《The destruction and creation system》 Chapter 1 - Why me? well to start our story I should be a good person and give you the reader a little bit of back story . so our mc is named nick in case you didn''t read the synopsis and nick unlike most MCs has literally zero want to be great he just wants to be a normal everyday joe , which to be fair isn''t a bad thing in and of itself but that not how we roll up in wn . so nick is about 6''2 with black hair and a decent face , so all in all a normal guy . well one day nick was a bit thirsty and decided to walk up to the cornerstore to buy him a soda because what self respecting american drinks tap water. so on the way up to the store nick wasn''t really paying attention to the coming traffic because cars don''t use sidewalks usually and thus fails to notice a blue truck swerving towards him thanks to the drunk who happened to pass out behind the wheel ,but we all know how this goes down . the truck hits nick breaking his spine and crushing all of his organs into paste. Well now that the back story is set time to tell the story. _____________________________________________________________________________ Nick jolts awake and slowly opens his eyes and the scene before him shocks him to the core. In front of nick is his mutilated body plastered on the truck that hit him . "What am I looking at, why am I dead I was just going for a soda for f.u.c.ks sake!" Nick rages at his bad luck when he notices a bright white light raidiating from above him . "is that heaven and I going to heaven ?" Nick closes his eyes and allows the light to take him then all is darkness. *DING* * The destruction and creation system is booting up .... Error host has no body initializing reincarnation sequence.* *DING* SMACK! "Ow!" Nick cries out as he feels something rough smack his b.u.t.t. ''What the hell i thought I was going to heaven why does it feel like I''m not in heaven, is this limbo or some shit?'' Nick try''s to open his eyes and notices that he feels very weak and ...small? ''What is this why do I feel so weak and small why can''t I open my eyes?'' *DING* *Responding to host questions host has just successfully been reincarnated into an infants body* ''Waah! Theres a voice talking in my head !'' Nick thinks to himself and starts panicing and manages to open his eyes with much effort . nick looks out at his surroundings In shock as he''s in a large room with dark purple curtains and several oddly dressed people around him. "Waah" an infantile sound escapes his mouth as he tries to say something . *DING* *Host can think to ask questions to the system* ''Good to know here''s a question then WHAT THE F.U.C.K IS GOING ON!'' Nick mentally screams at the system. '' *DING* Host has been randomly chosen as the user of the destruction and creation system and has thus been forcefully reincarnated with all of your memories intact. Host is to try to grow strong enough to rule over everything .* Nick was shocked at the systems reply '' how did I get myself into this mess I don''t want to rule over everything I just want to be normal can''t I just do that instead?'' He mentally ask. *DING* *UNACCEPTABLE! Host would render system pointless if host did so.* ''I don''t care I''ll just be a normal person anyway not like you can do anything about it anyway.'' *DING* *Host is warned to change his mentality or face the consequences.* ''Ha threats won''t work on me I''m normal and I''m staying that way!'' *Ding* *host was warned system will now tell host that he was reincarnated into a world were normal people are treated as slaves by the stronger people and host will suffer till such time as host changes his mind* Nick was startled by this sudden insight from the system ''f.u.c.k! You brought me here on purpose didn''t you!''. (System ignoring nick) ''System aren''t you supposed to answer when I ask you a question?'' (Still ignoring him) ''Fine I don''t need you anyway!'' nick pouts at the systems stubbornness and carefully observes the place he is in . there is a women with light red hair and a beautiful face smiling happily as she cradles him in her arms singing softly to him , her voice is soft and smooth almost angelic even. Next to the bed there is a man who terrified nick when he first notice him even though the man has a gentle smile on his face. The man should be about 7''6 in height with massive well defined muscles pressed against his clothes the man has dark blue hair and a very decent face but the most stunning thing is the numerous scars all over his face and arms. ''These must be my parents in this world, I wonder what I look like '' he thinks to himself. Chapter 1 - background info Money value :copper(lowest value) :silver(worth 100 copper) :gold(worth 1000 silver) :platinum(worth 10000 gold) :more later ------------------------------------------------- Roulette ticket value From lowest to greatest:normal,elite,rare,legend,and supreme. -------------------------------------------------- Weapon,armor and pill ranks (Each rank divided into low,medium and high tiers) :more later ------------------------------------------------- Cultivation tiers (Each level divided into 10 tiers) (nicks level is based of of his cultivation level for example each tier in body refinement is worth one level for a total of ten as for the body refinement cultivation each is worth two since there is only five in a tier) :body refinement(refines body so it can withstand the power of the next tier) :spirit gathering (fills dantian with qi in preparation for creating the origin core) :origin core(true starting point for cultivators , refines qi in dantian into solid core to use as foundation for the nascent soul.) :nascent soul(most common cultivation level , uses the origin core in order to manifest the truest form of oneself otherwise known as the nascent soul.) :void entering(has mastered half of a minor law) :void completion(has full mastery of a minor law.) :more later Body refinement levels. :earth(has refined blood,flesh,organs,bones and skin the first time making body as strong as dirt, equivalent to spirit gathering) :wood(has refined blood,flesh,organs,bones and skin the second time making the body as strong as wood, equivalent to origin core) :copper(has refined blood,flesh,organs,bones and skin the third time making body as strong as copper, equivalent to nacent soul) :bronze(has refined blood,flesh,organs,bones and skin the first time with minor laws making body as strong as bronze, equivalent to void chasing) :iron(has refined blood,flesh,organs,bones and skin the second time with minor laws making body as strong as iron, equivalent to void entering) ------------------------------------------------ World back story the world is called restrus There are three major continents and several small ones,the mc starts on one of the small ones called karas island.(more on that later) each of the major continents is split into 1 empire, several kingdoms and several clans\tribes each. Chapter 2 - Problem Nick sat in his mothers arms calmly as he tried to figure out what he looks like based on his parents appearance. ''Do i have blue hair like my father or red like my mother hmmmm''. ''I''ll find out later I guess , for now I''m rather tired so I''m going to sleep''. Nick fell soundly asleep and entered the dreamworld , meanwhile his parents begin a very important conversation about nicks future. "Look at him atica he takes after you do much." The man says to his wife nicks mother. Atica smiles and says "perhaps ,but he has your eyes and cheeks veras. " veras strokes his wife''s hair affectionately "I hope he''s has your strength atica he will need it when he comes of age." He says seriously. "Damn those old fogies and their stubbornness !" Veras says angrily as a dull red light starts radiating from him . "calm down veras you''ll wake our son otherwise." Atica says firmly but gently. Veras calms himself and the light fades back into his body . "you''re right dear , its just so infuriating how they want him to become a political piece when he was just born " veras says and sighs. Atica comforts her husband and they stop talking . about two hours later nick wakes up from hunger and notices he''s alone so he sits up and has trouble staying up on his own so he leans against the crib . nick then looks around the room and sees her is in a small room with only a few items nearby including a rattle made from some kind of bone and some odd green glowing stones. Nick crawls over to the strange green stone and picks it up and looks at it curiously. *DING* *Acquired low grade qi stone, would host like to absorb?* Nick is surprised at the systems sudden announcement and suspiciously looks at the stone in his hand which is only about the size of his infant palm. ''System what would happen if I said yes?'' *DING* *Host would begin strengthening your body with the energy within , would host like to absorb?* Nick thinks it over for a minute and decided that he didn''t like the weak feeling of being an infant . ''Yes absorb the qi stone.'' *DING* *Beginning absorption...* Nick feels an incredible suction coming from his hand and watches in awe as the glowing green stone slowly starts to shrink till the size of a pea then shattered into dust . ''well I don''t feel any diff..'' *DING* *Absorption complete beginning strengthening* *DING* *LEVEL UP LEVEL UP LEVELUP LEVEL UP LEVEL UP!* *Would host like to see your status?* Nick was shocked at the sudden level ups and realizes that the system never told him how much stronger he would become as a trap to make him do what it wanted . ''You tricked me! Why didn''t you tell me I would grow so much stronger !'' *DING* *Host never asked * Nick was stunned at the systems answer and knew it was right he fell into its trap due to his lack of knowledge. ''Sigh , show me my statuses'' *NAME:Nicholas varia AGE:5hrs RACE:human Level:5 CULTIVATION:body refinement tier 2 SKILLS:none ABILITIES:awareness (user is aware of all things around them even without seeing it.) STRENGTH:15 AGILITY:13 INTELLIGENCE:18 CHARISMA:50(infant) SYSTEM EVALUATION:You suck! Nick stares at the stats in disbelief and doesn''t know whether to laugh or cry. ''What is a normal persons stats?'' *DING* *the stats for the average a.d.u.l.t mortal are at 8 in each stat* Nick practically breaks down knowing he will never be truly normal now no matter how much he wants to since as an infant he''s already stronger that most a.d.u.l.ts . Nick starts crying in sadness when a sudden wave of coolness flow through him and instantly calms him down. *unusual emotions suppressed.* Nick finally realized that the system will never let him be weak ,not even emotionally. Chapter 3 - Problem (2) Nick grew increasingly frustrated at the system which was purposely trying to ruin his attempt at normalcy. Nick stood up in his cradle since he was strong enough now . he reaches up to the top of his cradle with his tiny hands and unknown to him sets off the formation his parents set up to let them know if there was movement outside the crib . nick looks around the room for a mirror and finds one over in the corner, nodding to himself he grabs the top rail and pulls himself over it swiftly as he is as strong as an a.d.u.l.t so his infant weight is nothing to him. He walks over to the mirror which seemed to be made of some kind of polished metal he observes himself to see his appearance. He had dark red hair like billowing fire and bright blue eyes like jewels as for the rest of his features it was to hard to tell at his age. While nick is doing all of this his father was notified via the formation of movement in nicks room and not thinking his son was walking around burst into a rage thinking someone was in nicks room. BOOM! Veras''s aura explodes around him as he bolts towards his sons room without thinking about the consequences. "I''ll kill the bastards!" He yells as he goes. The servants are all terrified by the pressure in the air as some of them even spit out blood as they were too close to veras when his aura burst out from him. Nick doesn''t realize he had caused a problem as he admires himself in the mirror ignorant of the angry beast rushing straight towards him. (You all might be wondering why veras seems to go berserk when he thought someone was going for his child , it is because in the cultivation world going after children is considered strictly taboo and while some people will still do so those few are hated and killed the moment they are discovered.) Veras rushes at barely subsonic speeds across the household arriving almost instantly at nicks room were he breaks down the door only to stop in shock at the sight on the other side . There standing in front of the mirror is nick standing up after only a few hours of life looking at his father in confusion and fright . ''jesus christ that was terrifying he just destroyed the door instantly like it was a normal thing to do , oh god system what kind of strange world did you bring me to!'' *DING* *to answer host question the world is not strange host merely set off a formation which made host father panic.* Nick and veras just stand there dumbfounded however for two very different reasons on veras''s side it was because of his anomaly of a son while on nicks side it was because he was the reason for this entire incident. Veras awkwardly stands there in the shattered doorway while the man and infant stare at each other. "Hahaha " veras starts laughing the angry beast from earlier completely gone. "The heavens have blessed me hahaha!" Veras shouts in happiness . nick merely just stands there dumbly as his father seems to have lost his mind in his opinion. Veras continues laughing for a minute or so until several powerful auras start coming towards nicks room to find out what happened. A middle aged man with black hair and green eyes lands on the ground . "brother veras what happened I came as soon as I felt your aura ?" The man ask in confusion. veras walks over to the man with a huge grin on his face . "brother Gregory look at this, my child is blessed by the heavens he can walk only hours after being born!"He says excitedly while pointing at nick with pride written all over his face. Gregory looks over at nick who at this point is stunned due to the multiple strange things that are happening to him. ''HE F.U.C.K.I.N.G FLEW!'' nick is screaming in his head. *DING* *does host see the reason to get stronger now?* Oddly enough the systems female voice seems to have a small bit of hope while asking this. Nick notices this and is startled by it. ''System do you mean that my definition of normal is wrong in this world ?'' *DING* *host is correct* Nick notices the slight happiness in the system after he learns how wrong he was before. Chapter 4 - Conspiracy While veras and Gregory were celebrating about veras''s furtune nick was talking to the system. ''So let me get this straight in this world cultivators are normal and so an unbelievablly strong baby is not unheard of?'' *DING* *Host is correct however there is a limit * ''Which is ?'' *Surpassing the body refinement class while an infant .* ''You''re not going to try to trick me into reaching that limit are you?'' Nick asked the system suspicious since it has tricked him before . *of course not host if host is too extreme it will place host in danger of being killed.* the system replies slightly irritated at nick. Nick sort of wants to smack his forehead at his stupidity but stops when he realizes that he is still an infant . And so nick spent his infant and toddler years slowly improving his power in what is considered normal standards , but what the system didn''t tell him was that it was only normal for absolute geniuses instead of normal cultivators . Six years pass in this way as nick finally seems to notice something wrong . ''System why is everyone else my age still in the body refinement class while I''m in the spirit gathering class?'' Nick ask the system in confusion. *host is a genius so it is normal of course * The system answers matter of factly. Nick finally knows that his suspicions were right on point . (okay so to be fair the reason nick didn''t figure it out sooner was because children aren''t exposed to each other till they are six so nick never had anything to compare himself to.) Nick was furious at the system for not telling him sooner . ''Status!'' *DING* *NAME:Nicholas varia AGE:6yrs RACE:human Level:30 CULTIVATION:spirit gathering tier 3 ABILITIES:awareness (user is aware of all things around them even without seeing it.) body control (user has complete control of their physique including nerves, pores,veins,etc) STRENGTH:75 AGILITY:45 SPIRIT:50 INTELLIGENCE:32 CHARISMA:26 SYSTEM EVALUATION:acceptable* ''System explain now!'' *Host forgot that system is here to make host powerful enough to rule over everything .* ''what about what I want ?'' *ding* *unless it makes you stronger it is irrelevant.* Nick was stunned at the system which for all intents and purposes did not care what he thought. ''Fine then I''ll just go ask my father about cultivation so you can''t trick me any More.'' nick thought angrily at the system. *can host not blame me for your ineptitude* Nick ignores the system and walks across the room he is in towards the door. He grabs the groove on the side and slides it open and steps out into the courtyard which is much like a garden filled with various flowers and fruit trees . nick breathes in the pleasant aroma and walks towards the exit of the courtyard were two guards are standing each giving off a thick aura of power ,one of them looks over towards nick and speaks up . "young master Nicholas seems to want to go somewhere would you need a guard while you are out ?" His voice was respectful and kind as he spoke . nick shakes his head and says " no I''m only going to see my father but thank you for the offer." The guard nods then says " young master need not thank this lowly one as it is my job." Nick nods at the guard then walks through the exit calmly. After nick is out of earshot the guard starts talking to the other. " the young master is and odd one , not that I''m complaining as he treats us well." He says to the other guard. "You''re right but he is a genius so being a little odd makes sense I mean I''ve never heard of a young master who cares for flowers and treats everyone well without an ounce of arrogance." The other guard says. The first guard nods and finally says "we need to save him in the attack he doesn''t deserve to die so young because of his family." The second guard then says "I''ll send him out into town so he''s not here when the others come." Both guards stop talking and go back to doing their jobs . Chapter 5 - Conspiracy 2 Nick walks through the wooden hallways towards his fathers office ignorant of the approaching disaster . nick arrives in front a large door and knocks on it lightly . "come in" a rough voice echo''s from the other side . nick pushes the door open to reveal a burly blue haired man looking at him from a large paper covered desk. Veras motions for nick to sit nick nods and sits in a leather chair and without waiting for veras to speak he says "I want to know about the cultivation levels that come after this one." Veras looks at his son and nods then begins speaking "well first is the body refinement class , the spirit gathering class,the origin core class,the nacent soul class. In each tier has a total of 9 tiers and as for any classes after those I don''t know as the highest I''ve ever seen was nascent soul class." nick memorized the classes then asked "father what class are you in ?" Veras puffs up his c.h.e.s.t in pride and says " I''m a origin core class cultivator in the eighth tier." Nick is super happy about how strong his father is as he can just have his dad as his big tree to sit under safely. After nick finished talking to his father he walks back towards the courtyard where his room is and comes across and elder talking to one of the guards by the courtyard in a hushed manner but doesn''t think much of it and respectfully bows to the elder and entertain the courtyard to tend to his garden. Meanwhile in a dark room somewhere else several shadowy figures are gathered in secrecy. "Is the plan completely foolproof?" One of the figures ask. Another figure quickly speaks up "getting second thoughts F?" F snorts in anger "of course not! However I don''t want to have any mistakes in the thing if veras survives...." The other figure says " relax veras won''t see the end of tomorrow I guarantee it." F nods and goes quiet. "What if his son Nicholas will be be a problem later ?" Another shadowy figure ask . this question raises that discussion about nick around the room when they finally come to a concensus about what to do with nick . "if he is there and sees us attacking we kill him but if he is gone and doesn''t know it was us we leave him alone ". Everyone was in agreement about this particular detail for some reason or another. Meanwhile back in the courtyard ... *DING* *New mission acquired : go to the auction in town tomorrow .* *would his like to accept this mission y/n?* ''Hm? System i didn''t know you had a mission setting.'' Nick thinks at the system questioningly. *host has never bothered to ask* ''System what abilities DO you have?'' *DING* *Bringing up interface* __________________________________________________________________ SHOP INVENTORY DESTRUCTION MODE CREATION MODE ROULETTE ___________________________________________________________________ Nick looks over the settings and notices something off . ''System how do you use the shop without currency?'' *DING* *there is a currency however host has not yet acquired any due to lack of effort on host part.* ''Did you just scold me?'' *affirmative* Nick was a little irritated at the systems attitude. ''System open inventory.'' *DING* SLOT1: starter kit SLOT2:EMPTY SLOT3:EMPTY SLOT4:EMPTY SLOT5:EMPTY* Nick looks at the screen and sees the starter kit and wonders what that about. ''System open starter kit.'' *DING* POOF! The contents of the box show up on the screen . ___________________________________________________ 1. Beginner cultivation technique 2.grade 3 healing pills 3.tier 2 low grade sword 4.150 DC points ___________________________________________________ Nick was not particularly shocked at the contents as he had read a few novels in his past life so roughly knew what to expect. Chapter 6 - Shop Nick opens the inventory and takes out the tier 2 sword and closely inspects it. *NAME:unnamed DAMAGE:25 AFFINITY:none* PROPERTY:cutting Nick nods his head at the details of the sword then puts it away he then decides to look at the cultivation technique as well . *NAME: BEGINNING FOUNDATION MANTRA TYPE:starter technique ELEMENT:none RATING:decent* Nick was expecting that description since he had read a few novels however the items that really got nick excited was the 150 points he got since he was dying to know what was in the shop. ''System open shop'' nick commanded. *DING* *checking for funds..... Funds found opening shop.* ____________________________________________________ WEAPONS ARMOR MOUNTS BLOODLINE FOOD MISC Nick looks at each of the shops options and three in particular catch his attention the misc category ,the bloodline category and the mounts category each other which he was not one hundred percent sure of , for example the mounts category he didn''t know of any creatures you could ride besides horses . as for the bloodline category he was completely clueless in that regard and finally the misc category is understandable as it was vague as f.u.c.k. So nick asked the system to explain each of those categorys and the answer he got was as such. *DING* *mounts are as his believes they are , the bloodline category is based of extremely powerful beings who have created enhanced genetics making their descendants stronger than most people. The misc category has most things that don''t fit into any of the other categories.* ''That seems awfully shallow for descriptions.'' Nick thinks to the system . *that''s because most of this information is obvious once you open the categories * Nick was shocked at the systems snarky answer. Chapter 7 - Getting ready Nick clicks his tongue and begins thinking about the path he is going to take in the future. ''So should I see what all is in the miscellaneous section?'' He ponders over it until curiosity gets the better of him . ''System open the miscellaneous tab!'' He commands. *DING* the tab opens to reveal a list of as the name suggested miscellaneous items . ________________________________________ MATERIALS SUMMONS TOOLS SEEDS OF DESTRUCTION SEEDS OF CREATION ROULETTE nick carefully checks the sub categories of the misc option and sees huge amounts of options that he could check out so he checks again the three he didn''t understand, the two seed options and the roulette , the results are as follows. *ROULETTE:pays a set amount of points to activate one of three random draws which are , normal,premium and supreme .after choosing a random draw mode the roulette will summon a random item , the higher the mode chosen the better the possible outcome.* *SEEDS OF DESTRUCTION/CREATION: a small seed with the potential to destroy/create a specific target within that seeds size which are small , medium and large.* Nick quickly understands the gist of the options and begins planning for the future auction since he was broke . ''so perhaps i should buy some pills or mabye a weapon to sell hmm?'' After deliberating for a few minutes he desides to try to sell a weapon since it would be less suspicious because weapons were far easier to quite than pills since weapons are a multiuse item for the level of work put into making them while pills are gone after use. With his choice made nick opens the weapons shop and sees multiple different kinds of weapons far more in fact than he even could count after looking for a normal weapon type he simply chooses the spear type weapons and a list of spears of multiple grades and names pop up and he finds the best one he can get with his 150 DC points . the spear is a tier 4 low grade one called fiery reign , it is about four and a half foot long with a bright crimson shaft engraved with infernal imagery and a pitch black head that seems to reflect light making it look like it was shining. Satisfied with his purchase nick begins cultivating while forcefully suppressing his breakthrough in order to build a robust foundation. Nick spends the rest of his day after cultivating in order to level up his swordsman skill to level 5. Early the next day nick gets up and carefully wraps the fiery reign spear and carries it next to him which looks hilarious as its four and a half feet and he''s only 3 and a half feet tall since he''s six. Nick carefully walks through his garden and goes to the guards at the door to his courtyard . "I need one of you to carry this while we head over to the auction " he says holding out the wrapped spear. The guards look at each other almost as if to say ''did he know we were going to take him out of the house for the operation?'' One of the guards takes the spear from nick and is shocked at the heat coming from it through the fabric used to wrap it. "Young master what is this weapon ?" He ask confused why such a precious thing is going to the auction . OK so to be fair nick wasn''t aware that in this country any weapon past tier 3 is exceptionally difficult to acquire making them treasured by their owners. " I''m selling it for funds at the auction since I have none ." nick says calmly seeming to not realize what he was doing . the guard is practically sweating at the thought of someone selling such a fine weapon "young master let me ask the lord veras about this first"he ask nervously . Nick is a bit surprised by this and says " if you must." The guard then takes the weapon and as he has said goes to veras office and knocks on the door. TAP TAP TAP. His knuckles hit the door three times and then a deep voice comes out of the room "enter". The guard opens the door and walks in to veras eyeing him curiously . "Sir the young master brought this out to sell at the auction and I was wondering if you knew about this since this is a treasure." The guard says While handing the still wrapped weapon over . Veras unwraps the spear and a shocked gasp escape his mouth while his eyes widened . "I''ve never seen this weapon before nor should it be in the clan , were did he get this!?"he exclaimed at the guard. Panicking at veras''s reaction the guard quickly answers"my lord I don''t know he just suddenly had it when he came out of his room!". Chapter 8 - Getting ready (3) Veras quickly calms himself and studies the spear in greater detail to see if he can gleam some knowledge of its origin from it .As he carefully notices a small mark on the flat of the spearhead that should be a touchmark he ponders if he''s ever seem one similar before and in the end can''t recall any so he stands up from his chair and walks over to the bookshelf behind his desk and runs his finger over the spines of several books until he stops on the book titled (KNOWN SMITH TOUCHMARKS AND THEIR AFFILIATIONS). He pulls it off of the shelf and places it on the desk , he then opens it and begins looking for any touchmarks that match the one on the spear and after about 5 minutes later he stops on the last page where a small line of text next to the bottom of the page catches his eye. (For whomever it may concern the touchmarks found in this book are not every touchmark known as some known marks bear restrictions and thus can''t be list .) veras''s eyebrows crunch together in frustration after he can''t figure out if this mark is good or bad , he signs deeply and rewrapped the spear up then pulls out about 2000 gold and hands it to the guard then says"take this to my son and tell him I''m buying the weapon from him instead." The guard takes the money and goes to walk out the door when veras then says "also keep this weapon a secret for now don''t want the other clans getting a hold of this information ." the guard bows and says "of course my lord" then walks out of the room. After the guard leaves veras lightly calls out "shadow." And a darkness creeps out of the ceiling and seems to congeal into the shape of a man. The man wear a full body leather suit with a mask that covers all but his eyes. "Yes my lord ?" the man ask while kneeling. Veras looks at the man then says " status report". The man stands up and begins speaking "the organization in question is planning on attacking you today during the auction in order to make less of a commotion." Veras nods and then says " its lucky my son is going to the auction then since I don''t want him to see what I''m going to do to those bastards." "Indeed it is fortunate the young master is out lest he be impacted by what is to come." Meanwhile the guard arrives back at Nick''s courtyard. "Young master lord veras has given you 2000 gold for your weapon which is a good amount I might say." The guard says while handing nick the money. Nick takes the money with a stupid grin on his face. "Well then let''s go then." Nick says while walking out of his courtyard. The group make their way into the city which can be seen to have a decent size making the large buildings of intricate design rather odd. ''System give me my status '' _______________________________________ NAME:Nicholas varia AGE:6yrs RACE:human Level:30 MONEY:2000G DC:20 SKILLS:swordsmanship lv5 , flame step lv3 , dragons rage lv3 ABILITIES:awareness (user is aware of all things around them even without seeing it.) body control (user has complete control of their physique including nerves, pores,veins,etc) STRENGTH:75 AGILITY:60 SPIRIT:55 INTELLIGENCE:31 CHARISMA:29 SYSTEM EVALUATION:acceptable* ''Lookin good hang on why did my intelligence go down'' *DING* *Because host keeps doing stupid thing system punished host with slightly less intelligence.* Chapter 9 - Sabrina ''What stupid things have I done ?'' Nick ask confused. *DING* *Host has brought out a ''rare'' weapon out of nowhere as well as openly practice techniques that no one has seen before which is contradictory to what host has said they want to be this making them stupid actions.* Nick almost tripps after hearing what the system says and to make matters worse he can''t argue with the system since it''s completely right. ''Hmmmm mabye i should rethink about what I''m doing before doing it.'' Nick ponders as he walks. (Ah wait I almost forgot to go to over the currency how careless of me well here it is. 100 copper=1 silver 1000 silver= 1 gold 10000 gold=1 platinum there you go and before anyone ask why he only got 2000 gold keep in mind he hasn''t left his small city yet.) Nick quickly walks through the streets as he hears several vendor peddling their merchandize some selling food some selling herbs and even one of them selling slaves . Upon seeing the slave trader nick almost loses his cool as in America slavery was badly hated before he was reborn so that ideology stuck with him even in this world. Nick walks over to the slaves that are being sold and notices a young girl about the same age as him except she has animal ears and a long silky tail behind her which surprised him as he had never seen something like this before nor had he thought it possible until today. Nick walks over to the slaver and asks "that girl over there what''s her story ?" The man who was utterly repulsive to look at smiles showing his black broken teeth and speaks "that one is from a fox tribe of beastmen who was slaughtered or sold by bandits that girl was the tribe chiefs daughter she''s also still a v.i.r.g.i.n as well my young lord." A look of disgust crosses nicks face as he learns of the girls tale . "How much ?" Nick asks coldly . The slaver can practically smell the money on nick as a look of greed passes over his face. "I''m sorry young lord I was hoping to keep her for a ..." The man starts talking when nick cuts him off. "500 gold take it and give her to me" nick says while giving the repulsive man a death stare. The slaver feels a chill on the back of his neck from the look nick is giving him and he starts sweating as he gulps his saliva and then walks over to the girl and shakily undoes her collar and chains and leads her over to nick . the girl looks at nick with both curiosity and nervousness as he hands the fat slaver the money and grabs the girls hand and pulls her away from that place. *DING* *Title acquired:SAVIOR* Nick leads the girl over to a nearby food stall and orders two servings of goat legs and begins asking the girl questions while waiting for the food since the two guards refused to get anything. "What''s your name?" He asks . the girl is very nervous about nick and his intentions and mumbles "sabrina" under her breath . nick nods and then says "I know you are probably trying to figure out why I bought you and the reason is very simple ,I felt pity for you after hearing that swine tell your story " The girl is obviously surprised to hear such a reason as in this world people use power to crush those weaker and this only care about themselves as a result ,as such it is very rare to meet a kind person . Nick continues" I''ll take care of you for as long as you like you may leave whenever you feel like it however there is a few rules you have to follow." Sabrina begins panicking when she here''s the rules part and nick finishes talking "help keep the courtyard clean smile often and don''t worry so much that''s all I ask of you " sabrina is shocked speechless from what nick said since it was miles away from what she thought the rules would be . the food the arrives on two plates with an amazing aroma coming with the steam rising from the legs. Nick grabs a knife and cuts the leg in half at the knee and hands the two portions over to the guards "here you two are practically drooling over there." The guards become frantic "nonono young master we can''t take this it would be improper of us " one of them says quickly. This action irritates nick who the retorts with "do I look like I care about what''s proper , you''re hungry so eat and don''t treat me so stiffly I''m a normal person too you know" the guards reluctantly take the food while sabrina is amazed at how kind nick is . Chapter 10 - Odd energy Sabrina carefully ate the food nick handed to her and savored the rich flavor that attacked her taste buds in relish. The guards also ate what they were given no longer caring what anyone thought of them . Nick watched his group chowing down on the food and smiled since he was comfortable with how things stood in his life . After everyone was done eating nick settled the bill and brought his small group out onto the street were he asked a nearby man for directions to the auction . "You there good sir maybe I ask you a question?" The man was a burly lumberjack looking individual with brown hair and brown eyes and thick facial hair. "Whatcha want?" The man ask gruffly. Nick is slightly taken aback by the man rudeness but quickly gets over it . "Do you know were the auction is being held?" Nick asked as politely ask her can while holding out a gold coin . The man sees the gold coin and the guards behind nick and the greed that was forming in his eyes goes out immediately as he replies " the auction is being held to the south west of here in a large imposing building " he says while pointing off in a direction after taking the coin. Nick thanks the man a begins walking with his group in the direction the man told him passing several streets vendors who are loudly hawking their wears. *DING* *Abnormal readings located nearby host is advised to search for the source * *New mission acquired:ODD ENERGY* *Would you like to accept y/n?* He quickly fixes his posture as he almost tripped from the sudden notification. ''Show me the mission details.'' He commands . *DING* *mission:odd energy Rating:b Requirements:find the source of the odd energy and acquire it at all cost . Reward:supreme rank roulette ticket ,100 DC Penalty:1 random skill removed.* Nick looks through the mission details and is amazed at how highly the system seems to value this mission with such heavy rewards and penalties. He begins going to each of the nearby vendors and looking at their wears to try to see if he can find whatever was releasing that faint energy the system picked up. Sabrina''s and the guards are merely following behind nick trying to figure out what got into nick since he is going to every vendor nearby before leaving while slightly shaking his head. Nick continues through the street in his quest for the energy source like a bloodhound searching every crevasse for it. After about a few minutes of this nick finally finds what he''s looking for on a small mat in an dark corner of a building. Truth be told nick almost didn''t notice it as he thought it might have been some homeless man''s camp. There was several things scattered around haphazardly unlike the more formal stalls as well as the fact the man sitting on the rug looked like he hadn''t bathed in days , he was an old man frail as a stick with brown near black skin and course matted hair with sunken in green eyes. A dry scratchy voice comes from the man. "You seem to be searching for something yet unable to find it perhaps abzu here has what you seek." He says while grinning showing a full set of rotten teeth. Nick is very careful after he hears the man ''system does he know about the mission?'' Nick asked the system cautiously. *DING* *host was acting suspicious so this being may have gleaned some information from this.* Nick recalls the way he was acting while looking and indeed he was rather frantic in his search for the energy source. Nick carefully looks over all of the things laid out on the mat , most of the things are just trash like one would expect from this kind of person but one item sets off the systems alarms when he picks it up . Nick showed the item to this ''abzu'' man and ask" what do you want for this thingy"in his most childish manner. One should remember that nick is currently only six . The man looks at the item with surprise as truthfully he didn''t think this child in front of him knew what he was holding. "For you little one a hundred gold will survive" he says trying to sound like it hurts him to sell it so ''cheap''. Chapter 11 - Auction Nick was obviously not falling for the old man''s tricks "I''ll give you 70 for it " nick says flatly. The man curses mentally at how clever nick is and relents on the price. Nick walks away from the man grinning while looking at the notification he got from the system. *DING* *congratulations on finishing the mission , place item in inventory to receive rewards.* Nick places the strange cube into his inventory while ignoring the shocked looks coming from around him and unlike what he thought the cube didn''t get absorbed but instead greyed out like it was restricted . then his rewards magically appeared in his inventory which he use immediately to try to get something special for the auction. Nick opens the shop menu and opens the equipment table and scrolls through it until he finds what he is looking for and opens the description of it which is as follows. ___________________________________ NAME: MASK OF WISDOM RATING:TIER 5 HIGH GRADE DESCRIPTION:MASK WORN BY THE GOD OF WISDOM ,GIVES THE WEARER A CLEAR MIND WHILE OBSCURING ONES FACE FOR ALL FORMS OF IDENTIFICATION. ____________________________________ Nick smiled as he buys it from the shop for 20 DC and pulls it out of his inventory and puts it on . Nick instantly feels the difference as he no longer has any distracting thoughts and a certain feeling of clarity that is quite unlike him. The mask was silver in color with vivid depictions of text that seem to be constantly crossing the surface and other than that the mask only had two holes for eyes and that was all there was to it making it rather plain looking with the exception of the script on it. Nick turns to his guards and ask "how do I look?" They both look at each other and answer with a bit of confusion on their faces "young master you look mysterious , but why do you think you need a mask for?" Nick looks at the guards and says " we are going to an auction what if I buy something by going against someone else and they want to make trouble for me for it." The guards cough embarrassed at not thinking about such an obvious thing. The group continue on their way to the auction while back at the farias residence the tension is rising as veras prepares for his ''guest''. "Shadow is everything in place for the event ?" Veras ask the black clothed figure in front of him . "yes my lord we even set up that ''things'' for just in case ." Veras face grows solem at the mention of that ''thing''. "Hope to the gods that it doesn''t come to that and if it does may they have mercy on us for using it". veras looks over at the shadowy man and says " if it comes to that make sure my son is taken care of would you my old friend ?" Sadness is laced heavily in those words as the shadowy man bows to veras and says softly "my lord just needs to make sure that doesn''t happen ." he tries to cheer up veras to no avail as veras merely says "even so I leave this to you make him into a great man if I can''t"veras hands the man a small box with dragons roaring on it the the shadowy man . the man shudders as he takes the box and puts it in his space ring and goes to say something but is cut off by veras . "enough of that talk they come." He pulls out his bonded weapon and gets in position. Meanwhile nick and company arrive at the auction house which is built in a manner that surprises nick , it is built like a movie theater from earth almost done to the finest details . nick walks up to the doorman and says "I''d like a private room with a good view ." the doorman looks at nick and company and says bluntly "100 gold." Nick and it to the man and the man hands him a key with the number 15 on the handle of it . nick takes the key and walks past the doorman into the building and goes looking for the door that matches the key.nick finally finds the door and unlock it with the key and steps into the room and obsessed the layout and after finding it to his satisfaction he heads over to the row of fluffy chairs overlooking the stage where the items are going to be sold . On the stage there is an hourglass which is set to tell how much time until the auction starts noticing that he has a about an hour before it starts nick opens the system to turn in his second reward the supreme roulette ticket. Chapter 12 - Auction (2) Nick pulls up the roullete wheel and selects the supreme draw and starts the roulette. As the wheel spins nick is waiting eagerly to see the outcome , the wheel starts slowing down until it stops on a tile with a drop on it . ''what does that drop mean , maybe some sort of potion?'' Nick wonders to himself . _________________________________ *CONGRATULATIONS!* *Host has obtained a divine tier bloodline!* *would host like to integrate bloodline?(y/n)* _________________________________ Nick sees the notification and is startled by it as he didn''t expect to get something so ridiculous at this point in time . ''I suppose it sort of made sense since I did use a supreme ticket to roll with.'' Nick quickly reasons away the draw and agrees with the integration. The mo.ent nick accepted he felt his blood behind to boil as an extreme level of pain tears through his body. ''F.u.c.k! Why is this so goddamn painful!''nick screams in his head as his body begins to twitch and spasm on the ground frightening the three with him. One of the guards rushes over to nick with a worried look on his face "young master what''s going on!? are you alright!?" nick manages to stay conscious long enough to say through clenched teeth "I''m fine just a backlash of some medicine I took it will pass!" Then everything went black as nick passed out . Meanwhile within nicks body a small amount of liquid is destroying nicks bone marrow and replacing it with an almost golden version that begins to produce new blood in nicks body while destroying all the old blood after this process is done all the blood in nicks body is Scarlet with several slivers of gold running through it . after nicks blood is replaced the leftover liquid goes throughout nicks body and removes all the impurities as well as opens all of his meridians. After the liquid is finally exhausted nick finally regains consciousness . Seeing nick wake up the guard quickly waves his hand causing all the filthy that was sent out of nicks body to compare into a small ball revealing nicks new look underneath the impurities . Nicks once slightly tan skin has lost almost all color reminding one of a newborns skin. A formal pressure is released from nick as he wakes up causing everyone in the auction house to shake in fear as it feels like an old god reveals itself to the world . Nick opens his eyes and immediately notices the fearful looks coming from Sabrina and the guards faces which confuses him until the system pipes up. Host has successfully integrated with the bloodline. *WARRNING! HOST IS RELEASING AN OVERPOWERING PRESENCE SUPPRESS IMMEDIATELY!* Nick finally realized why his company looked so terrified and quickly closes his pores effectively suppressing his presence. As the pressure quickly dissipates the trio as well as everyone in the auction house let''s out a sigh of relief. One of the two guards quickly ask "young master what was the godly pressure just now?" Nick sort of scratches his head embarrassed and lies with "the medicine I took was one that unlocks ones innate ability ."the guard looks like he doesn''t quite believe it but chooses not to pursue the matter further. nick looks himself over in a nearby mirror and complains about how handsome he is now. One should keep in mind nick wanted to keep a low profile but the bloodline has changed him so no matter were he goes he will draw looks. ''System give me my status'' nick commands the system. *DING* NAME:Nicholas varia AGE:6yrs RACE:human/demigod Level:30 CULTIVATION:spirit gathering tier 3 SKILLS:swordsmanship lv4 , flame step lv2 , dragons rage lv3,divine might lv1 ABILITIES:awareness (user is aware of all things around them even without seeing it.) body control (user has complete control of their physique including nerves, pores,veins,etc) Divine charm (user naturally emits and aura that attracts others to them like a natural leader) STRENGTH:120 AGILITY:70 SPIRIT:150 CHARISMA:100 SYSTEM EVALUATION:getting better!* Chapter 13 - Auction(2) Nick sighs after seeing the new stat menu as he thought that divine was the grade of the bloodline and not that it came from an actual god . nick looks over at the hourglass on the auction podeum and after seeing that there was a few minutes left he chatted with Sabrina trying to get to know her a bit better as to be fair they did just meet not long ago. Shortly after they started talking a group of all the other participants of the auction come outside of the door to nick area so with faces of excitement and other nervousness. *BANG* BANG* The person at the front of the group knocks on the door and flinches at how loud it was . Nick hears the sound and wonders who it is at the door. He turns to one of the guards and says "go see what they want the auction is about to start soon anyway." The guard shakes his head slightly as he can guess what they want since that aura nick released was horrifying to those who were exposed to it . "as you wish young master" the guard says . he walks over to the door and opens it and immediately freezes as he sees the crowd of people a cold sweat breaks out on his back and he tries to put on the nicest face he can and says " might I ask as to what we owe the p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e ?" The man who knocked visibly relaxed when he didn''t see any anger on the guards face . "we were all wondering if we might be able to meet with the senior in there ?" The man says . The guard nods slightly in understanding and the replies with "though I don''t think you can call him a senior I will ask him first so please wait just a moment." The crowd is obviously confused about the guards senior remark as who else but an expert could release such an aura . the guard closes the door and walks over to nick who then ask "so what did they want?" The guard tries to keep a straight face as he says "the crowd outside want to meet with the senior in this room ." the guard fails to keep a straight face and sort of snickers while saying what the group wanted . nicks face grows dark as Sabrina and the two guards snicker to themselves. Nick calms himself down and thinks for a moment and says to the guard "tell them I will meet with the leaders of the group as after all this room is only so large and I''m not some damn zoo were everyone can come stare at me. " the guard nods and goes back to the door and opens it to see the anxious face outside and he then says "the young master says that he will meet with the leaders here since there is only so much space in the room ." most of the people in the crowd have disappointed looks while several middle aged people nod in understanding and begin to come to the front of the crowd , in total there are seven people who are all leaders of some group that want to meet nick and surprisingly four of them are women . the small group of people come into the room and before a word even comes out of their mouths they freeze dumbfounded at the scene in front of them . nick is merely sitting in his chair looking at the group who are staring at him . nick speaks up to break the awkward silence "hello everyone might I ask why you wanted to see me ?" Every single person in that group has the same thought ''this child is the senior ?'' . The people finally figured out what the guard meant earlier about not being called a senior . one of the women speaks up "I''m elder teria of the fallen knight sect might I know who you are ?" Nick observes the women , she has black hair with green eyes and a fairly decent fact she''s about six feet even and is wearing a tight fitting robe that shows all her curves just right. "My name is nicholas farias of house farias a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to make your acquaintance." Elder teria then rather bluntly ask "were you the one who released that aura earlier?" Nick is surprised at how start forward she is and answers "ah that yes that was due to a certain medicine I accidentally released that aura I apologize if it disturbed you." Chapter 15 - Gray key (2) Nick looks at the key that the auctioneer is presenting curiously. In the back of his mind a sort of warning is going off telling him there''s more to that key than it seems. ''System appraise that let'' nick commands. *DING* *starting appraisal.....ding appraisal finished * A status window appears before nicks eyes and upon reading it immediately nods in understanding. Nick checks his gold and begins to plan on how to obtain the key . (mind you all of this happens inside the space of about 10 seconds because cultivation don''t at me). The auctioneer speaks up "the starting price is 50 silver with a minimum bid of 10 silver begin bidding." "60 silver!" "70 silver!" Nick calls out his bid "50 gold!". The auction house instantly becomes quiet at the massive increase in price. The auctioneer is also stunned for a brief period before snapping out of it . "50 gold going once!" "Twice!" "Thri...." A voice cuts in as the auctioneer was speaking. "51 gold!". Nick recognized the voice as belonging to elder ferias. ''Why is she trying to get the key?''nick wonders for a moment and after drawing a blank ignore it as mere coincidence and raises the bid again. "100 gold!" In elder ferias booth the woman is clenching her teeth at the obvious intimdation tactic nick is using to get the key not because of pride or any other such thing but because its working she simply can''t keep bidding with nick unless she wants to have to explain why she spent so much for an item with seemingly no use. ''You win this time brat '' she thinks as she huffs and waits for the key to go to nick. The auctioneer is numb to nicks tactic at this time and immediately speaks out after confirming that no one is going to cut in this time. "100 gold going once!" "Twice!" "Thrice!" "Sold to the young lord in the private booth!" After the auctioneer says that the attendant comes and grabs the key and places it into a small box and walks to nicks booth to deliver the key as well as to get the payment .the auctioneer waits for the attendant to verify payment then signals for the next item to be brought out.The next items is a cultivation technique which nick is not interested in.nick is looking at the key in his hand with a wide grin on his face because of the item status in front of him. ITEM:KEY OF TREASURE GRADE:8 DESCRIPTION:the key to the mythic dawn sect treasure store house once activated properly will lead the bearer to a separate dimension were all the mythic dawns treasure is located. SYSTEM EVALUATION:MEH _______________________________ nick has gotten into the habit of ignoring the system evaluation since it isn''t useful most of the time. Sabrina''s is looking a nick curiously since has that huge grin on his face . "you seem happy about that key ." she says inquisitively. Nick looks over at her and ask" if you just got a huge amount of money for very little wouldn''t you also be grinning?" Sabrina''s face changes from curiosity to excitement ."does that mean you know what this key is used for them?" Nick nods and begins to explain "this is in fact a dimensional key that opens the separate dimension were all the mythic dawns treasure is located, in other words this is literally an entire sects fortune." Sabrina is immediately stunned and though they try not to show it the guards are also shocked at the child in front of them. Meanwhile the auction has continued and another item is being sold at the moment . Ironically elder teria would probably be cough blood out of anger if she knew what she was missing by letting the key go. Meanwhile back at the farias clan building several charred corpses lay scattered on the ground as veras is panting in front of a small group of 3 people and while veras is not injured they are covered in several gashs and burns . "damn you veras just die already you f.u.c.k.i.n.g bastard!" One of the group a man who looks middle aged yells while launching an axe swing which cleaves the air apart towards the severely tired veras. Veras quickly dodges the attack and swings his longsword which blazes and cries of a phoenix faintly echo towards the man''s now unguarded side cleanly bisecting him and scorching the wound instantly killing the man. Veras looks toward the two other people who are cowering before the extreme bloodl.u.s.t raidiating from him ."this has gone on long enough " veras says while raising his sword above his head . seeing this action the two begin begging for their lives to which veras snorts in disdain and draws a flaming circle in the air above him "IFRIT TEMPEST!" Veras yells and a massive pillar of scarlet flames fill the courtyard incinerating all the bodies and well as the two people trying to escape leaving only a massive scorch mark as evidence that they were there. Veras uses his sword to keep himself on his feet as his knees buckle from exhaustion . "Its over ..... For now" he says as he barely makes it into the nearby room and passes out as soon as he relaxed. The shadowy figure from before appears tho guard veras while he rest . "sleep well my lord" they say softly. Chapter 15 - gray key Nick acts as sincere as he can towards the group as he is aware that the current him is not strong enough to afford to offend so many top powers at once. Elder teria and the rest are stunned at nicks answer as a look of greed starts to creep through their eyes . seeing this nick quickly adds "I don''t have any more of it though as after all it was extremely rare." The greed quickly changes to disappointment when the group hears what nick says . elder teria then ask "if it is so rare might I know what this medicine is called ?" The rest of the group perks up when they here elder terias question. Nick thinks about what to say and then says "since it seems like there is no harm from what I can see in telling you what its called the medicine is called the bloodline awakening pill." The group immediately understands what the aura they felt earlier was from the name nick said. Elder teria then rubs her chin in contemplation and finally let''s out a defeated sigh . "it seems that medicine is truly rare as I can''t recall any such thing at all which normally would be suspicious however the aura you released earlier didn''t feel like it was backed by vast amounts of power but was indeed similar to a presence that could be created from a bloodline." She says. The other leaders think about it and find that it was indeed as elder teria said. Elder teria then speaks "might I know what kind of bloodline you have awakened because it is surely amazing." Nick catches onto the flattery at the end and has a bad feeling about it so he says "I have no idea you''d have to ask my father but even he might not know." elder teria notices how nick passes on the problem to his father and clicks her tongue in irritation while thinking to herself that nick was quite clever to try to remove himself from the equation . Nick sees that the group might ask more in depth questions so he then says "as this has been all cleared up I''d ask that you return to your areas so the auction can go on ." nick smiles nicely as he tries urging the group away as politely as possible . Elder teria picks up on nicks intentions and frowns slightly as she unwillingly leaves the room with the group of leaders from the other factions and then walks over to the members of her section the turns to a skinny pale man with a horrible facial scar and says "keep tabs on the young boy in that room he didn''t say a single true word since I walked in there." The pale man nods without a word and vanished as though he was never there. meanwhile nick relaxed since the group is now gone and turns to the position where the last few grains of sand is falling down . nick then looks over to his companion and says "the auction is about to start " the two guards and sabrina each take their seats and the instant the last grain falls a lean green robed old man with a blade head and thick beard walks up the stage to the podium. "Welcome ladies and gentleman to the green dragons annual auction. I know some of you are new to the auction so I will briefly go over the rules . no one can threaten anyone else in the auction this includes verbal or otherwise. Next should anyone attack someone who purchased something at the auction to snatch the item and we should find out about it there will be consequences. And finally items can be traded for gold should you find yourself lacking. With all that said let the auction begin!" A beautiful young woman walks onto the stage with a tray before setting it down and lifting the cover revealing a dull gray key that looks fairly plain at first glance. The old man then introduced the item . "this key was found in an ancient ruin that once belonged to a sect that was destroyed in the dark era however this key can''t be destroyed no matter what we tried to do so naturally we simply want to get rid of it in hopes that someone can figure out what it is used for." Chapter 17 - Not a chapter Money value :copper(lowest value) :silver(worth 100 copper) :gold(worth 1000 silver) :platinum(worth 10000 gold) :more later ------------------------------------------------- Roulette ticket value From lowest to greatest:normal,elite,rare,legend,and supreme. -------------------------------------------------- (Each rank divided into low,medium and high tiers) Ranks are 1 through 10 :more later ------------------------------------------------- Cultivation tiers (Each tier divided into 9 ranks) :body refinement(refines body so it can withstand the power of the next tier) :spirit gathering (fills dantian with qi in preparation for creating the origin core) :origin core(true starting point for cultivators , refines qi in dantian into solid core to use as foundation for the nacent soul.) :void chasing(has touched upon the power of minor laws with the nacent soul.) :void entering(has mastered half of a minor law) :void completion(has full mastery of a minor law.) :more later ------------------------------------------------ World back story There are three major continents and several small ones,the mc is currently on one of the small ones called karas island.(more on that later) each of the major continents is split into 1 empire, several kingdoms and several clans\tribes each. Chapter 18 - MYTHIC DAWN WAREHOUSE Nick held the gray key into the light to let the guards and sabrina get a better look at it.the key had a hoop on the back and a narrow gray metal shaft that ended in a sphere with multiple deep intersecting groove that came together into a crestlike symbol. Nick grinned in satisfaction while the others look in awe at the key. *DING* *Would host like to activate the key?* ''System what would happen if I did?'' *A large portal to the warehouse would open in front of were host was pointing the key.* ''How large we talking here?'' *7feet tall and 5 feet wide.* Nick looks around the private room and immediately decided using the key here would be a very bad idea. ''System I''m going to hold off on that until I get back home.'' *understood* Nick places the key into his inventory and turns to the three dissatisfied faces that are looking at him. Scratching his head nervously he says "I''ll use it when I get back home, if I used it here everyone would notice the portal through the balcony after all you can see everyone who is watching this place quite heavily." He gestures to the crowd on the ground floor causing the others to look over and indeed there were several heated gazes looking up at the balcony hoping to see why he spent so much on a useless key. Sabrina''s face grows slightly red in embarrassment and the two guards weren''t much better coughing awkwardly while trying not to make eye contact with nick. Meanwhile the spy elder terias sent to listen in on nick left quickly to go report what nick said about the key to his companions .''i might even get a promotion for this information'' the man thought while stealthily making his way towards the room where terias is when suddenly his back breaks out in a cold sweat and before he can even react to the threat he falls apart into a cloud of ash with a (Poof) sound. *Threat elimination complete removing funds* Startled nick ask ''system what the hell I didn''t even do anything and you''re charging me!'' *DING* *Host life was in danger so system erased it ,if host isdissatisfied with this function system will turn it off till host says otherwise.