as all this was going on In Julius'' head, Roger as well as Jun finally stepped up to get their revenge as they broke every single bone in Julius'' body which included his arms, legs, feet, hands, fingers, toes. They didn''t discriminate in which bone they wanted to break. As long as they found one, they broke it instantly. Nevertheless, Julius didn''t yell out even once even though he was experiencing true hell as they slowly and painfully broke each and every bone in his body. Next, Henry finally stepped up. Henry had about 9 different weapons in his hand, each from every great kingdom which he allied himself with. After that, Henry stabbed Julius with each of those weapons. Even the war hammer was pushed into Julius'' body so hard that it breached his skin and went inside his body. ... ... ... "It''s fine Drake, just let the real king take over now," said Julius as he opened his eyes wide as if he awoke from a long slumber. Chapter 216 - No Return Although Julius'' body was already past the point of no return due to him being on the brink of death after he had all his bones broken and his skin pierced by several weapons, he still opened his eyes as if he was most alive in the moment. Without wasting so much as another precious second of his time, Julius activated a secret art so that he would be able to return his body to its state before it had been broken so badly. <> Using this secret art, Julius was able to recover nearly instantly from all of his his previous injuries and could move as if he was as good as new. Just as everyone began to turn around as they had believed that they had killed Julius for good, they could hear the sounds of weapons dropping on the ground as Julius removed them from his body and continued to heal his body. "Huh? It can''t be," said Henry as he was baffled to learn that Julius was still ready to head into battle once again. "Haven''t you learned your lesson already? You shouldn''t even be alive right now however since you seem to like getting killed, I''ll allow you the pleasure of being killed once again. You should really be thanking me for giving you this pleasurable experience," said Henry as he believed that he would now be able to completely and utterly kill Julius once again and that there would not be a difference of outcome as compared to what had happened just a moment ago. However just a moment later, a large stampede could be heard outside the castle as an army which was of unimaginable size had just arrived to the kingdom. That could only mean one thing, it was Julius'' army which was being led by Knight which was one of the elite members of Julius'' army. "Oh looks like we have company. It seems like they''re looking for a battle. If a battle is what they want, a battle is what they''ll get," said Henry as he gave Vivian a nod to which she simply nodded back before activating a secret art. <> "Listen everyone from the meditation as well as the battling army! Our common enemy has arrived! You''ve been training hard for this battle, don''t let all of your efforts go to waste! Don''t hold anything back! Give it everything you''ve got!" Vivian announcement loudly as if she was using a microphone to inform everyone to go up against Julius'' army and defeat them. Due to her activating her secret art, it allowed her to speak normally but instead of it just being at normal volume, it would convey it to everyone in a certain area as if she was using a microphone to make an important announcement. After Vivian had made her announcement, a large roar could be heard in the crowd of people who were ready for war before going into a clash with Julius'' army. "Good luck Knight, prove that you are worthy of being a part of my elite force," said Julius before turning his attention away from his army as he was confident that they would be enough to take down all of the guild-masters from all the guilds in the world. Even though the guild-masters as well as the members of the battling army were much more likely to win, Julius thought to put some faith in his own army as he focused his attention on only the more important group that was present, that being Henry and all the others. Seeing as Julius had let his guard down for a little over a second, Spike rushed towards Julius at top speeds, before Julius could even turn his head around to get even the slightest hope of blocking the attack, Spike moved in close to Julius and prepares to throw a devastating punch right to the face. However, the moment before SpikeMs punch could land, Julius moved without even looking as he wrapped both his arms around Spike''s fist as he disassembled the punch and flattened Spike''s hand to be a regular palm instead of a fist. Without even bothering to worry about Spike or anyone else with that matter, Julius continued to move around like a snake without giving anyone a chance to grab on to him before placing Spike in a headlock. The scariest part was that Spike would have dealt with the situation almost immediately if anyone else had been using the technique from the point where it was displayed for the naked eye. The reason why this technique was so special wasn''t how badly it hurt the opponent, it was more about how it was done. The actual reasoning for this complex move for working in spike was that he was expecting an actual attack which allowed Julius to go in and press several pressure points on Spike which weakened the stableness of his body. It was so seamless that even though multiple people have seen the technique right in front of their eyes, none bothered to question it as they have believed that it had more to do with the movement of the technique instead of what was going on in the background. "Now, Spike, I''ll give you one more chance to back away or I''ll be forced to use another technique of mine to destroy you to the point where all your bones will be broken in less than 20 seconds," said Julius as he threatened Spike. Although this was quite terrifying threat to receive, most of the people who were in that room of the castle were more worried about where Julius had learned to preform moves like that. The answer being quite simple in that Julius had spent quite the long time in the other human civilization''s domain. That was where Julius had went from place to place as he went searching for new teachers constantly to help him improve his fighting techniques. It wasn''t until after a few months of doing this constantly that Julius had stopped.. Julius had nearly thousands of fighting techniques which were drilled into him and he still remembers. Chapter 217 - Threat Although Julius himself had given Spike a threat which meant that he planned on actually doing significant damage to him, Spike had no choice but to ignore Julius'' warns as he didn''t have a choice in the matter. Due to him still being under the control of Henry, Spike would have to forcibly walk into a situation where his death was guaranteed. "I see, so you''re not willing to back up huh? That''s fine then, I''ll just finish this battle off before it can go any further. Don''t worry though, I''ll be regenerating your body back to full health once this war has come to a close," said Julius as he began to slowly and seamlessly break multiple bones in Spike''s body. One by one, Julius broke as many bones as he could find while moving around like a slithery snake. After having nearly all his bones broken by Julius himself, Spike had no option but to sit down in a agony as he couldn''t even cry due to him being under the complete control of Henry. Nevertheless, Julius turned his attention back to his real enemy, that being Henry. Due to this, Ian and Steven both stepped up to protect their new leader. "So it''s going to be you two now? How interesting-" Julius began to speak only for the both of them to charge right at him while Ian attempted to latch on to Julius'' right leg and force him to fall on the ground while Steven went for Julius'' head as he wanted to punch it so hard that it would explode instantly. However Steven and Ian weren''t dealing with an inexperienced fighter as their actual enemy was Julius who had undergone intense training in which he would be forced to memorize how to deal with any type of fighting technique. That also included how to deal with two opponents at the same time in which one would go for his legs and the other one would go his his head. To deal with both Ian and Steven at the same time, Julius flipped his body upside down in which he used his legs to wrap around Steven''s neck and place him in a choke hold while he wrapped his arms around Ian''s neck while still being upside down. As such, placing his two enemies in a deadly position where they would be at his mercy. Due to Julius knowing that they were already his enemies and not having a care in the world no matter what he said, Julius allowed himself to let go of the feeling of pity which he had for them before as if he thought of them as comrades or foes, it wouldn''t have changed the way they thought of him as they were basically living robots which did as they were told. Hence Julius'' decision to place the both of the in their respective positions until both of them lost consciousness due to the absence of oxygen in their body. After forcing the two of them to be knocked out by him, Julius once again got up from the ground to face Henry, not being challenged by Liam, Rosie as well as Steph. However seeing how much time he had already wasted fighting the others, Julius decided to opt for a faster and more efficient way of disposing of his enemies, that being to simply do as much damage to them as possible without caring if they died. Julius was beginning to lose any remorse due to his excessive use of his powers, no matter how many times he knocked his enemies down, more of them would just show up or take their place. Julius was starting to feel sick of having to go through the same process over and over again to the point that he was starting to think that maybe killing off a few of his comrades wouldn''t have been that bad as it was a necessary sacrifice. If he didn''t kill them, they would kill him instead which would be the worst outcome as Henry would just continue to control them like the tools he saw them as. As such, if Julius was going to exhaust himself to the point where he would be losing his sanity, he needed to at least guarantee the lives of some of his previous comrades. Even if it wasn''t a lot of them, just a few would have been enough. Due to that me mentality, Julius decided that he would no longer hold back against the 3 new enemies which stood in front of him. In fact, he wouldn''t hold back against anyone in the room any longer. "Forgive me," said Julius as a single tear left his eyes before his chest began to glow a mix of orange and red. "Special trait: endless hellfire" Using this special strait, Julius spit out an endless fountain of what could only be described as pure hell. It had both a mix of magma and the strongest fire the world had ever seen. Without even thinking for a moment, each of the 3 opponents which Julius was facing tried to dodge his attacks. However Julius would not sit there and watch as they tried to escape from his attack. He was no longer taking into account who he was facing. If they stood in his way, they were going to die. Due to this, Julius picked up a large chunk of the magma which he has just spat out and moved so quickly towards Liam that no one in the room even saw Julius move until he was right in front of Liam. So that his opponent wouldn''t be able to react, Julius quickly shoved the large pile of burning hell magma right into Liam''s face where he would burn through his face then his skull before finally reaching Liam''s brain. Due to the brain being the most sensitive part of the head of a human, Liam was instantly killed off. His mind was put in a state which it couldn''t recover from. As such, his entire body could no longer function.. Hence that was the end of Liam and just the start of the hell awaiting Rosie and Steph. Chapter 218 - Air "Now..." Julius said as he turned towards Rosie to was still mid air as she hadn''t landed from the point where she had leaped in the air in an attempt to dodge Julius'' special strait which cast both a lava terrain on the ground but also had large flames surround a large area of the floor which they all stood on. "Wow, I never expected you to actually kill one of your own. I see your true colours are finally starting to show. Maybe this will finally lead you beyond the point where you can keep your instincts inside. No matter how hard you true you know who you really are. The truth is, you''re a blood thirsty demon who only gets his pleasure from killing. You''re truly one fitting of being labeled a monster and also my son," said Henry which was completely ignored by Julius who simply leaped towards Rosie before she could land back on the ground. Due to her being mid air, there was nothing she could do as dodging an attack while being suspended in air was nearly impossible. Due to that, all Rosie could do was clench her muscles as Julius''s head landed right in his rib case as he head butted her and caused severe fractures on her rib cage. Even though she had tried to suppress the amount of damage she would sustain during that interaction, Julius didn''t plan on showing even the slightest bit of mercy as he planned to kill her without a second thought. After landing a devastating headbutt on Rosie, Julius got up from the ground as if he had done nothing wrong a grabbed a large sludge of magma that was right beside him before pouring it right into Rosie''s eyes and mouth as he allowed it to seep right into her body. Rosie neither cried or yelled even though the pain she felt was like no other which she had ever experienced before. Due to the way Henry controlled his minions, there was no way for Rosie to express any of her emotions as the one person which she had cared about was the one to kill her in the most brutal way possible. Julius only looked at her like nothing but a mere insect as he killed her. There was no sign of emotion in his actions as he killed her without bothering to consider how she felt in that moment. In that situation. All Julius could think about was eliminating the enemy so that it wouldn''t be a concern for him later on. "Wow! Good job! This is really impressive! I guess you don''t even hold back against women. I could really turn you into a killing machine. That would be quite wonderful. I mean who knew that all it would take for you to get this powerful was just to break your heart?" Henry said as he laughed at Julius which seemed to catch Julius'' attention. "What? Why do you look so surprised now? You think I didn''t know about your little crush on Liz? You''ve got to be kidding me, you really thought that I wouldn''t know after all of the things you''ve done with her? She was quite literally the only woman in your life for over half your life. Who else would you consistently think about. After that, all it took was the training trip which was made to make you stronger with the side quest of also making you miss her more. Once you came back, Liz and the vice captain of the royal guards were supposed to get married right in front of your eyes to show you how pathetic you really were. However now that I think about it now, the way in which you found out was much funnier," said Henry with a loud burst of laughter. Such a sadistic and maniacal laugh which would bring fear into anyone. Julius felt his heart sink as he saw the figures of both Henry and Liz laughing at him while looking down on him with eyes of pity. Julius'' head went blank as all he could think about was the conversation he had overheard between Liz and the vice captain of the royal guards. Henry had set up everything. All of it just to make Julius go through the most horrible pain he could ever go through. It was pure hell as Julius felt his heart continue to beat faster and faster onto the point where it shouldn''t have been humanly possible for a heart to beat that fast. When ur finally reached its limit, Julius'' heart came to a complete stop instantly as Julius still continued to stand up straight as his body could no longer move or react which was when Henry finally continued to speak. "Now Julius, you must be wondering why I did all of this. I mean, you''re supposed to be my son after all, I should have been there to look over you and guide you like a good father. That must be what you thought would happen. After all, you were born into royalty at which you were granted everything from birth. All you had to do was snap for your dreams to become reality. You never faced hardships or anything of that sort. The life of a prince is one which is perfect. This must have been what many, including yourself assumed. Of course in your eyes, this was what was happening. You enjoyed most of your life while being surrounded by the ones you love. However that was all nothing but an illusion," said Henry before continuing to speak. "To be king is to be absolute power. No one should be able to question your authority in wealth, fame or power. As king, you must be above all your subjects in all these categories. Due to you being the future king, I needed to prepare you for this duty. You must be wondering why I took it this far. The answer is quite simple.. It''s because there is no better motivation than a heart break," said Henry with the most sinister grin. Chapter 219 - No "No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no, NO!" Julius yelled out with a desperate voice as he didn''t want to believe what his father had told him. Not only had his father managed to plan our Julius'' entire life in which the plan where Liz would always end up with anyone except Julius. It didn''t matter in which time line or reality it took place in. In each and every single of of those realities, it always ended up with Julius having out that Liz was going to end up with someone other than Julius. After all, that was the way that Henry had willed it to be in the world. It didn''t matter how much Julius liked the girl known as Liz, all Henry knew was that he wanted to ruin their relationship. As Henry had stated previously, one of the best motivators the world had to offer is a heart break. Due to that, Henry exemplified Julius being hurt to the point that Julius would no longer be able to tell a lie from a truth. Still with his heart not beating, Julius walked towards Henry slowly with his menacing aura. Due to Henry being so full of himself, he didn''t even bother to recognize the mister that was approaching him. As for everyone else in the castle and the people outside from both Julius'' army as well as Henry''s army who were fighting all stopped to kneel down to the true one power which would subjugate all of them. Julius in the moment was unquestionably the strongest. Yet Henry didn''t even bother to look his son in the eyes. One Julius got close enough to Henry, he began I clench his right fist as hard as he possibly could. So much so that his nails pieced the inside of his palm and caused blood to flow out of his hand like water. Even so, Julius seemed unfazed by what he was doing to himself. Without any warning or signal of being hostile, Julius moved his right fist at speeds which couldn''t even be conceived let alone be seen before landing the most devastating punch on Henry''s face. As Julius'' hand made contact with Henry''s face, it seemed to have caused a disturbance in the space time continuum as several realities seemed to shift to simply even comprehend the devastating attack that Julius had just cast upon Henry. Although Julius ended up victorious during that encounter, he hadn''t truly gotten the satisfaction which his wanted from the battle. Of course if he had killed Henry by his own hands he would''ve been ecstatic, however that wasn''t what took place. Due to the sheer power placed into that single punch, Julius managed to kill Henry with the simple air pressure he was directing towards Henry. Due to that air pressure being strong enough to kill Henry on its own, Henry died before Julius could''ve actually landed his first attack. With no place for Julius'' punch to go, it had to stop in the air, only for it not to be able to kill its intended target. Although it would let out some of its power in the form of air pressure as the air pressure that was exuded by Julius'' punch was strong enough to go so far as to create a whole in the castle ceiling before moving even further towards a large cloud in the sky and creating a hole in it as well. In turn making it look like a sort of donut. After killing Henry, Julius simply let out a sigh of disappointment as although he had won the war between him and his father, he had lost far too much. His mental health was in shambles and couldn''t think properly. Julius couldn''t even trust himself in that he didn''t know if he actually managed to kill or if he was in another illusion. He didn''t know if he would wake up once again only to find himself getting bombarded by a fury of endless attacks. His heart raced in doubt and worry. All while this went on, the army which was being controlled by Henry came to a complete stop in which they had be allowed to be free of Henry''s control. Even though his army initially agreed to be a part of the war, Henry still placed them under a secret art of his so that even if they had their limbs cut off, they would be able to fight relentlessly. Due to his secret art now wearing off, Henry''s army had no reason to keep fighting. Most of them passed out and the others simply fell to their feet in utter defeat. As for Julius'' army that was being controlled by Knight also came to a stop as Knight could sense something odd was going on. Filled with curiously, Knight leaped towards the sky before landing on the floor where Julius was supposed to be at. To his surprise, Julius stood standing while nearly everyone in the room was either damaged to the point of being unconscious while others were killed with no mercy shown. It was as if a monster had came to ravage everyone in the room. "King J-Julius?" Knight said as he struggled to speak in fear that his king was the one responsible for doing all of that damage. Julius had killed his very own subjects. Hearing Knight''s voice, Julius turned around to give his subject one last week look before passing out as the white layer began to wear off and Julius returned to his normal form before falling onto the ground from exhaustion. Chapter 220 - Confusion ... ... ... "Where am I?" Julius asked himself as he woke up with an exhausted grunt as he didn''t even know how long he had been sleeping. Julius could feel that he had lost quite a lot of weight and didn''t know why. Beside him was Rosie who sat on a chair while placing her head on the bed which Julius was sleeping on. She seemed exhausted but still wanted to stick by Julius side. However it was odd for Julius to see her as he remembered clearly killing her as he poured magma on his face and killing her brutally. As such, it was as if he was looking at a ghost. "I see you''re finally awake my king," said Ian as he stood on a near by wall while watching over Julius. "''my king''? Wait you still see me as your king even after what I did to you? Do you not hold resentment towards me for what I did to you during the battle?!" Julius asked in confusion as he believed that the actions which he partook in during his battle with Henry against his very own comrades were far too much and were unforgivable. "Of course not. Who are we to hold resentment against you my liege. After all, we were all far too weak to resist being overtaken by Henry''s secret art. It should be you who should hold resentment over us. You were forced to kill us and that wouldn''t have happened if we were stronger. How could we even call our selves your subjects after the heinous acts we committed against you?" Ian said which just confused Julius as he never thought of the situation like that. To Julius, Ian and the other had done nothing wrong. There was no way he could blame them for not being strong enough. After all, there was no way for them to know that Henry would be such a powerful treat. Although Julius wanted to tell Ian that they were not in the wrong, he knew that as king, he wasn''t allowed to show any sign of weakness. That also included having to act tough of his subjects when they were not in the wrong to solidify his power. "Look, just don''t worry about it," said Julius as he wanted to make sure that he was clearly the one which stood in power but still didn''t want to feel as if he was a monster which didn''t care in the least for his subjects. Due to this, Julius thought it would only be right for him to reassure his subjects that he did not take offence to the actions they had taken against him. Although Julius and Ian were talking so that they could have a proper conversation for once, Rosie woke up to interrupt them as she had been awoken by the sudden noise that was being created through the conversation which Julius and Ian was partaking in. ... After Rosie had awoke from her slumber, all she did was sit down properly on her chair before staring deep into Julius eyes as she didn''t know what else to do. She was completely frozen in space from both embarrassment as well as confusion as she hadn''t expected Julius to wake up only to see her sleeping next to him which Rosie beloved to be a pathetic sight. "uhhh..." Julius said as he didn''t know what else to say. However right as that sound came out of his mouth, Rosie quickly stood up from her chair before storming off out of the room. Non a particularly angry way but just due to her being too flustered to even react to anything. "Well that was interesting," said Julius to which Ian just simply nodded without giving a reply. "Anyway, I''ve been meaning to ask, where are we right now and how long have I been sleeping for?" Julius asked Ian as that was the real question which he had wanted to be answered since the moment he had awoke from his deep slumber. "Well, for your first question, we''re currently back in the 10th continent. After your victory against the other 9 kingdoms, their people have been in shambles. As such, we''ve sent our forces to start taking over those lands and making sure that every person there knows that you''ll be the new king of their kingdom, no, that''s wrong. They''ll know that you''re going to be the king of this world," said Ian in a proud statement. "As for your second question, due to you having exhausted most of your energy during your battle with Henry and his forces, you''ve been out cold for nearly 20 days. Most of your wounds had been healed in just the first hour of the battle being concluded. However your mental state seemed to have been completely exhausted. At one point, we were scared that you would never wake up. In all truth, that was the reason that Rosie had decided to stay by your side. It was so that incase you decided to never wake up, she would want to spend the rest of her life at your side as it was the one thing which she wanted to do but would never get the chance to do so. Nevertheless, you''re awake now so it seems that she plans on delaying that goal of hers even further," said Ian as he explained to Julius. "So it seems that everything is going well. All I have to do now is to stabilize my lands and leave someone in charge of this world for the time being while I go to heaven to take place in the event which I was supposed to go to a while ago," Julius thought to himself. In that moment, someone once again opened the door to Julius'' room which at first Julius thought it was Rosie once again however it was just a regular guard. However he seemed to have been holding a skinny rectangle object in his hand. Something which resembled a cellphone of some kind. "... yes, he''s awake now. Send in the nukes" ... ... .... Chapter 221 - Hey "Hey you! Why do you have a cell phone?!" Julius asked with a yell as he saw the guard which had been on the phone with someone. "Huh? Just stay put for now, you''ll meet your end soon enough," said the guard which was on the phone as he finally seemed to end the phone call. "Who were you on a call with you?!" Julius demanded to know as he could sense that something bad was about to happen. "You''re so damn noisy! All of you vermin. You all resort using some devilish magic of some kind. Don''t worry though, my people will exterminate you all. As such, I''m willing to make myself a sacrifice so that my people can succeed and eliminating you monsters. You don''t even deserve to live, not a single one of you should be allowed to live for even another second. I hate all of you so much! I can''t help but smile as nukes will fall upon your lands like rain fall! My people will subjugate your land and rule it. To make things better, not a single one of you demons will be alive to ruin this beautiful land! This place will belong to us! We''ll finally be able to completely rule this land!" said the guard who had been on the phone which seemed to have struck a nerve with Julius as he quickly got up from his bed before moving close to the guard. However due to him still being severely weakened, Julius ended up falling to his knees as the guard continued to look down at Julius. "Die you demon!" said the guard as he pulled out a gun from his pocket before shooting it at Julius'' head in hopes of ending him right there. Of course since Julius was vastly stronger than a weapon which a regular human could hold in their hand, the bullet simply bounced back from his head before landing on the ground. Although Julius was strong enough for the bullet to not even have felt like a scratch, due to him being so much weaker than his original state, Julius was forced to pass out just from a simple bullet making contact with his head. "Nice! I didn''t think it would work but it seems that I get to live another minute or so," said the guard with a grin. However he wouldn''t get so lucky as Ian was able to witness what had just taken place. He had expected Julius to fine as a normal guard couldn''t have done so much damage but seeing his king knocked out once again trigged something in Ian. Without even bothering to ask any question, Ian teleported beside the guard before breaking both his shoulders so that he could feel the worst pain this world had to offer. Just as the guard tried to scream in agony, Ian shoved his hand in the guard''s mouth so that he wouldn''t be able to make even a sound. All that the guard could do was cry as he was consumed in the worst pain he had ever felt. Next, Ian twisted his fist which forced the guard''s head to twist as well before snapping off his head in the most gruesome way possible and instantly killing the man which dared to harm Julius. "I wonder what seemed to have my liege panic like that. Whatever it is, I know for certain that it cannot be good. How troublesome. I''ll have to find a way to deal with it myself even though I''m not quite sure how. I''ll also have to account for the possibility that it''ll attack us any time. I wonder though, what is this thing called nukes," Ian thought to himself as he needed to quickly formulate a plan to protect Julius'' land while the king was unconscious. "I should first worry about making sure my king is safe though," said Ian and he held Julius up by the shoulder and took him back to bed so that he could rest as Julius was not quite ready to take on the responsibility quite yet. As such, Ian would have to hold down the fort until Julius was mentally and physically ready for his place in the throne. After placing Julius down on the bed, Ian looked outside the open window in the room before leaping out of it and flying into the air as he tried to spot anyone or anything which seemed to have the likely hood of being a threat. However as he looked around he couldn''t spot a single thing on the ground which seemed to be a threat which would have Julius panic. Specially since Julius was not even fazed at the idea of having to battle Henry. As such, all Ian could think about was what could possibly be so threatening that it would have Julius himself be concerned for once. After looking around for a while and not being able to spot anything that could''ve been a threat, Ian began to suspect that what the guard had said was nothing more than a bluff. However after just a minute, Ian could hear some buzzing sound. It resembled that of a flying dragon as it soured the sky. "What is that noise?" Ian asked himself as he looked up above him only to see something that looked like a needle. However as the seconds passed, it continued to bet bigger and bigger while it moved closer which made it clear that it wasn''t just a normal needle. "So this is the thing which my liege was so scared of? It doesn''t look all that bad. Although I should stop in in the air before it can do anything. I''ll just create a normal force field around it so that it can stop," said Ian before preparing to cast a secret art. <> Using this secret art, Ian was able to create a transparent red force field around the nuke which was heading right for the castle in which Julius was sleeping in. Although Ian had expected it to stop right there due to his secret art, what took place after that was something Ian could have never expected. Chapter 222 - Battle Although the battle with Ian and the nuke that was sent out to dispose of Julius was quite the interesting event, it didn''t make quite a lot of sense. This was because no one should''ve had access to cellphones in the world where Julius was currently in let alone having access to nuclear weaponry. None out of the 10 kingdoms were that advanced in a technological sense. The only place where such complex machinery existed was the other civilization that lived on the same planet that Julius lived in but never made contact with the 10 kingdoms as the magical barrier stopped them. Due to this fact, it made no sense why someone from the other civilization had managed to infiltrate the 10th kingdom and get into the high ranks. ... ... ... This all took place over 3 years ago in which Julius and Jun had went to the other civilization so that they could explore it. It was a sort of gift to Julius from his master for all his hard work. After the two had made it there, they had met a few girls which one of them took a liking to the other form of Jun in which he was a handsome young man. As for Julius, he had spent most of his time with the other girls while Jun and the girl that was interested in him spent their time together. During Jun''s and Julius'' stay in the other side of the world though, Jun ended up getting a cellphone so that the girl that liked him could contact him after their first so called date. In the end, Jun never contacted her back as he didn''t have a need to spend his life in the other side of the world while he had his own personal life in the world of cultivation. However, the girl which had taken a liking to Jun had expected a scenario such as this to take place. Due to Jun not having any knowledge of how to use a cell phone, the girl that was with him was able to take advantage of that and install an application which would allow her to track his phone number. Although it was quite odd to go that far and some could even label that type of behaviour to be psychotic, it was only expected as the other form of Jun was enough to drive any woman mad in love. Nevertheless, after seeing that Jun never ended up calling or texting her, she decided to follow the movements he had taken in hopes of finding him once again. Although it was obsessive of her to do such a thing, all morals were thrown out of her mind after having to think about Jun day and night without a break. As such, she decided to go follow Jun''s footsteps in hopes of finding him however, she instead found something that would leave her dumbfounded. After she had walked towards the alleyway which Jun and Julius first came out of when they had decided to cross the magic gate, she found herself puzzled as all the was in front on her was a large wall. However the application which she was using to stalk Jun told her to keep moving forward and left the girl puzzled as she didn''t know what to do. That was when she decided it give up on thinking about the logical sense of it and just try to push herself into the wall. Although it was quite insane to think that something like that would work, the girl was already past the point of insanity and was willing to do anything in her power to find Jun. After finally losing it and pushing herself against the wall, the girl that was obsessed with hun was surprised to find out that the wall which was standing in front of her was nothing but a fake. It was only there to trick her and the other humans which would simply pass by the alleyway and never return. The girl was confused what happened to her when she fell on the ground only to find herself being smothered in sand. "Where the hell am I?" the girl asked herself in other confusion as the world which she knew and loved had disappeared in front on her eyes. Now al she could see was an endless desert which had endless amounts of sand hills. After looking around, the first convinced herself that she was in a dream of some kind as it was impossible for her to have teleported to a random desert in the middle of nowhere. However just to make sure she was in fact dreaming, she decided to pinch her cheeks to make sure she was dreaming. However when she could feel the pain as she pinched her cheeks harder, true feat began to set in as it dawned upon her that she wasn''t dreaming but was in fact in a real desert. It made absolutely no sense as to why she would be there though. After making a 180 degree turn, she found the transparent orange wall that was now in front of her. As she placed her hand in front of it and slightly pushed it through? She realized that she could put her hand past it. As such, with nothing left to lose, the girl pushed her entire body through the wall only to find herself back in the alleyway which she had come from. "... did I seriously just find a whole other world?" the girl asked herself with concern as it began to set upon her that she had discovered a hidden world which no one had never seen before. However just incase it was only her that didn''t know about it, she did plenty of research on it and there was not even a single record of it in all of history which meant that she was in fact the first person to ever find it. Although she had realized that she was the first person to discover the hidden land, the girl also made another realization, Jun was in fact from another land which she had never seen before. Chapter 223 - Phone That would also explain the fact that Jun didn''t know how to use a phone or even what it was. He didn''t know how to interact with others along with his sudden capability to get an unimaginable amount of gold out of nowhere. The fact of the matter was that nothing Jun had said made any sense. He had lied about being nothing but a baby sitter for Julius which was how he tried to explain his reasoning for having so much money. He had told the girls that were accompanying them on their short stay that Julius'' parents were wealthy and had given the gold to Jun so that he could get something nice for Julius. Due to this, it had peaked the interest of the girl that already seemed to like Jun. As such, she found no record of a wealthy family that had a son by the name of Julius. She simply thought that maybe Julius'' family liked to keep their life a secret but that wasn''t the truth. Julius'' family might have in fact been wealthy but they were not from the same world that the girls were from. With her new found discovery, the girl headed to the authorities right away which caused large controversies around the world as to who would end up ruling over that land. Due to the information which the girl had provided, the leaders of the world also knew that there were people who lived on the other side of the world. As such, an idea that was given was that they would allow those people to continue living and be assimilated into modern society. Well that was at least the plan. In the beginning, the leaders of the world wanted to learn more about the new world which they had just discovered. As such, they each sent several spies to investigate the land and try to learn more about the people. However very quickly, the spies began to report strange occurrences in the world which they were investigating. Things such as magic and cultivation as well as secret arts. Ways in which a regular human child could easily defeat a fully grown adult. Simple laws of nature and physics being manipulated and broken. None of it made sense to them and as such reported it to their leaders. Once having heard of the ways in which the people of the other world lived, the leaders of the world had nothing but to deep the people from the world of cultivation nothing more than demons that were a threat unlike any other to the world. As such, they decided to make a plan to eradicate the people of the cultivation world. However right before they could go forward with that plan of theirs, something happened. One of the species reported that one of the kingdoms was making preparations for a war of some kind. After hearing about that, the leaders of the world decided to bring a holt to their plans of destroying the cultivation world. The reasoning for this being that by observing the war, even if it was a small one, they would have some grasp of knowledge over how the people of the cultivation war fought. However as time passed, more and more reports of kingdoms preparing for war kept getting reported. The worst one being when one of the spies managed to infiltrate one of the great 9 kingdoms. After doing so, reports of even the greatest powers in the cultivation world preparing for war began to get sent back to the regular world. Even so, it didn''t make sense as they all seemed to be on the same team. As such, it begged the question of their enemy. Once having delved even further, the spies managed to figure out that the enemy of the cultivation world as a whole was a single man by the name of Julius. Just that alone out chills on everyone from the regular world''s spines. It was preposterous to think that all it would take was a single man to bring fear into an entire side of the world which were all working together while also having access to magical powers as well. It simply broke all laws of nature. It left the whole world baffled. As such, the spies were forced to return back to the regular world where they would be given a new mission. That being to learn anything and everything about the man known as Julius. However unlike their previous jobs where all the information they sought was given to them right away, information about Julius was nearly impossible to find. The man reason being that Julius himself was literally gone. He had spent over 3 years inside a dungeon where he polished his powers and grew in strength in search of power which would bring any enemy to their knees before him. As such, the spies couldn''t even get a look of Julius face until a few days before the war. As such, during the time that Julius was gone, the spies tried to look for information about Julius army and how it operated. Even so, that was still a much harder task than anticipated. In truth, most of Julius'' army consisted of the undead which were being controlled by Dae and Knight. Due to this, if anyone that wasn''t an undead was found, they would most likely be seen as an enemy and be quickly disposed of. Due to this, most of the spies were found out and killed quickly. Out of the hundreds if elite spies that were found out, only one of them survived. That was because the spy wasn''t actually one that was sent in from the regular world. Instead it was sent from the cultivation world. That being one of the original villagers of the 10th continent. He had been convinced to betray Julius by one of the other spies.. He was the only spy to make it that far into the job and successfully track down Julius and try to bring the doom of Julius Henry as well as the 10th continent as a whole. Chapter 224 - Spy What had initially taken place between the spy from the regular world and the villager from the 10th kingdom which was being trained to be a servant for Julius was quite interesting. The spy had come to the 10th continent in search of information about Julius as that was the people who were in change of him wanted. Even the slightest bit of valuable information about the man known as Julius who commanded so much power that it brought fear into literally half of the world would be so valuable that the spy would most likely be awarded several medals in recognition of this hard word and receive a large sum of money as well. Hence their desperate attempts to find even a clue as to Julius'' whereabouts. After searching for so long and having so many of them getting killed when they were found out by either the undead monsters or Dae and Knight themselves, many of the spies began to lose hope and decided to turn back and head towards the place which they called their home, that place being the regular side of the world where magic, cultivation and secret arts were unknown words or were from fiction. Nevertheless, a single man stayed behind while all others fled for their lives, that being the man which would pass on his mission towards the villager that would in turn become the best spy the regular humans could have asked for. This all started one evening as the sun began to set, the spy which still had the goal of bringing down Julius and his forces was running out of places to hide as the army of Julius not only worked on the morning but also at night. Due to this, the spy not only had to worry about getting found out while he walked during the day but also when he slept at night as he didn''t know if when he woke up the next day, he would be getting eaten alive by a horde of undead zombies. Even so, the man looked determined to get the information about Julius and pass it on to the people on the regular side of the world. "Dammit! I''ve ran out of water. I''ve been walking here for what seems like years. I just can''t seem to catch a break! Why is this world so harsh to me?! All I need is just a single clue about Julius then my family will be set free. After that, I can finally head home and live peacefully! That''s what I''ve always wanted, yet it seems like that''s the one thing I can never get. My previous job before this itself was pure hell. I couldn''t catch a break as I was forced to work long hours without stop. All of that just so that my family could live comfortably. Even after I went to work, I would have to return home to the sound of my wife''s nagging that I never spent that much time at home and how my children need a father figure. I mean if it wasn''t for this job and putting all of that arguing to the side for now, I would''ve surely gotten a divorce with my wife. She would''ve mostly took the kids then demanded money for it as well. This world is truly cruel. Maybe... I should just take my own life. I mean hell, who would even care? It''s not like my wife will ever miss me. She''ll just marry someone rich then live her life happily. As for my kids, they never even had me in their life for a while so I guess they would move on quickly as well. To add on, I wouldn''t have to worry about dying because I''ll be the one doing the job to myself," said the spy to himself as he thought of how pathetic his life truly was. "Well when u think about it, I guess I''ve always known, death seems to be the only positive thing my life will offer me. Well, I guess I better just do it now, it''s not like anyone will miss me," said the spy as he pulled a gun from the pocket of his coat before pointing it as his head and closing his eyes. "Farewell you horrible world," said the man as he finally prepared to pull the trigger only for a human to leap towards him and grab the gun from his hand. Seeing this take place, the spy quickly opened his eyes in concern as he didn''t know how someone was able to grab the gun from him in such a a short amount of time. "Give that back!" the spy demanded as he wanted to take the gun back and actually take his life. At first, the spy only wanted to take his life from feeling pathetic and pitying himself however after having the joy of having the opportunity to take his own life taken away from him, the spy became infuriated and wanted to take the gun back and actually take his own life. "Give it back right now!" the spy demanded as he laid back first on the ground while having the human which had stopped him from shooting himself sit on his chest. Even though the spy tried to grab his gun out of the human''s hand, it didn''t work as the human just kept moving the gun further away. Feeling tired and exhausted, the spy gave one last push as he forced his body to move just a little so his hand would have a greater chance to get the gun back but once again that failed at which the spy finally broke down. "Give it back!" said the spy as tears began to flow out of his eyes and snot left his nose while he grit his teeth in pain and agony. Truly a pathetic sight to see. Nevertheless, the person who stopped him from shooting him self got up from the spy''s chest and put his hand forward to help the spy get up from the ground. "Get up" Chapter 225 - Help "But why? Why did you help me?" the spy asked in a rather thankful tone but also a harsh one as he didn''t want to be alive in that moment. "What are you talking about? It seemed like you were going to use this thing to end your own life so I just stopped you. There''s no reason for someone to help someone else in need. I mean imagine everyone leg everyone else whatever they wanted. This world would be in pure hell right now," said the man which had saved the spy from killing himself with a little laugh as he wanted to make the situation less awkward. ... "Anyway, is there a reason why you wanted to end your life? I mean I''m. It busy right now so we can talk about it. But maybe let''s head inside so that you''ll have a place to sit while you tell me about it. I''ll also bring you some food and water. You look very exhausted, you look as if you have been travelling for over a year without any food and water. You have to take care of yourself so that you won''t die from exhaustion," said the man which had saved the spy before taking him into his home which was inside a near by village. Due to it being quite dark when the two had reached the village, everyone had went back into their homes and as such could not see the spy and question who he was. After quickly making the spy head inside his home, he allows him to have a seat on a hay constructed seat while the man prepared the spy some soup. This all took place in a span of only a few minutes and as such the two would be able to continue their conversation very quickly after the spy had finished his soup and thanked the man once again as he had not only saved his life but also him shelter and food as if he was his parent. "Thank you so much, I don''t know where to begin to thank you-" the spy began to say as he wanted to repay the man for all the kindness that he had shown to the spy. However the man did not want anything in exchange. Well not technically as he wanted something but it was not a material. That being information. He yearned for information so badly that he had interpreted the spy before he could thank him and instead spoke so that he could get to the point faster. "Don''t worry. You don''t have to repay me for anything. I can sense that you''re not from this world. You seem very different to say the least. What I want from you is two things which you can tell me if you want or refuse if you don''t wish to do so. Those two things being the reason why you wanted to take your own life and the second one being where you''re from. Well to be perfectly honest, I have third request too, that being for you to tell me what you''re doing here. I mean why else would you venture to an unknown land where it''s very easy for you to get killed if you didn''t have an important reason," the man which had saved the man''s life requested. In turn, the spy simply let out a sigh as he was too tired to even argue, all he wanted was to be done with everything and leave the world behind. As such, he began to tell everyone to the man that saved his life. "Well I should probably start from the beginning. My name is George, my last name isn''t important so I won''t mention it and trouble you with memorizing it. Anyway, my life was always a mediocre one. I never really excelled in anything. My grades were below average. My athletic abilities were never the best either. I dropped out of school when I was a teenager due to having constant fights with my parents at which I finally decided to move out and get a job. To be honest, those years where I lived alone were probably some of my best. I got by with working decent hours and although I didn''t make the best money, it was enough for me to take care of my expenses and still have some left over. I had time to enjoy life on my own as well. I was never really fond of making friends as I was never particularly good at anything and never fitted in with any groups. Nevertheless, I never minded doing things alone as it brought me peace. However that all changed when I got a new coworker at my job," George began to speak as he told the man which had saved his life about the hell which he called his life. "That new coworker at the place I worked at would be my future wife. She was a gentle and kind woman. She tried to do her best at everything and almost managed to get it right on her first try. Everyone adored her and wanted it be her friend. She had such a positive atmosphere around her. She was everything I wasn''t and could never be. Anyway, due to me being her superior, it meant that I would have to look over her quite a lot but in all truth, she was the one that looked out for me. Even though my ranking was technically higher than hers, she knew how to do my job even better than myself. Although it was pretty pathetic, it was nice to finally have someone to look out for me. Just her smile alone brought life into my day. That was when my life turned from being just average to amazing. I genuinely wanted to go to work just to see her. Although it was pretty pathetic, I didn''t care in the least as it was the only thing in my life that brought me happiness.. There was just no way for me to live without her," said George as he remembered the past. Chapter 226 - Honest "To be perfectly honest. Life was pretty amazing at that time. I just wonder when all of it went to hell and I was forced to live this hell of a life which I cannot even find joy in the most spectacular things in the world. Now all I have in my life are a nagging wife which likes to yell at me constantly, a boss who makes me work late hours and children which I cannot even be there for as I am too busy working to provide them with the best life I could possible provide. I do all those things and still I am treated like nothing but trash," George continued to speak as he got side tracked for a bit but remembered where he was at in his story and started to continue. "Like I was saying, that woman brought pure joy into my life. Everything was perfect for me. To top it all off though, on a random day, she asked me out on a date. Of course I was shocked and stood still for a bit as my brain could not even comprehend the thought of any woman finding me attractive let alone the woman of my dreams. Although I was caught if guard which caused me to stand still for a while, I was ecstatic about it. However due to me being silent for quite a bit, she thought that I did not feel the same way so she tried to tell me that it was okay if i did not feel the same at which I quickly interrupted her and told her that I would agree. Although when I think about it now, maybe I was a little too enthusiastic about the way I said it since my brain had just managed to process what she had said and gave an answer as quickly as possible so that the opportunity wouldn''t go away. Even though my reaction was quite weird to say that least, all she did was smile before running away from being embarrassed. To this day, I''ve never felt more joy than the one I felt on that day," said George while continuing his story as everything seemed to have been perfect which didn''t explain why George seemed to be so sad now. Nevertheless, George continued to speak about his life. "Even after that, life only got better and better, I truly didn''t think life could get any better than that. And to my surprise for once in my life I was correct in my assumption. Life from that point on did not in fact get better but instead only got worst. As my relationship with my coworker got more serious, we decided to move in together and soon she decided to stay at home while I worked which was fine by me as I didn''t mind. However that was the worst decision I had ever made. Suddenly, I have very little money left over after having all our expenses taken care of. Even after that, the girl took the rest of the money to herself. I couldn''t live like that. I was living check to check and even at many points, I had to take money from my savings to afford to barely live. The worst of this was our wedding which cost an astronomical amount of money. Even after having used up all the money I had saved up, I still was in debt and needed to find a better job quickly. However jobs such as that do not come without consequences. In exchange for better pay, I would have to work much harder at my new job and would also have to spent many long hours in my office taking care of some business. Sometimes those hours could have been from 2 to 4 hours extra which I would have to stay back and finish work without getting pay anything to compensate for my time," said George as he began to explain the downfall of his life. "At first my wife was very supportive as we now had more money so she could spend it on what ever she wanted and could spend more time hanging out with her friends. All while I worked non stop to provide that life style for her. Of course I wanted to speak up about it since I also wanted to do some extra activities with the money I worked so hard for, however I always returned to save thought over and over again. That being that without her, I was nothing. I was just a tool to be used by others. My life never had meaning, I was always below average and worthless. To find even the slightest bit of joy in life was more than I ever deserved. As such, if all it took for me to be happy with my wife was for me to work a couple extra hours, so be it. It wasn''t like I had anything better to do with my life anyway," George continued to speak. "However the hell never ends there. It only gets worse. One of the days which I managed to finish work early, I decided to buy my wife a treat and surprise her with some flowers. Looking ecstatic, I pulled up to our drive way to park my car only to find another car already there. My first thought was that she had guests over at our place but after some thinking, things didn''t add up. She had never had guests at our house. She would usually go elsewhere instead but this time she actually had a guest over. Of course I was till in denial so I walked up to the door