* Nick couldn''t help but ask ''system what was the danger that you acted on your own for ?'' *Host was being spied on which posed no threat, however upon hearing host unnecessary bragging decided to report to his superior and after calculating all outcomes there was a 97 percentage that host would be killed for the key.* Nick shivers at the systems speach as he wasn''t even aware of the danger he was in before he sighs and replied with ''system how do you decide which threats to eliminate ?'' *System calculates whether host can handle the threats before taking action otherwise host would never grow.* ''I suppose that makes sense '' nick agrees with the systems statement before suddenly coming to a realization ''does that mean i''ll never get in over my head because you''ll take care of it for me?'' *Negative host will have to live will have to deal with host own consequences system will only interfere if host has no knowledge of a major threat however if host causes such a threat then host will have to solve it .* ''Wait if that''s the case then why did you solve the threat just now if my bragging caused it?'' *Host bragging was only a minor factor in the threat as calculations show that host would be killed if the spy had remained alive even if host had not bragged.* ''what ,why would I be killed if I hadn''t bragged ?'' Nick asked confused . *Host has been seen to posses wealth,powerful medicine and is weak while being from a small city the perfect target to rob and as such kill to silence.* Nick thought over everything he had done so far and as the system had said even he thought robbing himself was a good idea even killing him afterwards seemed reasonable as noone likes to deal with revenge obsessed people so nipping the problem in the bud made sense . nick was silent the rest of the auction as there was nothing he saw that he wanted he even had the system appraise everything to make sure he didn''t miss anything but it proved to be a pointless task as it was all low quality stuff with perhaps a beast cub that was auctioned as the final item but even that was only so-so. After the auction nick hurried back to the mansion with sabrina and the two guards and the only thing that seemed out of place was the lack of plants in the main courtyard as everything else had already been restored. suddenly a middle ages man with black hair who is about 5''9 and a toned build walks out of one of the side rooms as if on que. "Hello young master did you enjoy the auction ?" The man ask with a kind smile. Nick grins as he see''s one of his favorite people in the mansion the head Butler drasius. "Yes I got a real treasure I''m sure father will want to see ." nick says childishly. Chapter 18 - MYTHIC DAWN WAREHOUSE(2) Drasius smiled warmly at nicks antics ''he may act a bit more m.a.t.u.r.e but in the end he is still a child.'' He thinks to himself while waiting for nick to calm down a bit. After nick calms down a bit he watched drasius tell him that veras overdrew his power while training earlier and was thus resting and shouldn''t be disturbed. "Hmm that''s unfortunate OK I''ll talk to him when he wakes up in the meantime." Nick points at Sabrina who was hiding behind nick as unlike nick the natural aura coming off of the butler frightened her greatly. "this is sabrina I saved her from a slaver on my way to the auction earlier, I hope you can get her a room and help her acclimate to her new life." For the first time since he came out the warm smile on drasius''s face fell as he glared at sabrina thinking she might have taken advantage of nick to get saved as he had seen slaves try to many times with anyone they think might be able to help them. Noticing the look drasius was giving her sabrina shrunk behind nick even more than before. Nick glanced at drasius and he says again a little more forceful than before "I SAVED HER." Drasius noticed the implications behind what nick said and the warm smile comes back to his as he thinks ''of course the young master wouldn''t be fooled by such a thing shame on me for thinking such things.'' drasius mentally scolds himself. "of course young master" drasius says to nick before speaking to sabrina. "apologies young lady for my rudeness we''ll get you all settled in just a moment " Sabrina as if noticing his sincerity stops hiding behind nick and stands nervously next to nick before walking over to drasius and bowing slightly. Drasius nods at her actions and says "now that you''ve been introduced follow me and I''ll get you set up in your new room and assign some small chores for you among the maids." Sabrina nods and follows drasius off as nick and the two now suspiciously nervous guards remain in the main courtyard. "Well best get back to duty you two." Nick says to the two guards who jump when he speaks. "O-of course s-sir" one of the guards says as they both rush away leaving nick standing there a little confused ''wonder if drasius made them nervous , the man is pretty damn intimidating if you don''t do your job oh well.'' Nick thinks as he makes his way to his garden courtyard . After arriving he stops dead in his tracks as he noticed some of his plants had been trampled as a look of irritation comes onto his face and he uses a bit of his qi to heal the plants that can still be saved while removing the destroyed ones. while nick tends his plants the two guards are talking in hushed voices in a corner. "What happened I thought everything was supposed to be destroyed, why is veras still alive it doesn''t make sense!" One of them says . "I don''t know maybe the plan changed last minute so they couldn''t inform us?" The other questions doubtful. "Seems i caught a few little mice who survived the pack!" A deep voice echo''s into the twos ears sending shivers down their back as they react immediately leaping towards an exit to escape. "Too late!" The voice says as the very shadows that the two were using for cover latch onto them and devour their bodies before they can even cry out making a squelching sound before transforming into a pitch black panther with eyes that look like a galaxy and fur that almost seems to devour light and a size about as big as a small car. The panther licks its chops before it speaks to itself "only right for mice to be eaten by a cat .hahahaha" While it fades into the wall it laughs at its self fulfilling joke. Meanwhile after nick fixes what he can from his garden he enters his room and begins cultivating at the systems advice since it said that was the best way to past the time . And like that a week went by without nick noticing and within that week veras had managed to recover enough to move around and the grass in the main courtyard grew back as well as in Nick''s garden. Chapter 20 - MYTHIC DAWN WAREHOUSE(FINAL) Nick opens his eyes and immediately notices how much sharper his vision is compared to when he started his cultivation he sees the particles of dust floating around him in fine detail and can''t help but marvel how useful cultivation is . standing up nick radiates a small amount of qi from his pores sending the thin later of dust on him floating away while releasing his aura out slightly before closing his pores once again . that brief outburst however was enough to grab the attention of everyone in the mansion as they all stopped what they were doing at the aura that suddenly reared up like a king demanding attention. Veras looks up from the pile of paperwork in front of him and smiles ''he''s awake'' he thinks before standing up and settling the paperwork into a nice even stack before walking towards nicks courtyard. Nick sees the amount of dust that came off of him ''system how long was I cultivating for?''he ask curiously. *DING* *Host has been cultivating for exactly 6 days 14 hours 57 minutes and 12 seconds.* After nick hears the system he nods in understanding as this has happened to him before which bothered him at first but since veras insisted that it was normal he eventually got over it.''I have been out for a while let''s see what''s changed,system status!'' *DING* *NAME:Nicholas varia AGE:6yrs RACE:human/demigod BLOODLINE:Wargod Level:35 CULTIVATION:spirit gathering tier 5 SKILLS:swordsmanship lv4 , flame step lv2 , dragons rage lv3,divine might lv1 body control (user has complete control of their physique including nerves, pores,veins,etc) Divine charm (user naturally emits an aura that attracts others to them like a natural leader) (??????) STRENGTH:140 AGILITY:90 SPIRIT:160 INTELLIGENCE:70 CHARISMA:100 SYSTEM EVALUATION:almost good!* Nick sees that besides a small increase in stats theres an ability that doesn''t have a name or description only question marks. "OK system whats with this ability here that''s all strange?'' *DING* *Host remembers the object with the unusual energy ?* ''Yes?'' *While host was cultivating system analyzed and absorbed it granting host that ability since it will help host later.* ''Ok that explains where it came from but not what it is '' *Host cultivation is to low to access the ability and it is thus hidden to prevent host from injuring themselves.* Nick nods and walks out of his room into the courtyard and after seeing his garden back to full health he begins to walk towards his fathers office before noticing that the two guards who should be by his courtyard are missing before dismissing it entirely. Veras drasius and sabrina all arrive in the main courtyard at the same time and drasius and sabrina greet veras respectfully while veras nods in acknowledge and they wait for about 5 minutes before nick walks out of his courtyard and into the main one where he is not at all surprised to see the others there as he figured they felt his aura just a second ago. "I was informed you had quite the gains at the auction eh kid?" Veras says while grinning. Nick smiles happily and takes out the key to show his father proudly. Veras takes the key from nick and looks it over carefully before giving it back to nick with a look of loss on his face "I can''t say I see what''s so special about this key besides the material which is quite hard as even with my strength I couldn''t harm it even a little just now." Nick held the key protectively after veras said that making him scratch his head sheepishly ."how could you try testing the strength of the key without saying anything before hand!" Nick complained to his father who meremy fidgeted slightly Before turning serious "that little miss over there said that you told her that key could store and entire sects fortune si it was a little hard to believe is all." Veras says seriously. Nick nods in understanding before asking the system to use the key. *DING* *ACTIVATING PORTAL.....3.2.1 ACTIVATED* Nick points the key to the middle of the courtyard when it starts shining and a beam of light about the size of a pencil shot from the end of the key in a straight line till it gets two feet from the end where it seems to strike something causing it to disappear into bright flash blinding everyone looking right at it temporarily . After everyones vision returns they see a large pair of metal doors with two sins chasing each other across them constantly entrancing those looking at it until veras and drasius manage to free themselves from the enchantment and quickly remove the two youths from it as well . nick almost panicked when he came too as he had no idea that would happen . "Well since the doors there let''s check it out I''m curious what is in there ." nick says while he pushes the doors open revealing what inside. Chapter 21 - WEALTH GALORE! In the doors there was a massive room so big nick thought it might have been endless.linenig the floor for as far as nick could see was a vast assortment of treasures literally everywhere. "Holy shit!" Nick and veras exclaimed at the same time before immediately looking at the other in shock. Drasius''s reaction was a bit more tame as his eyes were wide and his jaw was open as for Sabrina''s she fainted almost immediately after seeing the vast riches. ''System if this is your idea of meh than you sight must be f.u.c.k.i.n.g massive.'' *DING* *Host is mistaken I evaluated the KEY as meh not what it led to.* ''Semantics.'' ''Also what am I even going to do with all of this stuff, I can guarantee that I''ll never use some of this stuff!'' Nick ask the system worried. *DING* *Trade it to the system in exchange for points based on evaluation or a new skill or ability in some cases.* Nick was startled at the systems answer as he wasn''t aware of that he could do that. ''Hang on so I was strapped for points this whole time when I could have just given you some stuf instead?'' *affirmative* Nick cursed himself for not asking how to acquire points before making him feel like an idiot. Nick walked over to a small mountain of treasure and with a flick of his sleeve collects it into his inventory and after quickly setting out what was useful or not he just feeds the rest to the system earning him a good number of points and after confirming that he got points for the stuff he turns to the others and says "what are you Waiting for grab what you want because I''m clearing all of this place out and not leaving anything behind!" Upon hearing what nick said veras cries out "why Though you have the key and no one can get in here without it why not save something for your descendants!" Nick looks at veras seriously and says "if even as whisper of this got out what makes you think we can hold onto the key?" After that nick began to collect the treasure in vast amounts at a time without stopping but even with his rate of collection it didn''t even seem like he was leaving a mark on the horde. Veras thinks about what nick said and sees the truth of what nick says and steeles his heart to leave nothing behind and he starts grabbing anything that drew his attention as drasius and sabrina both snap out of their dazed state and dive in following the others example Sabrina was the slowest as she had next to no idea what she was looking at most of the time just like nick however unlike him she didn''t have a system to label everything for her so she just grabs as many space rings as she can wear and starts stuffing them with loot. Meanwhile on the far side of the continent a person who appears to be a skeleton awakes as the eye sockets glow from an eery blue flame in the back of them . a raspy voice that would grate against ones ears leaves the skeleton "I feel a vast aura of yin and yang energy has erupted from somewhere along with a dense metal aura as well, someone must have found an abandoned sects warehouse for me, let me go show them my gratitude haha hahaha!" The skeleton stands up making it bones creak and groan before it launches it self into the air leaving a loud boom as it streaks through the sky heading in a certain direction Cackling madly along the way. Nick unaware of the danger heading his way continues ripping through the vast amounts of treasure constantly gaining points and gold as he goes leaving his wealth at an absolutely ridiculous figure after he goes through half of the sea of treasure in about 30 minutes stunning the other three at his progress as the have only gotten about a fifth of what he''s gotten as he is quite literally sprinting through the treasures while they are at most fast walking after seeing the speed of nick not slowing down the other three come to a silent agreement to just haphazardly stuff their rings with treasure without caring what it is like nick and within another 15 minutes the entire warehouse is completely empty without a single coin left in it. Upon sorting their gains all four of them exit the warehouse and nick seals it again making the doors fade away as though they weren''t there to begin with . Suddenly the system goes off . *WARNING ATTACK INCOMING ACTIVATING AUTO DEFENSE MANEUVER!* A pillar of black flames erupts everywhere within a 20 mile radius turning everything into glass except nick who was protected by the system leaving him alone on the wasteland that once was his home . nick can''t even begin to process what just happened from the speed that it happened the moment his mind catches up to the event that occurred it snaps for the shear weight of it causing him to black out. Chapter 22 - THE AFTERMATH Nick woke up with a with a sudden jolt as he opens his eyes adjusting to the darkness around him while he hears men speaking and the sound of water crashing against the side of something reminding him of when he went fishing before he died. ''Ugh why do I ache all over?'' Nick mentally complains while trying to sit up groaning as he does so. Looking around nick finds himself in a small wooden room with a simple bed and small table next to it with nothing else visible . after seeing that he wasn''t dreaming he starts crying softly as everything he has come to know in this life ,his father ,mother,friends are all gone. While nick cries over his losses a person opens the door to the room startling nick as well as being startled . the person is a girl with deep green hair and piercing silver eyes who appears to be about 9 and has started to lose her baby fat. The girl having been startled dropped what she was holding a pewter bowl filled with some kind of broth that spills all over the floor. "Ah! I''m so sorry I didn''t think you''d be awake so I made a message please forgive me." The girl says timidly while struggling to clean the mess the floor . nick waves his hand sending qi into the soup causing it to disappear . the girl is shocked once again and backs away from nick before asking "you''re a cultivator aren''t you?" Nick sees her reaction to his use of qi and guesses she is a commoner who hasn''t seen a cultivator before . "yes " nick says as a voice that was almost foreign to him escaped his lips as it was deeper than he remembered. The girl seems shaken by his answer and quickly leaves in a hurry without shutting the door behind her . nick stands up from the bed and wobble a little from lack of coordination . ''why am I taller, why is my hair so long, and why am I n.a.k.e.d?'' Nick questions a bunch of things that don''t add up. ''System'' He calls out . *DING* As the ding goes off in his head a massive amount of notifications pop up filling his vision for about 2 minutes straight. ''Geez theres just so many I can''t keep up! Clear!'' The notifications all disappear leaving his vision normal at last . nick opens his inventory and takes out a set of clothes and tries to get dressed but he finds that all of his clothes are several sizes to small so he grabs the only size changing item he has which is a long plain gray robe and puts it on leaving him a bit uncomfortable but otherwise covered. After that he calls out to the system again ''systems''. *DING* *yes host?* ''I can''t remember anything after THAT happened what occurred after?''he emphasized the word that to makes sure the system could figure out what he meant with having to says such a traumatic thing. *After it occurred the host lost consciousness and unconsciously activated the destruction mode and proceeded to destroy the entire continent host was on including the cause of the incident then ceased all activity.* ''So I flattened the entire continent!'' Nick was astounded by such a revelation Before the system said. *Negative host DESTROYED the entire continent it no longer exist.* Nicks mind practically short circuited after the system spoke . After about 5 minutes of silence a tall burly man with leather tanned skin and thick facial that was the same green as the girl before walks into the room cautiously while eying nick like a dangerous animal. The man spoke with a deep booming voice that shook nick out of his mindstate. "Who are you?" Chapter 23 - AFTERMATH (2) Nick clears his mind before he answers "my name is nicholas farias son of veras farias ,who are you? Where is this?" The man strokes his beard in contemplation before answering "well seeing as I can''t think of anyone with a name like yours on the wanted list I suppose introductions are in order I''m Jakob cero and this timid little lass behind me is my daughter rose." Jakob points at his daughter who bows "nice to meet you ,again." Rose says politely. Nick nods at her and turns to Jakob and asked"and where am I?" Jakob thinks about the question "what was the last date you remember?"he asked seriously.nick is confused by the question and says "the 22 of the third month of the frostmourn era,why?" Jakob looks at nick with an odd look that nick doesn''t recognize. Jakob the said something that caused nick to freeze "that was 6 years ago right before the disaster happened as I feared , that makes you the only known survivor to date." Nick was horrified at how long he was out as he was already aware of the destruction of the continent at his hands. "6 years.... Has it truly been that long?"he asked not truly believing it . jakob turns solem "aye lad we picked you up out of the sea and have taken care of you all this time while you''ve been in a coma." Nick was saddened to hear how much time had passed since he lost everything he cared for. "Can I ask you something lad do you know what caused the land to vanish like that? Don''t mean to be rude or nothing its just that no one knows what happened save maybe you." Jakob says seriously. nick replies solemnly"heartbreak" before going quiet. ''Systems'' *yes?* ''Show me my status'' *NAME:Nicholas varia AGE:12yrs RACE:human/demigod BLOODLINE:Wargod Money:7000000000 DC:2591 Level:20 CULTIVATION:body refinement tier 9 SKILLS:swordsmanship lv4 , flame step lv2 , dragons rage lv3,divine might lv1 ABILITIES:awareness (user is aware of all things around them even without seeing it.) body control (user has complete control of their physique including nerves, pores,veins,etc) Divine charm (user naturally emits an aura that attracts others to them like a natural leader) STRENGTH:90 AGILITY:70 SPIRIT:270 INTELLIGENCE:50 CHARISMA:100 SYSTEM EVALUATION:a Pity* Nick raged at the systems evaluation ''the f.u.c.k you mean a pity what are you unhappy that I was in a F.U.C.K.I.N.G COMA this entire time!'' *Host has lost valuable time to become powerful* ''I just lost everything I care about and you''re more worried about that f.u.c.k.i.n.g goal of yours, you can go eat a d.i.c.k you bastard!'' Nick began to ignore the system out of anger which caused the system to ignore him leaving the two in an awkward stalemate. Nick turned his attention back to Jakob and rose who were waiting for him to stop changing expressions before going into his inventory and pulling out a space ring with half a million gold in it and a decent cultivation technique and handed it to jakob whos mouth was wide enough to stuff a goose egg in it . jakob panicked shortly afterwards and tried to give the items back but nick refused saying that he owed them a least much before looking at a world map and jumped off the boat and started running on the water towards the largest continent nearby that was named the Inca continent. Nick cultivated while he ran , which normally would be dangerous however he was only regaining what he lost meaning there was no risk of deviation. This went on for about a week before he finally made it to the land causing a commotion in the city he arrived at , the city of sedna a large port city that was built almost entirely out of a strange red concrete that mixed with the green trees and blue roofs made the city extremely eye catching , however all of the common people were in awe of nick who literally walked into the city from on top of the sea making it obvious he wasn''t a normal person. From the excited crowd a very fat man with a thick mustache and glasses that glinted with the sunlight walked up to nick while causing the crowd to back away. "Greeting young man I''m casmet junos the lord of this city might I ask what an esteemed cultivator is doing in my city?"casmet asked without any wasted time. Nick looks at the man "I''m going to stay here for a few days before heading to the capital for some business." He explained. before walking away leaving the man and crowd behind to process his words. Chapter 24 - Recovery Nick walked through the city streets till he came across an inn made with that same red cement and blue roof, the inn however had one major difference , the huge wooden sign that hung from beside the door with an image of a horse with a flagon of ale in its mouth. Nick pushes the door open and is greeted by the stench of sweat and ale as he gave slightly before closing his nostrils. Nick walks up to the bar and waits for the innkeep to come to him.the innkeep was a thing man with a rough face and large hands, the innkeep walks of to were nick is sitting "whatcha wantin "the man asked gruffly . "I''ll take a room for 3 months without food"nick said expressionless. The man eyed nick for a moment before saying"its 3 silver per month 4 if you want fresh sheets everyday so 9 or 12 silver depending on your choice." Nick silently takes out 1 gold coin places it on the counter holds out his hand and says "room and key". The in keep quickly takes the coin for fear of anyone else seeing it before handing nick a key and saying "room 5 at the end of the hall ." nick takes the key nods and heads up the stairs and enters the room.(basically inn style room no need for details here).''Systems'' *yes?* ''How long did you say it would take to reach origin core if I used my full effort again?'' *approximately 2 months and 23 days should host became serious.* ''Then I''ll see you in 3 months.'' At that nick sank into a deep meditation where at else fades away and began cultivating with all of his focus. Like that almost 3 months pass when nick noticed that his qi began to act oddly as it explained and contracted like it was breathing while in the center of his qi mass a drop of waterlike qi appeared then another and another until all of his qi was liquified and it all gathered into an orb that sat in the middle of his dantian making him think that was it before it suddenly started drawing in massive amounts of qi while refining it and compressing it into more liquid until hisentire dantian was flooded with liquid qi. All the liquid qi then began the process of compressing until it turned into a bright crystal orb before all activity stopped and nick opened his eyes and felt all the changes in his body as his muscles grew denser and more defined and he could use qi farther away from his body and that the quality was far greater than better than before.''so this is what the origin core is like incredible no wonder there was no stories of someone weaker beating someone far stronger with just there cultivation and no trick the difference is like an ant facing a dragon ,almost useless.'' *Indeed host is correct* ''System show me my statuses'' *NAME:Nicholas varia AGE:12yrs RACE:human/demigod BLOODLINE:Wargod Money:699499999 DC:2591 Level:40 CULTIVATION:origin core tier 1 ABILITIES:awareness (user is aware of all things around them even without seeing it.) Body control (user has complete control of their physique including nerves, pores,veins,etc) Divine charm (user naturally emits an aura that attracts others to them like a natural leader) Nature child (user is accepted by the laws of the universe, let one culture without anger the heavens) STRENGTH:200 AGILITY:160 SPIRIT:400 INTELLIGENCE:110 CHARISMA:250 Nick accepts the spike in attributes as it only made sense but the nature child ability caught him off guard.''is nature child the ability I got from that cube?'' *Affirmative* ''Makes sense i would unlock it when I reached origin core ,so system anything I should know about this level of cultivation?'' *host can project qi from the body as well as unlock the elemental affinity as well as start learning laws at the lowest level.* ''Wait does that mean I can start learning alchemy and arrays?'' *Affirmative* ''Sweet ok open the ship'' Nick goes into the shop and begins looking for 3 things a main cultivation method a basic alchemy manual and a basic array manual. Chapter 25 - Perfectly balanced Nick looked through all of the techniques and finds one that catches his attention . ''system what''s up with this technique here?'' *DING* *Host is referring to the ''image marble'' technique yes?* ''Yep that''s the one.'' *That technique was created with the sole purpose of perfection in mind however due to how abstract the concept is the creator went mad after making only that amount of it ,it is unknown what limit the technique has if any thus the lack of description.* ''So its an imperfect perfect technique?'' *Not quite it is perfect however it cannot be perfect if its is finished.* ''Ok now you''ve lost me how can an unfinished technique be perfect?'' *as it is the technique is perfect no matter who would use it however as every person is different the final form of the technique is only perfect for that one person and no one else in otherwords it can be considered the foundation for whoever uses it to create a technique uniquely perfect for them.* ''If its so awesome why is it only 100 points?'' *Host seems to think creating a technique is easy ,host is gravely mistaken.* ''How difficult are we talking right now?'' *About as hard as you killing a void completion expert without systems help.* nick sucks in a breath at the difficulty ''is the end result worth it?'' *do you think a potentially perfect for you technique is worth a near ridiculous amount of effort?* Nick thought about it and it did seem like it might be worth it if the technique he got was perfect in the end. *so It seems it is worth it you* ''Yeah yeah no reason to be smart with me , just give me the thing.'' *Affirmative* After confirmation a thick black leather book with arcane symbols appeared in nicks hands before he stored it away . nick goes through the shop and picks out a basic alchemy Manual and basic array manual which showed up just like the technique from before which he stored as well before taking out the (image marble) technique and began reading , After about 5 minutes nick puts the book down and sighs in appreciation before he starts circulating qi as the technique says and his qi starts to change from green to white before rapids darkening til it turned black as night giving nick an extremely evil look , however his qi gave the impression of being perfectly balanced Like all of the elements all at once rather than merely some of them like most techniques. Nick looks at his qi and is satisfied that it truly does contain all of the elements because he wanted to have no weaknesses the downside to this is that his cultivation speed is going to be far harder maintained now much to the systems obvious unhappiness.After nick memorized the technique he discovered that the highest stage that it covered was the void completion so he still has plenty of time to learn how he was going to use this technique to create his own unique technique that was perfect for him with no upper limit. nick then took out both the array manual and the alchemy Manual and began to memorize both of them rapidly the easiest was the alchemy manual which only listed how to refine pills on a basic level and added a few dos and don''ts to give a basic understanding of the craft however it did point out how important knowledge about the ingredients is because otherwise you might mistake a heavily treasure with a weed and fail horribly at pill making without knowing why. The book on arrays though that caused nick to frown deeply because it introduced all of the different symbols used in making arrays and how they work by triggering certain laws in a particular way then giving an example of an array from each of the different elements including a basic alchemy array that makes qi easier to manipulate thus making it easier to create pills. After nick was done with those two books he bought a few more books on different ingredients as well as basic arrays as well as a cauldron for pill refining that was of tier 5 mid. Chapter 26 - Tier 1 alchemist Nick memorized the books of ingredients and took the cauldren out and grab a few different ingredients from his inventory from when he cleaned out the mythic dawn sects warehouse based on the kind of pill he wanted to make, a healing pill. Nick then began to add his qi into the cauldron until a fire formed inside the bottom of it ,after he got the fire to were he thought would be OK started haphazardly throwing in the ingredients and trying to purify them before a foul stench came out of the cauldron causing him to be surprised that he failed.''what went wrong i did what the book said ,bring fire to temperature,add ingredients,purify ingredients,shape pill,solidify pill, I don''t get what went wrong?'' Nick thought to himself. Not being able to stand it the system sooner up. *Host is trying to do everything all at once rather than 1 at a time.* ''Oooh so that''s the problem thanks system.'' *Do not thank system , host was making system look bad* Nick was speechless at the system which basically told him to that he was making obvious mistakes in what he was doing before starting again. ''If you''re so great why don''t you make these pills then!''nick antagonized mentally. *Activate creation mode Y/N?* Stunned nick practically slaps himself for being so forgetful before he does activate the creation mode. Instantly nick feels an odd sensation like he was in the passenger seat telling were he wanted to go. Nicks body started going through all of the steps for making a pill almost automaticly performing like an alchemist grandmaster would, with shockingly efficient movements. if an alchemist were to watch nick right now they would almost be guaranteed to have some insights into alchemy due to how perfect the systems actions were. After about an hour of time a pleasant aroma rose from the cauldron filling the air while starteling everyone in the inn (He''s still there) who all broke through into the body refinement tier at various levels due to the effect just the air was having on them. Meanwhile in nicks room nick was staring at the results of the pill making with exhausted eyes as creation mode drains him of energy as a price. There in the cauldron lay three cyan blue pills with a faint shine to them . *Ding* *Alchemist tier 1 obtained* Nick no sooner got the notifications then did all the knowledge of a tier 1 alchemist brand itself to his mind.nick felt the pain of the knowledge before it disappeared just as quick. ''system why did I only get the alchemist skill after I made the pill?'' *Host has knowledge of alchemy but no actual experience so the skill was obtained after host created host first pill * ''But creation mode made it not me'' *creation mode operates based on the knowledge host currently has on the subject at it''s most efficient in this case tier 1 alchemy knowledge .* ''So the knowledge dump after I acquired the skill was merely all of the hands on experience it would have taken to get the skill?'' *Affirmative* Nick was thrilled knowing he basically just skipped the hardest part to becoming an alchemist ,the trial and error step thus saving him a mountain of practice materials which would be quite expensive Even for him. Nick quickly collected the pills and began meditation to regain his energy since originally core tier experts don''t need to sleep thanks to the constant inflow of qi into their body. Meanwhile in an office in the city lords manor a servant rushes in "sir sir !" the city lord looks up at the servant "yes what is it,why are you so anxious?"the servant speaks quickly afraid to anger the lord "the inn where the cultivator is staying just had an astounding incident occur!" The city lords eyebrow raises "oh?! Tell me more!"he commands. The servant tells the city lord about how the everyone in the inn smelled a sweet smell right before they all suddenly felt much stronger than before. The city lord starts grinning and laughing wildly before dancing around the room happily scaring the servant making them think the lord went insane. Seeing the servant look at him nervously the city lord composes himself again while still grinning "only 1 thing I know of that can cause something like that alchemy" Chapter 26 - Tier 1 array master Nick was oblivious to the commotion he caused as he goes over the information about arrays before activating creation mode again quickly draining his stamina as he wills it to create a basic refinement array so he can try to get rid of some of the items he has cluttering up his inventory .''Okay start!'' Nick watches on as his body goes through the motions of setting the array up sing spirit stones to form the foundation ,then drawing runes using qi and finally adding an activator. After the formation is set a ripple passes through the air stunning everyone in the inn once again from the odd occurrences that keep happening today in the inn . ounce again a servant rushes into the city lords office surprising both the city lord and the first servant as they were still talking about nick. "Sir another odd occurrence has happened at the inn where the cultivator is staying!" The servant says exited. The city lord looks suspiciously at the new servant "and odd occurrence like the last one?" he asked . the servant shakes their head "no this one was different as a strange ripple went through the air , though it didn''t seem to do anything when it passed by." The servant says with a little confusion at the end. The city lord went from being happy to being slightly depressed confusing both of the servants "my Lord why do you not seem happy from that news?" one of them ask. The city lord sighs then breaks it down for them " it''s highly possible to not have a big background if you only have 1 occupation like alchemist ,array master, doctor etc, however it is next to impossible to have more than 1 occupation without a big background as the amount of resources you would need to become very successful in even 1 is enormous much less 2 or gods forbid 3, as a result if we tried to use a scheme to trap that cultivator here to work for us it would cause that background to feel offended and we simply can''t afford the anger of such a force." After the city lord finishes speaking he suddenly cheers up as an idea comes to him "however that doesn''t mean we can''t hire him to do some work for us at all! Quick have someone invite that cultivator here to discuss business , however make sure they don''t offend him or we''ll get absolutely nothing from him." The city lord barks out orders at the two servants who rush off to complete it. Meanwhile nick placed down another array that isolated a space from the outside world after the system told him how much of a commotion he was causing which made him slightly embarrassed at his lack of foresight. Before nick could activate the array making reaching him very difficult he heard a loud knock at his door confusing him so he opens his door and peers out at the person who knocked on his door so brazenly. The person outside of the door was a male servant who was standing very straight for how nervous he was , seeing this nick couldn''t bring himself to rebuke them and asked "what do you need?" The servant shivered at how unfriendly nick sounded (who said that incident didn''t change him). "Sir m-my lord w-wishes to talk business with you." The servant stutters while saying . nick eyes the servant "WHO is your lord?" The servant quickly says "the city lord sir " nick nodded "I''ll speak to him in three days begone with you" he says before shutting the door in the servants face. The servant rushes back to tell the city Lord who begins to make preparations. Nick on there other hand begins to process the information he got for becoming a tier 1 alchemist and array master by creating pills and arrays without creation mode so as to create a solid foundation where he can use that knowledge without the aid of the system . nick created a total of 50 different pills of various levels as he stabilized his knowledge , he did the same for arrays except he disassembled them after he made them because it is dangerous to leave more than 5 arrays near each other except if they are not conflicted like if they are all healing arrays but then you add an attack array it would cause the healing arrays to violently reject the attack array sending dangerous energy flying at random. Chapter 28 - The meeting(2) The city lord looks at the soda curiously "I''m afraid I''ve not had the privilege of hearing of this beverage, though it certainly does appear quite unique in its container." He says while inspecting the soda can curiously. "And I open it by pulling this level here towards me?" He asked nick who nods in agreement. The city lord pulls the tab opening the can causing the effervescent liquid to start bubbling as the carbonation is released into the air. the city lord is surprised at the bubbles forming and popping at the top of the liquid. "Is that supposed to happen?" He asked nick "yeah see look at mine" nick says while showing the city lord his soda to reassure him. The city lord follows nicks example and drinks out of the can , as the liquid lands on his tongue the city lord to shocked at the multitude of flavors rolling around in his mouth while noting the crispness the soda had as well. "This is quite good I can see why sir cultivator prefers it so much." The city lord says with enthusiasm. "Glad you like it however I doubt the business you wanted to take about was what beverage I prefer." Nick says calmly. The city lord coughs embarrassed before becoming serious "you are right in actual fact the business I had in mind was a bit more interesting ,you see it has recently come to my attention that you are both an alchemist and an array master which is quite hard to come by so far from the center of the continent, and so seeing as you are here I''d like you make a few arrays around my estate as well as create a few pills for me as well." He says seriously. Nick looks at the city lord and frowns "and I assume you mean to pay me for my work yes?" he questions while his eyes become sharp staring down the city lord. "Of course i don''t expect you to work for nothing , I am willing to give you 100 thousand gold per array that you make and 15 percent higher than the market price for the pills." The city lord says proudly. Nick nods and relaxes slightly when the clich¨¦ blackmail didn''t happen. "Before we sign a contract to ensure neither party attempts foul play would you mind telling me what arrays and pills you want specifically so that I can tell you whether or not I can even make them." nick said honestly. The city lord mentally curses when nick mentioned the contract believing he could simply cheat nick with blackmail after he got what he wanted. "Sigh, I want the maximum 5 arrays to be ,2 defensive arrays ,1 illusion array, 1 random teleportation array, and 1 self destruction array all tier 1 of course as I can only afford 1 of those tier 2s if I didn''t mind going bankrupt. As for the pills 1 foundation pill,5 qi gathering pill,1 antidote pill,1 healing pill and finally 4 refinement pills." He list everything he wanted before waiting on nick to confirm he can give him those things. Nick thinks over the things the city lord wants before he nods and says " I already have the antidote pill and healing pill but I could make everything else within about a week. So 500 thousand gold for the arrays and about 257 thousand gold for the pills so 757 thousand in total right?" The city lord agrees with that amount "I suppose we should sign the contract then huh." he says while feeling the pinch in his heart at the loss. Nick quickly buys the highest ranked contract from the shop before pulling it out blinding both of them from its own aura. ''Dear gods a basic contract I can escape for a huge price but why did it have to be a heavens law contract.'' The city lord mourns his poor luck in finding someone so paranoid. Chapter 29 - The meeting Nick finally finished setting up what he believed would be the best 5 arrays he knows which were a qi gathering array, a isolation array ,a reflection array(reflects a certain amount of damage back at the attacker) an attack array, and finally a refinement array making nicks room worth a huge amount of money even if the arrays are all tier 1 after all it takes a massive amount of resources usually to become even a tier 1 professional in any occupation . now there is all these arrays focused on one inn room,even so nick bound the arrays triggers to a gold coin which allows whoever has it to control the arrays. Nick walked out of the room three days later fully prepared for any surprises he might come across on his way. As nick walks towards the city lords residence he is followed by a small boy of about 7 who was curious about nick since he was a cultivator . the boy had green hair like leaves and brown eyes while wearing what looked like a gretat(think potato) sack and was covered in dirt and filthy making it obvious he was a begger. "Mister can you fly? Can you turn invisible?" The boy asked curiously. Nick stopped to look at the boy with a bit of pity before answering"hmm I don''t know about turning invisible but I can fly, only for short times though." The boys eyes brighten up when nick talks to him instead of ignoring him like most people. "Mister could you teach me how to fly?" The boy says innocently. The question stops nick as it dawns on him that commoners aren''t taught about cultivation and that the only cultivators he''s ever met were either part of some noble clan or sect. This idea bothered nick when he realized that it was done to try and maintain the supremacy of the nobility while keeping the general public complacent. Angered by this fact nick did something that would shake the world later. "Sure little one I''ll show you how to fly how far you can fly is up to you however." Nick says before he taps on the boys forehead and transfers his knowledge about cultivation as well as the foundation technique he used before he reached origin core. After he finished he took a space ring from his inventory and filled it with a few basic cultivation supplies as well as the array manual with enough materials for someone with average talent to reach tier 1 before placing the ring on the boys finger and flying off towards the city lords residence leaving the boy stunned and confused about the knowledge in his head. The boy looks towards where nick flew off and bows on the ground with gratitude filling his heart. *Ding * *new mission received , accept? Y /N?* ''What''s the mission?'' ------------------------------------------ Title:NEW WIRLD ORDER RANK:A DESCRIPTION:you disagree with the way the world works? Change it! Make the world fit your idea of acceptable. REWARD:peace of mind,world shardx10,phoenix rebirthx1,legend pointx1 SYSTEM EVALUATION:GOOD LUCK! __________________________ ''I don''t recognize any other reward besides the first one, it must be good stuff if the system approved. I''ll accept.'' Nick took the mission and finally arrived at the city lords residence landing in front of the gate shocking the 2 guards standing there. "Tell you lord that I''ve arrived." Nick barks at one of the guard s who hurries into the house. About 2 minutes later the city lord comes out and welcomes nick with a handshake. "Welcome welcome sir cultivator welcome ,please come in make yourself at home! do you take cream with your tea?" The man bombarded nick with welcomes before asking about tea confusing nick. "Why tea in particular?" Nick asked the city lord curiously. The city lord is confused by the question before understanding hits him"so its not true the cultivators drink a lot of tea?" He asked . nick shakes his head"we''re different people so some of us don''t like tea while some prefer water and some prefer other things for example." Nick says while pulling 2 sodas from his inventory and setting one down on the table while opening the other."these little beautiful things are called sodas"nick grins while holding the opened 1. Chapter 29 - Cultivator (1) While the city lord was was aware that he couldn''t force nick to stay in the city and work for him because of his background , he did think he would be able to get some work out of nick by tricking him into doing the work before blackmailing him into leaving unpaid using nicks status as an array and alchemy master threatening to tell those who would love to kidnap or kill someone so talented. The city lord however never thought nick would have a contract as it takes at minimum a tier 4 inscription master to make even the most basic contract much less something as powerful as a heavens law which was said to be completely ironclad with no possibility of loopholes or voiding out as if the agreement wasn''t kept even that person''s soul wouldn''t escape punishment and if 1 side died before the other completed their part of the arrangement depending on the terms punishment is immediate and merciless for example if you owe someone say 100 gold as your part of the deal and they finished theirs you have until the time set for the deadline to give them that amount of gold even if they are dead. Nick carefully opens the scroll and uses his qi to carefully write down the terms agreed upon by both sides but added a single line which almost causes the city lord to cry :after both parties acquire their side of the deal neither can knowingly tell harmful information about the other or hire assassins to kill the other for the next 100 years.: After nick finished writing the terms he let the city lord look at them to make sure they were acceptable. The city lord read through the details carefully hoping to find a mistake he could exploit but alas he has no such luck so he tried guilting nick into removing that extra line. "Sir this line here offends me, it is as though you have no trust in my character at all I insist it be removed!" The city lord said while trying to look angered. Nick chuckled at the city lords antics "oh but you see mr.city lord i DO trust in your character , which is precisely why I added that line because to put it frankly I can almost GUARANTEE that you would try to do 1 of those things if I didn''t . don''t assume I''m just an ignorant child." The city lords face alternated from anger to depression back to anger before it finally landed on acceptance. "sigh, I never thought I''d see a day where I''ve been beaten at my own game all right lad I''ll drop the act since it won''t work , I''ll also sign this damnable contract but I have to know ,who are you?" A week has gone by since that day and nick has already completed his end of the arrangement while the city lord completed his directly after nick gave him the activator to the arrays he just finished earlier before nick made his way back to his room in the inn where he was shocked to discover that the inn and the 3 shops that were on either side the 2 to the right and 1 to the left had all been bought before being merged together into 1 super large house. ''How the hell did this happen its only been a week since I''ve been here!'' he thought in shock. Nick checks the arrays he had set before in his room with the coin he used as a trigger and saw that they were obviously fine so he wondered why they weren''t destroyed when the area was remodeled. While he was checking the arrays from the street outside of the inn turned house a man wearing long black robes with a badge that look like a red moon with a carp in the middle noticed the arrays respond to nick when he was checking them causing the man to become excited. Nick was about to order the arrays to disappear by telling them to drain all of the energy they had all at once when the door to the house rapidly opens and a man runs out "wait friend please!" The man shouts at nick stopping him. Nick looks the man over and tenses his body up as this man had used qi when he shouted earlier meaning he was a cultivator. The man had bright red hair with streaks of white throughout, he had an almost perfect build where he was muscular but lean while he had bright gray eyes and an angular face making him no doubt attractive to any women who saw him. Chapter 32 - Cultivator (2) Nick was also considered extremely handsome as well with his dark red hair and piercing blue eyes he also took after his father greatly with strong angular features however he has his mother pale skin which ended up making him the ideal eye candy for women though he tends to ignore what he looks like because it doesn''t seem important to him. "Hello friend might I be right in assuming you created those arrays in my new house?"the man asked with hope in his eyes.nick ignores the look but does answer "I was though I didn''t expect someone to buy the area within a week of me being gone."nick says pointedly. The man scratched the back of his head awkwardly " well I was passing through the city when I heard a curious tale from the local commoners about how everyone in a certain inn suddenly got stronger after smelling a nice scent in the air , which usually means there''s an alchemist involved however when I got to the inn you were already gone some I rented the room in order to see if you left anything behind I could use which was when I discovered the arrays the rest followed shortly after." The man said explaining most of what had occurred while nick was doing what the city lord wanted ."so why did you buy the properties when you didn''t have the trigger for the arrays?" Nick asked curiously . the mans face turns red in embarrassment "I''ve never actually interacted with arrays in my clan so I didn''t know arrays had a trigger til I had already purchased all the properties and paid to have all of them combined."he says while looking away awkwardly. Nick chuckles at the man''s awkwardness " so since you have found the person with the trigger what do you plan to do now?" Nick asked. The man rubbed his chin before snapping his fingers saying he had air then he swiped his hand over the spacial ring on his finger and removed a small gourd that was bright green and held it in front of him towards nick " this is monkey wine it should be worth as much as all of those arrays since its worth a tier 2 pill more or less." The man says proudly. Nick was stunned at the item since even he had heard of monkey wine before he reincarnated and if it was anything like the stories he would definitely want it.''system apraise that item.'' *Affirmative* _____________________ NAME:CRIMSON HOWLER WINE GRADE:LOW DESCRIPTION:wine created from spirit plants by a troop of crimson howler monkeys using the memories passed down by their ancestors, causes the qi to become purified while solidifying the spirit. SYSTEM EVALUATION:TASTY _______________________ Nick grew excited after reading the popup window so much so that he grinned wikdld ly and immediately pulled out the arrays trigger the coin while immediately grabbing the gourd and storing it away.the man laughs at nicks actions "I thought you''d see it my way once you saw that treasure it might not be much to someone with 2 professions like you but its still very valuable mostly since its not possible to make it without monkeys."he says while pocketing the coin. Nick is impressed with the man''s character and future he''d be a good person to befriend since he didn''t try to scam nick into giving up the arrays for free."what''s your name ?" Nick asked. "I''m jacob welk of the welk clan and yourself?" Jacob says. Nick answers in the same way "nicholas farias last surviving member of the farias clan." Jacob said he didn''t mean bring up bad memories ."its fine I''m over it now I just want to get strong enough to make sure nothing like that happens again to me." Chapter 33 - Heavens pagoda Jakob is in awe of nicks conviction since he has only felt such a thing from those who have lost everything and used it as a lesson on life. His uncle was one such person after having lost his wife and child during an assassination attempt on him . nick was unaware of jakobs thoughts on him and even if he was he wouldn''t care since it didn''t matter that much anyway. "Well since we got business out of the way should we move on to p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e then." Jakob said with a grin . nick grinned back "don''t know what kind of p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e you mean but if you mean women I won''t partake since I value chastity too much for such activities however I wouldn''t mind some good food or music." He said while patting his gut. "Hahaha good man! That''s what I meant only those who are foolish would waste their potential by going to a brothel for entertainment ." jakob said confusing nick as he has no idea about dual cultivation. "What do you mean wasting potential?" Nick asked curiously not knowing that it was supposed to be common to teach your childrethese things when they begin cultivating. Jakob looks at nick oddly before figuring out that nicks parents must not have told him about the dos and don''ts of cultivation. "Seeing as you''ll probably get taken advantage of if you don''t know I''ll explain some general knowledge about cultivation including dual cultivation , but before that let me treat you to the best place for cultivators to enjoy themselves in this city." Jakob says before he takes off into the air where nick follows him leaving the passing commoners in awe. Jakob flies toward a building that truly stands out against the red background of the city a four story pagoda with clean white walls and sharp black tiles covering the roof giving off the impression of nobility as it stands aside from the other buildings . jakob lands in front of the pagoda and gestures grandly "welcome to this cities branch of heavens pagoda the best place for traveling cultivators to enjoy themselves !" Nick is truly excited about this place as he has next to no knowledge of how cultivators usually act outside of cultivation. "Come we''ll go in under my name since its your first time here ." jakob says as he walks up to the sliding double doors of the pagoda were 2 men who give off powerful vibes stand on either side of them ."halt verify your name and cultivation before proceeding through the door." One of the men said blandly. "Jakob welk origin core tier 3" Jakob says before looking at nick. "Nicholas farias origin core tier 2" nicks says . the man who spoke nods before motioning them to enter as the double first slide open automatically.leading into a well lit lobby area were a young woman.and stands behind a small desk waiting for the 2 of them to arrive "welcome to heavens pagoda who should I place this visit under ?" The woman says while holding a clipboard looking at nick and jakob expectantly . jakob speaks up "that would be Jakob welk also if you don''t mind would you please explain the choices the pagoda offers since he''s new here." The woman smiled and nods "it''s my job to do so no need to be so polite about it. This pagoda has 3 levels beyond this 1 were the quality of goods is increased as you go up the first floor is accessible to anyone who can enter the front door however in order to go to higher floors you must either be the correct cultivation level or show a talent beyond the average to a certain extent depending on which floor you want to go to." She explained passionately. Nick nods after hearing the explanation then ask "so is everyone in the party tested or is it only the host who is tested ?" The woman says "the host is allowed to only bring 1 extra person that does not require testing while if a party is more than 2 every other person is tested those allowing the pagoda to not be cheated by someone bringing a large group to the top floor without earning the right to." Nick nods the asked "what is the requirements to enter the top floor of the pagoda?" The woman smiles brightly "either a void level cultivation or two or more professions at the peak of the 3rd tier". She says calmly. Chapter 34 - Heavens pagoda(2) "What are the requirements to go to the other 2 floors the?" Nick asked the woman curious. "For the second floor its originally core level cultivation or a novice level in two or more professions. The third level requires a nacent soul level cultivation or a middle rank 2 in 2 or more professions." The woman says before check which level jakob and nick wants to go to which is funny because they obviously can only go to the second floor as neither have the requirements to go higher and while nick could use the creation mode to fake it that would be both a waste of stamina a s well as effort as that would require him to purchase a higher level book for both of his professions just to go a little higher in the pagoda messing up his plan to advance by his own effort from now on. "Just the second floor since we''re only origin core level." Jakob told the woman who then nodded and led them upstairs to the second floor where there was naturally no one there since it is very difficult to find cultivators in such a small town . nick and Jakob chose a table over in the corner of the room by a window that looked comfortable and began using the array drawn onto it to order food and drinks . "while we eat and drink let me explain some stuff to you." Jakob said as the food arrives. "OK so let''s start with the thing that confused you earlier about the brothels, so after reaching origin core a cultivator will constantly pull in energy this much you know however when a cultivator has s.e.x 1 of 3 things can occur , if they had s.e.x with another cultivator then both get a boost in their cultivation but if a cultivator has s.e.x with a mortal then the mortal will actually begin draining the potential of the cultivator slowly as they then act similar to a leech at that point , the last outcome has to do with body constitution which can vary as there are constitutions that can completely sap someone of their cultivation and even lifeforce basically crippling them thus it is advised not to have s.e.x with workers at brothels because many have either those constitutions or are not cultivators to begin with ." jakob pauses to let nick comprehend this new information . Unknown to both of them at the top floor of the pagoda 2 old men sat playing chess "say do you recognize that aura old sun?" One of the men says to the other. "Hmmm feels like that bastard ares bloodline but its far too pure to be from that family so perhaps that guy left the divine realm to pass on his legacy before that incident happened." The man called old sun said while moving a pawn to take the other man''s bishop. "Tch should''ve seen that , you think we should try to recruit him to the academy?"the first man says while making his move. Old sun scratchs his gold grey beard his eyes shining In a wonderous golden color."let me go eye him out first it wouldn''t do to have a horrible youngster going to that place under our names eh old jade."he says before vanishing from his chair after place his piece and saying"checkmate." "So there are evil paths in cultivation?"nick asked. Jakob shrugged "I can''t call them evil exactly as there are no truly evil paths most simply call them the dark paths where the rest are light paths." Chapter 35 - Primal lotus academy Nick ponders over the information given by Jakob for a few moments "you don''t seem to mind the dark paths from how you talk about them , I figured most people would be naturally put off by them all things considered." He says curiously. Jakob chuckles "in my family it has always been taught that there is no evil cultivation only evil people, so most of us don''t really mind how someone cultivates only the kind of person they are for example my dads best friend is an undead yin cultivator yet he is incredibly kind unless provoked." Jakob explains proudly. Nick nods as it does make sense to follow such a philosophy when dealing with other cultivators. Nick and jakob talk about the different cultivation paths for a while before eating and paying as they leave. As they walk out they see a few generic street thugs surrounding an old man with golden gray hair . "you spread dirt on my new shoes you old geezer ,you better compensate me for this!" One of the thugs says with his arms crossed trying to look intimidating . the old man seems to cower down in fear "please sir I didn''t mean to if I don''t have any money how will I get money for my sick grandson!" The old man cries out pathetically . nick seeing this scene can''t help but think of how cliche it is before realizing that would make him the hero who shows up and saves the day, not willing to see such a thing happen he walks over to the group throws a gold coin into the thugs crossed arms before grabbing the old man and calmly walking away all without saying a word. The thugs all look at each other confused before looking at the man who has the gold coin "boss, what just happened?" One of them asked. The man with the coin is visibly shaken as sweat coats his back waking up as the thug spoke. "That was a cultivator helping that old man " the thug with the coin says shocking the others. The other thugs turn to where nick walked away and shiver when they think about how close to death they were. Meanwhile nick puts down the old man next to a medicine shop before flying off with jakob back to his house . the old man suddenly changes shape into his original form which is a very strong looking old cultivator who has a narrow gold tail swaying behind him wearing a white robe with red trim on his c.h.e.s.t and red pants with white trim at his waist ,this man is the same one from earlier old sun! "A fine seed that lad even took care of the problem at its sorce without anyone of those thugs the wiser a good seed indeed." Old sun says to no one in particular before he makes a odd whistle that cause a small cloud to come out of the sky before he jumps on it and flies into the air at a ridiculous speed. If any cultivator saw this they would be terrified because that cloud riding technique belongs to only one legendary existence the great sage of flower fruit peak sun wukong! Nick and Jakob arrive back at jakobs house where nick decides to upgrade the forms there by removing the ones there and then replacing the energy gathering area to where it covers the whole house the same with the defensive and offensive array before creating two more arrays that particularly tailor to jakobs profession in honor of their newfound friendship. Jakob is thrilled at the new arrays and has nick make himself at home before nick goes off to the capital . a few days pass were nick and Jakob merely hang out and play video games that nick introduced to Jakob using the system . "ha first place again nick !" Jakob says triumphant after beating nick at mario kart . *KNOCK KNOCK* Both nick and Jakob look at each other before getting up and walking to the front door to see who was there. Nick opens the door only to see a piece of paper with two jade tokens on it . nick picks up the tokens and paper and reads what is written on the paper. *you two young men have been scouted and found worthy of attending primal lotus academy should you choose to accept this invitation there will be a recruitment drive in the capital in one month find the recruiter for the academy and show them the two token provided and they will tell you the rest best of luck .* Chapter 36 - Primal lotus academy (2) After reading the paper nick looks over at Jakob who is obviously on cloud nine and ask "what is primal lotus academy?" Jakobs face instantly goes from joy to confusion to shock. "What do you mean what is it how do you not know!" Jakob practically yells. Nick scratched his head embarrassed "I was born on one of the small islands where the culture is a little backwards." Nick says sheepishly. Jakob sighs dejected "where to begin? I''m sure you are familiar with sects right?" Nick nods in agreement. "Let''s start there sects are basically comprised of individuals who have talent but either don''t have a background in it or don''t want to rely on said background as well as the several families that tend to dominate the sect, well unlike sects if you join an academy you get most of the benefits of a sect without the need to be bound to it in service as well unlike sects you are very unlikely to discriminated against due to a lack of background or profound background in any of the founding family clans as most academies exist solely on a single founder or occasionally a group of like minded individuals such as in the case of primal lotus academy. There are three levels of academies the earth tier ,the sky tier and the celestial tier. The difference between each tier is based on the level of knowledge that can be gotten for earth tier it is void chasing ,for sky it is void completion, and for celestial it is information beyond mortal tribulation. There are 32 earth tier academies ,and 5 sky tier academies." Jakob explains carefully. Nick noticed that jakob didn''t mention how many celestial academies there are and so asked. "There are currently no celestial academies as no one has passed the mortal tribulation realm and shared the information they got when they did since they all seemed to vanish afterwards."jakob answered honestly. Nick was surprised at this revelation before he called the system.''system do you know anything about those disappearances?'' *DING* *Host is warned that they are not strong enough to withstand that knowledge ,proceed anyways?* Nick grows worried as the system tells him that the knowledge is extremely dangerous.''no i won''t risk it if even you say I can''t handle it .'' nick looks at Jakob who is patiently waiting for him to process the information he just got "so what is primal lotus academy then?" He asked. A look of excitement comes onto his face "primal lotus academy is the highest sky tiered academy as it has managed to collect information at the half-step mortal tribulation level because it has four experts at that level who have been guarding and guiding it for close to a million years now." He says with reverence in his voice. Nick understands now how great and opportunity he just got out of nowhere . "so I''m guessing you are going to the capital in a month huh." Nick asked jakob sarcastically. Jakob looks at nick and grins "you''re damn straight!". After about 2 weeks nick and Jakob made their way out of the town with the plan to get to the next city where a teleportation array to the capital was set up which should take them a week to arrive at that city before teleporting to the capital meaning they would only need to wait a week to join the academy . the area on the way to the next city was a cobblestone road with plains that cross into a large forest before arriving at a lake where the city floated on top. "So you think we''ll run into any bandits on our way?" Jakob asked nick nervously. Nick answered casually "we should only run into at most two groups before the rest figure out we aren''t soft persimmons." Jakob shakes his head "you''re to honest for my own good , I wanted you to reassure me not immediately shoot down my hopes!" He complained. Chapter 37 - Bandits Traveling across the plains only lasted about a day and was uneventful so not much to say about that , however after they entered the forest was a another matter all together. The forest sways gently besides the road as nick and Jakob walk calmly while playing mario kart on the DS that nick brought out from the system. "Ha inked you!" Nick says joyously. Jakob has a frustrated look on his face. "Come on red shell ....yes!" Jakob launchs the shell at nicks character stunning it before passing him . "damn it! Get back here!" Nick rages at the game before suddenly tensing up "you noticed something odd Jakob?" Nick says to Jakob quietly. Jakob powers off the DS and places it in his spatial tool. "Its too quiet which means either there are bandits nearby or some kind of demonbeast neither of which is good , any ideas?" Jakob says while cautiously hovering his hand over his sword. Nick takes out a small round object from his inventory and holds it carefully between his pointer and middle fingers. "In about 30 seconds after I release this item launch your most powerful wide range attack to our right and I''ll do the same to our left." Jakob nods and gets ready . nick rapidly throws the round object onto the ground at their feet revealing it to be a smoke pellet covering both of them in a think cloud of smoke. As soon as nick makes his move about 20 men wearing black with their faces covered rush out of the surrounding trees towards the smoke cloud. Jakob jumps straight into the air towards the right and throws his arms forward sending a massive wave of razor window towards the bandit who are on that side. "RAZOR STORM!" WHOOSH! SLIIIICK! They winds mange to accurately strike and rip apart 4 of the bandits while injuries another 2 after being dodged by the 4 most cautious bandits.nick quickly follows suit on the left running out with his sword held horizontally at his side before a thick red strain of lightning coats his blade while he swings his sword across in front of him launching a wide beam of crimson light screaming at the bandits. "THUNDER WHIP!" ZZZT! KRAAAK! BOOOOM! The beam travels faster than most of the bandits can dodge striking 8 of them followed by the sound of a thunderstrike before the water in their bodies turns directly into steam causing them to explode showering the area in viscera and blood mist.the last 2 bandits are so terrified by the attack that they passed out before it could hit them unintentionally saving their lives. Jakob is distracted by the explosion caused by nicks attack that 1 of the bandits almost stabs him in the heart , luckily he reacted just in time to move slightly instead getting stabbed in the left shoulder right above his lung a painful injury but nonetheless not fatal."shit! That hurts!" Jakob explains while dodging the attacks of the other 3 bandits.nick quickly kills the 2 passed out bandits by painlessly cutting off their heads before turning to help jakob before his senses scream danger at him from his back causing him to rapidly dodge to the side barely avoiding a spear coming down from above. The spear cleanly pieces 2 feet into the cobblestone road before stopping still vibrating from the force of the throw now deep in the road at a 45 degree angle. "Tch, couldn''t just make it easy on me and died quietly could you." A deep barratone voice comes from the forest where a man slightly different from the rest of the bandits walks out from behind 1 of the trees not hit by nicks attack. The man wore the same black leather suit as the other bandits except his face was completely uncovered giving nick a full view of his face. The man had short blonde hair and swordlike eyebrows on a heavy angular face with a thick survivalist beard and sharp purple eyes. The man''s face and body language had absolute anger all over them as he looks at nick who is covered in the blood and pieces of his comrads. Chapter 38 - rollcall seeing as no one has commented on the chapters as of late I decided to send out the roll call to figure out who , if anyone is still wanting to read this story before I continue it. Chapter 39 - Bandits The bandit leader was visibly livid at the deaths of his men as his eyebrows are tight and his body trembles from his muscles crontracting under his skin while a vicious bloody aura radiates from him causing goosebumps to form on nicks arms. "Boy you and your friend are quite ruthless , my crew only wanted your money yet you''ve killed most of us forcing me to have to act." The bandit leader says while glaring at nick. Nick looks at the bandit leader oddly. "So you thought that jumping out of the trees with weapons drawn at two people walking along this road was going to yield any result beside blatant hostility?" Nick said sarcastically. The bandit leaders expression changes from anger to confusion back to anger before finally settling on understanding. "How ironic that the actual truth of this situation was actually a misunderstanding caused by our faulty actions." The bandit leader sighs before he waves his hand at the men fighting jakob who stop immediately.the leader looks back towards nick "since this whole issue was caused by us we won''t continue fighting over ours mistake however, we need something to make up for the deaths of our men I won''t be greedy because that''s not why we became bandits just give us something for their families." He says while sighing. Nick nods his head and throws 200 gold for each of the dead men to the leader who nods before signaling the bandits to leave. And after collecting the corpses vanish just as fast as they arrived. Jakob takes a healing pill from his ring before swallowing it like candy. The scratchs on his body are the first thing that close up and disappear before the flesh of the wound on his shoulder wiggles and begins fusing back together until the wound is gone . "Change your shirt since its basically destroyed." Nick said to Jakob who nodded. After jakob changed his shirt the duo continue on their way towards the city and after about 3 hours were stopped once again by bandits who were easier to tell were far more professional then the group earlier. The group considered of nothing but men much like the last group however the difference was that they were blocking the road rather than waiting in ambush . Nick scanned the group before figuring out who the leader is, a monster of a man who was easily right feet tall and looked to practically be made from muscle with short hair and thick scars across his face giving him a savage vibe. Before anyone says a word nick throws two hundred gold at him before continueing ti walk past the group with Jakob in tow. "Boss he obviously has more money on him why did you let him go?" One of the bandits asked the huge man. The man looks at the receding backs of nick and Jakob before he answers "that man didn''t give us this money out of fear but impatience if we would have pushed the issue he may have slaughtered us without a second thought." Nick and Jakob didn''t run into any more bandits for the rest of the day that night however they were surrounded by a small group of bandits that was different from every other group so far , it was comprised entirely of 4 female cultivators of the origin core realm. One of the women steps forward obviously upset at how they are being treated so casually. "Why is going to happen is you are going to hand over your space rings and strip for our entertainment then we will turn you to a tree and leave you for the next people who pass by." The voice sounded like a young girl maybe 14 ,but the words caused nick to release murderous intent with his already overpowering bloodline aura boosting it till it practically filled the air stifling it and pressuring everyone in a full 1 kilometer around him before all of it focused onto the 4 around him. Chapter 39 - Modus2 Nick opened his eyes after roughly 5 hours and a small sliver of silver light passed through them before vanishing. Nick stood up and began to fix up his room by replacing the paint and then left his room . jakob was in the newly refurbished dinning room reading a book while drinking tea. "The back area is your problem." He said without looking up from his book. Nick nods and walks out the back door where his eyes light up as he sees the spiritual plants that litter the area and the disordered green house that besides being dirty was still in perfect shape . nick collections everything he sees as useful before reducing everything else to ash and summons some water which he uses to clean the green house inside and out. Nick then places seeds for tier 3 herbs into each of the planters before watering them with spirit water and going back inside the house where he decides to check out the city . nick walks out the front door and nods at the work jakob did before he walks out the front gate which no longer squeaks. The buildings in the city were mostly white from the limestone they where made from with red clay roofs In standard box shape with a few exceptions. Nick quickly walked down street while observing the citizens who were surprisingly mostly comprised of cultivators most of them were still only body refiners at most the second level while there were a few qi gathering as well as occasionally an origin core cultivator he even saw a cultivator he could not figure out the cultivation of. Nick finally made it into a market area where there were dozens of stalls set up selling various things from pills to formation plates to weapons and armor as well as random artifacts . nick makes his way through the crowd while examining several stalls that were selling artifacts in hopes of finding something interesting. Nick suddenly feels something soft pressed on his left arm causing him to instinctually send out a pulse of aura to ward off whatever it is . "aaah!" A yelp of surprise comes from his left as a woman backs up in fear away from nick. Nick looks at the woman before cold walks away leaving the woman shivering at the coldness in nicks eyes. ''Gods for a second there I thought he was going to kill me after I tried to pick his pocket!'' The women thinks to herself. Nick ignores the woman since he knows that she is only a mortal from her actions and goes back to looking for artifacts . unknown to him that a certain old man with golden eyes was watching him with a look of interest from a cloud overhead. Nick eventually goes through the market before leaving in disappointment , he then walks about the city haphazardly where he finds a treasure pavilion as well as several official stores for various things a cultivator might need. He stops by a noodle shop and orders a bowl of beef brothers with wheat noodles and onions and mushrooms with a raw egg on the side. As he eats with a content smile on his face a couple of men walk in loudly and yell "its time to pay up old man!" The shop keeper is an old mortal man with heavy wrinkles and a kindly temperament. "I already paid your group this month! Please don''t cause trouble sirs!" The shop keeper says loudly. The men sneer "we''re doubling the payments from now on so pay up!" One of them says before looking at nick with greed in his eyes. "You pay up as well brat!" Nick just ignored the man and continued eating. The man''s face turns into a snarl "don''t ignore me when I talking to you brat!" He says while reaching for nick. Nick puts down his chopsticks and waves his hand wrapping n both of the men in his qi before he slowly condensed it and as it did the two men panicked and tried to get free but as they are mortals they couldn''t and so screams of fear rang out before cracking sounds from bones breaking to screams if pain before more cracking and squelching from blood being wrung out until all that remains of the men was two marbles that are a dark red color. Chapter 40 - Marry me! As nick pressured the 4 women it was plain to see that they could only just keep themselves from kneeling much less anything else , this was surprisingly especially true of the girl who spoke previously. The girl was obviously only still standing from sheer willpower. "Oh what''s wrong you were saying what you were going to do to us , go on stand up straight and do it or get lost before I lose my reason!" Nick says before sending a chocolate of aura at the 4 knocking them backwards violently. The 4 got up quietly and ran away from nick and Jakob with the one who spoke being even more frantic in her escape . Right as nick was about to leave immediately after the women escaped the voice of the girl echo''s back "you are going to marry me when I find you again mister!" Nick was speechless at the girls forwardness. "Is that normal?" Nick asked jakob obviously confused. Jakob chuckled "well judging from how she talked and how high her cultivation was she should be be from a large family so she probably thinks you can improve it if she married you based on your bloodline." He said while smirking at nick mockingly. "Which is to say yes it is very normal.''he finished. Nick complained to jakob about it for the rest of the trip which irritated him to no end though they weren''t stopped by any more bandits along the way which was quite nice for them. After about a day of travel they come across the city in the distance. The city lay upon the lake which was called mereth looking like an island that was square in shape that had a long bridge going all the way to the city from the shore. "Finally made it huh?" Nick said to Jakob. Jakob nods thankful."well we should probably head to the transportation office to see about heading to the capital." He said while he steps onto the bridge. They walked along the path to the city gate which was 2 massive door that were open revealing the city behind the checkpoint ahead. The city was a green color from the algae that slicked the wet walls and ground . nick walked to the checkpoint and paid the entrance rice of 12 silver for both him and jakob Before getting directions to the transportation office which was ironically a block away from the entrance. Nick marveled at the design of the city as they walked to the office. The building were made so that the entire building can be submerged underwater without the inside getting even slightly wet due to the fact that each house had a passive inscription that repels moisture from the door causing it to function much like a moonpool. "Judging from the design of the buildings this city seems to be underwater occasionally." Nick said to Jakob with awe in his voice.Jakob nods "the city of mereth is made in order to be a pain for morals to attack because 1 of its defensive strategies is to lower itself to the bottom of the lake making fighting in or towards it nearly impossible for mortal weapons."he says patiently. Nick is even more in awe after learning that the entire city was built to sink without harming itself. After they arrive at the transportation office they walk in to a room filled with cultivators talking to each other or a teller for their transportation . nick walks up to a perky blonde teller with a flat c.h.e.s.t and skinny face. "Hi, my name is melissa how can I help you today?" The teller ask with a service smile. "Hello melissa , could you arrange to have me and my friend here to teleport to the capital." Jakob says with a smile. The teller nods before sorting through her desk before pulling out two slips of paper and says "2 tickets to modus city will cost 10 mid grade spirt stones each." Nick hands the teller his share and Jakob follows suit before the teller hands them the tickets. "Here you are , to use the tickets go over to the transportation room at the end of the hall behind me and place the tickets the the crystal or in the middle of the array it will do the rest, I hope you have a good day." The teller says before moving aside to let nick and Jakob passing into the corridor behind her. Chapter 41 - Modus1 Nick and Jakob arrive in the teleportation room were nick didn''t immediately activate it but made a mental copy of it in his head for when he eventually settles down. "All ready to start a new adventure?" Nick asked jakob . jakob nods and nick activated the formation a blinding light flashes while the feeling of space being folded caused nick to become nauseous. Thankfully the feeling disappears as quickly as it appeared as they appear in a very similar room to the one they just left. "Welcome to modus city are you in need of accommodations?" The one who spoke was a average looking man with dark brown hair who looked about 20. *DING* *HOST has experienced spacial fluctuations and has a chance to comprehend the law of space would host like to do so?* ''What! Is there a time limit on that chance?'' *DING* *Host has 30 minutes before the chance is gone, it is advised that host take the chance as soon as possible for the best outcome.* Nick nods to the attendant and says "we need a safe place within 5 minutes and I''ll pay top coin for it." The attendant was slightly startled by nick demands but immediately smiled widely. "Of course I have a small cultivator house that I can sell to you for a small fee that''s a block away from here." He says in a salesman pitch. "Fine take care of the formalities quickly we have immediate need of it." Nick says. "Wonderful please follow me you merely need to sign a few papers and pay for it and the house is yours." The attendant led nick and jacob to a small room where he took out the bill of sale and contract for the house which nick read through before signing and paying for the house and stored away the deed and bill of sale as the attendant led them to the house. After nick and jakob saw the house they almost cursed the now sheepish attendant because the house was in a massive state of disrepair with broken windows and holes in the roof. When they turn towards the attendant the find him gone as their faces turn dark. "Sigh , we can fix it later for now let''s go in side I need to do something ." nick says as he push open the front gate causing it to groan from the rust causing their faces to twitch . the yard was overgrown with weeds that had been allowed to survive so long that they gained spiritual properties. Nick calmly collected all of them for experiments before unlock the house and stepping inside. The inside of the house smelled like rot and dust which nick and Jakob ignored before choosing their own rooms nick used alchemic flame to completely purify the room leaving it completely b.a.r.e. Nick then set down an isolation array an energy gathering array and a notification array. ''Alright system I''ll take that chance now.'' *Very well* *Activating spacial training * Nick was suddenly in what can only be described as a void with no sound or anything for that matter. Just space. Nick closed his eyes and focused on understanding what was going on around him , but he wasn''t aware that without the system he wouldn''t even be able to come anywere close to learning the space law . Meanwhile jakob had set about fixing the house by first getting rid of almost everything in it before replacing the windows and sanding the outside walls to remove the faded and peeling paint where he was pleasantly surprised that the walls besides being dirty were as stable as ever. Jakob coated them with a new layer of paint and primer before moving to the roof. The roof needed to be completely redone but the structure was still stable so he simply applied a new roof and then tackled the yard. In the front yard he removed all the plant life on the surface of the soil before spreading mint grass seeds which he watered with a special fertilizer which caused them to sprout covering the front yard with the vibrate blue grass that released a sweet scent into the wind. The backyard was actually converted by the previous owner into an alchemist garden that had been taken over by weeds and spirit plants that might have been seeds left behind by the previous owner after seeing this Jakob decided to let nick take care of it since he had already done his share of the work on the house. Don''t be fooled though all he has done took no more than 30 minutes for a cultivator at his level. Chapter 41 - Modus3 The shopkeeper grows pale and backs up against the wall in fear while nick picked up his chopsticks and went back to eating. About ten minutes passed by before nick finished eating and walked it off the shop. After leaving the shop nick went to an information shop and purchased a complete set of information on the world since he never was taught any of it when he was younger . nick then made his way back to his house where he went into closed door cultivation for half a month in order prepare for the entrance exams for the academy. Meanwhile in a certain place an absolutely gorgeous girl with smooth silky black hair and soft alabaster skin was angrily listening to a jade. "What do you mean there''s no information on him!?" The girl yells at the jade angrily. The jade buzzed and a voice surprisingly comes out of the jade belonging to another woman. "Young miss it is almost as if he only started to exist a few months ago when he suddenly walked into a city from the sea , I even spoke with the underwater kingdom of yolnir and they said no one with his features was ever there so the trail simply doesn''t exist past that coastal city." The woman said calmly. The girls eyebrows crease and she grits her teeth in irritation "could they be lying?" She asked. "They honestly seemed like they didn''t know anything, though they did question whether he could have come from that island that suddenly vanished." The woman said calmly. The girl deeply sighed and said "there is no way to check that though since that place doesn''t exist anymore , what''s worse is I have no idea where he went after that incident since according to the city logs he used a private teleportation array which could have sent him to any number of places ,whatever, I refuse to believe he can escape my grasp so forget about trying to learn more about him and focus on locating him, so long as he doesn''t enter an academy or the capital nowhere is beyond my reach." The woman agrees and the jade dims down since it deactivated. ''System status'' *Ding* NAME:Nicholas varia AGE:13yrs RACE:human/demigod BLOODLINE:Wargod Money:576499999 DC:350 Level:48 CULTIVATION:origin core tier 8 SKILLS:swordsmanship lv5 , flame step lv4 , dragons rage lv3,divine might lv2 ABILITIES:awareness (user is aware of all things around them even without seeing it.) Body control (user has complete control of their physique including nerves, pores,veins,etc) Divine charm (user naturally emits an aura that attracts others to them like a natural leader) Nature child (user is accepted by the laws of the universe, let one cultivate without angering the heavens) AGILITY:230 SPIRIT:460 INTELLIGENCE:170 CHARISMA:200 LAW:Space initial step SYSTEM EVALUATION:keep going!* ''Why did my charisma go down?'' *Ding* *Host has developed a bit of a bloodl.u.s.t aura from killing without mercy.* ''Now that i think about it I have been a bit quick to kill recently.'' Nick ponders on how he reached this point and discovered that it was only after he got his bloodline that he started to kill without caring and then it clicked in his mind he has the bloodline of a wargod and it might have set his temperament to match. Nick left the house after checking his plants and heads over to the market to look for anything interesting. What nick doesn''t know is that as soon as he arrived at the market a woman in black notices him and her eyes lit up and she speaks into a jade before following nick from a distance. Nick noticed the gaze of the woman but acts like he didn''t as he continued through the market he buys a divine sense blocker which he immediately puts on and continues until he goes into an alley out of the woman''s sight and rapidly goes over the building and into the next street over and enters the first shop he sees so fast that by the time the woman realized what happened he was already well hidden from her. Chapter 42 - Preparing Nick waited until the woman was gone before tossing a gold coin to the shop owner and thanking them for helping him hide. Nick left the store and cautiously made his way back to the house , after arriving he noticed a note on the dinning room table from jakob telling him that jakob is going to spend the rest of the time till the entrance exams training and that he should do the same.after reading the note nick decides to do precisely that and heads to his room where he will decide what to train and how far to train it. ''Hmmm... First let''s see my options, system status!'' *Ding* NAME:Nicholas varia AGE:13yrs RACE:human/demigod BLOODLINE:Wargod Money:576499999 Level:48 CULTIVATION:origin core tier 8 PROFESSION:alchemist tier 1 , array master tier 1 SKILLS:swordsmanship lv5 , flame step lv4 , dragons rage lv3,divine might lv2 ABILITIES:awareness (user is aware of all things around them even without seeing it.) Body control (user has complete control of their physique including nerves, pores,veins,etc) Divine charm (user naturally emits an aura that attracts others to them like a natural leader) Nature child (user is accepted by the laws of the universe, let one cultivate without angering the heavens) STRENGTH:360 SPIRIT:460 INTELLIGENCE:170 CHARISMA:200 LAW:Space initial step SYSTEM EVALUATION:keep going!* ''Ok so I''ll level my professions up as well as my skills ,I also need to bring my space law to a decent level as well as learn some auxiliary skills like qi control and battle skills since I''ve sort of been winging it so far and since learning professions are so easy for me thanks to the system I''ll learn blacksmithing ,inscriptions ,healing as well as cooking since that should come in handy, alright lets begin!'' Nick only had six days to do all of this so he started with the hardest task first, contemplating the space law. Nick closed his eyes and entered a meditative state. ''What is space? Space is a void. What is space?'' Nick contemplated space for an entire day before he managed to increase his knowledge to the level of minor completion. Next nick purchased all the manuals he needed for tier 2 in all the professions he will have as well as a few auxiliary skills and battle skills. The first skill he started training was a combo between defense and perception called (AREA OF CONTROL), the way the skill worked was that the person who used it compresses their divine sense into an orb twice their wingspan before teaching their body to block or avoid any attack that enters the orb. The second skill is a sword skill called (MYRIAD FORMS) the skill basically taught the user how to copy just about anything and turn it into a sword move instead. Nick also learned and archery skill called (VOID SHARD) that uses the space law to laugh and arrow made out of only qi thus allowing for near infinite arrows. After reaching level 9 in each of his skills nick learned each of the new professions using the creation mode as well as the ridiculous amount of materials he had in his space rings from before he went into a coma. About 3 days were spent in leveling his skills and the rest on learning and leveling his professions to tier 2. ''Okay the entrance exams are today I should be prepared for whatever happens today , so system status!'' *Ding* NAME:Nicholas varia AGE:13yrs RACE:human/demigod BLOODLINE:Wargod Money:576499999 DC:25 CULTIVATION:origin core tier 8 PROFESSION:alchemist tier 2 , array master tier 2 , blacksmith tier 2 , inscription master tier 2 , healer tier 2 , cook tier 2 SKILLS:swordsmanship lv9 , bowmanship lv9 flame step lv9 , area of control lv9 , myriad forms lv9 , void shard lv9 , qi control lv9 , dragons rage lv9 , divine might lv9 ABILITIES:awareness (user is aware of all things around them even without seeing it.) Body control (user has complete control of their physique including nerves, pores,veins,etc) Divine charm (user naturally emits an aura that attracts others to them like a natural leader) Nature child (user is accepted by the laws of the universe, let one cultivate without angering the heavens) Monster (user has surpassed even geniuses in many ways , culture with twice the results with half the effort.) STRENGTH:420 SPIRIT:510 INTELLIGENCE:400 CHARISMA:400 LAW:Space small completion SYSTEM EVALUATION:this is the way!* Chapter 42 - Exams Nick rubs his chin in appreciation of his new status since he for the most part truly worked hard to get it where it is. Nick grabs his new weapon he spent the last of his DC points on which is a two form weapon, one form is a sword and the other form is a bow. Since it is a changing weapon it is slightly weaker than a weapon with only one. The upside is that nick can change the form of the weapon at will with no delay. Nick walked out of his room towards the dining room were jakob was waiting while drinking some kind of tea while reading a news paper since the capital has that. "You all set for the exams?" Jakob asked while folding his newspaper. Nick nodded before sitting on the opposite side of jakob. "Any idea how the exams are gonna go?" He asked while cracking open a soda. The harsh sound of metal cracking caused jakobs face to twitch slightly before going back back to normal . "if the exams are anything like what the other academies are than it will be separated into three parts. The first is the cultivation scan which is basically just where they doc.u.ment you''re current cultivation level as well as any unique physique or bloodline you might have. The second is battle stage , which is where all the applicants will fight to get a rough idea of everyones strength. The third and most likely final is the real test where everyone is sent into a hostile environment with some goal to complete in order to test the luck as well as to drastically lower the amount of people that enter the academy." Jakob explains everything in detail before checking the time. After confirming that they have an hour to get to the exam he stands up and smooths out a few wrinkles in his clothes. Nick also stands up and does the same before both of them finish their drinks and head out the front door and start quickly making their way to the northmost party of the city where the exams are held every time. On the way they spot several other people who seem to be heading to the exams as well which they nod politely to before focusing on getting to the exam site. As they arrive they see a crowd with close to half a million people who are lining up into about a hundred lines where just like jakob said they are being checked with an orb that clarifies their statuses and it seems the minimum in order to even attempt the next part is the origin core by the age of thirty. After about an hour the half million people has been cut down to about fifty thousand who passed the first part of the test including nick and jakob. Nicks results were especially eye-catching since he is at the peak of origin core realm as well as has an extremely powerful and pure bloodline with an unknown physique drew the attention of everyone there including a certain girl. After the first test was done the elder in charge spoke to the crowd from the air above them while augmenting his voice so everyone could hear him. "Everyone here has passed the first test but don''t think that alone allows you to enter the academy just yet that comes after you pass the test of steel and of fortune. The test of steel will be held on these ten platforms." The elder motions to ten black platforms that are ten meters wide and long. "The test of steel will comprise of ten groups that will battle one on one till only five thousand people are left each person must win at least ten matches before they are allowed to move on to the next test and each person can only lose three times before they are disqualified. Any questions?" The elder looks for anyone with a question and is about to announce the groups when a boy who looks about twenty two raises his hand. "What''s your question?" The elder asked. The boy then speaks in a monotone manner "can we challenge specific people to increase the speed we pass the test?" The elder acknowledges the question and then answers calmly. "You can do something within your own groups however intentionally killing or crippling will automatically cause you to be disqualified. If that''s all then I''ll announce the groups now." Chapter 43 - Challenge The elder begins naming off people for the first group one of which is Jakob who fist bumps nick before heading over to his group. The groups were listed off separating the fifty thousand people into ten groups , nick was placed in the sixth group along with a certain girl who hasn''t taken her eyes off of nick which bothered him greatly since he can''t point out where he is being stared at from. The matches begin on each of the platforms where nick observes to see if there are any people he needs to watch out for, after about a thousand matches nick figures out that on average no one here is that much of a challenge for him and stops paying such close attention to the platform . just now however a girl with black hair that shines slightly and violet eyes with perfect alabaster skin and a wonderful face gets on the sixth platform and defeats her opponent in a single move which catches nick attention. However after defeating her opponent the girl didn''t get off the platform but instead issues the first challenge so far. The person she challenged was none other than Nicholas farias. Nick was immediately stunned not because he was challenged but because he recognized the voice as the same one that said he would marry her next they met. Nick awkwardly walked up the stairs and stood opposite of the girl and took up his stance with his weapon in sword form . "What not going to say anything now? If you don''t I''ll take that as you agreeing to marry me." The girl smiled beautifully after she spoke. Nicks face twitched at the girls words before sighing and speaking. "I have no intentions of being married much less to a stranger whom I care nothing for." The girls smile turns into a frown as she obviously didn''t expect such cold words after she showed her beauty to him since she was confident in her looks but the look in nicks eyes and tone of his voice said he truly wasn''t interested and what''s more he even seemed annoyed at her which made her angry. "OK then let''s make a bet then." She said with a glint of cleverness flashes in her eyes. Nick was surprised at what the girl said and became cautious. "What kind of bet?" He asked while studying the girls response. The girl grins before speaking. "Its simple really , you aren''t allowed to use your bloodline and if I win you''ll agree to marry me but if you win I won''t force the issue of marriage and will even give you a treasure for you''re effort." Nick thinks about the terms of the bet and can''t see anything truly dangerous in them. "Very well then ,I''ll ask everyone here to b.a.r.e witness to this bet." Nick agrees to the terms and has everyone watch as to force the parties to honor the agreement. After both parties ready themselves the referee starts the match. The girl walks gracefully toward nick with a strange and profound set of steps that causes multiple images to follow the girl disorienting nick slightly before he feels a bit of danger heading toward his throat forcing him to block with his sword instinctively. CLANK! The girls sword clashes with nicks sword sending both a few steps back where nick finally regains his bearings and a cold sweat goes down his back at his carelessness from being to relaxed. Nick heightens his guard as high as he can which causes the girl to sigh. ''I was hoping to end this with that first strike since he is obviously new at fighting now I''ll actually have to put in some work.'' The girl thought to herself. Nick decided that he won''t let the girl hold the advantage and uses his movement art to charge the girl leaving flames behind with every step. The girl reacts quickly and true to avoid nicks charge but a flash of silver goes through nicks eyes before the girl is suddenly locked in place by the space around her causing panic to show on her face before nick arrives at the girl like a meteor and uses one of the sword forms he has from the sword technique myriad forms that he created from a blackhole in his passed life . nick swung his sword in an odd trajectory that case the space around his sword to distort and a terrible auction force acts on the girl trying to draw her into it . what nick doesn''t realize is that an illusory image of a blackhole has appeared behind him and seems like it is devouring the world around him . Chapter 44 - Dramatic finish. The air screached as it was drawn into the black hole behind nick while the platform g.r.o.a.n.e.d from the strain that was on it . the girl knew she needed to escape quickly or its very likely that she''s going to lose. The reason she wasn''t worried about being crippled or killed was because the referee would act as soon as any injury capable of doing so was almost obtained. ''He seems to have a basic command over the law of space which is troublesome to deal with.'' She thought before sighing out loud. Nick could feel a change occur in the girl, which means she is trying to do something to escape. "Not on my watch!" Nick yells before slapping down with his blade which launches a crescent shaped blade of energy at the girl. "Too late!"the girl shouts before a burst of crimson energy ripples out of her breaking Nick''s hold on the surrounding space. The girl immediately uses the opportunity to escape putting some distance between them while the energy blade fly''s off harmlessly. Nick is slightly miffed that his moves were dealt with so easily and then it hits him..... The girl just used bloodline power . ''system what bloodline was that?'' *ding* *not enough data to analyze.inconclusive.* ''Fanf.u.c.k.i.n.gtastic'' nick thought before he switches his weapon into a bow. The girl is shocked when the weapon turns into a bow. ''That''s just unfair!'' She mentally rages before dodgeing the rain of arrows nick launches at her. ''Most people only use one type of combat with skill while this guy is using three leaving his style with no real blindspots to exploit'' the girl feels a headache coming on with having to deal with nicks ungodly amount of tricks. The girl is put on the defensive at a range since she herself is a close range fighter. ''I need to close the distance somehow.'' The girl thinks while looking for a gap in nicks attacks ''there!'' The girl dives through a tiny opening between the arrows and pounces towards nick catching him off guard. Nick actually tries to backup in order to try and readjust but he trips on a stone that was blown off the ground earlier causing him to fall nackwards awkwardly. The girl goes flying over nick comically since her plan was to grapple him into defeat. Yes the girl geussed nick was weak at hand to hand and wanted to use it against him but miscalculated that he would be standing up when she launched herself at him thus leading her to overshoot her landing leading her to go flying right over nicks head. Nick manages to recover from the ground just as the girl lands on the ground and changes his weapon back into a sword and runs towards the girl. ''Looks like i need to go all out in order to beat her without my bloodline.'' Nick thinks while he runs towards the girl who is about ten feet away. Nick launches several energy blades towards the girl to block her escape before using the most powerful attack he made by combination the space law and his myriad forms cross form and his flame steps . "rising sun!" He called out before slashing upward with his sword coated in space energy while his flame step recklessly push him forward . to the outside eye nick exploded into a giant fireball before the girl vanished from the platform and a massive ripping sound echo''s in the air. After using that move nick collapses onto his knees while the half of the platform behind him has been utterly obliterated leaving only a huge hole in its place. Outside of the platform where the referee is the girl is shivering in fear as the feeling of death that came the moment nick started to use his move was overwhelming. "This young man is the winner!" The referee shouts while pointing to nick who is trying to recover enough energy to move. With this shout the crowd goes wild with cheers and applause , while at the same time the girl recovered from her close call with death and unlike what everyone imagined she merely leaves the area without a word after giving nick a profound look. Chapter 45 - Final test Nick sat down cross legged at the side of the platform that is being repaired and strengthened in order to prevent its destruction a second time. Nick focused on restoring his strength which was completely gone after that last attack, which didn''t even surprise him little since the system had warned him about it when he created it a few days ago. The platform was repaired about fifteen minutes later and the referee asked nick if he wanted to challenge anyone which he declined before taking a seat in the group of participants where nobody bother him till his next match. In the end nick fought a few more battles but none of them were worth really paying attention to since nick was far more powerful than most of his opponents. After there was only five thousand people left the elder from earlier floated above the remaining participants and started explaining the next test. "The next test is quite simple really , all of you will be sent into a special treasure that simulates an untamed environment complete with demon beast and treasure items that would normally be found there, however as it is a simulation nothing is actually able to be taken out of the treasure. The test is to survive in this environment for as long as possible , another thing to keep in mind is that as time passes the environment will become more and more hostile until you will have no choice but to leave the treasure but rest assured death is not possible so long as you are in the treasure instead you will be ejected as soon as a fatal blow has been dealt. That said the goal of this test is twofold, the first is to thin the number of people down to 250 people , the second is to temper your wills with the harshness of true world experiences." After speaking the elder waves his hand causing a mirror to appear . the mirror was as large as a door and looked to be made of some kind of bronze and jade the outside edges were covered in the images of devils and gods in combat while the center of the mirror was a pure black with no hint of shine to it giving the mirror an ancient aura . the mirror landed on the ground in front of the participants silently before the elder instructed everyone to walk into the mirror and start the test. At first no one walked forward but soon someone did and after that person vanished into the mirror everyone else started to enter as well until no one was left except the elder and the people spectating from the sidelines. Nick opened his eyes after walking through the mirror to find himself surrounded by trees as well as mountains as far as he could tell. ''Well this is interesting '' he thinks while knocking on a tree as well as pinching himself to make sure its not just an illusion. After confirming his situation nick looks at the moss growing on the trees to get a sense of direction before he heads west to one of the mountains nearby in order to find both a source of water as well as a place to setup shelter. Nick quickly hears the sound of running water which he follows to a small stream coming down the mountainside after testing the water to see if it is safe to drink he checks nearby before finding a cave about a hundred meters to the north hidden slightly behind some bushes making it difficult to spot. The cave mouth is only about four feet all around making nick need to widen it by about a foot in order to make it easier for him to enter, the entire cave is only ten meters long from the mouth to the back and its very narrow so nick works in the surrounding stone in order to create a cavity large enough to live in comfortably for him. After removing the excess stone nick left the cave in order to collect wood and other materials to make a bed and tools for crafting since he plans to hole up till the test is over. Chapter 46 - ape Nick moved through the trees quickly as he scanned the area for materials. The sound of insect and other wild life filled the air before nick stops suddenly as a sense of danger fills him . nick rapidly dodges to the right narrowly avoiding a crude spear that penetrates the spot he was just standing. Nick looks in the direction the spear came from only to find an ape standing there with a grin on its face obviously pleased with itself. The ape was a massive eleven feet tall bulging mass of muscle the apes fur was a tawny brown but the most unusual thing about the ape was that it had six ears and four eyes but looked completely normal otherwise. "I''m guessing you threw that spear." Nick said while observing the surroundings for an ambush. The ape walks over to a nearby tree while nick watches on cautiously as the ape casually rips a large branch off the tree before slashing it into a crude spear with its paws. The ape spins its new spear while taking a stance and motioning nick to attack. Deep in nicks blood the call of battle is stoked from the apes action as he takes out his sword and rushes at the ape leaving a crater behind him. The ape also rushes at nick also leaving a crator behind it. As they clash the area is destroyed from the shockwave as debris fly outwards. The clash proved that both parties are roughly on par with each other causing a psychotic smile to cross nicks face as well as the apes. The two clash violently as their battle l.u.s.t pours forth onto each other as they let loose all the pent up aggression from within them. There is no skills being used in this battle merely pure una.d.u.l.terated power. Cuts and bruises pile up on both nick and the ape however they completely ignore them as the only thing in their minds is the worthy opponent before them. Blood coats the ground as the battle rages and the land is torn asunder. Meanwhile outside the mirror the old man with golden eyes has an excited look on his face as he watches the battle between nick and the ape. "Old sun you seem quite happy do tell what has you so excited." The other old man he was playing chess with says after seeing old suns expression. Old sun looks over to the old man. "Old jade do you remember that little fellow with the pure bloodline of that old bastard war?" Old jade nods. "He''s currently fighting my grandson evenly." Old sun says excited. Old jades eyebrows raise up in surprise as he looks at the battle as well. "Indeed he is fighting evenly with that little monster of yours." Old sun beams from the compliment before focusing on the fight. During the fight between nick and the ape both sides have accrued many wounds of various kinds and have only just separated from each other to catch their breath. Nick pants from the extreme stress his body is under with each breath steam exits his mouth and body which has reached terrifying temperatures. The ape is in no better condition as it is also belches steam from it as well. After recovering enough nick speaks "we aren''t getting anywhere like this how about we both use our most powerful attacks to end this already." The ape rubs it''s chin for a moment before grinning and nodding. Without another word both nick and the ape take up their stances. The air freezes from the tension as both parties build up power . after nick readies all of his energy he locks eyes with the ape and they both nod. Nick unleashes his most devastating attack "rising sun!" The ape follows suit as a blinding flash occurs and the world around them shattered like glass before reforming and shattering over and over again until the attacks finally run out of energy revealing the outcome. Chapter 48 - Sun wulong Utter devastation, there is no other way to describe the scene of the battle. The trees that has once covered the area? gone turned to powder. The ground once covered in grass and weeds? collapsed leaving only a massive hole with no visible end. The combatants? On either side of the hole on the brink of being dead ,bones twisted backwards,having lost so much blood the wounds litering their bodies completely dry , skin flayed leaving only a few patches. Should either of the two been mortals they would have been dead hundreds of times over. Oddly enough however was that on both nicks and the apes faces a content smile hung loosely . "name?" The sound of a deep voice echo''s out of the apes body surprised nick replied "nicholas varia ,you?" The ape was silent for a few moments "sun wulong". Both of them were silent for about five minutes . nick reaches for his inventory carefully as a grimace covers his face from the pain going through his body. In his inventory he removed two of his best healing pills before he takes one quietly. After his body regain a small amount of strength he flicks the second one over to the ape who wordlessly swallows it . the first thing that heals on both nick and the ape is the bones, as they reset themselves grew sludge weeds out of them leaving only pure jade bones behind. Next the muscles reattach themselves as well as grow more compact and durable. The veins and meridians slowly creep into position as they also become larger and tougher than before. Finally an entirely new layer of skin grows over their bodies that is flawless and harder than the previous layer. Finally hair grows out from their bodies until they are completely healed. *DING* *Congratulations on discovering a secondary path of cultivation (BODY REFINEMENT).* *You have gained 100 DC for the achievement as well as all related items from the system being unlocked for your perusal.* Nick was amazed at the notification from the system before nursing into laughter. Startled sun wulong couldn''t help but ask "why laugh?" In his deep voice. Nick stopped laughing and explained about body refinement and how they seemed to accidentally stumbled into it. Sun wulong also laughed at the irony of the situation. ''System status!'' Nick commanded. *Ding* NAME:Nicholas varia AGE:13yrs RACE:human/demigod Money:576499999 DC:25 Level:48 BODY REFINEMENT:level 4(skin) CULTIVATION:origin core tier 8 PROFESSION:alchemist tier 2 , array master tier 2 , blacksmith tier 2 , inscription master tier 2 , healer tier 2 , cook tier 2 SKILLS:swordsmanship lv9 , bowmanship lv9 flame step lv9 , area of control lv9 , myriad forms lv9 , void shard lv9 , qi control lv9 , dragons rage lv9 , divine might lv9 ABILITIES:awareness (user is aware of all things around them even without seeing it.) Body control (user has complete control of their physique including nerves, pores,veins,etc) Nature child (user is accepted by the laws of the universe, let one cultivate without angering the heavens) Monster (user has surpassed even geniuses in many ways , culture with twice the results with half the effort.) IRON BODY(user has a body as durable as iron) STRENGTH:810 AGILITY:600 SPIRIT:510 INTELLIGENCE:400 CHARISMA:400 LAW:Space small completion Nicks eyes were so wide it looked like they would fall out. ''Damn only level 4 in body refinement and my strength and agility basically doubled this path is totally worth taking it the gains are always so great!'' Nick thinks. Nick goes to stand up from the ground but since he isn''t used to his new strength overexerts and instead launches himself into the air before landing awkwardly on his faces few feet away. Chapter 48 - Teaming up Nicks rights himself carefully before looking over at sun wulong "hey so if you try to move you might want to be careful it seems like our bodies have gotten stronger than before so you might use more strength accidentally." Sun wulong sits upright and swings his arm to verify what nick says before nodding in acceptance. "What now?" Sun wulong asked while carefully standing up. Nick rubs his chin in thought "as I see it we could work together to try and survive longer or go our own ways." Nick says shortly. Sun wulong grins "together strong." He says while stretching. Nick is slightly taken back by how quickly sun wulong agrees to team up before he also grins . nick walks over to sun wulong and starts explaining his plan to lie low for as long as possible in the cave and maybe breakthrough in his cultivation while he''s at it. Sun wulong listens carefully before telling nick that his plan was similar in short statements as we''ll as what jobs he''s proficient in which makes nick slightly uncomfortable since even sun wulong only had three jobs blacksmith, inscription, and arrays. After he finishes talking sun wulong looks at nick expectantly as he obviously wants nick to explain his jobs. Nick cautiously looks around "what I''m about to say stays between us unless absolutely necessary understood?" Nick says seriously. Sun wulong looks confused since its just jobs so it shouldn''t be to big of a secret ,in the end even though it confused him sun wulong agreed. Nick then went on to list all of his jobs , at first sun wulong was confused then surprised and in the end filled with disbelief before looking at nick like some kind of freak. To be fair this reaction makes perfect sense since even geniuses usually only have three jobs but nick has six which is double the normal amount for geniuses. The reason why geniuses usually only have three jobs instead of a massive amount is because each of those jobs requires resources in order to advance and each advancement usually cost twice the amount of resources as the last not to mention that the rarity of the resources goes in every advancement this the more jobs one has the more money one needs and just to get three jobs to a high level requires enough resources to bankrupt a medium sized clan the amount needed for six would even make massive clans flinch. However the doesn''t apply for nick since his system basically allows him to advance his jobs on the first attempt which is enough to make even gods eyes go red with greed. After a few moments sun wulong calms himself before discussing the details of who will do what with nick. After about twenty minutes they come to an agreement that sun wulong will take care of making the inside of the cave more habitable using his blacksmith knowledge to forge metal walls and thick doors while nick will set up various arrays for defense as well as qi gathering in order to effectively turn the cave into a bunker capable of withstanding a nuke at point blank range while keeping those inside safe. After the plans were made nick and sun wulong separated in order to do their jobs. Nick quickly got used to his new strength and speed before he basically stripping the local area of resources leaving it barren before returning to the cave where he handed over the ones requested by sun wulong for his part which he started on as soon as nick handed over the materials. As each thick metal wall was being made nick was erasing the area inside the mountain to make room for the bunker. Chapter 50 - Devour law Nick cut out the mountain bit by bit until a massive cavern was left causing echo''s to ring throughout the area. ''This should be large enough for the two of us right?'' Nick thinks as he beholds his work. Nicks walks out of the cavern in order to check on sun wulongs progress only to find him standing in confrontation with a girl. Normally nick would help sun wulong if it were a fight going on however the actual situation was a bit peculiar. "Not welcome" sun wulong says to the girl calmly. The girl was completely covered in bandages leaving only a pair of bright green eyes that are almost catlike in appearance. The girl observes sun wulong cautiously before noticing nick who had just arrived causing her eyes to narrow even further before she is wreathed in shadows before vanishing entirely. "Friend of yours?" Nick asked as he walks up to sun wulong who snorted before turning and answering "fiance". He then turns away and goes back to shaping materials into walls while ignoring nick. Nick doesn''t mind as he walks into the forest to go gather some more materials and supplies. *Ding* *host is recommended to use caution* ''What? Use caution what for ?'' Nick was flabbergasted at the systems suddenly Warning,however no matter what he asked the system never explained before he eventually gave up and moved on while making a mental note to remain cautious. nick carefully made his way forward he was entirely unaware of a pair of green eyes coldly observing him from the shadows. As nick moved through the mountain jungle he collected plenty of materials to finish the bunker as well as enough supplies to survive in the bunker for a long time. Nick stops in a small clearing as a sense of hunger creeps over him where he sets up a rock to sit on as well as a small campfire before he starts cleaning a deer he killed earlier by snapping its neck after ambushing it. After he cleaned the deer he cut it into steaks so perfect a butcher would have been impressed. Nick then took some spiritual herbs of various flavors before seasoning the meat to be a bit spicy before he skewers them and begins roasting them over the fire. Soon after a tantalizing aroma rises into the surrounding air before drifting away into the woods. In the distance a small group of people are rapidly traveling through the forest, the group consist of three people two men and a woman. "Hmm? Hey you guys smell that?" The woman asked while coming to a stop . the two men smell the air and nod "smells like food doesn''t it?" One of them said while the other agrees. The woman looks in the direction nick is "let''s go see if we can get this person to submit to us and if not we''ll kill them." As arrogance fills her face. Nick cooks the steaks perfectly on both sides before he rips off a steak and bites into it ravenously causing oil to drop down his chin onto the ground, as if something in him was provided the hunger nick feels causes him to ignore how hot the food is before he rapidly devours the entire deer leaving only oil stains left on the ground before the hunger abates. *DING* *congratulations on gaining initial contact with the devour law.