and almost rang the door bell when I heard something which I shouldn''t have heard. My eyes opened wide in sadness. The amount of pain that filled my heart was indescribable. Although most would have felt angry at their wife for having another man in their house, I simply walked away like the pathetic man I was and got back in my car before driving away with tears in my eyes.. That was the first time I ever contemplated taking my own life," said George. Chapter 227 - Find "Even after finding that out, I didn''t have the courage to take my life. Instead, I forced myself to believe that I had seen nothing and all that happened was a part of my imagination. For quite a while after finding out that my wife was seeing other people behind my back, I was found lost in thought as I blamed myself for everything that was happening. I believed it was my fault, I mean after all, everything was always my fault. Who else could be blamed for a mistake that took place other than me? Of course due to be having thoughts about such horrifying events meant that I was taking longer to get my job done which infuriated my boss. At one point, he was close to firing me. To be honest, that was the time when I made the first change in my life. That began to stop caring about how I felt. I couldn''t be bothered to take care of myself. If I was sick, tired, sleep deprived, emotionally exhausted, it didn''t matter. I thought of my life to be no different than the life of an incest or a pig. I did what I was asked and completed it without asking questions. If I was even late by even a second, I tormented myself constantly by belittling myself for hours at a time and forced myself to lose sleep. At one point, I was sure that I had gone completely insane. My coworkers began to take notice of this and started avoiding me. My boss noticed as well but instead of being worried or being scared, he was happier than ever. I was completing the work he assigned me at such speeds that I was matching a machine. That was because in my eyes, I was nothing more than a machine, a tool for others to use. That wasn''t life''s purpose. My wife would use me for my money, my boss would use me for my skills. I had no other purpose," said George as his life only kept getting worse from that point onward. "However after pushing myself like that for so long, something even slightly good happened to me. My wife announced that she was pregnant. Of course I was ecstatic. I would finally be able to raise children. Of course I knew that the kid she would give birth to was most likely not my own but I couldn''t help but feel happy. Maybe I had a chance to make someone else happy for once. I mean I never received any affection from my parents as a kid so maybe I had a chance to change that for my child and show them that the world isn''t so bad if they have loving parents which would look out for them in any situation. I just wanted to be there for my children because I never had the privilege of that," said George which almost brought the man that saved his life to tears. "After the child was born, I decided to work even harder so that there would be more money so it would go into my child''s future however for some reason the money kept disappearing while my wife used the excuse that the money was going into materials for the child to live on. However I knew that was nothing but a lie. This was around the time that she introduced me to a new friend of hers which started to come over a little too often and claimed that he was there to help my wife during the process of taking care of the baby since I was such a good father and was working so many hours to take care of my wife and child. Although I was a failure in all senses, I wasn''t stupid. I knew the moment I met that man that he was the real father of that child. Of course I was heart broken but still kept quiet as if I were to reveal what I knew, it would cause a divorce where my wife would leave with the baby and have no where to go because the truth was that no one else would take a woman which had just given birth to a child of another man. At that time, I didn''t care about what happened to her, I just wanted the baby to have a good life and knowing the justice system, it would rule in the favour of her and would give her custody over the child so it would mean that my child would live a horrible life. I was stuck in a situation which I could not get out of. I had to just bear it and watch as another man was being a father and husband to my wife and child while I worked insane hours to provide money so that the three of them could live happily under my roof. When people say that ignorance is bliss, it truly is. Every night I convinced myself that I was just seeing things and I was living a perfect life with my wife and child when in fact I was just a bank that was giving free money to a family of 3," said George as he began to tear up. All he could do was feel sorry for himself as there was nothing else he could do. "I can see how your life took a very sharp turn for the worse and now you''re living a hellish life that you don''t even want to live in just for the sake of a child that won''t even treat you like its father and a wife that won''t treat you like her husband. This is all because you never spoke out about the emotions you''ve held within you for so long. So I must ask, why did you never speak about the emotional trauma you''ve suppressed all your life?" the man which saved George''s life asked in utter confusion. "Because I am a man.. No one would care," said George as tears of pure pain began to leave his eyes as he accepted that what he had lived was not a life but could only be defined as a never ending hell. Chapter 228 - Wow "Wow, that''s very deep. I''m sorry you had to go through that. Although I can understand what you mean. However you should still not feel as if you have no outlet for all your emotions. You tend to latch on to things which don''t matter anymore. In all truth, I would tell you to forget about your wife and so called child. You mentioned a justice system of some kind from the world you''re from. If it''s truly fair, it''ll recognize that the child is not yours and that she''s a lying scumbag for using you like that. As such, you should be able to live alone once again. Although it sound a bit sad when I say it, you should be much happier with your life like that. Then maybe you''ll also get a chance to restart your life and have a new wife and child which you can say is your own," said the villager which had saved George''s life as he tried to encourage him to do better for himself. "Thank you. It really means a lot to me that you actually listened to me and my story. I wish that I could have employed the advice you gave me however it''s much to late. I realize that I would rather end it all now than have to live any longer. The feeling of relief which I felt right before I pulled the trigger is something which I need in my life. No matter how hard I try from Thai point onward, I know that I''ll never truly experience something even remotely as good as that. Thanks to you, I''ve realized what I must do. I should have never doubted my decision to take my own life from the start. It was always the right choice to make. I just never had the courage to do so. However I have a selfish request before I depart from this world. Please help me fulfill the goal which my people seek," said George as he was about to make an absurd request from the villager which had saved his life. "Yes sure, what is it? I mean I doubt I can convince you to change your mind so all at least fulfill your final request. So tell me, how can I help you?" the villager asked in a confused tone as there couldn''t be something that important which a person who was on the brink of death could ask. "Do you know a man by the name of Julius?" said George which caused the villager''s heart to sink as everything began to connect. He realized why George was there was why he was in so much agony. He understood the reason why he was sent there. "Let me guess, you either want information about king Julius or want me to eliminate him or even both," said the villager as he wanted to know if that was what George was planning to which George seemed to be relieved that he didn''t need to go the extra step of having to explain himself. "Yes, please I know that this is a request unlike any other. I''ve heard just how much of an important figure he is in your world and how much trouble you could get in for simply speaking ill of him but if by some miracle you have even the slightest bit of hatred towards him, please do me the one favour which I''ll ever ask of anyone and end his life or at least help us in ending his life," said George as he pleaded. The reason which he wanted to kill Julius was not because he had any hatred towards him, it was instead because he never accomplished anything in life and having the opportunity to kill someone as important or even help in killing someone as important as Julius would give him the satisfaction of having finally accomplished something good in his life for once. "You realize that I work directly for him right? I''m supposed to be one of the members of his army which would serve him even at the cost of our own lives. To betray him would be to stab the person who brought life to this entire continent in the back. It''s simply an impossible request to grant. You would have to be insane to betray someone who''s done so much for you," said the man which had saved George''s life to which George let out a sigh of disappointment before preparing to accept what he has heard. "It''s fine. It was a dumb request anyway. It was just a foolish dream of mine," said George as he scratched the idea of having someone else help him active his goal to which the man which had saved his life began to laugh while making a sinister face. "Come on now, did you really think that someone who would jump in at the last second to save someone random was sane? Don''t even worry about it, I''ll make sure he gets killed as long as you have the plan for it," said the villager in the most evil tone he could make. Although he was quite surprised to receive and answer such as that from the villager, George was still grateful that the villager was willing to do so much for a complete stranger. Nevertheless, he knew he didn''t have a lot of time so he started to explain what the villager would need to do to cause the down fall of both Julius as well as the entirely of the 10th continent as a whole. Their conversation included talking about how to use a phone as well as the information the people on the regular side of the world were looking for. After somehow managing to convince the villager to do everything which he wanted, George let out a genuine smile. One which he hadn''t done for quite a while. After a long night at the villager''s hours, George waited for the villager to go to sleep before leaving the house and finding an undead soldier so that it could kill him and cause and end to his life with one last good memory. Chapter 229 - Sight "I see, I understand what I must do now," said the villager as he woke up from his slumber to find George gone and having left nearly all his materials inside the house which could have only meant one thing. That being that he went out with the goal of ending his life in that night. Understanding what he must do, the villager went along with the plan that was passed on to him by George while also contacting the people of the regular world constantly so that he could receive instructions on how to proceed with his mission. All of that led up to a single point in his life where it would all come to a conclusion. "... yes, he''s awake now. Send in the nukes," said the villager as he gave the signal to bombard the 10th kingdom with nuclear weaponry so that they could wipe out Julius off the face of the planet. "Ill see you soon, George." Those were the final words of the villager before he was killed off by Ian himself after the villager had shot Julius in the head and caused him to pass out. Speaking of Ian himself, he was in quite the predicament as he didn''t know how he got himself in the worst possible situation he could have ever done. Due to a nuke approaching the castle which Julius was resting inside, Ian decided to create a force field of some kind to force the nuke to get blocked off and crumble so that it wouldn''t cause a lot of damage to Julius'' castle, let alone Julius himself. It was odd because Ian didn''t understand why someone would send such a small object towards Julius. If they wanted to crush his body, they should have used a much bigger object which would have been much harder to block. However Ian would soon find out why such a small weapon alone was sent out to deal with Julius. Within the mere second that the object had made contact with the force field that Ian had created, it exploded with no warning as it caused the force field to break insanity while also creating a mushroom could in the sky. As for the nuclear waste which was escaping and about to fall onto the ground, Ian would have to take care of that. However before that could happen, Ian would have to come to terms with what was suddenly happening to him. Due to Ian being so close to the nuke right before it exploded, it instantly caused him to go deaf when the explosion went off. As such, he heard a constant buzzing sound and was not able to hear anything except that for the time being. "Dammit! Why didn''t I realize that there had to be someone else to this! Why would Julius be scared of something so small?! Of course it would have a secret mechanism to which it would explode without warning and cause catastrophic damage! Now I have to deal with this while also being deaf," said Ian as he created another force field, this time a flag one which was used as a net of sorts to stop the nuclear waste from reaching the ground and causing damage to Julius'' land. "Okay, at least the danger is all gone now so I have no reason to worry any longer," said Ian as he let out a sigh of relief as he began to life the force field that was carrying the nuclear waste towards the sky so that he could carry it towards a dead piece of land where he could dump it. Although he was released that he didn''t have to deal with anything other than the nuclear bomb, Ian was still bummed out over the fact that he couldn''t hear anything for a bit. Or at least until he would get a chance to take a break and use a secret art which would allow him to HES his ears back to full health. However life for Julius and his comrades is never that simple as when Ian looked up towards the sky out of simple curiosity, he was left speechless as he saw hundreds of not thousands of nukes that were heading all for the 10th kingdom and they were all spread out so that if Ian wanted to stop them from harming the kingdom, he would be forced to use quite a lot of his stamina which he was in fact willing to do so due to the fact that he serves Julius and would be willing to do anything for the happiness of the one who he served. Seeing as that there wasn''t much time to think about how much of the land his could save, Ian just decided to go all out as he couldn''t afford to let even a single piece of grass to be damaged as he had already disgraced himself by even daring to attack Julius even if he was under the control of someone else. Even though Ian likes to act calm about the situation, out of all the subjects, he was the one most affected by his actions while under the control of Henry. As such, to atone for his sins of daring to even attack Julius a single time, he decided that he would make himself go through true pain to prove his loyalty for Julius. <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> Ian kept using the same secret art over and over again as he couldn''t allow even a single nuke to pass through as it would cause enough damage that no amount of saying sorry would atone for the sin of not being strong enough to defend Julius'' land. Ian was so hard on himself and judged himself to the point that he was driving himself insane.. All of that just to regain Julius'' trust which he thought he had lost but in fact he never had lost. Chapter 230 - Repeat After repeating the same secret art over and over again so that he could create a sheet to cover the entirety of the 10th kingdom, Ian simply raised his hands in the air as he tries to support the sheet of force field that protected the 10th kingdom from the endless amount of attacks that were being sent down on him. As the nukes continued to fall on the land like rain, Ian simply tried his best ti hold up his force field. Even after struggling non stop, he tried as hard as he could. He didn''t care if he felt pain unlike any other. As long as he was able to protect his king and what he thought his king valued that was all that mattered to Ian. Even though Ian was being forced to endure so much, that would still not be the end of his struggles as he would now have to deal with a new threat while also holding back the nukes. That being the fighter jets that were being sent in by the people of the regular world. Seeing as all of their nukes were being stopped, they needed to eliminate the one person who was stopping their plans. Seeing as there was only one person who could do such a thing, the people of the regular world just assumed that Ian was Julius himself as in their eyes, the only one who would be capable of hold back a barrage of nukes was none other than Julius who was known for his immense power and durability. Although Ian had first thought that he would be able to hold back the fighter jets that were coming towards him, he would be quickly proven wrong as they all fired missiles right at Ian which all landed on his body by Ian could do nothing but watch as his body was constantly attacked as even the slightest bit of hindering against the nukes would cause the force field to collapse and for all the nukes to hit the ground at the same time, in the bringing an end to the 10th kingdom. "Damn you all! Just wait until you r your of these things you call nukes! It''ll be the end of you all, I''ll torment you to the point where you won''t be able to feel even the slightest bit of pain, pain will just be a regular occurrence in your lives! You''ll all pay!" Ian yelled out as he continued to be bombarded only for him to continue standing. After a while though, Ian''s mind finally gave in and passed out. Ian''s eyes lost their life as they turned completely white which meant that he had passed out. And just like the monstrous ally he was to Julius, Ian would rove his loyalty in the form of what he was doing. Even though he was completely unconscious, Ian continued to stand proud while holding the force field up as even if his mind had given in to temptation of giving up, Ian''s body had memorized the task at hand with its muscles and continued to hold up the force field even while he was being attack by a number of missiles while also having to hold up the force field. ... ... ... "Why won''t he just give up? There''s no point in him going any further. He knows that he can''t win. We still have plenty of nukes and missiles yet he keeps trying to hold us back. Why though? There''s nothing for him to protect. From what we''ve heard so far, he''s a selfish king that only thinks of himself so what could he be possibly protecting that he would put even his own life on the line for the sake of it?" one of the pilots which was directing one of the fighter jets which were attack Ian asked himself in utter confusion. "Wait, all of the other information we''ve received about Julius so far have all been true. All expect this one. So if there''s someone who seems to be protecting something, that shouldn''t be Julius..." said the pilot as he made a horrible realization however it had taken much longer than it should have as a hole was forcibly made into the jet that the pilot was flying before it was forced to crash down the a near by mountain. "Why did you do all of this Ian? Why would you go this far? Even if you just wanted to protect me, you couldn''t just taken me other another kingdom that wasn''t being bombarded by an endless amount of nuclear weapons. So tell me, why did you do all of this?" Julius asked Ian who was still unconscious as he wanted to get an answer for why Ian decided to push himself so far for something which didn''t even seem to exist. "It was for you sire. It was to protect your land. I couldn''t disgrace myself in front if you once again... I''m sorry," said Ian as he tried to ask for forgiveness. After saying those words, Ian''s force field began to finally collapse as Ian could no longer hold it up and the nukes were forced to fall onto the ground. Although Julius could have quite easily broken them and instantly destroyed them or even thrown them back at the regular civilization of humanity, he purposely chose not to for a very good reason. That being so show Ian something. "You see all of this Ian? There was no reason for you to push yourself so hard. You probably thought that I cared for this land and as such you were forced to protect it. However you''re mistaken, there''s nothing more that I care about in this world than my precious subjects. I trust you all with my own life which is why it''s important that you take care of yourselves and worry about yourselves sometimes so that you can be there when it really counts," said Julius as he tries to reassure Ian that it was okay for the nukes to rain down on the 10th kingdom as long as Ian himself was okay. As for the regular human civilization though.... that was a while different story. Chapter 231 - Jet After bringing Ian elsewhere so that he could rest, Julius returned back towards the battle field where the fighting jets were waiting for him to return. They continued to fly in circles as they awaited their real enemy to return. All while the endless numbers of nukes continued to rain down upon the 10th kingdom without mercy. Of course Julius was not stupid and made sure that all of the people he cares for in he kingdom were covered in an indestructible force field which would not break no matter what happened. Due to that, Julius was not even the least bit worried about what might happen to Rosie, Spike, Dae, Knight and all the others. Instead, he felt pity towards his enemies as they would truly experience a hell like no other. ... "So are you the people you are responsible for hurting my comrade to the point where he is unconscious now?" Julius asked with quite the irritated tone. Although there were and endless amount of explosions which were taking place all around him, Julius made extra sure that the people inside the fighter jets could hear him so that fear would truly set in. Julius planned to make their day an event which they would surely remember. Well that was if they lived long enough to remember it as Julius planned to make them experience true hell. "So what if we are? We plan to do what we did to Julius! I mean if we were able to do that to Julius himself, what chance do you stand against us?" one of the pilots said as he got so full of himself that he didn''t account for the possibility that he might have been face to face with the real Julius. "I think you''re mistaken. The person which you were talking advantage of while he tried to protect my land was one of my underlings. That said, I was at rest until this moment. If you haven''t comprehended what I am saying to you, I''ll dumb it down for you. I''m saying that I am the real Julius," Julius stated with a grin which brought a horrified face on Al the pilots and they realized that the hell was just beginning. Even death would have been a better option for them than having to face Julius in the mental state he was in currently. <> By using this secret art, Julius was able to summon a seemingly uncountable amount of blades which all levitated in the air as they waited instructions from their master, that being Julius to direct them to their next target. However as the pilots saw what Julius had just done, they began to fly away as it was insane for them to even think about taking on an enemy of that caliber. Even as they tried to run away from the blades, they were all helpless as Julius forced all of his blades to go ever faster than anything they could have anticipated as he forcibly cut through the thick metal which was supposed to protect the pilots as is it was nothing. After mercilessly cutting up the fighter jets that were in the air, Julius made sure not to actually touch any of the pilots so that they would fall to their deaths. Even those who had a parachute on hand, they would end up falling into the pit of endless radioactive waste which would distort them in a way where death would have been a much better option for them. What Julius was doing to them was worst than anything that they could have imagined as they had believed that it would be easy to take him down. The general plan was to bombard him with an endless fury of nuclear bombs which he would either try to block off or counter so that the people of his land wouldn''t be harmed. Even if most of them were undead zombie, there were still some humans in that mix, even so, Julius didn''t seem to care for anyone except the higher echelon of this group as if he could easily replace the rest. However this was far from the truth as the reason why Julius didn''t seem to be bothered by the nuclear bomb a was for another reason. That reason being that he could just reverse time on the entirely of the 10th continent or just specific parts of it so that the people who were subjects of Julius would be brought back to life as if noting had ever happened. Due to Julius'' mastery of all secret arts and also having the ability to always get Vivian either through searching for her or reviving her, he would also be able to create secret arts of his own to which he could use to change the way the world around him functioned. In every way possible, Julius was set to succeed in the battle. However, even so, Julius was left to watch as an endless amount of nukes just kept raining down on the ground which was already done for. At that point, it was simply over doing it as there was no need for the regular humans to go that far. The 10th kingdom was already in shambles and didn''t need to be destroyed even more than it already was. "Damn, it really is a bummer that I can''t help this kingdom right now. Even if I help it, there''s still a chance that it''ll get nuked again. The best thing which I can do for now is wait until the rainfall of nuclear weaponry to come to a stop to which I will head on out towards the other side of the world to take care of the world leaders which wanted to eliminate me as well as my kind as a whole which not only included those who were part of my forces as well as the 9 kingdoms but also anyone else who had lived on the other side of the world before the world leaders had discovered it. They don''t care if someone said that they would never betray them.. If they used magic, they were deemed a threat," said Julius as he made plans to head for the other side of the world in which cultivation was not a thing. Chapter 232 - Teleport After defeating the fighter jets which had been placed there to torment Julius initially but instead ended up hurting Ian, Julius began to head towards the other side of the world in which the humans who had never heard about the word cultivation in a real life context as he needed to pay them a visit and unleash his wrath upon them for all that they did to him and his people. Although Julius as a good leader would have had to care about what would happen to the regular civilians of his land, all he cared about were the elite members of his army due to their caring nature towards him and how he was a true leader to them. That sense of responsibility drive Julius to points which he didn''t even think that he would go to for others. It was as if someone had attacked his own children and now it was time for them to pay. <> Using his secret art, Julius was able to teleport himself from the point where he was standing or more specifically floating right to the magical wall at which he would be able to cross the border to reach the other side of humanity in which they relied of technological weapons instead of cultivation and secret arts to battle. The last time which Julius had went to the border it was a plan sand desert which didn''t have a single thing which was interesting about it. However now that the people from the regular side of the world were starting to make advances to take over the world, the people from the regular side of the other had began construction near the border so that they would be able to start from the border and move in their materials from that point to the other point of the world in turn slowly but surely assimilating the rest of the world and forcing it to join them. The main reason being that with more land meant more jobs and real estate that could be created. That would also mean more political divide and new ways to sway the power in the world. Everyone thought the colonization of the cultivation world was a good thing as it offered so many good things to the people. The increase in land mass off the world by nearly double would mean that the cost of living would greatly decrease due to there being more land to build on top of. The politicians also found this idea good as they would be able to make new promises that pertained to the people of the cultivation world so that they would be able to sway the votes in their favour even if that meant that other categories which were important in the past were to be ignored. Due to the sudden surge of the popularity of the topic, that being the cultivation world, people seemed to easily overlook everything else. As if their eyes were being clouded on purpose. While the general public would be paying attention to the new topic that had been all over the news, large companies and organizations would be able ti get away with much more as people wouldn''t have their sights on those complained for quite a while and when the people finally realize what they had done, it would be much too late to stop them. Nevertheless, Julius teleported towards the area where he would be able to cross the border so that he would reach the other side of the world only to find a large army camp that was station right where he had teleported. Dozens of tanks and cannons immediately pointed at Julius even though he didn''t know what he had done wrong. "Explain yourself! What are you doing here?" one of the army members commanded Julius as a threat as if he did not give the right answer, all of the tanks and cannons would fire at Julius instantly. "I''m just trying to pass through the gate. I don''t want any problems," Julius calmly responded as he was not even the least bit fazed by the weapons that were pointed that him and instead only cared if he would be able to just pass through the army camp without having to leave a trail of dead bodies in his wake. "State your name immediately and explain why you want to pass through or we''ll be forced to kill you at once!" the army general replied to Julius which was the last straw due to Julius already being past the point of exhaustion and he did not have the patience to sit around and answer some stupid questions all day. As such, he decided to give the army members and answer which they would surely appreciate. "Oh my apologies. Where are my manners. I don''t know if you know my name already since I''m a bit popular. I''m just kidding, I''m just your average civilian that likes to make jokes all the time. Someone as boring as me could not be popular at all. But since you''re wondering what my name is...."Julius said with an overjoyed smile until the last part of his statement which that smile turned into a sinister grin as it stared down every single of of the troops in the eyes and placed true fear into their souls. "My name is Julius. Julius Henry and my goal here today is to completely and utterly kill each and every single one of you," said Julius as his smile seemed to grow more and more while also clouding the vision of all the troops. It was as if they were being swallowed by the darkness. The darkness being Julius himself which did not even have an ounce of mercy in his eyes. "Fire at once men," the general yelled at the troops which instantly woke up from their trance and began to shoot everything they had directly at Julius only them to create a smoke cloud and when that cleared all that remained was a single figure.. That being Julius who stood menacingly without even a single scratch on his body. Chapter 233 - Purgatory You can read the novel fast updates at novelhall.com or NovelTeam.Net "Was that the best all of you could do? Did you really think that Julius himself who is renowned to be a dangerous and fearsome opponent to go up against would simply fall to a couple of measly toys like the ones you''ve sent at me? What made you actually believe that all it would take was something as weak as that?" Julius asked the troops as he felt them all dumb founded at the fact that he managed to stay alive even though he was just bombarded by an endless amount of bullets and cannon balls. Even so, he was left standing without a scratch even though it was clear that he didn''t even more for even a split second. Well that was technically not true as Julius in fact had moved to dodge the bullets as well as cannon balls that were fired at him however the speed at which he moved as was too much for the naked eye to comprehend. Even the eyes of professional cultivators would not be able to comprehend his movements as it was still far too much for those who were experienced to deal with inhuman movements. "Come on, say something. You''re starting to make me feel awkward," said Julius as he taunted all of the troops that were standing in front of him. However his attempts didn''t work in the least as someone would have to actually be beyond insane to still think that they would be able to take Julius on let alone take him down after the performance that Julius had given which truly proved how much of a monster he really was. ... ... ... "Special trait: Purgatory" Julius pulled out the dagger which was given to him by Zo before using it to activate his special trait which would create a blaze so strong that it would start melting all of the construction that had been built by the regular humans including tier weapons as well and only left a trail of liquid metal of the ground and the unconscious bodies of all the troops from the army as it was as if they had been boiled live and all of the oxygen in their bodies was forced out of them. "Well, that''s much better. Now that I''ve taken care of these useless pieces of trash, I might as well move on and start with the higher echelon of the other world. It''ll be fun to humiliate all of them," said Julius as he passed through the gate and walked through the alleyway only to be met by a group of people who all hands guns in their hands all pointed at Julius and were wearing a blue uniform of some kind. Julius recognized them to be the police. "Hands over your head! Now!" one of the officers said with a shout as they demanded that Julius proved that he was not a threat to them however Julius did not care what they thought and only though of them as a nuisance. Seeing as Julius was not willing to corporate with them, the police officers began to pull the trigger on their weapons in an attempt to shoot Julius and kill him instantly. Unfortunately for them, they would not be able to do that which caused quite a bit of confusion however when they all looked down at their guns, it became clear why they would not be able to shoot Julius. That being because their guns had all been melted and now looked like a piece of junk that even a small child would have no interest in. "Now move out of my way before I''ll be forced to kill you all in a single second," Julius gave a warning to the police officers to which they actually listened and began to run away as they did not want to mess with a creature that had the ability to melt literal guns in an instant and had this sort of seriousness in his voice which indicated that if they didn''t head his call, Julius would kill all of them without him even another thought. "Good, now, what should I do," Julius thought to himself as he tried to think of the best and quickest way for him to attract the biggest attention so that some higher ranking individuals would come to him and have a civil conversation with him. "Oh, I know," said Julius as he made a sudden realization. That being that nothing would cause more commotion in the city than blocking the road. This was due to his time spent in the regular world where people would get extremely frustrated by traffic and not being able to drive their cars. Due to this, a phenomenon known as a road rage would take place and cause a commotion. To make matters worse or better for Julius himself, if he were to be the cause of all that commotion, he would quickly get the attention of some higher rankling individuals which would come to him to grant his request if having a civil conversation where no one would get hurt and everyone would be able to live peacefully. <> Using this secret art, Julius formed ice from the air around hun and turned it into large dragons which flew everywhere before finally crashing down right in the middle of the road as they blocked cars from moving. Just to be kind to the humans for once, Julius make sure that the ice dragons would not attack any cars or humans and would simply find gaps in between the cars and place themselves there so no other movement would be possible. Julius'' plan was in fact successful as it had caused people to start leaving their vehicles and start yelling and rioting in anger as there was no foreseen time which they would be able to drive their cars. As such, they continued to scream and yell out randomly in hope that authorities would come to their rescue. Just to make sure that Julius'' message was heard, Julius placed a large sign in the air of the city which read as... "I just want to talk -Julius Henry" You can read the novel online free at novelhall.com or NovelTeam.Net Chapter 234 - Helicopter Although Julius'' plan was just a little bit ridiculous, it did end up working as in just a few minutes a helicopter began to fly over the area which Julius floating on as people continued to take pictures of him as they were fascinated by the idea of someone being able to see reform magical actions which the people of the regular work had never seen. Due to this, Julius ended up getting the attention of the media as many news reporters begged for even a single minute to spend talking to Julius but he simply ignored them as he didn''t care much for any of them. He was determined to achieve his goal of tormenting the regular humans and when Julius was ever determined, he would not give in until he had met his goal completely or even surpassed it. Due to this, Julius remained adamant with his policy of not talking to anyone who was not an important figure. Luckily for Julius though, he would not have to wait much longer as some of the most important figures were awaiting him after he had made the decision to visit the regular world of his own volition. That was the same reason why the helicopter was sent. Once the helicopter had gotten close enough to Julius, a man began to speak from a microphone on it as it told Julius some good news. "Sir Julius Henry, the important figures of our world await to speak with you. Please follow this vehicle to be led to where you will be able to speak with those you might want to speak to," said the man over the microphone to which Julius simply nodded as began to fly higher towards the sky to meet the helicopter. Seeing as Julius had revived the message, the helicopter began to fly away as it was assigned to take him to the place where the world leaders eagerly awaited for the opportunity to speak to him. After flying for quite some time, the two things that were flying in the sky began to descend down towards a tall glass building at which the helicopter began to land on the roof of it. However Julius deemed that task to be a waste of time and instead forced himself to look down at each floor of the building before finding the one with the most people in suits and breaking the window of it before entering it. "Hello," said Julius in a nonchalant tone while he had in fact scared the soul out of most of the people in that room as they were all turned ti the other side of the room which was where the door was. They all wanted to meet the man known as Julius first hand and as such did not account for the possibility that Julius might not abide with their rules. However after being given a chance ti calm down and collect their thoughts, the men in the room which were deemed to be the world leaders finally began to speak. "Greetings sir Julius, it''s a pleasure to make your acquaintance," said one of the old men in a suit as he bowed his head slightly to show Julius some respect. However Julius did not even bother to recognize their deeds and instead went straight for the main topic. "Give me one good reason not to kill every single one of you in the room and the proceed to kill everyone is your world?" Julius requested as he didn''t have the patience to beat around the bush and finally reach the main topic after hours of talking about non sense. "Come on now kid, you''re still so young. There''s no need to be hastily. Learn to live a little," said another old man as he began to pour wine into two glass bottles as if he was inviting Julius for a drink. <> Using his secret art, Julius forced an uncountable amount of blades to appear around the building he was in and due to it being constructed of glass on the outside, the men in the room had a clear view of the number of blades that Julius had summoned. "I wish not to repeat myself. Now, stop changing the subject and let''s get straight to the point," said Julius as he was getting quite irritated at the fact that the people in that room had issued his world to be killed off like it was nothing but now had the audacity to act friendly with him since he was a threat to them now. "Just die already!" one of the old men in the room yelled out as he pulled a gun out of his pocket and fired a bullet directly at Julius only for it to just bounce off his body as if it was nothing. "Did you honestly think that a bullet would end up killing me while thousands of nukes did nothing to me? Think, just think for even a second. I mean even if you were desperate, you should have just accepted death with grace instead of making a fool of yourself. Now die," said Julius as he commanded one of his blades to fire at the man which had fired the gun at him. "Now, is there anyone else who would be willing to try something stupid?" Julius asked to which no even a single person let out a single breath in fear that it would offend Julius and he would end up killing them all. "Great, I assume you silence means that you have all learned your lesson. Now to get down to it, why do you want to kill my people. I mean we haven''t done anything bad to you. In fact, you''re the ones who''ve done something bad to us. You realize that you''re the evil ones in this case right? So please entertain me, tell me why you thought it would be just for you to kill Al of us without warning.. The only difference between our two kinds is that one of us knows how to cultivate and use secret arts while the other one had access to a number of technology which can both advance their kind and also destroy it," Julius asked out of curiosity. Chapter 235 - News "Well to be frank with you. All of us think your people are monsters. I mean could you really blame us? While you all have access to magic, all we have is our technology. You might say that our nukes are stronger than most people on your side of the world but that really doesn''t matter. Our nukes are only used in emergencies where it''s the last option we have. As for you, magic is so vast that it can do many different things for you which include helping you with your daily life and even can be used in battle. We''ve heard stories about small children being able to take down fully grown adult with ease. In your world, age, height, body figure and many more barriers in our world mean nothing in yours as with just enough hard work, a person can surpass everyone else. It''s just not fair for us. As such, we have no choice to but to portray your people as evil demons which only seek to destroy us and our only choice is to destroy you first. It''s an instinct that we have. If we''re not able to defeat you on equal footing, we have to do everything in our power to turn the tides and be victorious as it would be our only way of survival," one of the men in the room said with a sigh as they had given up on their life. As such, they decided to tell Julius everything and didn''t care if Julius killed him. "Wow, that quite interesting. I guess I can see where you''re coming from. Specially if we were to make an agreement in which we would work together and later on we were to have conflict, you would be at quite the disadvantage since we would know your weakness but we wouldn''t have a weakness to you," said Julius as he tries to sympathize with the people there. "Nevertheless, I don''t see how it''s right to wipe our half a planet just because you''re scared. I mean is that really the best way to proceed. You could have at least tried to reach a consensus with us," said Julius as he tried to change the minds of the people in that room so that they would no longer live in fear of the people from the cultivation world. "Look, we tried to think about every possible situation we could have been in, in nearly all of them which we tried to speak to you first, the conclusion was that you would utterly kill all of us in an instant. As such, we must apologize as we never wanted it to get this bad however it''s the way things must be. Goodbye Julius, it was nice meeting you," said the man as all of the people began to disappear as if they were nothing but holograms as they left Julius in the room alone. "Dammit, so it was nothing but a trap after all," said Julius with a sigh. ... ... ... *On the news* "Reports are being made that the district inside the southern region of the city had been nuked multiple times at a time. Authorities warn that no one go anywhere near that area. What happened there exactly is still a mystery but has done our best to go some digging in hope of giving you some answers. It is believed that Julius Henry, the current strongest person from the other side of the world had infuriated our world and sought to destroy it. As such, he was lured to an area on last minute notice so that the world leaders could speak to him. Due to him wanting to destroy us from our core, he decided to go there himself so that he could kill all of the at once. We not present to you the video which we retrieved in his Julius killed one of our own greasiest leaders," said the lady who was reporting the news as she said whatever she was forced to say. Of course she told the general story of what had taken place but due to the world leaders being the ones that were creating the story, she needed to add lies as the ones in power were the ones who were allowed to control the media. What ended up being shown on the news was a short segment in which Julius killed one of the old men using one of his thousand blades. However what was not shown was the part at which the old man tried to shoot Julius with a gun as there was no way one of the world leaders could be portrayed in a negative light. That was preposterous to even think about. "As you can see by the video provided to you all, Julius Henry as well as the people from the other side of the world are nothing but blood thirsty monsters which seek o ur destruction. Have no fear though as the nukes that were launched today were done all in the goal of killing Julius at which they were successful as not even a single spec of his body could be found on the scene. This will also be how our magnificent world leaders plan to deal with the magical side of this world. We will irritate those vermin," said the woman as she continue to report the news. Although she had in fact said something true in her statement. There was in fact not even a trance of Julius'' body in the scene however it was not because Julius was dead. That was far from the truth. It was because Julius was alive. He managed to live and still he sought vengeance for being played as if he was a fool. As the lady continued to report the news and said what she was told, people all around the world continued to eat up what she said and believed every single part of it and not even a single one of them questioned the validity of her statement. That was all good until a figure walked in slowly at which the monstrous figure scared everyone in the news studio out of it including the reporter. "Hello everyone, this is Julius Henry speaking" Chapter 236 - Sun Just at the sight of the deformed monster alone people who were watching the news at home began to panic as simply looking at the demon on their screen was enough to send shivers down their spines. The will to live simply escaped their souls as the stared at the monster in front of them. Julius who had just introduced himself to them on the screen looked completely deformed as he was covered in a green chemical of sorts. It continued to born his skin as he spoke but he didn''t seem to care. "Hello everyone. This is Julius Henry speaking. You must''ve heard many things about me. How I''m a monster and want to destroy your kind. How I''m so evil that I put satan himself to shame. I assume that all of you believe those things because in truth you are all brainless monkeys that believe everything you''re told. As such, whether you believe me or not, I would like to inform you of what actually happened," said Julius as he prepares to unveil the truth to the world. "You see, all I wanted to do was speak to those who govern your world which was why I had caused a scene. It had seemed like they had agreed to my conditions but they simply set a trap for me and killed me. I mean if I had actually killed one of them, how would they be alive? If I was able to kill them while I was in that room, they would have all died when the room was nuked. I mean all it would take is a couple seconds of basic thinking to process that which many of you did not do and I can assure you that. Secondly, if I had truly wanted to kill your people, I would have just started to wreck havoc on the planet instead of going to meet with a couple people. To you they might be important individuals however to me, they''re no different than a person I see walking down the street. All your lives are equally worthless in my eyes. The reason why I''m telling you this is that you realize that you are the ones who always start problems with me. I was never given any warning when my kingdom and people were attacked. You can only blame yourselves for what is about to happen to you. You''ll all be dying by my hands," said Julius as he prepares to show how truly powerful he was. "You must be wondering how I could make such claims in the state I''m in. If that''s a question which you have in mind, I advice you all to watch closely as I do what I''m about to do," said Julius with a grin. <> Using his secret art, Julius was able to recover completely as he healed his body in an instant to which was very confusing to the views as if they had blinked for even a fraction of a second, they would have missed the process in which Julius went from a deformed monster which was disgusting to even look at to the regular Julius who was completely fine and healthy. Included with his healing was a factor where he would also regenerate the cloths he was wearing before he was nuked to the point where he was turned into a monstrous creature. "Do you all get it now? I''ve won from the start. There was no hope for any of you to actually defeat me. It doesn''t matter how many nukes you send at me, I''ll always be able to turn my body back to how it used to be. You simply can''t win against me. You are all monkey in my eyes," Julius said with a smirk before leaving the camera and flying up towards the sky. "I''ve always had this idea but never got a chance to try it. I''ve always wondered how powerful I was but due to how many restrictions I was placed in, I never got the chance to go all out. However things have changed. I now have the chance to actually use my powers and fully demonstrate how much of a monstrous power I am in this world," said Julius as he prepared to do something which he had always wanted. That all began from a use of a secret art. <> Using this secret art, Julius simply pointed his finger towards the sky before fuelling all of his stamina into it as he created a small spec of fire which stayed in the sky before it began to slowly but surely grow more and more. With every passing second it continues to grow just a bit and within a few minutes, it has reached the size of a small tennis ball and had taken a globe like shape. From this point onward, the fire began to accelerate the rate which it grew at it continued to get bigger and bigger, in just a few more seconds, everyone in the city could see and feel it. Next, the entire country. However it was at that point that Julius began to lose his breath as he was already exhausted and was running out of stamina. However, Julius still wished to make the large hall continue to grow as he wanted to demonstrate his superiority to everyone in the world. As such, he resorted to using his ultimate form which was the one where he would merge with Duke-Drake and become an all powerful being capable of so much destruction that it would put the entire planet under threat of destruction. "Let''s go, I just need to push my self just a bit further," Julius said as he grit his teeth while pushing himself through the pain. Soon after this, the fire ball could be seen all throughout the world. At this point, Julius had struck true fear into everyone''s hearts as they knew that there was no escape. The final straw was when Julius pushed himself too far and made it so that the ball could be seen not only on the regular side of the world but also in the cultivation world. Whether it was day or night, Julius'' presence was known throughout the world. Chapter 237 - Disturb As Julius continued to grow his ball of fire and bring true fear into their hearts of everyone in the world, a new opponent was preparing himself for Julius as he had taken things too far. It was time to put the new king in his place and teach him to never step out of line ever again. Although Julius'' initial goal was for him to help the people of the dark district and end corruption in the cultivation world, Julius was side tracked and how was on the verge of ending the world as a whole. The person who was going to stop Julius was no other than the person though Julius everything he knew about cultivation and the history of the cultivation world. That being Jun Victorious himself. <> Using this secret art, Jun was able to send an air shock which caused a hole in Julius'' ball of fire which caused the fire ball to dissipate before turning into nothingness. "What the hell was that? Does anyone actually eat wrong challenge my power?" Julius asked around him as he saw a single figure which he instantly recognized. "So it''s you. I don''t understand why you''re here though. I mean you should know that I no longer see you as my master nor teacher but a simple traitor? You are no longer a person deserving of my respect. All I seek now if to take out my anger on you. I meant you truly betrayed me. I seriously thought that you would stick by my side until the end. Even so, you ended up betraying me and returning back to Henry just like the loyal dog you are," Julius stated to Jun. "So where did that lead you? Back to me," said Julius in a disappointed tone as he only saw the disgraceful image of his teacher which made the wrong choice. "Listen Julius, I didn''t turn my back on you because I thought that Henry was right all the time. I did it because you had lost your way. It was too late for me to change you as you were more powerful than me. There was no way that you would actually listen to anything if I told you what I thought. I mean there would be no reason fo you to do so. You knew more than your master so what reason would you have to following what I told you?" Jun asked Julius as he tried to make his student understand. "The real question is why I wouldn''t listen to you? Jun you were not just a teacher to me, I didn''t think of you as my master and mentor alone. You were family to me. The only person who took the time to understand me and guide me through life. If it wasn''t for you, I don''t know where I would be right now. Even so, I understand that you''re not the good person which you claim to be. Even though you spent years upon years cultivating through meditation, I understand now that you have been corrupted by this world. You enjoy the evils of this world just as you enjoy the good parts of it. As that is true joy in its self. Too much good can turn into bad which is why balance is the best way to live. Although that might be true, in you, the enjoyment of evil has slowly began ti turn the tides as it bring a sort of rush to your brain which you seem to enjoy. That might be why you decided to help Henry, you wanted me to die in agony from all the mental stress I had already been put through and the I would have to deal with the fact that my teacher who had taught me for so long also planned to kill me. You''re truly one evil demon Jun," said Julius is a tone which amplified the disappointment in his heart. "Forget what I said, there''s no point in be going this far to explain how I feel about you as the outcome of this battle will still remain the same. However, I must ask, why are you here? You do realize that the gap in our strengths even even higher than the one between Henry and I, right? What makes you think that you of all people will be able to take me down?" Julius asked as he wanted or be entertained. "Well the answer is quite simple. I believe that I can take you down for a simple reason which you might have not thought about until now. You see Julius, you should understand that although our cultivation world is a bit unjust when it comes to the way some are able to attain better powers in our world based on the way they''re born, there is at least something which everyone in our world is capable of. That being a simple secret art by the name of ''helping hand''. It allows one to boost another person''s attack power by a certain percentage. You should realize that I mean percentage and not a fixed amount of attack power. That means that if I were to hypothetically get a whole army to boost my attack power, I would be vastly stronger than you would ever expect. This is all thanks to the team work capabilities which all the people who side with me have. I managed to convince them all to join me in my quest to defeat you and they all passed on their wills to me. Right now Julius, you''re mistaken as I am not fighting you alone. As if this moment, you are going up against the full force of the 9 kingdoms. The truth of the matter