* Nick was confused since he wasn''t trying to learn a law before it struck him that most laws are actually acquired via sudden enlightenment which was the state he was in before. ''So that was devouring , but I thought it was difficult to learn laws at my stage?'' *Ding* *host has already learned a supreme law thus making it easier to learn other laws* Chapter 50 - Taste like strawberries Nick understood what the system was saying almost immediately since it made sense if you thought about it. There was a sort of barrier that existed in all beings that separated them from the laws and its only after they pass through that barrier when they truly see every part of the world. Nick was lost in thought when three people broke through the treeline and into the clearing catching him slightly off guard. Nick shelved his distracting thoughts and focused his attention on the small group but deems them not a threat and chooses to ignore them. The faces of the three darken when they see how easily nick dismissed them. The woman looks over at the two men "this fellow seems to think we aren''t worth his time right?" She says quietly. "Seems that way" one of the men said. "He doesn''t look that strong but something about him makes me kinda nervous." The other man said while taking a glance at nick. The other two were a bit surprised by what the man said before they took another look at nick. The woman''s eyes widen dramatically as she takes a few steps back in fear "we need to leave right now!" She says panicked. "What for?" one of the men asked confused. The woman takes a deep breath "neither of you saw it but I did ,that man right there destroyed half the platform during the second test and that platform was meant to withstand any attack under void realm." The two men were silent as the shock of this news goes through them. After they calmed down the group immediately vacated the area as quickly as they could. As soon as they left a snort of derision softly came from nearby almost inaudible the the b.a.r.e ear ,almost. The gets up quickly while on guard and releases his aura causing dust to fly away as well as let him roughly feel everything the surroundings. This sudden action greatly shocked the person in the shadows because before they can use their stealth technique nicks aura washes over them leaving them completely exposed. ''Dammit why couldn''t he be weak I''ll have to go all out to get away now.'' The person in the shadows thinks before sending a fire ball towards nick while they try to flank him since they think he is distracted. As the fireball comes at him nick is surprised that this person thought they could use such a basic move as a distraction. He then uses his wisp of understanding for the devour law to block the fireball while he tracks the person with his senses. Something slightly comical happens when the devour law meets the fireball unlike the cancelation that nick was expecting the devour law actually took the shape of a mouth before eating the fireball and burping. nick actually stopped for a brief moment because the devour law actually sent a small amount of energy to him as well as a flavor causing nick to say something so funny the other person actually freezes for a minute from laughter. "Taste like strawberries." The tinkling sound of a woman laughing fills the area for an entire minute by which point nick has basically been standing in front of the same bandage covered girl who is apparently sun wulongs fianc¨¦. Nick is patiently waiting for her to stop laughing so he can ask why she was watching him. After she stops laughing the girl looks at nick and sighs "its a shame I''m not marrying you something tells me you would be far more fun to marry than that block of stone back there." She says afterwards. Nick is taken aback "please be joking one strange girl wanting to marry me is plenty I don''t need any more." He says seriously. The girl looks offended "I''m not strange!" She cried trying to defend herself. Nick looks at her sarcastically "you seem to be wearing nothing but bandages followed someone you know nothing about and the attacked said person for no reason , yeah TOTALLY not strange." Nick states matter of factly. Chapter 51 - Che lela The girl looks stunned before realizing that everything nick said is true which would in fact make her appear strange. "OK so there''s a good reason for all this swear." The girl says defensively. Nick raises an eyebrow "by all means do explain." He says skeptical. The girl is obviously irritated by nicks manner of speech before she starts talking. "OK so let''s start with the first thing you mentioned these bandages, so I assume that block of stone told you who I am right?" Nick rubs his chin before answering "truthfully all he told me was that you were his fianc¨¦ however he didn''t say anything past that." The girl snorts in anger " of course he didn''t say anything beyond that point that bastard probably didn''t think it was important enough to mention." She sighs "much like him I''m part of the beast race specifically the cheetah clan all members of my clan bear the surname Che as a reminder of our origins, my name in particular is Che Lela though you can call me Lela. Any how the members of the beast race all b.a.r.e features of our animal forms while in our human forms it differs from different people mine happened to be that I have fur markings all over my body which is why I wear these bandages that cover all of them." She explains fluently. Nick nods in understanding before posing a question "aren''t beast race individuals fairly common though?" Lela froze "but my father said people would gawk if I don''t cover all of my fur markings." She said obviously confused. Nick felt he might know what was going on "I think I understand why he told you to cover yourself though to see if I''m right I need you to do something." Lela looks at nick confused "OK what?" She asked . "uncover your face." Nick said . Lela was a bit confused at nicks request but did as he asked anyway. As the bandages came off of her head long tawny brown hair flowed out onto her shoulders before her face was revealed causing nick to smirk in understanding while lightly shaking his head. Lela''s face could only be described as breathtaking she had fair porcelain skin with thin tawny fur from her cheeks down ,she had a narrow jaw that went well with her high pronounced cheeks an adorable little nose that sat perfectly on her face. Nick chuckled since he realized that he was going to get Lela''s father in trouble once she learns what he was going to tell her. Meanwhile in a clan compound a middle aged man with brown hair was writing in a ledger suddenly sneezed causing him to freeze "this bodes Ill." He mumbles. Lela looks curiously at nick who was chuckling to himself. "Were you right? What was the reason?" She asked curious. Nick stopped chuckling "oh I was completely right in fact I''m also sure you''re going to be quite angry when you find out why he wanted you to be completely covered." He says with a grin. Lela grows anxious "is it really that bad?" The grin on nicks face grows bigger practically making him look like the Cheshire cat. "Oh its so bad do you want to know what the reason was?" Lela was obviously debating on whether she really wanted to know the truth. Lela obviously didn''t seem to notice the downright evil grin on nicks face. Coming to a choice Lela looks at nick "alright tell me ." nick tries to restrain his grin a bit "the real reason he told you to cover yourself was simply because ..... you''re too beautiful!" He says before bursting into laughter. As expected Lela is shocked by the news before she grows red from anger at her father. The reason she was so angry was because she thought she was hideous or something from the way her father told her to cover up leading her to be self conscious of her looks which is a horrible feeling for a woman after all who wants to be ugly. It goes without saying that Lela''s father was sneezing up a storm right now. Nick on the other hand was laughing at others misfortune before hearing something that makes his blood freeze. "Wait that means you think I''m beautiful right?" Chapter 53 - Chased and escape Nicks blood chilled at those words as he started to back away from Lela while staring at her cautiously. Lela looked at nick whith a look a judgment before making a seductive face . it was at this moment a single thought went through nicks head before he bolted ''NOPE''. Nick pushed his movement technique so hard that it actually leveled up twice causing him to go even faster, unfortunately he still didn''t go fast enough. Nick wasn''t aware that the cheetah clans techniques all focused on a single aspect ,speed. "Wait! Are you really so opposed to a relationship that you bolt at the first sign of interest?" Lela called out from behind him. "Absolutely! Women are f.u.c.k.i.n.g crazy about relationsh.i.p.s in this world!" Nick yelled back without stopping. Lela almost tripped when she heard what nick said not from surprise but from excitement. You see cheetahs are natural hunters and that aspect even transfers over into relationsh.i.p.s. In the cheetah clan it is in fact quite common for one of it members to in a manner of speaking hunt their partners , which is to say if they are interested they try to acquire that person at all cost only stopping if a better candidate appears, nick was a better candidate. You might be wondering how Lela determined nick was better than sun wulong ? Its really simple actually she had basically studied sun wulong so she knows the he would never work with someone weaker than him while nick was both funnier and more attractive then sun wulong so she immediately discarded sun wulong in order to hunt nick. Lela was starting to catch up to nick as her movement technique was based entirely on speed whereas nicks was not this caused nick to panic and an idea formed in his head . *Ding* *Host is ill advised to attempt that thought at this moment due to lack of cultivation.* ''I don''t have much choice right now ,what are the chances I pull this off?'' Nick asked the system. *Ding* *host has a 10 percent chance of flawless success ,a 20 percent chance of flawless success and a 70 percent chance of failure.* Nick hesitates for a moment then he senses Lela is only a few feet behind him getting ready to pounce on him before he makes up his mind . the moment nick makes up his mind he begins channeling the space law around him into a bubble that''s isolated from the outside before he connects the bubble to the space inside the mountain base before sending all of his energy into that connection and vanishing with a pop sound. All of this happened almost instantly so for Lela nick was almost in her hands before a bright silver light covered him and he vanished entirely. Lela was absolutely shocked ''this is...teleportation!'' She mentally exclaimed. Meanwhile old suns jaw drops as he watches nick teleport away. Old jade and the few other people watching all have the same reaction before they all start arguing passionately. "I want him nobody fight me on this!" "F.u.c.k that I want him!" "Screw both of you he''s mine!" Old sun and old jade were also arguing in that same manner when a voice rang out silencing all of them. "Enough! All of you are arguing when the person in question isn''t even here to state their side of things , beside there''s a certain individual who has his eye on him that bone of you want to deal with." The voice spoke calmly but what they said caused everyone who was arguing to freeze. Old sun looked nervous as he spoke up "you can''t possibly mean THAT person right?" "That is precisely the person I''m talking about " the voice said with a tinge of reverence. Chapter 53 - Release The air shimmered before a flash of silver light fills the area before it fades away revealing Nick. Nick looks absolutely wretched with patches of flesh missing exposing cracked bones and blood pouring onto the ground rapidly forming into a puddle where he is panting laboriously. *Ding* *congratulations host on achieving a flawed but successful teleportation. 100 DC obtained. ''Why was I rewarded for a flawed teleportation?'' *Ding* *host was rewarded for pushing yourself beyond your limits successfully. The teleportation is frowned upon due to the blatant disregard for host own life.* ''Good to know you Care'' Nick thinks sarcastically. Nick takes out a healing pill from his inventory and swallows it before waiting for his body to regenerate. After he finishes healing Nick walks out of the puddle of blood before waving his hand causing a white gout of flame roaring towards the puddle instantly dry into it and turning it into dust and then Nick simply walks out of the cave surprising and confusing Sun wulong. "How you back, why bloody?" Sun wulong says in his standard broken manner. Nick looks over at him and sighs "I teleported wrong and got real injured as for why I tried teleporting it was because your fianc¨¦ has seemed to take an interest in me so I had to get away." Nick said while watching sun wulongs reaction carefully. Sun wulong actually grinned after Nick finished speaking which surprised Nick. "Thank you, don''t want her." Sun wulong said causing Nicks jaw to drop . "hold up did you get stuck with her against your will?" Nick asked skeptical. Sun wulong nodded obviously quite happy now. "Are all women in this world so unreasonable about marriage?!" Nick questions angrily. Sun wulong shakes his head causing nick to sigh that he must be just unlucky before Sun wulong says one word that crushes all Nicks hopes. "Universe." Nick makes his way to the nearby stream in order to clean himself off before changing into a new set of clothes and going back to the mountain cave where he took some of the finished walls sun wulong made before handing over all the usable materials and going into the cave quietly. Nick set up the walls to cover the entrance of the cave first since he was sure that it wasn''t the last time he saw Lela and he really didn''t want to deal with her. After covering the entrance Nick started covering the rightmost wall which he only had enough walls to complete before running out . as Nick walked towards the entrance his instincts told him not to open that door and so he didn''t instead he sent his perception through the door only for it to come face to face with the entire reason he blocked the entrance first, that''s right Lela was standing right outside the entrance looking extremely angry. After sensing Nicks perception Lela started to speak "you can hide in there like a turtle or you can come out and face me like a man." She taunted Nick. Nick withdrew his perception before contemplating his options when a lightbulb went off in his head causing an evil grin to spread across his face. Nick released his bloodline in its entirety causing the space around him to warp and change colors while everything in an area of four miles was bathed in intense bloodl.u.s.t causing all creatures cultivator or not to feel pressed down on like gravity itself has increased a hundred fold. Nick felt extremely comfortable after releasing his bloodline since by restraining it he actually increased the burden on his body. Lela and sun wulong both felt the pressure merely from Nicks bloodline and sweat starts to pour from them as they struggle against it . Nicks grin grows larger as instead of restraining his bloodline he begins condensing it onto Lela alone causing the pressure on her to skyrocket rapidly forcing her on her knees before pinning her firmly against the ground. After incapacitating Lela nick walked out the entrance and passed her without a word before he walks over to sun wulong who is panting from the pressure he was just under before collecting a few more finished walls and walking back into the cave past Lela and into the unfinished bunker. Chapter 54 - Grinding Nick withdrew his bloodline not suppressing it merely holding it close to his body rather than spreading it out, it could be said to be like a layer of armor right now . Nick begins putting up the walls he grabbed which was enough to finish the side he started earlier before sitting in the corner and starts meditation on the law of devour. Unknown to Nick he was gaining mastery of the law of devour at a terrifying rate, even for someone who had grasp a supreme law the speed he grasped the law of devour was horrifying since he went from initial understanding to advanced in little more than a week. At the end of nicks meditation Sun wulong had finished making the rest of the walls as well as the ceiling and floor he was merely waiting for Nick to wake up before completing the bunker. Nick opened his eyes which two mouths were reflected briefly before vanishing. ''System open shop.'' *Ding* *opening shop* ''Show me the body refinement stuff'' the items shown to Nick flickered before showing new items with descriptions. The items shown were actually just normal cultivation materials with the ability to help refine the body usually as a secondary function, However the most surprising thing was that beast blood was included in the body refinement materials. As nick was looking through all the items for body refinement at his level he came across two things in particular that caught his eye the only refinement technique and an alchemy method for creating body refinement pills. Now you may be thinking that alchemist should already know how to isolate a certain effect from materials in normal cases what alchemist actually do is isolate the primary function rather than any of the secondary functions which is actually highly wasteful since all that is used is the primary while discarding the rest regardless of what it is. The method for alchemy nick noticed however was far better than any other due to the fact that all the positive functions are used rather than just the one or if nick wanted he could actually make pills that only more the negative functions making whoever used the pill suffer horribly. The problem nick had however was that nick only had a hundred DC points and both the alchemy method and the refinement technique cost five hundred points placing them far out of his reach at the moment. Nick closed the system and walked over to sun wulong who flinched slightly at the thick pressure around nick before calming himself and handing nick the rest of the walls as well as the roof and floor before going out of the area to wait on Nick to finish the bunker. Nick first raised the walls he had set up already off the ground before he placed down the floor before lowering the walls into the special groove meant to hold them setting them with a click. After Nick did that he placed the rest of the walls in their place before he placed down the roof which clicked into place. As soon as the roof was in place the inscriptions lit up and Nick figured out what Sun wulong had done he had broken the inscription into multiple parts before placing them on different parts of the bunker so only when all the parts came together would the inscription work. After the bunker was completed nick set up a single energy gathering area before he set up five more arrays focused on defense alone he even added a bit of devour law to the arrays in order to make them self sufficient. Once done Nick brought Sun wulong into the bunker which was separated in two Before they locked the bunker down and went to their own sides of the bunker to train while they wait for the end of the test. Nick was doing the only thing he could to make DC points in his room making things before selling them to the system using his own material for a small almost none existent profit to be more accurate nick was basically trading materials and skill use for points and it was obviously going to be awhile before he had enough points to get both the refinement technique and the alchemy method. Chapter 55 - Unusual event Nick built arrays,weapons,inscriptions,and pills so rapidly that if anyone else saw him they would be shocked. Nick didn''t even notice when he reached his goal since he had entered a state of enlightenment and disregarded everything while he was busy creating all manners of things but the most shocking of all was the myriad of lights in his surroundings dancing around him as though in celebration. The elders who were watching the participants all started screaming while holding their eyes which smile was pouring out of. "The hells are going on!? Why are we being hurt when we try to watch that brat!?"one of the elders yelled angrily. Only two people were unaffected by whatever was affecting the elders ,Old sun and Old jade both of who were panicking slightly. "We have to act quickly!" Old sun yelled at Old jade who nodded seriously. They both shot at the mirror all the participants went into before standing on both side of it and began forming hand seals while changing some form of spell at the same time a terrifying energy began to spark into the sky before clashing violently with an invisible force the had gathered above the mirror. The space began to quake as lightning flashed from the sky before it started to change shape in to a serpentine form with four arms with six claws on each the head was long like a crocodile with two long whispers and either side of the snout and two deer horns on the top of it head , it was a dragon! "ROOAR!" The dragon roars out causing a wave of force to destroy the area around its head before the eyes of the dragon open. Two crimson orbs stared at the energy from Old sun and Old jade before charging towards the mirror between them. Old sun and Old jade both go pale as their technique was shattered and they helplessly watch as the dragon rushes toward the mirror. Suddenly a voice booms out "BEGONE WYRM!" The voice causes the space around the dragon to collapse in on itself before the dragon starts struggling valiantly in an attempt to free itself but alas it was pointless as the dragon started to break apart at the end of its tail. Knowing that it was unable to escape the dragon howled before shrinking rapidly until it was only a ball the size of a quarter before it decisively shattered raining a massive amount of energy at the mirror. The voice booms out again a little panic noticeable this time "NOOO!" A wave of energy crashes into the dragons energy causing most of it to disperse however, a sliver of it manages to enter the mirror before charging at the unaware Nick. The energy crashes into Nick sending him flying as he spews blood out of his mouth before he slams into the wall rattling the room before finally collapsing on the ground. Nick lay on the ground barely breathing as that sliver of energy rampages inside of him , however this ceases abruptly when the energy finally seems to have been exhausted and fades into the newly form pattern that is on nicks body. The pattern was none other than that of a dragon. Nick was off course unconscious and completely unaware of the new addition to his body needless to say the entire city knew about the lightning dragon that had appeared and were all talking about it fervently. Chapter 57 - The mark Nick woke up with a groan before sitting up and coughing out the smoke in his lungs before taking a deep breath. ''Status'' nick orders groggy. *Ding* * NAME:Nicholas varia AGE:13yrs RACE:human/demigod BLOODLINE:Wargod/Dragon king Money:576499999 DC:3012 Level:50 BODY REFINEMENT:level 5(blood) CULTIVATION:nascent soul first tier SKILLS:swordsmanship lv9 , bowmanship lv9 flame step lv9 , area of control lv9 , myriad forms lv9 , void shard lv9 , qi control lv9 , dragons rage lv9 , dragons might lv2 divine might lv9 ABILITIES:awareness (user is aware of all things around them even without seeing it.) Body control (user has complete control of their physique including nerves, pores,veins,etc) Divine charm (user naturally emits an aura that attracts others to them like a natural leader) Nature child (user is accepted by the laws of the universe, let one cultivate without angering the heavens) Dragon kings mark (owner has been marked as the dragon princess''s fiance for being more exceptional than any other.) Monster (user has surpassed even geniuses in many ways , culture with twice the results with half the effort.) IRON BODY(user has a body as durable as iron) STRENGTH:1200 SPIRIT:1000 INTELLIGENCE:800 CHARISMA:500 LAW:Space small completion,devour advanced completion,fire initial,water initial,air initial,earth initial,dark initial,light initial SYSTEM EVALUATION:damn!* Looking over his status he stopped when he saw the dragon kings mark ''f.u.c.k''. Meanwhile a middle ages man with stroking features burst into a vibrant room filled with stuffed animals and weapons creating an odd mix. The middle ages man is smiling from ear to ear "sweetheart I found you the perfect match!" He said to the only person in the room excitedly. The person in the room was a girl with long cobolt hair flowing down her back and a perfect face that looked like angels sculpted it.. The girl raises an eyebrow "oh father you sound so certain of yourself do tell me about the boy." The girl says interested after all her father dotes on her more than he should do he wouldn''t choose someone mediocre as her partner. Her father was thrilled with his daughters interest before he blanked out as he saw Nicks aversion to relationsh.i.p.s in the past. The man had such a high cultivation that it was easy for him to peer into the past of anyone weaker than him he was simply so excited before that he had completely forgotten to do so on Nick. The man coughs awkwardly "so till now I forgot to look into the lads past and there''s a bit of a hangover." He says nervously. The girl is surprised by her fathers carelessness before she roughly understands what happened. "Is his personality horrible or does he hate someone we know?" The girl tries to figure out what the problem is. The man panics and gestures rapidly"no no no! His personality is exceptional and he''s never met anyone we know." He says quickly. The girl is surprised that it was none of those things "if it''s not those then how''s is it a problem?"she said confused. The man sighs "the problem is that he is completely against arranged marriage or one sided affection, basically the only way to get him to marry you is to make him fall in love with you himself." He says defeated. The girl has a strange expression "isn''t it normal to get married and then fall in love?" She says. The man sighs even deeper "that''s the problem this lad defies all normal expectations even in his out of the box opinion on relationsh.i.p.s but the real problem is that I already sent out the mark." Chapter 58 - Payback The girl looks at her father dumbfounded before rubbing her forehead from the headache coming on. "What you''re saying is that you sent out an unremovable mark of engagement to what can only be described as the only person on the planet who absolutely hates arranged marriage without checking for consent first?" She says angrily. The man sort of shrinks down as his daughter points out his mistakes. The girl continues "and to top it all off I can''t even go apologize because the mark will react the moment I get within a mile of him which according to you will likely cause him to either turtle up or flee."she said as her headache grew. The man perked up suddenly when he thought of something. "I have a way for you to approach him without the mark acting up!"the man said suddenly full of viger. The girls headache lessons after her father said that "and how is that exactly"she says still rather irritated. The man ignored her attitude "I have a ring which hides all fluctuations that come from a person thus you should be able to sneak up to him and bring him back here with no problem at all." The man says obviously not realizing what he is saying is basically kidnapping. The girl is not surprised at her fathers train of thought but she still saw the problem with his plan. "I love you father but sometimes you need to think a little , what do you think someone like that boy will do if we force him into marriage?"the girl questions seriously. The man stops and is stunned when he actually thinks about it."he will hate us for it." He said seriously. "And that''s the problem if he hates both of us that means not only will he not do his husband duties but he may even make attempts on our lives , the best case scenario is that he is married in only name and nothing else the worst is he snaps and tries to kill everyone we know and ourselves." She says morbidly. The man grows pale and shudders at the thought. Seeing his reaction to her words the girl nods before telling her father her plan. Meanwhile nicks is bleeding from his skin as he is missing a certain part of his flesh which seems like he has gouged out. ''Dammit all why won''t this f.u.c.k.i.n.g mark go away!'' Nick angrily thinks as he looks at the status screen. ''System why can''t I get rid of this mark!'' *Ding* *The mark is now a part of host soul to remove it would be to shatter host soul and as such is permanent.* Nick was furious ''I can''t remove it at all , then can I punish the person responsible''. *Ding* *System can send punishment back at the one responsible for a price of 500 points* Nick grins evilly ''do it''. *Ding* *confirmed* Nick felt an idea sensation in his c.h.e.s.t before a bolt of black lightning fly''s out of his c.h.e.s.t and into the void. The girl finished telling her father her plan when a small gift opens up in front of him surprisingly both if them. The man recognized nicks aura and a feeling of danger comes over him but it was too late. The bolt of black lightning sources out of the right and slams into the man before he can react. The man starts screaming in agony as smoke flies out of his body and blood pours from his orifices.this one last for a few moments before the man collapses on the ground panting heavily. "Father!" The girl cries as she rushes over to her father to make sure he''s alright. As she inspires her father she''s horrified to find that his once vibrant vitality is now small and weak like that if a dying person. The man wakes up terrified as he hugs his daughter fearfully. "I.. I made a huge mistake ,so huge ...so huge ,please apologize please please please!" The man rambles off at his daughter while handing her all manner of treasures. The girl panics at her fathers actions before stopping him "what was that! why are you acting like this!" She cries. Chapter 58 - Test end The man was horrified because what that bolt of lightning did was cut his lifespan in half effectively putting his cultivation at jeopardy of failing to make a breakthrough. Because when making a breakthrough you burn your potential which is also directly related to your lifespan so losing half of it is a terrible loss regards of cultivation realm. "I..I don''t know how but that lad sent that bolt of lightning and it took half my lifespan." He says fearfully. The girl is shocked "the only way he could do that is if he had some ungodfully powerful expert behind him" she says surprised. This was the true reason the man was scared witless was because anyone capable of halving his lifespan was not someone he could handle. After coming to an agreement the girl set off to the academy. Meanwhile nick was but irritated and happy at the same time , he was irritated that the mark was still there but happy that he punished the person who gave it to him. ''I should probably get that alchemy method and the body refinement technique before I grind my laws to advanced.'' After making his plan he followed through by buying those items and memorizing their contents and burning the physical copies. Afterwards nick spent the next month train his laws getting all the new ones to advanced and the space to intermediate. On this day every participant left was suddenly dragged out of the mirror before arriving in the area outside the mirror. The elder who was in charge of the test gave nick an odd look before speaking "everyone still here is already accepted into the academy. However due to certain individuals we must question some of you for safety''s sake therefore come when your name is called." The elder says briskly. after a while nick is called and he walks over calmly before he is taken away like everyone else before him. Unlike everyone before however when he entered the room it was filled with elders arguing. "Uh is it a bad time?" He said awkwardly. The elders all stop arguing and stare at nick like hungry wolves. "No ,well the thing is we actually tried to stop you from getting that mark so we''re arguing about how to treat you from now on." One of the elders explains looking frustrated. "Im fine being treated like everyone else." Nick said reassuringly. Someone steps forward that person is old sun himself. "Lad it''s not so simple that mark on you represents a power even stronger than the academy, and you a new student was chosen to bear it you simple can''t be compared to others at all." He said while gesturing dramatically. Nick snorted in irritation. "you don''t need to worry about this mark to much as no one can force me into anything like marriage without my permission." he said before storming off leaving the group of elders in shock. "Can he do that?" one of the elders asked breaking the silence. Old sun spoke up to answer "from what I''ve seen of that little fellow he doesn''t brag about things he simply does." He said calmly. A message comes into the room in a panic "sirs a young women claiming to be the dragon princess is at the front gates asking to be let in!" He exclaimed. Chapter 59 - Dragon princesses plan Old sun looks at the messager "did she state her purpose here?" He asked seriously. The messager took a deep breath "yes she said she was here to apologize." he said. old sun and the other elders were surprised by this reason as it wasn''t what they were expecting in the slightest.. "Does this have anything to do with that kid?" One of the elders spoke up. Everyone in the room passed for a moment before they all had the same thought. ''The kid must have something to do with this.'' The dragon princess was waiting patiently outside the academies gates while rubbing the ring on her finger nervously ''i hope this ring works right.'' She prayed silently. After a few moments the academies gates opened to reveal old sun who was eyeing her cautiously. "Might I be so bold as to ask what you are here to apologize for?" He inquires. The dragon princess looks embarrassed for a moment before speaking "my father got ahead of himself when he believed he found the perfect match for myself and marked that person." she paused looking embarrassed "it was only after I asked my father about that person was it that we learned of his great mistake. The truth is that my father forgot to check that person''s past before he marked him and asked such was unaware of that persons great aversion to forced marriage." She finished looking defeated. Old sun was confused so he couldn''t help but ask "great aversion?" The dragon princess was startled by the question "do you not know?" She asked seriously. Old sun nodded. She was surprised by this as it seemed like something the academy would be aware of. "According to my father that person seems to believe in only marrying for love as opposed to arranged marriage to the point of almost being heartless in defending himself from it." She explains calmly. A strange expression forms on old suns face as he thought about the two girls from the trials. ''Indeed now that i think about it he was quite heartless when dealing with both of those girls, especially that first girl he almost killed her out of desperation at the end of that fight.'' He confirms mentally. Old sun looks toward the dragon princess as a look of pity crosses his face. "Lass I don''t suppose your father gave you any details about that kids drive to not get forced into marriage did he." He says with pity. The dragon princess sees the pity old sun has before she get nervous "no ,is it truly that bad?" She asked worried. Old sun sighs before explaining what nick has done in order to avoid being forced to marry. The dragon princess is relieved that she decided to apologize rather than listen to her father because from what old sun told her there is a massive chance her worst case scenario would come true otherwise. After thinking about it for a moment she comes to a decision. "I have decided." She announced. Old sun was taken back ."you decided what?" He asked curious. The dragon princess smiles brightly. "I have decided to join this academy!" She says determined. Old sun was stunned. "You aren''t going to try to force the marriage issue right?" Old sun asked seriously. "No , I''m going to put in the effort and try to steal his heart without him knowing." She says with a grin. Chapter 60 - Orientation (1) Old sun rubbed his chin "that might actually work though if he finds out you''ll never get the chance again" he said seriously. The dragon princess just smiled before calmly walking into the academy with old sun leading the way . "i,m assuming you want to be placed in the same classes as that kid correct?" Old sun asked. The dragon princess nodded before speaking "I should try to slowly get closer to him before anything else since he is probably quite paranoid when it comes to women." She said with a slightly irritated tone. You might be wondering why old sun would be so helpful to the dragon princess the reason is quite simple really , you see most elders wish the best for the people they teach old sun is no different , in his eyes marrying the dragon princess is the same as getting the resources of the entire dragon clan as well as worldwide acknowledgement as a talented individual since by tradition only the most talented of people can marry into the dragon clan doubly so the royal family.as such it is very easy to understand why old sun would be fine with the situation. Meanwhile nick was back in the group of people who passed the test with jakob who had also passed the test as they sat in some chairs nick had brought while drinking soda. The funny thing is that many of the people there were interested in this unknown beverage since they had never heard of it before and was curious what it was like. Nick of course wasn''t stingy and gave a can to everyone who asked quickly making him quite popular with all the new students. "It truly is awe inspiring how good brings people together." Nick said to Jakob. "Yeah its is something else isn''t it." Jakob affirmed. Oddly enough within the students who got soda from nick there were plenty of girls as well . the thing most people were surprised about was that nick seemed to have no problem with women themselves so much as relationsh.i.p.s. As a result you had this situation where nick was surrounded by a crowd of men and women but was fine with it so long as nothing to do with relationsh.i.p.s was brought up. Old sun lead the dragon princess to the group of new students who noticed the two immediately and focused their attention on them or more specific on the dragon princess. "I have brought over this girl in order to allow everyone to be present for orientation since she is as going to be joining as a new student." Old sun spoke calmly before motioning for the dragon princess to join the crowd. After she did so old sun continued. "Welcome to primal lotus academy! All of you comprised the new student body and will now be briefed on everything you might need to know while you are here. Please follow me." He said in a grand manner before turning and walking out of the square. Nick and jakob quickly packed away the chairs before following old sun with the rest of the group all without noticing the dragon princess who was walking right next to nick calmly as though she just so happened to be there. The group followed old sun along a wide stone road as he explained everything around the road and the rules of the academy. "The rules are quite simple no one is allowed to fight in the academy with the exceptions where it is a mutual spar , the platform from the test are the designated area for spare anyone caught fighting outside those areas will to find merits. This brings me to my next point everything in the academy is run with merit points each merit is worth a thousand gold so don''t think about relying on your background to scute by. The building to the left of us is the missions hall which as the name implies is where you can go to post or complete missions in exchange for merits or resources." Chapter 61 - Orientation (2) "Moving on the platforms you all fought on earlier were taken from the sparring area and are being put back as we speak." Old sun explained as he walked further into the academy. "The two mountains in front of us are the dorm mountains , which is to say the entire mountains consist of nothing but living areas." He paused for dramatic effect. "The right mountain is the entirely the male students dorm whereas the left mountain is the female students dorm the exception is only in the case of married couples." old sun briefly glance at the dragon princess. "On the mountains there are premade houses however if you want a more private place you can go to the residency hall in the middle of the mountains and claim a plot of unused land to build your own residence." He gestures. Old sun stops at the building between the two mountains." This is the residency hall where we will register all of your housing before we move on to discussion your classes." old sun says while walking towards the building. After entering the building the person at the front desk speaks up. "Alright good day grand elder sun, as for the rest of you I''ll need your name, age and any housing preference you may have." He says Gruffly. Everyone went up and gave their information before it was nicks turn. "Name , Nicholas varias , age 13 , preference a small plot of land isolated from everyone else." nick spoke calmly however the man doing the paperwork got stuck on his age ''13 and a nascent soul realm!?''. Nick grew annoyed at the man''s pause before clearing his throat jolting the man from his thoughts" right and you said your preference was what again?" The man said nervously. Nick sighed "I want a small plot of land as isolated as possible I''ll build the house myself." Nick says smoothly. The man nods before looking through his records briefly "ah, here we go , there is a few that come close to what I''m assuming you want however only one that absolutely fulfills what you want however I must ask if you truly want it?" The man said while handing nick and image jade that shows the area in question. Its oddly enough a patch of swampland that I filled with some kind of fog. Nick is confused why this piece of land would need to be double checked before handed out to him. "Is there something about this land that I need to know about?" Nick asked curious. The man shivers before companion himself "that piece of land is where all the failed alchemy pills have been thrown for centuries as a result that area is filled with a poison fog that is made of thousands of different poisons from all the failed pills thus no one usually wants that piece of land so if you want to you can have the entire thing otherwise I have a few small pieces that may work." The man said while looking at nick seriously. All the other new students were also watching nick since they all saw his performance in the test. Nick smiled brightly "so if I accept that land i can have all of it and nobody else can step foot there without my day so?" he questions. The man is stunned for a second before replying "well technically it would be your area so if you kicked out visitors forcefully no one would be able to say anything yes." The man says confused. "Perfect I''ll take it!" nick exclaims brightly. The man is shocked before filling out the paperwork and handing it to nick. "If you don''t mind can you tell me why you want such a place?" The man asked before nick joins the crowd. Nick stops and looks at the man seriously "I seem to have horrible luck with women asking me to marry them and I don''t want to have to deal with that in my home so that place is perfect to keep them away from my home at least." He says before turning and walking away calmly. Chapter 62 - Like planned...kinda The man was taken back" come again?" Nick stopped and looked at the man "I said I wanted to property to keep out women with forceful marriage proposals, is that so weird?" He said questioningly. The man took in that information before answering "yes its very weird since its quite normal to be forcefully engaged early as most cultivators will completely focus on cultivation and forget about continuing their family otherwise." Nick nodded his head "truthfully I understand why you would get engaged early however I firmly believe In marrying for love." Nick said seriously before walking back into the crowd. Everyone heard the conversation and only a few people weren''t shocked by it, jakob, the dragon princess ,old sun ,Lela, and the girl nick fought before. Amongst the girls present however a sizable portion were quite upset about nicks living arrangement for the exact reason nick wanted it, indeed most of the girls present wanted to persistently bother him about marriage in hopes of improving their situations back home. Nicks idea was almost flawless when it came to keeping women away ,almost. The dragon princess was snickering to herself because the dragon clan had a similar kind of area where failed pills were sent that was used as a prime training area for the youths of the clan to battle in a hostile environment this making them more adaptable to their surroundings. Nick was obviously not aware of this or he might change his mind about the property but it was too late now. A few more people setup their housing before everyone left the building with old sun. "Alright classes for first years will start in two weeks of which only three classes are mandatory , combat training , at least one profession class and finally adventuring class. Every other class you take will be elective in nature , you may all go attend to any matters you may have within these two weeks however if anyone does not report in on the first day of school that person will be investigated and if there is no excuse will be expelled." Old sun said while eyeing everyone seriously. Nick separated from everyone since his land was in a different direction then everyone else . nick rushed to leave using his laws in order to vanish as fast as possible. The air cracked with a boom as he took off sending a shockwave into the surroundings briefly shaking that area. The world blurred as nick ran her could only just make out what was around him before it vanished behind him as he made his way to his land on the bottom of the mountain. The trip only lasted an hour before nick arrived at the swamplands edge. As soon as he arrived nick immediately activated the creation mode and crashed an amulet before inscribing it with a air purifying inscription based off his new alchemy method which would shock both alchemy and inscription masters as it was completely revolutionary. The great thing about inscriptions was that anything was possible so long as you understood what you wanted them to do. After nick was done he put the amulet on before walking into the thick multicolored fog that filled the area , the moment he entered the amulet started glowing faintly as a think later of air covered nick separating him from the fog before something amazing happened. The fog that entered the barrier actually split into two parts the pill toxins and the pure medicinal essence. The pure essence was brought into the barrier while the toxins were ejected, this surprised nick as he didn''t think the amulet would work in this manner before he understood what actually happened. Earlier when he inscribed the amulet he wanted it to purify the air what he neglected to notice was that he didn''t specify what part to purify as a result everything the barrier came into contact with was purified. Chapter 64 - Habitat building Nick was thrilled by this discovery as since it worked on the amulet he could easily apply to an array effectively creating a cultivation oasis within the poison swamp. ''With all this land it seems wasteful to simply leave it barren,hmmm oh i know! I''ll grow plants that thrive in poison and raise beast of the same kind!'' Nick think excitedly. ''System open shop!'' *Ding* ____________________________________________________ WEAPONS ARMOR MOUNTS BLOODLINE FOOD MISC ____________________________________________________ ''System I need creatures that will make up the ecosystem in the swamp any suggestions?'' *purple horn rabbits, toxin rats,dark heart spiders,and ironhide crocodiles are host best choices for a stable ecosystem* ''How many of each?'' *twenty of the first three and 5 of the crocodiles* ''Alright I''ll buy those, can you spread them out as appropriate?'' *of course* ''And the plant foundation?'' *system can spread the plants out appropriately as well.* ''Excellent purchase the best plants for this ecosystem and begin spreading everything out, leave the center alone however since I''ll build my house there.'' *yes host* A bright ball of energy leaves nicks c.h.e.s.t before flying off in a random direction, In that ball was the plants nick wanted. Another ball the size of a car slowly appears from nicks body before flying off as we''ll, the ball contained all the creatures nick wanted. After that was done nick checked the map he was given earlier and headed towards the middle of the swamp which took him only a few moments to reach. The area was chosen by nick for two reasons , the first was because by living in the center no matter which direction you came from the difficulty was the same. The second reason was because the center had the thickest concentration of pill fog making it ideal for the purifying array. Nick began his construction work by raising the land out of the water and solidifying it giving him as stable base about fifty yards in circ.u.mference to build on. Next nick created the foundation for a square house ten yards long and ten yards wide while covering the rest of the area with the foundation for courtyard walls essentially he was going to end up with a house surrounded by tall walls and a single gateway. After all the foundation work was done nick started the main construction for the courtyard walls and the gateway , the gateway was complete within an hour. It took nick twenty hours to finish the walls which where twelve feet high and made of four feet thick jade stone which is a common material used by cultivators that was supremely tough after being treated with a special liquid, before being treated however it is incredibly soft making it perfect to build with. The color of jade stone was perfect because it was a dark jade green hence where it got its name from. The walls fit right into the color of the swamp while not being extremely gaudy. Nick than began building the house itself out of a special material that he created with the systems help similar to concrete but far far more tough , the main difference was that nicks recipe used the very essences of the spiritual versions of roman concrete which is to say jadestone essence, spirit seawater essence, and true yang volcanic ash. The mixture was almost unbelievable in how durable it was capable of standing almost unaffected by the wrath of time for millions of years. The mixtures color was actually very unusual since because of the essences used each brick was a mixture of black ,green and blue creating a very unique building after it was done. The house walls were that strange mix of colors but the roof was simply a bright red since nick only used terracotta for that. The house was fairly average in design otherwise merely comprising of a bedroom a bathroom and a spareroom for all of nicks professions. After furnishing the house nick placed four arrays around the area,the purifying array,a energy gathering array, a barrier array, and a weather array. After wards he created a small teleportation array in the backyard area and a secret self destruction array under the house. After that he turned the rest of the yard into a spiritual garden making his new home truly a Paradise compared to the land around it. Chapter 64 - Surprise visitor Nick nodded at his work before going out of the purifying array causing the amulet to activate. After leaving his homestead nick headed to the very edge of his land observing the changes in the area on his way , nothing has really changed but that was to be expected . it only took nick a few minutes to arrive at the edge of his land where he immediately took out a large qi stone carved some tunes on it before placing it under the soil. Nick then traveled along the entire edge of his land while occasionally putting rune carved qi stones under the soil before he finished. ''Alright now there is a detection formation at the edges of my land that will let me know when anyone enters'' he thinks while activating the formation. The air hums briefly before quieting down seeing this nick nods before heading back to his home. Unknown to nick someone was already on his land before he activated the formation. A girl was walking above the swampland randomly looking for something. ''I konw hes here somewhere'' she thinks to herself. This girl is of course the dragon princess who is obviously trying to find nick for something. The dragon princess was quite fl.u.s.tered at the moment since she had no idea where nick would be as the poison fog restricted visibility entirely as well as she did not have a map aid the land like nick did. Suddenly she heard a whistling sound coming toward her causing her to take up a defensive position. Nick was flying towards his home when he suddenly stopped with a shocked expression on his face. Two people observed each other before one of them spoke , it was the dragon princess. "My name is lo Mia and I''d like to talk to you about something." She said innocently. Nick eyed her suspiciously before speaking. "If you have gone through the trouble of dealing with this poison fog whatever you want to talk about must be quite important ,so long as it has nothing to do with marriage I''ll listen." He said before landing on the watery ground. Lo mia smiled sweetly "of course it has nothing to do with marriage , in actuality I''d prefer not to discuss it in the middle of a dangerous area." She said while gesturing around her. Nick rubbed his chin for a moment before agreeing. "Alright follow me and don''t kill any of the wild life ." he said seriously. Both of them fly into the air before heading towards nicks home with lo Mia following behind nick. It doesn''t take long for them to reach it before nick purposefully lands in from of the gate before pushing it open revealing the oasis within. Lo Mia is stunned at the sheer difference between the to areas with the swamp being a horrible foul place and this homestead being a cultivators paradise. "How!"she exclaimed. Nick looked at her "how what?" he asked curiously. Lo Mia takes a deep breath "how did you isolate the medicinal essence in the toxic fog!?" She questioned excitedly. Her excitement was easily understandable since the dragon clan had an area just like this swamp that was filled with extremely potent pill toxins easily a hundred times greater than this land. If she could find out how nick created this area and replicated it on that part of the dragon clans property entering it would be like bathing in helpful medicine. Chapter 65 - Discussion Nick caught on to the underlying meaning of the lo mia''s question and answered in the worst way possible. "Sorry, its a secret." He said smugly. See the thing about dragons is that they love exposing secrets which is how they tend to be very wealthy as a consequence. Nicks answer teased the dragonic nature of lo Mia causing her to act differently than she normally would. She started to ignore nick entirely as she focused on the purifying array in order to try to reverse engineer it. Nick was stunned at this response thinking he had angered her somehow. ''I''m not this socially awkward right?'' He thinks to himself while trying to get lo mia''s attention. Nick trys everything short of shaking her vigorously all to no avail. In the end nick decided to ignore her as he went into his house to cultivate. His meditation only lasted a few hours before being interrupted by a frustrated scream. Nick lifted an eyebrow before going to check on lo mia who was muttering to herself about how it didn''t make sense. Nick understood what happened immediately and chuckles awkwardly. The truth is that since the array was built on the knowledge of his alchemy method the entire array is revolutionary in itself this the current situation where the old knowledge clashes violently with the new. Nick calmly walks over to lo Mia and expressionlessly chopped her on the back of the neck knocking her out instantly. Nick catches her as she collapsed before gently laying her on the ground and quickly taking out a heart demon pill and crushing it into powder and sending it into her mouth. Lo mia''s expression instantly eases up before becoming tranquil causing nick to nod and go back into his house to meditate. Lo Mia wakes up shortly afterwards with a panicked expression before realizing she was fine and calming down and deciding not to research that array any longer. She goes over to nicks house shyly "umm nick?" She says sheepishly. Nick opens his eyes and stands up before stretching. After walking over to lo Mia nick quickly examined her before nodding. "You seem yourself now , that is good." He says calmly. Lo mia blushed "thank you for your help." She says embarrassed. "Its fine since it was partially my fault you almost developed a heart demon over my array." Nick says before chuckling. "Ah, yes about what wanted to talk about I suppose now would be appropriate." Nick said after an awkward silence. Lo Mia brightens up instantly "yes! Now is perfect , so my clan recently discovered a dead sects inheritance trial ground and I was wondering if maybe you might Want to come?" She started talking brightly before her voice grew very soft. Nick laughs before making a joke "ah miss mia if I didn''t know better I''d think you were asking me on a date." He says with a laugh. Lo mia blushes violently with her head lowered. "Yes." She whispers out . nick practically choked when he heard her "wait you are seriously asking me on a date!?" He says surprised. Lo Mia nods with a blushing cheeks. Nick calms himself "well since you are the literally first person to try to start a relationship with me without jumping straight to marriage I''ll give you a chance." He says seriously. Lo Mia is stunned at nicks response. "Forgive me if this odd but I actually thought it would be harder to get you to agree." She says causing nick to freeze. Chapter 66 - Set off Nick froze before coughing awkwardly "well its not that I have a problem with relationsh.i.p.s themselves so much as being forced into one, do you understand?" He spoke with conviction. Lo mia thought about it for a moment and quickly came to the realization that indeed the problem wasn''t the relationship itself but in fact the manor in which it was created that nick despised. "I see , it''s kind of funny really." She says with a giggle. "What is?" Nick asked. "Everyone is under the impression you simply hate relationsh.i.p.s themselves when In fact the truth is very different , as a result everyone believes pursuing you to be extremely difficult when its not." Lo Mia explained. Nick was stunned. ''Is my public image really that bad?'' He thinks to himself. "Ah right this inheritance area what should I prepare for roughly?" Nick changed the subject. Lo Mia caught on to nicks action but decided it wasn''t worth pointing out. "As far as I know the sect it belonged to focused mainly on swordsmanship so likely just medicine for healing and qi regeneration." She explained to nick calmly. Nick nodded since it made sense that the test for swordsmanship would likely be very physical in nature. "I have plenty of pills that would work perfectly for that ,hmm I suppose I''ll bring a few protective talismans as well since who knows if we''ll need them." Nick said before walking back into his house for a few minutes. Everything was silent outside the house before nick walked out with a small stack of paper slips that appear normal at first glance but are anything but normal. "Alright I''ll give you half of these twenty talismans and ten pills for healing and qi regeneration each which should cover everything we need." Nick said before handing the stack to lo Mia along with the pills. After checking that everything was in order nick looked at lo Mia "all set , lead the way." he said obviously excited. Lo Mia rolled her eyes before heading out the gate and flying towards the schools mission hall. As they arrived several people started to whisper and point at them and nick managed to catch some of it. "Is that the swamp loner?" "That''s got to be him right?" "Who''s the girl with the loner?" Nick was dying inside as he heard what was being said about him and as much as he wanted to defend himself he knew it was pointless. By this point in time his fame had already spread through the entire academy due to to particular things. The first being his aversion to forced marriage, and the second being the "pill swamp" he decided to live in. Both of these things set nick so far out of the norm that he became a common piece of knowledge throughout the academy. Now that he had shown up in public so soon it was bound to cause a stir. Lo mia was practically tomato red from how hard she was blushing at the words of those around her. The duo walk over to the counter where a dead faced young woman was sitting. "Names and reason?" She said monotone. Neither nick nor lo Mia were bothered by the girls lack of emotion. "Lo Mia and Nicholas farias, outside expedition." Lo mia said calmly. Chapter 67 - The unlimited nick The attendant writes on a sheet of paper before handing lo mia and nick two jade slips. "these are safety jades whose purpose is to ensure that should you get trapped or killed someone will be able to lend assistance or collect your remains, keep them on you at all times." She says strictly. Lo mia and nick both take the jades before leaving the building and flying off. Meanwhile a new surge of gossip swept threw the academy about how the swamp loner was seen with a beautiful girl together leaving the academy. There was two women in particular who this gossip irritated to no end Lela and the girl nick defeated before. The reason for their irritation? A simple misunderstanding based on their different views on nicks personality. That mysterious girl believed nick was entirely against any form of relationship and was thus irritated that it seemed like someone other than her had changed his mind. Whereas Lela''s misunderstanding was simply because she was jealous that another girl had poached her "prey" thus irritating her. Meanwhile nick was leisurely flying behind lo Mia who was irritated in her own right the reason? She had realized that nick was so strong that her own flying speed bored him to the point he actually yawned. Truth be told lo Mia brought the irritation onto herself when she tried to compare herself to a monster like nick. Nick was very bored with flying so he decided to do something that irked lo Mia to no end , he started to play with his multiple laws by fusing each one to test out a few theories he had but to look mia his actions were like mockery to her since he was doing this WHILE following her. Lo Mia had an idea that would get nick to stop being bored and began to grin wickedly. Slowly she began to lower the height they were flying in such a way that nick didn''t realize it before she carefully pulled out the stopper on a bottle of demon summoning powder before acting like nothing happened. Of course nick didn''t realize any of this as he was absorbed in his experimentation. Shortly after the demon summoning powder was released howls of demon beast echoed out of the surroundings startling lo Mia as she was only expecting at most two demon beast to show up rather than the current situation where they were surrounded by the things. While lo Mia was panicking nick noticed that they had stopped moving drawing his attention away from his experimentation. Spreading his senses out nick was startled by the close to fifty demon beast that had surrounded the two of them. After seeing the situation nicks blood begins to boil from excitement as his aura begins throbbing as though it too was excited. Lo Mia noticed the change in nick and was horrified by it because if before nick seemed like an innocent scholar now he was like a predator staring its prey. She had never thought nicks personality would flip so quickly and that thought sent shivers down her spine. Nick completely released his presence from its confinement sending a blast of air through the air around him as the overwhelming need to kneel filled lo mia''s mind. Nick circulated his bloodlines causing his body to change form as he instantly grew to two and a half meters tall while his muscles bulged on his body. Dark golden scales began to sprout from under his skin before covering his body as his eye turned into yellow reptile slits and claws tipped each of his fingers. Above his head a crown shimmering in a brilliant rainbow floats as though proclaiming his sovereignty to the world. In this way nick threw away all of his restraints ,in this way nick was unlimited. Chapter 68 - Payback Nicks form radiated dominance as he stood upon the air looking down at the surrounding demon beast. He raised his right hand and snapped his clawed fingers together sending a law infused shockwave at a group of wolf type demon beast causing them to vanish in a cloud of ash without so much as a whimper. Lo Mia s.u.c.k.e.d in a cold breath of air when she saw this as it dawned on her how freakish nick was. Nick ignored lo Mia as he turns to wards the other groups of demon beast which were comprised of several types of demons beast including birds,reptiles and apes. After testing his law infusing attack nick was satisfied with the results so he decided to switch to physical attacks just for fun. Nick pulled out his weapon in sword form and sent his energy into it causing it to start glowing around to edges. Nick grinned savagely before lunging toward a bright red demon bird. The bird screeches briefly before nicks sword passes through it throat. At this time the rest of the beast react violently and charge toward nick each letting out their own war cries. Nick rushes headlong into the frey sword blazing. After that was simply a slaughter as nick cleaved through the beast like an unholy f.u.c.k.i.n.g blender. After nick was done with his rampage he returned to where lo Mia was standing after reverting back to his normal form like nothing happened. Lo Mia learned her lesson and no longer played any tricks for the rest of the trip which was otherwise uneventful. After traveling for a few more hours the two finally arrived at a valley where a crowd had gathered mostly for the same purpose as nice and lo Mia. Of course there were a few people who were trying to sell supplies for a marked up price. The two arrival didn''t go unnoticed as several men focused on lo mia''s appearance as l.u.s.t filled their eyes. Lo Mia herself was already used to the looks. Nick however was disgusted by the looks lo Mia was getting but simply decided to ignore them. One of those people with the l.u.s.tful looks a self entitled guy swaggers over to lo Mia . "hey there little lady why don''t you come with me ." he says with a lecherous grin. The guy then turns to nick with a condescending look and tossed a mid grade qi stone at nick. "take that and get lost" he says before ignoring nick. Nick is irritated by the guys actions and promptly picked up the qi stone surrounded it with his space law and flicked it straight between the guys legs. A sickening crunch rang out before the guys eyes rolled back and he passed out from the pain. Nick stared down everyone else in the crowd before calmly speaking. "Anyone else wants to try their luck at being rude?" He says while looking menacingly at the crowd. Seeing no one stepped forward nick nods "good then let''s all try to get along." He says before stepping over the twitching body of the guy on the ground. A few minutes later the situation calmed down before nick and lo Mia got ready to head into the ruins located in middle of the plains. Chapter 69 - The ambush Nick and lo mia carefully make their way to ward the dilapidated buildings in the distance making sure to avoid any unusual hills that they might come across this making the short trip uneventful. Upon arriving on the edge of the ruins nick stops lo mia so he can observe the sect formation to see if there was anything to watch out for. "From what I can see the only thing we need to worry about is that without a sect badge no one above the fifth level of nascent soul can enter." Nick says calmly. Lo Mia nods "that''s a fairly common thing with sects since the only people who wouldn''t follow the rules would likely be enemies it makes empty sects like this perfect inheritance locations." She says before walking into the formation. Nick of course follows behind her as they walk past a few residences without even looking into them. Truth be told this is completely normal behavior since the easy loot from those residences would have been taken a long time ago. After walking for a few moments the duo come to an open circle with multiple branching paths coming off of it causing them to pause. "Would you look here boys ,some fresh meat!" A gruff voice calls out from a path concealer to the side. Ooooh , such soft looking skin and tight h.i.p.s this little bird is making me drool!" Another more high pitched voice calls out from a different path. Nick snores in derision before using the system to identify where the new enemies are. Nick looks at lo Mia "I''ll drag them out in a second you can kill them or cripple them then." He says with a hint of ruthlessness. Lo mia nods calmly since she is aware that if nick says he will then he will. The group hiding nearby burst into laughter when they heard what nick said. "Hahahaha that''s a good one! You''re going to drag us out? Hahahaha you probably don''t even know how many of us there are!" The grudges voice called out while laughing. Nicks face didn''t change "seven" he said calmly. The laughter stops before the grid voice calls out. "Oi what did you just say." Nick looks directly at the person who the gruff voice belongs to "I said there are seven of you." The moment nick finished speaking seven bright flashes of silver appear and disappear from the surroundings before a group of seven men appear directly in the center of the circle. Its obvious that none of the men are amateurs since the moment they noticed they moved they all took up battle stances. Nick nods at this "such a shame I already promised you all to my companion here else I''d have some fun with you lot." Nick stepped back as lo Mia stepped forward while drawing a spear out of her storage ring. The men each relaxed slightly when they saw nick back away since they all figured he was the only real threat they had to deal with, they were wrong. Chapter 70 - Mass castration. Lo Mia looked like a cat that just found a mouse as she had a radiant grin in her face , but there was nothing nice about her smile as upon seeing it the group of men each had shivers go down their backs. Since nick had said he wouldn''t be getting involved the men had thought they could handle lo Mia easily but their instincts were screaming for them to run from her causing them to be confused. The confusion wouldn''t exist if they had come from any sort of clan but in fact the group was actually all from the same mortal orphanage. You are probably wondering how a group of mortal orphans became cultivators , its funny actually see a about five years ago the youngest member who was fifteen at the time had struck a bit of luck and managed to find a cultivation tomb that had none of the traps activate since the person who found it was a mortal. Fact is most of the traps used to protect cultivation tombs rely on being able to sense the qi of those who enter them in order to react , however mortals don''t have any ounce of qi on them normally hence the traps were basically useless. Anyway the youngest member managed to get a rank 3 cultivation manual and some rank 1 pills all of which he gave to his big brother who then used it to become bandits, the rest is history. Lo Mia swayed her h.i.p.s seductively as she walked towards the group the men lowered their guard when she did , the moment she was in front of the leading guy lo Mia grins evilly before sending a flaming foot straight into his nether region. The mans face twisted in agony as a sickening crunch rang out followed by a hissing sound as the area was cauterized by the flames. The rest of the group snap out of their daze and roared in anger at the fate their comrade fell into. They all charge at lo Mia with weapon drawn and she calmly ends each of their lineages in the same way as their comrade. Nicks eye twitched as he watched the men suffering horribly ''Women are scary.'' Nick thought while lo Mia walked towards him with a gentleman smile "shall we go?" She said sweetly. Nick had felt a cold sweat roll down his back. "Y-yeah let''s go ." he stutters. Lo Mia noticed this but didn''t comment on it before she started walking down the central path. Nick was careful to walk around the poor men on the ground before following lo Mia down the path. A few moments after they left another group of four showed up all of which were men all of which felt pity on the men on the ground. Lo Mia and nick started to find more and more intact buildings as they walked indicating that they had entered and important part of the sect. "Do you want to check out some of these buildings for clues before we look for the treasury." Nick said while motioning to the buildings around them. Lo Mia thinks about for a second before she nods. "We should probably split up to make sure there is no arguments about loot distribution." She said before heading east. "We''ll meet up here in a day!" Nick yelled towards her before heading west. Chapter 71 - Weapon Nick ignored the first few buildings since those had signs of being raised already before quickly coming to an area that had been left untouched. There were five buildings in the area each with different styles of design causing the area to look like a disjointed housing complex. One building in particular caught nicks attention as it radiated a faint but distinct aura . the building was made almost entirely of metal arrayed in an odd patchwork manor causing the building to be hideous in appearance. As nick got closer he noticed various broken or Rusty swords stabbed into the ground around the building making it look like a sword graveyard. "Those are all failed creations." A pleasant female voice spoke out from nearby anger filled its words. Nicks hair stood on end when he heard the voice as he had no idea there was someone nearby. He used the system to try and pinpoint the person''s location nearby but even that failed making both shocked and horrified at what that meant. "Kid you won''t be able to find me simply by using your system." The female voice said amused. Nick was practically on the verge of a meltdown after having his understanding of this new world broken twice in rapid secession. As though understanding what nick was going through the female voice spoke again "systems like yours aren''t all powerful after all, though they are fairly close there are rules that systems have to follow for example the rule where systems can''t pinpoint items related to other systems which is what you are experiencing right now." The voice explained patiently. Nick calmed down after hearing that explanation but couldn''t help but he stunned by what was implied in the explanation, that there are more systems. "If what you say is correct then do you have a system?" Nick couldn''t help but ask. The voice answered promptly "no." Before an awkward silence prevails for a few moments. "Cough cough. Right moving on you are here to raid the area right?" The voice broke the silence. Nick chuckles awkwardly "well ,i mean originally that was the idea but since there is someone here already I''ll just leave." He says decisively. "Wait! I''m a weapon spirit not a person!" The female voice calls out stopping nick in his tracks. "Wait. A weapon spirit can talk!" He exclaims shocked. Truth be told his shock was understandable since he hasn''t been exposed to high level information about weapons spirits. See, when a weapon reaches a certain level it develops a spirit and after that it will begin to develop it own personality and eventually soul. "Not all weapons spirits but some, that''s not the point though the point is that you can still raid this area." The spirit said . nick nods at this but then catches on to something. "Wait , shouldn''t you be trying to keep me away from this area because of your previous master?" He questions. Its silent for a moment before responding. "Well, normally you''d be right but my previous master was kinda a d.i.c.k so I''m not particularly fond of him." The spirit said. Nick was speechless but couldn''t really argue with that. "Alright I guess I can come and loot the area before leaving here." Nick said as he started walking towards the building. "Wait ,what about me are you just going to leave me here." The spirit said. Nick was confused "aren''t you inside the building?" He asked. The spirit responds softly "no I''m one of the swords stuck in the ground ." it said obviously unhappy. Chapter 72 - Sword Nick froze when he heard this because it simply made no sense . as if understanding nick thoughts the spirit speaks up angrily. "You are probably trying to figure out how a failed sword could gain a spirit right?! It because of that stupid creator of mine! He wanted to create the most powerful yang attribute sword but because he pushed the amount of yang energy to the most extreme I ended up a yin attribute weapon and so he listed me as a failure rather than himself!" The spirit explains obviously extremely angry at its previous owner. Nick was speechless at this explanation as it was still illogical that something so amazing as a law flipped sword could be considered as anything but amazing. Even after understanding why the sword was out here originally he couldn''t understand why it was still here after all this time so he asked. "OK so I know why you were put out here originally but I can''t understand for the life of me why no one took you before now?" He said questioningly. "oh, that''s simple my previous owner refused to let anyone use a failure so he placed extremely dangerous traps around the outside of this building which only activate when someone grabs one of the swords here." The spirit says with a hint of regret. "Someone tried to take you and died didn''t they?" Nick asked. "Yes" the spirit say lightly. Nick nodded before making a plan. "Did your previous owner know the space law?" " no but he knew how it worked." Nick cursed that the first plan wouldn''t work. "Hey if you were to get attacked would the traps still activate!" Nick asked when a crazy idea popped in his head. The sword spirit was confused at the question but answered anyway. "I don''t think so since that bastard would actually probably be happy to have someone rid him of his failures." It said sadly. "OK so I have an idea but you''re not going to like it." Nick said seriously. "If I''m following your thoughts then no I''m not going to enjoy this." The sword said. "Then I suggest you brace yourself." Nick said while cupping his hands in front of his c.h.e.s.t. Bright beams of light escape from the cracks between his hands as a low hum fills the air. "I need to know where you''re at !" Nick says while struggling with the attack he''s holding. One of the swords let''s out a dim glow briefly but that''s enough for him the find it. Nick holds his hands towards the sword before yelling "brace now!" Before opening his hands releasing a beam of energy towards the sword. The beam rapidly approaches the sword send the earth around it and the other failed swords flying in different directions. Right before it hits the sword a energy barrier covers the blade protecting it before it goes flying. Nick watches where the sword lands before he carefully walks over to it "you alright ?" He says tentatively. All is silent for a moment. "Remind me never to trust you to rescue anyone ever." The sword complained. Nick grins before picking up the sword and examining it. The sword was about four feet long in total with a double sided thin blade with icy blues flames etched on it. The hand was actually a bright red bone connected to the blade with some sort of black metal. Chapter 73 - Yin yun sword All in all nick sees that it is a fine sword "honestly speaking you seem like an amazing sword , your previous owner must have been blind." Nick said. "As much as I love how you''re flirting can you please bind me already that barrier used most often remaining energy." The sword spirit says weakly. Nick nods before cutting his finger with some difficulty and wearing some of his blood on the blade of the sword. Immediately he feels the connection to the sword being established before a fierce devouring force starts draining his energies through the connection. "Ooooh my , its so thick and strong ! I don''t know if it will all fit!" The spirit m.o.a.ns out. Nick couldn''t help but blush at the sounds the sword spirit was making before he cut off the flow of energy. "Why did you stop! I was so close!" The spirit complains. Nicks eye twitches when he hears that but ignores it. "I could tell you had already restored your energy you were merely using my energy for your enjoyment after that." He says seriously. The sword glows before a figure materializes in front of nick. The future was about five feet tall with long azure hair and eyes with a petite body and adorable features. However the thing that he noticed immediately was that the future was completely n.a.k.e.d leaving the perky twin orbs and thin slit completely visible. Nicks face turns bright red before he looks away in embarrassment. The figure was obviously the sword spirit who after regaining her full power apparently decided to manifest. "Ah that feels great the gentle breeze on my skin and the air in my lungs is amazing. Oh also why are you looking away am I ugly please tell me I''m not ugly!" The spirit was glad at first but was soon extremely nervous about nicks opinion. Nick practically fainted after hearing what the spirit said . "no you''re not ugly, you are however n.a.k.e.d which is why I''m looking away." Nick said without looking at her. The spirit sighed in relief before a mischievous grin came across her face as she walked over to nick and hugged him from behind pressing her "assets" firmly against him causing him to tense up. "Are you really bothered by me being n.a.k.e.d? You know after binding me I belong entirely to you." She whispers sensually in nicks ear. Nick shivers at her words before teleporting away from her. Calming himself nick spoke "first I absolutely hate rushed relationsh.i.p.s . second I will never force myself on you. And third you will manifest clothes whenever you are manifested." He said seriously. "Tch, you''re no fun." The spirit said Before a white dress appeared on her. "So what do I call you?" Nick asked. The spirit was surprised "truthfully I don''t have a name since my previous owner said failures don''t deserve names." She said with a hint of anger. Nick thought for a moment before he came up with a name. "How about yin yun sword or maybe yin rai sword?" He said While looking at her. The spirit was thrilled at the first suggestion. "I like the name yin yun , so that is now my name thank you so much master!" Yin gun said while throwing herself onto nick with a big hug. Chapter 74 - System shard The hug was awkward for nick since his new sword spirit was quite handsy as she had taken the opportunity of the hug to slip her hand down his pants front. Yin yun let out a gasp in astonishment at the size of nicks package before nick forcefully removed yin yun from contact With him and glared at her before ignoring the unrepentant spirit and walking towards the building in order to loot it. (If your wondering why nick would want to loot anything with the shear amount of resources he got from the sect vault he opened years before its because he realized that there are many things missing from that hoard and he wants the most complete collection possible in case he needed something.) The door to the building was made from one solid piece of metal with a massive knocker attached to the center. After examining the door for traps for a few moments he could safely assume there were no external traps he needed to worry about he pushed the door hard only causing it to move inwards only slightly before stopping. Nick was stunned at how heavy the door was before he pushed it again with his full strength causing the door to open at a normal speed deeply impressing him. Yin yun however was shocked at how physically strong nick was since unlike nick she knew that the door can only be moved with physical force as the material it is made of will absorb any energy that is sent towards it. The room that was revealed to nick when the door was open caused his eyes to go wide and his jaw to drop. The "room" was absolutely massive seeming to go on forever with blue grass covering the ground and an azure sky with lazy white clouds floating across the sky. ''The building is the houseing unit of a pocket dimension!'' Nick thought stunned speechless. *DING* *System shard detected nearby , host is advised to retrieve * The moment nick stepped into the pocket dimension the system spoke up surprising him before he almost instantly became excited since the system rarely spoke up on its own account so when it did it was usually extremely good for him. Knowing this nick decided to look for this system shard to see what''s so great about it that the system would go out of its way to tell him. As he walked through the pocket dimension he came across an obvious forge filled with all manners of tools and both rare and common materials used for forging many of which were near impossible to find in the outside world. "I was born here you know." Yin yun said while looking at the forge which had long ago gone cold. Nick understood that seeing this forge must be bittersweet for yin yun and simply watched on from the side. After a few moments yin yun left the forge and stood next to nick quietly. Neither of them spoke before nick started walking further into the pocket dimension looking for any sign of the shard. Soon nick arrived at an actual mountain that stood in stark contrast to the rolling plains surrounding it. Knowing that something like this mountain is likely used for housing and storage nick quickly made his way to the mountain before stopping at the bottom of it because the entire mountain was absolutely covered in arrays and traps for as far as he could see. Chapter 76 - System shard (2) Nick frowned when he saw how powerful the traps were as he was simply not skilled enough to safely dismantle them as it was clear that the minimum of the traps were tier 6 some even went up to 8. Thankfully dismantling traps only required that one be half as skilled as the trap required to create in other words nick merely needed to reach tier 4 in arrays, inscriptions, and smithing in order to safely dismantle all the traps on the mountain. Unfortunately the highest nicks cultivation would support right now was tier 3 which would leave him in extreme danger since he would be helpless against the tier 8 traps. (Now you must be wondering what kind of sense does the half tier skill make , and the answer is quite simple the half tiered skill requirement is only enough to ensure ones safety while they attempt to dismantle the trap it has nothing to do with the failure rate which is obviously extremely high.) ''System status!'' Nick commanded. *Ding* * NAME:Nicholas varia AGE:13yrs RACE:human/demigod BLOODLINE:wardragon godking Money:576499999 DC:3012 Level:50 BODY REFINEMENT:level 5(blood) CULTIVATION:nascent soul first tier WEAPON: yin yun sword PROFESSION:alchemist tier 2 , array master tier 2 , blacksmith tier 2 , inscription master tier 2 , healer tier 2 , cook tier 2 ABILITIES:awareness (user is aware of all things around them even without seeing it.) Body control (user has complete control of their physique including nerves, pores,veins,etc) Divine charm (user naturally emits an aura that attracts others to them like a natural leader) Nature child (user is accepted by the laws of the universe, let one cultivate without angering the heavens) Dragon kings mark (owner has been marked as the dragon princess''s fiance for being more exceptional than any other.) Monster (user has surpassed even geniuses in many ways , cultivate with twice the results with half the effort.) IRON BODY(user has a body as durable as iron) BLOOD THIRSTY(user has developed an affection for combat, may results in poor choices) STRENGTH:1200 SPIRIT:1000 INTELLIGENCE:800 CHARISMA:500 LAW:Space intermediate completion,devour advanced completion,fire small completion,water small completion,air small completion,earth small completion,dark small completion,light small completion SYSTEM EVALUATION: nice!* ''Hmmm that blood thirsty skill has a warning attached to it going to need to keep an eye on that , also it seems my experiments with the laws have paid off a bit as well , and it seems my two bloodline have fussed.'' Nick commented on his new status while thinking of a plan to travel up the mountain. After a few moments nick decided he was going to advance all of his professions to tier 3 before he attempted to climb the mountains hazardous path. Knowing what he needs to do now nick went into the system shop and bought all the tier 3 manual the manuals would need to upgrade his professions costing him around 500 DC which was nearly double as expensive as the tier 2 knowledge. After he read the manuals he activated the creation mode in order to start his grinding session. Chapter 76 - System shard(3) While nick was busy grinding his professions lo Mia was dealing with an odd situation of her own. "What the hell is going on right now!" She exclaimed in frustration. You see shortly after separating from nick she had came across a set of three houses much the same as nick however unlike nick when she went into the unusual looking house she found herself in a maze that defied all sorts of laws of physics as some of the paths went up walls or there was even one spot that completely reversed gravity so she ended up standing on a path on the ceiling. Needless to say she was having trouble maintaining a sense of directions. What lo Mia didn''t know was that the maze was actually constantly changing shape and that it actually has six different exits based on which configuration it was in with five of those leading to a challenge and the last one being the treasure vault. After reaching tier 3 in all of his professions nick felt the world around him become clearer and he fell into a trance as always of his laws began to show up one after the other. Silver slivers danced through the air around him while a cloud swirled above him flashing the colors of the rainbow and a mouth appeared behind him echoing with an endless hunger. Slowly these manifestations merged with each other as well as new laws that started to show up. A hammer first showed up followed by a chart, a pot, a pen ,a sword, a bow, and finally a pill. All of these laws began to fuse ascending the finished product into something crazy. After a few minutes all that was left of the law manifestations was an orb that was alternating between white and black in a stable manner before this manifestation melted into nicks body. All was peaceful for a moment before a wave of power exploded out of nick in all directions shredding everything it came into contact with leaving a void in its place. As the wave crashed into the mountain every trap activated at once in an attempt to stop it but it was like an ant trying to stop a meteor , useless. The wave shattered every trap it came across before it reached the core of the mountain where a curious thing happened. As the wave was about to strike the core of the mountain a multicolored object that looked like a piece of glass but had an overwhelming pressure appeared and started glowing just as the wave struck it and then oddly enough the wave vanished as though it was never there. The object simply floated in place as if waiting patiently. Nick woke from his trance and immediately noticed the change within himself. Nick was stunned as he felt the absence of his normal laws and in there place was a set of two laws that echoed with them instead but yet seemed to be so much more. *congratulations host on touching upon the yin and yang laws!* *hidden mission complete , host is rewarded with 1xsupreme tickets,10000 DC, 1xsupreme destruction seed.* Chapter 78 - What? Nick was shocked at the systems announcement not because its was strange but because it revealed information about the system to him. It showed him that the system has hidden functions that he wasn''t aware of as well as that completing hidden mission would probably reward him extremely well. Beyond that nick was surprised he was given a supreme roulette ticket as the last time he got one he got a divine bloodline which has been incredibly useful till this day. Excited nick immediately wanted to use the ticket. ''System, open the roulette!'' He commanded. *Ding* *opening roulette.... Searching for tickets.... Supreme ticket found , do you wish to use it?* ''Yes.'' Nick answered slightly annoyed at the question. *approval granted spinning the roulette.* A huge multicolored wheel spears in nicks vision with all the different categories that the roulette could choose from. The wheel spins rapidly at first before slowing down and stopping on and icon of a book before it fades out of nicks vision. *Ding* *divine tier skill manual obtained.* Nick wasn''t surprised that the roulette gave him another divine tier item as he had basically understood how the roulette system worked , it was fairly straight forward really basically the highest ranked ticket will only give him the highest tier item he can handle at the moment from a random category whereas the tickets below that has a chance to do the same but is more likely to give him a lower tier item instead so basically only the supreme ticket is completely able to give him the best tier possible every time whereas every rank below that it is reduced greatly until it is merely a tiny chance of the item being at the highest tier. Nick opened his inventory and pulled out the skill manual in order to inspect it. The manual was about ten inches tall and five inches wide with a red leather binding and glowing gloss trim on the edges giving the manual a lofty feel. Nick opened the manual to the first page in order to find the name for the skill and he did. "Cosmic furnace." Nick muttered with an excited look on his face before flipping the page and almost spitting up blood from what he read. The writings on the page were as follows:to whomever has obtained this manual , congratulations! This manual contains my entire lifes work on the most glorious thing in existence including how to prepare it to the highest quality , may you push it to new heights. Bachus , god of wine. Nicks face was extremely ominous to look at as anger,disappointment and embarrassment all crossed his face simultaneously. Yin yun walked over to nick curious why he looked like someone just pissed in his coffee. "What''s wrong with that manual , isn''t it divine tier?" She asked curiously. Nick calmed down then let out a deep sigh before handing the manual to yin yun while looking depressed. Yin yun was extremely curious what the manual could be about to cause her new master to look so distraught. As yin yun grabbed the manual she could easily tell how high quality the materials merely used to bind the book were causing her to be amazed at that alone. She opened the book to the first page just as nick had done before her and was rather excited at the title just as nick was before her however when she read what was written on the second page her reaction was very different from nicks where nick had been extremely upset she was extremely thrilled at the writings as unknown to nick she was a huge fan of wine. She was such a fan that back when she had enough energy to manifest shortly after her creation she would steal wine from the members of the sect including the sect master himself! This of course had caused no end of trouble for her former master since rather than let anyone take her off his hands he would reimburse her victims himself for their wine. Chapter 79 - Alcoholic sword Seeing how thrilled yin yun was at the wine gods Manual he decided he would let her have it . "so you can have that manual as I have never been a huge fan of alcohol." Nick said the yin yun who was thrilled literally to tears. "I''m so happy! You''re the best!" Yin yun yelled in excitement. Yin yun focused whole hearted on learning the manual without paying anymore attention to nick but that was fine with him. Nick himself had noticed that shard up ahead just floating there waiting for nick to grab it. How did nick know it was waiting for him? His intuition was telling him so , simple as that. Nick walked up the now devastated mountain completely in obstructed as his little outburst from earlier had destroyed all the traps . it merely took nick a few minutes to arrive at the shard before he came across a problem that wasn''t a problem. He had no idea how to collect the shard. *ding* *host is within range of a shard , would his like to absorb?* ''Yes,'' nick was beginning to worry about what to do right as the system spoke. *absorbing.* The shard in front of nick floated towards Him as though it was being pulled before it sank into his c.h.e.s.t quietly before vanishing entirely. After that nothing no notification no strange feeling no nothing. After waiting for well anything to happen for a good five minutes eventually just shrugs and walks back down the mountain. Yin yun was already done reading the manual by now and was scouring the area for any ingredients to use to make wine with. She was running all over the place with a crashed expression when nick came down the mountain causing him to raise an eyebrow. Yin yun felt nicks presence and stop before looking at nick with l.u.s.t in her eyes. Nick froze from her look before he started to back up but she punched at him before he could run catching him before she wrapped her legs around his waist and forced him onto his back. She stared into nicks eyes before whispering in nicks ear. "Give me the ingredients." Which brokenicks mind as he was expected something completely different. Nick opened his inventory and took out over a hundred different spirit fruits before yin yun leap off of him towards them greedily. Nick just laid there on the ground contemplating his life up to now to figure out what he did to deserve such a strange sword. Yin yun however had already used the technique in the wine gods manual to turn all of the fruit into a multicolored swirling liquid. This liquid was the pure essentials of all of the fruits condensed into a liquid. She then put all of it into a jade pot and sealed it entirely. Finally she used a sliver of the law of time to ferment the jar and its contents for thousands of years worth of time. Yin yun smiled widely before she peeled the wax seal off the top of the jar sending a colorful mist slowly floating out. Yin yun breathed in the mist and a blush covered her cheeks as she also started hiccuping. Chapter 80 - Drunk sword Nick had already gotten off the ground and was stareing at yin yun confused. As far as he knew cultivators only drank wine symbolically rather than to get drunk, the reason as far as he knew most alcohol was entirely ineffective on cultivator due to the qi running threw they''re bodies. Yet from what he had seen the mere fumes from the wine yin yun made had intoxicated her instantly. Yin yun took a sip from the jar of wine before sitting on the ground with a silly grin on her face. Nick had an idea as he saw yin yun in this state that since she was the weapon spirit that maybe the sword would change due to her inebriation. Nick withdrew the sword from the scabbard he had made for it and observed the blade closely. Quickly nick noticed that the flames on the blade were moving sluggish yet random which roughly confirmed his theory. Nick sheathed the sword before he started walking towards yin yun while making sure that the alcohols mist didn''t come into contact with him as he didn''t want to get drunk in such a dangerous place. After managing to reach yin yun with some difficulty nick research the jar of alcohol before putting it in his inventory. Almost immediately after the jar was sealed the multicolored haze in the air began to rapidly clear before vanishing entirely. Nick then looked at yin yun who was passed out and sighs before he carefully picks her up and puts her on his back before he begins to leave this pocket world . nick left the pocket world easily before he raided the other two buildings near the one that had yin yun before he headed towards the meeting area to wait on lo Mia to arrive. It didn''t take long for him to arrive though unlike earlier this time there was a group of people there when he got there. The group was absolutely a trope from a novel as it was five heavily armored knights surrounding a young man in bright eye catching colors , otherwise known as a peac.o.c.k. And as though some unknown force of the universe was playing a joke on him (a/n:that''s me.) The peac.o.c.k focused on nick the moment he entered the area. Disgust on his face he called out "guards kill the peasant and bring me the girl to play with." Obviously referring to nick and yin yun. Nick sighs at the ridiculous trope before putting yin yun against a nearby wall since she was still passed out. After yin yun was settled nick drew his sword drawing the eye of the peac.o.c.k to it. "Also bring me that weapon!" The peac.o.c.k ordered his guards. The guards all wore green full plate armor with red accents that protected almost every inch of their bodies. They each moved in a coordinated manner as they all approached nick with their weapons drawn. "Sorry lad its you or my job and I prefer my job , nothing personal." The tallest of the guards said. Chapter 80 - Drunk sword (2) Nick sighed out loud before he circulated his bloodlines causing his body to change form as he instantly grew to two and a half meters tall while his muscles bulged on his body. Dark golden scales began to sprout from under his skin before covering his body as his eyes turned into yellow reptile slits and claws tipped each of his fingers. The crown above his head however was black and white instead of the rainbow color it was before. The look on the peac.o.c.ks face spoke volumes about the change nick underwent, but could best be summarized simply as "I f.u.c.k.e.d up". The guards quickly put some distance between themselves and nick . nick himself however simply stood in place releasing a dreadful aura. "see, if i thought for a second that you might not go crying to some big shot family member or even teacher over some humiliation that quite honestly you haven''t been given , i would let all of you go however as i find myself in this over used trope setting i''m just going to nip that possible outcome in the bud." nick says to the peac.o.c.k before turning to the guard who spoke earlier. "its not personal." nick said. After nick finished speaking nick dashed towards the nearest guard leaving a trail of fire behind him. Right before he reached the guard nick swung his sword sideways in order to cut the man in half, however what actually happened is that the sword suddenly shifted its weigh causing nick to miss since he had to reorient himself. At first nick ignored this phenomena but after a similar incident happened a few more times he quickly realized this was a result of the inebriation that yin yun was under causing him to be out of sync with the sword. A after a moment of thought nick had the perfect way to fix this dis-resonance withe the sword. nick decided that he was also going to get a bit drunk so his mind syncs with yin yun''s state of mind far easier. To do this nick removed the jar from his inventory causing his opponents to try to protect themselves from a poison that would not come. nick unsealed the jar which ounce again released a colorful mist , this time however nick did not prevent the mist from affecting him. The first thing that happened to nick was that he noticed the vastness of energy that was in merely the mist, next his mind grew hazy and comfortable like a warm bath. The last thing was that a grin covered his face though from his opponents point of view he looked like a madman. Nick sealed the jar again putting it away once more. nick launched himself at his opponents aggressively before taking a wild formless swing of his sword ripping the space in front of him with the scream of air splitting. the sword started glowing after it cut through one of the guards like he wasn''t even there before crashing into the ground sending shrapnel flying. Nick spun drunkenly in place before falling over and rolling from his own momentum finally ending up on his back where he stayed until one of the guards attacked him . From his back nick stabbed his sword forward which impaled the guard before lifting nick to his feet. After wobbling unstably for a moment nick stepped forward with a lurch that threw the rest of the guards off balance since none of them had ever fought someone who was more powerful than themselves while that person was drunk. nick haphazardly arrived in front of one guard who tried to block the crazy swing of nicks sword , and he succeeded to a degree however since nick was so much stronger than normal the poor man was flung away with both his arms broken but still alive. the rest of the guards and the peac.o.c.k all swallowed hard from fear before deciding not to block nicks attacks if they can. Nick hiccupped before heading towards another guard who tried his best to stay away from nick who seemed like a humanoid beast to the guard which to be fair he truly looked like it with his limiters removed. Chapter 82 - finish nick swayed as he walked towards the guard who had been trying his hardest to stay away from nick. which was odd since you''d think it would be easy with nick being drunk but he was actual very fast . while nick was distracted with the guard who was running the peac.o.c.k was charging a talisman that was black with red ink strokes on it. the talisman was releasing an ominous glow the more energy was being pumped into it. finally nick trapped the guard in a corner where he was wildly swinging his sword gauging huge pieces of debris as the guard desperately dodges nicks swings. suddenly the peac.o.c.k yells out "die you freak!" before thrusting the talisman towards nick . the talisman releases an all consuming darkness that fills the space in front of the peac.o.c.k leaving nothing behind as it charges toward both nick and the guard he was fighting rapidly. even through the haze in his mind his sense of danger sobered nick up instantly. the moment before he was consumed by the darkness a bright flash of silver lit the spot he was standing before he disappeared from his spot. the guard however wasn''t so lucky as he was consumed by the darkness without even being able to scream. nick reappeared several meters away with a huge portion of his back missing . nick coughed up a huge mouthful of blood from the shear damage done to him as he ate a healing pill which dissolved in his mouth before spreading through the rest of his body healing any injuries it came across. nick looked at the peac.o.c.k with his draconic eyes bloodshot making one thing abundantly clear to the peac.o.c.k , nick was pissed. unknown to nick his bloodlines had instilled in him a deep sense of dominance which made him see most people as below him , as a result when the obviously weaker peac.o.c.k almost killed nick with that talisman it provoked that sense of dominance making his rage skyrocket. nick was sober at this point making his anger even more intimidating. nick breathed out unconsciously releasing a small jet of dragon fire from the sides of his mouth that raised the surrounding temperature by several degrees. nick was done playing nice so he sheathed his sword and cupped both of his hands in from of his c.h.e.s.t and began compressing his energy and laws between them. pulses of wild energy leaked out from between his hands destroying the ground around him leaving a crater . in the space between nicks hands a small orb was taking shape. the orb was mostly white with streaks of black occasionally showing up the feeling that the orb gave off was that of utter devastation. both the final guard and the peac.o.c.k wanted to run however they had quickly found out that the area had been sealed off by the sect formation in order to protect the surrounding areas. feeling the creep of death approaching them both people charged at nick in a last ditch effort to save themselves however "it''s too late!" nick yelled before pushing his hands open towards them. a huge burst of blinding light flashed before vanishing much like everything in the direction he had unleashed that orb. Chapter 83 - misunderstanding After the light fades away it revealed the square , or rather what was left of it as the entire area was left with a crater that had slick edges as though the ground was scooped up like ice-cream. nick knelt down as a wave of weakness overcame him , causing him to pant heavily as he reapplied the limiters to himself reverting him back to his ''normal'' form. in truth nick could have killed those two with little effort however as most people know you don''t always make the best choices when angry. As though she had perfect timing lo mia walked out of a nearby path looking confused as she could have sworn the meeting square was right here and was about to leave when she spotted nick kneeling out of breath. the first thing she thought was''chance'' , as soon as she had that thought she rushed over to nick acting like she was worried about him perfectly. " are you ok? do you need any help , maybe some water?" she said with the perfect amount of concern in her voice. nick however being paranoid around most women was suspicious that lo mia had just so happened to show up right as he was exhausted. "no i''m fine just a bit of time is all i need." he said coldly shooting down lo Mia''s attempt to get closer to him. lo mia pouts a bit before she looks away from nick and her expression turns frosty as she noticed yin yun curled up against a nearby wall without a scratch on her. nick feels goosebumps rise from his skin causing him to slowly look behind him where lo mia is giving him a death stare. "who is that!?" lo mia asked frostily. nick calmed himself before he answered "that is yin yun , my sword." he says as calmly as that death stare would allow. lo mia thought on what nick said but simply misunderstood what nick said to mean that yin yun worked under nick. "what is the depth of your relationship with your sword?" she said still very coldly. nick was caught off guard by this question as he never really thought about the relationship between sword and wielder . nick rubs his chin as he thinks about how to answer before finally speaking. "well i suppose the most accurate description would be that we are partners." he said thinking that answer would satisfy lo mia when on the contrary it only served to make her even angrier. " so you came here with me even though you already had a partner! how dare you take advantage of me in this way!" she yelled angrily before slapping nick so hard his whole body spun through the air. poor nick didn''t even know how it ended up like this since as far as he knew nothing he said should have set off lo mia in such a manner but like most misunderstanding in life things tend to escalate quickly. nick sat up angrily and yelled back at lo mia "what the hell are you angry about you act like you''ve never had a partner before so why are you angry that i have one now". lo mia turned red from rage at what nick sad before she yelled back. "i''m still a v.i.r.g.i.n so no i haven''t had a partner before!" nick immediately was confused "what does being a v.i.r.g.i.n have to do with having a partner?" he said completely confused. it was at this moment that lo mia realized that she had completely misunderstood what nick had said up til now since her mind was only focused on one particular train of thought. Chapter 84 - weapon spirits lo mia spent the next few minutes apologizing to nick repeatedly while they waited for yin yun to wake up. after apologizing the two eventually ended up meditating in silence which was fairly normal for cultivators however this peace was quickly shattered when yin yun woke up with a hangover. "someone kill me and end this headache!" she m.o.a.n.e.d while clutching her head . nick grinned mischievously when he thought of how to punish her for making his life just a little dangerous when she was passed out. amplifying his voice using a bit of qi he focuses his voice on yin yun before saying "good morning". the result was immediate, yin yun grabbed her ears and rolled around on the ground in anguish because just like most people with a hangover she was extremely s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e to sound and nick basically just yelled with a speakerphone into her ears. soon yin yun demanifested in order to remove all of the negative affects she was having. "you big meanie how could you treat me so roughly!" yin yuns voice echoes out of the sheath on his waist causing lo mias jaw to drop. "wait! , you mean to tell me that she was literally your sword!" she exclaims. nick looks at lo mia confused "that is what i said earlier , whats so strange about that?" he asked confused. lo mia was speechless at how clueless nick was when it came to weapon spirits , then again it wasn''t all that surprising considering how rare they are. lo mia sighs "how much about weapon spirits do you know?" she asked. nick thought about it for a moment before answering. "not much only that when a weapon reaches a certain point it has a chance of obtaining one." he said curious why she was asking. lo mia nods at his answer "while that is true that is not the whole of it, i guess ill start from the beginning then. the name weapon spirit is a bit misleading as any item can obtain a spirit whether it be a weapon or not, however as you said the item has to reach a minimum rank in order to gain a spirit that rank is rank six , however simply being rank six only allows for a one percent chance of a spirit forming. every rank increases that chance further but does not guarantee a weapon spirit making it possibly for a rank nine item to not have a spirit. next up is what makes an item with a spirit different than an item without, an item with a spirit gains a few abilities that are incredibly useful such as the ability to learn , the ability to see in all directions and in the higher ranks of spirits to grow stronger. moving on is the different ranks that the spirits have , basically when a spirit is born they like all creatures have different levels of lets say talent that decides whether they remain as they are till they die or whether they can grow either with the welder or beyond the wielder in strength the different ranks in order of lowest to highest are spark ,match , flame , pyre , inferno , volcano , and finally sun. only a flame rank spirit and higher can grow albeit a flame rank spirit grows very slowly. the higher a spirit can be born as is a pyre rank spirit which is the rank your spirit is at right now. only pyre rank spirits and higher however can manifest physically making them highly coveted as its like have an immortal servant or as you put it partner. the reason is because spirits can only be truly damaged by soul attacks however the only real way to kill a spirit is to destroy its vessel which is extremely difficult due to how high the rank is normally." Chapter 85 - invasion nick looked at the sword at his waist which he felt an inflated sense of pride which he immediately ignored. he sighed at the headache he had somehow gotten himself into since he knew that if someone gets a treasure far beyond his strength his life is in danger. "something wrong?" lo mia asked not understanding nicks sigh. "yes and no, yes because my sword is far too valuable and no because other than hat i''m fine."nick said calmly. lo mia looked at nick confused. "how would they know the value of the sword without you saying anything about the spirit?" she says confused. nicks eyes grow wide as he realizes shes right. after settling everything in the now missing square they set off towards the main hall where the treasury should be located as was standard in the sects. meanwhile in the darkest pit of hell a massive army of shadowy figures had gathered. the air swirled with a thick purple energy that thrummed as though filled with anticipation. In the air above the swarm of fiendish beings a humanoid creature that was two meters tall and had grey skin with glowing purple cracks randomly streaked across the visible parts of the body. Each finger ended with black claws ,each elbow had a sharp black spike about an inch long while a thin whip-like tail and large webbed wings sprouted from the creatures back. the creatures head was almost like a normal human males face except that it was bald with two spiral horns that grew from the side above the ears . a deep powerful voice boomed from its mouth speaking the common tongue . "fellow demons!" the area grew quiet. " long ago the races of restrus banished our race to this decrepit place mercilessly!" the army starts roaring and cursing the races of restrus before the flying demon raised its hand silencing the army. "however a few of our human servants who escaped the cleansing of the other races managed to repopulate their species and are now the dominant race on the planet. they developed ways to cultivate and now stand equal even to the despicable angels. as a result our race must strike the human race hard so that they can not interfere with our return!" the army howled as they released their blood l.u.s.t causing the air above them to shift and swirl. nick and lo mia make their way to the main hall of the sect where a large group of cultivators are gathered as they all try to open the massive door that should be the vault . ''system , appraise that door!'' nick mentally commanded. *ding* *appraising.... complete.