is, you''re the person who''s fighting alone," Jun stated to Julius. However instead of being heart broken at what Jun had said, Julius gave the exact opposite reaction as she began to laugh in Jun face which just confused Jun as Julius should have been frightened at the concept that was in Jun''s possession. Chapter 238 - Monkey Instead of being frightened just as Jun had expected Julius to be, Julius quite the opposite reaction as he began to laugh in the face of Jun while being dead serious. Even though Jun had made it coins like he had become a true Lu new monster which could take on Julius on equal footing, that was far from the truth. Well at least in Julius eyes. However Jun would prove his power as he quickly teleported beside Julius and punched him so hard that with just a single unexpected punch, he had knocked out the front 2 teeth of Julius as he also made Julius'' nose bleed just from the impact. "So we''re playing like that now? I see how it is then. Make sure to send my greeting to Henry in hell!" Julius yelled out as he went in for a punch of his own as he pushed himself too fat only for Jun to dodge it and in turn Julius'' head faced the ground while the two were mid air which was a horrible position for Julius and would be proven by what Jun does next as Jun clenched both his hand together to form a giant fist and slammed it on the back of Julius'' head. With just the impact of that attack alone, he had caused Julius to be send down towards the ground at astronomical speeds before Julius finally landed face first into the ground where he tried to get back up from only for Jun to slam his own body on top of Julius'' and force him to get out of his hair haired form and lose consciousness. "What happened now Julius? Why can you laugh now? Cat bite your tongue? Exactly! Don''t even laugh at me like you won. You''ll never win against me," said Jun as he stood over Julius before finally getting overconfident and trying to spit of Julius. however, before the ball of spit to reach Julius'' body, Julius moved away for fast while being unconscious before wrapping his legs around Jun''s neck and beginning to crush his airway. "Get off me you damn monkey! I don''t want your disgusting body on me! Don''t every when think about touching me you lower levelled creature!" Jun yelled out whole slowly but surely running out of breath as Julius relentless continued to close Jun''s air way which made it harder for him to breathe before that turned into nearly impossible. Just as Jun began to lose hope and started to lose consciousness, Julius himself regained consciousness which forced him to let go of Jun as he didn''t even know what he was doing. His body was just excavating a survival instinct by relying on the fighting techniques that he had learned during his short stay in the regular side of the world when he had first went there with Jun a few years ago. "So it seems that I almost died because of something which I helped you learn. I seriously regret being a good teacher to you. Although you know what they say, ''the only one who can stop a rouge student is their teacher''," said Jun as he tried to sound wise but was only found to be obnoxious by Julius who just wanted to bring an end to his battle with Jun and take a break. However at the rate of their battle, Julius could sense that it was only the start of the hell which he called the battle between him and Jun. <> Using his secret art, Julius was able to summon exactly one thousand blades which all existed in the air around him as they surrounded him. <> Using his secret art, Jun was able to do the exact same thing that Julius was able to do. Seeing as they were both equally matched, Jun allows his blades to be directed towards Julius which directed the blades of his own to block off Jun''s blades like it was nothing. In the end, the blades ended up canceling each other other by kept coming back to each other again and again as they relented to defeat their enemies however not a single battle between the two thousand total blades came to an end as they were matched almost too closet to find a single winner. Seeing as there was not going to be a conclusion to their battle, Julius leaped towards Jun as he couldn''t just sit back from the sideline and watch a useless battle of blades. Instead he decided to use his own fists to start punch Jun which also raised his own fists to exchange blows with Julius. "Just give up already old timer. You know that you can''t compete with me. So why must you insist on getting in my way? I just want to live my life freely just like you did yours. Is that truly too much to ask for?" Julius asked in a tone which would make Jun feel as for him which in fact had worked as Jun began to think about his past. A past where Jun was nothing more than a child. although his childhood was not the best, Jun stool like to remember the good old times where everything that took place wasn''t a repeat of the previous day. That had caused Jun to get distracted for a fraction of a second which was a fatal mistake as Julius took full advantage of it to land a devastating punch on Jun''s face. "You seriously fell for that? Well say your last world old man, you won''t be getting a chance to get back up after this," said Julius with a grin as he bombarded Jun with an endless fury of punches which kept going to the point where Jun had forgotten where he was and even who he was at one point.. Nevertheless, Julius did not care for even a fraction of a moment as he continuously beat Jun to a pulp without giving him a single break as he knew that even the slightest bit of hesitation could drastically change the tides of the battle and mean the possible end for Julius. Chapter 239 - Pulp After beating Jun''s face for so long that it had been beaten to a pulp and was now unrecognizable, Julius finally pulled his fists away to reveal that they were red with blood and Julius finally made an actual realization. Julius realized that he was not the person he used to know before. He didn''t understand how he went firm the kid that enjoyed smiling to a blood thirsty evil creature that covered his fists with the blood of the person who had taught he everything he knew. This wasn''t technically Julius'' fault as tough times create tough people. Due to his 3 whole years inside the dungeon where he was constantly being bombarded by an endless fury of insanely strong monsters, Julius had forgotten about his kind a gentle side. He had forgotten that he could win a battle without being a literal demon which only knew how to cause havoc and destruction. "I-I''m sorry," said Julius as his hands shook in fear of what he had turned into. He didn''t fear Jun or the possibility that he might kill him now that Julius was not fully concentrated. Julius only feared one thing in that moment. That thing being himself. Nothing scared Julius more than himself. He couldn''t believe just how far he was willing to go for revenge. It didn''t make sense though as Julius was never one to hold grudges so it didn''t make sense why he sought out revenge so much. However after some thought, the reason for his sudden urge to take out revenge in the most gruesome way possible was brought upon him by none other than his own father. This had happened due to the fact that Julius still wanted to to take out his anger of his father as he didn''t get a chance to actually damage his own father since he had been killed before Julius'' punch could ever reach him. In every single was possible, Julius fit the statement known as "suffering from success" as he was too strong for his own good that he couldn''t even enjoy the satisfaction of killing those he hated. As such, to let out his anger, he sought out those who angered him even in the least and did his best to torment them so that all of the anger in his system would be cleaned as he didn''t want it to stick to him any longer specially since he wanted to have a new start at life in the heavens as he had already ruined his own world. While Julius was lost in thought though, Jun decided it was time for him to strike as he began to constantly bombard Julius with an endless amount of punches and kicks. It didn''t matter to him if those punches were playing dirty or anything, as long as he got them to land, that was fair play to him. The amount of anger which Jun had been allowing to boil up was now all being unleashed on Julius as Jun wanted to get revenge for all the punches that had been thrown at him and was forced to bleed like that. However something odd was happening. Instead of the usual reaction that anyone else would have at which they would try their best to not get injured, it was the exact opposite for Julius. He didn''t bother to block or even try to counter the attacks that were coming at him. He just let them all hit him as if he wanted them to. Julius stopped caring about the pain he felt. It was as if all of the nerves which receipted the feeling of pain stopped working and allowed Julius to stand still while he was getting beaten to a pulp. However just as al things in the universe, Julius had reached his limit and was tired of getting punched for no reason. He didn''t even feel any pain which made it so that Julius was just wasting time while Jun thought that he was actually doing something productive with his time. "Why won''t you die already?! Just die! Die! Die!" Jun continued to yell over and over again only for Julio regain her senses again grab Jun by the wrist before kicking him in the chest using his knee which made Jun pass out in an instant. "That''s much better. Now you can''t e a nuisance to me any longer," said Julius as he dropped the unconscious body of Jun towards the ground before once again starting to activate his secret art so that he could bring an end to all the conflict in the world. By showing everyone that no matter how powerful they were, they would always lose to Julius, he would be making sure that all arguments would be settled as it didn''t matter who was on either side, if Julius ever walked past them, he would be deemed the best at activity as if anyone even bothered to question him, it would be the death penalty. "Okay now where was I," said Julius as he snapped his fingers and a fire began to spark before allowing a brought ball of fire to appear out of nowhere was it floated above Julius'' finger. With every passing second, it continued to grow more and more as Julius had wanted the sun ball to be visible all across the globe. However Julius'' struggles would not end there as another figure wanted to make themselves an enemy of Julius as they came in flying out of nowhere and punched Julius off to the side so that the ball of fire would be disturbed once again. All while this had happened m, confusion had been brought all throughout the country, no, confusion all across the world. They wanted to learn more about what was happening to Julius.. As for those who delved into the news more than others, they camera footage the new figure that was going up in battle against Julius and wanted to know who or what it was and if it actually stood a chance at defeating the monster known as Julius. Chapter 240 - Break "What is it now? I can''t even catch a break for even half a second? Why does this world intend of sending out everything it has against me?" Julius asked himself as he turned his head back towards the thing that had pushed him to the side only to see a regular human flying somehow. Seeing as it was levitating, Julius assumed that it was using a secret art which must have meant that they were from the cultivation world. "Who are you and which kingdom do you originate from? You do realize that the war is over right? You''re supposed to serve me now," said Julius as he tried to explain to the human that Julius was its true king. "I go by the name of Jon #0405. I do not understand what you''re talking about when you say what kingdom I''m from. I am from this world, more specifically the ''HRS lab''. If you are wondering where I''m actually from, that''s the place that I come from," said the human as it revealed to Julius something very interesting. "Wait so you''re not from the cultivation world, that''s what I''m hearing right now right?" Julius asked just to make sure that he was hearing things correctly to which the human replied with a nod before charging towards Julius once again to continue their battle. However as the human continued to attack him, Julius acted on defence while also having subconscious thoughts in his head. "He says that he''s from a place called HRS lab. From the sound of it, it''s almost guaranteed to be a lab of some kind. The only problem is that I don''t know what type of lab it is. From why I already know, I only have one guess but it''s more likely correct or at least close as it''s the only one that I can think of it. My guess is that HRS stands for human research system. That accompanied by the world lab made perfect sense as the creature that stood in front of Julius did not seem like a regular human nor a cultivator in the least and it still know to how use technology properly with also having the genetic make up to preform secret arts which is quite troublesome as they have takes the best of both words to create the best creature on this planet. Although it''s a bit disappointing to say that he won''t be that special. In all truth, I''m not special on my own. Without having been bless with the pill tang I was forced to take all those years ago, I would have ended up like a normal person. As such, it doesn''t matter if the new monster that was created was a direct descendant of me. It''ll still end up being pretty normal if not disappointing," Julius thought to himself as he tried to analyze the situation. Seeing as the creature that was attempting to stop him was pretty weak, Julius decided to stop all the nuisance around him and try to punch the figure in the chest however something unexpected took place. The figure for a syringe out of no where and used it to stab something into Julius before pulling out the syringe and leaving Julius confused. "What did you just do to me?" Julius began to ask as his head began to deal hazy and he was starting to lose consciousness however before he could pass out, Julius realIzed what was going to happen and tried to attack the figure one last time and concluding battle with him being the winner. "Oh that? That was just a deadly virus which evens body like yours shouldn''t be able to block. You should be at least one hundred times weaker than your original state. However as time passes, you will only grow weaker and weaker as the virus multiplies and your body before finally killing you from the inside out. You''ve already lost. I guess regular humans are still capable of taking down the strongest one from the magical humans. It proves that our minds are much more powerful than anything else in our body," the genetically modified human continued to speak nonsense as Julius'' mind continued to lose consciousness. "Just allow it to happen. There''s no need for you to resist it any longer. You know you don''t stand a chance against us. Just accept the loss and die already," the modified human continued to speak down to Julius as if he had already won the battle. Although just like a true hero, Julius would have wanted to feel better by himself before charging into battle to destroy the enemy, he was not in some fictional story where every would go his way. Unfortunately for him, things were not going to be that easy. As such, Julius closed his eyes for what seemed like the last time as his body finally gave out on him and he began to fall from the sky at an ever increasing rate as if his body was made out of metal. However Julius was at least lucky as a helping hand did in fact come to rescue him from his doom. That being spike as he laid his palm on Julius'' back ever so slightly so that no damage would be caused to him. "There''s no need for you to always play the role of the hero all alone. It actually hurts our feelings when you do that since it makes us feel like we''re just a waste of space to you. Let us help you once in a while," said Spike as he helped Julius continue to stay afloat as he carried him on his back while still levitating. "He''s right you know. There''s no reason for you to scare us constantly by nearly dying every single time. If it wasn''t for your tremendous luck, you would have died many times over by now. Just place some faith in us," said Rosie as she activated a healing type of secret art to help Julius recover.. It didn''t matter what type of human virus was in Julius'' body, Rosie had implemented a dragon tier healing secret art which would surpass any type of illness. Chapter 241 - Wingman "Do you think he''ll make it?" ... "Of course he will, I''m using one of the best secret arts in my disposal, if it didn''t work, there''s nothing else that would work!" Julius awoke to the sound of two people arguing in the night sky as one of them was a familiar female voice which was in front of him and the other one was that of a male he knew which was behind him. "Am I dead?" Julius asked himself out loud in an exhausted tone as he kept having to pass out and wake up. Even if his physical health was restored, his mental health was still not exactly perfect which meant that it would take a great toll on his fighting which also coronated to his effectiveness in battle. "Oh look he''s awake. Maybe I didn''t need to doubt you after all," said Spike as he let out a sigh of relief. "I told you that my healing was flawless. You''re lucky I was here, if I wasn''t, you would be in a whole lot of trouble," said Rosie as she bragged about how she was the reason Julius was alive however she didn''t say it to Julius who should have been the person to hear it but instead said it to Spike as she was still too scared to speak to Julius after what had taken place in Henry''s kingdom. "Oh I see you''re awake. Please do well in your next battle my king," said Rosie in a rather formal tone as she didn''t want to over step her boundaries and wanted to properly make sure that she atoned for her sins or at least what she considered to be sins. However Julius was tired of having her act like a stranger and decided to take matters into his own hands quite literally however it might not have been a good idea as it caused Rosie to become quite flustered. "Thank you," said Julius as he placed his left hand behind Rosie''s head and pulled her closer to his chest so that he could embrace her. All while this happened, Rosie was too startled to even comprehend what was taking place around her. Her face and ears quickly became quite red as that was the last thing she expected to happen after she had healed Julius. As for Spike, he looked at Rosie with a look at a child would make to make fun of their friend is they were seen with the opposite gender as if he was making fun of Rosie for blushing so much without even saying a word. However all good things must come to an end as the biologically modified human began to descend from the sky as it recognized Julius'' heart beat. "How interesting. It seems that I have failed in my goal of defeating you. Well it''s really not that much of a bother. I can always try again. It is my duty as humanity''s greatest weapon to eliminate you right here, right now," said the biologically modified human before it began to cast a secret art. <> Using this secret art, Spike created a seemingly endless forest which spanned on for several kilometres. All while this was happening, both Julius and the modified human were distracted by the growing trees. However the main goal of it was so that it would create a small twig which would sprout right beside Rosie''s angle and whip it so hard that her bone would break. In just a moment, Rosie lost her balance and began to fall towards the ground at which Julius'' instincts kicked in and went to hold her before she could fall. In that moment, Rosie''s face turned red once again while she felt the agonizing pain of having her bone broken. To make things a bit better for her though, Julius placed his hand on top of her head as he wanted to check her temperature. "Are you sick Rosie? Your face is awfully red right now, maybe you should sit this one out while Spike and I take care of this guy," said Julius as he laid her on the ground and began to prepare to head into battle. "My king, don''t you think that leaving her alone would be too dangerous? I mean she could be used as a hostage if she were to be kidnapped. Please allow me to take care of this while you look after her. In the state she''s in now, I doubt she''ll be able to defend herself," said Spike as he had carefully set his plan into motion. "I guess you''re right. Well I''ll put some faith in you. Do your best," said Julius as he sat on the ground and placed Rosie''s head on his lap so that it would act as a pillow and also cause Rosie to get even more flustered. Before Spike began his battle, he gave Rosie a rather sinister wink to let her know that he had done everything on purpose. Chapter 242 - Garden After managing to make Julius stay back so that Rosie would end up furthering her relationship with him, Spike prepared to let out his full power against the biologically modified human which not only had the power to control the technologies of man kind but also the power to use secret arts whenever he wished to do so. As much he make himself quite the formidable enemy. Even so, Spike planned to not even hold back from even a moment as he had seen what the modified human was capable of. As such, Spike planned to use his full power right from the start so that he would be able to defeat his enemy quickly and efficiently. <> Using this secret art, Spike was able to create a large gate in the sky which was quite familiar to Julius as he had seen it in action previously and could sense how devastating of an attack it truly was. The only problem being how long it took and the fact that the enemy would have to be lined up around the area where the blade would fall down to for the secret art to actually be of any use. However if those conditions were met, the attack in itself was quite the devastating one as it would even have Julius concerned for a bit. Although Spike had used one of his best secret arts, he realized that he would still have to distract the modified human for a while as it would take a couple minutes for the secret art to take affect. As such, Spike cast more secret arts in hopes of buying himself more time. <> Using this secret art, Spike was able to create a number of pointed flames which acted as missiles which all directed themselves at the modified human as they all flew towards him. However the modified human had no plans of being defeated that easy and as such decided to use a secret art of his own to defend the fire missiles that were coming at him. <> Using his own secret art, the modified human was able to create a shield of his own to protect himself from the fury of flames that were heading right for him as they aimed to kill him without even a second thought as that was Spike''s intentions for them. Seeing as the modified human was able to block Spike''s attack, it was time for him to counter attack and so he did in the form of human weaponry. That being actual missiles which were made to explode upon contact. Of course getting them on the scene of the battle right when he wanted them was difficult but it ended up working out perfectly as he was able to send a signal for them to come towards the battlefield before Spike had even attacked and they had finally arrived as they attacked Spike from all directions. Seeing the level of strength that Spike was at, it would be nearly impossible for him to cast a a secret art sting enough to block the missiles that were coming at him all at once and he would either have to take some damage from all the missiles or all the damage from some missiles as he would have to divide up his force field shield which he planned to create to block the missiles and he wouldn''t be able to create more than or two in the amount of time it would take for the missiles to hit him. However Spike was also worried that the missiles might have been planned to hit Julius and Rosie. Seeing as that would be the last thing that he would want to happen, Spike completely ignored the safety of his own body and decided to take the risk just to create a force field around Julius and Rosie. However Spike was mistaken as well as unlucky as the missiles were in fact directed at him and ended up hitting him and not going for Julius. "Wow, that was disappointing, I would have liked for you to block that attack so that our duel would continue for a while longer before you met your inevitable soon however it looks like the conclusion of this battle has been reached sooner than expected. Although I would have preferred to enjoy myself a bit more, I cannot do anything to chance how things have ended. As such, all I have to say to you is farewell. I wish you luck in your next like," said the genetically modified human which was part robot which would explain its ability to send a signal to summon missiles when he wished to do so. "What are you talking about? Who said this battle ever came to an end? And what gives you the right to assume that you would win this battle before you even got a chance to hurt me," said Spike as he unveiled himself out of the clouds of smoke only to reveal that he was alright. Although his shirt was blown off, he still looked to be quite healthy and ready for battle. "Perhaps I''ve been mistaken about you. Maybe this battle will in fact be one which I will remember," said the genetically modified human as he prepared to cast a secret art of his own. However Spike also wanted to cast one as he wanted to get the upper edge in the battle. Specially since the secret art he had cast first was beginning to get ever closer to actually activating. Due to that, it was essential for him to to make sure that the generically modified human would not be able to move so that Spike''s blade could hit him with full force. <> Using another secret art, Spike created another forest who''s trees and bushes moved much more than the previous grass type secret art he has created.. Due to the name of it, the trees kept folding on themselves so that they could trap the modified human. Chapter 243 - Burn "So this is what you plan to use to stop me? I have to say, I''m a bit disappointed, I would have expected more from one of the comrades of my final enemy. Nevertheless, I''ll just take care of it like I''ll be taking care of you and then your leader," said the biologically modified human before activating a secret art of his own once again. <> Using this secret art, he was able to start and never ending flame which started in the core of the folding forest before it expanded into the outer layers as it completely destroyed it in just a matter of minutes. "See, I had already warned you that you would be no match for me. Although I can''t blame you. You must still think that you''re responsible for being the knight in shining armour for yo ur leader. Well I have some news to tell you. Both you and your leader will be dying by my hands in just a couple minutes so start saying your prayers," said the genetically modified human as he prepared to take his first step forward as he wanted to kill Spike now and get the battle over with so he could move on to his main battle, that being with the real Julius who was sitting down without a care in the world as he looked after Rosie. When loomed at from the genetically modified human''s perspective, it in fact did seem like Julius had placed all his trust into Spike. This would come in useful as Spike realized that Julius didn''t seem even the least bit concerned which let him know that his leader trusted him. Realizing this, Spike let out a gentle smile which looked more like a smirk to the modified human. Seeing as Spike felt complete, he allowed his secret art to take affect. "Fall," said Spike as he pointed his index and middle finger towards the ground which directed his heaven''s blade to fall from the spatial gate in the sky towards the body of the modified human as it hit Spike''s enemy with the force of at least a thousand elephants. "Now you can finally shut up now," said Spike as he saw the blade sink into the body of the genetically modified human before sinking itself ever so deep into the group which allowed Spike to come to the conclusion that his battle had come to a close. However that was far from the truth. "Where do you think you''re going now?" the genetically modified human asked in an exhausted tone which made Spike turn around which revealed that the modified human was in fact very much alive however he was severely injured as his right shoulder had been cut off completely by the blade and blood continued to gush out of his body like a waterfall. "It''s already over. You know you can''t defeat me in the state you''re in. So why do you keep bothering to stand up? I can tell that you''re nothing more than a puppet. However even a puppet master should recognize when their puppet is of no use any longer. You must be going through hell itself right now. allow me to do you a favour and end your life as swiftly as possible," said Spike as he was exhausted himself and didn''t have the energy to push himself more than he already had. However due to the modified human being part robotic, he had no choice but to continue fighting. Even so, the modified human couldn''t really do much as at the rate he was going, it would only a matter of seconds before he died from blood loss. As such, he planned to us his ultimate and final attack which he could only use a single time. This was due to the fact that his attack killed the user and as such, it was a suicide attack. "Forgive me. This was not the way in which I intended to defeat you. However desperate times call for desperate measures. I guess I''ll have to take you all with me to hell," said the modified human as he pulled up the sleeve of his left hand to reveal a red button on it. After doing so, the kiddies human used his chin to press the button and closed his eyes as if he had accepted his death. However to Spike, it seemed like the modified human had done nothing and was simply bluffing about using a final attack which would not only kill Spike but Julius and Rosie as well. ... ... ... After exactly 3 seconds of pressing the button, a large explosion could be heard all across the country as it all originated from the spot Spike had been fighting the modified human. All across the country, people could feel the impact of it and it was the second area of their world to have suffered large casualties as there was no warning given that an explosion of that size would take place and as such kill so many people. What was surprising was that the explosion caused by the suicide of the modified human was much greater than that of the explosions created by the nuclear weapons which were sent out to target Julius when he first arrived in the regular side of the world. "Dammit! I knew I should have stepped in! I wish they didn''t come to recuse me! Now they''re both dead because I couldn''t react in time to defend them! But wait... how am I still completely fine?" Julius asked himself with a confused voice as he realized that there was a force field that protected not only him but Rosie as well. A force field the same colour as the one that Spike had used the previous time to protect them. Realizing what had happened, Julius grit his teeth in regret and shame. "Once again, I couldn''t be of any use to my comrades. Another one of them died due to my inability to sense danger.. It''s always my fault," Julius said as he blamed himself for the death of Spike. Chapter 244 - Explosion Although it has seemed as if Spike had been killed due to the explosion which took place as a result of the suicide of the biologically modified human which took his own life after being nearly killed by Spike''s secret art, that was not the case as Spike was indeed saved by a familiar figure which came to the rescue. "Hey, are you alright?" Ian asked as he carried Spike on his back while levitating on the air so that the explosion could die down for a bit. "Yes, thanks for saving my life. To be quite honest with you. I didn''t actually mind the idea of getting killed in that explosion. I had thought that it was a noble way to go out since I would have been able to save king Julius from the explosion while making a selfless act. However now that I think about it, I am thankful that you saved me from that explosion. In the fraction of a second before it had hit me, I had regretted giving my life up so easily. I mean there were so many things which I wanted to do. And it wasn''t that I couldn''t save myself either as if I had ran fast enough to where king Julius and Rosie were, I could have caused my force field to not only protect the both of them but also myself. I don''t know how to describe is but the feeling you get the moment before you die is truly horrifying," said Spike as he explained his gratitude towards Ian who had saved his life from the explosion which would have surely killed him. "I mean it''s not like you would actually die for good though. Knowing king Julius'' kind heart, he would bring you back to life himself by creating a time reversal secret art like the one Vivian had used to revive the important figures which had died during the battle. I guess it turns out that she did feel a sense of guilt as Julius had spared her army from his wrath and she managed to return the favour by reviving our king''s army as well. Even if she decided to refuse to revive you, our king would find a way to force her to as that''s the way king Julius is," said Ian as he replied to Spike. "I guess you''re right. Although you also have to account for the fact that if the secret art isn''t used fast enough, the body could be past the point where time reversal would be enough to bring their body back. Nevertheless, I''m grateful for your act of kindness. Due to it, I am now able to walk on my own two feet once again and live life freely," said Spike with a smile as he seemed truly happy. However that same attitude did not apply to Ian as he did not look happy in the least nor did he look sad. All that lingered on his face was that of regret as if he had committed the worst crime in the world. "Why do you look so defeated? I presume that you still believe that you''re the one at fault for attacking king Julius? I understand how you feel but don''t take it all out on yourself," said Spike as he tried to reassure Ian that things were alright. "How can I just act like nothing ever happened? I mean I failed to protect the one person which I serve. How can one be any more of a failure than that?" Ian asked as he felt truly horrible in the actions he had taken against his own king. Even so, Spike didn''t seem as bothered as Ian or even as bothered as any of the other higher echelon members of Julius'' attack squad. "Hold on Spike, why do you not seem bothered by the whole ordeal that we all went through? I mean you cannot possibly believe that you were not at fault as well by the fact that you attacked our king, could you?" Ian asked Ian rather curious tone which made it seem as if Spike had turned against king Julius however that was not what he had meant as Ian was simply curious if there was a way for him to calm himself down as he was in extreme stress after the great battle had taken place as he could never forgive himself for betraying his own king. "Well to be honest with you Ian, I''m still a bit nervous to speak to king Julius after the great battle however I am not quite as stressed about the situation as the rest of you for a very simple reason. That being because Julius never truly needed us. I mean think about it, no matter how much we tell ourselves that we are of use to him, we have to at some time accept that we''re nothing to him," said Spike which confused Ian as he didn''t expect to hear something like that from an overall positive person such as Spike. "Why do you say that? We''re part of his elite squadron, why wouldn''t we be of use to him?" Ian asked as he still wanted to get some clarification. "Well it''s not really that complicated. Just think about what took place during the so called war against Henry. Our king was severely weakened as evident during the battle where he passed out multiple times out of exhaustion. To add on, it was mentioned by someone during the war that he had his mental health weakened as well so the king Julius who was going into the war was a much weaker version of his original self. Nevertheless, he headed in to the battle with the expectation that he would be able to trust in us. And guess how we repaid his trust in us? We tried to attack him. We were so weak that he fell prey to simple hypnosis and attacked him all at once and allied ourselves with the enemy.. Imagine the hell he had to go through as he tried to hold up back while also trying to attack his actual enemies," said Spike which all agreed with the notion that Ian and everyone else agreed with but what Spike said next was what shifted from the rest of the opinions about the situation. Chapter 245 - Useless "You see, even though we had all attacked him at the same time, he had tried to hold us back so none of us would get hurt however as the battle passed on it became harder and harder for him to continue holding us back while also fighting a whole war against nearly all of the strongest people in our world. To expect that from even a normal Julius would have been proposers. However for anyone to actually expect that from an already severely weakened version of our king is blatantly insane. Although this all remains true, you also have to look at it from another angle. Although all of us had joined up with the enemy which was supposed to originally be a battle with the meditation army as well as the battling army combined against our army, it ended up being a battle between all three of those monstrous forces all up against a single man, that man being our king. You see, all we did during that battle was to be nothing more than a setback to him. All we did was hold him back. If he had simply headed into the battle by himself, he would have had a much easier time dealing with the enemies than if he actually brought us wit him. Just think about it. We were all ready to prove ourselves as worthy assets to our king. Assets which would come to his recuse at any moment and could be dependable and in turn we did the exact opposite. We proved to him that he couldn''t trust in our power. We showed him that he''s better alone than to have us at his side," Spike continued to explain. "Look, I''m just dying that instead of feeling stressed about the situation, just accept it for what it is and move on. There''s no point in trying to redeem ourselves from such a heinous act. It''s just better if we stayed out of our king''s way," said Spike with a sigh. "How intriguing. I never really thought of it like that," said a familiar voice which set true fear in both Ian''s and Spike''s hearts. That voice belonged to none other than Julius himself who had managed to hide his presence so well that none of them had caught on to it while they talked about how they really felt. "My apologies king Julius! Those words should have never left my mouth! I will do anything to regain your respect! I deserve nothing but the worst punishment," said Spike in worry as he didn''t know how to get out of the situation he had placed himself in. Not only had he talked behind Julius'' back even though it wasn''t anything bad in general, but he had also failed to protect him in the war and to make matters worse, he tried to attack him during the war as well. Although Spike was expecting Julius to hit him or at least yell at him so that he would learn his lesson, Julius didn''t do anything even close to that. Instead of scolding Spike like he had initially expected, Julius instead took Spike off Ian''s back and brought him down to the ground slowly as he carried him by the shoulder so that he could rest on the ground where Rosie was resting. "Thank you for protecting us," said Julius as he placed his hand behind Spike''s head and brought it towards his shoulder where he patted Spike on the back before telling him that he did and good job. From having received the reassurance that he had always sought out from Julius, Spike finally allowed himself to break down and allow his tears to flow out of his eyes like water. As Spike continued to cry out from having all of his emotion flow out of his body as they had been forced to stay inside for so long, Julius just stood there and allows Spike to let out all of the pain. This was all fine until a sudden change took place. Julius had been smiling gently as he was proud of Spike that he managed to defeat the enemy and also because he felt comfortable enough to break down in front of Julius. While this was all fine, Julius heard something behind him. Something close to that of a blade piecing skin and shortly after, he heard the sound of blood flowing out. ... ... ... After hearing this, Julius had a horrible thought in mind which he didn''t even want to think about. Even so, he wanted to make sure that it was not a reality as such, he decided to turn around at which his worst fears had become a reality. "No..." Julius said as he felt sick at what he saw behind him. Julius saw the body of Rosie which was asleep as she had called asleep from exhaustion while sleeping on Julius'' lap as it had caused her utter happiness. However what Julius saw was something else. Someone so horrible that he couldn''t even comprehend it. Even Spike noticed the sudden change in Julius'' body and became curious at which he looked behind Julius to only back away with a gasp as what he saw was truly terrifying. "No. How? Who could have done this?" Spike asked with a horrified tone as he couldn''t believe what he had seen. "Why? Why is it it red?!" said Spike with a fearful tone as he looked at Rosie''s neck which had a stab wound on it. All while her unconscious body continued to smile as she still thought of being with Julius. "Please, please take her body and leave this place," said Julius as he pleaded to Spike which was different from the way which Julius had acted in the past. Julius usually did things on his own however there was a reason why he couldn''t accomplish the task on his own this time. "Please run away," said Julius as he didn''t know how much longer he had left. Julius didn''t know much longer he could hold it back.. He didn''t know how much longer he could hold himself back. Chapter 246 - Final Straw Hearing Julius'' warns, Spike took them seriously as he gently picked up Rosie''s unconscious body from the ground and began to quickly fly her out from there. Seeing a figure fly away, Ian who was still still in the sky began to follow it. "Hey Spike, what''s wrong?" Ian asked with a confused tone as he didn''t know why Spike was flying off so quickly. "Quick! We don''t have much time left! I don''t know how much longer we have but we have to get as far away from here as possible. We have to get away from him," said Spike with true grief and fear in his eyes and voice. "What are you talking about?" Ian asked as he caught up to Spike at which he saw Rosie who seemed to be stabbed in the neck. Although he was quite surprised, Ian did not hesitate in his flight speed as he understood what was coming and the last thing he wanted was to be caught up in it. ... ... ... "Why? Why does it always have to be me who''s always hurt by this world? I just want to live a peaceful life. Is it so much to ask to live a life where no one which I love gets hurt? This world is truly cruel," said Julius as his heart being continued to get fast and faster. Julius could feel himself lose his mind as the seconds passed and all of the pain in his life continued to return in the form of memories where Julius seemed to be the one being hurt by everyone around him. "Why? Why?! WHY IS IT ALWAYS ME?!" Julius asked with a yell aa his heart rate continued to increase even faster. Julius began to feel the worst headache he had ever felt in his life. Even so, he want done as next he proceeded to do the impossible. Julius began to activate every single secret he had in his arsenal as he didn''t plan to show even the slightest bit of mercy to the world. Julius even activated his heaven tier secret art which which killed everything in its path. Pools of magma, waves of water, mountains of flames began to form all around Julius as Julius used everything he could think of but it was not still enough. Julius could feel as his mind began to crumble. Nothing was ever enough, he would always end up losing something and every time he was hurt, Julius would keep it all inside as the prince and now king, he knew that he could not falter in his emotions at any cost as it would cause his down fall. Even so, Julius could not take it any more which his heat continued to speed up ever faster as it became harder to tell if it was even beating at all. However the final straw came as Julius'' heart completely stopped beating and his eyes began to lose their colour which should have meant that Julius was dead. However that could have not been the furthest from the truth. In that moment, Julius had never been so alive in his life. As such, instead of only using all of the secret arts in his disposal, Julius put to use all of the special traits which he had consumed through the monster cores which he ate for his survival during his stay inside the dungeon for 3 years where he trained without a single break. However even with all that damage done which had caused 60% of the country he was in to be erased off the face of the planet, he still didn''t believe that it was enough, Julius wanted to do more. As such, Julius decided to completely lose himself as he once again regained his white hair but did not regain his white eyes but he had also received the layer of white clothing as well. In this state, Julius was vastly stronger than his normal form and he prepares to do something which had never been seen. Even Julius himself didn''t know it was possible, it was just in unconscious mind which was acting for him which allows him to use a move which he had never seen before. <> Using a magical art which far surpassed secret arts of all types, Julius began to completely erased everything on the face of the planet that existed the regular half of the earth. During the few minutes that humanity on the regular side of the earth had left before they would be completely erased by Julius'' magical art, many things took place in all countries. However one of the people who would be most devastated by this event was Jack Harvey which was a regular teenager on the side of the world where it was still day much to the contrast where Julius stood where it was night. ... "Well, it''s finally the day. I''m going to ask her out. I''ve waited two whole years to do this. I''ve finally built up the confidence to tell her how I feel. Soon, I''ll be able to confess these feelings which had been tormenting all this time and soon, I''m sure you''ll be mine Amelia," Jack said to himself as he prepared to tell his crush about how he felt. Jack was not special and was just a regular human in a world full of so many other regular humans. However in his head, what he was about to do was one of the most important things in his life even though he was one of many which were about to do the same thing all around the world. "There she is. Amelia, the girl which my heart belongs to. Well it''s time, here goes nothing," said Jack to himself as he began to approach the girl that was on his mind all day nearly every single day for the past two years of his life. "Hey Amelia-" said Jack as he finally started to make his confession but before he could get another word out, she turned to him and gave him a smile which delayed his actions just a bit. However doing so was the worst mistake of his life as Julius'' magical art began to erase Amelia in that moment and Jack had to watch this take place as a single tear left his eye before he was also erased from existence without ever getting a chance to make his confession. Chapter 247 - Bloom After just a few minutes of activating his magical art, Julius was able to erase all of the regular civilization off the face of the planet. All that remained was a plain flat space of dirt all around the area which was erased, that being half of the literal world. Not a single human was allowed to survive. It didn''t matter who or what they were, if they were of the regular side of the world, Julius had ended up erasing them off the face of the planet without even a care in the world as it was the only way he could get revenge for killing Rosie. "No... it''s not enough. Not yet," said Julius as he began to grit his teeth in anger all while breathing heavily like an aggravated wolf. Although Julius had erased literally everything and everyone off the face of the planet which existed on the regular side of it, Julius still wanted more. He needed more! However for once, Julius was lucky as missies began to rain on him from the sky which meant that there was still something left for him to destroy. With a face which expresses his hunger for battle, Julius leaped in the air as he leaped from missile to missile. As he touched each one of them, he ended up completely erasing it from existence before moving on to the next middle and doing the same. This all continued until Julius began to run out air and it was getting difficult for him to breathe. This was due to the fact that the missiles were being fired out of space and he wouldn''t be able to breath there. However due to the less technologically developed state of the cultivation, Julius had no idea of this and as such decided that simply holding his breath would be enough. For Julius, this assumption was true as Julius could move in outer space as if he was in the air. The only problem being that he couldn''t control the way his body move due to him being in space. Due to this, Julius decided to improvise so that he could find where the missiles were coming from. <> Using this secret art, Julius was able to propel himself forward as quickly as possible even though he was in outer space which went against everything that should have been possible. Nevertheless, after a few minutes of following where the missiles were coming from, Julius finally reached the source of them. That being an odd structure which simply floated in space. "So this is where you''ve been attacking me from?" Julius thought to himself before grinning while being unconscious. <> Using his secret art, Julius created two large lightning palms which dwarfed the structure in space which was launching all of the missiles. Using those hands, Julius clapped down on the structure in space as he completely annihilated it with a single attack. All that remained was a small piece of compressed metal. As for the people who were operating the structure in the space craft, they had been instantly killed off without even the least bit of hesitation as Julius didn''t even consider their lives to be valuable in the least as in his eyes, they were all to blame for the attack on Rosie and as such did not deserve any mercy. "Now, I''ve finally taken care of that. I can finally rest in peace," said Julius as he felt his white haired form and allowed himself to go duly unconscious as his body fell in a sleep like state where he wouldn''t be able to think or do anything. As such, Julius began to fall down from space quickly as his body was pulled down by the gravitational force of the earth. Slowly but surely, his body began to accelerate towards the ground as he also caught on fire. With no end to his falling in sight, it could have been assumed that Julius would finally die as he had escaped fealty far too many times already. For him to get lucky again was preposterous and unimaginable. As such, the logical conclusion to come to was that Julius would finally die. After all the enemies he had were finishing battling him, it seemed that they had all reached their collective goal, that being to kill Julius. After so many attempts which ended up failing, they had finally done it. They would be able to pass on in peace as Julius would finally meet his end. That would have been the case of Julius wasn''t special. The truth of the matter what that even if Julius had a crazy amount of enemies which wished to destroy him and torment him as much as they possibly could, Julius had a group of people which would look out for him in his time of need. It didn''t matter that they were not as strong as him or his enemies. All that mattered was that they were there for him in his time of need. ... "Is everyone ready?" Ian asked as he looked at Rosie, Spike, Liam, Steph, Steven, Dae as well as Knight. All of the members of Julius'' elite squadron were present to be at their king''s rescue. After Ian had asked them this question, they all replied by giving a strong nod of agreement which let Ian know that they were ready to recuse Julius from dying due to him landing at just a speed. <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> All of the ones that were there used the same secret art which created 8 roses that looked to be the softest things in the face of the planet. All of the roses worked together to cover a large area at which Julius would be able to land in. The members of Julius'' squadron would in fact be successful in achieving their task as Julius managed to land inside one of the oversized petals.. Even though he had burned a large portion of the area he had landed in, all that mattered was that Julius was safe. Chapter 248 - Death The elite squadron which belonged to Julius managed to actually save their king as he had in fact landed inside one of the oversized petals that they had all grew. It was quite the lucky accomplishment as it was hard to tell where Julius would hand due to the way at which he was falling. Even the smallest change could have caused him to be missed by the petals and in turn fall on the hard ground instead of the soft landing platform that was created for him by his supporters. Those being his elite squadron which would do to extreme lengths for just his safety. After managing to make sure that Julius did in fact land inside the petal and the burning had stopped as proven when the smoke stopped coming out of the petal, the elite squadron began to deactivate their secret arts which allowed Julius to fall towards the ground very slowly so that Rosie could take over and heal him. Rosie herself had been quickly taken to where Vivian was and was healed once again via the method at which Vivian would reverse time itself on her body until it was back to the point before it was stabbed. Due to this, Rosie was once again able to function properly. "Okay, it looks like he''ll live. I was worried for a second that he wouldn''t make it alive," said Rosie with a sigh of relief as she had believed that Julius would in fact be okay after she had healed him. Seeing as she was very inpatient and couldn''t wait for the next moment at which Julius would hold her in his arms once again, Rosie cast her best secret art which would heal Julius back to full health. Just as expected, it began to close all the cuts and heal all the scars on Julius'' body. As such, Rosie just sat there waiting for Julius to open his eyes at any second. "Well that''s interesting. Maybe I should use the secret art once again. He probably sustained internal damage as well. It would be for the best for me to heal those parts as well. The Julius would finally be able to wake up again and embrace me once again," said Rosie to herself as she wanted to believe that Julius was in fact okay and he would be with her soon enough. However, unfortunately for her, that would not be the case as Julius didn''t end up waking up even after she had healed him for a second time. Even so, Rosie didn''t want to come. To terms with the truth which led to her decision of pushing herself even further beyond than she had ever done before as he forced her lead to preform the high tier secret art over and over again as it drained an astronomical amount of stamina from her. Even so, she didn''t hinder for even a second as she was okay with pushing herself to the point of death just for Julius. Even though her mind wanted to continue and repeat the secret art over and over a again a couple hundred more times, her body had been completely drained and as such would not be able to do what her brain wanted it it to do. Even so, she gave it one last try at which her body collapsed and her head fell on Julius'' chest only to not hear anything. Where there should have been a heart beat, there was not a single thing there which broke the truth to her. Julius was in fact dead. "No! Please no! Please I beg of you king Julius, please just wake up! Just one last time, that''s all I ask of you! Just give me one more chance to speak to you!" Rosie pleaded in pain only for her cries not to be answered. She continued to cry endlessly as the pain she had felt was much too great for her to bear. Due to this, her mental state was completely shattered. Although everyone else was heart broken as well due to the news they had received about Julius, they didn''t even think of making a sound as the one most broken by the news was Rosie. As such, it was her turn to mourn his death first while the others would get their chance at his funeral. ... ... ... Over the next few days, preparations had been made for Julius'' funeral at which too many people would attend to count. Even so, Rosie didn''t speak, think or move during those days as she had been to broken to even comprehend Julius death. She was in complete denial over the fact that Julius had died even though it was true. Of course during this time, Rosie had blamed herself for everything that had happened. She continued to tell herself that if she never existed, all of these things wouldn''t have happened. All she wanted to do was to be in Julius'' embrace just one more time and due to her being too afraid to tell Julius how she felt, he ended up dying before he could hear her confession. Although it was a horrible thing for Rosie''s mental health to tell herself that it was all her fault, it was partially true as if she hadn''t been so careless as to fall asleep on enemy ground, all of these events would have not taken place. Due to Rosie''s carelessness, she was stabbed in the neck which caused Julius to think that she was already dead. Due to this, he went completely berserk and lost all sense of reason which caused him to completely erase half the planet and wipe it from existence as if it was never there in the first place. Due to him taking things that far, Julius would be attacked by space missiles which would lead him to space where he would destroy the space station but in the end would cause him to lose his life from exhaustion.. In conclusion, it was in fact Rosie''s fault but it wasn''t good for her to think of it at way as she might do something which she might regret in the future. Chapter 249 - Sleeping Truth "So Julius, when do you plan on waking up?" Duke-Drake asked Julius with a concerned tone as he was worried what was happening to the people in the outside world which cared for Julius as to them, it