* ____________________________________ name:deceiving doors rank:4 description: large doors that serve no purpose that are designed not to open , occasionally used to distract people from the truly valuable vault located nearby. ______________________________________ after reading the appraisal nick sent a qi message to lo mia telling her that the doors were a lie and that he was going to try to find the real vault . lo mia was surprised that nick knew that the door was false but chose to trust him as he is a very honest person in her opinion. nick went around the room casually which made the other people think he was waiting for the vault to open so they ignored him , in fact nick was actually appraising every item he found to try and figure out where the vault is surprisingly nick even found an item with a spirit albeit only a flame ranked one but a spirit nonetheless . eventually nick found a horrible looking jade cup that had cracks all over it and was covered in dirt but the appraisal showed an entirely different side. ____________________________________ name: hidden vault description: the vault of the weightless blade sect designed specifically so it was very unassuming , must activate using the appropriate method. _____________________________________ Chapter 85 - invasion(2) nick kept his face expressionless while he placed the vault in his inventory and then acted like he was bored of waiting and left casually with lo mia. after getting a safe distance away lo mia stops nick "did you get the vault?" she asked excitedly. nick nodded at her "lets get back to my place in the swamp before we open it , wouldn''t want to cause a commotion and have to share now would we?" he said teasingly. lo mia pouts at nicks teasing before she agrees with him and they head back the academy faster than they did to the sect area , mostly because they weren''t attacked this time as well as that nick was actually trying to get to the academy quickly since he still wanted to upgrade his defenses and purification array since his professions had advanced. before it had taken the two several hours to get to the valley with the sect but the time it took to get back was merely two hours. the total time the two were gone from the academy was all total a day and a half which was fairly normal. they did stop in the city where they browsed some items being sold in the bazaar before they arrived back in the hall where they had signed out before right at midday. the person at the counter this time however was not the girl from before but a spritely young man who was doing his job with a smile on his face setting him drastically apart from the girl from before. the youth noticed the two as they walked in and waved them over. "ah , coming back from some charged romance i take it?" the youth said with a laugh. lo mia blushed violently while nick was more surprised than anything. "no,we went to check out a fallen sect to see if we could find anything useful." nick responded calmly. the youth nodded "i see , i do hope it was a fruitful trip for you both , that aside i''ll need you names in order to mark to both as having returned." he said with a polite tone. after giving the man their names he went through the records before finding the one about the two leaving where he marked it as them returning on this date. at this point the formalities were complete so nick and lo mia bid the man a good day before leaving the hall and quickly traveling to nicks swamp which of course had not changed in the short time they had been gone with the exception that the creatures nick had added had final settled in. at the edge of the swamp where nick had set the detection formation nick quickly improved the formation by adding an extra layer that acted to keep the creatures from leaving the formation. the reason nick didn''t do this earlier was that he simply couldn''t as every three tiers an extra layer can be added to a formation meaning that at nicks previous profession rank he could only have one layer but now that he was at three he could add another , it wasn''t just this profession that this applied to either but rather all of them had a dividing line of not just strength but complexity every three tiers. so after upgrading the formation nick headed to his sanctuary in the middle of the swamp which only took a few minutes. after arriving nick improved the purification array by adding another layer that acted to project an illusion that made the sanctuary appear to look like the surrounding areas. as for the rest of the arrays nick just basically just doubled their effects with the exception of the self-destruction array which he decided to ignore till he was alone since it would be pointless if someone else knew about it. Chapter 86 - invasion(3) After upgrading most of his defenses nick looked at lo mia who was staring at nick like he was an impossible thing standing before her. "if you''re done being impressed can we open this vault now?"he asked amused. lo mia snapped out her shock before asking "what are you?" Nick was taken aback by the question before he understood why she asked to which he could only shrug and say "just you''re everyday monstrous genius." lo mia seemed satisfied with that answer for now. "yes pop that vault open lets see what we got." she says excitedly. nick was about to pull the vault out of his inventory when suddenly the ground began to shake all around the world as huge pillars of purple energy shot through the atmosphere all around the world some in the middle of nowhere some in the middle of cities. the pillars of energy vanished just as quickly as they came leaving in their place violet portals which slowly released a purple energy into their surroundings . one such portal opened on the mountain right next to nicks swamp. the portals seemed harmless at first since besides showing up dramatically nothing happened , at first. After about an hour the first change happened to the portals which were being watched by some of the strongest people in the areas they were found , suddenly a thick bloodl.u.s.t was released into the surroundings of the portals before legions of demons poured out of every portal before anyone could react , the invasion had begun. the strong est people tried to talk with the demons at first since their motives were unclear , however the demons made it abundantly clear they weren''t here to talk. a fierce battle occurred at the sites that had people strong enough to fight back everywhere else was either massacred or enslaved . At this moment nick was in his released state fighting every demon he came across on the now battleground on the mountainside. nicks prowess in battle intimidated the thin shadowy creatures that comprised most of the enemies he came across which wasn''t all that surprising since his bloodline thrived in battle , however that didn''t mean the demons he was fighting where weak , on the contrary since he was having trouble dealing with them quickly them were quite strong he was just too much of a monster himself for it to matter. blade swinging rapidly yet precisely nick dispatched another demon and he was about to go look for another when his instincts screamed danger at him to which he rapidly blinked away dodging as a massive force collided where he was just standing sending up a cloud of sand. "tch , no wonder we were having trouble pushing into the swamp below." a thick baritone voice said with a tinge of irritation from the cloud of sand. the sand quickly settled to reveal the source of the voice , a demon that looked like the flying demon described before however this demon was smaller at only about a meter tall with a handsome face and long black hair tied into a braid behind it while clothed in a set of crimson platemail that covered every part of his body except his wings , tail and head. the demon carried a one handed handaxe of a rippling blue tinge. Chapter 87 - Glorious battle the demon straightened his body before speaking "what is your name human?" he asked respectfully . nicks eyes narrowed at the respect he was being shown "i am Nicholas varias , why do you ask creature?" he answered politely while also asking for an explanation. the demon was a bit confused why nick called him creature but then it dawned on him. the demon sighed "so, my race has been forgotten entirely it seems. I suppose that would make this entire attack almost without reason huh?" the demon mumbled under its breath but nick still heard it and was flabbergasted. from what he gathered the creature that was before him was from a forgotten race that might have had a bad relationship with humanity at one point. "i see , it might be too late to stop this fight but know i shall try." nick said confidently . the demon was stunned before laughing for a few seconds before his face grew solemn "my race is the demon race to stop this fight is impossible however i shall leave your body as intact as possible in honor of your thoughts." the demon said arrogantly. this time it was nicks turn to laugh . "that is funny for a second there it sounded like you thought that this is all my power , it''s not even close." nick said before a black and white crown appeared above his head and released its pressure in the area causing the air itself to quake as though in fear. the demons face becomes grim as he understands this is going to be an extremely hard battle. the demon holds his axe in front of him and says "if it is my fate to fall before your blade so be it!" before charging at nick with a heavy chop rending the air under its edge. nick raises his blade and blocks the attack while being pushed back since his strength is slightly weaker than the demons. seeing this the demon uses a lighter but faster attack to capitalize on his advantage but nick teleports behind the demon causing it to miss before slashing his sword at the demons exposed back managing to cut through the armor but only barely scratched the skin underneath. the demon lunged forward putting some distance between himself and nick before front rolling and twisting to face nick with catlike agility. the demon eyed nick warily as he felt a cold sweat on his neck as he could tell if the armor didn''t block most of that strike he would have been badly injured. the demon launched himself forward while twisting around midair to face nick with catlike agility. the two stared each other down one with a cautious look the other with a savage glint. this stare-down only lasted a split second before both charged at the other clashing their weapons violently sending shockwaves through the air blowing dust to either side of the two . the two clashed several more times before finally a spurt of blood was launched into the air from nick as the demon had managed to draw a small wound across nicks c.h.e.s.t. the feeling of being injured caused nick to wake from his battle craze before he sent a huge burst of energy in front of him with his free hand forcing the demon to dodge right into nicks sword which cleaved a bloody gash into the demons gut . Chapter 88 - Aftermath the demon grimaced in pain from the wound on its c.h.e.s.t before jumping back from nick and pulling out an object that looked like a flute and blew into it. a shrill note reverberated all over the battlefield and the demons all stopped whatever they were doing and retreated rapidly back into the portal leaving everyone who was fighting surprised for a moment before they quickly took advantage of their enemies turning their backs to devastate the demons numbers. meanwhile nick was shocked at the demon signaling the others to retreat. nick quickly realized that his opponent intended to escape and he found this to be unacceptable so he launched himself at the demon viciously but alas it was not to be. Before nick could reach the demon he pulled out a scroll of translocation and tore it apart. the demon vanished from were he was and appeared next to the portal a few moments later then entered the portal which closed behind him. needless to say nick was pissed. seemingly having lost his mind nick took out his anger on the nearby corpses or those unfortunate enough the still be clinging to life. the other people in the area decided to wisely turn the other way to nicks rampage. after about an hour nick calmed down before charging into his swamp quickly vanishing into the fog out of the other peoples sight who sighed in relief. nick entered his house and slammed the door before entering a body refinement frenzy as he rapidly forged his body without care at the cost boosting his cultivation into the copper tier causing his body to be impervious to weapons below tier 4. twelve days have passed while nick was cultivating giving he just enough time to get ready to attend classes in a day. on this day nick finally left his house his body having taken on a slight copper tinge while his aura was more orderly as a result of his body not having so much strain on it, the reason is simply because nick was not born with his bloodlines as a result there was a sort of disharmony as his body simply wasn''t designed to hold the bloodlines, this was solved with nick refining his body so much. the disunity from before had prevented nick from truly wielding their power. nick stretched his stiff body causing loud cracking sounds from the pressure his movements caused on the surrounding air. lo mia arrived at nicks sanctuary with an old man with golden eyes , none other than old sun. in truth nick knew of their arrival immediately but chose not to greet them since they had come on their accords. "a remarkable place you''ve made for yourself here young fellow." old sun said as he breathed in with a look of comfort. "how much better is it to cultivate in this environment two three times?" old sun asked while motioning to the air around him. nick thought for a moment before answering "from my own experience should be right at six times more effective." he says decisively. old sun nods in understanding. "i can tell that while low in tier this array is based on an unheard of principle, not even i can replicate this array at a higher tier since besides knowing what the principle does i have no clue how it does it. truly remarkable." old sun says impressed. nick nods at the observation "i''m guessing you aren''t here to admire my living space though am i right"? nick questions knowingly. Chapter 90 - aftermath Old suns face becomes serious "indeed , even now we have no idea what race had attacked us whereas the rest of humanity has been cut down by over sixty percent the only reason the other know races haven''t attacked is because the humans killed were only the weaker members of the race, meaning most of the experts are still alive." old sun said seriously. nick nods in understanding "i''m guessing that the academy is changing in some way that effects me greatly since you as an elder have come here personally?" nick says interested. old sun sighs "aye lad it does. the academies are all in agreement that we will be expanding the city to hold the last forty percent of humanity so that no other races try to weaken the human race further , as a result everyone that has the ability to help is being drafted to do so , and thanks to your frankly terrifying level of laws you are among those that must flatten a large kingdoms worth of land before we wall it off." old sun said expecting a harsh rejection yet nick was silent. this silence went on for a minute before nick asked "how much land is considered a large kingdoms worth?" old sun was stunned for a second but quickly calmed himself. "why do you ask?" he asked curious. "i have an item that should be able to flatten a huge amount of land , however it has a limit to how far it will work so i want to know if it can be used to opt out of the grunt work." nick said simply. old sun was a bit confused since he didn''t know of any items that could do what nick said but since it didn''t seem like nick was lying old sun took out a map of the continent and pointed to a circle on one corner of the map "that is the land we are going to flatten since its all behind the academies." he said seriously. nick looked at the ledger to find out how much land that was and was stunned at the size of it. ''system can the destruction seed i have flatten that much land?'' *ding* *affirmative , the destruction seed host possess could flatten twice that amount without harming any living things.* nick walked over to the map and drew another circle starting where the previous circle did but covering twice the area. ""my item can flatten that much land." he says confidently. old sun and lo mia both had their jaws drop slightly at the circle nick drew. old sun was sweating a bit "what were you going to use that item for originally?" he asked a bit shakily. "hmm, well when i got it originally i was going to save it for if someone ridiculously more powerful than myself tried to kill me but then i got this infuriating mark and was going to use it on the dragon king but i punished him with a different item instead." nick said casually. hearing this lo mia was also sweating inside at how lucky she was. "if its so valuable why would you use it just to get out of a bit of grunt work?" old sun asked confused. nick chuckled a bit "simple really , i despise doing things that don''t benefit me either directly or indirectly , not that i''m completely selfish but my charity only goes so far." he said calmly. old sun was even more confused "but grunt work is not worth even a fraction of that items value so how...?" he asked boggled. "that''s easy to explain my charity has absolutely nothing to due with monetary value , but instead by which action would test my patience more, using a super valuable item and wasting no time or wasting a lot of time doing aggravating grunt work the answer is obvious." Chapter 91 - opening the vault old sun and lo mia were surprised as while it made sense to a degree it was simply an uncommon way of thinking since all it covered was how inconvenient an action was compared to how valuable it was. "aye lad if you can truly flatten all that land i will personally ensure no one bothers you with grunt work." old sun says with conviction. nick nods "that is all i want , though keep in mind i ''d mind grunt work so long as it makes me stronger for example clearing monsters and such things." nick said calmly. "alright lad once i clear this with the others i''ll take you to the land to do your part." old sun said before leaving by himself. nick looked over at lo mia "i gonna guess you want to finish what we were doing before the invasion occurred?"he said calmly. lo mia nodded "though that is only one reason why i am here." she said confidently. nick raised an eyebrow at what she said "i see , but before we discuss such things onto the matter at hand first." nick said before taking the sect treasury out and activating it. the decrepit jade cup rapidly began expanding until it turned into a glowing gate over three meters tall with depictions of swords all over it. nick walked to the gate before looking over at lo mia "well, shall we?" he says calmly. lo mia walks over calmly and together they pull opened the gate revealing what was inside. a huge amount of wealth lied before their eyes mountains of gold silver and platinum coins ,thousands of tools weapons and herbs of various tiers dotted the vault however out of everything in the vault there were two items in particular that caught nicks attention , a vial of golden liquid that the description the system gave was as follows. _____________________________ name:divine essence tier:???? description:the blood of an unknown deity (can be used in three ways , pill creation, tool creation, gain the bloodline.) ____________________________ the fact that a fallen sect had a vial of divine blood was mind boggling as the chances of such a thing were astronomically low this alone would have shocked nick alone but the second item that drew nicks attention was even more bizarre , it was an egg the size of him that had a solid black shell with white lines all over it which by itself wasn''t that strange since some beast eggs can be huge while as being strange looking but again the description of the item stopped him in his tracks. ___________________________ name:????? egg tier:?????? description: egg that is unidentifiable (still viable) ____________________________ the fact that even the system that nick thought as all knowing simply had no information on this egg in front of him was horrifying since whatever this egg belonged to was either so rare that the system had no info on it or belonged to something more powerful than the system. in the end nick took both of the items as well was as half the materials for his jobs and gave lo mia the rest. Chapter 91 - discussion the way nick did this was simply by putting his share in his inventory and then giving the vault to lo mia. after taking care of the loot distribution nick summoned a table with a few chairs as well as a a couple of sodas. lo mia of course sat down in one of the chairs but she didn''t know what to do with the soda nick had offered her. nick chuckled slightly at lo Mia''s confusion before showing her how to open and drink soda. after tasting the soda for the first time lo mia was stunned as it was such an odd drink with its fizz and odd flavor. "so what was it you wanted to discuss?" nick said while leaning back in his chair comfortably. lo mia put down her soda "first if its not too difficult why does your personality seem to have changed?" she said curious. nick was expecting this question as even he knew the change in his personality was just too dramatic not to notice. "are you aware that bloodlines can be acquired after birth?" lo mia nods. "in that case if i were to take a guess you likely don''t know that bloodlines at high enough strength can cause the person who acquired them unnaturally to have a change in personality due to the desynchronous state the bloodlines exert on the body and mind." nick said calmly. lo Mia''s eyes grow wide as she immediately figures out why nick was so aggressive before. "you are right i was in such a state before now however most cases aren''t that extreme since the influence on the mind is usually very small , my case was in truth due to suddenly gaining a second powerful bloodline which compounding with the influence of the first one caused my personality to twist into that state it was before. thankfully this state can be removed by increasing the strength of ones body to better contain and fuse with the two bloodlines." nick explained before taking a sip from his soda. "wait you can increase the strength of your body without increasing your cultivation!?" lo mia exclaimed in surprise. nick was startled with her sudden exclamation but quickly recovered. "yes it can be done and before you ask no i won''t tell you how." nick said calmly. when lo mia heard the first part of nick''s words she got excited but when she heard the last part it was like some one dumped ice water down her back. "but why? if you shared the method humanity would grow far stronger quickly!" she said angrily. nick didn''t even flinch at her anger "humanity is both good and bad in equal parts so if humanity were to grow more powerful than any other race what do you suppose would happen?" he asked calmly. lo mia thought about nicks question "it would live with the other races as equals causing all to prosper." she said with conviction. nick sighed and shook his head "optimism while it appears nice is mostly useless in this world, no if humanity grew more powerful than the other races it would crush them into slaves or simply wipe them out entirely while devastating the world around them , there is no point in arguing with me i have seen it myself. nick said while thinking back to when he was on earth. lo mia wanted to argue with nick over it but the look on nicks face crushed that idea where it formed. such a look of sadness and melancholy simply didn''t allow for argument. "that said in order to use that method to its highest ability I''d have to give up knowledge on alchemy that i have no intention of giving up anytime soon." nick said with a chuckle. lo mia was confused but then it dawned on her "you mean the principle in this array is from alchemy, but if it was used on pills they would.." lo mia grew pale as she had a realization. "and that realization is why I''m not giving up that knowledge anytime soon as it would throw the prices of ingredients all over the place." Chapter 93 - assimilation lo mia couldn''t help but agree with nicks thoughts since the world has already been thrown into turmoil because of the demons. if word about this new school of alchemy and cultivation of the body got out either nick would vanish over night and become a wanted man or he would be forced to create a massive amount of chaos from the impact of the information. "ok so you won''t share the information with the world but why not me?" lo mia said slightly irritated. nick looked at lo mia calmly "that is simple , i am not friends with you neither am i family to you as such i trust you as far as my sword will reach." he said without emotion only pure cold truth. lo mia was stunned but quickly realized that he was right as to him she had only gone on a single small trip with him and even that was in order to try to get him to get into a relationship with her. still that didn''t change how harsh it sounded when laid b.a.r.e. "i see, i don''t know what i could do to change or mind but i will try." she said trying not to sound hurt. nick heard her an sighed "it is not a matter of trying but rather of nature as these things cannot be forced." nick said honestly. "you want something but you don''t want to wait for however long it would take to achieve , speak of what you wanted to discuss before leaving me be." nick said flatly. "there is no need as your words have already told me your answer." lo mia said before standing up and leaving with tears in her eyes. nick saw this and felt nothing as he truly thought nothing of lo mia besides having had gone on a small trip with her. After lo mia left nick put away the table and chairs before taking out the divine blood an drinking it in one gulp. *ding* *unknown bloodline detected , identifying.... identified.* ______________________ name: darkgod bloodline tier:???? description: bloodline of the goddess of darkness *assimilate y/n?* ''yes'' nick mentally commanded. A bitter chill spread from nick''s heart to the rest of his body before he fell into a meditative state as he released his restrictions. unknown to him his body began to change from what it looked like normally when he transformed. his scales grew from a golden hue to an almost black purple with thin streaks of gold while his wings grew thick feathers that matched his scales. he actually shrunk by three feet in height while his frame also grew more compact. on his face two slits grew above his eyes as his teeth grew a little sharper and his ears a bit longer. black fog rolled off of nicks scales lightly like a shimmer of darkness acting like a cloak. After the transformation was complete nick opened his eyes , all four of them. nick was unable to cope with his new senses at first but gradually got used to them as he began experimenting with his new bloodline''s abilities he discovered that he could enter a separate dimension without light that was just outside of the regular one where he could bypass anything in the normal dimension without effort. besides this nick learned that he could teleport attacks between places of darkness such as his own shadow and the shadow of something else. the most obvious difference was how much sharper his base senses grew. if before he had the senses of a normal person without his cultivation now he could match any cultivator below void chasing with his base senses Chapter 94 - hidden danger nick replaced his limiters turning back into his normal form mostly however his two new eyes remained albeit closed looking more like wrinkles than eyes. after making sure his change didn''t affect the surroundings he began to level up his different skills so he could use them to the best of his ability. meanwhile in a place void of light a beautiful women with hair of the darkest night and pale skin like it had never seen light open her four eyes that shined like rubies and licked her lips briefly flashing sharp canines. "what a delicious man who just took in my bloodline , i''m guessing he wasn''t aware of the promise that came with that essence. ah well i haven''t found a worthy husband yet maybe he''ll do." the goddess said to her self while stretching seductively and floating off of the bed and vanishing. old sun showed up an hour after nick had started to train and caught a glimpse of the ridiculously intense level of training nick was putting himself through before nick stopped. "aye lad the others said if your item could flatten that land they would let you do what you want with their blessings." old sun said with a grin. nick nodded "take me to the edge of the land and i''ll do the rest." he said calmly. old sun grabbed nicks shoulder and warped both of them to the edge of the land nick needed to flatten. Once they arrived nick pulled out the destruction seed from his inventory , immediately it seemed like the world froze in fear as the acorn sized black object was taken out of nicks inventory. old sun was sweating heavily as his instincts screamed at the danger that small object posed to his life. nick was of course unaffected as he sent some energy into the seed with his command of what he wanted it to do. the seed dissolved above hicks hand an lightly fell to the ground like black snow before sinking into it. a massive pulse flashed brightly the instant the seed entered the ground blinding everyone looking in the direction of the seed before it vanished. when old sun recovered what he saw caused his jaw to drop , for as far as he could sense the land had all been completely flattened with affecting even a single blade of grass. old sun looked over at nick "oi lad you don''t have anymore of those things do you?" he said cautiously. nick chuckled slightly "that''s for me to know and you too hope to never find out." he said with a grin. meanwhile a certain goddess had been hiding in a separate space nearby "that item bore a tiny amount of one of the three origin laws , but what is an item like that doing in a minor plane like this though? i am finding this mortal more attractive by the moment." she said to herself while l.i.c.k.i.n.g her lips while looking at nick. nick didn''t know why but the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end while his danger sense was going off. he took up a defensive position while looking around cautiously which surprised old sun "lad whatsup?" old sun asked curiously. nick looked like a trapped animal which had old sun curious since he would sense any danger if there was any. "i don''t know but my instincts are telling me there is danger!" nick said panicked. "oh he seems to have sensed my attention mmm~ such delicious potential i just want him all to myself~" the goddess said sensually. in truth the main reason this goddess was interested in nick was that he was a complete mystery to her which for any god is an almost fatal temptation though it certainly didn''t help that nick was practically divine in how he looked to women goddess''s included. Chapter 94 - chased After eventually calming down since whatever had his instincts going haywire wasn''t attacking nick had old sun warp him back to his sanctuary were he felt safest. once old sun left nick used his new bloodline to jump into the dark dimension thinking he would throw off whatever was send his instincts off. once nick entered the dark he heard a female voice that would come to haunt him for years. "oh my!~ here I was trying to figure out how to get close to you and then you charge right into my bedroom you bad boy!~ "the voice said seductively. nick immediately froze as he turned to look at the source of the voice revealing one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen who he could immediately identify because of his new bloodline , the goddess of darkness. nick transformed and took a defensive position which caused the goddess to pout cutely before she held her arms tightly causing her c.h.e.s.t to protrude slightly "why don''t you come over here i have cookies~" she said trying to seduce nick. nick immediately understood the situation he was in and then leapt out of the dark suddenly. the goddess stood there stunned for a moment before giggling faintly as a predatory glint entered her eyes. "oh my playing hard t to get huh. he''s so different from other men i just can''t help falling for him!" she said before following the path nick took through the dark landing in his sanctuary from seemingly nowhere. looking around the goddess was amazed at the place she found herself in before realizing nick was nowhere to be found causing her to frown slightly. "space law huh? I''ll get you my dear and your little brother too!" she yelled out before chasing nick with her own space law. all the male elders in the area were aware of the goddess the moment she appeared but turned a blind eye to nicks plight as none of them wanted to offend that deity. in truth old sun wanted to help nick but was stopped by the principle of the academy. "but why sir?" old sun asked in confusion. the voice of the principal answered calmly "she won''t harm him she only wants to marry the boy which could even be considered as good luck for the kid , plus i really want to see how he handles this situation." the principle said with a small amount of excitement. meanwhile nick was frantically teleporting randomly back to back in order to throw off his pursuer until he ran into jakob who had come to visit him and immediately teleported him away before teleporting in an an entirely different direction. the goddess appeared at the location where nick teleported jakob and raised an eyebrow when she felt the two spatial rifts. rubbing her chin in thought she chose the wrong one and teleported straight to a very confused jakob. "damn he was at the other rift!" she muttered irritated and went back through the rift only to find out the nick had realized she took the wrong rift and had covered his tracks by closing the rift behind him. the goddess stomped her foot in annoyance causing a mini earthquake "you win this time I''ll let you have five weeks before i chase you again , make sure you are hydrated then~" she said to a shadow on the ground before entering the dark again. nick breathed a sigh of relief when the goddesses message came through his own shadow. he was of course horrified by it at first because it showed that if she really used her full ability she could have easily caught him. but after his instincts went silent he practically fainted from exhaustion. Chapter 96 - curse nick sat on the ground for several minutes to recover slightly as he had pushed his energy reserves to their limits since teleporting used a massive amount of energy at nicks current understanding of the space law as he was more brute forcing his way. after the goddess left old sun showed up to explain himself to nick. "lad i wanted to help you but the principal stopped me since that women didn''t have what could normally be considered ill designs on you , though from how calm you are i''d wager you already figured out that much huh?" he said apologetically. nick looked at old sun then grinned in a way that sent chills down old suns back "so you''re saying the principal took the side of an outsider over his own student ?" nick questioned with that devilish grin. "aye it could be looked at that way." old sun said throwing the principal under the bus without hesitation. nick nodded "i see let me give him a bit of a warning then." nick said with an evil grin. nick pulled his hands to either side of him and in the palm of each a small spark appeared in his right hand it was black and in his left it was white . when old sun saw this he felt bad for the principal ''yin and yang laws create some of the most irritating curses'' he thought without moving to stop nick since he had firmly believed that the principal was wrong as well. the sparks in nicks hand continued to grow until they were orbs the size of melons before nick mashed both of the orbs together viciously which caused an explosion that sent him flying while coughing up blood. oddly the blood flew into to the dust cloud that the explosion caused. after the dust cleared as old sun waved his hand a floating crimson orb pulsed in the air before flying off into the distance vanishing from view but old sun knew where it was going. indeed a few moments later a cry of anger and agony echoed through the academy before a man warped to where nick was anger practically rolling off of him. the man was rather small at only four feet tall with dirt brown hair tied into a long braids with a long thick beard. "boy how dare you f.u.c.k.i.n.g curse me! fix what you''ve done and apologize!" the dwarf yelled angrily. nick wiped the blood at the corner of his mouth before standing up a yelling back "i came to this academy thinking i could learn something while being safe but not only have i not been safe i just had to run away from a literal f.u.c.k.i.n.g goddess! then instead of helping me as you should you actually stopped people from helping so f.u.c.k you , you deserve that curse!" nick cursed at the principle without holding back. the dwarfs face twisted not because of anger but because nick was right , since nick had arrived he was marked permanently during the trials before fighting the demons who invaded to finally having to run from a literal goddess while the principle stopped people from helping. All things considered nick was well within his rights to be angry at the academy the principle simply was the straw that broke the camels back to which nick viciously retaliated. the curse nick had placed on the principle threw the energy he took in into chaos effectively forcefully preventing him from cultivating which was like removing any chance of breaking through until the curse was gone. Chapter 97 - hatching "besides the curse will go away in a month so just deal with it." nick said after calming down. on the principals face a vein popped up from anger "boy i could end you right now to get rid of this curse." the principal said while releasing some bloodl.u.s.t. nick just smiled and shook his head "first your bloodl.u.s.t needs seasoning" he said while releasing his own bloodl.u.s.t which was so thick it actually started to physically manifest into a red mist around him. "second i made sure that the curse had nothing to do with me after i released it by giving a few years off my lifespan." he said casually. the principals eyes grow wide at how potent nicks bloodl.u.s.t was as well as what he said. "you are f.u.c.k.i.n.g insane boy !" the principal yelled before lowering his head in defeat. "you win boy what do you want?" the principal said lowly. nick was surprised at the principals behavior but understood the question "i want what i was promised when i came here , safety and knowledge no more and no less." nick said calmly. now it was the principal and old suns turn to be surprised "that is it?" they both said stupefied. nick chuckled at their reaction "as i said earlier that curse is no more than a warning ,in truth it was a warning to the entire academy not to break promises or there would be consequences and while i can understand things beyond anyone''s control like the demon invasion but the other two times were both unacceptable." After coming to an understanding nick went back to where he sent jakob to apologize. jakob was very understanding since he had roughly understood nicks character by now. "so that beauty was a literal goddess huh can''t say i''m not a little jealous of your luck with women." jakob says sarcastically. nick threw up his hands in exasperation "honestly i''m trying to stay single yet its like some omniscient force is trying to ruin that idea." he said causing the author to chuckle a little. After chatting for a while the two went back to nicks sanctuary where jakob also had a stunned expression but nick was used to it by this point. in the end nick added an extra room for jakob since his sanctuary was the best place to cultivate in the entire academy. after that the two did a bit of training together and by training it was mostly nick smacking jakob around with his aura to get him used to it. several hours later jakob had finally managed to not be affected by nicks aura. jakob immediately went to cultivate since he was tired while nick went into his room to figure out what to do with the egg he got. nick spent the next day trying to figure out how to incubate the damn thing and in anger threw a burst of law at the thing which surprisingly worked as it was s.u.c.k.e.d into the egg before the egg went silent again. this caught nicks attention and he began to feed his law force into the egg which was getting more and more active as time went on until an entire day had gone by when the egg shook slightly as a crack appeared on it. nick watched as the creature struggled its way out from the egg to reveal a strange looking creature with a short serpentine body covered in shimmering cobalt scales and four limbs the front two were leathery wings that ended in six claws. the two back legs were like those of a dog but covered scales and ending in six claws like the front limbs. the strange creature had a long snout that was filled in many sharp teeth and had two small black horns on the back of its head with a row of spikes down the center of its back , the creature was obviously some kind of dragon. Chapter 98 - Azdra nick looked at the dragon and it looked back curiously before it got bored with that and started eating its egg shells. ''system what is this? *Ding* *analyzing ...... results found , display(y/n)* ''yes'' _______________________________________ name:celestial devouring wyrm tier:????? description: an unheard of successful hybrid of a celestial wyrm and a devouring wyrm that has all the best traits of its parents without any of the negative ones. like most wyrms this creature is practically harmless in its infancy needing to be cared for and protected , however upon reaching adolescence it becomes as powerful as a tier 8 demon beast. nicks eyes grew wide as he read the description before he closed it and looked at the little wyrm who was playing with the little specks of energy that were in the air. nick was having trouble associating this catlike wyrm with a tier 8 demon beast no matter how hard he tried. nick knew about beast contracts but decided against it seeing how trusting the little creature was of him. what nick didn''t know was that the wyrm imprinted on him when it was born so it simply saw him as its parent and that was the only reason it trusted him at so much. ''what should i name this little thing but before that what is it gender?'' nick thought before the system told him it was male. nick looked over at the wyrmling with a grin while waving his hand to get its attention which he did. the little thing looked up at nick with its big crimson eyes curiously. "from now on your name is azdra" nick said to which the little thing just c.o.c.ked its head to the side adorably. azdra then started to mewl , yes that''s right mewl like a cat when it wants food. nick was stunned at the sound since he had no idea that infant wyrms voices only got to the deep sound he expected as they grew older. quickly recovering from his shock nick was presented with a problem he had no idea what to feed the little monster thankfully the system had mercy on him and told him that he needed to grind up meat into a paste to feed the wyrm. nick was lucky that he still had some demon beast corpses that he himself had planned on eating so he ground up the meat from a boar type beast before putting it into a large bowl on the ground which azdra immediately pounced on and tore into voraciously. azdra finished the bowl quickly before yawning and climbing up nick and curling up around his neck and going to sleep while nick looked like he had an odd scarf on. nick could only shake his head at azdras choice of resting place before he went to cultivate quietly. the next day nick woke from his cultivation state fed azdra and began practicing his skills in order to fuse them together. azdra tried to copy nick but had problems since his body was different than nicks so after failing several times he gave up and started playing with the specks of light in order to entertain himself , well that is until jakob came out of his room. azdra immediately hissed at jakob while fanning out his winged limbs threateningly which caused jakob to stop but not from fear but surprise since he had never seen nick with any sort of pet before. azdra realized that jakob wasn''t afraid of him when jakob started to walk over towards nick which resulted in the misunderstanding that jakob was trying to attack his parent. azdra launched itself at jakob which stunned him long enough that azdra latched onto jakobs face where he started to try and bite and claw jakob viciously. In fact jakob felt little more than an itch from the wyrms attack so he simply grabbed the little reptile off of his face gently but with enough force that azdra couldn''t resist coming off and being held in jakobs hand which azdra started trying to chew on but was having no affect. jakob expressionlessly walked up to nick who was to focused on his training to notice what had happened. "i''m going to assume this belongs to you." jakob said while holding out the hand that azdra was being held in and was chewing on. nick snapped out of the state of mind he was in and looked over at jakob but froze when he saw azdra chewing on jakobs hand aggressively. Chapter 99 - awkward Nick carefully removed azdra from jakobs hand and admonished the little beast for attacking him before putting azdra on his shoulder. azdra glared at jakob since he thought it was jakobs fault that he got in trouble with his father. nick saw this but could''t say anything as that is simply how children are if they get into trouble. jakob was patiently waiting for nick to finish dealing with azdra the entire time before he spoke out "i''m going to take a guess that you just got that thing." he said calmly. nick chuckled awkwardly "hatched him yesterday in fact." nick said after he stopped being embarrassed. jakob nodded "figured you only just got the thing since you haven''t had it till now , or if you did you weren''t taking good care of it since the little ones of his kind are defenseless." jakob said. nick was stunned when he heard what jakob said. "wait you know what he is!?" nick asked in shock. jakob chuckled slightly "not precisely but he is some sort of wyrm , yes?" he said while gesturing at azdra who growled at him. nick was surprised by the question "yes he is a type of wyrm , how did you know?" he asked confused. jakob shrugged "my families got an extremely powerful one as a guardian who has quite a similar shape to your little one though i''d imagine yours is of a higher breed." he said casually. nick was surprised at the information "does that mean wyrms are very common?"nick asked. jakob laughed vigorously when he heard the question. jakob laughed for a few minutes before he could speak. "sorry but that is just funny , no wyrms aren''t common in fact they are rarer than dragons and phoenixs , though for you i suppose dragons will be quite a common sight in the future" jakob said with a grin. nick rolled his eyes "don''t remind me about this damn brand ." he complained. jakob chuckled "couldn''t help it ,it''s just too damn funny that you seem to attract women like a flame to moths. speaking of women care to tell me about the goddess you tried to pass off on me?" jakob asked after making a joke at nicks expense. nick glared at jakob playfully "why am i friends with you again?" he asked exasperated. jakob grinned "because you met me at the perfect time and because i''m just that good." jakob said smugly before both of them burst into laughter. unknowingly azdra had stopped being aggressive towards jakob once he noticed how friendly he was with his father. "no seriously whats up with that goddess though?" jakob said after they stopped laughing. nick sighed "ok so you know about my trip recently right?" jakob nods. "well me and lo mia acquired a treasure vault that had azdras egg as well as a vial of divine essence not that lo mia was aware of that , any way i got the egg and the essence as well as a few other things , anyway after shooing off lo mia i added the essence to myself to get the bloodline." jakob interrupted "and the bloodline was the goddess of darkness right?" nick nods. jakob continues "then after that she showed up trying to take you, right?" nick nodded confused. "you my friend either have the best luck or the worst , the essence you took in had a promise attached to it." jakob said while looking sympathetic. nick sighed "what promise" he asked depressed. "the goddess gave that vial to some sword sect cant remember which that whoever used it would owe her fifty years of their life in which they would belong to her." jakob said with a stoic face. nick sighed in resignation "i was curious about why no one from the sect had used the essence when i found it so that''s the reason. got to admit it sucks that i wasn''t aware of that before i took in the bloodline." nick said depressed. jakob nodded "yeah i feel bad for you but if its any consolation the goddess seems to want you as her mate rather than a tool. which is obvious since she is actually adhering to your rule of not forcing you to marry her but rather she is pursuing you in her own way." jakob said reassuringly. Chapter 99 - discussion(2) nick scowled "you think i don''t know that ! the problem is that the way she is pursuing me is not at all what i was expecting." nick exclaimed in anger. jakob shrugged "every person is different so it only makes sense that the method they use to pursue you is different as well." he said with a helpless expression. nick sighed in defeat "I know that , it doesn''t change how exhausting it is though." nick said before he suddenly had an idea. at first nick thought there was no way that it could work but the more he thought about it the more feasible it sounded. jakob saw the look of deep concentration on nicks face and became curious. "you just got some sort of idea right? well don''t keep me in suspense, what is it?" he asked intrigued. nick looked at jakob "so the problem is that the way I''m being pursued is extremely stressful for me right?" nick asked causing jakob to nod. "so what would happen if I setup a date where the person has an entire day to try to woo me without any of the hassle on me?" nick said seriously. jakob was stunned at nicks idea because at first glance the idea seems too flimsy to work but once you really think about it the idea begins to show its worth. "its so ridiculously simple it just might work!" jakob says excitedly. suddenly a certain goddess shows up with a huge smile on her face "i call dibs on the first date!" she says excitedly. both nick and jakob jump into defensive positions out of surprise while azdra leaps to attack the newcomer from the same reason. the look on the goddesses face changes from excitement to terror when she sees the little beast that launched itself at her. "eek!" she screamed before vanishing into the dark. azdra lands on the ground with a skid looking confused that it missed. "why do you have a variant celestial wyrm!?" the goddess questions nick with fear in her voice. nick walks over to azdra who is currently circling the area the goddess stood a moment ago trying to figure out where she went. scooping the little wyrm up nick puts him back on his shoulder before calling out into the dark. "you can come back now but from the shadow over there so i can grab the little one if he leaps again." nick said while pointing to the shadow on the side of the house. the shadow distorted as the goddess slowly showed up through it head first while she kept a wary stare on the wyrmling as she brought the rest of her body through the shadow. azdra of course tried to launch himself at the goddess again but didn''t get more than a foot from nick before he was grabbed gently but firmly on the neck by nick stopping him from going anywhere. azdra struggled to free himself but nick paid his efforts no mind before he put azdra back on his shoulder and commanded him firmly "stay". the little wyrmling stopped resisting so nick let it go where it stayed on nicks shoulder fanning its winged limbs aggressively and hissing at the goddess. seeing azdras antics nick just shook his head before turning his attention back top the goddess who was cautiously watching the wyrmling. in truth if it was a weaker variant of wyrm she wouldn''t have panicked however she had seen the power of an a.d.u.l.t celestial wyrm and just the memory caused her to shiver at the thought of it. Chapter 100 - Not a chapter So hurricane sally knocked out my power and internet so i wont be updating the story till i fix my life i appreciate your understanding ill post a chapter 100 and the updates to the front of the story when i can. Chapter 100 - Discussion(3) "that wyrm wasn''t stolen from its parents right?" the goddess asked fearfully. nick shook his head "no idea i got the egg from the same sword sect that I got the bloodline from." he said honestly. the goddess thought for a moment "if that''s true then it was probably found by a random member and brought back after it had been abandoned for some time." she finally said with a sigh of relief. nick was confused by the goddesses actions since he wasn''t aware that godhood was simply another tier of cultivation. "is there some problem with azdra he seems pretty healthy to me." nick said showing confusion. the goddess was stunned at the question but quickly realized that nick had no idea about wyrms. "nothing is wrong with it health wise but you are at least aware that it is nearly completely defenseless at a young age right?" she asked seriously. nick nodded "so how do you think most wyrm reach their adolescence then?" she asked nick answered without thinking about it "they get the protection of something stronger..." nicks eyes widen as the realization hits him that the stronger thing is usually a highly protective parent if azdras behavior is anything to go by. the goddess confirms his thoughts "just like you''ve probably just realized wyrms are usually extremely protective of their young however there are of course exceptions to everything and it seems you got lucky enough to find one." she said seriously. nick seemed to understand this while he looks over at azdra who is still hissing and aggressively fanning its winged limbs at the goddess. "well enough about the little one , how much of that conversion did you eavesdrop on?" nick asked while changing the subject. the goddess was happy for the change and answered immediately "since your friend over there carelessly used my title. honestly don''t you know gods can tell when someone uses their name or title no matter where they are." she says with a grin. jakob coughs awkwardly after being called out. nick glares at jakob before turning back to the goddess "judging from your sudden intrusion I''m going to assume you find my idea acceptable" nick said calmly. the goddess blushed slightly "truth be told I have no idea how to pursue someone so I thought you have to literally chase them." she said with a bashful expression. both nick and jakob practically drop their jaws at what the goddess said. "where did you get your information about this stuff." nick couldn''t help asking. the goddess looked at nick confused why he wanted to know "my sister Aphrodite told me why ?" she asked genuinely confused. jakob spoke up at this point "i think i see the problem here , lady goddess your sister Aphrodite is the goddess of physical love not emotional as a result the information she gave you probably only applies to that aspect of relationsh.i.p.s in summary it is useless until you have already successfully pursued someone." jakob said seriously. it took the goddess a moment to process what jakob said before she turned bright red all the way to the tips of her ears while looking extremely embarrassed. both nick and jakob gulped down some saliva from how attractive she was acting like a normal girl. "well that aside we should figure out how this dating day would work." nick says trying to lighten the mood a little. he succeeds as the goddess starts grinning excitedly. meanwhile azdra had given up trying to frighten off the goddess whose very presence screamed danger to him which he ignored in favor of trying to protect his father which seemed to have been pointless in hindsight , unfortunately azdra was the kind of being that was willing to harm himself against an opponent he had no chance against in order to protect those he cares about. Chapter 101 - schedule A week had passed since nick had created a dating routine and started attending classes that he was interested in at the academy. the classes he attended were world history , qi control , botany and the rest of his time he spent either training or on dates with one of the multitude of girls who vie for his hand constantly. it had actually become something of a running joke that he was the most sought after resource at the academy. truth be told nick would prefer to be left alone so he could focus on growing stronger however it had become a well established fact that he was stronger than most second tier students while only being a first tier student. there was actually a funny story behind this , see on the first day of classes for new students a second tier student who happened to see nick on his way to class tried to intimidate him to which nick stared at the man like no more than an irritation. this of course caused the man to become enraged , and in his rage he tried to attack nick to which nick calmly bitch slapped the man literally through a tree. needless to say that man was in a near death state when an elder showed up to take the poor man to get healed. what most people didn''t know was that the elder had been watching since the beginning and only acted when he had no other choice as if he didn''t that second tier would likely die from his injuries. this was something common since the academy would have a far higher mortality rate otherwise as cultivators tend to become more eccentric as time goes on making violence extremely common. After that incident nick was labeled prime meat and sought after by almost every female in the academy and a good portion of them weren''t even human but rather dwarves ,elves , beastfolk and fairies. contrary to what nick was expecting aside from the beastfolk the females of the other races looked different then he was imagining. the fairies all looked very childlike with many different variations of wing types from bird to insect. the elves weren''t the tall pale skinned people he thought but instead a multicolored race only as tall as a normal human. the dwarves were the race with the most far out of expectation looks having the appearance of living statues standing slightly taller than the majority of humans with narrow proportions. out of all of the women he had to deal with only two had successfully managed to get nick to accept their presence enough to even be considered friends. the two were none other than the goddess and lo mia who were currently trying to get azdra to let them get closer to nick safely. while it was true that azdra wouldn''t attack the two when they approached anymore that only applied so long as they stayed at least five feet away. "Can''t you do something about azdra he still won''t let us get close to you while he doesn''t have a problem with jakob!" lo mia said in exasperation. in truth azdra was in fact lounging on jakobs shoulder who was sitting opposite nick with a focused expression. nick speaks without moving his eyes away from jakob "unlike jakob you two have a separate motive to try and get closer to me and azdra knows this , so to answer your question yes I could do something but I won''t , just consider it an extra hurdle to get over." he said before putting jakobs king into checkmate. Chapter 102 - the cost of victory After beating jakob in chess nick stood up and azdra glided off jakobs shoulder and onto nicks before snorting at the two women aggressively. both of the women stuck out their bottom lips adorably while pouting but nick just ignored them and took out a thick notebook and opened it to the page that was bookmarked. if someone were to look over nicks shoulder at the notebook they would probably be stunned at the fact that the book was filled with the names of women and dates. both of the women''s faces grew dark when they saw that book in nicks hand. "do you really need that thing?" lo mia said obviously upset. nick sighed after verifying his next date. "we''ve been over this already." nick said with irritation in his voice. "I still don''t like that thing." lo mia said slightly quieter. "And I don''t like the fact that I can''t just find love at random rather than basically being forced to give every female I come into contact with a chance just so I have some f.u.c.k.i.n.g breathing room , but we all have to live with things we don''t like." nick viciously retorts. both lo mia and the goddess flinched at what nick said as they knew they were part of those people. nick left his sanctuary after that leaving only jakob and the two women. the two women looked at jakob with pleading eyes "can''t you help us a little , you''re his friend after all." the goddess pleaded. jakob sighed "i am his friend and i intend to stay that way , if i tried to help either of you i can almost guarantee that would change." jakob paused "you women just don''t seem to understand that while you won the battle to get him to give you his time you traded that victory at the cost of basically causing him to became dead romantically. he will almost definitely never love any of you further than as a friend and that , that is all of your faults." jakob said with sadness in his voice. both of the women looked at each other and sighed since they could also see what jakob said as true and it hurt. after speaking jakob went to the crafting room to practice his crafts leaving the two women alone with each other. nick traveled to the main office were met with his date with a polite but emotionless expression and proceeded to spend the scheduled time with her where they went to eat and his date talked about herself and asked questions about nick. nick answered and spoke with the correct expressions but no emotion the entire time. after the date was done nick repeated that process two more times before heading back to his sanctuary wordlessly. watching all this old sun sighs sadly "look at this old jade such a brilliant flame but almost without any warmth merely a cold drive for strength." old sun said sadness in his voice. old jade sighed "yes i pity the world for the loss it has taken, such a great young man having been turned into stone because of the greed of others." old jade said with the same sadness. Chapter 103 - training(1) Nick arrived at his sanctuary where he wordlessly went to his room and began cultivating. the next morning nick awoke and left his room to find jakob training fiercely in the front yard. "morning , any particular reason you are training so hard?" nick asked while stretching. jakob stopped and took a moment to catch his breath , sweat dripping from his forehead. "yeah i just got word from my clan that the entrance to a forgotten realm was found in a cave within my clans land however you need to be at least as strong as a normal nascent soul warrior at the fifth tier. i am only as strong as a fourth tier nascent soul warrior so I''m trying to increase my strength quickly." jakob explained after catching his breath. nick thought about what jakob said and became excited as an idea came to him causing a smile to come to his face subconsciously. seeing the smile on nicks face jakob spoke up again. "alright lay it on me what''s your idea?" he asked with a grin. nick chuckled "am i so easy to read? maybe i should work on that." he said with a grin. jakob shrugged "its not a bad trait in my opinion , makes you seem more trustworthy." he said honestly. nick shrugged "if you say so , anyway i thought that if you needed to get stronger quickly i might have a way that should work and i might give it to you ¡­. for a price." nick said with an evil grin. jakob rolled his eyes at nicks antics "what do you want?" jakob asked half heartedly. nicks grin grows even wider "i want in!" he said excitement in his voice. jakob sighed "i figured which is why i managed to get you a quota immediately." he said his his own grin this time. nick was surprised at first when he heard jakob but was then touched that jakob thought of him. "well in that case the way to quickly grow stronger is extremely easy for you to get." nick said with a chuckle. "if its so easy to get how come i didn''t think of it." jakob said sarcastically. nick ignored the sarcasm but answered the question anyway. "it''s simple really the method while easy to get would involve a lot of suffering for you so it probably wasn''t even a thought in your mind." jakob could tell that something wasn''t adding up but couldn''t help himself from asking "what is the method?" nicks answer was perfect "you must fight me at my full power." he said with a evil grin. "that''s not suffering that''s suicide!" jakob yelled out in shock. nick laughed hard at jakobs reaction since it was just to funny. after laughing for a few minutes nick finally managed to stop with a great deal of effort. "i wouldn''t kill you since i would have that goddess make sure to grab you before i could." nick said seriously. jakob panicked "didn''t you outrun her!" nick scoffed "please , if she really wanted to catch me i wouldn''t even be able to run." he said seriously. jakob calmed down as he thought about what nick said and indeed the more he thought about it the more he realized that what nick said made sense. "ok but that''s a lot of suffering for such a stupid reason as growing just a little stronger." jakob said seriously. nick shook his head "I''m only a nascent soul tier one warrior yet how strong am i at my full power?" nick asked. jakob thought about it for a moment "around the peak of the nascent soul level I''m guessing." jakob answered. nick shook his head again "my full power puts me at just as strong as a normal void chasing tier one warrior." nick said truthfully. jakob was stunned to hear it from nicks own mouth how strong he was and he could be lying since nick disdained lying about something so petty. Chapter 104 - training(2) "i still don''t like that idea of you trying to kill me" jakob said calmly. nick shook his head "if i didn''t go all out the amount of strength you would get from the training would barely be worth the effort." nick said calmly. jakob sighed "i know that however i still don''t like it , that said i will accept your help growing stronger." he said determination in his voice. nick grinned "excellent now we just need that goddess to show up and we can begin also since it would just increase the likelihood of me accidentally fatally injuring you i will not be using any weapons." nick said before setting up a table and four chairs. sitting down nick handed jakob a soda before opening one for himself. taking a sip of the refreshing beverage nick relaxed himself and simply enjoyed the temporary peace he had with his friend. about fifteen minutes later lo mia and the goddess both arrived while chatting with each other obviously the two had become fast friends. Both lo mia and the goddess were stunned briefly when they saw how relaxed nick was but the moment nick looked at the two they watched as the content look on his face rapidly vanished before being replaced by one of apathy. both of the girls hearts ached when they saw it but neither showed it as this was not the first time they saw such a scene. "we''ve been waiting for you to show up goddess." nick said blandly. the goddess perked up slightly when nick addressed her. "why?" she asked curious. nick pointed at jakob "this guy needs to grow stronger quickly and the best way is for him to fight against me while I''m not holding back." nick explained calmly. "no offense jakob but wouldn''t that be akin to suicide by suffering?" the goddess asked confused. jakob sighed "no offense taken , but to answer your question yes it would be suicide if it were not for a single thing." he said calmly. the goddess looked even more confused "what thing?" she asked. nick grinned showing a small amount of emotion. "that would be you of course." he said amused. the goddess raised an eyebrow "i don''t follow." nick chuckled lightly "it''s simple really you are going to grab jakob just so he can get the experience from a life and death situation without actually dying." he said while grinning. the goddess rubbed her chin i thought before speaking. "and what do i get out of this?" she asked with an expectant look on her face. nicks grin froze when he heard her and his eyebrows furrowed. after a few seconds of internal debating nick spoke "i will tell azdra to stop keeping you at a distance." he said with a sigh of defeat. the goddess grinned "deal!" she agreed. nick nodded "now that that is out of the way we can start." nick said before standing up and removing the table and two of the chairs. jakob sighed but stood up out of his chair nonetheless. after clearing the area nick had azdra sit over out of the way before he took up his stance and released his limiters. instantly nick transformed and he summoned his law crown which flew above his head. both jakobs and lo mia''s faces pale from the pressure nick was releasing while the goddess swooned. jakob drew his sword and spoke through gritted teeth "ready." nick heard jakob and nodded. "begin!" he yelled before launching himself at jakob with a loud crack as he broke the sound barrier. jakob dodged to the left but since he was much slower than nick only barely managed to reduce the amount of damage he took since nicks fist only grazed his right arm. the sheer force behind nicks punch however sent jakob flying to the side. nick didn''t let up and pivoted his left foot redirecting his momentum so he spun to face jakob where he charged using his maintained momentum. Chapter 105 - training(3) jakob barely manages to dodge nicks fist at the last moment as he strains his body to its limits. after missing nick loses the last bit of his momentum and comes to a brief stop allowing jakob to gain some distance. ''f.u.c.k this is dangerous! if i didn''t try to dodge both attacks i would at minimum be in a lot of pain right now.'' jakob complains to himself but can''t deny how effective training like this is as even after having only just started not long ago he is already starting to adapt to nicks speed. what jakob doesn''t know however is that nick is only going at about fifty percent so jakob can actually adapt instead of