seemed like Julius was actually dead when in fact, all that happened was that his heart stopped beating for a while. Although it didn''t sound serious and in most cases would have been very serious, Julius was different from others in the the regular rules of the world did not apply to him. The more accurate explanation was that everyone else''s souls are inseparable from their bodies. Due to Julius having the ability to change which soul takes over his body in the form of him switching with Duke-Drake when he needs a break, Julius could treat his body as nothing more than a shell. With no soul to inhabit the body, the brain wouldn''t have anyone to command it. As such, the brain wouldn''t command the heart to start beating which would explain the fact that Julius was very much alive while his heart wasn''t beating. "I don''t know quite yet. To be honest with you, I would just prefer to stay here forever and never leave this place," said Julius with a sigh as he never wanted to go back to the outside world any more. "Is there a reason as to why you''re so adamant on the idea of not seeing anyone in the outside world? Even the same people who saved your life?" Duke-Drake asked as he tried to convince Julius that it would be okay for him to go to the outside world while he also wanted to know what the reason was for Julius not wanting to go back outside. "I mean it''s not really all that complicated. You should know that soon it''ll be my time to leave. That doesn''t mean that I''ll be dying but more specifically, it means that I no longer have a need to stay in this world. As such, I''ll be taken to the heavens where I have a new goal to fulfill. You see that''s the problem. Every time I accomplish someone, another thing comes up which needs my help. For once on my life I would just like to enjoy a few hours to myself where I deep the benefits of my hard work. To be perfectly frank with you, spending the rest of my life in this dimension with Rosie would have been a wonderful thing for me. I would finally have a reason to settle down and enjoy the rest of my life. However, due to this cruel world having other plans for me, I''ll be going to the heavens to deal with the summon invitation that I was given to participate in something. Basically it''s more work for me to deal with," said Julius as he was too exhausted to even think about the idea of hard work, let alone do any of it. "I mean instead that what it means to be king though? You finally are able to bring peace for your people then a new threat comes for you to defeat. Time after time you''re faced with new challenges which you will spend so much of your time dealing with just for a new and more powerful threat to come the next day. You do all of that just so your people can live in peace and prosperity. That''s what ur means to be king, don''t you think?" Duke-Drake said to Julius as he flipped the story in a more positive outlook so that Julius would change his mind as he had no idea how many people he had worried due to his student death. He arming Duke-Drake''s words had caused Julius to go completely silent as he didn''t know how to reply to them. As such, he decided to take a moment to think things over. However Duke-Drake wanted to quickly convince Julius that it was a good idea for him to go back out to the normal world so that he could apologize to all the people he had scared. "Look Julius, you''re pretty smart so I won''t lie to you. It''s true that you''ll be forced to go to the heavens which means that you won''t be seeing the people of this dimension for quite a while or even at all. However I can tell you this, since you know that you''ll be leaving them soon anyway, how about you make the most of what little time you have left instead of sitting here and feeling sorry for yourself all day?" Duke-Drake told Julius as he tried to make more and more good points. "Still, how am i supposed to tell all of them that I randomly came back from the dead but they''ll soon have to pretend I''m dead anyway since I''ll be going to a literal other plain of existence?" Julius asked of Duke-Drake as he had make an actual good point but Duke-Drake had an equally as good response. "Why not just pretend like you''re going to stay with them forever and then simply leave. That way, you can actually live a bit of life normally. I''m pretty sure that''s what you''re looking for," said Duke-Drake which solidified Julius'' determination. "Okay send me back there. Thank you for all your help," said Julius as Duke-Drake teleported him back to the outside world where he would have to do a whole lot of explaining. ... ... ... Everyone gasped as Julius broke out of the coffin that was being lowered towards the ground. They watched as Julius woke up and stretched as if he had woken up from a normal day of sleep. ... "Hello everyone? Is there a reason why you''re all surprised to see me?" Julius asked as he pretended like he didn''t know what was going on as that was the easiest way for him to make people forget about what had just happened. ... ... ... "Rosie! Rosie! Rosie! You won''t believe it! He''s alive!" a figure said as it opened the room at which Rosie was crying in. Chapter 250 - Learn "What did you say?" Rosie asked in the most confused tone as all she had heard was he word alive and didn''t know if she was dreaming or not due to her having hallucinations all day due to the fact that she couldn''t get any sleep after Julius'' so called death. "I said he''s alive! King Julius is really alive?" said the figure which informed Rosie about the current state of Julius which was that he was still alive and doing well. Without even wasting a single second, Rosie left her room from the castle and began to fly towards the area which the burial was taking place as she wanted to see for herself if what the figure had told her was in fact true. After flying for a bit, she arrived on the scene where she spotted a person which resembled the figure of Julius on the ground as he was surrounded by early everyone around him as they wanted to speak to him as soon as possible. "Could that be him?" Rosie asked herself as she could sense the presence of Julius but couldn''t trust herself anyone as she had come to the conclusion that she had saved Julius previously and that ended up with Julius being presumed dead. As such, Rosie needed a close up look to see if that in fact was Julius. Without having the patience to wait in line to speak to Julius, Rosie decided to simply land on the ground right in front of Julius without a care in the world if she crushed anyone to death as a side effect of her reckless decisions as she needed to make sure that she wasn''t seeing things. Right before Rosie could crush the person under her, that being the person closed to Julius, that person ended up realizing what was about to happen and decided to quickly move back as fast as possible as they didn''t want to die just yet. After landing on the ground and causing quite the ruckus, Rosie ended up looking deep into Julius'' eyes as she got lost in his gaze. Seeing as she still couldn''t trust herself, she placed her palm on the left cheek of Julius to make sure that it was a real person and when she did that, it was in fact real. Seeing as Julius was alive, Rosie no longer had a reason to torment herself. As such, her body collapsed as it needed to get some much needed sleep. Seeing as she once again collapsed right in front of him, Julius ended up letting her fall on his chest once again before holding her so that she was secured too him. Seeing as Rosie was already at her limit and needed to be put to bed, Julius decided to make a controversial decision as the people there still wanted more answers but Julius wanted to take care of Rosie and as such, he decided to make a quick exit as he placed Rosie in a princess carry before lifting her off the ground and leaping in the air as he took her back to castle. Of course his decisions made sure to spark quite a lot of talk all across the kingdom which then spread across all the world. Well technically only half the world as the other half was completely destroyed. News of the new king of the world and Rosie being in a possible relationship spread like wildfire. Rumours which some were accurate and others which were completely false continued to be spread all across the world with no actual evidence for these claims. Nevertheless, seeing as Julius was back and ready to take over the world, process was starting to be made all across the world as they needed to prepare the world for a world that would be run by Julius as it''s one true king or at least that''s what they thought. The 10 kingdoms began to merge their people as people were no longer restricted form visiting other kingdoms unless they were given permission by high ranking authorities. The best about the new change was that Julius'' dream would finally be brought into reality as his elite members worked endlessly to end the social discrimination which was created between the dark districts and the people of the actual kingdom which had too much wealth in their hands which could have given the people of the dark districts move than a good life. After long hours of negotiations, the elite members were able to somehow convince the people who controlled most of the money in the world to distribute their wealth to create a new age in history were people would at least have the ability to eat three meals a day. As such, they didn''t strive to create a world where everyone was treated equally, no, they wanted to create a world that pushed on the idea of equity in which people took what they needed and the rest would be able to do as they wished with their wealth. Moving on, due to the sudden influx in cash that was there for the people to spend, construction quickly began as it broke down the wall as which separated the dark districts from the people of the wealthy kingdom so that they could be combined together to create a single kingdom where all were treated with respect and dignity. As such, construction of homes, jobs as well as everything which the kingdom needed quickly began with each of the kingdoms being supervised by either the elite members of Julius''s squadron or by others which were trusted enough for the job. Nevertheless, Julius'' dream was coming true as he would soon get the world which he dreamed to live in. A world where some were treated like royalty and others were seen as nothing more than slaves or mere animals. A world where people wouldn''t have to be looked down upon. A world which all people could be happy to live in. That was the type of world that Julius wanted to live in. Chapter 251 - [YES] [NO] "I guess she really is asleep. I can''t believe that she would stay up for so long just because I died. I mean a single day to mourn a person''s death is fine but this is far too much. Specially taking into consideration that she hadn''t eaten nor spoke to anyone since I died. To make matters worse, it looks like she''s been crying non stop. Maybe I''ve been too selfish all along, I just wonder how she''s going to take it when I finally have to leave to go to heaven," Julius thought to himself as he looked at Rosie as he set her to bed and sat beside her as he waited for her to make a full recovery. He assumed that it would take her at least a couple days or even more but Julius was still willing to wait as he felt responsible for the state that Rosie was in. However as if it was a miracle, Rosie awoke from her slumber to greet Julius with a smile only a few minutes after he had placed her to bed. Seeing this had taken his aback as that was the last thing which he had expected to happen. Specially due to the state she was placed in, it should have taken Rosie at least a whole day to even be as close as to feeling well as she should have. "What''s wrong? You seem so sad," said Rosie as she saw Julius'' true expression which she wasn''t meant to see which was why it had quickly changed from that which was sad to that which expressed nothing but happiness. "Oh my apologies, I was just concerned that you were placed in such a horrible state because of me. I just couldn''t forgive myself for all the things which I''ve done to you," said Julius as he tried to make up a lie as he didn''t want to concern Rosie however it was much too late. "I can tell that you''re worried about something else. However I have know for quite a while that you like to hide things from others. I mean it''s your life so do as you wish. However since I believe this might be the last day I spent with you, please grant me my one selfish request," said Rosie as she wanted to get something from Julius. "Sure, what is it? I want to make it up to you right now so just name it and it''ll be my command," said Julius in a sincere tone as he truly did want to do everything in his power to make Rosie truly happy. ... "Sleep with me," said Rosie after she had taken a long time to think about what she wanted from Julius which made Julius turn bright red from being flustered. ... "Are you sure about that?" Julius asked as he wasn''t sure if he had heard what Rosie had said properly. "Yes, I am sure. I want you to sleep with me," said Rosie which caused Julius to be more confused than ever since that was the last thing which he could have expected Rosie to wish for as there could have been other things which Julius would have been happy to give her however her request was too much for Julius to handle. Even so, he decided to give it a thought as the silence dawned upon him as he was frozen in thought. "What''s the problem? It''s not like I asked for anything big. I just wanted you to sleep in the same bed as me. I mean sharing a bed with you is the only thing which I could ask for," said Rosie as she teased Julius to which he nodded while feeling like an idiot for what he thought Rosie had wanted from him. Even so, due to it being the last day which he would spend with her, Julius decided to grant Rosie her selfish requests. As such, he climbed into the bed and sat up straight while making sure to keep his distance from her. "Is this good?" Julius asked as he wanted to make sure that he want disappointing Rosie. "Yes, it''s perfect. Thank you for going along with my selfish requests. I know it must be hard for you to deal with my at times but it has been a pleasure to work for you," said Rosie as she wanted to thank Julius for all the time they had spent together as comrades even though it was short. "Please don''t think of it was working for me. Think of it as working with me. It was truly a pleasure to have you at my side. I wish that I could have stayed more but I have things to attend to," said Julius as he felt bad for having to leave Rosie alone once again. "It''s fine. You blame yourself far too much for nothing you did wrong. You always seem to be busy. As if you always have a place to go. It''s impossible to ever catch up to you which is one of the reasons that I admire you. I wish that I could have stayed by your side some more however I fear that this is where we must part ways. Thank you for all you''ve done for me," said Rosie as she finished her last sentence before going quiet. For the rest of the day, the two stayed quiet as none of them even said a single word until Rosie felt tired and decided to go to sleep or at least make it seem like she did. Seeing as Rosie was asleep, Julius decided to go to sleep too as he turned to the other side as to where Rosie was facing. ... "I love you," said Rosie. ... ... ... "I love you too," Julius replied after some time. After this, none of them said a single word to each other. Julius simply woke up in the middle of the night to take care of one last thing before he moved on to the heavens. Julius got on in the middle of the night and placed his lips of Rosie''s for what seemed like an eternity before finally feeling ready to leave as a single tear drop left his left eye and a single tear drop let Rosie''s right eye. ... ... ... ... ... Now having fininished what he needed to do, Julius began to calm himself down as it was time for him to leave, there was no need for him to remain in the human world any longer and as such he had only one other place to go to. Heaven. After he had thought long and hard about what he was going to do, Julius let out a sigh before trying to come into contact with the female voice that informed him about the the new emperor contest. "Hey are you still there? I want to go to heaven to compete in the contest you told me about. I''m ready now," said Julius to which he didn''t get a reply. For a second, he believed that he might actually get to live happily on the human realm however Julius would not be so lucky as right as his hopes were raised, he got a reply for the female voice. "I understand sir, please give me a moment to arrange your transfer to heaven. If there is anything you would like to do in the final minutes you have on this plane of existance, please do it now since this is the last time you''ll be here," said the female voice to which Julius simply smiled with a sad look on this face. "No, there''s nothing left for me to do, I''m okay with leaving this world just as I am," Julius replied while still in thought. He tried to believe that he would be fine in heaven and he would find new comrades as well as new power. He told himself that he would become stronger than ever and manage to somehow return to the human realm however as many times as he told himself those lies, he just couldn''t manage to accept them as the truth. He fully understood that they chances of him managing to defeat all the other candidates which are all as capable if not more capable than him were next to 0. However he had one advantage over all of them. Julius had a reason to win. Even if the other candidates also had a reason to fight, Julius had learned what true peace was. "I''ll do anything to come back to you, even if it means that I have to endure years of torture," said Julius as he turned around to give Rosie one last look before his departure. It was rather a sad scene to watch as the only time that Julius managed to find something he wanted to do for the rest of his life, he was forced to leave it to pursue a whole different journey. Even so, this was just the beginning of Julius'' hardships. ... ... ... "Would you like to go to heaven for the new emperor contest?" [YES] [NO] ... [YES] Chapter 252 - New Era After having accepted the offer to be transported to heaven to enter the contest to become the new emperor to heaven, Julius had gone into slumber for what felt like aeons. However he had only spent about a thousand years in that dream like star as he awaited for the remaining contestants. However after so many years having gone by, Julius awakened one day with a yawn just like everyone else that was there as they all awakened out of their capsules on a grass field which disappeared into nothingness when they awoke from their slumber. Once everyone had gotten on their feet, they all heard the footsteps of a figure approaching them with a smile on his face. "Greetings everyone. You have all been summoned here to take part in the new heaven emperor contest. As you may have heard, our previous emperor is no longer with us and we seek a new leader to help us lead our lives. This is where you all come into play," said the figure that had greeted them, which was a tall skinny man that wore a royal robe. Of course hearing this, all of the competitors had a single question I mind. "If you need a new emperor, why not have one of your own compete for the position instead of dragging us here?" one of the contenders asked, which made the man that was speaking have a sinister grin on his face. "But you see, we already do have people from this realm of existence competing for this position. There were only about a hundred thousand of you and nearly 10 million from our plane of existence," said the man with a sinister grin. "If you already have them, why bother calling on us? By the way you''re talking, you''re saying that your people are better than us so it makes no sense to go through the trouble of summoning is here," another contestant. "Well the answer to that is really quite simple, we summoned you here to toy with your kind. You from the human realm are nothing but insects to us. So we thought to have a little fun with you while you''re here," said the figure before laughing. "So you''re saying that you challenged us even though your people have an advantage since you know how this place works," said another contestant. "Yes, that''s exactly what I''m saying. You may think that it''s cheating or playing dirty but none of us care. I mean after all, why would we care about the opinions of people so much lower than us?" said the figure while laughing. ... "So how does this contest work?" said Julius as he didn''t need to waste anymore time asking questions which wouldn''t change the outcome of anything. As such, he decided to ask the questions that really mattered, which was how he was going to win. "Oh wow, well it seems one of you is adapting to your sad conditions already. Anyway, this is how things are going to work. Right now, all of you are relatively the same in comparison to each other. You''re about the same strength and have the same speed and durability. The only thing that differs is your intelligence. The contest is to determine the person who will become the emperor of heaven. As such, the task at hand is rather a difficult one. That being that you will all be given a watch that tracks your progress. Right now, you are all at level 1. The goal is to reach level 100 first. Whoever does this becomes the emperor of heaven. Just so you know how futile your situation is, know that our people have studied ways to increase their levels thier while lives. They''ll easily surpass you and they''ll take their rightful place as the ruler of heaven. As for you, you can helplessly struggle to achieve that goal," said the figure before snapping his fingers which placed a watch that acted as a level tracker for everyone. "Now, without further ado, let the contest begin!" said the figure to which everyone began to run in all directions. They didn''t know where they needed to go but they thought that it was better than standing around. However Julius had other plans. "Hey there, I was just wondering, is it okay if I ask you a couple questions?" Julius asked as he wanted to see if he could get the figure that stood in front of him to say anything helpful. "Huh? You''re not running around like your competitors? It seems like you already gave up then, so sure," said the man that had given the introduction speech. "Does becoming the ruler of heaven allow one to travel to the lower dimension as well?" Julius asked. "Well ya but it''s been about a thousand years since you left your planet and ascended to this plane of existence so anyone you knew is dead and even their bones have probably decayed by now," said the man to which Julius grit his teeth as he couldn''t allow himself to show weakness. "But if a person somehow becomes the emperor of heaven, they could warp space and time in the lower realm though, right?" Julius asked as he never had been so worried for something. "Yes technically but even so, what''s the point when you rule heaven. You can have anything and everything you ever wanted. Not that it matters to you, you already lost," said the man who made fun of Julius for sticking around instead of rushing to increase his level. "Okay then whatever. I guess I give up. Just wondering though, since the human realm takes inspiration from heaven, this place also has dungeons right?" Julius asked to which the man nodded. "Well thank you so much. That''s all I needed to hear. I''ll be taking my leave now," said Julius and before letting the man even react, he tried to do something which he didn''t know would work. "Duke Drake, are you still there?" Julius asked. Chapter 253 - Dungeon "Yup, still here Julius," Drake replied which brought a smile to his face. "You mind teleporting me out of here?" Julius asked to which Drake let out a smirk and before even allowing Julius to finish his thought, he teleported him to a large tree which for some reason had a door placed right in front of it as if the tree itself was someone''s home. "What is this place?" Julius asked, to which Drake looked confused. "Weren''t you wanting to be teleported to a dungeon so that you can start your journey to reach level 100 first?" Drake asked to which Julius let out a giggle. "I was, it seems that you''ll always be reliable to me," said Julius before walking towards the door of the tree so that he could enter the dungeon. "Hold it you scoundrel!" a woman''s voice said as she yelled at Julius. "Huh?" Julius said as he turned around only for him to be kicked with the force of a truck right in his face. Since he was back at the same strength as all his competitors, Julius was now capable of being hurt by everyone around him which meant that he needed to be more careful than ever. "What the hell was that for?!" Julius yelled out as he got up front the ground to punch the woman who had punched him in the face as well. "Huh?! How dare you hit a woman! Do you not have any respect? Were you now taught to act like a gentleman? Or maybe everyone from your realm acts like a pig?" the woman said as he mocked Julius before pushing him out of her way to try to open the door of the tree so that she could enter the dungeon. "Oh no you don''t," said Julius as he grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her away from the door. "Let go of me! Do you have any manners? Don''t you know it''s rude to be so rough with a woman''s hand?" the woman asked before Julius let out an exhausted sigh. "Look lady, I don''t care who you are. I came to this dungeon before you and that means that I get to enter it before you," Julius replied to which the woman simply looked annoyed. "Have you heard of the saying ''ladies first''? Now get out of my way before I summon a true gentleman to attack you on my behalf," said the woman to which Julius took a proper look at her. She was a woman who looked to be no older than 20. She was a bit taller than Julius and she was covered with a thin layer of metal around which stretched past her shoulders like a t-shirt and wore a skirt decorated with silver metal on the bottom. "Didn''t you think to wear more armour before entering a dungeon?" Julius asked, to which the woman looked confused. "And how would you know what a dungeon is from the inside? This is the first time anyone here has been able to go inside a dungeon," said the woman before taking a closer look at Julius and realising that he wasn''t from her realm. "Wait, are you from the human realm?!" the woman asked to which Julius nodded as if it was normal. "Ya, how did you know?" Julius asked to which the woman punched him harder than ever. She even used more force into her punch than her kick. "How dare someone of your calibre dare to stand up to me?! Know your place, you disgusting piece of trash! You''re not even worthy of being looked at by me!" the woman yelled out before going inside the dungeon as if it was her right. "Are all the people from heaven self centred pieces of trash?" Julius asked himself as he saw the woman walk and he didn''t bother to stop her for a simple reason. That being that it was her first time in a dungeon. Even if it did have differences with the dungeons on the human realm, Julius actually had experience inside dungeons and how to act when faced with difficult situations alongside having been in countless battles with both humans and monsters. However something odd stood out to Julius. That being that the woman that had spoken to him had two small wings that poked out of the back of her head which Julius found starve but assumed that it was because of that trait that she was able to distinguish that he was from the human realm. "Well, anytime now she''s going to yell out for help-" Julius thought to himself and as if it was scripted, the woman let out the most annoyed scream that anyone could have imagined. "Someone, help me!" she yelled out to which Julius began to laugh before entering the dungeon himself. He had assumed that no one else could enter the dungeon as that was the way that they worked in the human realm however it was worth a shot to try and he was right in his unlikely guess. That being that it would in fact open to him and allow him to enter the dungeon so that he could intervene with the battle. ... "Are you seriously struggling against that?" Julius asked as he picked up the small rabbit that was biting on the armour of the woman as she cried in helplessness. "I''m assuming that this thing is the monster from this dungeon. Quite a friendly one," said Julius as he looked at it as a monster and not as a pet even though that was what they were in the human realm. This was because he had to learn the hard way that no matter how harmless something may look, it always has the potential to kill you. "Hey lady, do you have a weapon? Something like a sword or pocket knife?" Julius asked, to which the woman looked annoyed. "I do, but I would rather die here than give trash such as yourself my blade," said the woman to which Julius sighed before unleashing the rabbit on her. "Help me! Help me!" the woman yelled out to which Julius once again sighed before picking up the rabbit and asking her once more. "Can I have a weapon so I can kill the monster and we can be done with this?" Julius asked in an exhausted voice. "Like I said before! I won''t give you my weapon!" the woman said and seeing as how stubborn she was, Julius grew tired of dealing with her stuck up attitude. "Suit yourself then. I''m no longer going to waste my time dealing with your attitude. If this was a serious dungeon, we would have both died by now. Even so, I''m going to use this as an opportunity to teach you a lesson," said Julius as he let go of the rabbit which instantly attacked the woman by simply attaching to her armour and trying to bite it off. Once again she began to plead for help however Julius simply sat on the wall of the tree which was so big that it looked like a cave and only got it''s right from a hole at the top of the tree which allowed sunlight to get in. The woman struggled for a couple minutes before finally giving up. "I''ll give you my weapon! I promise! Please just get this thing away from me!" the woman begged Julius however he was unfazed. He simply stayed silent to which the woman finally realised that Julius wasn''t going to do as she wanted. Everything that she wanted wouldn''t go her way around him which caused her to break. She began to cry in helplessness to which Julius simply laughed before getting up from the ground to see the woman crying. Julius simply walked towards her and took the blade that was attached to her armour in a sheath and picked up the rabbit before stabbing the rabbit which instantly turned to sparking dust and Julius'' watch vibrated as the bar on level 1 filled about 1/5 of the way. "Just as I thought. It seems that all the creatures here give out exp," Julius said to himself before looking down at the woman on the ground who was still crying as she still thought that the rabbit was attacking her. "Get up. Stop acting like a baby," said Julius to which the woman looked annoyed yet helpless as she got her head up to reveal her eyes that were red from crying so much. Even so, Julius didn''t feel the least bit of remorse towards her. Seeing as she had gotten up, he turned his back on her and began to walk further into the tree as he looked around for more monsters so that he could increase his level. He didn''t care what the woman had done to him, it was a waste of time and energy to argue with her. "Hey! What''s your name?!" the woman asked as she tried to yell still with a weak voice from crying. "Julius, my name is Julius Henry." Chapter 254 - Exploring "Well my name is-" the woman tried to introduce herself since she had made Julius do that however she was shortly interrupted as Julius had heard something. "Hold on, be quiet for a second," Julius to which the woman looked offended, however she had learned from the last time that she tried to act smart with Julius and how it didn''t end well for her so she listened to him. Seeing as the area the two of them were in was pretty dark, 4 rabbits which looked more aggressive than the first one that Julius had killed leaped on top of him as they tried to but him however right as the first one bit into Julius, he realised that they were stronger than the first one he had killed so he decided to spring into action as he prepared his blade which he had stolen from the woman and used his to quickly move it around his body while swiftly killing the rabbits that were in his body. +80 exp LEVEL UP A large screen appeared in front of Julius which congratulated him on making it to the next level which he didn''t seem to care much for however he was given a gift for levelling up. After the screen faded away, a blade much sharper than the one that the woman had given him appeared in his hand. Seeing that, Julius threw back the blade that he had taken from the woman to her since he didn''t need it anymore. Julius looked down at his new blade with excitement as now he had more of a reason to level up as he would soon get the opportunity to get even a better blade than the one he had or even something else. "I guess this place isn''t so bad-" Julius began to speak before he was shortly cut off by a giant rabbit which was at least 5 times taller than Julius leaped in front of him with its glowing red eyes as it showed off its bloodlust. "Oh fu-," said Julius right before getting smacked to the wall of the tree with the force of a thousand trucks. "Oh fun. I was going to say that before you cut me off," said Julius as he grabbed a hold of his chest as he tried to get up from the ground, however when he did that, he felt a sharp pain in his chest as he realised that his ribs were broken. "But how? For a monster that should be at the level of a level 2 player, this is way too strong," said Julius as he used the blade that he had received as a reward for reaching level 2 so that he could get up from the ground as he trembled in fear. "Run for your life! It''s not worth it," said the woman as she yelled at Julius so that he could escape. However, hearing that, Julius simply stood up straight while trembling before laughing. "When did I get so soft," said Julius as he forced himself to take the first step forward which turned into a jog then a run. Seeing this, the giant rabbit seemed to have smirked as he tried to slash at Julius which leaped back in the very last second before using all the power left in his body to cut at the rabbit''s arm and somehow managed to cause a deep cut about half of the rabbit''s arm''s width. "I guess it''s still not enough," said Julius with a smirk as he continued to run. While dodging the attacks that were being thrown at him. Although he was scared out of his mind, Julius simply focused on the task at hand. That being to attack his enemy and not actually survive. Surviving was never the main goal. After some time, Julius was finally making some progress as both of the arms of the rabbit were fully sliced off and his right leg was cut to the point that he couldn''t stand. Even so, the rabbit tried to bite at Julius which he simply dodged. "Here it goes. All I need is one final slash! I just have to make contact with its chest," said Julius as he moved in for the final kill. However, of course in that precise moment, Julius'' luck had run out. Right as Julius was about to deliver the finishing blow, the rabbit had caught Julius by surprise as he bit off half of Julius'' body and swallowed him with a grin. "Is this really the end for me? I barely got started and now I''m going to die. My entire body below my waist is outside while the top is going to be digested in this dumb monster. Why! Why couldn''t I have been stronger!" Julius began to complain before taking a deep breath. "Well, I''m going to die, I might as well go out with a bang," said Julius as his forced his body to move even though he was losing blood as insane rate as he plunged his blade into the neck of the rabbit and as he fell further into the rabbit''s body, he managed to slice more and more until the rabbit had died before it could absorb Julius completely. "Good. I can at least take you to hell with me," said Julius with a smirk as he closed his eyes while believing he would die. +1500 exp LEVEL UP LEVEL UP LEVEL UP "Congratulations Julius Henry. You have reached level 5," a voice said in Arthur''s head. "Ability has been acquired. Instant regeneration. This ability can be used to regenerate completely once a week. You are going to die soon. Would you like to use this ability?" A woman''s voice asked which was the same one that had spoken to him and invited him to the new heaven''s emperor contest. "Yes," Julius replied without hesitating as he had no reason to object to the question as he was going to die in a couple seconds. However he was lucky in that the ability was real and allowed him to completely regenerate to his peak physical form. "W-What? How? Ummm are you real?" the woman asked who had just seen what had taken place before her eyes. "Yes I''m real. Why do you look so surprised? I should be the one being surprised. This is your home, I''m not familiar with this type of magic," said Julius, which caused him to remember something amazing which he had forgotten about and as such decided to reach out to Drake so that he could question him about something that he had on his mind. "Hey Duke Drake, I just have a quick question. You remember how you said that cultivation of secret arts was a subcategory of magic, right? So if that''s true, that would mean that magic belongs to this realm since it''s a higher plane of existence and I assume you''re also from here right?" Julius asked in a curious tone. "Yes, as far as I know, that should be the case," said Drake, which brought about a sinister face on Julius'' face. "Magical Spell: Fire Combustion" Julius had cast this spell with relatively small hopes as even if Duke Drake had said it would work, there was a small chance that he was too weak to use a magical spell. Luckily for him, it did work as a contempt combustion flame appeared in front of him which caused Julius to look at it with a curious face before putting it away by simply snapping his fingers together. "Why do you look so happy? You just cast a simple spell. It''s not something to be proud of unless you mongrels don''t have magic on your realm," said the woman as she tried to mock Julius to which he simply looked at her as if she was worthless before turning his attention back into the dungeon as he took more steps forward as he wanted to see if there were more monsters inside of it which there were since he wasn''t given any signal that the dungeon was complete. "Hey! Where do you think you''re going?! Were you seriously planning on leaving me to the side so I could die here alone?" the woman asked to which Julius turned around to give her a disapproving face which caused her to take offence however what he said next was the finishing blow. "You''re annoying. Can you leave this dungeon and wait for me to finish so that you can try it on your own? You''re getting in my way," said Julius and right as he said those words, a large tree trunk flew at the woman which was distracted as she was too distracted to notice it which caused Julius to spring into action as he pushed her out of the way as at her level, she would have been killed by it.. As such, Julius ended up suffering instead which was a major injury to the back which caused him to lose his breath and pass out for a moment before getting back up as he had a new enemy to face. Chapter 255 - Friendship "Are you okay?!" the girl who had been saved by Julius asked as he saw that Julius had passed out for a moment after he was hit by the trunk that was supposed to hit her instead. "Ya ya, of course I''m okay. That''s why I passed out," said Julius before getting back on his feet, however he still wasn''t able to walk straight as he had suffered too much damage. Nevertheless, Julius turned around to face the enemy which he would have to defeat next. Although he didn''t know for sure, Julius could tell it was the final boss of the dungeon. "Hey lady, stay back from him for a second," said Julius as he began to slowly take deep breaths while trying to find a weak point on the monster that was before him. Julius'' enemy now was a giant gorilla of some kind that had a big branch in his mouth as if he was holding the gorilla equivalent of a cigarette. Even so, he looked more terrifying than ever as there was a large stack of logs which he planned on picking up and throwing at Julius as projectiles. "I see," said Julius as he took a single step forward to which the gorilla threw the log at Julius without any hesitation before going back to grab another log I prepared. "I thought so," said Julius to himself as he once again stepped forward to which the gorilla threw another log at Julius which caused him to move slightly to dodge the log that was thrown at him. The moment that he had dodged the projectile, Julius began to sprint as fast as he possibly could towards the gorilla which already had the log in his hand and seeing as Julius was getting closer to him, the gorilla threw the log at Julius. "Dammit, I guess I''ll have to risk it," said Julius as he leaped up on top of the log and began to run on it while it was mid air before leaping off of it once he had gotten to the edge of the log and landed right on top of the gorilla''s head. "DIE!" Julius yelled out before finally finishing the job as he plunged his sharp blade into the skull of the gorilla with as much force as he could which in turn did pierce the monster''s head however it still wasn''t enough. As such, Julius decided to literally use the hilt of the blade to hang off the gorilla''s head. Of course the hilt was only big for one of his plans but it was a life of death situation which caused Julius to make reckless decisions which would pay off in the end as he began to swing using the hilt of his blade which caused the blade to move further down the gorilla''s face until it had done enough y damage where the gorilla no longer moved. As such, Julius leaped off the gorilla while making sure to take his blade with him and lastly, Julius got on the ground and prepared for once final attack where used a magic spell to coat his blade in flames and leaped off the air before finally making a clean cut right off the gorilla''s neck and making a clean cut fence decapitating the monster. A few seconds later, the gorilla''s corpse disappeared and Julius as well as the female that was there with him heard a sound. "Dungeon has been cleared. Congratulations." +5000 exp LEVEL UP LEVEL UP By this point, Julius'' watch which was given to him to reflect the level he was at stated that he was on level 7 which brought a grin to his face however he knew more than anyone that it was just the start of his struggles. Seeing as how he had levelled up so much, the system decided to reward Julius. After the screen that congratulated Julius disappeared, a book of sorts dropped on the ground alongside another blade. "What''s this? What am I supposed to do with a book?!" Julius complained before picking it up and placing it inside his ring which he still had on him was given to him after he had spent 3 years inside a dungeon and he kept all his things in. As for the blade, Julius seemed to have been interested in it and as such placed the blade that he had gotten previously inside his ring, however he kept the new blade he had received. Since the dungeon had been cleared, the tree began to disintegrate as it turned to nothing more than ash and a pile of gold dropped on the ground. "Well I might as well take my reward," said Julius as he picked up half the gold and placed it in his ring before leaving. "Aren''t you going to take the other half of the gold?" the girl which was still there asked to which Julius turned around before giving her a confused look. "I already took half of my gold. The rest is yours. It''s not really that complicated," said Julius as if he was mocking the girl for not being able to do simple maths. "No, I get that but you basically cleared the dungeon on your own. Don''t you think that you should get more gold than this," said the girl to which Julius just looked tired. "No, you handed me that blade and without it I couldn''t have cleared the dungeon so it was a team effort. Don''t overthink it," said Julius before continuing to walk off in the distance and he did this for a while. Not being he wanted to find the next dungeon but to see when the girl would stop following him. "Do you need something from me?" Julius asked in a rather tired voice. "No," said the girl as she gave him a simple reply. "So do you mind telling me why you''re following me?" Julius asked, to which the girl looked confused as if she had been doing something normal. "Well it''s simple. You''re strong so I''m going to stick along with you. Maybe you animals in the human realm don''t do this but here it''s the most logical method of survival," said the girl. "How much do you want to bet that you''re lying and you''re simply stalking me," said Julius to which the girl looked offended. "Me?! A stalker?! How dare you accuse me of something so despicable?!" the girl asked to which seeing as she wasn''t stalking him, Julius decided to see for himself as he cast a magical spell without speaking which was more specifically done by Duke Drake and turned Julius invisible. ... ... ... Right as the girl thought that Julius had teleported away, she began to cry and fell on her knees before rolling around in the grass as she began to complain as if that was going to change something. For the first time though, it did kind of work out in her favour as Julius made himself visible again. "You see, you are a stalker," said Julius to which the girl looked annoyed but still had tears in her eyes. "I just want to be protected. Is that too much to ask for?!" the girl demanded to which Julius responded by simply laughing at her. "I mean what''s your problem huh? I''m good looking you know. Every man to have ever stared at me has fallen deeply in love with me. So why won''t you even give me a good look for even a second. You seem to be distracted All the time! Your attention should be on me instead," said the woman to which Julius just continued to laugh before stopping. "Wait, you said every man right?" Julius asked which made the girl concerned but she still answered it was to boost her ego. "Yes. Every man that has ever looked at me has fallen in love with me," said the woman which made a sinister grin appear on Julius'' face. "Okay let''s make a deal. You can come with me but under the condition that you''ll always stay by my side. If you try to leave to join someone else, I''ll kill you," said Julius with a clear expression which made her understand that he wasn''t joking yet she wanted to lighten up the mood so she decided to make a joke. "If you want me to stay that badly, just say so," said the woman in a rather arrogant tone. "Anyway Julius, you didn''t let me introduce myself earlier. My name is Lyla," said the woman to which Julius simply shook her hand. "Nice to meet you Lyla. I hope we can work together," said Julius with a smile. "So where do you want to go now?" Lyla asked, to which Julius just looked confused. "Isn''t this your home? I don''t know where to go. I was hoping that you could show me around," said Julius to which Lyla nodded in agreement. "I think I know a place which might be helpful to us," said Lyla before the two began to walk towards their next destination. Chapter 256 - New Town "Welcome to my home town. It''s called Hera village," said Lyla, to which gave a simple nod before turning to speak to Lyla. "So what are we doing here?" Julius asked as he was looking for places to train, not a place to look around for fun. "What do you mean?" Lyla asked to which Julius looked rather annoyed that he had to explain something so simple to her. "Well you see, I was looking for a place to train. Not a place to relax and have fun at," said Julius to which Lyla looked offended. "That''s the reason I brought you to this village. Don''t get so arrogant," said Lyla before walking forward to which Julius followed behind her as he had nowhere else to go. The two walked for a couple minutes before arriving at a small shop that looked interesting as it looked to be more of a shack than anything else. "What is this place?" Julius asked with a curious voice. "Come see for yourself," said Lyla as she walked in with Julius following behind her. "Wow," said Julius as he saw the numerous amounts of potions inside the store. All of them being different colours and shapes which allows Julius to be mesmerised by them for a while. "You see, I was trying to be helpful. Next time have a little faith in me," said Lyla to which Julius felt bad as she was right. "My apologies, I''ll start to trust you more," said Julius before picking out a handful of potions and heading towards the counter to pay for all of them. "Hey runt, move over. Your kind doesn''t belong here," said a woman behind Julius as she looked like she was about to pay for her potions as well. She was a tall lady with short ginger hair. "Huh? Oh it must be another one of those arrogant heaven people," Julius thought to himself before turning around. "Sorry, I''m almost done," said Julius as nicely as he possibly could to which the woman with ginger hair grabbed him by the head before pushing him to the side. "I don''t care how much time you need, you''re still a second class citizen. Don''t make me kill you," said the woman before starting to place her items in front of the cashier. "Hey, what the hell is your problem?!" Julius yelled at her to which she prepared to kick him like he was a dog. Unfortunately for her, if that attack had made contact with Julius, she would have had a head removed from her body. However the woman as lucky as Lyla stepped in. "I''m sorry ma''am, he''s with me. Please don''t hurt him. I apologise for his actions. Please go ahead and place your items on the table," said Lyla. "Lyla dear, why are you protecting such trash? I know you''re a rather kind person but trash such as that animal does not need sympathy," said the woman which made Julius think. "If the normal Lyla is considered kind, then the other people from here..." Julius began to think before stopping as he didn''t even want to imagine what could have been worse than the attitude that Lyla had when he first met her. "I understand but please have mercy on him. He saved my life," said Lyla to which the woman simply looked at Julius with disgust before paying for her things and leaving the store. "That was close," said Lyla, to which Julius looked annoyed; however , he got up from the ground and paid for his own potions before leaving. "Hey Julius, is something the matter? It wasn''t like you to allow someone to walk over you like you''re trash. Why didn''t you simply ask me to kill her?" Duke Drake asked which Julius had a simple answer for. "She seems like an important person to Lyla. Maybe a close friend or a mother figure to her. I believe that I even understood that I could have killed that woman in the blink of an eye. She didn''t step in to protect me. She stepped in to protect the woman that was attacking me," Julius explained. "Even so, I''m still confused as to why you haven''t made use of me yet? You could have asked me to give you power boosts or even pour in a large majority of my power to make you able to reach level 100 quicker than everyone else," said Duke Drake. "Well there''s a simple answer for that. During my previous life, I wanted to train day in and day out. I was obsessed with gaining power and defeating anyone that stood in my way. However, now, I have found a new goal. I want to treasure the time I have in this world. I don''t want to rush things. Nevertheless, I still also plan on becoming the ruler of heaven. That way I can return to the human realm and go back to Rosie," said Julius as he still had not forgotten about his main goal, that being to be with Rosie. "I understand, if you need anything, please tell me and I''ll assist you to the best of my abilities," said Duke Drake before becoming silent as he had no reason to speak to Julius anymore. As Lyla and Julius continued to walk through the town, the two spotted something that looked to be people ganging up on someone. "What''s happening?" Julius wondered to which Lyla told Julius to stay back while she checked what was happening which was a smart choice as what she saw was a competitor from the human realm getting beat up by the villagers. "Someone please help me," the man from the human realm begged as he continued to get kicked and punched to the point where he couldn''t move. "How dare you come to our realm and challenge us so you could rule over us?" "Scum" "Trash" The man that was getting beat up heard all of those comments and didn''t understand what he had done wrong to have been called all of those names. "It''s nothing, let''s just go," said Lyla as she turned towards Julius and began to walk away fast as if she was avoiding something. Of course Julius stayed back as he was aware of what was going on. "Hey, what''s going on?" Julius asked as if he was a regular person from the village. "Can you believe this? One of those trash human creatures decided to step into our village. We''re going to make him pay?" the one of the villagers before getting back to kicking the human. "Oh really? Can I join in?" Julius asked which the people of the village welcomed him since he seemed to be on their side without taking a closer look at him. "Thank you," said Julius before punching one of the people that was kicking the human right on the chin. "Huh? Why are you defending humans? Wait, you don''t have wings at the back of your head either! You''re a human!" The people yelled in anger as they tried to attack Julius however he had raised his level quite a bit and as such was able to easily evade all of the attacks that came at him before attacking back and knocking the people out with a single punch. "T-Thank you," said the man that had been rescued by Julius, however Julius just simply ran in the direction that Lyla was going and seeing him run at that speed made Lyla realise that he had probably started a fight in the village and was now running away after having beat up some people. As such, Lyla began to run faster so that she wouldn''t get left behind by Julius. "You seriously have some problems," said Lyla as the two had gotten pretty far from the village. "You''re calling me crazy when your people are the ones that attack others just because they''re a different species. They''re lucky I didn''t kill them," said Julius which made Lyla think he was bluffing. "Ya right. Like someone as young as you even knows how it feels to kill someone," said Lyla to which Julius just gave her a silent look. "No way, have you actually killed someone from your own kind before?" Lyla asked, to which Julius just looked confused. "Not just someone. I''ve killed way more than just a single person," Julius stated as if it was something normal. "Now it makes sense as to why you''re able to use a blade so well. It''s because you''re a mass murderer," said Lyla to which Julius just took as a compliment. "Well I don''t know what to tell you. I didn''t do those things and they allowed me to gain experience which I can now use to help me with this contest or whatever," said Julius which actually made a lot of sense. "Since you''re acting like murder is such a horrible thing, I presume that you''ve never killed anyone?" Julius asked, to which Lyla shook her head quickly in disagreement. "Of course I haven''t killed anyone.. Why are you acting like it''s such a normal thing?!" Lyla asked. Chapter 257 - Rescue "Wow, that''s actually surprising. I don''t know if it''s because I grew up in a world where killing others was necessary for your own survival, however hearing that someone has never killed another really surprises me. Especially someone that''s supposed to become the new explorer of heaven. Or at least trying to do that. Unfortunately for you, I''m competing against you so the best you''ll get is to become my assistant or something like that," said Julius to which Lyla seemed to have giggled before smiling. "I think I would be okay with that," said Lyla which confused Julius and just make him think that she was joking before the two continued to walk for a bit more until they came across a cave of some kind however it seemed to have been surrounded by a group of people which instantly made Julius as well as Lyla assume that it was a dungeon as it the the only reason that such a large group of people would be there. Nevertheless, the two walked closer to the cave so that they could talk to the people surrounding it and get an idea of what was taking place. "Excuse me, why are there so many people here?" Lyla asked as she stepped forward as if Julius was the one to have done so, there would surely have been trouble for both hun and Lyla. "Oh, apparently a large group went into this dungeon and it''s been a couple hours with no signs of them even planning to return. We''re all worried that they might have chosen a dungeon far too strong for them and all of us surrounding the dungeon have begun to accept the worst," said the man as he replied to Lyla. "Well you heard the man, let''s just go somewhere else. We don''t need more trouble that we''re already in," said Lyla as he tried to drag Julius away from the scene which wouldn''t obviously work. After all, Julius had absolutely no reason to abide by the rules that Lyla had set. Even if she was making a good point, he tried to argue just so that he could feel more powerful. "I want to try and see what I can do," said Julius, which just made Lyla feel sick to her stomach. "You can''t be serious right? I mean seriously, would it kill you to listen to me for once? I''m not trying to harm you, all I want is to protect you so please put in even a fraction of the effort," said Lyla. "Relax, it''s not that big of a deal. I''ll be fine," said Julius before smiling and leaping right into the cave where he was entered into the dungeon. Without having asked any questions, he simply ran forward as he wanted to see everything the dungeon had to offer. After walking for quite a while, Julius had found a rather bright room which he assumed was lit by lights; however , as he walked in, he realised that the light was coming from an opening in the cave. As for what was inside of it, it was a large spider net that had a bunch of people stuck to it while they tried to get out. "We''ve been saved! I seriously can''t believe our luck," said a man who was stuck to the net. "Huh?" Julius said, which confused the people who were stuck to the spider net. "Why do you look so confused? Aren''t you here to rescue us? Just do your job already, we don''t have much time," said the man to which Julius simply shook his head in disagreement. "Nope, I''m really not here for this. I''m only here to challenge the final boss of the dungeon," said Julius, to which the people on the net noticed that he was a human and was not a person from heaven. "You! You''re a human being! How dare you disobey us?! A single one of our lives is worth 10 million lives from your realm. Know your place and do your job by rescuing us, you good for nothing insect," said one of the people on the net. "Wow, for someone stuck to a net and about to die, you have a lot of nerve speaking that way to me," said Julius before smiling. "Well, good luck with everything in life. Well more realistically good luck with the following few minutes you have left," said Julius as he prepared to leave to which the people still continued to grow even more angry as for even a second they didn''t consider that Julius would have helped them if they had been just a little more kind to him. "Wow, you''re all quite noisy. Even so, I would have loved to just leave you all to die here. Although unfortunately for me, I cannot do that. I have someone to return to so I''ll just defeat the monster from here and leave quickly," said Julius and right as those words left his mouth, he was hit on the back by an object that felt like a strong and sturdy whip. "Ow! What was that?" Julius asked and right as he turned around, he was faced by a spider at least 4 times the size of himself as it had a large piece of string in its mouth which it had used to hit Julius. "Wow, so you''re going to be my opponent? Well at least make this fun for me," said Julius as he began to rush towards the spider before leaping into the air while taking out his blade from his ring at the same time. "Let''s see how you do against this?" Julius yelled out with a sinister smile on his face which made him look like a pure psychopath as he cut all of the legs of the spider bite quickly cutting it into uneven and uncalculated pieces before deceiving that his job was done as such decided to leave the cave. "Wait!" one of the people that had tried to force Julius save them said in a rather sad tone. "We apologise for any offence which we might have caused. Thank you so much for saving our lives. Even if it''s not much, if you need a job, we would be willing to hire you as a servant or pet," said the maths which just annoyed Julius to the point where he didn''t care and simply went on with his day without caring. "I don''t think that''s how gratitude works but as long as you''re happy," said Julius before starting to leave the dungeon without a care in the world. "Seems like you managed to escape. Judging by how you have little to no scratches, I''m going to work under the assumption that you ran away when you saw the thing that had trapped the entire squad inside the dungeon," said the man outside. "Actually that''s not true. I fought the spider and killed it. It just wasn''t as strong as I had liked it to be," said Julius with a rather disappointed voice as he had wanted to face a stronger opponent but had to settle for what he could get. "Okay Lyla, I''m ready to leave-" said Julius before getting cut off without saying so much as a word, Lyla leapt on to Julius'' arm and almost died. "Don''t leave me behind like that," said Lyla to which Julius simply patted her on the head and the two continued to walk in search of their next obstacle. "Hey Julius, what was the human realm like?" Lyla asked suddenly which had caught Julius by surprise. "Well, it wasn''t much. However I preferred it compared to which realm. This place is just so empty. In the human realm, there''s much more to do and explore in the world. So much to learn and discover. Even if you tried something new every day for every day since the day you were born, you would still always have new activities to participate in. More than that though, it was a lot easier to live without being hated by the majority of the people in that realm as opposed to this," said Julius, while Lyla simply looked confused. "What do you mean? Can you name at least one of the things which can keep you busy for a while?" Lyla asked. "Well arcades are pretty fun," said Julius. "Arcades?" Lyla asked as it was the first time she had ever heard of that term. "Don''t tell me you''ve never been to an arcade! Oh my, you seriously have never had fun ever in your life," said Julius to which Lyla looked rather sad. "Don''t worry, when I become the emperor of this place, I will make sure that every last corner of this realm is filled with games from arcades," said Julius as he began to think about the situation the time he had went with Jun to explore the other half of the planet which the humans lived on in the human realm. "Trust me Lyla, you''ll love it," said Julius with a bright smile. Chapter 258 - Challenges While walking and talking, Julius and Lyla stepped upon another village which seemed to have been much more friendly than Lyla''s hometown. While the two walked through it, almost no one seemed to care that Julius didn''t have the wings behind his head which signified that a person was from heaven. However not everything could be perfect as Julius heard a commotion off to the distance. "What do you think it could be?" Lyla asked as she assumed that it was properly the people of he and picking on a person from the human realm as it had gotten pretty common very quickly. "Well to be honest with you, I don''t know. At first I thought that it might have been the same thing that happened in your village where someone from the human realm was getting harassed by your people however there are a couple reasons why that''s not true. First of all if you listen closely, you''ll notice that the cries aren''t pain but joy. Although I can still hear the sounds of a fight so it''s probably a friendly duel," said Julius and as the two walked towards the scene to see what was actually going on, it turned out that Julius was indeed correct in his assumption as they saw two men fighting it out with a smile on their faces. They looked the same size and level of skill as well as power. As such, they were pretty evenly matched however someone had to eventually win and that took place when one of the competitors slipped up and moved his hand in a direction where he would barely miss his shot and as such his opponent took advantage of that and knocked him out cold with a final devastating punch. "Wow, it turns out that you were right. I mean that''s some serious observation, you were able to tell what was going on by just listening to sounds for just a couple seconds. You have quite a back for this kind of stuff, I understand now why you were allowed to come to our realm," said Lyla to which Julius looked confused as he didn''t know if he should have felt disrespected or was getting complimented. "Excuse me, do you know what going on?" Julius asked a nearby man who seemed to have been there for a very long time. "Oh this? It''s nothing special, some of us in this village just gather once a week to bet on which opie debt wins against another. The people are selected from a random group of people. The person selected is then researched until all their data has been calculated and then they''re forced to battle against someone which is similar to them in every aspect. The villagers bet on who will be the winner. The competitor who wins gets about 15% of all the money and the rest is divided amongst the people that had bet on that person," said the man as he explained to Julius. "Wow, thank you. I really didn''t expect you to tell me all that information,," said Julius. "Nonsense, there''s nothing to worry about. Judging by what you had asked, I assumed that you were new around here, as such, I made it my mission to explain to you the traditions of our town," said the man with a smile on his face. "So child, what do you say? Do you want to join in our kitty le fun game," said the man as he was hoping that he would get Julius to join in so that there would be more money as an offer no matter how small the difference. "Actually I would love that. However I don''t want to join in as a better person. I want to join as a challenger," said Julius which made everyone''s face turn pale as the people that had resized that Julius was unfazed by the fact that two grown men were fighting as if their lives were in the line and one of them was beaten to the point where he couldn''t even stand. People took the con tree st so seriously that it was purely confusing to see someone not taking it even half as seriously as them. "You know what, sure," said the man as he prepared to challenge Julius by himself so that he could teach him not to be so arrogant. "How much do you have on you," said the man to which Julius simply used his ring to pour out just a fraction of his gold to which the man simply fell to the floor in shock. "Nevermind, someone else is going to challenge you," said the man before snapping his fingers to which a giant man came forward which looked to be covered in hair and resembled a wolf that was walking on its two legs. It couldn''t even speak properly which made everyone feel on edge however Julius was not fazed for even a second as he thought the man was rather a disappointment. "Well feel free to start your battle when you feel like it. By the way, you can''t back out of this to save you money. You have already entered this challenge so if anything happens, we are not liable for that. The only person at fault would be you," said the man to which Julius simply ignored before rushing at the beast to a man that he was supposed to fight. Right as Julius was about to make contact with the beast man, the man quickly moved out of the way before seemingly teleporting behind Julius and punching him on the back. "Wow!" Julius yelled out. Even though some might have assumed it was from the pain of the punch, it was to convey how well it was executed. The most it did was send a rush of blood into Julius'' brain which was quite helpful for him. "How about you get a taste of your own medicine," said Julius as he quickly leapt back before kicking the beast man right in his back and causing him to fall face flat into the ground. "How does the ground taste?" Julius asked which angered the beast man as he got up from the ground with a roar. "I''m going to kill you!" the breast man yelled out as he leapt at Julius and tried to snap Julius'' neck in a flash. "Oh no you don''t," said Julius as he reached for the beast man''s arm before twisting it to the point where a loud crack could be heard throughout the entire town which was filled with the yelling of the beast man. Julius had broken the man''s arm. "Magical Spell: Ever Folding Explosion. This spell made it so that Julius was covered in explosionsions which simply continued until they doubled in speed which just continued to double until Julius got tired of this and punched the beast man so hard in the face that the explosions stopped. "Magical Spell: Ice Age" Using this spell, Julius was able to place the man in a thick layer of ice where he was trapped with absolutely no way to escape. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn''t even move a single inch. "Stop, that''s enough. You''ve proved your point. Just deactivate the spell and you can get your money back," said the man who was originally supposed to battle against Julius. "You got it," said Julius with a smile which caused the ice to melt away in an instant. ... ... ... "What are you waiting for? Leave this town already," said the man as he looked at Julius as if he was some random man he met out of nowhere. "Give me my money back as well as the extra 15% I earned from winning the battle," said Julius to which the man simply stared back into Julius without a clue as to what Julius was talking about. "Oh I see, so that''s how you''re going to play. Let me just make things a bit more clear for you. If I can make it so that one of your strongest people can''t even damage me properly, what do you think will happen tk you?" Julius asked as he prepared to cast a magical spell however the man who he was talking to thought that Julius was bluffing and as such decided to test his luck by pretending like he still didn''t know why Julius was talking about. "Magical Spell: Absolute Ze-" Julius began to cast his spell before he was stopped right as the spell was about to be completed by the man who was neglecting Julius. "You can have your money back and 15%. Just don''t hurt us," said the man as he quickly gave the original gold that Julius gave to Julius. "Make it 20% and maybe I won''t kill you," said Julius with a grin which left the man feeling helpless however he agreed in the end and did as Julius said before finally being able to breathe normally once Julius had left as they knew that their lives weren''t in danger. Chapter 259 - A King’s Sarrow After Julius had left the village, he had a bright smile on his face as there was nothing wrong going on in his life, everything just seemed perfect as he realised that he was living a semi-normal life for the first time in so long. With Lyla at his side, he was actually getting to talk to someone who was a human or somewhat human without having to look at them like a teacher. "Hey Duke Drake, do you know if this place has a city or something? This entire area has been nothing but just endless amounts of fields," said Julius to which Drake gave a reply. "Actually, there are quite a large amount of cities which I believe you would enjoy. You were just teleported far from them since the cities are constructed rather further away from the dungeons and since the main goal of your stay in heaven is to gain experience and as such level up, you were teleported far from the cities," Drake explained. "Oh I understand then. Even so, you''re still capable of teleporting me to the city right?" Julius asked to which Drake gave him a simple and expected answer. "Yes," said Duke Drake before teleporting both Julius as well as Lyla, who had not been expecting anything inside the city which Julius had mentioned. Even though the two had just randomly come out of nowhere, no one seemed to have noticed since it was so crowded. "Wow," said Julius as he looked up at all the tall and luxurious structures inside the city. Although they didn''t look as modern as the half of the human realm which didn''t have access to secret arts, it still looked majestic and even put some of the great kingdom''s from Julius'' world to shame. As Julius walked around, he was left speechless as he stared at all the small shops and places that he could go to. All of the people seemed friendly as they didn''t care to check if he was a human as they never considered that someone like that would come into their city. While Julius was having all that fun while running around, something strange happened. For some reason, as he kept moving forward, the people began to turn motionless. They didn''t even dare to breathe as they parted ways as if they were welcoming someone. Lyla tried to reach for Julius'' arm and grab him to the side as she herself was aware of what was taking place however she was a bit too late. "You... why aren''t you taking your position?" a deep and dark voice said behind Julius. The voice was so far away yet so close. It was as if the man who said those words was whispering in Julius'' ear. Instantly, chills began to take over Julius'' body as he froze in fear. "Do you have a death wish?" the voice asked in a rather cold tone, however Julius was too scared to even give a fraction of a reply to the man. Instead, all he did was turn around to face the figure. "You have glanced at me. Now I will be your benevolent king and allow you to have one more chance to live, get back in line and never make this mistake ever again," said the man who was a rather tall man that rode his steed while wearing enough gold in the form of jewellery to drown the entire city. Although the place had looked like a city, it seemed like they still followed a mediaeval type system in which a king would govern the people of their land. As such, even though Julius wasn''t actually a subject of the man who you infront of him, he listened due to the sheer fear that he placed into Julius'' heart. "Well done, this is how you should greet your king. Do not let this happen again," said the king before walking forward without any interruptions like Julius. ... "Are you insane?! You could have died!" the people around Julius began to yell at him due to the fact that he had not followed the greatest law in the city. Everyone was taught it from the day that they were born. That being to never stand in the way of the royal family. "Seriously, the prince was probably having a good day today. That''s why he let you live, if it was any other day, he would have killed you," said the people around Julius. Although they still thought of that man as the prince, that was not true. A few moments earlier, the previous king had passed away which in turn made the prince the current king. He had been in quite a lot of pain as his father had passed around through natural causes which was the best possible way for him to pass away. Even so, the prince was in a great deal of pain and didn''t know what to do and how he could even step up to the role of his father. He had no idea how to be a king. From a very young age, the prince''s father had told him to do whatever he wanted. The previous king had never gotten the chance to do the things he wanted as his own father, who was the grandfather of the current king, never allowed him to do anything which was considered to be fun as he wanted to prepare him to take over the role of a king. As such, the previous king didn''t want that to happen to his son which was why he never forced upon him lessons on how to become a king. He simply wanted his son to experience something that he never had the luxury of. That being freedom. Even so, no one had any idea what the current king was going through and instead assumed that he was having a good day as he was being so generous however that couldn''t have been any further from the truth. While everyone was yelling at Julius, including Lyla who was so close to leaving Julius was going on her own journey due to the number of times he scared her to the point where she almost had a heart attack, Julius simply stood still without even saying a single word. It was as if he was frozen in space. "The look in his eyes. I know what he''s feeling. I''ve experienced this before," said Julius as a single year left his right eye and while that happened, a single tear left the left eye of the current king which simply continued to ride his horse. "Hwy Julius, are you okay? Why are you crying?" Lyla asked as she stepped in to which everyone began to get back to their own business as they didn''t want to get involved especially since they were under the impression that they were the cause of Julius'' tears. "It''s okay Julius, you didn''t die so that''s all that matters. You''re alive now so you can live happily with me at your side," said Lyla to which Julius seemed way too distracted as he was in complete thought. "Hey, what''s wrong? You don''t look so good. Are you feeling sick?" Lyla asked in concern. "His eyes... they''re crying," said Julius, to which Lyla seemed confused as she had never even begun to think that it was possible for the king, who was still the prince in her eyes, to cry ; however , even though Julius couldn''t see the current king, he was indeed correct in his assumption. "You''re probably just tired. There''s no reason to react this way. The prince was kind enough to let you live so you should appreciate it," said Lyla, however Julius wasn''t concerned about his own life. Instead, he was much more worried for the prince. This was because when Julius turned to the dark side and began to lose control of himself, there was no one to stop him. He was able to do as he wanted without repercussions as there was no one that could actually stop him. Even so, knowing that, Julius didn''t want that to happen to anyone else and as such he had a new goal in mind. That being to get close to the prince. "Hey Lyla, how hard do you think it is to get close to the prince?" Julius asked, to which Lyla simply looked confused. "Why would you want to get close to the prince? Remember that our goal is to reach 100 or at least make you reach level 100. As such, we can''t afford to take any breaks," said Lyla to which Julius almost laughed. "There''s no need for you to panic so much. Don''t worry, we have plenty of time for that goal," said Julius which left Lyla simply confused. As such, seeing that Julius bothered to explain to her what he meant. "You see, even though there are a couple cool things to do to get experience points, they get repetitive and at the progression rate is is bound to get a lot slower, nearly everyone is bound to either complete stop trying to reach level 100 or be extremely fatigued and will spend so much time to reach the next level that they''ll die before they can reach level 100 so let''s balance things out," said Julius with a grin. Chapter 260 - Role Model After explaining as to why Julius believed that no one would actually rush to reach level 100, Julius let out a grin and began to come up with a plan to get close to the current king of the city he was in. Although the reasoning he gave to Lyla didn''t make sense to her, it was actually true and Julius had actual reasons as to why he believed in the statement he had made. It was because in his world, cultivation was much similar to learning magic in that it offered secret arts or special weapons capable of competing with secret arts. As would anyone would expect, when anyone gets started on their journey of cultivation, they become addicted to training as there are so many things to learn and explore, however as time passes, improving oneself so quickly becomes impossible. Learning advanced secret arts begins to take a lot longer and at some point, the person simply gives up and decides to live out the rest of their lives living how they want. This had happened to nearly everyone and those who didn''t slow down eventually became a great ruler that would take over a great kingdom and as such, they would stop training due to how much time they need to dedicate to their jobs. In the end, almost no one would be able to achieve their maximum potential. This applied to everyone expect Julius as he was able to train and advance quickly no matter how far along he was on his journey since not only was he forced to focus on his training due to be being with Jun but he was able to advance so fast that he couldn''t lose focus due to Duke Drake assisting him and allowing him to advance much faster than anyone else. "Wait Julius, why is it that you want to meet with the prince?" Lyla asked as she was left confused on why Julius had his eyes on the prince. "I don''t know exactly but I have a hunch he''s sad," said Julius which almost made Lyla burst out laughing. "What do you mean by sad? Have you seen the place he lives in? He had no right to ever be sad when he''s able to live such a free life when everyone else is struggling to stay alive," said Kyla as she over exaggerated the situation that the city was in as even though it wasn''t anything fancy, everyone could get something to eat or drink. They were provided with comfortable homes and there were plenty of jobs to take part in if they ever needed extra money to buy the things they didn''t want but needed. "No Lyla, I''m being serious. I don''t know if you didn''t notice it because you never lived a life surrounded by luxurious things but life isn''t always just sunshines. There are times when you can''t solve things. You see, money only solves money problems. Once the problems which are directly correlated with money are solved, all you''re left with are problems which money can''t fix. When you think about it it''s pretty sad as you worked so hard for that money but now you can''t do anything about your problems because they can''t be fixed through money," said Julius which left Lyla shocked as she didn''t know what to say. Even though she didn''t agree with what Julius had said, she tried to understand where he was coming from. This was because she never truly had the luxury of living a life like the prince which was technically now the king or Julius who had grown up in the human realm as the greatest piece of royalty in the world. "Okay, you can do as you please but don''t expect me to agree with you on everything that you do," said Lyla to which Julius just wrapped his arms about her before giving her a hug which caught her off guard as she had believed that Julius was more of the closed off person and never even thought that he would be capable of something like what he had just done. "Well maybe I might agree," said Lyla with a slightly embarrassed face before staying quiet for a while. Over the next couple hours, Julius along with Lyla continued to walk through the city in search of anything which might have led them to the prince. The official castle gate was closed off for some reason before a servant from the king made an announcement about how the father of the prince had died and how he would become the new current king and rule of the kingdom. Obviously everyone had been in complete shock as that was the last thing that they expected to hear about the prince. Especially since they had seen him look more generous than ever as he had spared the life of some ignorant kid that had dared to disobey the sacred rule which everyone was forced to obey. Even so, there was a single person who was in shock more than any other person in the entire city. That being Lyla. Not because she cared what had happened to the parents of the prince who was now the king but because Julius seemed to have known something about it before anyone else did which made Lyla rather concerned. At first she thought that he had played a role in the death of the king however this couldn''t have been the case as he had been with her for nearly every single second that he had been in heaven. Furthermore, if he had been the person that had caused the death of the previous king, he wouldn''t have been stupid enough to tell her anything about it. Knowing Julius, Lyla knew that it was impossible that Julius was the one that had caused the death of the king which was indeed correct. The only question that was left unanswered though was how Julius knew before everyone that the previous king had died before it had been announced. After all, not a single person had noticed something off about the prince. The odd part about this was that even if the prince had acted the slightest bit differently, someone else would have noticed before Julius since people of the city had known the prince for so many years and had so many interactions with him. As such, it made absolutely no sense that some random kid that had never seen the prince would be capable of noting something so small at a first glance. As such, Lyla was left standing still in shock however while she was distracted, she didn''t bother to note what was happening to Julius. ... ... ... "Come with me," said a familiar voice as he whispered in the ear of Julius before teleporting him as well as Lyla to a room which was very similar to a hall inside a castle. "Wow, I thought you would teleport me to you sooner or later but this was much too early," said Julius as if he knew who had teleported him to the castle hall room as he turned around to face the man who had done so and just as Julius expected he was correct in his assumption as the person who stood in front of him was none other than the prince of the city which looked exhausted while sitting on his throne. "My apologies. I just needed to ask for advice and figured that you were the best person that I could turn to. Mr. Prince," said the prince, who was the current king as he smiled at Julius. "W-Where am I?" Lyla asked in a terrified tone. "I seriously didn''t want to bring her here, however I doubt that you would actually be willing for even the slightest bit of discussion if this woman was not present so here we are now," dis stage current king which made Julius smile. All while the two talked as if they were having a casual conversation, Lyla was panicking as she wondered if she would die or live. "Anyway, how are you doing? I mean after going through all that you must be feeling quite a mix of emotions," said Julius before laughing which made Lyla instantly apologise for Julius'' ignorance. "It''s quite alright. To be perfectly honest, I would rather have someone speak to me normally right now than have other people''s sympathy. Sympathy only reminds you of the past while an actual conversation makes you forget the pain. I mean at some point I know I''ll have to face the pain however I''m pretty sure that I can wait on that. I''m not ready to accept the truth yet," said the king with a sad smile which left Lyla at a loss for words. "Even so, what do you plan to do about the kingdom? It needs a king you know. Even if you''re in pain, both of us know that as the current king, you have a responsibility over your people. You can''t deny it no matter how hard you try.. Even if it''s just pretending to be alright, your people need to know they''re in good hands," said Julius as he gave the king actual good advice. Chapter 261 - Kindness "I understand what you mean but still, how am I supposed to just get back up after the last figure in my family has died? I mean when my mother died, I couldn''t go outside for 2 whole years and that was because I had my father at my side to help me get through it. Now he''s gone, I don''t have anyone to stay with me. I''m all alone again," said the prince with a saddened expression on his face. "No. Get up," said Julius, who caught the prince, who was the new current king, by surprise as it was rather harsh of him to say this to someone who had just lost a family member not even a day ago. "Hey! What''s your deal?! Can''t you be nice for even a second?! Especially to the king!" Lyla yelled at Julius however he was completely unfazed by her words. It was as if he didn''t hear them as all his attention was turned to the king who was staring right at Julius as if he was a light of hope shining upon him. "I have a question for you," said the king to which Julius didn''t give any reaction. He knew the question that was coming; however , instead of avoiding it or looking away, he simply stared at the king with determination. "You seem very experienced with the ways of being a prince or royalty at least. Why is that?" the king asked to which Julius sighed as that was the question he was expecting and he was indeed correct and as such prepared to answer the question without wasting any time. "Well yes. I do in fact have experience with both being a prince then a king as well as being the leader of an army and also fighting an entire army. My whole life was one where I was the centre of attention however now that I don''t have that, it''s weird yet relaxing. It''s as if a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I can finally relax and live a life that I''ve wanted to have all my life," said Julius to which the king simply nodded. "I see, you''re not from this dimension, are you?" the king asked a rhetorical question. "No I''m not. I''m from the human realm," said Julius to which the king smiled instead of getting angry that someone from the human realm was daring to spear him. This was because the prince had no reason to hate Julius. He saw him as someone normal. After all, he was the one helping him get through the horrible stage of his life that he was experiencing. "So what is it that you propose I do?" the king asked as he simply wanted some assistance with what he should do to be a good king to his people. "Well to be honest with you, the people here don''t seem to be too dependent on you. The best thing you can do for them is to go out there and tell them that you''re okay and ready to take over as king. Don''t let a single soul know about your true emotions. Even if they say that they want to know the real you, they''re lying. All anyone wants to know is if they''re going to be able to live comfortably as they have been able to for years. Anything else is none of their concern. So in conclusion, lie," said Julius as he gave the king advice which was essential to being a ruler of such a big area. Even for those that ruled over small areas, that advice could still apply to them. "I understand," said the king before teleporting both Julius as well as Lyla out of the castle place that he had teleported them to previously before finally going onto the balcony of the tallest building in the city before starting to make his announcement. Although it was hard for him to even get a single word out due to what he had just experienced, he remembered what he had been told by Julius and realised that he had no reason to be afraid. "Excuse me everyone, I have an announcement to make," said the king to which everyone began to turn their heads in his direction as they had just heard about what had happened to the past king and how the prince would need to take over. They believed that the prince would be inconsolable for a very long time as they remembered the years that he had spent locked in his own mind after his mother had died. However there was something different about him. It was as if he had evolved to a whole new person. Nevertheless, everyone began to listen to him as he began to speak. "I understand how shocked all of you are after learning about how my father, the previous king of this city, had passed away. He lived a great and fulfilling life as he had the pleasure of ruling over this wonderful city. He tried to help those in need and contributed when he could. However not all good things can last forever and they just come to an end at some point which brings us to now. My father, the previous king, has passed away just as many of you have already heard. I understand that many of you will be in shock for a while and will need time to recover and I completely understand that. However, let''s not forget that my father would have wanted this city to prosper. Instead of crying about the event, how about we start to change and start improving things around here? I know it''ll be a hard task to accomplish however if we work together, I truly believe that we could actually make some real change occur here," said the king without changing his rather determined expression for even a second. It was as if he had practised acting his whole life. He was so invested in the role that even Julius who was the one who had told him to lie began to question if the king was telling the truth from the bottom of his heart or what lying like he was instructed to. All while this was going on, everyone who lived inside the city was quiet. Even after the speech had come to a close, people simply stood there in shock as the words that the king had said were the last thing they expected to hear from him. They had perceived him to be rather emotional as although his own mother had died, they believed that 2 straight years of nothing hit isolation was too much. Especially for someone who was supposed to become their next ruler. However it seemed that the king did not disappoint this time as he showed them all how much of a capable leader he could be and all of that was thanks to the speech that Julius had given him. Although the people wanted to stand still in the show forever, they slowly began to snap back into reality before starting to clap in awe as the child which they had known for so long was finally taking action and began to uphold what it meant to be a true king. ... ... ... "Wow, I guess you''re not just some jerk," said Lyla as she was rather proud of what Julius had managed to accomplish by simply using his words. "Of course I''m not. Please don''t tell that''s what you thought of me," said Julius with a worried tone as this was the first time that he bothered to actually listen to what Lyla had to say instead of simply ignoring her and doing what he wanted. "Thank you," said a gentle whisper in Julius'' ear to which he smiled when he recognized whose voice it was. "Why are you making that creepy face? Prev..." Lyla said as she didn''t get the message which Julius had received which made her question the intentions behind Julius'' smile. "Huh?!" Julius asked to which Lyla didn''t say anything but still kept her distance as the two of them began to walk through the city in search of something that could possible help them reach level 100 or more specifically help Julius reach level 100 as the goal was for him alone to reach level 100 then for him to help Lyla attain whatever she wanted once he had done that. "What are you even searching for? Is there anything you''re specifically looking for?" Lyla asked out of curiosity. "To be honest, I am looking for a blade. More than anything, that''s what I need because it''ll help me defeat monsters quicker," Julius explained. "I guess that would make sense. Although I doubt the gold you have left will be enough to buy a decent quality blade. "Buy...?" Julius asked with a rather sinister grin and Lyla looked terrified once she realised what Julius meant by the words that came out of his mouth. Of course Julius was planning to get a blade. Well, that was about it. That''s all he planned to do.. Nothing extra. Chapter 262 - Blade As the two continued to roam the city in search of a fitting blade for someone as skilled as Julius, the two came across a small shop which had a particular blade which Julius seemed to have a rather different expression on his face as he looked at it. It was as if he could tell if he wanted to be glad to have found it or angry at the sight of it. Moreover, he wasn''t even angry about how the blade looked nor was he happy about it. The thing which caused him to have such emotions towards the blade was the aura that was coming from it. Of course Lyla thought to stay away from the blade which could seriously be nothing but trouble. As such, Julius decided to investigate it up close. "Hey we''re are you going?" Lyla asked before sighing as she knew there was no stopping Julius and as such simply decided to follow behind him. As Julius reached the store which had the blade which he had an interest in, he began to examine it. The blade was a full blade blade with the top of it being a flat surface and the bottom being a sharp edge which glowled red like lava. Seeing such an interested face on Julius, the shopkeeper stepped up to help his potential customer. "Well young man. It seems you have a good eye for this. This blade is one of a kind and is said to have fallen from heaven itself," said the old man as he began to speak to Julius. "It''s cursed right?" Julius asked out of nowhere to which Lyla almost whacked him on the head for being so disrespectful; however , the shopkeeper froze in place as he realised that he couldn''t scam Julius. "Wow, I guess my luck has run out. I thought against some naive kid I would be able to sell this blade for a fortune. After all, you''re nothing more than a child. There''s no way that you could tell a good blade from a bad one, however it seems I''ve managed to encounter a child tenuous of sorts, capable of analysing and finding the smallest differences between blades and what their purpose is," said the old man who caught Lyla off guard. "Wow Julius, I never knew you were so into blades," said Lyla to which Julius didn''t reply to her and simply continued to investigate the blade even further. "How much of it?" Julius asked without saying anything else as he wanted to keep the transaction time as short as possible as he knew something that Lyla wasn''t aware of. That being that shopkeepers, especially those that can change the price of their items at any time, will take advantage of the smallest weakness in a person. That was why it was imperative that Julius withheld as much information about himself as possible which would explain why he chose to use only a few words to speak to the shopkeeper. "Well I mean it should be clear how much this blade is worth to you, right? I mean after all, you''re quite the expert," said the old man as he tried to search for any clue that would inform him that Julius wasn''t an expert in his field. "I know, I''m just letting you pick how much you want to charge me since I would feel bad for taking the blade at the actual price of it since you would barely make a profit and seeing as how almost no one seems to come here, that tells me that the only way in which you can survive is if you manage to make double or more than the money you spent per sale," Julius explained to which the old man sighed before giving a price. "I understand then. How about 3000 gold coins? That should be just a bit over the original cost. I mean I understand that you want to be kind to me so I''ll take advantage of that which is why I''m asking for such a number," said the old man as he lied to Julius. He was fully aware that the blade was only about 200 gold coins which he spent to acquire it. "I understand, thank you for doing business with me," said Julius before letting out a smirk before he got teleported outside the city through the power of Duke Drake which also did that to Lyla and the two of them began to run away from the city as fast as they could as they knew that they were in big trouble due to the commotion that Julius had caused after he had robbed the man. However unfortunately for the old man, not a single person dared to help him. That being for a simple and clear answer. It was because the man was a rather greedy person. Although he didn''t need the money, the man kept his money to himself as he didn''t want to help out anyone. Not even those who were in the same position as him got a fraction of his wealth to help. Even though he knew how much they needed the money, he didn''t bother to give a single drop of gold to them. Although the man was supposed to be a shopkeeper much like his competitors, he seemed to have a lot of wealth. That was for a good reason as even if he was greedy, he knew how to get people to like him. Well he only did this to the royal family. He has managed to sway the royal family by making a multitude of toys for the prince which the prince as well as the parents of the prince were overjoyed by. These weren''t any types of regular toys and were instead revolutionary as they made use of mechanics which no one thought to use which would explain why the royal family felt like they owed the old man at least a fraction of their wealth. In the end, the old man was able to make away with such gold that he could have helped the entire market district have a life where they didn''t need to work another day in their lives. Of course he could''ve stopped at not giving them any of his money however he also remained in the shopping district and decided to continue running his shop as he wanted to pose more of a threat to his competitors even though he was just being a jerk. "Come on Julius, go back and return it. That''s not nice of you to do," said Lyla to which Julius simply laughed at her. "Of course it''s not. That''s not the point of me being here. I''m only here to achieve one thing. That being to become a level 100 player. If this blade would allow me to do that, I would be glad to steal it from an old grandma or a pregnant lady by force. I don''t care who or what someone is. If they get in my way, I''ll just have to force them out of there," said Julius, which rather caught Lyla off guard as she hadn''t expected him to be so brutally honest. "So what do you plan on doing now that you''ve stolen that blade?" Lyla asked with a smug tone as she was tired of even holding a conversation with Julius. "I don''t know yet. It seems that it''s rather odd. That''s actually the reason I had picked it. There''s something different about it. I just haven''t pinpointed what that is," said Julius as he began to swing the blade around in all directions to try out how it is however instead of something normal to happen such as the blade cut through the air, the blade began to glow more than ever and was getting hot enough to create steam without having almost no water touching it. Right after that, a mist began to surround the blade. More specifically, a red mist which reeked of the aura of death. It was as if anyone that got close enough could sense it coming from the blade which happened to Lyla as she quickly backed away from Julius however he seemed unfazed and he didn''t know why Drake knew. The reason was because Julius had a similar type of aura when he got specially mad. He released that same aura which put so much fear into the hearts of his opponents that they would believe that they would die soon. "There''s no need to be so worked up," did Julius as he lifted the blade and swung it downwards which was when the true potential of his blade was brought out as it seemingly actually cut the air around it and even seemed like it cut a slice in the world itself however it had happened for nothing a moment that Julius believed that he was just seeing things. "I think I''ve found the perfect blade," said Julius with the biggest grin on his face after he had robbed the elderly. Chapter 263 - Guild After Julius had just acquired his new blade which he had quite the interest in due to how much power it had and how much potential there was to it. Of course all while Julius continued to partake in these reckless activit¨¦s, Lyla simply stayed quiet and watched as they took place as she wanted to stick beside Julius and she was aware that if she wanted to do that, she would have to suffer the consequences in which she would be putting her life in danger as Julius wasn''t one that liked to question his actions before he does them. Instead, his thought process consisted of doing the action first then suffering the consequences after. After having robbed the elderly man, Julius along with Lyla began to search for a new city in which they could gain value from. Although Julius had missed being royalty, he understood that if he were to once again take the role of a king by overthrowing the current king of the city he was just in, he wouldn''t have any time to fool around like he was doing now. Instead, he would have to be doing his duties as the king by taking care of his people and making sure that everyone is following the rules and regulations that had been set. As such, Julius decided to be rather a commoner to say the least, however he would have the option to do whatever he wanted so he believed that it was an equal sacrifice. Of course he didn''t tell this to Lyla as if she found out that Julius was capable of becoming a king, she would have forced him to as she was the type to want an easy life instead of working hard for an even better reward. Plus Julius would be doing nearly all of the work so she couldn''t care any less. Nevertheless, the two continued on their journey in search of a purpose. Something that they could settle into and focus on for a while however not a single one of them seemed to be a worthy task as it didn''t directly benefit them by helping Julius reach level 100. Even so, the two began to search for another city which they arrived two right as the sun almost finished setting and night was upon them which was rather the perfect time for them. As the two walked around, Julius spotted a building which seemed to have caught his eye. At first Lyla didn''t seem to be giving it any attention however she would soon learn why Julius had his eyes fixed on it as without even saying a word to her, he began to rush towards the building which was a talk at least 4 floor royal blue building constructed of stone and painted the colour ir was projecting. "Hey where are you going?" Lyla asked to which Julius didn''t even respond and simply walked inside the building like a zombie and she was forced to follow him however she was a couple seconds behind him. When she had made it to the building, it seemed as if there was going to be a fight between Julius and another man. Julius'' opponent seemed to be a tall and muscular man who was built like a bodybuilder that had taken enough steroids to kill a cow. "I said you''re not allowed to enter if you''re not a member of this guild!" The guard yelled at Julius which was just trying to push past the guard with no avail, which was when he had gotten tired of his situation and decided to make a change in the way he would proceed. "Move," said Julius, however he wasn''t telling the guard to move or even asking him. He just said it to inform the guard as he wanted to do at least that before he did what he did next. That being to use his blade which he had stolen from the old man to threaten the guard which was stopping him. Seeing as the guard was not willing to move out of his way, Julius decided to threaten him a bit by using the blade which he had gotten from the old man through stealing it due to its special properties which was what Julius needed in that moment as thoroughly just simply holding on to the blade and concentrating for a couple seconds, he was able to make the blade act in it''s true manner as the sharp part of the blade began to glow and it emanated the aura of death which instantly caused the fire to give in and move out of Julius'' way in fear of what might happen to him if he didn''t do so. ... ... ... "Huh? Who the hell do you think you are?!" a man which seemed to have been drunk past the point where he could even stand let alone walk asked Julius as he saw a face of someone he didn''t recognize and as such he got the attentions of everyone else in the guild which began to surround Julius as they were sure that Julius had come with ill intentions. "Put your hands in the air," said a cold voice with such force that Julius almost instantly got to his knees. As such, he listened to the voice and did as he was told. "Now, give me one reason I shouldn''t erase you from existence?" an old man said as he walked up to Julius. The man was at least twice the size of Julius and looked down at him as if he was nothing but a mere insect. "I''m sorry, I just came here to ask a question," said Julius which puzzled the old man as he wondered why Julius would go to all that trouble if all he wanted was to get a question answered. "Go on," said the old man with an intrigued tone. "I see that your sign in the front of this building said that this was a child. If that''s true, does that mean that you find dungeons which exist and give them to your members to clear?" Julius asked to which the old man nodded if he had just been asked one of the easier questions in the world. It was like asking which one plus one equal to. However he still bothered with answering as he was interested as to where the conversation would go. "Oh really? Can I join your guild then?" Julius asked as if he was saying something casual. "Huh? I''m sorry, you must be new around here but this is one of the most elite guilds in this world. Many of the other guilds which are housed in this world consist of members which a single member from this guild can wide out with a single attack. You see the guy outside? His task was to protect us from any intruders if they tried to break in. Of course he failed in that due to you coming in here so here''s what I''ll do," said the old man as he wanted to make a proposal to Julius. "Look, you seem pretty strong. How about if you manage to guard this guild for a day, I''ll let you in here without bothering to hassle you too much?" the old man asked, which had brought a bright smile on Julius'' face as he believed that the task he had been given was far too easy for him. "I accept!" Julius yelled out in pure joy as he believed that he had just got his free ticket to an endless number of dungeons which he could go in and destroy monsters in until he had reached level 100. Moreover, he was used to that type of format anyway so it would help him quickly progress in a setting similar to one he had already been in. "Well that works for me, well you start right now," said the old man with a slight grin on his face as he knew that Julius wasn''t aware of what would take place over the next 24 hours. "And who is this young lady with you?" the old man asked as he seemed rather interested in Lyla. "Oh she''s with me," said Julius in a casual tone as if Lyla was nothing more than a pet to him. "Come on, you seriously need a lesson on how to treat a beautiful lady such as this one," said the old man. "Anyway, young lady, you can work for our guild if you wish to. As for this child, he''ll be spending a life of hell for the next 24 hours," said the old man with a smile as he guided Lyla elsewhere and Julius walked to the front of the building to stand watch as that was his duty for the next 24 hours. However he would face his first challenge right as he started in the form of the previous guard which was rather infuriated with Julius as he had just cost him his dream job and decided to attack Julius without a warning. Chapter 264 - A Blade And It’s Owner "Die!" the guard which had been forced to move out of the way by Julius yelled out as he leaped towards Julius in an attempt to knock him out with a single punch. Even though it should have been easy for Julius to dodge the attack as he was slightly stronger and had a lot more experience than the man who was attacking him in battles, Julius had overestimated himself due to the many years he had spent as the sole strongest person in his world. Although there were those who managed to put up quite the challenge, he was always being protected by Duke Drake; however , now that they were in heaven, which is the home realm from which Duke Drake came from, he couldn''t do anything extraordinary. He could do some generic things however over powering the very strongest people in the realm was now out of the question. As such, Julius ended up getting hit with the attack from the guard. "Why the hell does it hurt so much," said Julius after he had gotten on one knee due to the force of the attack he had taken before getting back up to battle his opponent. "I see, I guess I don''t need strategy around these parts," said Julius with a grin as he tried to rush towards the previous guard which simply grabbed Julius by the neck before slamming him back down to the ground. Due to being angered from what Julius had just cost him, his attacks were caused to be more powerful than they would have been in the past. "Damn it," said Julius as he tried to get up but the previous guard just continued to slam his head on the ground continuously without giving him a single break. "GET OFF OF ME!" Julius yelled out as he placed his feet on the ground while the previous guard was pulling his head up so that he could slam it back down to the ground. As such, he managed to gain some balance which he used to his advantage as he pressed down on his feet to push his head up and headbutt the previous guard right on the nose. As such, the guard was forced to back away as his nose was bleeding. However that wouldn''t even be the beginning of Julius'' attacks as he wanted to get revenge ten times the amount that he had suffered. As such, Julius leaped on the shoulders of the previous guard which was still trying to control his bleeding nose and began to punch the guard over and over again until his eyes could see. Even so, Julius just continued to bombard the guard with an endless fury of attacks. "Break already!" Julius yelled out as he continued to punch the man with a large grin on his face as if he was having a fun time which he was actually having as he had a lot of frustration that he had to let out. This had continued for so long that Julius forgot where he was and by the time he had come back to his senses, the man was on the ground, fully unconscious and even though no one could get close to him due to Julius constantly bombarding him with attacks, they all knew that the previous guard was dead. "Wow, that''s pretty harsh. It''s not every day that you see a newcomer willing to go this far," said one of the members of the clan as they watched what was taking place. "Wow," said Julius as he got up from the ground with his fists covered in blood as he sought it to find anyone else who wanted to challenge him and he would be lucky as someone was there that was willing to challenge him in the middle of the night. "I presume you''re the guard for today," said a man with a rather gentle smile as he began to walk towards Julius. "Yes I am," said Julius as he stared back at his new challenger. It was a man that was shirtless and wore long and wide green pants and carried a perfect sized blade much resembling a katana as he slowly began to move forward with his blade pointed to the ground. "What is your name?" the man asked as he calmly approached Julius. "Why does it concern you?" Julius asked in a rather arrogant tone as he didn''t feel like answering the questions of his enemy. "I would like to know the names of those I am about to kill. It gives me a peace of mind and allows me to respect my victims before they have an unfortunate encounter with my blade," said the man while breathing so gently that it was in sync with the wind itself. "Rather arrogant of you don''t you think? Anyway, my name is Julius," said Julius as he replied to the man that stood in front of him. "Hey Julius, step back, this isn''t a battle that you want to partake in. He''s in a league of his own. His goal is to become the vice commander of our guild. The only one who can stop him is the guild leader himself, however it''ll take a lot of us to hold him back until the old man returns," said someone from the guild. Although they all seemed to have disliked Julius, they were kind enough to warn him about the man that had come to challenge him. "Step back," said the guild member a final time. However, instead of feeling grateful for the generosity of his guild members, Julius just seemed annoyed. He felt as if he was getting looked down upon and as such began to grit his teeth with an annoyed expression. "Wow, you''re starting to resemble a dog," said the enemy to which Julius had heard enough and leapt at the man to which the man quickly brought his blade forward and almost sliced off Julius'' hand however Julius'' instincts kicked in. The same ones which he had grown into his body through the months of training he did in the non cultivation world. Those techniques would once again come to save his life as he placed his palms on the flat parts of the katana and swiftly grabbed the blades out of the hands of his opponent before landing back on the ground. "Now what?! You no longer have your blades, you''re not a threat to me anymore!" said Julius as he began to brag about his accomplishments. "Oh how mistaken you are. You must not understand what it means to be a swordsman yet. You see, a swordsman is who they are because of their skill, not their blade. It doesn''t matter what object you carry, I can still slice through that piece of trash metal with my bare hands," said the man with a grin and he seemingly teleported in front of Julius and moved his hand so fast that it sliced the blade which Julius had just stole as if it was a piece of butter then the man tried to slice the black blade which Julius had stolen from an old man however that had failed. "How peculiar, it seems that I''m not strong enough to cut through your blade, maybe a blade has a connection with how strong a swordsman is," said the man as he snatched the blade from Julius to which the glow of the blade began to disappear. "Give.. it back," said Julius with a rather angry tone. He didn''t know why, however he was rather upset that another person dared to touch his