just getting rescued instantly without any effect on his strength. what nick actually planned for training jakob was twofold , first he would slowly increase how much power he used as jakob began to adapt until jakob reached his current level of strength the second was that once jakob could match his current physical strength nick would start using his laws to push some of his understanding of laws into jakob elevating jakobs strength even further. nick charged at jakobs again this time using his movement technique to accelerate suddenly right before he reached jakob throwing him off guard. nick imitated a boxer from his past life an threw a jab from his left and just like a jab thrown by any other boxer the punch was faster than a normal punch but lacked the sheer power a normal punch would have. jakob knew he couldn''t dodge this strike so rather than just take it he opted for a trade , jakob blocked the punch with his left hand which let out a sickening crunch as the bones in it shattered but gritting his teeth to withstand the pain jakob brought up his sword to strike at nick while he was open after his attack. the sword stuck nick under his still outstretched left arm but rather than a wound showing up the area was filled with a screech of metal grinding against metal. nick leapt back after being hit and looked at his left side where his clothes had a huge gash revealing the scales underneath completely intact with only a small white line to show where he was struck. "that sword should be below the fifth tier correct?" nick said while taking his upper shirt off revealing the toned muscles covered by scales and black featherlike down between them. jakob grimaced as he saw that his trade off failed entirely. "its only an average tier four sword why?" jakob asked through gritted teeth. nick nodded before taking out two pills from his inventory and tossed them over to jakob. "those two pills will fix your arm take the white one first than take the red one after the first one is done working." nick said before taking out a chair and sitting on it and waiting. jakob caught both of the pills and ate the white one like nick suggested and immediately wanted to scream as all the bones in his body shattered before coming back together and repeating five times in an instant. After the fifth time the pills effect wore out and jakob fell onto his knees panting. jakob recovered after a minute and then looked at the red pill in his hand like it might be poison and then looked at nick who simply sent him a look that said ''I''ll explain later.'' before gritting his teeth and swallowing the red pill and waiting for the effects to appear. Chapter 106 - training(4) Unlike what jakob was expecting he felt a warmth spread through his blood causing him to sigh in comfort , unfortunately this comfort vanished as soon as it covered his whole body being replaced with what he could only describe as liquid fire. on the outside jakob looked like he was being boiled alive as red steam began to rise from him and he writhed in agony on the ground. lo mia and the goddess both rushed forward to try and help him but nick stopped them "he is not in danger in fact after he recovers from this i imagine he''ll actually thank me." nick said causally. the goddess had no idea what nick was talking about but lo mia had an idea. "you didn''t give him the method to strengthen his body further did you!?" lo mia exclaimed. the goddess heard what lo mia said and was stunned. "you have a method to strengthen the body further !?" she exclaimed. nick shook his head at the twos actions. "first yes i do have a body strengthening method second no i did not give it to jakob." nick said firmly before looking over at the goddess "and before you ask no you can''t have it" he said cutting off what she was about to say entirely. the goddess pouted fiercely when nick denied her before she could even ask. lo mia looked at jakob confused after hearing that nick didn''t give jakob the strengthening method. "if you didn''t give him the method what is going on with him?" she asked confusion on her face. nick grinned "i gave him two pills that together accomplish the same thing." he said stunning both of the women. "can i at least have those?" both lo mia and the goddess asked at the same time. nick chuckled. "i don''t mind though as you can see the process is ever so slightly painful." nick said while pointing at jakob on the ground in agony. the two women pale slightly when they thought about putting themselves through such suffering. "you could make it painless right?" lo mia asked hopeful. nick shook his head "due to the way the strengthening is done if it was painless there is a high chance of something going wrong , though if it helps it is only that level of pain the first time you go through the process." nick said simply. both of the women look disappointed and then they catch onto a piece of information that nick unintentionally shared. "how many times have you gone through this process?" lo mia asked. nick froze when he heard her but then sighed at his lack of forethought when he spoke. "i myself have gone through this process over a thousand times to reach my current body strength." he said honestly. both lo mia and the goddess were shocked at the ridiculous amount of pain nick had put himself through to reach his current power. "out of curiosity what is your current level of your body?" the goddess asked. nick thought about it for a moment but could see how the information could be harmful "i am only at the third major change for body refinement which makes me almost immune to any weapon below tier five." nick said stunning both the women yet again. Chapter 107 - training(5) "Wait, immune to weapons below tier five!? that ridiculous!" lo mia exclaimed. nick winced at how loud lo mia''s voice was. "what did you think something so difficult would have low gains?" nick said sarcastically. both the girls held out their hands "gimme" they both said at the same time to which could only click his tongue. taking four more pills out of his inventory nick handed each of the women as pair of pills one white the other red. before either could take the pills nick spoke to the goddess "i think it necessary to tell you that the effect these pills have differs from person to person so you might not get much of an effect since your body is already far stronger than normal due to your strength." he said seriously. the goddess frowned but understood why such a thing would happen since it was quite common for pills at lower tiers to have no effect on cultivators at higher tiers. after nodding to nick to show that she understood the goddess and lo mia each sat on the ground in the lotus position and swallowed the white pills and bracing themselves for whatever came next. lo mia collapsed a few moments later after her bones were shattered and rebuilt three times over. the goddess however only felt a brief itch on her bones before nothing else happened. after going through each of their own experiences the two girls had two different expressions , lo mia looked reluctant while the goddess looked disappointed. "so it worked right for lo mia but seemed to have no effect on you hmm." nick said to the goddess who looked sad. "i felt a brief itch on my bones but then nothing." the goddess says with a sigh. nick nodded "so it did have an effect it was simply too weak to do what it was intended to." nick rubs his chin in thought before he comes to a decision. "hand me the last pill i gave you and I''ll give you two of the pills i use since your body should be only slightly stronger than my own." nick said while taking out a pill bottle made of jade and handing it to the goddess. "wait why didn''t you give all of us those pills from the start?" lo mia asked confused. nick shrugged "because i didn''t know how strong each of your bodies were so if you weren''t strong enough you would most likely die in agony or if you somehow managed to survive you would wish you had died." he said factually. "you can''t possibly know that for sure. " lo mia argued. nick chuckled "how painful was that first pill i gave you?" he asked with a grin. lo mia tried to retort but she simply couldn''t as she knew what nick was going to say. indeed nick continued after he saw her grow silent. "the pills i gave all three you you were only tier 1 pills the ones i use are tier 3 so its easy to imagine how much stronger they are compared to each other." he said with a grin of victory. nick stopped grinning as he sensed something and stood up before turning towards jakob who had stopped writhing on the ground. jakob g.r.o.a.n.e.d as he tried to stand up but instead misjudged his strength and pushed to hard with his right hand launching himself sideways into the sanctuary''s wall with a loud bang. "ow" was heard loudly escaping his lips shortly afterwards. Chapter 108 - training(6) thankfully the defensive array prevented any damage to the wall , though the same couldn''t be said of jakob who was looking dazed on the ground. "you alright over there?" nick asked with a chuckle. jakob focused his attention on nick and glared at him. "f.u.c.k.i.n.g peachy!" jakob yelled back angrily. ''yeah he''s fine '' nick though to himself. nick walked over to jakob and grabbed him by the arm and hoisted him onto his feet. "so was the pain worth it ?" nick asked jakob who winced at the memory. "let me check." jakob said before spontaneously punching nick in the face sending him stumbling back several feet. jakob himself had sent himself flying again but managed to land with his feet sliding into the ground before he stopped. looking back at nick jakob grinned when he saw blood briefly fall from nicks nose before it stopped. "yup I''d say it was worth it." jakob said with a grin. nick sighed "i suppose i deserved that." nick said calmly. "of course you did you crazy bastard , that was a dirty trick giving me those pills without telling me what they do!"jakob yelled out in anger. nick shrugged "had to be done you broke too easily." he said calmly. jakob looked livid " of course i would break easily against a monster like you!" jakob said angrily while getting used to the change his body went through. nick nodded his head "precisely the reason it had to be done i want you to be just as much of a monster after all its such a pain to have a friend i need to be careful around in order to not accidentally harm them." nick was venting his grievance about the situation. jakob was stunned at nicks words since it had never occurred to him that nick suppressed himself for his sake. "why didn''t you say anything before now?" jakob asked much more calmly now. nick sighed "do you have any idea how hard it is to bring up something like that? what am i supposed to mention it over lunch ? oh hey these sandwiches are great also could you stop being so weak so i can relax around you? f.u.c.k no i couldn''t just bring it up!" nick yelled in frustration. nick calmed himself in the silence that followed. "look I''m sorry about that just now but i had to get that off my c.h.e.s.t." nick apologized. jakob sighed "no this is partially my fault since i didn''t even notice how hard it must have been for you." he said guiltily. nick shook his head "my situation is unique no matter how you look at it so it only makes sense that some things fall through the cracks." he said sadly. jakob flexes after having finally gotten used to his new strength "well since i need to get a massive boost in strength to reach your level lets dispense with the sappy stuff and try to kill each other again." he says while taking his stance. nick held up a finger "hold that thought for a moment." he said before turning to the goddess. "so could you wait till we are done here before taking those pills since if you aren''t able to save him i might actually kill jakob otherwise." he said nicely. Chapter 109 - training(7) The goddess pouted when nick asked her to wait to use her pills but still acquiesced since she had already agreed to keep jakob safe to begin with. After getting the goddesses agreement nick looked at jakob and nodded letting him know they are starting again. jakob tensed before he even realized it nick had vanished from where he was standing leaving only a small puff of dust behind. jakob panicked and was about to look for nick when he suddenly found himself in front of the goddess and he heard the sound of glass shattering while a wave of force hit him almost harming him alone. nick stood in the spot jakob was only an instant before with his fist fully extended into the air where jakobs c.h.e.s.t was steam rising from it. ''okay so full strength is still too much lets try seventy five percent.'' nick thought before his body visually shrank slightly before he turned to jakob and waved him to get ready. jakob stepped forward cautiously and took his stance while focusing on nick fully. nick nods before he charges toward jakob again this time however jakob could just barely manage to see move and dodged accordingly. seeing this nick increased his strength to eighty percent and accelerated towards jakob again this time his speed beyond that which jakob could dodge so jakob was forced to block nick with his sword. nicks fist collided with the sword and the groaning of metal rang out before the sword shattered and his fist struck jakob in the c.h.e.s.t sending him flying into the sanctuary''s walls with a boom. the defensive array trembled at the sheer force it was struck with but still managed to stand firm. jakob puked up several mouthfuls of blood before he managed to stabilize himself . "why didn''t you grab me that time!" jakob yelled at the goddess. the goddess shrugged "it wasn''t enough to kill you ." she said calmly. jakob glared at the woman angrily "how was that not a lethal amount of force!" he said while pointing at the small puddle of blood he threw up. the goddess sighed "when you blocked the blow most of the force behind it dissipated before you got hit with what was left." she said calmly. jakob thought about it for a moment before he found that what she said made sense but then he realized that nick had only hit him with a fraction of what he would have had he not blocked. nick threw a new sword and an actually healing pill to jakob before he waited for jakob to get ready again. jakob caught the sword and pill and checked them both confirming that the pill was an actual healing pill but when he checked the sword he was stunned to find that it was a tier six weapon. "i can''t take this its too expensive" jakob said before he threw the sword back to nick. nick caught the sword before speaking "i didn''t give you the sword because it was expensive but because it would allow you to actually counter attack effectively" nick said before throwing it back the spoke again "plus it isn''t worth that much to me since i have enough wealth at this moment to make even a king greedy." he said with a grin. jakob caught the sword and attached it to his belt. "gods , even your wealth is monstrous. do you even have any weaknesses?" jakob said with a sigh. Chapter 110 - training(fin) nick rubbed his chin in thought for a moment before answering "well from what i can think of i have a few weakness though most of them are simply because of what i believe." he said calmly. jakob shook his head "basically any weakness you have is on a personal level." he said while waiting for his body to finish healing. nick chuckled but didn''t say anything since there was no need to before narrowing his eyes because he felt the pill he gave jakob finish its work. jakob noticed this as well and stood up before swinging the sword a few times to get used to it and taking his stance again. nick wordlessly started charging towards jakob instantly reaching speeds that made it difficult for jakob to react to but not impossible. jakob swung the sword at nicks throat forcing him to change directions or risk losing his head in response nick did something that can only be described as crazy , nick accelerated and threw his feet forward under the sword and with his upper body fell beneath the sword before he pulled his legs up and used his arms to brace himself before bullfrog kicking jakob in the c.h.e.s.t or at least he would have had the goddess not grabbed jakob the instant before he did. jakob knew he would have been dead had he not been grabbed so he thanked the goddess before yelling angrily at nick. "what the f.u.c.k was that!" nick grinned "that was me pointing out a weakness of yours." he said with a grin. jakob fumed "there had to be a better way to do so then using it to almost kill me!" jakob yelled angrily. nick shrugged "if that''s true then tell me what weakness i pointed out." he said with a wide grin. jakob froze simply because he had no clue since he did everything right as far as he could tell. "let me enlighten you then" nick said with a grin. "to be fair this weakness actually applies to most cultivators from what I''ve seen so don''t feel to bad about it. the weakness is actually very simple really , when you enter combat you lack creativity meaning that if you go against someone who fights using only creativity then you will quickly be defeated unless you adapt instantly , this is a problem for most of the cultivators I''ve seen." jakobs eyes grow wide as it hits him like an epiphany that the reason he felt he couldn''t win against nick was that he refused to change himself so he could get past that mindset. nick laughed joyously when he saw the look of enlightenment on jakobs face. "yes it seems you finally understand the difference between me and every other cultivator you know , i fight however i feel necessary regardless of how unusual it seems." nick said with a genuine smile. both the goddess and lo mia were struck by the image of true happiness on nicks handsome face and at the same time both of their hearts ached that the reason for that happiness had nothing to do with them. "there''s no more reason for me to train you now that you have figured out how to to grow closer to my level , a bit of advice before i head off though. remember a skill is only a guideline not a rule." nick said before he went into his room and left the three in the sanctuaries yard each deep in their own thoughts. Chapter 111 - Development Nick stayed in his room for the rest of the day while jakob worked to grow stronger and the two girls finished their first tempering which they talked about with each other before leaving for their respective lodgings. nick was trying to create the next part of his cultivation technique but he was failing epically as each time he thought he had it right and asked the system for its input the system would tell him how the method would fail eventually killing him or causing some sort of horrible side affect like each of his bloodlines vanishing or his body becoming deformed. punching the floor to relieve some anger nick took several deep breaths in order to calm down. ''i don''t get it , everything i try seems to end up going horribly wrong at some point!'' nick thought vexed. *ding* *host seems to have made considerable progress and should not be discouraged.* nick was stunned that the system seemed to be trying to cheer him up which once again made him think that it was sentient even though the system firmly stated that it was not. ''wait the system is so powerful yet works perfectly maybe that would work?'' nick suddenly had an idea that sounded crazy but might just work for him. nick was going to try to make the method separate each of his different sources of power into different parts that all connected to the main hub of his power which was his core. in doing so he would be able to add more sources as he tended to do as he acquired them without having his power become chaotic and unstable. "system would this work?'' nick asked hopeful. *Affirmative* nick was thrilled upon hearing the confirmation from the system of the viability of his idea. nick rubbed his chin while in deep thought "so how exactly do i accomplish this? what shape could i use to hold each part while still being part of a whole?'' nick pondered but couldn''t think of anything immediately so he gave up for the day and entered his meditative state that took the place of sleep for him. the next morning nick woke up and left his room only the see jakob fighting against about a dozen golems while blindfolded. nick recognized the goal of this to be to force jakob to become more instinct oriented in his fighting style basically copying nick. nick frowned when he noticed this as even though nick wanted jakob to grow to be his equal he didn''t want his friend to become a carbon copy of himself on the battlefield. nick masked his presence before stealthily walking through the group of fast moving golems dodging each of them effortlessly before he stood in front of a clueless jakob. transforming only his arms so they had his full strength nick cupped both of his hands slightly before clapping them together in front of jakob as hard as he can. the air between his hands was strained before shattering sending a massive shockwave straight into jakob who had no idea even though nick was standing just out of arms reach. the moment the shockwave hit jakob his eardrums burst violently while his whole body was pushed with equal force backwards plastering him to the sanctuaries wall with every blood vessel on his front bursting painfully from the sheer force that struck him. the last thought that went through jakobs mind before he passed out was ''why''. Chapter 112 - correction Nick popped a healing pill into jakobs mouth before he dragged his body away from the wall and waited. shortly after the healing pill finished its work jakob woke up groggily and sat up before rubbing his eyes to get them to focus. after his eyes focus he noticed nick standing no more than a foot away from him he jumped off the ground in fright , then he remembered what happened and he grew angry. before jakob could speak nick raised his hand to stop him "before you say anything what i did was necessary for your own good." nick said seriously. jakob opened his and then closed it before taking a deep breath while closing his eyes , after opening his eyes jakob finally spoke "why?" he asked obviously clueless. nick sighed "when i told you the way to get stronger i thought you would use it to make your own style of combat more perfect by removing one of the weaknesses in it , instead you started training in a way that would end up with you basically copying my style of combat so i had to give you a warning." nick said seriously. jakob looked confused "what is wrong with copying your style of combat?" hes asked. nick shook his head "if you had just started learning how to fight then it wouldn''t be a problem since while the starting point would be roughly the same the end would be entirely different , however you already had a style of combat so what you were going to do would mean that you end point would be my style so let me ask you are you me?" nick said calmly. jakob froze as nicks words rang through his mind like thunder ''are you me?'' the meaning behind that question was unmistakable. "no i am not so if i copy your style i will never escape your shadow." jakob said enlightened. nick smiled "yes , i want an equal not a follower , you can learn from someone else style but never copy it or you might become stuck the moment they do , the only way to the top is with your own path." nick said sagely. "well that said you need stronger opponents in order to get stronger so lets head over to the sparring arenas to find you someone in your weight class." nick said with a grin. jakob was taken back "what''s wrong with the golems i was using?" he asked confused. nick laughed "those toys? well for starters they aren''t even as strong as you so even with the amount you were using they weren''t a threat , then there''s the fact that they are ridiculously predictable making trying to learn anything from fighting them pointless , so in summary they won''t increase your strength even a little." nick said factually. jakob nodded "yeah that makes sense but then why cant i just fight you instead of someone else?" he questioned. nick shrugged "i already taught you how to get stronger so any more fighting with me will only just be asking for a beating since i am quite a bit above your weight class for the moment , also our deal was for me to make you stronger which i have done." nick said honestly. jakob sighed "good point so are you also going to go fight someone else?" he asked. nick grinned "sure it''d be a nice change of pace." he said before both of them left the sanctuary. Chapter 113 - The spar It only took a half hour to get to the sparring arenas where there were several groups of people talking while they waited for either a partner or an open space on an arena. the area grew quiet when nick was noticed as a third tier student approached nick and jakob. the student was a large muscle covered man with with short blonde hair who stood a little taller than nick since nick had not transformed. "so you are the arrogant bastard who has most of the women at school swooning over , you don''t look like much ." the man said with disdain. jakob looked at the man and shook his head in pity. nick felt the disdain in the mans voice and grew irritated "did you need something or are you only here to stroke your ego." nick said viciously. the mans face grew dark with anger before he released a small amount of blood l.u.s.t in order to try to intimidate nick. nick just laughed at the pitiful amount before releasing his own blood l.u.s.t. instantly the surrounding temperature dropped as an ominous red aura manifested around nick with ice forming on the ground at his feet. the man and almost everyone nearby grew pale as they felt nicks blood l.u.s.t. the mans eyes narrowed in horror as he realized that he might have being poking a sleeping beast. nick suppressed his blood l.u.s.t again before nodding at the man in approval. "not bad you didn''t retreat even an inch despite the fear you felt , well done." he said honestly. the man calmed his racing heart before speaking. "thank you for the praise sorry about that act before we all just wanted to test you out , no hard feelings yeah?" the man said nervously. nick nodded in understanding "i see in that case its fine , i thought something was odd from how weak your blood l.u.s.t was let me guess you haven''t actually gotten into that many life and death battles right?" nick said pointing out the heart of the matter easily. the man shrugged awkwardly "yeah i typically train in peace like most of the people here." he said honestly. nick nodded "there''s nothing wrong with that but eventually you''ll face a life threatening situation so its best to try to get used to them." nick said before dismissing the matter "enough about that me and my friend here thought we would come get some sparring on since he needs to work on his fighting style." nick said while pointing to jakob next to him. the man was stunned for a moment before he sized jakob up suspiciously before a look of confusion appeared on his face. "from you my senses tell me to run but from him." the man pointed at jakob "my senses say i could take him." he said confusion obvious. nick laughed for a good minute before he managed to regain his composure "ah sorry about that its just funny to me that i keep forgetting that those weaker than you are typically considered followers rather than friends. well to explain it simply we used to be about the same in terms of strength when we became friends but i rapidly grew stronger and he couldn''t keep up which is how we ended up like this. to simplify we were friends before i became so much stronger and i just didn''t see why our statuses should change." nick explained honestly. the man nods in understanding before speaking "well that explains that but what i don''t understand is why you yourself are here?" the man asked trying to figure it out. Chapter 114 - The spar(2) Nick grinned "I''m just here to have some fun." he said with a laugh. everyone nearby who heard nick all broke into a cold sweat as they imagined nick beating everyone here while laughing evilly. nick understood what was in everyone''s mind so he spoke up again "picking on those weaker than me is no fun so you can all calm yourselves i wont force anyone to fight me since i want a true challenge." he said honestly. hearing nick everyone let out a sigh of relief. "but before that i need someone to fight my friend here so , any volunteers?" nick said while shoving jakob to the front. the man who came to test nick grinned "i wouldn''t mind seeing what this friend of yours is like if you don''t mind." he said while jakob looked at nick concerned. nick shook his head "you are about seventy five percent as strong as me whereas jakob here is only about half as strong as me thus him fighting you would be pointless since he would have no chance to win." nick said honestly. the man sighed "aye , that sounds about right ." the man said dejected. from a nearby group a very strange woman stepped forward. the reason she was very strange was that unlike most women who don''t let their bodies become too muscular this woman looked almost no different than an incredibly muscular man with the exception of her face which bore striking feminine features. "I''ll fight him if you don''t mind" the woman spoke with a surprisingly soft voice. nick raised an eyebrow in surprise before nodding his head "you''ll do nicely be sure to treat him gently." he said with a laugh. jakob had a shocked expression as he looked at the opponent nick had chosen for him before looking at nick with a pleading face. "don''t look at me like that you''re the one who needs to get stronger and she''s your path there , besides i told her to treat you gently so go on have fun." nick said with a huge grin obviously taking joy in his friends plight. like that jakob got his sparring partner before nick walked towards someone he had seen earlier that was sitting alone on an arena meditating with their sword laid across their l.a.p. upon seeing the direction nick was walking the man who tested him grabbed nick on the shoulder to try to stop him. "hmm, what are you trying to do?" nick asked confused why he was stopped. the man pointed to the individual on the arena "that is one of the seven lotuses of this academy its a bad idea to try to fight her. " the man said nervously. nick was surprised to hear that the individual was a girl since the way she was sitting hinted at her being male but what really got his blood boiling was the title she held , one of seven lotuses each lotus was the strongest individual in their student tier with the first lotus being the weakest. "of the seven which is she?" nick asked the man curiously. the man could tell that nick had his mind set on fighting that girl so he spoke after sighing "she is the second lotus known as the silent sword maiden." he said honestly. nick nodded before he stepped forward confidently. Chapter 115 - The spar(3) While nick walked towards the arena he had the system identify the strange hooded robe the girl was wearing that prevented him from seeing the face underneath as well as feel the strength of the girl wearing it. _____________________ NAME: concealing rain RANK: tier 7 DESCRIPTION: robe created by the weather sovereign for his daughter that was said to be so beautiful that the moon itself pined for her. SYSTEM EVALUATION: nice! ______________________ nick almost tripped when he read the description for the robe since he didn''t think such a thing would just randomly be found in the academy. taking a deep breath nick stepped onto the arena when suddenly he felt a blood l.u.s.t just as strong as his own wash over him which brought a smile to his face as he released his own blood l.u.s.t causing the area between nick and the girl to crackle and spark from the friction of the two clashing forces. "what do you want?" a soft voice asked from under the hood a tinge of surprise in it. nick released his limiters transforming his body into his other form while a massive pressure was released from him causing the man who tested him to drop to his knees before the before the arenas isolating effect kicked in. "I want a good fight." nick said grinning widely his razor sharp teeth flashing as he does so. the girl stands up slowly before she holds her sword towards nick and releasing her own pressure to counter act nicks. "so be it." she says before dashing towards nick and slashing at his c.h.e.s.t at a speed faster than sound. nick smiling like a madman let the slash strike his c.h.e.s.t unimpeded. the blade drew a line across nicks c.h.e.s.t leaving a shallow cut that bled only a single drop of blood before closing like it was never there to begin with. "a low tier 5 weapon not bad." nick said while patting nonexistent dust off his c.h.e.s.t. "what are you made of , that would have cut down to your spine normally!" the girl yelled her understanding crumbling slightly before her eyes. nick laughed "I''m made of flesh and bone just like you , however i am anything but normal and on an unrelated note you wouldn''t happen to be the first owner of that robe right?" nick asked seriously. the girl was obviously surprised by the question "I''m not i found it in a ruin do you know something about it?" she asked excitedly. nick let out a sigh of relief "thank the gods dodged a bullet on that one , but yes that robe was made by someone called the weather sovereign for his daughter and its called concealing rain." nick said seriously. the girl shivered at nicks mention of the weather sovereign but was confused by his relief at her not being the first owner. "well enough about that shall we continue our fight." nick said while charging his fist with qi causing them to glow red before stomping on the ground causing a tiny crack to appear as he launched himself at the girl instantly breaking the sound barrier and arriving in front of her his fist flying towards her face. the girl barely dodged nicks fist before she brought up her sword towards nicks c.h.e.s.t with even greater force this time. nick then did something completely out of the girls expectation and grabbed the flat side of her sword with his b.a.r.e left hand exerting a monstrous amount of force to stop it dead in its tracks despite the girls best effort. Chapter 116 - The spar(4) The girl didn''t panic like nick thought instead he actually felt a sense of danger from her so he rabidly retreated while releasing her sword. the instant after he did so he felt a wave of law energy ripple off of the girls sword right where his hand was just a moment before. "hey no fair no one said we were using laws!" nick yelled angrily. the girl stomps her foot on the ground angrily before pointing her finger at nick "don''t you dare talk to me about fair!" she yelled "you are the most monstrous individual i have ever met! not only is your cultivation one and a half major realms below mine own you haven''t even gone all out yet!" the girl yelled in frustration. nick couldn''t really argue with the girl since she was right . "ok so that is all good and dandy but this was a spar of skill but by using your laws you have forcefully elevated it beyond that , are you absolutely sure you want to do that?" nick said seriously. the girl froze when she realized nick was right. "so the laws were a bad idea but still do you have any idea how hard i worked to get my title as a lotus?" the girl said obviously upset. nick burst into laughter when he heard the girl greatly angering her. "what''s so funny about that?!" she yelled offended. nick managed to suppress his laughter before he answered her. "sorry about that but the fact you think i want your title is just too damn funny." he said with a chuckle. the girl was stunned at what nick said at first before she was offended by what it implied. "why don''t you want my title you think your better than me." she said hostilely. nick just ignored her hostility. "do you know how many assassination attempts you have had since you got that title?" he asked seriously. the girl was surprised at then question but answered anyway "that i know of twenty probably been more though why?" she asked not understanding the point nick was making. "despite me being both more obviously talented and stronger than you do you know how many assassination attempts i have had to deal with?" he asked seriously. the girl had an idea what he was getting at but refused to accept it. "no how many? " she asked curious. nick grinned before forming an o with his hand "zero , not one time and do you want to take a guess why?" nick asked with his devilish smile. the girl remained silent but nick wouldn''t allow her it cop out so easily. "the reason is simple unlike you lotuses i don''t paint a massive bullseye on my back by basically telling the whole world that I''m super likely to grow into a dangerous individual." he said factually. the girl huffed angrily "there''s more to being a lotus than just fame!" she said defensively. nick shrugged "of course there is however what are those benefits is it resources because i alone at this exact moment could open and fund a sect. is it backing , i already have the same level of backing you do if not more. maybe its marriage opportunities , if so i have a literal goddess trying to woo me not to mention the countless other women aiming for the same." nick said crushing almost any chance of arguing back. the girl lowered her head in defeat as if what nick said is true then the title of lotus would truly be more of a burden than benefit. Chapter 117 - The spar(fin) Nick shook his head "no need to look so dejected , my circ.u.mstances are likely quite different than your own however having said that a bit of advice before i go all out and defeat you. never judge someone based on your own standards as everyone is different." nick said before bringing forth his full power. the space in the arena began to warp as a brilliant crown manifested above nicks head and a massive amount of aura was freely radiating from nick. the girl immediately wrapped herself in the small amount of law energy she had while shivering in subconscious terror. nick nodded at her attempt to defend herself. "very good just like that feel my power sharpening your blade , don''t blink focus and i will show you power." nick said seriously before he brought his hands together. In the space between his hands nick focused every drop of his energy into a tiny swirling orb. the space in the arena quaked and started to tear at the mere presence of the orb as nick held his hands in front of him toward the right side of the girl since he wasn''t trying to kill her. the girl felt so much danger from nick at this moment that she simply froze unable to react at all as her body subconsciously used one of her protective items forming a thick barrier in front of her. nick opened his hands slowly before the energy that formed the orb finally had a direction to escape to and rushed out violently. inside the arena it looked like the world had turned white for a split second before the isolation barrier shattered loudly and a white beam flew off into the horizon while terrifying most of the students who felt the power contained in it. the man who had tested nick was the first person outside the arena to focus his attention back to the arena or rather what was left of it . on the arena nick stood panting violently while the girl had barely managed to survive thanks to that barrier she summoned however she lacked even the strength to move as the barrier drew from her own energy to protect her life and nicks attack was so powerful that the barrier drain all of her strength and even took a year off of her life since her energy wasn''t sufficient. After catching his breath somewhat nick walked off the arena unsteadily before taking a seat next to the arena jakob was using and entering a shallow meditative state so he could recover. thankfully no-one was able to tell what happened since the isolation formation prevented anyone from spectating what was going on inside. nick sat silently for only a few minutes before he felt a presence sit next to him what besides that whoever it was didn''t do anything else so he ignored it and went back to recovering. the person who sat next to nick was studying him as though trying to imprint every detail of his person into their mind. the person was none other than the second lotus herself. after observing nick for a few minutes she imprinted a jade token with a message before leaving it next to nick and leaving silently , all of which was observed by nick through his senses. Chapter 118 - waiting Nick put the jade token in his inventory before he went back to recovering silently. As nick waited for jakob news of nicks spar with the second lotus spread through the academy before reaching the other academies through their spy''s in the academy. In each of the other academies the higher ups of those academies were all gathered in secret to discuss the news. "so it was the same brat who used that terrifying item to clear out the land behind us?" an old man with no hair and a horrible scar on the left side of his face asked seriously. "aye that''s what the report says though even i find it difficult to imagine such an attack could be used by such a weak cultivator." another old man with long white hair and crimson eyes said . the scarred old man nods his head solemnly "that lad might be a hidden monster who rarely shows their strength like the one from all those years back." a plain looking women said seriously. everyone present shivered slightly as they thought of that person who remained low key until he was nigh unstoppable. " if he is like that person then we need to know his personality as well as background before we make any moves." a hooded man said. everyone there nodded in agreement. meanwhile while nick had fully recovered and was playing with azdra who was chasing a marble sized orb of energy nick was controlling next to the arena jakob was on. the little wyrm was trying his hardest to catch the orb which kept suddenly changing directions right when he was about to get it causing him to become angry which made his scales change color to a deep purple. nick was so surprised by this change that he forgot to control the orb and so azdra finally caught it which made him happy which caused his scales to turn green further stunning nick. azdra proudly brought the orb to nick with a look that of contentment on his face. nick calmed down and observed azdra to see if there were any changes beyond having different colored scales but couldn''t see any so he just rubbed the wyrms head while congratulating him. azdra was thrilled at his fathers praise and climbed up nick before taking his normal spot around nicks neck. After about an hour the isolation formation on jakobs area disappeared to reveal jakob looking haggard with wounds from head to toe and massive tears in his clothes. jakobs opponent however looked completely fine with the exception of being covered in sweat. "ah that was fun do come back to play with me again when you get stronger." the muscular girl said while blowing a kiss at jakob who shivered at the thought. "ok , so what happened in there?" nick asked unable to stop his curiosity. jakob glared at nick "i don''t want to talk about it." he said irritably. nick shrugged and the jakob asked about if nick got to spar as well. "i did actually though my opponent was a bit of a disappointment since besides being skilled and fast enough to keep up with me when i wasn''t using my laws she basically was at her very limit in order to do so." nick said with a disappointed sigh. "wait a second you said she? exactly who did you fight?" jakob said as he had a sneaking suspicion but wasn''t sure until nick spoke up. "nobody too important just the second lotus." Chapter 119 - Assassination attempt Jakob sighed while rubbing his forehead. "of course you would fight that person how could i ever think you would do anything else." he said tired. nick noticed jakobs attitude but chose to ignore it. "so you want to go get some lunch its on me." nick said with a grin. jakob cheered up a bit at nicks offer while azdra also perked up when he heard the word lunch. "sure lets go to the local heavens pagoda since we can at least go up to the third floor so long as you host." jakob said with a grin. nick shrugged "sure I''m rather curious whether the food would be useful for cultivators at our levels." nick agreed to jakobs idea. the two men left the sparing area and headed to the the main office to check out. it was a short trip that only took them a few minutes since they were walking. walking through the door nick felt a bit of pressure on his neck which felt kind of like a mosquito landing on him so he smacked his neck where he felt it resulting in a loud crunch as a throwing needle was crushed under his hand. nick grabbed the flattened needle and looked at it furiously before releasing his full power from his rage. "WHO DARES!" nick roared furiously as the pressure coming from him forced a large portion of the people in the building onto the ground while making it difficult for the people it didn''t including jakob who had never seen nick so angry before. nicks transformed form stood over everyone in the room and unknown to nick each time he exhaled a small plume of silver flame came out making nick look even more intimidating. nick furiously scanned the room till he found a hooded figure struggling on the ground with a thin needle in their left hand. "FOUND YOU!" nicks voice rumbled through the air as all the pressure nick was releasing focused on that figure. the figure coughed up blood as the pressure started to crush them while they couldn''t breath since the air was too heavy for them to breath in easily. nick walked towards the prone figure his every step cracking the ground under him as the space around him quaked as though in fear. nick stopped directly in front of the figure as his figure loomed over them they choked out three words "do your worst." before passing out. nick grabbed the figures limp body and suppressed his power again transforming back into is normal form before he removed the figures hood to reveal a thin girl with short brown hair and an average face that was purple from asphyxiation but the girl had started to breath again causing the color to start to recede slowly. nick looked around coldly "does anyone know who this is?" he asked while holding the girl where everyone can see her face. everyone nearby looked at the girl angrily as they had all been subject to nicks wrath because of her actions. nick watched everyone''s expressions before his vision locked onto another girl who had a stunned expression as she looked at the assassin girls face. "you there what do you know of the person?" nick questioned the girl coldly. "i-i k-know her f-from class." the girl stutters out fearfully. nick stares at the frightened girl anger still in his eyes "what is her name." he asked impatiently. the girl swallows her saliva "it was aria Redman "she said still highly frightened. Chapter 120 - ultimatum Nick nodded after he got the information he wanted and walked away still carrying aria by her neck. nick walked outside the hall to come face to face with old sun who had rushed over as soon as he felt nicks power surge. "oi lad what gives." old sun asked calmly while pointing to aria. "this girl tried to assassinate me so i am every so slightly livid." nick said angrily. old suns face grew cold when he heard what nick said and finally understood where nicks hostility came from. "i came here looking for a safe place to cultivate and instead i have been subject to no less than three different times where i was not safe and i have only been here a few months!" nick vented at old sun who could only awkwardly stand there and take it. "i will give this academy one final chance and then I''m going to leave for good so either this academy keeps it''s promise or i go my own way." nick said giving the academy an ultimatum. normally if a student were to say such words the academies could ignore it since most of their students needed the academies for resources and knowledge however nick was an entirely different matter since he could get plenty of resources even if he was not part of the academies and as for knowledge nick even possesses methods that would even make gods fight over much less whatever the academies had. old sun was practically panicking when he heard the ultimatum since he had seen first hand how talented nick was and for such a person to leave the academy because he wasn''t being given what he was promised would be a massive hit to the academies reputation not to mention that the sheer value of what old sun knew nick had created would be lost to the academy if nick left which while not damaging to the academy would certainly hurt to think about. nick walked past old sun after he had said his piece and headed back to his sanctuary with jakob quietly following behind since he knew things were about to get dangerous. unknown to anyone a different student hidden just of of range of nicks senses was recording the entire event . nick moved quickly towards his sanctuary with aria still being held tightly all while ignoring to various surprised faces along the way. After about an hour nick arrived at his sanctuary and threw aria inside without any care for her safety which also woke her from being unconscious. "oh good you''re awake that will save me the effort of waking you up ." nick said with a vicious expression. aria was confused when she heard nicks voice since her mind was still a bit foggy until she remembered how she passed out and the fog cleared and was replaced by fear. she tried to stand up but nick grabbed her by her hair and held her against the wall of the sanctuary before a chain came out of nicks inventory and wrapped aria up making resistance pointless. aria looked at nick defiantly to which nick simply smirked evilly. "not to worry i won''t ask who sent you since after all you were sent as an assassin so you should already be prepared to give your life , however what you don''t know is that you are about to be exposed to pain the likes of which will likely drive you into insanity , be sure to tell me when its to much." nick said sadistically while taking out a unique item that was in his inventory , a sky projector. Chapter 121 - Torture A sky projector was a unique device that captured whatever scene it was pointed at and as the name suggested projected it into the sky making it the ideal way to send information to as many people as possible. upon seeing the sky projector aria immediately knew what nicks plan was , he was going to turn her into a warning to her employers. aria started to violently struggle in a vain attempt to escape but her actions only served to make nick laugh cruelly. "its pointless to struggle those chains are tier 3 you''ll never get free of them." he said shattering any hope of escape aria had. she looks at nick with a defeated look and stopped struggling before sitting still on the ground while nick set up the projector which only took him a minute. after the projector was set up nick pointed it at aria and turned it on sending the scene of the tied up girl into the sky startling everyone in the nearby academies since they weren''t expecting this event. the higher ups of the academies who had sent aria had an ominous feeling upon seeing the bound figure in the sky. Nick walking into view and greeted his audience "good afternoon ladies and gentleman my name is Nicholas farias and the girl you see behind me was sent by some sc.u.m in an attempt to assassinate me , however as you can see she not only failed but was also captured by yours truly instead." nick said gaining nods of approval from most of the people watching with the exception of a certain group who all had ugly expressions. "Now you may be wondering why I''m broadcasting this event since most would try to lay low after an assassination attempt. the answer to that question is simple really , i want everyone to know who the sc.u.m who tried to get me killed for no good reason are , and so here i am about to torture the information out of this girl right before all of your eyes feel free to go indoors if the events you are about to witness make you uncomfortable." nick said before taking out two pills one pitch black the other a deep crimson. "this black pill will heighten the amount of pain one will feel by a factor of a hundred while this red pill will subject whoever takes it to the worst pain possible to inflict upon a person." nick said while showing the two pills to the audience. most of the audience was horrified at the amount of pain those two pills were said to inflict together but couldn''t tear their attention away from the image in the sky while a certain group of people were starting to panic since if the girl tells who sent her their reputations will go down the drain. nick walked over to the aria who was struggling again after hearing what nick said and as he approached her with the two pills she grew more despaired until nick stood before her. nick grabbed aria by her lower jaw as she tried to struggle but nicks strength was just too much and her mouth was unwillingly pried open. to show the audience the truth about the pills nick shoved the black pill into arias mouth where it slid down her throat as a sense of terror overwhelmed her. nick released her jaw before pointing at her. "I have just given her the black pill so in a moment her sensitivity to pain will be increased a hundred fold." nick said to the audience. indeed not more than a moment after he said that arias face changed as she started to clench her teeth hard while trying to withstand the massive pain washing over her body. nick unbound aria since at this point she couldn''t resist even if she wanted to and then he produced a small but sharp knife from his inventory and to show the effect of the black pill better he lightly cut a small wound on arias face in full view of the audience. Chapter 122 - Torture(2) Aria reacted violently clutching the small wound on her face while writhing on the ground screaming in agony. the people watching shivered at the effectiveness of the black pill thanking the heavens it wasn''t them being subjected to it. not skipping a beat nick spoke to aria "now if you just tell me what i want to know I''ll send you on your way nice and easy since i truthfully don''t enjoy this even a little." he said loud enough for the audience to hear. aria managed to speak through her gritted teeth "you will spare my life?" she asked with difficulty. nick shook his head "even if i didn''t kill you whoever sent you wouldn''t spare you once you spill the beans , the only difference is that i can promise to make it painless." nick answered honestly. aria understood what nick meant but was unwilling to die so she remained silent. nick sighed "no one can say i didn''t give you a chance" he said before grabbing her bottom jaw again forcing it open once more before shoving the second pill down her throat. the reaction was near immediate as aria started convulsing on the ground while foaming at the mouth. nick watched this scene with a cold expression while several members of the audience couldn''t take it any more and went indoors to escape the horrifying scene. suddenly aria went limp causing most people in the audience to think she was dead until nick spoke up "she''s not dead her body simply shut down her ability to move basically trapping her mind in a seemingly endless amount of pain that she simply can''t handle , it will be over soon." nick said calmly. indeed a few moments later aria took a breath confirming her life. nick took out a small blue pill which he showed the audience "this is an antidote to the two pills i gave her before since she''ll have trouble speaking clearly otherwise." nick explained clearly. grabbing the unconscious girls jaw once again stuffing the pill down her throat before binding her again with the chains he used before. aria regained consciousness after about two minutes before she recalled the horrible agony she experienced and started shivering in terror. nick noticed this and spoke up "well since you are awake I''ll ask one more time who sent you to kill me?" he asked coldly. aria didn''t speak immediately making nick think she still refused to tell him so he started walking towards her again. "wait! I''ll talk I''ll talk just no more please!" nick stopped where he was and glared at aria coldly waiting for her to speak up. "there were three people in the room when i was paid to kill you and even though no names were said i know who the three are." aria said shakily. before she could say any thing further however nicks danger sense went out forcing him to grab aria and jump into the darkness and not a moment too soon either as the very next instance a spear crashed into the ground right were nick and aria were just moments ago destroying the sanctuary in its entirety before coming to a stop. old sun appeared a moment later with a fierce aura raging around him before he grabs the spear in anger and puts an tracking talisman with the sliver of aura left on the spear before he grew taller and golden fur sprouted from his skin and and a massive pressure was released before focusing on the spear as he c.o.c.ked back his arm before throwing the spear as so hard the sky cracked and the earth quaked from its passage. Chapter 123 - The last two On an open area with no one nearby a man stood with a smug grin on his face. "two birds with one stone , bastard thought we would let him ruin everything i showed him." the man said to himself before his instincts screamed death at him causing him to start to panic but then the very same spear he had thrown impaled him and created a massive crater where he stood that would later become a lake. the mans final thought before he died was that the spear looked familiar. old sun ripped apart the gap between dimensions with his hands before walking into the darkness and looking at nick who was in full fight mode with a sigh. "i killed the insect who sent that spear after you however your home was completely destroyed." old sun said with a deep sigh. nick nodded "lets finish this then" nick said before leaving the dark with aria in tow. old sun followed after with a serious look on his face. In the regular world nick looked at the debris that was once his home and a bone chilling coldness filled his heart before buying another sky projector from the system shop before setting it up on the ruined area. In the sky a projection appeared again causing the audience to sigh in relief. nick put aria on the ground before turning to look at the projector and by extension the audience before speaking. "one of those sc.u.m just tried to kill both me and this girl here in order to keep their names from being made public , but we survived and now you shall all here who they are." nick said righteously. the audience all roared in approval while the last two people who sent aria went pale. aria spoke up again the moment nick glared at her. "the three people were all from the same place , the sleepless forest academy." both nicks and old suns eyes narrowed at that information. "furthermore they were from the higher ups of that academy ,in fact their identities as such were what gave them away." she paused to take a breath before continuing "the three people were the first elder , the discipline elder and the man in charge of the pill building." after speaking aria felt a weight removed from her c.h.e.s.t causing her to sigh in relief. nick pulled out yin yun and swiftly decapitated aria before burning her body to ash with his law fire all so fast that aria didn''t even have time to know she was dead. "completely painless as promised." nick said to the audience who nodded in approval. nick looked at old sun before purchasing a destruction seed from the system store for a whopping two thousand points before pulling it out causing the same reaction as when he pulled one out before. old sun instantly broke into a cold sweat when nick pulled out the seed before becoming dumbfounded when nick went to hand it to him. "only someone who knows what those people look like can use this on them." nick said calmly. old sun looked at the tiny object in nicks hand cautiously. "how do i use it?" he asked while carefully taking the seed. nick shrugged "simply picture the targets in your mind then inject qi into the seed it will do the rest." old sun was speechless "that''s it !?" he said incredulously. nick chuckled "that''s it." he said calmly. old sun nodded and closed his eyes for a moment and nick felt the qi leaving old sun and entering the seed. Chapter 124 - Rebuilding The seed wiggled for a moment before shooting of into the distance faster than nick could follow almost instantly arriving at it first target. the man felt death and knew he was finished so he didn''t struggle but disintegrated turning into dust before being blow away by a soft breeze. after the seed was finished with its first job it flew to the second person who had just watched their friend turn to dust and was trying to escape but the seed easily caught up to the person and sank into their back before they too turned into dust and was blown away. there was no great disturbance no grand struggle merely a gentle breeze erasing the last remnants of two people. old sun was speechless at how quiet the seed was in its job before looking at nick awkwardly. "so about that spear from earlier...." old sun began before being cut off by nick "I''m not counting that since it was my fault to begin with I''ll still attend the academy till such time as it fails to uphold its promise or i exceed the point it can teach me , until then you can relax. now then i should probably rebuild my house so if you would leave I''d appreciate it." nick said calmly. old sun nodded in understanding before teleporting away leaving nick standing on the barren patch of land his home once was. nick rubbed his chin in thought for a few moments new ideas running through his mind. ''perhaps a floating land disguised as a cloud? hmmm no a nonmoving cloud would be too suspicious. maybe an underground base? no that would probably impose too many restrictions to be usable.'' nick thought deeply about how to rebuild his home. the goddess showed up with lo mia and jakob by walking out of the dark with the other two. "good thing i was faster than that spear or jakob would have been killed." the goddess said proudly. nick heard what she said and immediately went pale as he realized that he was so focused on aria that he forgot jakob was right by him. turning to jakob nick fell on his knees and apologized repeatedly to his friend for his lack of thought. jakob was uncomfortable with how much nick was apologizing "it''s fine i wasn''t hurt at all."jakob said seriously. nick shook his head before looking at jakob emotionally "it''s not fine , you almost died because of me and i didn''t even remember you were with me until after you were saved by someone else , some friend i am." nick said depressed. jakob didn''t realize how much his friendship saved nick from becoming a cold indifferent monster. "do you think i wasn''t aware of the danger i would be in? i knew the danger extremely clearly and yet here i stand waiting for you to bring me to an amazing future. so stand up dust off your pants and get stronger not so you can change the world but so the world doesn''t change you." jakob said seriously. jakobs words resonated with nick and he stood up and reaffirmed his determination. the three saw the light behind nicks eyes and couldn''t help be drawn to it. "enough about that we need to figure out how to rebuild the sanctuary." nick said after a moment. Chapter 125 - Rebuilding(2) "I''ve already decided that the way it was before made it to much of an easy target and making it fly while camouflaged wouldn''t work and it being underground also wouldn''t work so I''m stuck on what to do on that front." nick said with