blade. "Calm down. I''ll allow you to live in exchange for this blade however if you insist on attacking me, I''ll take your blade and also kill you," said the man to which Julius simply ignored and leaped at him and tried to snatch the blade away. Unfortunately for him, he had leaped right in front of the blade and the swordsman prepared to cut Julius however something odd took place as right as the blade was about to make contact with Julius'' head, it turned soft as butter and didn''t even cause a single scratch or dent in Julius'' body. "Huh? I see them. It seems I still have a long way to go. Even if I have mastered the ways of wielding a blade, it seems I''ve misunderstood something. I always believed that a blade is nothing more than an extension of the weilder''s skill, however that couldn''t be further from the truth. A blade is a partner of a swordsman. The two become one. How could I have been so careless?" the man asked himself before dropping the blade to the ground and teleporting away as he needed to search for something which Julius as well as the entire guild thought was weird. However the guild leader who was watching from a distance was aware of something. That being that the next time that man returned, he would not fail to achieve his goal.. He had found what he was missing and now needed to perfect it. Chapter 265 - Those Above The Greatest "Wow, looks like it''s been 24 hours. I guess I have no choice but to keep true to my word. Welcome to our clan-" the guild leader began to speak before stopping after realising that he didn''t remember if he had asked Julius for his name. "It''s Julius," said Julius to which the guild master smiled before welcoming Julius into their guild. "Well I must say this is a surprise. I mean who would have thought that you would make it a full night as a guard for this guild?" one of the members from the guild said without finding any harm in the words which he had just uttered. "Huh? What do you mean by that? Since I''m in the guild, doesn''t that mean I''m equal to you guys?" Julius asked before everyone around him began to laugh. "No no, you see things aren''t as simple as that. You see, this is just the start. The guild leader will explain it in a bit however I might as well and take initiative and do this on my own since the leader seems too busy fooling off with that woman that came with you," said one of the members before beginning to explain why everyone was laughing when Julius had said the words which had left his mouth. "You see, things aren''t so simple. In this guild, there are 6 classes of strength. Those ranging from F to A class. That''s what everyone from the guild is classified as. However there are those who rise above everyone and show an overwhelming difference in power between them and everyone else. Those being the war powers of our guild. There are 6 of them in 3 classes of their own. Those being S, SS as well as SSS. You see, the first 5 are part of the S class however that final man is part of the SSS class. His power is said to be so vast that there needed to be an extra classes he would skip just to demonstrate how much more powerful he was to everyone else. Even to those in the S class. Even so, that''s not to say that those in the S class are weak. In fact they''re anything but weak. The only problem is that the guy in SSS class is much more powerful. He could easily take on the entire guild on his own. His name is King. Or at least that''s what he says it is. Truly a fitting name for someone like him," the guild member explained to Julius which left him dazed as he wanted to have such a presence that others would talk about him in such a manner when he wasn''t around. For the first time in a while, Julius was jealous of someone. Someone that had something he couldn''t have. Power. Hearing the story ignited a sudden fire inside the heart of Julius which was ready to battle to the death which was why he had gotten up from his seat as if he was ready to take on missions to dungeons so that he may become as strong as King. "Rest easy boy, you''ll have your turn to go wild in this world when the time comes. Just relax for now," said the guild master with a laugh as he continued to talk to Lyla. "With all due respect sir, u would really like to train so I may become a valuable member if your guild do it would be in my best interest to a dungeon as fast as possible so that I may not only improve my strength or skill. I might even somehow manage to train both," said Julius to which the guild leader began to laugh. "So it''s a mission you want? A mission is what you''ll get, one of you go get this kid a mission and send him off, I believe he has a death wish. Even though he''s so young, he doesn''t want to enjoy even a second of his youth. Even so, it''s not my place to speak and he can do as he wishes," said the guild leader to which one of the members got up from the table which was surrounded by the other members who were trying to speak to their latest member, Julius. After the member had gotten up from his seat, he went up to the wooden board with a large number of paper notes which described the information for each mission which would include how much money the reward was and where the destination of the mission was. After recovering the paper, Julius didn''t ask any questions and simply began to run as fast as he could before finally stopping to catch his breath and enact his plan. "Hey Drake, can you teleport me to the place of this mission," said Julius to which Drake agreed however Julius didn''t know where he was headed and as such was met with a surprise. When he was reported towards his desired destination, he was greeted by a rather odd person who seemed to be wearing a straw hat shaped like a cone and walked with a single stick as a blade. "Stop right there!" Julius yelled out as he had assumed that the man he was looking at was his target. That was because the mission he was given was to slay the Juno gang and more specifically to eliminate their leader; however , since Julius had pleaded right in grinding off someone, he assumed that the man he was seeing was the leader of their gang and prepared to kill him. "Die!" Julius yelled out as he drew his blade and tried to slice the man that was in front of him. "Such unrefined movements. It''s as if a pig was given a blade by the ruler of this world himself. It''s such a wonder to see someone as unrefined and unsuited for the blade to wield something so beautiful. So tell me child, how did you come across his blade?" the man asked to which Julius simply ignored him and leapt forward to attack once again which was blocked by the stick that the man in front of Julius was holding. "What''s the point of carrying a blade if you don''t even know how to slice a mere twig with it? All you know is brute force. I don''t understand why someone like you had to find this blade. Perhaps it''s luck or something else. Nevertheless, my point still stands. You''re far weaker than you realise. All of this arrogance. I don''t understand where you could have gotten it from. It''s as if you have lived a different life before this as a royal and now you have to get accustomed to living like a normal person for the first time," said the man that stood in front of Julius. "Hey come on, why are you so mean?" Julius asked to which the man simply brought his hand forward to handshake Juslius which Julius agreed upon and tried to shake the man''s hand. Right as the two''s hands made contact though, Julius instantly fell to his knees. He didn''t realise it yet, however the way that his enemy was holding his palm was what caused Julius to instantly get to his knees out of sheer desperation. "You see, you''re still far too weak. You do not quite understand the ways of battle. Your heart seems to always be racing, as if it needs to go somewhere with urgency. Just relax for once. Allow yourself to calm down and take a look around you. The world is truly beautiful. Do not be consumed by blood lust," said the man to which Julius just listened without replying as he was in no position to argue with him. After a while, the man let go of Julius'' arm and left without saying another word while hoping that Julius had understood the message which he was trying to convey to him. "What was that about?!" Julius asked himself as he walked towards a nearby village as he was commanded to hunt down a leader of a gang and needed to eliminate him as fast as possible. When Julius had arrived inside the village, it looked completely empty. As if not a single soul had been there before, however even if Julius'' senses weren''t at their peak, he could still sense the presence of those around him. He knew everyone was hiding in their homes but he didn''t know why. "Are they really that scared of an outsider such as myself?" Julius began to ask himself before stopping as he was interrupted by someone. "Hey you over there?! I don''t remember seeing you around these parts, who are you?" a man with a long thick moustache which extended horizontally before taking a sharp turn vertically until the bottom is his face. He wore a bandana sort of headgear which was unwrapped and covered all of his hair. In his hand was a battle axe and he made sure that Julius knew that he wasn''t afraid to use his weapon. "I guess I''ve found my target," said Julius with a grin as he would get a chance to let off some steam. Chapter 266 - Calm Blade Although Julius seemed to have been rather overjoyed due to him finding his target which he would simply kill and get to go back tk the guild to pick up a dungeon type mission, he still felt annoyed by the words of the man who had simply overpowered him. "What did he mean by my hearts always racing? Of course it is. Battle is exciting, it allows me to enjoy my life," said Julius to himself as he leaped forward towards his opponent which caused the man wearing the bandana to try to cut Julius'' right arm off so that he would let go of his weapon then he would be easy to kill. "Even now, his movements are far too slow for me, I can read him like a book," said Julius to himself as he began to bring his blade to the side as he had dodged the attack of his enemy and was really to fight by with a slice of his own. Unfortunately for Julius, things wouldn''t play out in his favour as he was kicked back by an unexpected new enemy which jumped into battle to help Julius'' enemy. It was one of the man''s henchmen. "Nicely done Takkun, I hope you injected him with the poison as well," said the man with the bandana with a rather sinister look on his face to which the man known as Takkun nodded which caused the leader of the gang to grin even more as the victor of the battle was decided. "What the hell was that for? Even so, it was rather a weak kick so I should be able to win easily-" Julius began to speak before stopping as he was cut out when he realised that he had lost a grip on his body. He was extremely dizzy as he fell to his knees before passing out. "Well that was rather amusing. Take this boy to the hideout, I want to speak to him for a bit," said the gang leader to which Takkun began to drag Julius to the gang''s hideout. ... "Where am I?" Julius asked as he awoke from his slumber with a headache that was strong enough to kill an elephant. "Boss, it looks like he''s awake," said Takkun as he rushed to get the leader of the gang. "Thanks Takkun, please exit this room, things might get a bit violent around here," said the gang leader to which Takkun nodded without even hesitating and left without asking another question. As for the man in the room with Julius, he has a big grin on his face. "I see that you''re awake, it''s a bit unfortunate though since I will be knocking you out again in just a few moments," said the man as he began to crack his knuckles as if he was getting ready to break Julius'' jaw. Julius himself was tied to a chair and was binded to it with a metal chain. "What? Oh I see," said Julius before laughing. "What''s so funny about getting knocked out?" the leader of the gang asked with a rather angry tone. "I just think it''s dumb. You see, if you wanted me dead, I would have already been 6 feet under. However I''m still alive and you''re holding me hostage. Seeing as how you plan on knocking me out, you''re not seeking information since you could jaw damage to my brain which could cause a loss of information. The only possible conclusion is that you''re keeping me alive because you want me to join you, however since you''re rather slow in the head you must not understand that abuse to your future comrades will cause insubordination which will end in your downfall. I''ll make things rather simple for you since you like to act tough and I don''t want to waste my time. I''ll accept to be a member of your gang, just free me already and give me some food, I''m rather hungry," said Julius to which the gang leader began to laugh. "You''re a rather arrogant one aren''t you? Do you think that I''ll let you go just because of that? You see, I have a whole group of people capable of taking you down if I tell them to," said the leader of the gang with a smirk. "That''s clearly a lie. I would say that the man by the name of Takkun is the strongest man you have since you made him incharge of you main support in battle. Seeing as how you seem to clearly not understand that you''re a horrible leader, I doubly that anyone who''s stronger than you would willingly work for you. Instead they would have killed you by now but seeing as how you''re alive, even the entirely of your gang can''t defeat you because if they could, they would have teamed up and killed you by now," said Julius as he carefully disassembled the life of the gang leader which left the gang leader speechless however he was excited to have someone so strong and smart on his side. "Sure then, I''m so happy to have you at my side, thank you so much," said the gang leader as he untied Julius and even did him a favour by handing back his blade. "I was going to cut him down before but he seems rather dumb. I should explore this place a bit more," said Julius to himself as he got up from his chair. "I have a few questions to ask you," said Julius to which the gang leader looked ready and happy to answer any any and all questions which Julius had to ask. "Okay then, first of all, tell me why you got into this business, what is your reason for doing this?" Julius asked to which the gang leader looked rather confused but still made an effort to reply. "Well, I don''t remember exactly but from what I remember, I believe I started doing this a long time ago to gain a name for myself. Both my parents had been killed due to them being frauds which used to trick people for money and as such one day they got caught and were executed publicly. I couldn''t do anything but watch in tears. That''s a day I''ll never forget. The people of the town were the ones that reported them to a merciless guild which took jobs for a low price since they got off on murder and as long as they were allowed to do so from the guild association, they did it. As such, this village had no problem getting my parents killed. After that day, I began to train as hard as I possibly could. I wanted to grow stronger. All for the sake of revenge. That''s all I ever wanted. To be honest, I would be happy to die right now. I''ve managed to steal enough money from these people that they all lost quite a lot of weight and are now living with what little they have. I managed to torment them for this long so I was just playing the waiting game until I would be executed," said the gang leader with a sad smile. "That''s the reason you''re here right? You were a hired executioner right?" the gang leader asked with a rather sad look to which Julius could see the man had already accepted his fate and as such nodded in agreement. "I understand. Please cut me down. All I ask is that you tell Takkun that this was my decision. I told him to wait outside because I knew he wouldn''t want to be there when I was killed. Although he wouldn''t like that, it''s for the best and as such I''ve decided to go on with this plan," said the gang leader, which made Julius sympathetic towards him. "I understand. You''ve lived a fulfilling life, even if some might hate you for the rest of their lives," said Julius as he slowly drew his sword and made the smoothest and quickest slice he could have made right to the neck of the gang leader which had a smile on his face as his head fell to the ground. "Thank you," said the gang leader in his head before passing away. "It''s alright now, you can cry," said Julius as he could sense that Takkun was right outside the door of the basement-like structure that Julius and the gang leader were speaking in. He already thought something like that would happen and at least wanted to listen. Even so, it had a large impact on Takkun however Julius wasn''t ready to deal with such a situation and as such asked Duke Drake to teleport him back to the guild building. Duke Drake did as he was told as he teleported Julius right inside the guild building to which he walked up to the first desk and handed the woman that was working there the paper. Not a single person spoke as they could see the lost look in Julius'' eyes as he obviously saw something which he didn''t want to. "Mission complete." Chapter 267 - New Found Power "What''s wrong kid? You seem rather bummed out. It was rather an easy mission. By the level of skill you demonstrated, it should have been a walk in the park for you. Did it end in a bad way? Were you forced to insure torture or something?" a guild member asked as he walked towards Julius who had been rather quiet ever since he had made it back to the guild. "Huh? No, it''s nothing important. I''m just lost in thought," said Julius, which no one bought as he was rather excited previously to explore what the guild had to offer him and right after his first mission he had changed his entire personality to that of a rather calm person who was more on the borderline of being depressed. "Come on, there''s no reason to lie to us, we''re you''re fellow clan members. Whatever you go through, we go through as well. This is a team journey and not an adventure for a single person. Do not be afraid to reply to us whenever you wish to do so," said one of the guards as he tried to give some words of wisdom before leaving. For quite a while, Julius just simply stood firm on the ground as he tried to figure out the words which the strange man had said to him. He didn''t understand what he meant by the fact that Julius was rather reckless and not ready for battle. "I still don''t get it! I''m calmer than before yet I still feel no difference in my power! What is it that I lack which will allow me to surpass my limits and reach a new level of power where I will be uncontested at the absolute peak of battle. I want to surpass all and rule this realm as the king of it. I want to become the emperor of heaven!" Julius stated to himself before finally falling asleep on his bed which was provided to him by the guild as he had nowhere else to stay. Nevertheless, Julius had begun to get accustomed to the life in which he wouldn''t have to do anything. A life where he had to worry about nothing. It was as if he had been turned into a baby and everyone was looking after Julius. Of course the rest of the people in the guild were angry as Julius was getting special treatment even if it made sense. However the rest of the lazy members of the guild didn''t like that as they wanted to see Julius rot away as he had managed to make all of their dreams a reality. However all while this was going on, Julius began to think of things which could help him find out what the man he saw quite a while ago meant when she stated that Julius was not ready. Even so, Julius could feel himself getting ever closer to figuring out what the man had meant by his words which were rather tricky to understand. "I mean he could be talking about how I hold my blade, in which case I don''t think I am lacking in that department since I used to be a professional blade user in the human realm so I doubt that those rules won''t apply here. What else is to be concerned about? I mean the only other thing is how I move my feet. That''s the only way that it would apply to me is If I couldn''t dodge the attacks of my enemies which isn''t the goal of my training and as such that brings me back to square 1, what did that man truly mean by im not ready for this?" Julius asked himself with a confused face as he wanted to figure out the mystery at hand. After asking himself that same question I''ve dans over again until he simply couldn''t take it anymore, Julius lifted his blade and stood up from his seat as he tried to do something. He wanted to see if something would work. He didn''t have a single clue of it however he believed that even trying might be useful and as such he decided to give his plan a try. Julius lifted his blade up and held it in front of his head with a calm expression. For quite a while it seemed like nothing was happening. Due to Julius moving his body so slowly, not a single person could tell that he was moving until the very last moment where he had moved so much that he blade was about to make contact with the ground which was when someone finally noticed that Julius wasn''t in the same position he started at even though it seemed as if he hasn''t even moved a single centimetre. However it was too late as the final push was what was needed as Julius pressed his blade onto the ground which caused a large spark of lightning to occur. "What the hell do you think you''re doing to my guild huh?" the guild leader asked as he rushed to yell at Julius who was on the ground with a shocked face. "Answer me dammit!" The guild leader yelled out as he tried to strike Julius across the face which was surprisingly dodged by Julius as he loved his head out of the way as if it was instinct before firing back the guild leader by slapping him across the face which actually made contact. "Huh? So it''s a fight you want is it? Well if that''s what you wish, I will grant you that!'''' The guild leader began to yell out in rage as he began to grow in size rapidly until he was a tall man who had enough muscles to hold the sun with his shoulders alone. "I''m going to wipe you off the face of this plane!'''' The guild leader yelled out as he moved so fast that Julius couldn''t see him, even in his calmed state which he believed for a moment that it made him invisible however that was shortly before he was knocked off to another universe with a devastating hit from the guild leader. When Julius got up from the building he wa stuck to after being whacked away so hard, Julius escaped the pile of bricks by pushing them away with a rage as he prepared to launch an attack on the guild leader which he successfully did as he began to grip onto the shoulders of the guild leader before landing punch after punch at his enemy. No matter how hard his enemy tries to fight back. Julius just kept hitting harder. Either using his fists or elbows, Julius didn''t care. As long as he managed to make contact with his enemy and land an attack of his, that was what he cared about. "Die! Die! Die dammit!" Julius began to punch the guild leader which simply picked Julius by the shoulder and simply threw him far away once gain which Julius was getting tired of and as such let out a final roar as if it was a war cry before leaping towards the guild leader however thi wouldn''t end well for Julius as he was predicted the guild leader which simply plunged his fists to the ground and caused large boulders to come out of the ground and block the upcoming attacks of Julius. "This isn''t a battle you can win! The guild leader is far too strong for anyone. Give up now so that you can live!" a guild member suggested to Julius however he was too far gone. He couldn''t just simply walk away. Even so, with all the determination at hand, Julius still ended up getting knocked out by the guild leader which only needed to land one good punch to put Julius to sleep. ... ... ... "100% Blade Link is complete. Welcome to your true blade. Greetings master Julius. I am your blade, Nemu. Pleased to meet you. Your act of determination has allowed me to awaken once again. Now, let''s test some things out," said the voice of Julius'' blade as ur literally spoke to a knocked out Julius as it caused him to awaken from his state of unconsciousness while being midair. "Balance Break," an unconscious Julius stated as reality itself cracked for a moment as the ground began to split and all of the support beams in the building were destroyed which caused the building to fall apart. "Wow, I must say Julius. You''ve made me quite proud. I''m glad I will be having you in my guild," said the guild leader with a smile as he walked through all the commotion and knocked Julius out for good this time. This time, Julius would need to rest for 5 days before he could finally get up then ask what had happened and complain to everyone about how he doesn''t remember anything or at least that was what the guild leader thought, however Julius'' answer was different once he woke up from his slumber. "I''m sorry." Chapter 268 - SSS Class "Wow, I must say. That was very mature of you. I didn''t expect that from you seeing as you were willing to throw down with me, the guild leader," said the guild leader to which Julius just looked ashamed of himself. "It''s alright, there''s no reason for you to be so down. Tell me, what is it that happened which caused you to be so upset in the first place? The first impression you left on us made it seem like you were joyous a lot of the time so seeing you so quiet and sad was rather surprising," said the guild leader to which Julius just a stayed silent for a bit before finally opening his mouth so that he could speak and give the guild leader a reply just as he had wanted. ... ... ... "I see then," said the guild leader once Julius had finished telling him the events that had transpired with the gang leader which he had killed. Although the guild leader didn''t understand why the simple act of murder seemed to bother Julius that much specially considering the look in his eyes which were those of someone who killed regularly, the guild leader tried to sympathize with Julius and simply took in the information which he was informed of. "It''s alright Julius. You''re not at fault. It was just an event which can be classified as being at the wrong place at the wrong time. If you had been sent off to a mission which didn''t involve so much emotional baggage, this wouldn''t have happened. Even so, it''s not to say that this was not a valuable experience as it clearly was since it allowed you to grow as a person. You now understand that there are those with tales which make you feel nothing but utter pity for them but even so, you still can''t help them. The only way you could have helped that man was by bringing his life to a close. That was the best thing you or anyone for that fact could have done in that situation. Do not be distraught about what happened, instead be glad that you were able to bring a positive end to a story which should have ended quite a while ago," said the guild leader to which Julius simply smiled before getting up from the bed as his body was ready to move again after all that resting. Even the guild leader could hear all those bones in Julius'' body crack as he stretched so that he could move around freely like he once did. "For some reason I feel quite empty. Like I''m missing something. I felt something right before I passed out. Something which made me feel whole. What was it?" Julius asked himself as he tried to remember what gave him that feeling in his chest. He wanted to experience that feeling once again. He wanted to be whole once more. As if it was a flash of lightning, a single thought came to Julius'' head and he gasped as if he had seen a ghost as he remembered the source of all the power he had felt flowing inside his body. "The blade," Julius said out loud as he remembered that the source of all his new found power was the blade which he had stolen from the old man in a far away city. For some odd reason, the moment before he passed out, there was a certain connection made between Julius and his blade. They had become one as Julius was able to make full use of the blade and unleash its true power which allows him to do all sorts of things. Even so, he was not accustomed to the blade and he was also not prepared to wield just a mighty weapon which caused the battle to end in Julius getting knocked out. However, now that his life was no king in danger, Julius got up in search of his blade as he wanted to explore that power, he needed to see for himself if he could do more with his power which he received from his blade. However no matter how hard he seemed to look around, he just couldn''t find the blade. It was nowhere to be seen which was when the guild leader realised what Julius was looking for and let out a smirk. "You don''t happen to be looking for this, do you?" the guild leader asked with a sinister smirk as he held the blade in front of Julius. "Why do you have that blade?" Julius asked with a rather confused face as he didn''t understand what was going on. He simply thought that the guild leader had it to simply give back Julius and didn''t understand that the guild leader planned on using the blade as leverage against Julius. ... "So are you going to give me my blade back?" Julius asked in a rather clam tone which caused the guild leader to let out a laugh as he finally understood that Julius didn''t have a clue what was taking place. "Julius, just to clarify, I''m holding your blade hostage and I have a proposal for you. If you want your blade back, you better accept it. Or else, you''ll never see your blade ever again," said the guild leader as he tried to sound threatening to Julius. "I refuse," said Julius as if he didn''t even care what the guild leader had to say. This left the guild leader shocked as he didn''t understand why Julius would refuse an offer before even hearing what it was in the first place. "Huh? But why? I didn''t even get to tell you what I wanted," said the guild leader to which Julius simply let out a bored sigh. "Look, if I were to agree to you conditions, you would simply use my blade as leverage all the time to turn me into your slave. The moment I refuse anything, you could bring my blade into the argument and force me to do as you wished. Personally I would prefer not to be controlled like a toy so do with the blade as you wish, I''ll simply get another blade," said Julius to which the guild leader couldn''t even let out a single word as an interaction had never backfired on him so hard. "Please, come on. Just hear me out. Just let me tell you about it then you can decide. Actually I''ll just tell you before you can refuse," said the guild leader as he didn''t want his opportunity to escape. "Look, let me train you. What I saw there can only be achieved by a handful of people. This being the ones I have in the S class of my guild. You see, I thought you were a good for nothing idiot who was useless however time and time again you managed to prove me wrong. So Julius what do you say, would you like me to train you so that you can achieve the state you were in right before you were knocked out?" the guild leader asked which managed to catch Julius'' attention and he responded to the request of the guild leader. "You know what, sure. But only under one condition. I want my blade back so that I know you would use it to threaten me," said Julius to which the guild leader nodded and handed the blade back to Julius. "Okay, let''s get right to it then. There''s no better time than the present to start so let''s get going right now," said the guild leader to which Julius didn''t seem to care about the circumstances and just prepared his brain to memorise every single word that would come out of the guild leader''s mouth. "First of all, the state you managed to achieve with your blade is a complete link. It''s basically when you and your blade have your intentions allied. Nothing but your common goal exists. You see, it is due to this that almost no one can use it and even those that manage to use this technique can only do it in a near death scenario. This is because a blade''s only ever ambition is to kill. When a human is living normally, they have many things to think about such as what they''ll eat later on in the day. What they''ll do to spend their time. They think about their friends as well as their families however when a human is at death''s door, they forget anything and everything. Their only goal is to survive. That being to kill their enemy before their enemy can do that to them which is when the goals of the two things interact and become one," said the guild leader as he began to explain the technique Julius had unconsciously made use of. "You see, this is the very thing which allows the single man in SSS to surpass everyone in S that needed to be SS created to show the difference in class between them. That man can use this technique at all times.. That''s what makes him so dangerous," said the guild leader. Chapter 269 - Blade Mastery Once the guild leader had explained to Julius just how the system in which a blade and its owner become in sync, je forced Julius to hold his blade and simply concentrate on a single goal. That being to kill. This was because the goal of a blade was to kill no matter the situation as that was why it was built. It''s only ever purpose and the reason why it exists is to cut others down without any mercy. Seeing as such, Julius would need to learn to erase all other thoughts from his head and make it so that he can only concentrate on a single thing at a time. That being to kill. However there is a slight problem with this which Julius would notice very early on in his training. "Wait, you mentioned that I would be only able to focus on a single thing at a time right? Does that mean the only thing I can do is attack? After all, that''s the only way that I could draw out the full power of my blade?" Julius asked to which the guild leader gave a puzzled look before replying. "Well to a certain extent, yes. You see, a blade is mainly used to kill. However, depending on how skilled the swordsman is, he can use the blade to block the attacks of others. As such, you may be able to do that, however I''ve only been able to see the SSS class member from my guild accomplish that a few times. However, it''s been quite a while since I last saw him so that might have changed. The point is that it''s a very hard thing to accomplish and will take countless amounts of hours with no break for you to activate something even remotely close to that state. Nevertheless, the important thing now is to focus on one thing at a time," said the guild master as he explained to Julius. Hearing this, Julius began to train extensively. He knew that there were those around him who were focusing on increasing their levels as quickly as possible. After all, it made sense since they all had wanted to become the first one to reach level 100 so that they could become the emperor of heaven. They had seen the luxury which had come along with the position and as such they all wanted to get their hands on the prize. If it meant that they didn''t have to work another day in their life, they were willing to play as dirty as possible and never even take a single break. However even while knowing this, Julius didn''t even for a moment doubt that he was going to become the emperor of heaven. If it was due to his experience or from his sheer arrogance, it didn''t matter. Only time would tell who would truly become the emperor of heaven. The rest was nothing but a waiting game as they all tried to achieve that one goal. As for Julius though, he had been training as it was his belief that to accomplish anything, the base needs to be built first before the main part of the system can be put in place. His training now was that base which he would use to climb the ranks and become the emperor of heaven. Although he wasn''t having much success with his training, Julius continued to try over and over again as he genuinely believed that sooner or later he would manage to achieve the task which he had wanted and as such he didn''t want to take a break. Making a breakthrough in his training would mean a lot more than a few seconds of air through his lungs which was why even if it felt like he was suffocating himself, Julius continued to try over and over again. He closed his eyes once more with rather irritation as he felt that even after a couple days of constant so called training, he wasn''t getting anywhere which would have been a valid reason if Julius hadn''t been failing to see the progress in himself. Although miniscule, all that mattered was that Julius was making progress. ... ... ... During og Julius'' meditation sessions, he fell into a passed out state as he had been sleep deprived for so long. However the guild leader didn''t wake him up as he saw that Julius needed some rest after all he had been training for what seemed like an eternity non stop. During his sleeping state, Julius had a strange dream. Much one like the one he experienced when he was cultivating in his sleep. However, unlike that peaceful place, this one was constantly being interrupted by bubbles. They just kept making that annoying popping sound which didn''t allow Julius to rest. They were just endless and as such he quickly whacked them all away which caused it to be all quiet so that he could rest. ... ... ... A few seconds later, Julius awoke from his slumber with a gasp as he had realised what he had been missing. He had finally found out what was causing him to not be able to draw out the power of his blade any longer. Although the guild leader had told hun directly, Julius needed to see it for himself and he had understood what the guild leader meant for the first time. Julius began to close his eyes and began to meditate before quickly taking the blade on his hand and stabbing it right through his palm. Seeing this, the guild leader was left utterly shocked and speechless as he had believed that Julius had finally lost it and decided to end his own life which couldn''t have been further from the truth. As would be expected, Julius let out a cry in pain and pure agony when the blade struck him which further confused the guild leader as Julius had literally done that to himself. However before the guild leader could say anything, something strange took place. Julius stopped yelling abruptly before closing his eyes and starting to take a couple deep breaths as calmly as possible. It was as if he had completely changed. Julius felt as if he was the king of the world. "Blade Link 100%." "Yes! I did it!" Julius yelled out to which the guild leader finally realised what Julius had attempted to do and somehow managed to succeed in doing so. "You''ve got quite a sharp head don''t you?" the guild leader asked as Julius passed out of exhaustion. The reason that Julius somehow managed to access the state in which he was aligned with his blade was because he had forced himself into a situation where the only thing he could think about was to kill. That being which just life was in danger. Due to the number of experiences he had with death, Julius'' fight or flight instincts turned into simply fighting instincts. As such, whenever Julius ran into opponents which he could not defeat with ease and began to doubt himself, instead of running away, he went in head first as that was the only thing which he knew he could do. ... A few hours later, Julius once more awoke with a gasp however this time he was confused. "please tell me I managed to actually achieve the link with my blade. Please tell me that I wasn''t dreaming it," said Julius to which the guild leader stopped in and informed him that he was in fact capable of doing the action of creating a perfect link with his blade even if it was for nothing but a mere moment. "Nicely done Julius. All I would like to ask is how you managed to figure it out so quickly. Even for the most expert swordsmen in this world, this action can take a couple years to perform for the first time. Granted that it does get easier over the years, it still takes quite a long time for someone to master it which all depends on if they''re even willing to put in the work for it. As such, it makes no sense as to why you were able to do this in just a couple minutes. So tell me, how were you able to do this?" the guild leader asked out of sheer curiosity. "Well it''s really not that complicated although I do have to admit that I did get lucky since I had it revealed to me in a dream. It was as if I was sleeping in a pool of water which I wanted to relax in, however there were so many bubbles around me which annoyed both my face and ears as they were obnoxious. As such, I simply whacked my hand at them and forcibly removed them. That was when I awoke with a gasp as I realised that I could apply that same concept to my blade.. I just had to forcibly remove all distractions which was possible through the use of the blade itself which I would stab my hand with to increase my focus," Julius explained. Chapter 270 - Limit Break Once Julius had explained to the guild leader as to how he had managed to attain such a complex skill in such a short amount of time, the guild leader was left speechless but had a rather odd smile to him which made Julius realise that he had made his teacher proud. In an odd way, it reminded him of Jun who had trained him for so long. He couldn''t have gotten as fat as he had without having such a wonderful teacher. Even though in the end things didn''t turn out for the best, Julius still found that he was grateful to Jun for all he had done as it was what had allowed him to enter the realm known as heaven and participate in a contest to see who would become the next emperor of heaven. "Anyway though, even if you can use a complete link with your blade, that still makes you only at S tier. Maybe high A tier since the S tires don''t need to stab themselves with a blade or resort to measuring that danger to attain this state even if it''s for a short period of time. Nevertheless, you should be very proud of yourself, in just a few days, you''ve managed to rise amongst the ranks of this guild. You have the potential to become a rather terrifying beast," said the guild leader with a rather sinister smirk as he would be capable of bragging as not only had he had the one and only SSS class member from all of the guilds in heaven but now he had access to a new member which had the potential to reach SSS. Even so, the guild leader saw the possibility to be nothing more than a dream. Even with his quick progress, the guild leader believed that SSS class was only a place meant for a single man to reach and for him to stay there as it''s sole member. "So what is it that you wish to accomplish now?" the guild leader asked with a rather complex face. He didn''t know which direction to take Julius as there were multiple ways that he could have gone, however seeing the look in Julius, he realised that he was in quite the rush which he didn''t plan to stop as it would stunt the growth of his skill and power. "I want to improve both my skill and power. To be honest though, my priority is to increase my skill. I can focus on power later because-'''' Julius began to speak before cutting himself off as he had realised that he almost told the guild leader about how he was participating in the contest to become the next emperor of heaven. "Hmm, you seem to be hiding something from me," said the guild leader as he sought to get the information out of Julius. "No I''m not. I have no reason to hide anything from you," said Julius with an awkward smile as he realised that the guild leader had caught on to what he was hiding. "Just tell me, it''s alright. I won''t judge you," said the guild leader which made Julius sigh with disappointment as he had been found out by yet another person. "I am participating in the new heaven emperor contest," said Julius, which made the guild leader laugh. "You''re joking right? That''s not possible, no way. Only the most elite people or royalty were allowed to participate. Judging by how you entered my guild, you were rather weak and you also looked dirt poor. That makes it so that it''s impossible for you to participate in the contest," said the guild leader as he began to laugh before slowing down as he began to realise the final and last possible way that he could have been participating in the contest. The guild leader slowly took a glance at the head of Julius only to realise that his fears had become true. Julius didn''t have wings behind his head which indicated that he was in fact not born in heaven as was instead a human from the lower realm. ... ... ... "How could you deceive me like this?!" the guild leader asked in a rather annoyed and offended tone as if he wasn''t the one which had welcomed Julius with open arms without asking not even another question. ... "I never hide anything from you. You were simply too blind to see that I was a human. How is it my fault that you didn''t notice? It''s not like I tried to hide it in the first place," said Julius as he lied. While he didn''t make an effort to disguise the fact that he wasn''t originally from heaven, he also tried to make sure that no one realised where he was actually from. He knew that as long as he didn''t make a big deal about it, everyone wouldn''t pay attention to his head and simply assume that he was from the one he faced just like the rest of them. Seeing this go down though, Julius felt that it was his time to leave. He had already attained much more than he needed from the guild and would go off elsewhere to seek out more knowledge. "Wait!" the guild leader yelled right before Julius could leave through the door. "I know, I realise that you wouldn''t want a human anywhere near your guild. I''m leaving now. You don''t need to repeat your voice or exhaust yourself by yelling only to get the same outcome," said Julius as he left with a bored expression as if he didn''t care what would happen. "No, that''s not what I want. I want you to stay," said the guild leader, which was rather difficult for Julius to hear as he ever since the second he had arrived in heaven, he was forced to hide his identity as anyone who was found out to be human was either beaten or exiled. Even though there was little to no difference between the two species, the people from heaven thought of the people from the human realm to be nothing but mere small insects which shouldn''t even be given a second glance. However, just like bugs, if the humans got too close, they were either beaten or killed just like another insect. "Huh? What do you mean?" Julius asked as he had believed that he had heard the wrong words as he couldn''t have believed that he had heard come out of the mouth of the guild leader which not only a member of the society in heaven but a higher ranking official than most with him being the leader of one of the strongest guilds IN their whole world. "I said I want you to stay. I understand that I overreacted which I would like to apologise for however you have to understand it is the way I grew up. It''s been ingrained into my memory and will take quite a while for me to get rid of that notion however I''ll try my best to suppress it until one day I can fully say that I have erased that ideology from my head," said the guild leader to which Julius was caught off guard by as this was the first time he had seen the guild leader being vulnerable which he never believed he would see. "So what do you say Julius? Want to give this another shot and see if we can make it work?" the guild leader asked with a smirk to which Julius smirk saw back before rushing back so that the two could return to their regular training, even though it was nothing but normal. During the following days after the two of them had agreed to train, Julius began to experience new things in his body. He could feel himself getting ever so light. He felt as light as a feather which allows him to move faster than ever. He could perceive attacks which were coming at him with such precise accuracy that it was scary to even think about. "Wow, you''re actually getting pretty good at this. Although it''s not like your 100% complete blade link, this is still quite good. You managed to enhance your base speed so much lately. From the looks in your eyes as well, you''re much closer to attaining a permanent complete link although it might be my eyes playing tricks on me so I don''t know how accurate that information is. Nevertheless, you''re making great progress. Only a bit more left and you''ll enter a league of your own. One where you won''t be contested by even a single soul. You will be given the freedom to do as you wish," said the guild master as he tried to inspire Julius which wasn''t a need as Julius had already set his mind to his goal and would achieve it at any cost. "My apologies for asking, however I''ve been wondering about something for quite some time. If you don''t mind me asking, who is the single man who is in SSS class?" Julius asked which caused the guild leader to smirk. "Took you long enough to ask," said the guild leader. Chapter 271 - Invincible Tale "So you wish to know the tale of the single man that stands above all. The single creature which puts all others to shame. That man which caused the emperor of heaven to beg countless times to be a part of his defence unit. Most refer to him as King. This is because although there is an emperor for heaven or at least there used to be, there is also a king. Both of them were regarded as true powers in this world with the emperor being stronger due to him being supplied with the power of the emperor of high heaven. Of course no matter how skilled you are here, you''re no match to the emperor of high heaven. Even the emperor that we had was nothing but a puppet and the contest you''re participating in will make it so that you do in fact turn I into a puppet of the emperor of high heaven. Even so, I believe that it is the right call to make. Although logically it''s the worst decision you can make. My gut tells me that something marvellous awaits you," said the guild leader as he began to explain the tale of the man known for being the single creature in the SSS class or more famously known as; king. "You see Julius, the first interaction I had with the king wasn''t like your case or for a matter of fact, like any of the other cases with the members in this guild. I''ve met nearly all of you as teenagers or young adults. Most have managed to flourish into beautiful creatures and the rest are just waiting for the best time to bloom. However there was one other case. That in which I had met a member in this guild as a baby. In fact it was the day he was born that he had been brought to me by his parents. Just as the tradition states, they had placed him in a basket type of compartment before leaving him at the door steps of my guild in the middle of the night before finally leaving. Although their son would resent them for all of eternity, they had most likely left him here because they believed that they couldn''t give their child a life which he would be able to live comfortably. As such, even though it was quite the cya''¡äange to let go of their new both sons, and as such, they dropped him off here in hopes that I would provide him with a much better life than they could even dream of giving to him. Nevertheless, I took that boy in as my own and began to train him. I didn''t know what to call him. I simply called him Jack. I simply called him that because it seemed simple and no one would care which they didn''t. However after quite some time of training with me, I realised that the boy was much more gifted than anyone that I had ever trained. It was as if he had years upon years of practice. Up to this point, the only type of fighting he had been fighting for years upon years however this was his first ever fight which I was simply and understandably taken by surprise," the guild leader continues to speak. "As the years went by, he quickly began to develop. He took in everything I informed him about like a sponge. Seriously, it''s not a joke when people say that children absorb information like a sponge because it truly is true. They''re so empty minded that as soon as they are informed of something, they desperately try to cling to it. It is a necessity to them. Without it, they are simply helpless and cannot do anything. This was quite the advantage to Jack as he quickly began to adapt to the conditions that I was putting him through which I only realise now as I have had children of my own. I had messed up while raising him. I honestly regret it so much now. Because of me, he was never allowed to experience a childhood. Everything was constant training. Friends and time for fun was never an option. The knot option being to study to the point where he passed out or either to a point where he couldn''t think and was frozen in space like an icicle. That must have taken quite the toll on his body. He must have been shocked to the point where he couldn''t trust me. Even so, it''s not like he had much of an option, he would always be forced to listen to me until the day he would finally be able to defeat me and would have attained the revenge he had sought for so long,"the leader of the guild. "Even so, no matter how much you try to try to change the situation and make yourself seem like the good guy in this situation, you still end up in the same position. It was your own fault that you ended up being a horrible father figure. It was your own fault that your son ended up being robotic. It was our own fault that he resented you. What else was he supposed to do? That was the only thing you ever taught him. How about you take responsibility for your actions for Oc¨¦ and admit when you''re wrong?" Julius asked which left the guild leader rather speechless as everyone had mostly told him that he was in the right as they had wanted to use him for his knowledge or power or even name however Julius was not binded by anything which caused such a divide in perspective between us. You truly must believe that you''ve committed no wrong in your life and managed to lead an existence where you are a saint don''t you?" Julius asked to which the guild leader almost looked offended that he was being asked such a question as if it was a sarcastic remark however it couldn''t have been one due to how accurate it was. ... ... ... "So you''re telling me the single man in SSS class is a son you failed to raise? A creature that was never shown love or affection and was simply ever taught to cut others down like a robot. Damn, you''re really messed up in the head, you know. I used to look up to you. I can''t believe what I just found out about you," said Julius in a rather disgusted expression as he had learned about the flaws of his teacher as well as his guild leader which he previously looked up to, however he could not do the same any longer after finding out about his past. "Hold on though, I might not be perfect but neither is anyone in this world. I know I''ve made mistakes however I wish to change and get rid of them which is why I''ve made such an effort to change. I''ve always wanted to improve and sought feedback. However I''ve never managed to receive good feedback since everyone just sucks up to me because they seek something from me. So far I''ve only come this far through guessing what I''m doing wrong and what I need to change. In all honesty, I was taken aback by the force of your words as it had been quite a long time since anyone had managed to speak to me in such a manner," said the guild leader as he tried to explain where he was coming from and Julius tried to be understanding. Mainly because as a person of power from a young age, he knew that many of those around him lied to him constantly just to get on his good side and as such have guaranteed a life of Lucy art and happiness. Even though he saw through all their actions, the people were still desperate and were willing to shame themselves and ruin their reputation for even a slight chance of the life they dreamed about. "You know what, you''re right. I shouldn''t be so hard on you. Especially since you''re willing to change. However it shows me that I have a long way to go. Especially when my opponent is a robot with no feelings. I didn''t even think that was possible to engrave into a human," said Julius to which the guild leader seemed to have been hiding something from Julius however Julius had caught on to this quickly and began to try to get the information out of the guild leader. "Just tell me already, what is it that you''re hiding from me? It can''t possibly be a big deal. Don''t worry I won''t judge you, just tell me what''s on your mind since we''ll have to face it together," said Julius to which the guild leader gave it one last thought before speaking. "It''s about a SSS class member. You see, to concentrate the connection with his blade, he doesn''t defend or dodge any attacks that come at him. He simply takes them with a smile on his face.. As such, if you don''t kill him by the first attack, you''ve already lost," said the guild leader to Julius. Chapter 272 - Evidence Of Training Once hearing the story of the single man which stood above all others, the man known as king that was said to be so powerful that he needed a rank of his own to show how much more powerful he was compared to all his comrades and even enemies, Julius was ready to start to focus on his training more than ever. During this short period of time, he had reverted back to his ways of training with Jun where he could do tasks while being relatively u conscious. It was as if it was part of his muscle memory. As such, most of the time, Julius simply got lost in his own thoughts as he thought about different things and topics. One of the things which he had spent so many hours thinking about was the King who was the man he was trying to reach. This was because to get a winning edge over everyone else that was partaking in the new heaven emperor contest, Julius would need to be exactly like the person who is already known as the strongest then improve upon what he learned from and about that man to surpass him. That had been the strategy he had used in the past and would do once again. "Seriously though, how am I supposed to defeat a man who is said to be so strong that he doesn''t need to block the attacks of others? The main question isn''t even if I can defeat him, it''s if I can even touch him. Judging by the way he''s been described to me, it''ll take me quite a while to reach his level of strength and even if I do, I''ll need to kill him with a single stroke since if I do not manage to accomplish that it''ll be the end for me. He''s said to have 100% link with his blade all the time. If he''s able to sustain that state for so long, I will truly be facing a demon. Even the monsters from the dungeon which I had spent 3 years in pale in comparison to this man," said Julius as he thought to himself while following through with his work out sessions. "Oh, I didn''t realise how much I was sweating," said Julius to himself as he took a look at his grey t-shirt which was completely drenched and had become tight due to the sweat which was a liquid causing the fabric to shrink. "Well. I guess that''ll be it for the day. I would have to say this was rather a productive training session. Although I would have preferred to train some more and attain a higher level of power sooner than later, I understand the importance of rest. I need to give my muscles time to rebuild," said Julius to himself before going to sleep in his designated room inside the second floor of the guild building which he hadn''t left for quite some time as he was too busy training the majority of the time. Julius had been so caught up in his training that he had even forgotten about Lyla which was still inside the same building which he was living in; however , she was being trained to work at the front desk of the guild. She needed to make one way or another of getting to earn a living and also needed to stay at the side of Julius so she decided to do as the guild wanted just so that she would have a place to stay and could also stay near Julius and the two would make their move when the time was right. ... ... ... "Hey guild leader! Where has that kid been? The newcomer I mean. We haven''t seen him for so long, stop hogging him to yourself. Are you scared we''re going to bully him?" a drunk member from the guild said while laughing when everyone began to nod in agreement as he was technically right. Ever since the guild leader had taken Julius in as his own student after the two had that fight between them, the rest of the guild had not been able to see Julius as he was too busy training. Due to the ways in which the guild leader usually acted, the guild members just assumed that he would simply ignore their comments and head back to train Julius which was why they were laughing. However, instead of that, a simple thing unexpectedly took place as the guild leader began to smile. "Hmm let''s see here, which one of you thinks that they''re up for a little challenge against our newest member huh? I mean he''s still pretty inexperienced but he''s been putting in the effort," said the guild leader as he tried to downplay the progress which Julius had made over the past weeks. This plan of his worked perfectly as everyone in the guild began to laugh their hearts out. "Come on leader, this has to be a joke right? Most of us have been here for years and you think that some random kid with no experience is strong enough to even pose as even a challenge to a single one of us? You know what, I''ll humour you, I''ll be a volunteer to test this little game of yours. Don''t be mad if i hurt him too much though," said one of the guild members who was sitting around as he got up from his seat to take Julius on in a fight. The challenger was a giant man which looked to be at least 7 feet tall to which he dwarfed everyone else in the guild. He was also quite muscular and large. He resembled what a Viking would look like and even carried a short handed axe. As for the guild leader, he had gone upstairs to grab Julius who was busy training by doing push-ups with only one finger on his right hand. "You can stop now. I have a fun game for you," said the guild leader which seemed to have caught the attention of Julius as he had leapt up in the air before seamlessly landing on his feet to converse with the guild leader. "What is it that you have planned?" Julius asked as he didn''t know if the guild leader was trying to sabotage him. "Just a little challenge. Let''s see how far you''ve come and to test that, I want you to fight one of my members from this guild. It might seem quite tough as your opponent is quite large but I have faith in you," said the guild leader as he gave Julius a thumbs up which just left Julius with a confused look on his face. "You do realise that I need much more than pure faith to win a battle right?" Julius asked before following behind the guild leader where they headed down the stairs to start the battle between Julius and the guild member. "Hey newbie, I''m a B class in this guild. I''m sorry if I accidentally kill you. I just need to prove to the guild leader and to be frank, it would be beneficial for me since I can argue that the guild leader is not competent enough time let me move up a class into class A which is also why he was not smart enough to give you a much weaker opponent than myself," said the guild member as he simply just went on talking and talking however seeing as there was seemingly no end to this, Julius decided to intervene and stop that from continuing any longer than it already had. "Hey can we just get started already?" Julius asked with a rather bored expression as if he didn''t see any value in battling his opponent. "You''ve got quite the nerve don''t you? I''ll teach you a thing or two!" the guild member said in an infuriated tone as he grit his teeth and clenched his fist as if he was ready to knock Julius out. "Go straight to hell!" he never yelled as he teleported right in front of Julius and brought his fist close to Julius'' face in nothing but a blink of an eye. Right as he almost made contact with Julius'' face and he was about to knock him out, a sudden figure stepped in by leaping forward and pushing the guild member out of the way. "What the hell was that for?! I almost got him! Do you really feel that much pity for him?" the B class member said in an annoyed tone as he was upset that he was stopped from doing what he had wanted to. "Guild leader please demote him to C class, he''s been blinded by his own power, so much so that he didn''t realise that another instant of that interaction would have ended with his head rolling on the floor instead of being on his body," said the member who had saved the B class member. All while this went on, Julius had an odd expression on his face, one that was fully in the zone.. If another instance had gone along, he would have been able to draw out a 100% link with his blade. Chapter 273 - Switching Sites "I agree. Perhaps I''ve allowed you to rank up too quickly. It seems you still don''t understand the very basics of battle," said the guild leader with a rather disappointed facial expression before stepping up and holding the shoulder of the B class member. "Listen, your days as a B class member are over. You''re going back to the C class. You have quite some ways to go before I can once again consider you a class B. It seems my judgement skill was indeed lacking, however not in the way you had predicted," said the guild leader before turning towards Julius and tapping him on the shoulder. "Come now. You did marvellous," said the guild leader which brought Julius back from his seemingly unconscious state where he was solely focused on killing the man that was trying to attack him. "Hey guild leader, seeing what you observed, what class would you place me in?" Julius asked to which the guild leader answered with a confused expression. "Don''t worry about that too much for now. Right now, your class is undecided since you aren''t ready to be fully assimilated into the guild. You see Julius, you have far too much potential for you to worry about ranking. Personally, I believe that with just a little luck, I might be able to sneak you into SS class or even by some miracle get you into the seemingly gated SSS class. However it all depends on how much work you''re willing to put in. Even as your instructor, I can only do so much for you. The progress you make solely depends on how hard you''re willing to work," said the guild leader to which Julius nodded as he understood what the guild leader was saying. "Hey Julius, how about we take a little trip?" the guild leader asked as if the two were going on a quick walk even though it was far from that. "Sure I guess. I mean I live under your roof so I doubt I have much of an option," said Julius as he followed the guild leader outside the guild building and the two began to walk around the city which the guild building was located in before the two had walked so much that they had made it to the entrance of the city which separated the city from the outside world. "Why are we here?" Julius asked with a rather confused expression as he didn''t understand why he had been brought out so far from the guild building especially since it was getting dark and under his assumption, they needed to return back soon. "Oh it seems you''ve not understood my intentions. You see, we''re no longer going to be limiting you to training inside the building of the guild. You''re growing at a rapid rate and to make sure that you don''t get bored too quickly, I''ve decided to take you out to the forests outside the city to train. You see, I believe you could use some experience. Moreover, I believe it''ll also benefit you in your levelling up journey since the way you level up is determined by how much experience you attain which should technically still be possible to attain through the killing of monsters inside forests. Although that will depend on which kind of monsters you encounter," said the guild leader as he explained what he had planned ahead for Julius however instead of Julius being surprised or angry at the guild leader like he had expected, Julius simply shrugged and had already accepted the plan that the guild leader had made for him. As such, the two left into the woods near the city which the guild was located in to which the guild leader instructed Julius on how to control his movements. To create smooth and perfect cuts. He taught him to use his blade so that it would lend him its strength. "Make a single strong cut. Never hesitate. If you do that, your blade will believe that you do not trust it and as such it will have no reason to create a bond with you. Even if you''re both at a 100%, depending on how you treat your blade, you will be able to draw out a certain amount of its power so it''s important for you to build a good connection with your blade in the army stages. Make sure I treat your blade well so that it will do the same to you when the time comes," said the guild leader to which Julius was starting to have a headache due to how much stress he was placing on his body. He needed to follow so many instructions that he didn''t know he could accomplish all at the same time. After all, it took a lot out of him to barely accomplish one of the tasks individually however seeing as how he needed to perform them all at the same time while actually using the blade with the intent to kill, it was a near impossible task which was causing Julius to start giving up. However at some point, something strange began to take place. By this point, it had been 3 months of nothing but relentless blade training where he would need to draw out all of his power just so that he would manage to accomplish the bare minimum. However on one of these days, instead of thinking about how much pain he was in, Julius simply got lost in thought. He didn''t see what he was doing and his body simply did everything on its own. It was as if it was readjusting to the blade''s needs without putting Julius'' head under the stress that was placed on it previously. Now, Julius could train as he was supposed to without having to think. This was because the blade had gotten comfortable enough to allow a slow bond to start forming between the body of Julius and the blade. As such, the thinking part of the process was taken out of the equation. Instead, all that Julius needed to be worried about was that he needed to be left standing. This was because even if all the work was being done subconsciously, it didn''t matter as it would still drain Julius out of his stamina. As such, by the end of the day, Julius would be out of breath without even knowing it as he didn''t think that he was doing much productive work when in fact his body was being placed under harsh conditions while his mind wandered off somewhere else. ... ... ... "Wow, you seem like a whole different person. I mean I leave you alone for just a week and you turn out to be a completely different person," sis style guild leader as he stepped up to Julius who was busy swinging his blade in the air while making perfect cuts in the wind. "Huh what do you mean? I''m not really doing anything special. I''m just doing what my body wants. I doubt it''s actually productive which was why I was waiting for you to return. I wanted you to correct my form and tell me what I am doing wrong," said Julius to which the guild leader began to laugh while rolling on the ground. "It seems you still don''t understand Julius. You see, you''ve begun to form a bond with your blade. It had opened to you completely," said the guild leader with a kind smile on his face but Julius was simply confused as he hadn''t felt any change in his body or the way it functioned. "You know what, since you don''t seem to believe what I am saying, how about you give it a try? Try to cut that tree over there using your blade with the intent to kill," said the guild leader with a smirk to which Julius nodded and walked near the tree as he had no reason not to try what his teacher told him to try. "Well here goes nothing," said Julius as he closed his eyes and pulled his blade back before bringing it back forward with such devastating force that he even blew back some trees that were near him with just that force and it would prove why it was capable of that as with just that swing, the blade activated and caused its true power to unleash as half of the entire forest ended up getting turned to ashes while being covered by a thick layer of lava. ... ... ... "I guess you were right. It seems like I''ve managed to grow. Although I''m pretty sure I can push way past this. I need a bit more training before I can finally unleash its true power. I still feel like I need to build a stronger connection with this blade. I don''t know how to explain it but I just need to do so," said Julius as he calmly analysed his situation while not understanding what he had just done. "This is power which rivals those in the S class.. He''s progressing too quickly," said the guild leader to himself. Chapter 274 - No Mistaking It "So what do you think, guild leader? Am I still lacking when it comes to power?" Julius asked which actually had an effect on the guild leader as he had been so surprised by the fact that Julius was able to draw out such a large amount of power from his blade that he was capable of erasing half the forest out of existence. However the guild leader also knew that the majority of power or even nearly all the power that was outputted originated from the blade which Julius carried and did not in fact originate from Julius himself which proved that there were still areas which Julius needed to work on. "Well actually you see Julius, there is nothing wrong with the technique you''ve developed. In fact I can say that you''ve excelled my expectations and you''ve even earned yourself the title of an S class member of my guild. By far, you''re the first student that has shocked me this much. Even the current man known as King didn''t shock me quite this much in his early days, however that''s not to say that he''s not leagues above you, however that also doesn''t mean that you don''t have the potential to surpass him as well as anyone else who you envy. However if you wish to achieve that goal in which you will supposedly surpass all those who you envy, you''ll need to do a lot of strength training. You see, even if you''re able to do this much damage, it''s still shameful because the majority of that power comes from your blade and not yourself. Your goal should be to become a swordsman, not a sword wielder. You''re not supposed to be holding a blade, you''re supposed to be using it. To achieve that, you''ll have to temporarily train without your blade. To make things make more sense to you, your blade is a sort of multiplier. Let''s say that your power output which originates from yourself is 1 and the one that comes from your blade is 1 million. You see, you would in total have a power of one million. However if you were to simply increase the power in yourself by 1 you would have a power of 2 million. You see Julius, by not training your own body, you''re making yourself miss out on possibly so much power that you could easily surpass King and make yourself the new SSS class member while you force him to be demoted to SS class. Wouldn''t you like that to happen?" the guild leader asked as he painted a world in which Julius could one again stand at the top of the world. To surpass all which stood in his way. For one, Julius missed being king. He missed having complete control of his position. He missed when he could command others to do his bidding. He missed going into battle while knowing the outcome of it, that being that he would absolutely humiliate his opponent. "Please guild leader, guide me and show me a way to surpass all those who dare stand in my way," said Julius with such conviction in his eyes which caused even the guild leader to be shocked as if Julius had just aged 10 years in the matter of seconds. He no longer looked like an arrogant teenager but now a skilled swordsman capable of making anyone kneel by his sheer presence alone. "This does bring a smile to my face. You''ve matured so much already. I truly hope to be able to watch you surpass all those who stand in your way and claim your rightful place as king. I''m glad I was able to see the potential in you and take you under my wing," said the guild leader with a sincere smile. ... ... ... The next couple of months that followed all consisted of Julius doing exercises which pushed his body to the limits and forced him to go past even that. He needed to surpass himself multiple times so that he could grow into the person he not only wanted to be but also needed to be. During this time, Lyla had been consumed by the world of the guild where she had grown accustomed to working inside there as an attendant which looked after the members there and took care of any formalities such as new members who wanted to join and qualified for that position. "Wow, you''ve really grown into a fine young man Julius. The more I look at you, the more I realise you''ve already surpassed those who you wish to defeat. Your path has already been carved. It seems as if you''re ready to set out on your journey once more and surpass all of those who are competing in the new heaven emperor contest. Yet at the same time, you seem like you wish to grow with every second for no reason. I can already sense it in you, you have the ability to gain levels so quickly that you would break records which have been set by anyone else. I''m rather glad I was able to witness your journey and I''m glad I''ll be there to watch you show off the fruits of your labour," said the guild leader while talking to himself as he watched Julius fight off a giant bear which was at least twice the size of the tallest tree inside the forest or atleast what remained of it after Julius had burned half of the forest to the ground. At first when Julius was starting to fight the beasts of the forest, his moments were more rigid even though he had learned so many techniques in his life in the human realm. This was because even though he kind knew all of those techniques, he couldn''t perform them as his body had been regressed to a state where it wasn''t ready to be so flexible that it could perform several attacks in a split second which was why it had taken Julius so long to return back to a position where he could move his body freely like he wished all in the hopes of demolishing his opponent which he was now able to do as he leapt off the ground which he was standing on and managed to dodge a punch by the bear he was fighting before leaping on top of that same bear''s arm and climbing it. Seeing this take place, the bear tried to bring its other hand to hit Julius and effectively kill him however Julius simply leapt off the bear''s arm in the last moment before landing on the animal''s nose which he also leapt off of just so attack the animal''s eyes and cause it to lose its sense of vision. "Good, now I can get to the real fun part," said Julius as he revealed a small piece of stick which he had kept hidden which he used as he leapt off the giant bear to only make nearly hundreds of cuts on the animal''s body before once again landing atop the bear''s forehead. "Fall," said Julius in a menacing tone as he finished off with a light kick to the head of the bear which caused it to lose its balance and fall to the ground before shortly becoming unconscious. "So how was that?" Julius asked to which the guild leader looked disappointed more than anything which was surprising as Julius had expected his teacher to be rather proud of him since he was able to quickly and effectively kill his enemy while making a mockery of them. "Why do you look so disappointed? Aren''t you proud of what I was able to accomplish? I mean it''s not everyday that you''re able to witness something as amazing as this," said Julius hoping to change the expression on his teacher''s face and instead of having that effect, it did the exact opposite as his teacher looked to grown more infuriated by the second before finally letting out a sigh of disappointment. "Perhaps I''ve overestimated you. Your task was to grow your body without using any weapons. That included all weapons no matter how big or small, sharp or dull. You''re only allowed to use your own body to fight or else it will not be you who''s growing but your weapon," said the guild leader while Julius himself looked rather angry as he wasn''t getting congratulated on his actions but instead was being scolded by his teacher. "Don''t take it too harshly. It''s alright. You still have time to grow. How about we head back to the guild and you''ll even be able to say hello to that girl. What was her name again? ... Lyla right?" the guild leader said as the two began to walk back from the forest towards the guild before the two of them froze in fear before falling to their knees. "It''s him. I know who''s aura this is. There''s no mistaking it.. King is here," said the guild leader to himself. Chapter 275 - The Power Of A King "What''s that suffocating aura? Why is it so strong? I can''t even feel myself breathe? To be honest, I don''t even think I''m breathing right now," said Julius to which the guild leader just seemed rather irritated as King seemed to have managed to increase his strength quite a bit since the last time that he had been in contact with the guild leader. This was quite irritating for the guild leader as he had believed that he had finally managed to create a creature capable of challenging King however after that display of sheer aura, the guild leader began to regret his thoughts. "It''s not even close, why did I even bother to teach this child? I don''t get it, even after all these months that I''ve spent training this boy, they''re all meaningless. I''ve managed to go nowhere, I''m still stuck where I started. I thought for once one of them would be able to surpass the SSS member King however it seems that I have even mistaken once again. I guess it''s one in a billion chance to see one of these people which is unfortunate because I was really looking for a change in this guild however it seems that there just some things that are too hard to change," said the guild leader with a smile filled with sorrow as he had realised that all those many hours he had spent constantly watching over Julius were useless. For a change though, even Julius felt the same as the aura he felt was too overpowering. It was just too much for him to handle, he could feel himself falling weaker and weaker by the second and falling victim to the aura that was attacking him. It made him have the urge to kneel before his king and follow him wherever he wanted. That was a true ruler. Not like those in the human realm where they ruled by name and installates fear into the people''s hearts through the use of spreading news. Unlike them, King used his sheer aura to clearly overpower all those who dared to place themselves in his domain and as such he only saw it as fitting for them to kneel before their king in his very own home. "You must have already realised it but this is the aura of a king. The single man who stands above all others. The one who will surpass anyone and everyone that dares to stand in his way. I was hoping that you would be close to being as powerful as him however I was mistaken. I never accounted for the possibility that maybe King was training as well even though I do not understand why. He''s already the strongest creature in this realm so he had no need to train so much," said the guild leader with a sigh of disappointment. "I understand what you''re saying. He''s truly a terrifying monster. He makes me sick to my stomach. All I have for him is nothing but utter fear. Even so..." Julius began to speak as he began to shake however it wasn''t a shake in fear but instead I''m excited. His facial expression changed from terrified to a smirk. "For some reason, I can''t help but feel the need to train and fight him. I have the urge to defeat him," said Julius while grinning and gritting his teeth in excitement. He just couldn''t wait to make contact with the person who was releasing that terrifying aura and that chance would come sooner than expected as a certain man teleported right in front of Julius just as he had finished saying his final word. "So you want to challenge me? How interesting. That should be quite a lot of fun," said a man with a gentle smirk that had randomly appeared in front of Julius. The man has long blonde hair and was wearing a rather big article of clothing. Although light I weight, it was quite large in size and even looked oversized on King. "I am an SSS class member of the stars align guild. I go by the name king, it''s a pleasure to meet you," said King with an innocent smile on his face. "Oh and it would be quite rude of me to introduce myself. My name is-" Julius had begun to speak, however the king stopped him before he could finish his sentence for some odd reason. "Don''t worry Julius, I already know who you are, there''s no reason to worry so much, I''ve actually done my fair bit of research on you and managed to find some rather interesting things, so what do you say? Wanna test out how your recent training compares to mine?" King asked with a rather sinister smirk as he already was aware of the outcome of the battle however he wanted to make Julius realise that outcome and accept that he was no match for him. As such, he wanted to break Julius'' will to fight and completely shatter his will to go even live let alone train himself to surpass his limits and as such some day even surpass King himself however the way he has described the challenge had made it seem like it was made so that it would be a fun battle. "Don''t do it Julius! It''s not worth it. He''s not as kind as he seems. He wants to break your will so that you won''t challenge him. Him making this statement alone means that he perceives you as a threat. You should take this as an opportunity to train and even go further beyond. Make him wish he was never born!" the guild leader yelled out as he tried to stop Julius from going through with the stupid challenge which was nothing more than a setup to break and utterly destroy Julius. "Oh my, it seems you''ve lost your sense old man. You can''t see it anymore, can you? The look in someone''s eyes when their mind is fully made. When they''ve agreed to battle you to the death. I missed this feeling quite a lot," said King with a smirk as he began to stretch in preparation to battle against Julius. As for Julius himself, he was taking out his blade from his ring which he used as inventory space. Once he had taken out the black blade which he had stolen from that old man quite some time ago, the entire air around Julius began to change. For even a slight moment which lasted shorter than the time it would take for someone to blink, King felt so threatened by Julius, he leapt back and almost fell to his knees out of pure shock. "Where did you get that blade from? Something about its aura, it seems familiar," said King as if he was recalling a memory which caused him quite some trauma. He began to tremble in fear as he recalled a time where he, the one known to be invincible, was placed in a situation where he was forced to tremble in fear. He genuinely feared for his life at a time like that. It was uncertain for him if he was going to survive. Seeing that same aura around him one again, King felt a feeling which he hadn''t felt in quite some time. Fear. "Well I have to say, that was quite the shock you know. I never expected to be shocked this much. Even so, you still seem quite inexperienced with that blade. Let''s start, shall we?" King asked with a smirk as he took out rather a plain silver blade as he began to slowly walk towards Julius which reminded Julius of something he had heard quite some time ago. That being the tale which the guild leader had informed him about. That being that the King never actually cared about getting attacked. He was usually strong enough to stand as if nothing had happened and once that was done, he would attack by full force using a 100% link with his blade. As long as those conditions were not met, Julius would be able to continue living. However, on the off chance that those conditions were indeed met, he would be dead for sure. "Please lend me your power. I know that you still might think of me as being weak however I still wish to grow. I want to become king-" Julius began to speak to his blade and before he could even finish, a 100% link had been made. No... it was more than that. For some reason, after being separated from its owner for so long, the blade which Julius was carrying felt that it would unleash all of its power all at once. As if it was breaking the entire world itself, the blade''s power caused the earth to shake. Julius'' eyes turned red with rage as with a flash of light, Julius managed to cause a large explosion to take place that wiped out the entire forest along with a large area outside of it. Such a large explosion imitated the size of the entire city which the guild that Julius belonged to was located in. "Woah woah, that was quite a good hit." Chapter 276 - Superior Hearing the statement that had been made by such A familiar voice, Julius was frozen in place due to the sheer fear that was placed into his soul. Even with such a destructive attack, his opponent, King was still alive and more overs he was also capable of speaking as if he had not even a single scratch on his body. Although that wasn''t necessarily true, it didn''t make much of a difference as the single scratch which Julius had managed to cause on the right cheek of King wasn''t much of an accomplishment in the grand scheme of things as King had managed to live through the devastating attack which was directed at him by his opponent. As such, that meant that there was only one thing left for him to do. In this situation, a single thought popped into Julius'' head as he remembered what he was told. "You have only one chance to get him. If you fail to kill him with your first attack, you''re as good as dead," Julius remembered as he heard the voice of his teacher ringing constantly in his head. Just imagine what would take place in the moment that followed made Julius sick to his stomach. He didn''t want to die. Even though he was most likely going to live as he couldn''t sense killer intent in the aura which surrounded King, there was still a chance he would be able to kill Julius by accident by simply using too much of his power. "You know, you should be quite proud of yourself. I never thought that there would be a day where I would feel the pain of a single scratch once again. It was really a blessing since I haven''t been able to experience this feeling even in my dreams. It was really a pleasure to experience that and I hope you keep growing so you can help me feel much more pain the next time we battle," said King with a slight smirk on his face. "You''re welcome-" Julius had begun to speak before being abruptly interrupted when King caused something to take place in the time it would take an eye to blink. In the next moment, Julius laid unconscious on the ground with his mouth open as he tries to breathe desperately. "Over so soon? I expected more from someone who would actually be able to cause a scratch on me however it seems I''ve overestimated you. It seems you still have a lot of room to grow, although it would make sense since you''re nothing but a mere guild. You have quite the long ways to go. Good luck Julius, I hope that I can one day fight you when we''re placed on equal footing," said King as he began to walk away from the scene as the battle had been concluded or at least that was what he had believed. Just as the King had begun to walk away, there was a sudden surge of power flowing in the air. It was so menacing that it reminded the guild leader himself about the aura he had felt when he had realised that King was in the area. Although the guild leader himself was confused where that aura was originating from, he soon realised that his fears were correct in that it was all stemming from the only source which it could have come from. That being the unconscious body of Julius as it lifted itself in the air while floating as if it was a zombie magician. "No way, it looks like you still have some fight left in you. I can''t wait to see how many more hits you can take. I presume that the adrenaline rush has already hit you and you''re ready to fight for real so please try to stand up for a bit longer this time-" the guild leader head to speak before he himself was cut off instead of Julius as he was blasted with such a large wall of pure hot lava, he thought that he would actually be injured by it. At most, it had felt like some weak ants biting his body so it wasn''t too much of a bother to him. "Well, even if you''re managing to stand up right now, it''s not like you''ve managed to increase your attack potency-" King had begun to speak one more before yet again getting cut off by Julius who still was unconscious and was being moved and controlled by his blade which caused his to attack King with an endless fury of attacks. This made it so that King would be forced to be on the defensive. It wasn''t like he had an option either as Julius wasn''t going for kill shots. Instead, he was purposefully targeting King''s blade itself as he knew that as long as he could t move the blade itself, he wouldn''t be able to deliver such a deadly blow to Julius once again. "You''re probably thinking that without having a 100% connection with my blade, I must be pretty weak right? Is that what you''re thinking? If so, how about we place that theory in a test to see if it''s correct huh?" King asked as he forcibly grabbed Julius'' blade and pulled it off to the slide and how was able to regain control of the battle. King''s palms alone were strong enough to make it so that he could catch such a powerful blade and take it away from its user with ease and as such, without the connection between the black blade and Julius existing, Julius could no longer move and as such it was decided that he had lost the battle. ... ... ... "Why do you look as pale as a ghost old man? Are you seeing ghosts or something? Perhaps your time for your passing has come, I''ve always known a saying like this would come. The guild is in good hands," said King in a sarcastic tone as he believed that he was making a funny joke and simply assumed that the guild leader was simply shocked that he had managed to defeat Julius which didn''t make sense as that type of reaction should have only been presented of Julius somehow managed to defeat King by some miracle. "Your face..." said the guild leader as he couldn''t even get the proper words out for what he was trying to say due to how hard it was for him to state as he couldn''t even believe his eyes. Although confused by what the guild leader had said, King was curious and began to touch his face to figure out what the guild leader was telling him. He had looked around before his arms began to shake in fear as he found out why the guild leader was munching such a face. "my finger, it''s wet. Does this really mean... I let out my first drop of sweat in 4 years. This is quite astonishing. I should have kept it in a jar or something to look back at this day at least," said King as he was rather surprised to say the least, however for some reason, there was an odd shine in his eyes. Something that depicted excitement. As if he couldn''t wait to train the next day. King had found motivation to work harder than ever which was why he couldn''t allow Julius'' will to be shattered contrary to what he had been planning previously. With the sudden change of plans, King believed that if he didn''t step in yet, he wouldn''t be able to fight the only man to cause him to sweat ever again. That being none other than Julius. "Come on old man, tell me what I should do. I don''t know how to heal you know. I only know to attack and speak with my fists," King explained which caused the guild leader to feel sympathy towards him. "Sure," said the guild leader before teleporting the 3 of them back to the guild building with a snap of his fingers. ... ... ... Instantly as the 3 of them teleported inside the guild hall, everyone fell to the ground due to the overwhelming pressure that the aura which surrounded King was. "Can you try to hold back for a little?" the guild leader asked with a rather annoyed expression which King nodded to in agreement which allowed everyone inside the guild hall to actually pay attention to what had happened to Julius. Of course they all had the same thought however they quickly dismissed it as they could not believe that a man could be capable of being in a battle with the King and come out in such "good" condition. They expected everyone who was foolish enough to battle the one who was accepted as better and superior to all others to be turned to nothing but dust if they were lucky. The worst case was where they would be erased from all existence due to the sheer power that King withheld. As such, the guild began to laugh at Julius as they assumed the next assumption they could have all come up with.. That being that Julius had passed out after being in the sheer presence of King. Chapter 277 - Vast Changes "What are you all laughing about? Did I miss a joke or something?" King asked out of sheer curiosity as he didn''t understand what the guild had found so funny. "You''re joking right? I mean even if you''re pretty humble, you must find the fact that you managed to knock someone out with the power of your sheer presence to be pretty funny as well right? I mean why else would we be laughing?" one of the guild members replied while continuing to laugh, however as the seconds passed, the laugher began to get even louder but King just stood there as if he was still confused. Due to this, ever so slowly, the laughter began to die out before everyone turned their attention to King with hope that he would explain to them why he wasn''t laughing. ... ... ... "Why do you look so serious now? Did you get too powerful to even take a joke now? So you''ve gotten arrogant huh?!" one of the guild members asked while wondering why King had decided to stay so silent which they realised once he had gotten a chance to reply. However his reply wasn''t in the form of words but instead with a single gesture. That being that King simply pointed at the scratch which Julius had given to him and instantly everyone in the room understood why King was so silent and their hearts began to sink in fear. "B-But," they tried to speak but could not as they were completely helpless as the child who had seemed so weak when he had first come into their door and requested to join them was now even more powerful than those who they deemed as those who no one except the chosen ones could compete with. Those being the members in the S tier. The regular guild members were so shocked as even the strongest S rank members of the guild couldn''t even get a single scratch to appear on king which was why he had originally gotten that nickname. It was because no matter how hard anyone tried, the throne of King was just too far away for them to reach just like he was in battle. This was rather surprising as Julius had not only managed to land a hit on King but also somehow managed to make a scratch appear on his body. At first not a single person believed him and some even began to laugh in desperation as they had prayed that King would start laughing too and tell them what he said was a joke however their prayers would not be answered as King simply stood there motionless. This of course left the entire guild hall to be dead silent as not a single person wanted to believe that they had just heard not even moments ago. Moreover, they all wanted to forget what the King had said and move on with their day like nothing had happened hoefer one person would not agree to that as he got up in anger. "You expect me to believe that? You want me to seriously believe that the child who''s unconscious right now like a mere baby was able to land a scratch on you? You know what, I want a challenge with you. If that small baby can do it, so can I!" the drunk and arrogant man said with a stinky breath as he tried to fight King himself which everyone throughout was insane as even the sheer presence that King had would be enough to cause the city to get crushed. "You know what? I believe that you have some already made up fantasy idea about how you''re stronger than Julius. Let''s see if that''s true. How about you attack his unconscious body? It''ll be an easy shot for you, right? If you manage to stay standing after you hit him, I''ll derank myself to SS class and will promote you to SSS class myself," King explained, which went on to show just how confident he was in Julius'' abilities in battle even when he was completely unconscious. Hearing this of course caused a huge uproar as everyone believed that they would be able to easily win against Julius in a set up like that and even though they were so foolish to think that, King promised them all a chance as he was fully aware that after what would take place in a few moments, they would all change their and have some new found respect for Julius even though he was much younger than them and spent less time than nearly all of them. Even so, he was still much more powerful than them which was the part which they could not grasp. Seeing the looks on their faces, King understood what was going through their heads and thought to give them some final words of advice before they would be humiliated by the only person in many years to be able to give King a scratch. "Maybe if you all trained in your free time instead of getting drunk and having meaningless conversations all day, you would manage to be just as powerful if not more powerful than Julius," said King before the drunk man rushed right towards the unconscious Julius and tried to land a devastating punch on him. ... ... ... Something strange had occurred. Everyone had made sure that they had kept their eyes peeled. Not even a single person dared to blink at any moment, yet they didn''t see what had happened. All they saw was that the arrogant drunk man was now fast asleep. As for Julius, he was awoken from his state of slumber. "Woah there, you seem rather tired. Well it''s your lucky day since I have just the perfect present for you," said Julius as he used his ring which carried a lot of his things and pulled out a blanket and a pillow before putting the drunk man to literal sleep. ... ... ... "Did he just metaphorically and literally put that man to sleep?'''' The guild members as Julius had just performed the most disrespectful fight sequence of all time. "Wow, great it looks like he''s awake. Anyway, is anyone looking to challenge him?" King said with a smirk as he had been waiting for this moment. Just as King had said those words, everyone in the guild seemed to have been getting busy with their activities as they didn''t want to get knocked out without even knowing what had happened to them. Seeing this, King had a smile on his face as he realised that they had started to respect Julius even though there was a clear age as well as experience gap between them and him but even so, they acknowledged him for once. They no longer doubted his abilities even though it didn''t make sense to them. It was as if their world had come crashing down. After all, in just a matter of months which to them had felt like just a couple days, Julius had managed to multiply his power several hundreds if not thousands of times while they had been stuck in the same position for as long as they could remember. Even so, King had seen that as a chance for him to teach the guild a useful lesson which he did in fact accomplish. Even though he didn''t realise it at the time, he had just allowed the people of the guild to grow several times what they would have amounted to if they weren''t able to experience what had just taken place. Even though they hated to admit it, Julius, who was just a mere child, was stronger than them. The members of the guild which was known throughout all of heaven to be one of the strongest guilds in the realm had been shamefully defeated in spirit by nothing but a simple teenager. ... ... ... After everyone had settled down, the guild leader took Julius to the upstairs of the guild building before allowing him to go to sleep as he knew that he was still exhausted from his fight with King and was even forced to inflict more pain on himself by straining his body in his what couldn''t even be classified as a fight between him and that drunk man from the guild. It was rather funny how Julius had caused more damage to himself than his opponent managed to do. Nevertheless, after allowing Julius to go to bed so that he would be able to rest as much as he needed or even wanted, the guild leader went back downstairs to speak to the King as they hadn''t gotten a chance to interact for quite some time. However the guild leader was greeted by something unexpected which he couldn''t have imagined even in his wildest dreams. It was everyone from the guild, excluding the King as they had all lined up in the hall while bowing to the guild leader as a sign of respect to him. "We want to grow so that we won''t be an embarrassment to this guild ever again.. Please teach us master," said all of them simultaneously with a rather loud tone but Julius didn''t mind as he was already fast asleep. Chapter 278 - New Path Seeing this has caused the guild leader to freeze in the same spot that he was standing in for at least 5 minutes which was rather confusing as the guild members thought that it meant that he wasn''t willing to teach them just as he had done to Julius however they were mistaken as he was more than happy to teach them everything that he had passed on to Julius and even more if they were willing to learn and could actually commit to a schedule such as that. "You know you can just tell us if you don''t want to teach us right? I mean we all understand that you saw some hidden potential in Julius which was why you decided to take him under your wing. We won''t resent you," said one of the guild members which caused the guild leader to turn red with rage as he was rather offended that his own members would assume that their guild leader would be so harsh on them. "OF COURSE NOT YOU IDIOT!'''' The guild leader yelled at all of the members, who had assumed that he wasn''t willing to take them under his wing, which was nearly everyone in the guild. After all it made sense as they all believed that there were some criteria which one would need to surpass their limits so that they could cause a scratch on the one who was said to be so powerful that he was invincible no matter who his opponent was. It was as if Julius had disproved a legend which in some way he had actually managed to do so. It would make more than sense for only a few people could be produced at a time however what the guild members didn''t understand was that their thoughts were wrong and in fact, all of them could become as powerful as Julius and even someday grow to the same power that King had. All that mattered was how much effort they were willing to put into their training which was what Julius had been excelling at. Even though Duke Drake could no longer assist him in growing like he had done in the human realm, Julius had learned to grow for himself by training all day and night and only spending as minimal time as possible to sleep and even eat. "Wait what? So you can train all of us? Even if we don''t get as powerful as Julius, I believe that I speak for everyone here when I say that we are grateful for giving us your time guild leader," said one of the members with a rather humble tone. "Perhaps you''re all under the impression that just because Julius managed to attack and land a scratch on King that it''s impossible for you to do the same just because you have some random belief where you got from yourself that anyone who manages to do even the slightest amount of damage to King is also one of a kind. It''s as if you all forgot the day where Julius walked into this guild as the weakest person you''ve all even. He couldn''t even hold a candle to anyone here. He had barely been able to defeat another recruit that we had here. So tell me, what''s your excuse for not being more powerful than him?! What were you all doing while he was training?! All the years you''ve spent here to attain your class and now some random child walks in and in matter of months manages to become more powerful that all of you! So tell me! Why are you all so lazy?... Exactly, you''re all quiet now because you know it was never about talent or luck, it was always about training and putting in the effort. Not a single member of the S class and higher is lucky or talented. They all worked for their strengths. In Fact, you all are the lucky ones as considering how little you turn every day, you''re still a part of this guild, now tell me, who''s the real talented?! You''re letting your gifts rot away. Now, imagine if you all actually decided to make full use of them and managed to grow even more powerful than king? Each and every single one of you, imagine a world where you''re in the SSS class. Now I want you to engrave that image into your heads until the day you die. That all is possible and all you have to do to attain that it train. But I must warn you all, the reason why Julius was able to get this far is because he slept for an average of 10 hours per week. Sometimes, he didn''t even sleep for 2 weeks straight and waited until his body collapsed. If you''re not ready for that type of training, you can forget about your dreams. But if you''re still willing to train your body until the point is colossus from exhaustion and your mind goes blank, please follow me, I''ll teach you everything I taught Julius and grow you to surpass even him," said the guild leader which everyone in the guild let out a united roar before they all left for the forest of what remained of the forest after Julius had destroyed it and turned it to nothingness during his battle with King. While the members of the guild were rather caught off guard, they soon got over it and began to focus on the training. Of course nearly all of them had passed out by the 10 hour mark and the one that lasted the longest was a single man who was known to be in the highest place of A class which lasted for 22 hours before passing out himself which caused the guild leader himself how Julius managed to not pass out thousands of times considering how weak he was compared to the rest of the guild members when he had started out. Speaking of Julius, after a few days of sleeping, he had awoken with quite a relaxed face. He didn''t even yawn as he believed that he didn''t need more sleep nor did he feel tired in any way shape or form. For some reason, it felt audilly quiet. It was as if there was a sixth sense in Julius'' body which allowed him to sense the energy around him as he had realised that only he along with another man were in the guild building. "Where did everyone go, King?" Julius asked with a calm expression as he began to walk down the stairs. He didn''t even need to take a look downstairs to know that the King was there. Hearing those words, King began to clap for Julius. "It seems even while you''re resting you seem to grow. I have to say, you''re rather impressive. It''s as if you were gifted by every realm that exists," said King before getting up from his seat to walk up to Julius. "So what do you plan on doing moving forward? It''s not like you can go train with the guild leader. He''s too busy to train you as well as every single guild member. I mean it looks like you''ve been abandoned," said King with a smirk which Julius didn''t even faze at all. "Wow, you''re really resorting to cheap tricks already? Are you really that desperate for me to come along with you? I mean I understand that you wet curiosity but just be upfront about it instead of trying to trick me using words," said Julius to which King instantly jumped back with fear in his eyes. "Wait did you seriously advance your sensory ability to the point where you can read the thoughts of others?" King asked as he was terrified that someone could grow their sensory ability to a point which even he had only been able to unlock partially. "Not really, I''m just able to tell due to how you speak. I can understand the intentions of many using the way they talk. I can analyse the words and the tone they use and figure out what their intentions are. It''s a trained ability but it seems it''s come to use now since I can use it seemingly on instinct," said Julius as he yawned at King as a sign of disrespect. "Wow, I didn''t think there could be so many surprises to a single person. I have to say, I look forward to working with you," said King as he began to walk to the exit of the guild. "What makes you so sure that I''ll be joining you?" Julius asked while knowing that he intended to follow King as it was the only way that he could grow to be a powerful man in heaven and get ever so close to his goal of being the new emperor of heaven. "Something that you can call instinct," said King with a smirk and seeing that, Julius followed behind him and even left Lyla behind for quite a long time even though he had promised to take her along with him. Chapter 279 - Reminders Over the following few days, King with Julius tagging along at his side explored much of the best but cities and towns as they searched for... well they didn''t exactly know what they were searching for. It was as if King was simply looking for something but didn''t know what that thing was which rather confused Julius however he knew to be patient around the man who had managed to somehow become heaven''s second strongest creature after the emperor of heaven however he was now currently the strongest creature there as the emperor of heaven had passed away and now there needed a replacement to be found which was what Julius was trying to become. "Not to be rude but what exactly are you looking for? We''ve been travelling for like 3 days and you still seem to be in search of something? Is this supposed to be an odd method of training which in the end will show me that I unlocked a new set of skills that I can use to defeat anyone or something?" Julius asked in a sarcastic tone to which King just looked confused. "Training? I never said anything about that. I just told you to follow me. That''s all I promised you, well I technically didn''t promise you anything since you don''t gain anything from this exchange but nevertheless, that''s all I stated. I have no idea where you got such an outlandish idea from," said Kinc as he replied to Julius which was simply left speechless. "If you''re not going to train me, why the hell have I been following you all this time?!" Julius yelled out in pure anger as he leapt at King and tried to stack his with all his might as he wanted revenge for being forced to waste his precious time. "Relax Julius, you''re not on this level yet. You can''t simply go around challenging people like me. Well to be honest, I would have to change that to a person like me because I''m the strongest in heaven," said King before laughing in arrogance. "I don''t give a damn who you are! You wasted my time and now you''re going to pay for that with your time you moron!" Julius yelled out as he tried to land continuous punches at King Power every single one was effortlessly blocked by King while yawning with boredom due to how slow he perceived the punches that were being thrown at him were. "Why you?!" Julius yelled out before landing back on his feet and moving so fast that he had left King confused for a second as it didn''t make sense why he was able to increase his speed so much in nothing but a mere instant. "Now die!" Julius yelled out before trying to punch King the back of the head to catch him off guard; however , King was able to see it coming from a mile away as his sensory abilities allowed him to sense someone''s evil intentions when they were about to attack him. "Well I must say I didn''t expect you to be able to live at such speed but I did see that punch coming at me. Nevertheless, you did quite well since you were placed in an unfair position. Now Julius, are you going to make the sensible decision to back down or do I need to make you give up by force?" King asked to which Julius simply grit his teeth and began to walk away from the fight as he needed to find his own method of training. "Where do you think you''re going?" King asked to which Julius just looked annoyed while replying to him. "I''m going somewhere to train. I don''t need you anymore," said Julius to which King began to laugh as if he was a wise old man that was trading Julius. "But you see..." King had begun to speak before getting cut off by Julius with a rather exhausted tone. "''I''ve been training you countless times'''' Julius said as he finished that same cliche phrase for like a thousand times in his life even though he was nothing but a mere young adult. "Wow, so you can in fact read minds!" King said in awe. "listen King, I''m going to be honest with you. I really don''t want my time to be wasted anymore. I don''t want to spend 3 whole days of nothing until I finally decide to ask you where we are going, which could have been well spent training," said Julius, to which King seemed rather embarrassed for a moment and simply shook his head in agreement as if Julius was the teacher and he was the student. "Anyway now, where are we going to train?" Julius asked which King to have awoken from his embarrassed state as he replied to the question which Julius had just asked him. "I have the perfect place for you to train. This is where I spend the majority of my time training. It''s quite helpful to help you understand how to treat your body and how you should treat your weapons," said King as he took Julius to a nearby waterfall area and he took Julius there and forced him to sit under the waterfall with his legs crossed like a monk while closing his eyes as if we was trying to hold back him tears as he didn''t realise how painful the waterfall that was hitting his head band shoulders would be. Nevertheless he was left exhausted after just a couple minutes as he could feel entire life being taken away by the waterfall as it constantly slammed against his body while causing an indescribable amount of pain. "Why did I seriously sign up for this? What do I even get from doing this other than an immense headache and back pain. I can feel my neck trying to snap off my body as it would be more peaceful for it if it were to do that. It literally feels like a rough blade on my skin," said Julius to himself as he complained about how much pain he was going through. "You might even wonder what type of training this is. If you''re wondering that, this is endurance training. You see, although your attack potency is pretty good, your endurance is rather lacking. I mean seriously, you''re the perfect definition of a glass cannon. You managed to put up a good fight against me but as soon as you get hit, you''re out for the count. It''s rather odd, don''t you think?" King asked to which Julius felt embarrassed for what he was thinking which King to have picked up on and tried to comfort Julius. "It''s alright you know. There''s no reason for you to be in so much worry. You still have plenty of time to get stronger. After that, the exp should roll in quite smoothly. The only hard part you have to focus on is this training. You see, as long as you master the basics, you''ll be quite a terrifying challenger," King explained to Julius, which Julius understood and began to close his eyes and began to focus on his training more than ever. He didn''t care what he felt. It didn''t matter how much pain his body felt. As long as he could feel his endurance increasing as the minutes went by, the more he was driven to push himself further beyond. During this process, Julius felt as if his head was slowly getting pulled off by a vulture which seemed to have hated him for quite a long time. "So how are you feeling so far?" King asked after Julius had been under the waterfall without making a single sound for over 7 days which was rather odd as King had gone off to get food and other supplies multiple times however Julius didn''t even seem the least bit faxed as he was too focused on improving his endurance and changing himself for the better so that he could slowly but surely climb his way to the top and attain the rank of the strongest creature on heaven as well as become its new emperor. Although it was a very painful training process, at some point, Julius had reached a place where he could no longer care what he was experiencing. He couldn''t feel the pain that was hitting him not because he was stronger than it but because he had grown so accustomed to it that he couldn''t even be bother to be conserved about it when was when he began to fall into deep thought about how his life had gone so far and what he needed to accomplish. Although he managed to find some new friends in heaven, Julius still thought about the people I. The human realm such as Rosie who he had missed very dearly along with his other comrades such as Steven, Ian, Liam and many more of them.. He remembered all the good times that had passed on the realm and how badly he had wanted to return to it which gave him all the more motivation to focus on getting stronger. Chapter 280 - Irregular Thinking "Who... are you?" a calm voice asked as it whispered into Julius'' ears which was quite odd and he didn''t sense anyone was around him yet someone had managed to sneak up on him which cause Julius to jump out from the waterfall and land on a grassy area which was near the waterfall as the waterfall only affected a small section of the forest which he was training. "Why the harsh reaction?" the voice asked with a confused tone which was when Julius had gotten a chance to look at the figure he was talking to. That being a rather average height young man the same age as Julius who gave an innocent look. He had baggy clothes and carried a single unsheathed blade at his waist. "Why do you not have a stealth for your blade?" Julius asked to which the figure looked down at his waist before replying. "What do you mean? I don''t believe in sheaths. They should exist as it is restraining a blade. Why should a blade be stopped from doing what it was intended to do? If the blades are willing to cut someone down, let it do so. A blade is living. It is not just a mere object for you to control," said the young man before slowly approaching Julius who had started to get up from the ground. "Who are you? You seem rather strong," said the figure with a smile on his face as if he was excited to take part in battle with Julius even though they didn''t agree to battle. That was when someone intruded on their conversation. "Back away Seven, he''s a student of mine. Stop reaching for your blade," said King as he appeared from the shadows which was rather odd as he was indeed right in the Julius'' opponent was indeed slowly lifting his blade as if he was ready to cut Julius down however Julius hadn''t even noticed it which was starting to worry him as he didn''t understand why he couldn''t sense the movements of his opponent. "Don''t stress too much about him Julius, he''s just here to mess with you. He does this often to people he seems interesting or those with potential to surpass him so that he cut them down before they''re too strong," said King to which Seven which was the young man that was planning on killing Julius looked upset by the fact that his plan to kill Julius had been ruined by a former friend. "Come on King, can''t you let me have some fun for once?" Seven asked as he still had the intention to kill Julius. "No, like I told you already, he''s my student, I can''t allow you to kill him," King explained with a harsher tone as he wasn''t sure if Seven was fully understanding what he had said. "Whatever, I''ll just look for someone else to kill then," said Seven as he prepared to leapt away from the forest and go elsewhere so that he could find others with great potential so that he could kill them. "Wait hold on, I''m sorry," said King who had caught both Julius but more than him, Seven off guard. "Wait, did you actually apologise to me right now? You''re an imposter!" said Seven as he leapt towards King and tried to kill him with his blade, however King swiftly blocked the attack and kicked him back so that he would know it was the real King. "So it is really you, even so, why did you apologise? It''s almost weird, please don''t do that again, it''s degrading to your title," said Seven which King was almost insulted by but listened anyway as Seven did actually make a good point. "Anyway, I''m just wondering if you could train my student. You see, I know how to train my own body since I''m used to everything and I can tell what needs work by just the feeling of it but I don''t know about him. He''s a total mystery to me," said King to which Seven looked annoyed. "You really are an idiot, it actually surprises me how you''ve managed to attain the title of the strongest creature in heaven," said Seven before turning towards Julius and then turning back towards King while making a puking expression. "Come on, don''t be so harsh on him. You can train him," said King as he tried to convince Seven since he was completely confused on how to train Julius. "Fine, but you owe me. Next time I see someone I want to kill, don''t get in my way and if you do, I''ll come after every single person you''ve stopped me from killing and kill them all," said Seven before not even letting King get the chance to reply before turning towards Julius. "Anyway, my name is Seven. Sorry if I gave you the impression that I was interested in you, I''m really not. You''re not special. You lack power, durability. You''ve been treated too well during your life, you don''t have enough scars on your body. You lack experience in battle as well. Your legs are slim so you''re probably lacking in the speed department as well," said Seven while continuing to list out a whole bunch of flaws that Julius had which made him feel horrible but Seven didn''t care in the least. "Anyway, I''ll be trying you so please get ready," said Seven as he pulled out his blade and took a stance as if he was going to attack Julius. ... Instantly, Seven teleported behind Julius and tapped him on the back of his head. "Too slow. Let''s keep doing this until you can actually block or even see me move. If you even dare to sleep or even take a break while doing this, I''ll cut off one of your limbs. I am not so generous as to take only a finger or two. If you can''t bother to train, you might as well be dead," said Seven and before Julius could even agree to the conditions, Seven began the attack from all directions like tapping Julius'' head each and every time as if he could kill him at any moment which was in fact true. As for King, he decided to simply watch at a distance as he didn''t want to get in the way of the training but he also didn''t eat Seven to go nuts and accidentally kill Julius. "Wow, it''s actually rather impressive how much Julius is moving per second. I doubt Seven notices it due to his hateful nature but Julius is really growing extremely quickly. It''s only annoter of time before-" and just as King was about to finish his sentence, the u thinkable happened. Julius''s eyes somehow managed to track the exact location that Seven was at and loomed him dead in the eyes which seemed to have caught his attention which caused him to stop attacking Julius to take a break for a moment. "Nicely done, perhaps I underestimated you. Even so, don''t get too cocky, there is much for you to learn. And even in this exercise, just because your eyes managed to catch up to my speed doesn''t mean your body did. There''s a lot for you to work on so don''t start getting lazy. In Fact I expect you to work several times harder now that you''ve managed to reach the first goal that I''ve set and make sure you understand that as time passes, the less patient I will get with you so try not to kake I''m mad. And to do that, all you need to do is accomplish the tasks I give to you in a short period of time," said Seven as he began to set unrealistic standards upon Julius which Julius didn''t even seem fazed by which both Seven and King seemed to have been confused by. "Are you not scared of dying?" Seven asked with a rather confused tone as he didn''t understand why Julius seemed to be so calm even though he was being threatened with his own life as hostage. "Huh? Of course I''m terrified of that. Why wouldn''t I be? Do you think I''m insane or something?" Julius asked which even further confused both the King who was listening for afar as well as Seven who was the one that was directly speaking to Julius. "If you''re so scared of dying, why do you look so calm then?! This isn''t the face of someone scared to die," said Seven as he tried to express his concerns to Julius which just caused more confusion between the two. "Just because I''m scared of dying doesn''t mean I have to overreact when the concept is mentioned you know," said Julius, which caught Seven by surprise but he simply stayed silent after hearing what Julius had said before taking some time to think and then finally saying something back to Julius. "I have a question for you Julius, have you ever been faced by death before?" Seven asked as he wasn''t sure why Julius was so calm. "Ya of course, I''ve been face to face with it multiple times," said Julius as if it was own normal thing. ... ... .... Chapter 281 - Life’s Worth "So I was right. There''s just something about you that makes you different from others. I noticed it when I first encountered you. I couldn''t tell what it was that drew me to you but now that I''m speaking to you now, I realise there''s a rather calm aura around you. It''s not comforting in the least yet it feels so relaxing and at the same time manages to make me think that my life is on the line. So tell me Julius, how many lives have you taken so far?" Seven asked which Julius was confused as he had believed that if he killed people who were in the wrong, that would mean that he was in the right and as such had developed a linear way of thought. "Well I don''t know, a couple thousand maybe? There were a lot of people I killed during the war," said Julius which left Seven confused as there hadn''t been a war in heaven for at least a couple centuries which caused him to question who Julius really was. "Wait Julius, are you human?" Seven asked to which Julius realised that he had been found out as he had not been careful of keeping his secret about where he was from even though he was lucky enough that most people didn''t notice it. However knowing the playful nature of Seven, this could only end up in a bad way. "No..." Julius said as he tried to play it off as if it was nothing special however once someone suspected him of being from the human realm, Julius would lose as they could simply check the back of his head if he had wings or not which was what Seven had done to figure out if Julius was indeed from heaven or had been brought into heaven from the human realm so that he may compete for the new heaven''s emperor contest. "I thought so, there''s no way that you could be from heaven. You''re defiled and see no value in life. All you people of the human realm are the same. You''re all nothing but animals that feed off death and despair. I truly don''t know why you were granted pressure to be in this realm. You m¨¨re animals shouldn''t have even been born," said Seven with nothing but utter hate for Julius as well as all the others that had come from the human realm to heaven. ... "I''m sorry but weren''t you the one that was trying to kill just for the fun of it nothing but a moment ago?" Julius asked as he pointed how the hypocrisy in what Seven had said as he has pretended to be some sort of angel while in truth he was more of a monster then even Julius as he killed for joy of it while Julius only resorted to the action of murder when it was his only other choice. "Well that doesn''t matter, I was born in this realm so I can do as I please. More than that, learn the speak properly to me you animal, don''t you know that I can kill you at any moment just like a farmer can kill his animals at any moment? You''re nothing but utter trash to me," said Seven which had caused Julius to grow rather tired of the way that Seven was speaking to him quite quickly and was coming up with ways he could use to defeat him even if that was possible. "Hey, how about we continue training? I bet you would love to show me just how much you hate people from the human realm," said Julius as he tries to convince Seven to start attacking him once again which Seven did in fact take the bait to the trap that Julius had set up for him. As such the two started to spar once again with Seven starting to attack Julius even faster and with more intent to harm although he didn''t intend to kill Julius as he didn''t want to upset King as if he had killed Julius, there was a chance that King would kill Seven. Although the two seemed to have been rather on close terms, it wasn''t like King was going to hold back if Seven didn''t listen to the commands which he was informed to follow as that would make King consider him a traitor and there was only one appropriate way which King believed in for dealing with those kinds of people. That being to kill them with no mercy as it was the only way to set an example for others who he would instruct in the future. Although King was rather a respected person, it was because of his power and not his personality as he only attained his fame by shearly being much stronger than all his other opponents and could cause an entire city to submit to his will by simply u leashing his aura which was quite the terrifying ability which was why no matter who the person was or how hard the task seemed to be, everyone listened to what King had told them. Well all except for the only person who didn''t know about this rule which was Julius who rather spoke with King in a casual manner. Although he had managed to damage King, Julius was still considered to be weaker than Seven even though Seven didn''t have the power to cause even a single scratch on the body of King. As such, a power triangle had been formed where one could beat the other but couldn''t defeat one of the there to a certain extent as even though Julius wasn''t actually able to defeat King, he was still able to do more damage to him that Seven however on the other hand, Seven couldn''t cause any damage to King but could instead kill Julius as Julius was not able to sense his movements at all. It was as if he was invisible while still being right in front of Julius. It was truly a terrifying ability which he didn''t understand as it didn''t make any sense however he still needed to find a way to somehow overcome such a power. "What is it that allows him to move so fast? My eyes can barely track him but there''s something clearly off about his movements as he seemed even faster than King which didn''t make any sense at all. Over the next hour, Julius simply allows Seven to continuously beat him to a pulp while still maintaining his ground as he looks for even the slightest clue as to how he could overcome such a powerful foe. "Found it!" Julius yelled out by accident as he had been supposed to keep his plan to himself but he had revealed that he knew that Seven was using something to boost his speed which was rather a shock as Seven got startled by the sudden scream of Julius which caused him to stumble which Julius took advantage of as he stomped on Seven''s feet while his was in the air as he tried to do as much damage to them as possible so that he could take away the only real advantage that Seven had over him which was rather the bad idea as for a moment, King had gone off to conduct his own business no matter how bizarre it was. As such, Seven was tired of dealing with Julius and no longer cared if King would kill him. He just wanted to kill Julius first and as such began to move in a manner which made him invisible to Julius even though he was right in front of him. "Now sleep," said Seven as he almost dealt the finishing blow to Julius however king stepped in with a yawn before punching Seven so hard in the face he instantly passed out and fr even a second, King himself thought that he had killed him. "Jeez, learn to control your temper. Maybe this is why you cannot seem to find love. There''s something seriously wrong with you Seven. I should have told you this earlier which was why I didn''t kill you but if you kill Julius, I''ll kill you along with anyone and everyone you care for. I don''t care how famous or important they are. If you do that to Julius, I''ll destroy everything you could ever love so that they hate you even in the afterlife," said King which caused Seven''s heart to sink as he was still conscious and was having his heart racing due to what he had just experienced in that King had stepped in with such a potent aura it almost made Seven get on his knees which his head on the ground while begging King to allow him to live which went on to show just how powerful King''s aura truly was. "Hey Julius are you alright? You did well. Even if you couldn''t stop him, it''s not your fault.. He''s a master thief with so many gadgets that it makes him look like a professional but in reality he''s just a really good thief that manages to steal a lot of valuable artefacts which were capable of many great things and uses them for his own selfish gain," King explained. Chapter 282 - Self Centred After being shown by King just how much of a power gap there was between the two of them, Seven fired the area in fear that he might accidentally make King more mad than he already was and as such decided the best course of action was to leave before he got even more hurt than he already was. "So that''s what it was," said Julius, which made him realise why he was losing, to which Ling seemed to agree; however , it had also caused Julius to question something. That being how he failed to block the attacks of Seven but King could do it without seemingly to have any trouble with the task which caused Julius to question King as he wanted to know how hard it was and even if it was possible to attain the same level of strength so that if he had to actually battle someone with the same aspects as Seven in the future, he would be fully prepared for it and ready to absolutely wipe the flow with his opponents. "Hey King, how were you able to see his atta kms even though he''s using such powerful gadgets?" Julius asked which caused King to giggle quite a bit as he didn''t know how to answer Julius as the question he had asked had a pretty simple response which was the one that king gave as it was quite literally the only answer he had for such a question. "Well I mean there''s not much complexity to it. If you want to attain my level of battle capabilities, you just have to train the basics. Truly there''s no reason to over complicate things. Maybe when it comes to magical spells you''ll have to go into more complex questions and obtain the answers for them; however , for matters as simple as this, there''s not much to it. You just have to repeat the same exercises over and over again. If you can''t get a handle on that, there''s no point in your training. I mean seriously, just think about it for a second. Battle experiences allow you to train your eyes to perceive things that are moving at a faster speed. Training your body allows you to match the object that is moving at the speed which your eyes can perceive. That''s about all I needed to use to defeat Seven. I mean you could add bravely into that equation since he had a gadget for exploiting people who aren''t brave and confident in themselves but that''s really not that important. Like I said previously, all you need are the basics and a good work ethic and you''ll be able to defeat people on the same level as Seven of even stronger people," said King which seemed to have managed to connect with Julius as he had grown to hate Seven and anyone that reminded of him which was the reason he had deceived to push himself even further than he was going now all for the go of reaching Seven''s level and utterly humiliating him one day," said Julius to himself before continuing to train with an imagery figure which he treated was Seven. As such, Julius began to take part in a training style known as shadow boxing in which he would pretend to visualise a figure standing before him that was attacking as well as blocking nearly all of the attacks that the figure was directing at him. Although it looked quite odd to anyone who would watch from a distance, to all those who understood what was going on, they realised that it was rather a close match and it would prove who was truly strongest. "Why am I training him? What reason do I have to help some random kid out? Am I bored or something? I mean I know I still can grow stronger so why am I helping him instead of helping myself? Seriously, I should be prioritising myself over him. Moreover, why him? I''ve barely known him and I had only talked to him a couple of times. So why? Why am I acting so close to him?" King asked himself while wondering what had driven him to help Julius. "What was it that caused me to have an interest in him? Now that I think about it, there''s nothing too special about him. But even so, I know I''m not a moron so why is it that I specifically picked him to come along with me instead of anyone else? I mean if I simply wanted someone who was strong to tag along with me, I would have brought Seven along even though he replied of gadgets, he''s still pretty strong and useful to have around. Even if it''s not him, I could have picked from plenty of people yet I picked this beat that has literally nothing special about him," said King to himself while trying to figure out how the events that led up to this point transpired. "Well if I have to be honest and try not to hide anything, I would say that I picked him because of his potential. Even so, why do I care? It''s not like I''m supposed to be some kind of coach to let someone reach the top of their industry. I''m only here for me and my enjoyment alone. When did I start caring for the happiness of others," said King to himself as he finally let out a gasp in realisation as he had realised what it was that had initially drawn him into Julius. That being he did have the potential as well as the time and the work ethic to complete the task. However it wasn''t for the purpose of some great or good. All the King wanted to do was to raise someone who was shush as strong as him if not stronger. This was because for so many years, the King didn''t have a worthy opornenh and nearly everyone who had dared to challenge him in the name of fame and glory would retire from their passion for battle as they were too humiliated by the King. However Julius was a different case as even right from the start, King could tell that there was something off about Julius which was why he had challenged him I to battle to which Julius didn''t disappoint as he managed to get a hold of new things quite easily and managed to learn faster than quite a number of people. As such, King couldn''t wait for Julius to grow up faster and learn a whole bunch so that when it came for their actual battle, Julius would be walking away with a win where his opponent was planning ahead so much. "I think I finally understand why I went this far. This is the reason why I''ve taken him under my wing. It''s all so that I can finally have a worthy opponent. I''ll finally be able to face someone who can put up a fight against me. Oh how I yearn for the sweet feeling of defeat. I want to have something to work towards once again. I hate being invincible. Such a limiting concept. It locks you in so that you can never escape. No matter how hard you try, it''ll not affect you so that you get stronger and get further and further away from your overall goal of finding someone that can challenge you. I''ve finally managed to find someone who can grow into that position and I''ll be damned if I let someone like Seven take that away from me," said King with a rather sinister look on his face which caused Julius to get incurred as he thoroughly that King had begun to lose his mind and was training insane. "Hey are you alright?" Julius asked while giving a light shake to King which caused his to awaken from his state of daydreaming where he was having so much fun in his imagination where Julius had grown to just magnificent opponent and king would one day be able to face off against the very man he had trained all so that they could battle to their heart''s content or at least that applied to King as he had finally found someone to raise and neauture into the perfect opponent for himself. Of course at first he had thought that what he was doing was wrong and how it is never right to use another creature for the gains of one self however he later justified his actions to himself by claiming that by training Julius, he would train him to be stronger than all his other opponents would be helpless against him. Of course this was just a lie that King had made up so that he would feel less guilt about his actions but even so, it didn''t make his actions any better than if he had committed them without noting that detail.. It was as if someone had committed a crime and just because they had written about it inside some book detailing how they felt guilty, it didn''t mean that they are still or more in the wrong due to how self centred they are to try to justify such wrong actions. Chapter 283 - Abandonment Once finally coming to the realisation that he had only been trying Julius for his own gain, King felt rather glad to have made that realisation. It was as if a huge load was lifted off his chest as he could finally accept himself for what he was instead of trying to pretend like he was a noble hero. That was probably what had allowed him to realise why he wasn''t so good at being a teacher to Julius. That would also explain why he couldn''t teach Julius properly himself and requested assistance from Seven. That would also explain the sensation in his heart which told him to be on the ready for a wonderful fight whenever he was around Julius. It was as if his body could sense the feeling that a battle was about to begin every time he was close to Julius. "Hey Julius, be honest with me, why is it that you want to train so much? I know you''re here for the new emperor''s contest but why do you want that title? I mean you do realise that there''s another path you can take right and still achieve all of the things that you want right?" King said to Julius which seemed to have peaked Julius'' interest and as such he began to listen to what King had to say. "Well to be perfectly honest, I wanted you to go on and get the title of the emperor of heaven before I told you this but I might as well tell you now since it seems there''s a promising bunch for this contest and hope l fully at least one of them survives," said King to Julius before continuing to speak to Julius as he needed to inform him why he wouldn''t recommend that anyone took part in the new heaven''s emperor contest. "Well first of all, you don''t get any freedom. Once you attain that title, you become a slave to the people of heaven. They can do whatever they want to you as can demand whatever they want and you have to go through a labouring process where you have to figure out if their requests are valid or not which is much similiser when said but when there''s countless numbers of them which you must have an intensive talk with one of the attendants of the ruler of high heaven, the work piles up quite quickly and it''s your ruin to make sure everything is in all in all the lands of this realm," said King to which Julius was understandably beginning to rethink his choices and was starting to figure out what he should have done differently. "I mean if it''s purely bad as you say, why don''t you just stop? Can''t you quit?" Julius asked, to which King nearly laughed at how preposterous it was to make such a suggestion. "Perhards you didn''t hear what I had said previously but the ruler of high heaven keeps a close eye on everything and everyone here. He''s what you would describe as being quite overprotective that it''s suffocating and you struggle to breathe. He literally cannot live in peace if everything is not perfect in this realm," King described, which made being the emperor of heaven seem like a life in hell which it truly was. "What if you try to run away or end your life? That way he can''t do anything about you right?" Julius asked, to which the King almost laughed at him once more. "I don''t think you paid attention to this part when you learned about the upper realms. Anyway, if you don''t remember, the emperor from the higher realm which has access to all the realms below itself is able to alter them as much as he wishes to. That''s the only perk of being the ruler of heaven. If you wish to go into the human realm which would make sense for you to do so since you probably want to live with your loved ones once again. After all, you''re still pretty young. It''s actually quite surprising to me that you managed to qualify to get into this contest. There''s not many who would have killed for your position all due to their hate towards the people of the human realm which was created through literature. When you think about it, it''s quite the power in which you''re able to write using your own fingers and use that to change the way in which people perceive things. It almost sounds like a super power. Nevertheless, most of the people here would have loved to be in the contest for that common goal of their however they didn''t qualify as they were too obits insulting humans instead of training," King explained with a little laugh as he found what he said to be quite funny however Julius didn''t seem to have understood the joke and as such made the moment quite awkward. ... ... ... "Anyway, you probably wish to see your friends so you can go ahead with your training," said King as he stopped talking but Julius wished to know more about the other option. He wanted to know about the path where he wouldn''t be forced to live out the rest of his life being watched like a dog. As such, Julius decided to ask about the thing that was in his mind. That being the other method to which he could attain strength then do whatever he wanted with that power. "Wait hold on, you also made mention of another part which I can go on. I want to attain power but not be confined to some higher entity. I don''t want to live my life as a slave for all of eternity until I die of natural causes," said Julius to which King began to smirk. "Okay then, I''ll be very upfront about it to you. This path doesn''t really have any steps you can follow. It''s quite straightforward in that you just have to make your own path for yourself. Train how you see best for your body," said King which was a rather disappointing answer as Arthur had wanted to get a more sophisticated answer however he didn''t complain as he had wanted to attain more information about this never heard about path and as such simply pretended to care about what King had said and what he would say in the future. "What do you mean I have to find my own path? What is it that I''m specifically looking for?" Julius asked as he was quite confused as to what he was supposed to be searching for. "You''re supposed to find new ways to train yourself. Find a way to train the parts of your body which are weaker than the rest. Find way to make it so that your body no longer had weaknesses. You see Julius, I''ve noticed quite a lot of flaws in you body in that it''s not very well trained. Well not to normal people but to professionals, you''ll be considered rather a failed product with no value. With that being said, I''ll be taking my leave now since I have no more reasons to stay here. I''ve already informed you of what I must and now it''s time for you to make a decision. Don''t worry too much about it though, I know you''ll do a marvellous job in picking what you wish to do in this world," said King before teleporting away with a snap of his fingers which looked to be a magic trick however it was real magic as King did in fact use a teleportation spell to himself him get out of the situation he was in due to him wanting to get off from having to train Julius and instead once again start to focus on himself. "Wow, once again I''m stranded. I don''t know where to go or how to train. I don''t have any teachers or anyone to guide me in this world. I seriously hate how unfair life can be sometimes," said Julius to himself as he began to slowly try to find his way outside of the forests, however that would not be such an easy task as the forest he was in was filled with a countless amount of scary animals such as giant spiders and other creatures. However giant wasn''t an exaggeration as these spiders were at least 3 times the size of Julius himself which goes on to explain just how terrifying they were. As such, one by one, Julius began to start fighting them all. He didn''t give in for even a second as he was tired of being left forgotten and as such wanted to get revenge for King abandoning him and as such simply decided by causing as most destruction ss possible, he would be getting revenge on King as he was expecting that to affect King''s life however it didn''t in any way shape or form which rather angered Julius who made a final remark promising that he would get revenge for being abandoned. "I will search everywhere for you and I will find you once a day and let out every single last drop of anger in my body," said Julius with a terrifying expression in his eyes. Chapter 284 - Return Of The King Seeing as he was abandoned now, Julius began to go on a search for a new path to life in heaven. He had lost everything once he had gone into the guild in that they took Lyla and moreover, he was now left with no one to train him. "I seriously hate this feeling. It just feels empty, I want to get stronger but I don''t know how to and that confusion causes me to get lazy. I need to start learning more about myself," said Julius as he began to wander the place he was in. He walked for hours but to him it had felt like it was nothing more than a couple minutes as he had been absorbed in thought as he tried to figure out a way for himself to get stronger. He needed to attain power to be able to rival the King as well as the Seven. Even if Seven''s power was attained through artefacts which allowed him to increase aspects of himself, he still was that powerful and as such it didn''t matter to Julius if the powers of his opponent were natural or faked, all that mattered was that in a life or death situation, he would either die or live and the only path he wanted to take was one where he would end up alive which could only happen if he was strong enough to defeat opponents such as Seven and King. For all he knew, there could be many more like them. All capable of cutting through him as if he didn''t exist. One of the more notable ones being the S class member of the guild he had temporarily joined which in truth, he didn''t seem to be as weak as an S class member. He was closer to SS or even SSS in Julius'' eyes. "I want to reach that level of power. I wish to be strong enough to destroy everything in my path. I want to defeat any and all people that stand in my way. I don''t want to be defeated like I was when it came to Seven. I want to rule again as king. Perhaps I was quite too arrogant in the past realm due to the position I was able to attain since birth. I was given everything in my life without having to work for it. I was able to get a great teacher like Jun to teach me everything I needed. I got access to everything due to being the prince of the wealthiest and most powerful kingdom in the world. I never understood what it meant to be born from the lowest point. It seems life isn''t as fair as I had assumed it to be," said Julius as he came to a realisation that life wouldn''t be easy just because he had wanted it to be that way. He would need to work without the assurance of Duke Drake as he was basically of no use in this realm and as for anyone else, they weren''t obligated to listen to him as he was not royalty nor did he have the power to subjugate people under his rule. After searching for quite a bit, Julius had come across something interesting. It wasn''t another city but instead something that resembled a dungeon. Of course he wasn''t sure as the dungeons in heaven weren''t as out in the open as the dungeons back in the human realm. However after just a bit of a closer inspection, he realised that it was indeed a dungeon gate instead of a house out in the middle of an empty grassy field. The grassy field was dried up as if it hadn''t gotten any water for quite a long time. The house itself resembles a small cottage which was why Julius had first assumed it was normal as if it was a complex building, he would instantly know that something about it was off however due to its simplistic nature, he needed to take some time to inspect the house before finally coming to the conclusion that it was in fact a dungeon gate. The main giveaway was that it had an odd aura around it. If it had been the Julius who had just arrived in heaven, he wouldn''t have realised that it was a dungeon gate and would have simply walked away from it however this version of his had a greater level of awareness which he had attained through countless hours of training until he couldn''t even more a single muscle. As such, he was able to deduce that the building that was in front of his was indeed a dungeon which was quite exciting for him as he looked forward to challenging a dungeon for the first time after he had spent a couple of months doing nothing but training and wanted to see the fruits of his labour. Of course luck wouldn''t be on his side as he would be encountered with something rather odd and rare. Seeing as how curious he was to learn what the dungeon had to offer him, Julius walked right into it without even questioning a single thing which took through him simply opening the door of the house and taking the first step in which caused lightning sparks to go in all directions as the dungeon was accepting Julius and was allowing him access into it. "Welcome challenger. Special event: Red River''s Rage has been activated. Good luck" Those were the words Julius had heard and he instantly knew it would take place. He had this feeling before. The feeling where he knew that he would face hell itself for quite a long time. This was the feeling he had gotten when he had first entered the dungeon that Steven had been stuck in for 10 years in his life in the human realm and Julius himself, who was considered a prodigy, took 3 whole years to finally clear it. "Well, I might as well have fun in this place," said Julius to himself while shaking in fear even though he didn''t notice it as he was also oarycialky excited to go into battle once again. The inside of the dungeon was rather odd in that it resembled a fallen kingdom in its size and structure; however , there were countless pounds filled with red water; however , it didn''t look like blood or even if it was, it wasn''t normal blood as it was silky smooth and looked refined. Something about it made it glow which had caught Julius'' attention as he began to walk around in search of what could have destroyed the kingdom he was in and he wouldn''t have to search that long as something out of nowhere leapt at him which has startled Julius and caused him to leap back before the monster could attack him. At a closer inspection, the monster which was leapt at him was an odd type of zombie as it looked like a red orc but an undead version of that with quite the speed to him as he was able to move at a speed which would be troublesome for Julius not because he couldn''t match it but because he could at most take on 2 or 3 of these types of zombies and knowing how zombies typically worked, there would be quite a whole lot more of them that would come after Julius. "It''s just the start of the dungeon and they''re already sending out things this powerful? I guess I won''t be able to show off like I had wanted to. I guess I might as well take this to learn more and grow stronger. Wait!" Julius said to himself as he had made another realisation. "Why did I ever think that I was alone? When did I start to pity myself so much? It''s not like I need to rely on others to help me in life while walking me through everything single stage. I did it in the human realm and I can do it here as well. I can make use of these dungeons and attain enough power to destroy anyone that dares to stand in my way. Moreover, I can also attai exp to go to my counter and help me reach level 100 first. I''m probably quite a lot behind most of the people but I''ll be able to close the gap rather quickly since while they were busy rushing to get even the slug test but of exp, I was training until I had finally made it into a new class of power. Now that I''ve attained enough power to give me quite the boost, I can now start going through the dungeons and learn whatever I''m missing on the way.. After all, I''ve learned quite a lot during these past few months," said Julius to himself as he began to battle against the zombie he was up against after he had taken out his black blade which he had kept away from him so that he could train on his physical body however he was now ready to make use of that blade once more. Chapter 285 - Monstres Once he had taken out his black blade from the ring like artefact which had been given to him by the voice which had informed him of the new heaven''s emporter contest while he was still on the human realm, Julius began to start cutting down monster after monster without even a hint of remorse. He constantly built a 100% link with his blade and caused it to release its magma and burn everything it touched to ashes. Even the stronger monsters were no match for it as even if they were able to somehow match Julius in strength, speed and other aspects, with the addition of his blade into battle, Julius was a whole new open y which struck gear knot the hearts of even the undead. Just as he had expected, within the following few minutes of his entering the dungeon, he was surrounded by a group of zombies which loved more like an army as they stretched as far as the eye could see. "How am I supposed to defeat something like this? They''ll easily surround me and attack me from all directions at any rate," Julius said as he began to complain at how helpless his situation was before finally stopping for a mere moment when he had made quite the realisation. "I mean if they''re truly as powerful as I say, it''s not like the outcome of this battle will change. If I die while fighting so be it but I refuse to go down without a fight," said Julius as he placed his blade back away as he claimed that the blade was not his own strength and he somehow needed to attain power to rival the zombies he was going against through his own means which he believed he would be doing so by simply fighting the zombies with his bare hands until all of them without letting even a single one survive were dead. With that being Julius'' plan, he would need quite the power to do something such as his goal. As such, after placing his blade away, Julius began to leap in all directions as he directed himself into another zombie while dodging the countless attacks of the other zombies which were trying to get a piece of him before he had leapt away. Even so, Julius kept his cool and managed to make swift moments in any direction that he had wanted to as he kicked and punched the monsters around him. Even though he didn''t realise it, he had been attaining countless amounts of exp which was causing him to increase win level and which in turn caused him to attain more power as well which made his battle easier. Of course everything couldn''t be perfect forever and this would prove itself when just as Julius was about to leap away into another area of the dungeon so that he could focus on attacking another group of zombies, one of the ones which he didn''t make sure was fully knocked down or better yet dead caught Julius by the leg and caused him to fall on the ground which the other zombies install saw this as an opportunity to pile on top of Julius and try to attack him all at the same time while he was forced to the ground. "Dammit, I''m quite pathetic, aren''t I? I mean seriously, how could I have allied myself to end up in this type of situation? Am I seriously that weak that I can''t even feels with the monstres form the first stage of the dungeon by myself?" Julius asked himself as he didn''t understand by even though he had grown so much. Even though he had done so much training. Even though he was confident, Julius was still not strong enough to wipe away his enemies fast enough. At this rate, he would never be considered a powerhouse and someone everyone could rely on. Instead they would just see him as someone regular which Julius didn''t need to be seen as that as goal was to become none other than the emperor of heaven which was quite the prestigious title and Julius wanted to have it even if it meant sacrificing the entire world for that goal. As such, something had awakened inside Julius which caused him to rupture from the ground as he threw all of the zombies off of his back and began to grab a hold of each and everyone of them by his hand and crushed their skulls before they could even realise what was happening. For a moment, Julius felt loose and even empty. He lost all substance to his body yet it had felt as if he was in total control. He didn''t feel like he was weak from being so light. Instead he felt like lighting. He didn''t feel any gaps in his power and recognized that for some odd reason. His body felt odd but he was glad it was taking place as through whatever the awakening had done to Julius, all that mattered was that it allows him to turn into a whole new beast capable of mass destruction which he proved after humiliating the zombie a was fighting against as he defeated one after another without even the slightest bit of mercy. All he did was quickly glance at them and before they knew it, their heads were either removed from their bodies or their skulls including their brain had been crushed without even the slightest bit of mercy which was evident when looking at the victims with a closer look as the fingerprints of Julius were still on them and it could be seems just how unexpected their death was by the facial expression which presented them to be rather happy they were going to battle. However they had just walked into a set trap as it caused them to face death instantly when they came face to face even Julius. It was rather odd for them as they believed that they were still alive simply due to the fact that their body didn''t notice that it had been killed. As such, even if the zombies were able to watch Julius tear through all of their comrades and walk, their fellow zombie man fell to the ground as if they had been killed in a mere instant by some random child. It was at this point that the zombies realised the same thing just just happened to them and as such would effectively pass away. As for the ones who were not so intelligent, they would only die when their brain realised that it didn''t have a constant supply of oxygenated blood due to it not being connected to the body of the zombie and as such, they had passed away without even realising what had truly happened to them. After basically fighting an entire war by himself as the amount of zombies that he had to face were literally the size of an entire army, Julius had been left exhausted and past the point of no return. He couldn''t even get a single break as just as he finished or at least believed that he had done the job, some zombie would come the distance and try to ambush him which would cause Julius to step into battle once again. As such, after having waited a couple minutes with not even a single zombie to attack him, Julius assumed that there were simply no zombies left and as such fell To the ground from exhaustion. It hadn''t set in previously due to the adrenaline rush coasting through his veins however now that he had no reason to fight, all of his injured were catching up to him and as such, the pain was so bad that Julius had to lie down on his back and even so he couldn''t have done anything for quite a bit except roll around the dungeon due to the pain his was experiencing. Although Julius would have loved to simply lie down on the ground if the dungeon and stretch as well as get more rest, the dungeon wasn''t that kind as just after 24 hours after Julius had been moved into the other stage of the dungeon which was still in the same place but the area once again Egan to summon monsters for Julius to fight and defeat. This time it was quite an easy task for Julius to defeat all of his enemies as there were quite a lot less than the amount of zombies he had to have faced and with the addition of how many levels he had gained in heaven, Julius had attained quite a whole lot of power which he could use to defeat all of the mages which were coming at him. It didn''t matter what spell they cast at him though, Julius was able to move so fast that he was able to latch onto their mouths and push them down to the ground as he caused the ground to split apart like butter while at the same time killing his enemies. Julius was once again turning into a monster himself. Chapter 286 - Spells Due Julius having managed to defeat the new round of enemies which were a group of mates capable of casting spells, Julius assumed that he had surpassed anything that the dungeon could possible throw at him and as such he had grown to be quite overconfident in his abilities which would be his downfall in his next battle as once them aged had been defeated, a mini boss of sorts appeared at in front of Julius. It was a short goblin with a hunched back and carried a long blade at least twice the size of itself and looked rather weak and feeble which caused Julius to slowly walk up to it with an arrogant posture as if he was going to sting the goblin which in the end was quite the deadly mistake as right as Julius had gotten I range, the goblin teleported right behind Julius and tried to slice his head off without wasting even another moment. "Get down! Now!" Duke Drake yelled at Julius which was rather a shock as he had barely been able to speak to Duke Drake ever since he had gotten into heaven as there was no particular reason to do so. They were both the same in that they were new to the world. Even if Duke Drake knew the area, he was still a beginner like Julius and was just as weak as him when he had started. In fact Duke Drake was weaker than Julius now as while Julius was training, Duke Drake simply stood where he was and didn''t make any progress to his overall strength which was in the end his downfall as he had allowed himself to get lost in the laziness caused by him being too strong in the human realm and as such could not work for what he had wanted and simply expected it to be given to him just because that was the way he was grown up. Nevertheless, due to his ability to sense things which were approaching Julius as it would also affect his life, Suke Drake was barely able to warn Julius so that he could get out of the way of the attack and as such stay alive. If not for him, Julius would have most likely died. Even though Julius had been able to barely escape with his life from that attack, it didn''t mean his troubles were over as over the next couple of n''inities, the goblin who he was facing would report many more times and nearly kill Julius. Julius had only managed to dodge 2 attacks with his own capabilities and all of the other dodged were only possible because of Duke Drake telling him how to position his body as there was a slight delay between when the goblin would teleport behind Julius and when he would attack which was as barely enough but still allied Julius to escape without any injuries. This continued for a couple more minutes before Julius finally realised what the situation he was in reminded him of. "This is just like my fight with seven. No matter what I try, I''m too slow to protect myself against his attacks. Why am I like this? Why can''t I just win for once? Why can''t I perceive the attacks of my opponents?" Julius asked himself right as he finished that sentence, he got sliced in his back as he was too distracted to pay attention and as such fell to the ground from exhaustion. "Dammit all, why is a stupid goblin so much of a challange for me? I mean I know I''m not that weak, right?" Julius asked him as he contemplated what all his training did if he still can''t defeat a measly goblin. ... ... ... ... ... As the seconds passed, Julius could feel his life fading away as he knew that he would soon be dead; however , instead of feeling sorry for himself, he began to smirk while crying. "Why am I acting so pathetic? The battle isn''t over yet, I still have more to give. The battle only truly ends when one of us is dead," Julius said to himself as he got up from the ground which caused the goblin he was facing to grab a hold of the hilt of his blade and prepared to unsheathe his blade once again. "Hey Drake, can you give me a hand and he''ll recite an explosion spell that''ll destroy everything around me like a circle?" Julius requested which Duke Drake obviously agreed to and began to speak for Julius. "Magical Spell: The Sun''s Explosion" With this spell, Julius was able to cause such a great explosion which the goblin wasn''t ready for and as such was hit by it. Although Julius had exited the attack to do a decent amount of damage, he didn''t expect it to doa a much damage as it did due to him expecting all of the stats of the goblin to be as well rounded as his speed however that was not the case as the goblin was instantly killed by the colossi on which meant that only 2 of its stats were good. Those being his attack and speed. Other than that, he was pretty weak which made Julius calm down quite a bit as he was unsure for a moment if he was going to make it out of the battle alive due to how challenging his opponent was. "That''s for that," said Julius as he gasped for air while thanking Duke Drake for assisting him. "I don''t know how much time I''ll have before my next opponent shows up but at this rate, I''m not sure I''ll be alive to face the final boss. Even if I am, the final boss will undoubtedly be far stronger than anyone or anything that I''ve ever seen," said Julius and right at that moment, a group of undead dogs appeared before him as they were his next opponents. Their teeth were all made of metal which looks hard enough to bite through even hard rock with ease which was quite frightening for Julius however he didn''t have any other option but to fight. If he had wanted to live for even another moment, he would have to find some way to defeat anyone who dared to cross his path which was what he did with the undead dogs as they leapt from all directions at him as he dodged and kicked the first one before next focusing on the one which was closed to him as took a step forward while the dog was still in the air before punching it right in the chest and sending ur flying. As for the other 3 dogs that were still in the air, he tried to cut them all at once using his black blade however he couldn''t have seemed to be capable of even cutting on of them so instead he settled on swinging his blade it knock them away instead of killing then as he wasn''t even sure if that was possible in the first place. "Looks like their specialty is defence. I have an idea on how to defeat them but I doubt it''ll work since there are so many of them," said Julius as he began to fight all of them at the same time. All he was looking for was a slight opening where he could target a single one of them and take them out and then he would be able to take out the rest of them one by one much easier since there would be one less undead to worry about for him. Although it sounded like quite the simple task which no one could mess up on. It was much harder than it sounded. This was because all of the dogs'' attacks were synchronised and as such it was impossible to single out one of them without the rest taking notice of it. As such, Julius had to come up with another way of doing things instead of knocking back one of them far away and tubing towards it while the others were following from the back. "I guess I don''t have any other option but to try this," said Julius to himself as he once again contacted Duke Drake so that he could ask him for assistance once again. "Hey, do you have a spell for creating mist around yourself?" Julius asked as he needed some sort of distraction, even if it was for a mere moment. "I sure do," said Duke Drake with a smirk as he began to cast a spell once again. "Magical Spell: Fun Fog" Using this spell, Julius was able to cloud the vision of the undead dogs and as such, he was able to knock back all of the dogs a lot further than before so that even if they wanted to chase Julius, they would have to move twice the distance that he would move as all of the undead dogs were equally spaced apart. "Got you where I want you," said Julius as he rushed towards one of the undead dogs.