furrowed eyebrows. the two women and jakob all thought deeply about this problem and lo mia asked a question that would lead to a discovery of earth shattering proportions. "what was wrong with the flying idea?" she asked confused. nick sighed "while i could make it float in order for the formations to work it would need to be stationary so the most logical disguise a cloud would be too suspicious since clouds naturally move and this one wouldn''t be." he said seriously. hearing this jakob couldn''t help but be confused "why cant the formations move?" he asked curiously. "formations draw energy from the surroundings in order to maintain their intended effect so if they are moving the energy is unstable leading to instability in the formations causing them to fail which is usually by them just shutting down but could also be them exploding." nick said seriously. jakobs eyebrows furrowed as something didn''t seem right to him but he couldn''t quite figure out what. thankfully jakob was spared from his thoughts when the goddess spoke up. "why don''t you just give them a stable energy source built into the formation?" she asked curiously. it was like a bomb went off and cleared the clouds away in nicks mind. ''of course! if the formations had a steady energy source the higgs energy disruption rule wouldn''t apply allowing the formations to remain mobile without issue , however what could be used as the energy source since formation require massive amounts of energy.'' nick thought to himself. "i have it!" nick said after a moment before pulling out forging equipment without explaining any thing and began shaping some sort of cube out of a grey material that jakob identified as krakter ore a seemingly useless material notorious for drawing energy into itself indiscriminately while being to brittle for weapons and armor. "genius!" jakob exclaimed once he figured out what nick was doing. the two women looked at jakob excitedly. "do you know what he''s doing?" lo mia asked highly interested. jakob nodded "he is going to treat the formation like a living body." lo mia was surprised since she had never heard of anyone thinking about formations in such a manner. "if that''s true what''s that odd cube hes making?" the goddess asked confused. jakob looked at the goddess "what do cultivators use to draw in store and use energy with?" he asked with a huge grin. ''what do they use? their dantians of course.....!'' the goddess was astonished when the answer hit her so she couldn''t help saying what nick was making out loud. "artificial dantian!"she exclaimed in amazement. jakob nodded while looking at his friend working without care for his surroundings with pride in his eyes. nick finished the artificial dantian prototype fifteen minutes later and the sound of a sort of humming resounded upon the final stroke of nicks blade all around the world drawing the attention of everyone who was astounded. very few cultivators had ever heard that sound but they all knew what it was the sound of the heavens themselves congratulating someone for being the first to do something truly great. Chapter 126 - Rebuilding(3) nick was astounded by the sound he was hearing before he suddenly felt his cultivation begin to skyrocket not even pausing when he reached a bottleneck. nicks cultivation when from the first level all the way to the sixth before coming to a stop at the mid point of the level. nick stood there dumbfounded at the sudden boost when he heard the goddess speak up. "that was the blessings of heaven." she said calmly. nick looked at her confused before she explained "the blessing is given to individuals who either are the first to accomplish something great such as what you have just done." she paused to point at the now glowing cube next to nick. "the other time is if someone reaches high levels of positive karma , this event is slightly different since most cultivators either have slightly positive karma or neutral karma and the only easy way to increase your karma is to kill those with negative karma." the goddess explained seriously. nick was amazed that karma was an actual thing since even after becoming a cultivator he had never seen any proof of karma. "if you are trying to figure out why you haven''t seen any proof of karma its because it only becomes noticeable when you reach ascension." she froze immediately after mentioning ascension as a loud boom of thunder rumbled above their heads startling the other three while she went pale with fright. the thundering lasted for a few minutes before it finally dissipated and the goddess sighed in relief. nick looked at the goddess and couldn''t help himself "what was that about?" he asked curious. the goddess sighed "i mentioned something i shouldn''t have and that was a warning from the heavens that i was pushing my boundaries." she said anxiously. nick was confused by this "why would the heavens care about you sharing that information was it extremely dangerous or something?" nick asked in confusion. the goddess shook her head "its not that the information is dangerous or even that it''s rare , the problem is that you are all to far away from the point that the information is on your level its like enlightening a flea on the size of the world as such the heavens really don''t like such acts since it breaks the balance of the world." she said seriously. nick understood what she meant as it made perfect sense that the heavens would take exception to someone tampering with the balance of the world. "ok so no telling weaker individuals high tier information got it." nick said seriously before carefully picking up the glowing cube. "now lets test this thing out." nick said with a grin before he sets up a basic isolation formation with the cube as the core and watches carefully as he starts to move with formation slowly at first but as there hasn''t been any issues yet he started to speed up and soon reached his full speed but still the formation was going steady thrilling nick immensely. coming to a stop nick looks at the other three with a huge grin on his face as he asked "who wants a flying base." the other three grew exited as well before nick broke up their revelry to hash out the details of the new base. Chapter 127 - Rebuilt "So roughly how big should i make the floating foundation?" nick asked seriously while looking at the other three. jakob was the first to respond "well since you seem to have this habit of flinging people you spar with maybe make it at least ten times bigger than before so whoever it is does smack the wall repeatedly since i can say from experience that it f.u.c.k.i.n.g hurts." he said seriously. nick nodded before writing down that suggestion. lo mia spoke up next "the house needs to be bigger." she said with a slight blush. nick raised an eyebrow but wrote down her suggestion anyway before looking at the goddess since she was the only one who had yet to comment. "can there be a hot spring?" she asked coquettishly. nick was taken back by her suggestion since besides for enjoyment there was no real reason why the base would need a hot spring. "a hot spring might be a bit difficult since i can only have so many different kinds of arrays active at once." nick said giving a good excuse against having a hot spring. the goddess looked a bit sad at her idea being rejected so nick compromised slightly. "we can do a hot spring but i can do a heat stone based bath system." he said seriously. jakob looked confused "why would we need a bath system when we can just use qi to clean ourselves?" he asked not comprehending the situation. the goddess turned jakob with an angry glare causing him to breakout in a cold sweat. "on second thought a hot bath system sounds great." jakob said nervously. the goddess snorted daintily before looking back at nick. nick held back his laughter at the twos antics before writing down the bath suggestion. "besides that is there anything else i should hear because I''m not going to change anything after i start building the sanctuary." nick said while looking at the three seriously. jakob spoke up again "what about azdra , he is going to out grow the house in about two months so where will he stay after that?" jakob asked seriously. nick was stunned at this information since he thought that since wyrms were so powerful they would grow extremely slowly. "wait how long does it take a wyrm to reach a.d.u.l.thood if azdra is going to get so big in two months?" he asked seriously. jakob understood nick knew little about wyrms so he explained "wyrms develop to adolescence within a years time however they grow extremely slowly after that only reaching a.d.u.l.thood at the age of a hundred normally." he said seriously. nick sighed in relief after learning such a ridiculous growth phase only lasted for a year. "at the end of that year how big will he be?" nick asked seriously. jakob rubbed his chin in thought "well its not an exact size but I''d guess about the size of the entire old sanctuary." jakob said calmly as though such a size was totally normal. "right so your ten times increase will get very crowed in a year so lets just increase that size by lets say two times and there should be plenty of room assuming nothing happens to change that." nick said with a sigh. the four were in agreement so all that was left was to put the plan in action. the first thing that nick needed to do was create the floating platform that would be the entire foundation for the new sanctuary. Chapter 128 - Rebuilt(2) Nick decided to use a unique compound that he discovered when he was experimenting with mixing different materials together to see what he could come up with. the majority of his experiments ended up creating useless compounds , however during one experiment with the normal tier 1 material iron nick had forgotten to clean the area of his previous experiment which created a seemingly useless weightless sand which he simply left floating where he created it. nick was testing the results of adding bloodstone to iron when a light breeze unexpectantly blew the weightless sand directly into the molten mixture of bloodstone and iron causing a violent reaction that sent of a localized pulse of electromagnetic energy so powerful it even caused considerable damage to nicks incredibly durable body. after healing himself nick had noticed that a completely new compound had been created with a bright metallic crimson orb floated above the ground stably. nick thought that he had simply created another weightless material until he tried to push the orb down but it didn''t budge an inch downwards but instead floated into a sideways direction from his push . This intrigued nick since it was now obvious that whatever this new material was it was far from as simple as he thought it was. walking over to the orb nick gripped the orb firmly before pushing down with his full strength again sending the orb sideways instead of down informing nick of two properties that the orb possessed. the first was the undeniable repulsion to the ground while the second was the extreme durability of the material which was completely unaffected by nicks full strength which keep in mind could shatter tier 4 weapons. needless to say nick was thrilled with his accidental discovery so he began to experiment with this new compound to see if the properties could be isolated or enhanced , nick had no way to tell if he enhanced the durability of the material how ever he did manage to create a method to how control high far from the ground the material floated. now nick decided he was going to create a massive floating island with this compound as the foundation. to accomplish this goal nick first gathered a massive amount of the base materials much to the confusion of the three watching nick since all of the materials were only at tier 1. Nick looked at the goddess "could you take jakob and lo mia into the dark since this next part is dangerous even for me?" he asked seriously. the threes faces grew serious at nicks words "what do you mean?" jakob asked seriously. nick sighed "these materials on their own are obviously not that dangerous with the exception of perhaps the bloodstone but its no threat to me." he said calmly. the other three nodded "however if you combine these materials it creates a massive release of electric energy that when i mixed a tiny amount of these materials together caused me considerable harm." he finished with a serious expression. the three were shocked since they were all extremely clear on how durable nicks body was. "if that''s true won''t the energy be even greater if you mix such a massive amount of these materials together?" lo mia asked worried. nick nodded seriously "that was what i thought as well which is why i wanted all of you to get to safety before i did so." he said honestly. Chapter 129 - Foundation "What about you?" the goddess asked worried. nick pulled out a massive copper shield with several layers out of his inventory. "this shield will take most of the energy that comes at me so while I''ll still take a great deal of damage i shall survive." nick explained seriously. jakob spoke up first after nick finished speaking. "i don''t like this." he said worried about nick. lo mia and the goddess both nod in agreement with jakob. nick sighs " look if i could get into safety before the energy came at me i would but I''m very much aware that I''m nowhere fast enough to do so." he said honestly. the goddess brightened up when she heard that the reason nick would be injured was his lack of speed. "you might not be fast enough but i should be." she said cheerfully. nick was stunned at this not because it was unexpected but because it was true. nick laughed "you know it''s kind of funny." he said with a grin. "what is?" the goddess asked confused. "you are around so often that I''ve almost completely forgotten that you are way more powerful than me." he said with a chuckle. The three were surprised at this but quickly realized that it was completely normal for something like that to happen since even lo mia and jakob had done the same thing to the goddess. the reason it happened was that unlike nick who almost continuously showed his power the goddess rarely did so making her much easier to forget about. understanding this the four all laughed at the funny situation before turning serious again. "well since my safety is in good hands we should put lo mia and jakob into the dark before coming back to mix the materials." nick said to the goddess who nodded before grabbing the other two and vanishing in a puff of darkness. almost instantly afterwards the goddess returned and grabbed nick in a hug from behind with a content smile on her face. nick ignored the goddess since he figured he would just let her have it for her help before turning to the materials with a serious expression. first nick combined the tier one materials woodstone and Nickle to create the weightless sand before turning to to iron and bloodstone with a serious expression. Nick melted the two together and spoke up "prepare yourself." he said to the goddess who grew serious. feeling the change nick created a light breeze to push the sand into the molten mixture before bracing himself. the moment the sand entered the molten mixture a blinding light was released and then nick found himself in the dark completely safe. "so the reaction should be over now we can go back to start the real work." nick said while carefully removing himself from the goddess who was holding onto him with a huge smile. lo mia looked extremely jealous while jakob was trying not to laugh at her. nick ignored their antics and grabbed jakob before walking out of the dark with him. as soon as they arrived in the real world they were struck with intense heat like standing in a volcano causing them to breakout in sweat. the area with the materials now was covered in molten earth with a massive bright crimson metallic orb hovering above the ground looking mysterious. nick pointed at the orb with a smile "that shall become the foundation for our new home." Chapter 130 - Accidental breakthrough Jakob looked at the orb made of a material he had never even heard of with a skeptical expression. "i don''t understand what''s so special about this stuff just from looking at it." jakob said confused. nick nodded his head in understanding since as a smith himself he understood that materials were ranked according to their energy levels and this new material barely had the energy of a tier 2 material. "this stuff is rather unique since the amount of energy it has actually doesn''t matter , but rather the properties of the material make it perfect for what we are going to use it for." nick said calmly. jakob was surprised to hear this since it flew in the face of everything he knew. "what properties would those be?" he asked curious while lo mia and the goddess appear from the dark. nick welcomed the two girls to join the conversation while grinning. "this material can fly without the need for any outside interference as well as the fact that it is about as durable as a tier 6 material." nick said proudly. the three were dumbfounded at the ridiculous properties that nick just pointed out. "but can the material be controlled? it would be useful as a weapon material but little else if not." lo mia pointed out seriously. nick chuckled "of course it can be controlled otherwise i wouldn''t have gone through so much trouble to make the stuff watch." nick said before making a few handsigns and pointing at the orb. a thick rope of energy left the pointing finger before attaching to the floating orb which quivered briefly before becoming still again. "i can now manipulate any part of the material i want." nick said before making a crushing motion with his hands and lo and behold the orb began to flatten while spreading out until it was a flat circle that was just as wide as the base needed. " now we just need to build on this shape to make the foundation." nick said completely ignoring to look on the other threes face. "the way you controlled that orb. can you use that on other materials?" jakob asked with an exited look on his face. nick didn''t understand why jakob was so exited but answered anyway. "if i modified it a bit i suppose it could be used for any other material why?" jakob was smiling widely " you just solved a problem that has been bothering cultivators since the dawn of time!" he exclaimed happily. now it was nicks turn to be dumbfounded since he had no idea what jakob was talking about. "you might not know since the search for a solution was for the most part dropped but craftsmen have been trying to figure out how to forge bone since as far as anyone can remember. the actual problem was besides using bones for pills there was no way to use them for anything else which was considered a horrible shame since the bones of many beast had amazing properties that would be great in weapons and armors but any attempt to work with the bone would remove any useful property if not just straight up destroying the bone , that is until now." jakob explained excitedly. nick was stunned as understanding came to him that indeed he had just accidentally solved a crafting problem of huge proportions. Chapter 131 - Sanctuary 2.0 Jakob pulled a massive bone that gave off a desolate aura from his space ring before handing it to nick with a huge grin on his face. "turn it into a sword please." jakob said shamelessly. nick shook his head at jakobs antic before throwing the bone at him." that''s a tier 8 material it would take me a month just to create a tether much less the ungodly amount of energy it would take to change its shape even slightly!" nick yelled angrily. jakob put away the bone with an awkward expression. "sorry about that i got a bit carried away." jakob said apologetically. nick just shrugged "can we focus please I''d like to finish the house before we get off topic again." he said seriously. the three grew serious and lo mia spoke up "i assume you are going to add a thick layer of soil on top of the foundation over there." she said seriously. nick nodded in agreement "in that case i suggest creating the walls first so that you can hold all of the dirt in place." she said. nick nodded before creating twenty foot tall walls out of jade stone the same material as before since there was no need to change that aspect. Nick then filled the inside with ten feet of nutrient and energy rich soil. having finished with that nick created a gate that stood directly in the middle of walls perfectly even with the soil on the inside. at this point all that was left was filling the place with vegetation including the garden as well as building the house and pond before making the formations and arrays before the sanctuary was done. nick shifted some soil making a five foot deep bowl shaped hole that he hardened the bottom of so it could hold water before moving on to create the house behind the would be pond. nick first set up the base structure as a massive rectangle of jadestone that took up a huge area before creating walls and a roof then he added the doors and the house was complete though the word house wasn''t exactly accurate so much as mansion. the building had rich blue walls with golden accents and a black tile roof giving the whole building an air of majesty. Ironically the mansion only had six rooms with one of them being much bigger than all the other as well as have its own gate for entrance and exit , that room was for azdra when he got much bigger but would remain vacant till then. each of the four people had a room with plenty of space in it for them to have their professional tools in them while still being spacious. of course as promised nick had created a large bathroom that was split in two one side for the men the other for the women. as far as furniture was concerned however the place was completely barren since nick figured he''d let the other three decorate as they pleased. having completed the house nick started working on creating the formation to purify the air since the sanctuary would still be in the swamp while he was at it nick added a camouflage function to the formation making the sanctuary look like an odd cloud floating just above the ground. being done with everything that needed to be done while close to the ground nick controlled the sanctuary to rise into the sky reach such a height that it looked no different than a slightly low flowing cloud that was following the other clouds. Chapter 132 - Revealed Having risen into the sky nick plants enough blue grass to cover most of the b.a.r.e ground but left a patch in the northern corner large enough to use as a garden. after planting all the vegetation on the areas that would remain dry nick walked over to the hole he created earlier and filled it carefully with everything a pond needed to function from plants to hiding places before he bought two kinds of fish that while beautiful each had the unique trait of being able to eat nearly anything making them perfect pets. the base only needed the arrays to be set up in order to be complete but that was easy since nick simply set up the same arrays as the previous sanctuary before he was entirely done. "home sweet home eh?" nick said two the other three who each cheered. "now jakob lets see if i can launch you into the wall." nick said with a grin causing the joy on jakobs face to change into fear. before jakob could speak his disagreement nick charged towards him with violent force cracking the air. jakob barely managed to block before nicks fist crashed into him of course sending him flying. Jakob flew for several yards before sliding in the dirt quite a distance from the nearest wall. nick threw up his arms in excitement "it works!" he shouted in joy. jakob glared at nick when he stood up "was that completely necessary?" jakob asked angrily. nick grinned "completely , after all how else am i going to see if i made the place to small?" he said with a sagely expression. "you just wanted to hit me didn''t you ?" jakob said while starring nick down. nick refused to make eye contact. lo mia laughed at the two men''s antics when she felt a reaction from something in her space ring which she directed her focus into discovering that it was the communication jade her father had given her. frowning lo mia took the jade out of her ring and pressed it against her forehead in order to listen to the message inside. ''Daughter you need to return immediately the dragon council has been killed and war has broken out with the demons.'' the message echoed in lo mia''s head while shock overcame her from the contents. lo mia spoke up "I''m sorry to ruin to mood but i need to go." she said seriously causing the other three to also grow serious. Nick was the first to ask why she had to leave so suddenly making the truth she had been hiding from nick come into light. "my clan has gone to war with the demons for some reason so i am needed back there." she said seriously. nick frowned "demons huh? i just so happen to have a score to settle with one of those so I''ll go with you if you don''t mind." nick said with a grin. lo mia knew that the moment nick arrived at her clans territory the mark would trigger and he might go on a rampage in rage. "no , it would be best if you didn''t come." she says quickly trying to hide the worry in her voice but failing. nick frowned "why would it be a problem if i came , is there something you aren''t saying?" nick questioned seriously having sensed a whiff of panic when he suggested coming with her. Chapter 133 - Revealed(2) Lo mia dreaded the day she would have to reveal the truth of who she really was. knowing she no longer could hide it lo mia sighed. "my real name is long Tamia ..." she didn''t even get to finish speaking before dense killing intent poured over the area as nick stood still shaking violently from barely contained wrath. without realizing it nick transformed however due to the extreme rage that even the system was having trouble suppressing nicks body grew even larger as the hidden power in his joined bloodline seethed to the surface warping the very air around him into a frenzy with the crackle of raw lightning occasionally appeared nearby. the goddess was confused about what made nick so enraged from the reveal of long Tamia''s true name. "what has him so upset?" she asked jakob who was also extremely angry but was far more composed than nick. "you know the dragon king right?" jakob asked through gritted teeth. the goddess nodded. "well the dragon king marked nick forcefully betrothing him to his daughter. " jakob said before going silent while glaring at long temia angrily. The goddess was stunned at this information before she quickly discovered why both nick and jakob were pissed , the name of the dragon kings daughter was long Tamia. "you need to leave!" the goddess said to long Tamia warily. long tamia understood that both nick and jakob were angry at her but couldn''t understand why the goddess was telling her to leave. seeing the confusion on long tamia''s face the goddess grabbed her before opening a wormhole to the edge of the long clans territory "because if you stay here nick might rip you apart and i don''t think i would stop him." the goddess said sadly before throwing her into the wormhole and closing it. with long tamia gone nick slowly got his anger under control but his previous happy mood was ruined so he entered the mansion and went straight to his room without a sound. jakob looked at the goddess who appeared conflicted before sighing "thank you for sending her away while I''m sure nick would have killed her i know that a part of him would die even if he survived the backlash of that mark." he said before going to his room leaving the goddess alone with her thoughts. The goddess went to her own room carrying conflicted thoughts officially bringing the day to an end. for the next week nick attended his studies with his entire focus in order to avoid thinking about the revealed truth. while the teachers were happy with how much nick was improving they all knew that what he was doing wasn''t healthy and it worried them. "old sun you are pretty close to the lad could you help him with whatever is bothering him at this rate he''ll grind himself into dust." nicks herbology teacher asked earnestly. old sun shook his head sadly "what ails the lad is a disease of the heart nothing i do will change that." he said depressed. the teachers who had all gathered on nicks behalf were confused. " can you tell us what happened then so we can try to think of something to help him." nicks combat teacher made a suggestion hoping for something. old sun nodded "you know of the girl who was usually found with the lad?" the teachers nodded "well that girl was the princess of the dragon clan." old sun said drawing gasp from the teachers but they still had no idea what that had to due with the way nick was now. Chapter 134 - Truth Seeing the confused looks on the faces of the teachers old sun continues. "well the dragon king marked the lad with that infernal mark during the entrance exams and then the girl lied about who she was to get close to the lad and now she was forced to reveal herself tearing the poor lads heart in two polar opposite directions." old sun explained honestly. the teachers all had stupefied expressions when they finally understood the truth of the matter. meanwhile nick was pushing his cultivation so hard that blood seeped from his skin while energy rampaged through his meridians. normally one would slowly build up energy in order to breakthrough however its is possible to rapidly grow stronger if they withstood the extreme pain that came from the ridiculous amount of energy that was needed to reach the next level. this was precisely what nick was doing at this moment. in truth learning that long tamia was the dragon princess that he was f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y engaged to had sprouted two massively conflicting thoughts that almost split his mind into two personalities however the system had suppressed his emotions enough to keep his mind in one piece. ''system show me my status'' *DING* _________________________ NAME: Nicholas varia AGE:14yrs RACE: human/demigod BLOODLINE: DARKWAR DRAGON KING Money:500299999 DC:1400 BODY REFINEMENT: Bronze(Blood) CULTIVATION: nascent soul tier 9 PROFESSION: alchemist tier 3 , array master tier 3 , blacksmith tier 3 , inscription master tier 3 , healer tier 3 , cook tier 3 SKILLS: swordmastery lv2 , bowmastery lv1 '' inferno step lv2 , area of absolute control lv2 , myriad forms lv20 , void core lv1 , qi control lv15 , dragons wrath lv4 , dragons might lv15 , divine might lv15 ABILITIES: awareness (user is aware of all things around them even without seeing it.) Body control (user has complete control of their physique including nerves, pores ,veins, etc) Divine charm (user naturally emits an aura that attracts others to them like a natural leader) Nature child (user is accepted by the laws of the universe, let one cultivate without angering the heavens) Dragon kings mark (owner has been marked as the dragon princess''s fianc¨¦ for being more exceptional than any other.) BRONZE BODY(user has a body as durable as bronze) First (user is the first to do something great and is rewarded by the heavens) Conflicted(temporary) user is torn between two opposed thoughts.) STRENGTH:2050 AGILITY:2100 SPIRIT:1950 INTELLIGENCE:1800 CHARISMA:500 LAW: Space small completion, devour advanced completion, fire initial, water initial, air initial, earth initial, dark initial, light initial ''good a bit more and I''ll reach void chasing which will let me control my energy a bit better since i seem to waste a lot when i fight'' nick thought to himself. a knock could be heard from the door to nicks room drawing his attention "enter." nick said calmly. the door opened up to reveal jakob who entered the room calmly. "whats up?" nick asked casually. jakob grinned "so you remember that inheritance ground my clan found?" nick nodded "well i finally managed to get permission for the two of us to enter." jakob said with a grin. Chapter 135 - Welk clan "Really , whats the catch?" nick asked with a knowing look. jakob sighed "well there are actually two catches that my clan asked for." he said seriously. nick grew curious "those must be some pretty big catches for you to be so serious go ahead tell me what they are ." nick said with an interested look. jakob sighed again "the first isn''t that big of a deal as all it was is for you to bring azdra to meet the guardian wyrm."jakob paused to observe nicks reaction but continued when he saw nick didn''t react. "the second thing is the really big one , they want you to give the clan your method for body strengthening." jakob said before feeling the air grow colder. nicks expression darkened and a small amount of bloodl.u.s.t escaped his body." quite greedy aren''t they." he said coldly while jakob broke out in a cold sweat. the bloodl.u.s.t vanished immediately as nick forcefully calmed himself. "they can give up on the second thing however i will give them the recipe for the two pills i gave you instead." nick said with a sly grin. In truth even if someone were to get nicks recipes they would be basically useless without the method for alchemy that nick had so while it might sound like nick was giving up something valuable in fact he was scamming them as payback for their greed. jakob understood nick well enough to know that he definitely didn''t give in to his clans wishes but considering how greedy the clan had been with their request he didn''t care. "alright let me contact the clan and see if this change is enough." jakob said before pulling out a golden medallion emblazoned with the image of a red moon with a carp in the middle of it. pressing the medallion to his forehead jakob sent some qi into it along with the message of nicks response. the medallion shone briefly as a reply entered jakobs mind after which jakob removed the medallion from his forehead and placed it back in his space ring. "they accepted on the condition that you provide two of the pills for testing and comparison." jakob said seriously while nick nodded in acceptance. "i expected they might say something like that but i can easily comply with that so its fine." Shortly afterwards jakob and nick began their preparations for the inheritance ground which may have any number of unknown test so they prepared for literally any possible scenario. "i just finished with the purification talismans in case we need to survive underwater or in a poison field." nick said. "I''ve got aura locking talismans so we can find each other if we get separated." jakob said. both men nodded at the other "then we have everything we might need lead the way." nick said with a grin. jakob smirked before taking out a token which he flipped into the air. the token spun about five feet above jakobs hand before it started to release pulses of energy. as the token started to fall it looked like it acted as a zipper as an opening in the fabric of space started from its initial point and stopped when it touched the ground. "now that''s just showing off." nick said jealously. jakob grinned proudly "of course! after all i don''t get much opportunity to since you are so monstrous." Chapter 136 - Welk clan(2) Nick could only shrug since jakob was right. "after you." nick said calmly. jakob grinned before walking through the space door before nick followed after and the door closed without a trace. nick found himself in front of a mist covered mountain with large buildings built into its side barely concealed by the mist. "welcome to the welk clan estate!" jakob said grandly while dramatically posturing. "i see you aren''t so uptight anymore , little brother." a female voice said from the mist while the sound of light footsteps approached the two men and one wyrm. azdra immediately got into attack position on nicks shoulder while nick tensed up as well , however jakob had the most in tense reaction as he squeaked like a frightened mouse before hiding behind nick timidly. nick raised an eyebrow at jakobs response before he turned to look at the individual who stepped out of the mist. a woman with a middle aged appearance with the same hair color as jakob and a surprisingly weathered face stood in front of nick. the two parties sized each other up but a look of confusion appeared on the woman''s face. "You don''t look at all like how i imagined." the woman said confused. "well i have no idea what you were expecting me to look like but here i am." nick said calmly. the woman flinched at nicks retort obviously not expecting him to talk back. "well aren''t you a fiery one at least that part of his description holds weight." the woman said honestly. nick was actually curious what jakob had told his clan so he simply asked. the woman was taken back by how straight forward nick was but she considered it a pleasant surprise. "well he said you were monstrously strong as well as clever while also being ridiculously talented and ruthless." the woman said honestly. "aw i see so you probably had an entirely different idea of what someone fitting that description would look like its an easy enough mistake to make." nick said in understanding. "i suppose the upper part of your clan also sent you here to size me up right?" he asked with a bored expression. the woman started laughing when she heard nick "he was totally right your as smart as a whip. yes i was sent for that purpose though i suppose that since you are aware of that you have likely already countered that right?" nick grinned "indeed i have you won''t find anything you can use against me no matter how hard you look , but by all means try if you must." he said calmly. the women sighed "what happened to the spirit of cooperation?" the woman said acting sad. "well are you going to lead us on or are we just going to stand here pointlessly?" nick asked in boredom. the woman stopped acting and put on a serious expression "but before that i need a word with my little brother behind you." the woman said while jakob panicked and tried to run but the woman seemed to teleport behind nick without him even noticing which sent a shiver down his spine. it was obvious to nick that the woman could probably kill him without much effort if she wanted which further strengthened his resolve to get stronger. Chapter 137 - Welk clan(3) The woman forced jakobs head down before yelling at him about the lack of information and on how he was still single. basically just giving jakob a hard time as most close families are prone to. nick was quite surprised by this as he was under the impression that most cultivators acted in a feudalistic manner but it seemed this wasn''t completely true. after scolding jakob the woman released him before turning to look at nick or rather the small winged reptile on nicks shoulder. "so that''s the wyrmling huh? well he certainly doesn''t look like grandpa scales." she said while trying to poke azdra only for him to latch on to her finger with his teeth while growling angrily. the women frowns at how aggressive azdra is. "what did you teach this little guy for him to be so mean ?" she asked nick completely ignoring the wyrmling trying its best to remove her flesh. nick chuckled "i only taught him not to attack for no reason as for everything else it was unnecessary , to put it simply he just doesn''t like strangers touching him." nick said trying to keep a straight face. The woman was obviously displeased with nicks answer since she frowned unhappily. "that''s unfair how can such a cute little thing be kept from the world i insist that i be allowed to touch him." the woman pouted like a spoiled child not getting her way. nick was stunned at this woman''s personality which despite her extreme power was quite childlike. "i believe you are supposed to be taking us somewhere?" nick said completely changing the subject. "oh right , follow me." the woman realized nick was right and stopped trying to mess with azdra who recoiled back into the crook of nicks neck. the trio made their way through the mist without a word for about five minutes before the mist cleared suddenly making it obvious that the mist was some sort of formation. the place nick found himself in was actually a massive valley that sat comfortably between three mountains that blocked access to the valley from all directions save one. on the valleys far side a city sized clan structure sat with farm lands stretching in front taking up the remaining space. "this is the welk clans ancestral homeland mind your manners here." jakob said to nick seriously. Nick nodded understanding that no matter how prideful he was he needed to take a step back if he wanted to avoid being surrounded by every member of the clan. a group of cultivators appeared in the sky above the trio suddenly before landing in front of them. the group was obviously elders since most of them had grey hair with the exception of one who had the same hair color as jakob and his sister. "welcome to the welk clan friend of my sons." the man said seriously. nick sized the man up with his eyes and the man did the same . both men nodded at the other before an aura was released from the man containing his battle intent and nick did the same. the mans aura was warm and joyous like he reveled in combat while nicks was cold and vicious like the rage he so often showed when he fought. Chapter 138 - Elder wyrm The two auras clashed violently creating a zone of extreme pressure between them as they seemed to have the same level of strength but something about that irked nicks bloodline which unconsciously made nick release an even fiercer aura that was laced with a nearly unnoticeable about of madness. the mans aura was quickly overpowered before he spoke up. "that''s enough , it seems my son wasn''t lying when he said you were quite monstrous , so young and yet you can overpower a void completion level aura of course i was holding back but still an amazing achievement nonetheless." he said in admiration. nick grinned "i just try to be the best i can." he said humbly. the man nods "that''s usually how it goes so I''m not surprised though i still find it hard to believe someone like you is friends with my son." he said honestly. nick shrugged "it just sort of happened but i don''t regret it for a moment." nick said emotionally. the man smiles "its good he has someone like you , i worry about him like any decent parent should." he says. "Well sappy stuff aside we should trade resources , you brought your half yes?" the man said seriously. nick takes out a knowledge jade and presses it to his forehead before sending the two recipes into it causing it to shine. nick also pulls out two jade bottles "there are two of each type of pill in these two bottles and i just put the recipes into this jade as for the wyrm hes the little reptile trying to intimidate you from my shoulder." nick said seriously. the man nods before taking out a token with the welk clans symbol on it. "this is the token that will let the guards allow you into the inheritance ground." he said before holding out his hand with the talisman. nick handed azdra to jakob who took the wyrm without any issue before nick walked towards the man normally. as soon as he reached the man nick reached out both of his hand one reaching for the token the other pushing forward the items he is giving up. the two men swap items before nick walk backs to where jakob is. "I''m going to assume I''m not allowed to go were you are taking azdra correct?" nick asked seriously. the man nods "it''s a rather s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e part of the clan after all." he said honestly. "That''s fine however i expect him back unharmed within a week or i will go looking for him personally." nick said with a cold glint in his eyes to confirm his thinly veiled threat. the welk clans elders all had serious expressions when they heard nick but didn''t say anything since nick hadn''t broken etiquette yet. "understood" the man said with a serious expression. nick turned to jakob "I''ll trust you to bring him wherever he needs to go." nick said seriously. jakob nodded before walking towards the group from the welk clan. after jakob joined that group his father spoke to the woman "take him to the guest house." he said before the entire group vanished. the woman shrugged "well come on I''ll take you to the guest house." she said before flying up were nick followed. the two flew into the citylike place before stopping at the far right side of it where a small but well kept house stood. "this is the guest house feel free to make yourself at home." the women said before vanishing. Chapter 139 - Elder wyrm(2) Nick decided to pass the week by cultivating in silence however he was interrupted after a day when he felt an angry aura outside the house. ''that took longer than i thought it would'' he thinks to himself while standing up. walking out of the house calmly nick looked at the person who had come and as expected it was jakobs father or more accurately the leader of the welk clan. "good evening is there something i can help you with?" nick asked calmly. the clan leader huffed angrily "you can start by telling me why you gave us two useless recipes." he said barely maintaining a civil tone. nick acted shocked "useless you say? i myself have used those recipes many times and i have never had any problem with them so how can they be useless?" nick asked while acting confused. the clan leader frowned "can you prove that?" he asked confused. nick grinned "of course , watch." nick said before taking out his refining furnace. the clan leader was stunned speechless at nicks actions and couldn''t help but doubt whether the clan alchemist were all wrong. Nick was snickering internally since he was well aware that by showing the clan leader him successfully concocting the two pills that he could get away with scamming the clan. nick pulled out each of the ingredients and showed them to the clan lead who nodded in confirmation that they were the same ingredients as were listed on the recipes. after showing all the ingredients nick created a blue qi flame which he used to heat the furnace up to temperature. once the furnace reached the optimal heat nick quickly began to add the ingredients in the order specified on the recipes. as the ingredients melted nick secretly used his method by disguising it as the standard method to bring forward the wanted properties. once the ingredients had been turned into their base essences nick began to fuse them while compressing them which was the pill formation stage which required complete control of ones energy. a few moments later a light ding rang out from the furnace signaling the completion of the pills. nick removed the batch of pills which numbers six of each kind before handing one of each to the clan leader. the clan leader no longer thought something was wrong with the recipes since he had seen them being successfully made. "It would seem it was a mistake on our end i apologize for doubting you , I''ll leave you in peace now." the clan leader said before vanishing. nick simply walked back into the house all while laughing to himself. meanwhile in a cavern of massive proportions jakob was standing in front of a gigantic reptile with dull brown scales and winged front limbs , indeed this was the wyrm azdra was brought to. "how unusual." a deep baritone voice rumbled through the air. "what is it sir?" jakob asked respectfully. the giant wyrm points at azdra who was sitting on jakobs shoulder looking curiously at the giant creature in front of him. "that little one is considered royalty amongst wyrmkind yet here it is being raised by a human rather than its parents , it is very unusual." the wyrm says seriously. jakob nods "the goddess said the same thing though she didn''t mention anything about him being royalty." jakob said honestly. " that is to be expected since the gods are purposefully left out of that information." the wyrm said before continuing. "i will need to meet the young man who is raising the little one before i decide anything." the wyrm said with authority. Chapter 140 - Meeting Jakob left the cavern with azdra with a worried expression coming in face to face with his father who was waiting for him outside. "what was his decision?" the clan leader asked seriously. jakob bowed as etiquette dictates "he said he needs to meet nick first." jakob answered honestly. the clan leader frowned "that would mean he would have to be brought here." he said rather unhappy. jakob remained silent. "well there''s no helping it and i just cleared up the issue with the two recipes he gave us to." the clan leader said with a sigh. jakob perked up when he heard his father "what issue was there with the recipes?" jakob asked curiously. "oh well the clan alchemist all said that the ingredients for the recipes did indeed have some of the properties needed to make those two pills however if they were refined into a pill it would only create a horrible poison so the two recipes were useless , but i personally watched your friend refine a batch of each of the pills so our alchemist probably made a mistake." the clan leader explained to jakob calmly. "I see." jakob said while instantly figuring out the ruse nick pulled. "well i suppose we should go get him right?" jakob asked calmly. the clan leader nodded before they both vanished. meanwhile nick was cultivating when he felt the clan leaders aura from outside again which caused him to crease his brow. ''he shouldn''t have returned so quickly , could he know i used a different method?'' nick wondered mentally before standing up and walking out of the house for the second time today. " oh jakob you are here , so how''d it go?" nick said while relaxing once he saw jakob. "the guardian said he wanted to meet you before he he decides anything." jakob said honestly. nick was surprised by this but accepted anyway. "that is fine lead on." nick said before the three vanished from their location. in truth they didn''t vanish so much as the clan leader instantly relocated them to the front of the cavern. nick looked around noting all the exits before he walked into the cavern cautiously. nick immediately noticed the gigantic wyrm and grew tense as his instinct warned him how out of his league he was. "so you are the one who is raising the little one." nick heard a deep baritone voice rumble through the cave. "That is correct." nick said while suppressing his anxiety. the wyrm raised its head before bringing it closer to nick . " you are unworthy therefore i am going to take the little one from you." the wyrm said coldly. a sense of coldness filled nicks mind as wrath began to take hold of it. *DING* *Suppressing extreme emotions.... suppression failed..... preparing for collateral.* Nicks vision went red as his full power was unleashed and an aura of destruction radiated from him as the land began to quake and the sky turned grey. the clan leader grabbed jakob and fled because he knew as soon as that aura of destruction appeared he would die if he stayed. the elder wyrm had an incredulous expression as even he felt immense danger from nick at this moment. knowing that this situation was because he tested nick the wrong way he decided he would fix this by knocking nick unconscious. with a mighty roar the wyrm slammed its tail towards nick and before anything bad happened knocked nick out with a sneak attack from behind. Chapter 141 - Test The elder wyrm looks down at nick in confusion ''that was definitely not a world level law so how did this young one use it at his level , this is rather concerning.'' he thought worried. nick began to stir after about five minutes and actually woke up a few moments later. opening his eyes nick winced as he felt a sharp pain throughout his whole body. "ugh , what happened and why do i feel like a train hit me." he said not actually expecting an answer. "well first you definitely used something that your body simply couldn''t handle and second whats a train?" the wyrm asked curiously. nick froze when he heard the wyrm before looking up to see a massive set of eye looking at him curiously. ignoring the pain nick leaped away before taking a defensive position. the wyrm scoffed at nick "now that''s just rude young one." he said admonishing nick. nick focused hard to try to figure out how he ended up here before the memories came to him. completely ignoring how clearly outmatched he was nick glared at the wyrm "you!" he said venomously. The wyrm grew serious "so you remember then well that simplifies things , first that was supposed to be a test but since it seems you''ve had some experience with losing those close to you , you snapped so i had to knock you unconscious which brings us to where we are now." he said simply. nick was both relieved and pissed at the wyrms words. "why didn''t you say anything!" nick said angrily. the wyrm snorted "it wouldn''t be much of a test if you knew about it plus its kinda your fault it ended up like this since you seemed to appear out of nothing." he said defending himself. nick wanted to argue but realized it would probably be better if he didn''t. "well , what now?" nick asked. the wyrm sighed "honestly speaking i didn''t think that far ahead since my original would have worked on literally anyone but someone with your particular experiences." he said calmly. "so to summarize you have no idea." nick said questioningly. the wyrm nodded "yep that pretty much sums it up." the wyrm said honestly. nick was stunned ''why do i feel like the ancient wise reptile in this situation?'' the wyrm looked at nick "you just thought something bad about me didn''t you?" Nick paused "i have no idea what you are talking about." he said sweating mentally. the wyrm looked at nick suspicious "well it doesn''t matter , i decided the perfect test for you." he said with a sly glint in his eyes. nick recognized that glint since yin yun had that same glint when she tried to steal wine from him. "I''m listening." he said while preparing for the worst. the wyrm chuckled "the test is simple you just need to bring me a stygian bear , that''s all." he said before sending nick out of the cavern before he could speak. "gods damn that stinking lizard!" nick cursed angrily. the reason nick was so angry was that a stygian bear was a tier six demon beast at minimum while a tier eight at max in other words nick had to kill a beast as strong as a void entering level cultivator which even for nick was a massive task. the clan leader showed up with jakob at this point looking a little more cautious now. "did you settle the matter with the guardian?" jakob asked cautiously since that was terrifying even by nicks normal standards. Chapter 142 - Test(2) Nick looked at jakob and sighed "more or less i have to complete some crazy test." he said depressed. jakob was confused "the test can''t be that hard right?" he asked curiously. nick shook his head "i have to bring him a stygian bear." he said honestly. the clan leader and jakob were both stunned at the test. "that''s crazy hard!" jakob exclaimed. the clan leader nodded "it is indeed a tall order for you to take down such a beast at your current strength , though the guardian never ask for the impossible so you can do so it seems." he said while trying to figure out exactly how strong nick truly is. "it is difficult true but i could do it however what if i increase my strength?" nick said with a clever grin. both the clan leader and jakob were taken back by nicks thought but after some further thought indeed if nick raised his strength first the difficulty would drop considerably. "how much stronger do you think would do?" jakob asked seriously. nick rubbed in thought before speaking "well i will definitely breakthrough into void chasing first but i think increasing my body strengthening by two levels should suffice." nick said calmly. "Oh , right that reminds me since we have those recipes what are the realms in body strengthening since you are the pioneer of the field you probably have already named them right?" the clan leader asked seriously. nick gave him an odd look but decided he would humor him. "so far there are only five tiers broke into five different segments based on what part of the body has been further refined. the five tiers from lowest to highest are earth ,wood , copper , bronze and iron jakob is only in the second stage of earth tier while i am in the first stage of bronze tier. the order of the stages is blood , flesh , organs , bones and skin as for any further tiers i create you won''t need to know those since the two recipes will only work till the first stage of wood tier." nick explained seriously. the clan leader memorized what nick said before putting it into a jade but frowned when nick told him the limit of the two recipes the clan now has. "you have recipes for higher tiers don''t you?" the clan leader asked hopefully. Nick nodded "i have pills that would take me to the iron rank but i simply can''t refine anything beyond there yet however before you ask no you can''t have the recipes." nick said shooting down the clan leaders hope mercilessly. "but surely we could come to some sort of agreement right?" the clan leader refused to give up. nick shook his head "not right now we can''t , maybe when i have advanced so far that no one can hope to catch up will i consider it." he said seriously. the clan leader looked dejected but had no choice but to accept nicks stance. meanwhile all the welk clans alchemist were furiously trying to figure out why they couldn''t refine those pills but it was one of the apprentices that caused them to figure it out when the apprentice asked if they weren''t refining the pill right to begin with. this question thundered through the alchemist heads as they all figured out that the reason they couldn''t refine those pills was that they were using the wrong method. Chapter 143 - Exposed Nick was sitting in his temporary residence with turbulent energy waves radiating from him as he made the breakthrough to void chasing completely unaware that he had been exposed. the energy grew even more violent before nick heard a "click" sound like someone snapped their fingers and the energy grew still for a split second before rapidly being s.u.c.k.e.d into his void core. nick felt his new strength and smiled since it truly was a vast difference from before as it felt like his strength increased by two times. before he could begin trying to increase his body refinement he felt the clan leaders angry aura outside the house and sighed since he felt the aura of another powerful individual with him. standing up nick burned away the impurities that were excreted from his breakthrough and got dressed before walking out of the house calmly. "is there something i can help you fine folks with?" nick asked calmly. the clan leader looked like he wanted to strangle nick but managed to maintain his composure "you really gave us a useless couple of recipes you brat!" Nick shook his head "they are far from useless after all you yourself have already verified that , so why are you still saying otherwise?" nick asked calmly. a vein popped on the clan leaders head from anger when he heard what nick said but he took a deep breathe to calm down which worked since the vein shrank rapidly before disappearing again. "i admit i didn''t imagine you would have an different alchemy method than the normal one so you truly had me fooled there for a moment." the clan leader said while watching nick closely. nick nods "indeed i do but before this gets any further i have a question if you''ll humor me." nick said still completely calm. the clan leader was quite unnerved at how calm nick was despite having been caught. "what do you want to know?" the clan leader asked coldly. nick looked at the individual with the clan leader an old woman with dark skin and bright green eyes. "who figured it out?" he asked curiously. the clan leader was taken back by that question since he thought it obvious. "elder yan here obvi..." nick cut him off "don''t lie to me me." nick said coldly. the clan leader paused before looking at nick seriously "why did you say i was lying?" he asked coldly. Nick grinned smugly "as you should be aware all cultivators have a certain level of pride which shows in how they act , so when you said that this person was the one who discovered the existence of my method she looked away which means she couldn''t have been the one am i right elder yan?" nick asked with a smug grin. elder yan sighed "you truly are a fearsome youth , yes you are right i was not the one who discovered your method." she said while eyeing nick. the clan leader was stunned since elder yan lied to him and he didn''t realize it. "let me take a guess the actually person who discovered it is some insignificant individual right?" nick asked while looking at elder yan who nodded. "was it an assistant or an apprentice?" nick asked calmly. elder yan sighed again "you really are incredibly sharp , it was an apprentice from one of the branch families who is only average in terms of talent. i am curious why did you think it was someone insignificant?" elder yan asked curiously. nick grinned "its simple really the higher you get in a field the more ingrained your knowledge is in your mind so only someone who wasn''t ingrained with the standard way of thinking about alchemy would ask if there was another possibility." he said which caused elder yan laughed . "yes that makes perfect sense habits are hard to change indeed." she said after she finished laughing. Chapter 144 - Compromise "None of this matters anyway , the fact remains that you gave us recipes we can''t use." the clan leader said seriously. nick nodded "that is true but do you know why i did that?" nick asked the clan leader who frowned at the question. "because you thought you could get away with it." he said matter of factly. nick shook his head "nope guess again." he said calmly. the clan leader was confused so nick spoke again "no offense but you really aren''t that bright , the reason i gave you those recipes was because you insulted me with your first demand." nick said coldly. "you all demanded the method for body cultivation in exchange for the opportunity to enter an inheritance realm , that''s like asking for the entire world in exchange for a grain of sand!" nick spat angrily. the clan leader was speechless since what nick said was completely understandable after all the two side weren''t even close to being equal. "i might not like what you did but i understand why you did it , however you still need to give something equal to that realm otherwise we will be between a rock and a hard place." Nick nodded "i already knew that before i even came to this place i was going to be discovered eventually so i already had something in place for however this conversation went both good and ill." nick said with confidence. the clan leader grew cold when he heard nick "what did you do?" he asked worried. nick chuckled "nothing you need to worry about so long as no one related to the welk clan does anything that could be construed as an attack." nick said coldly his threat obvious. the clan leader sighed in relief "so long as that''s the case its not a problem , well what were you going to give to enter the inheritance since you said you prepared for good as well." he asked seriously. nick grinned "bring me that apprentice and I''ll impart to them the method i use however i will also brand his soul so that if anyone attempts to learn it from them or watch them use it they will die from having their soul shatter." nick said calmly. both the clan leader and elder yan both shivered at the extreme punishment nick would use. It should be known that dying would still allow one to be reborn however if ones soul was shattered that''s it no second chance no rebirth just absolute finality. "will they be harmed otherwise?" the clan leader asked cautiously. nick shook his head "of course not since they are innocent no pain will befall them." he said seriously. the clan leader sighed in relief "i can accept these terms but i can''t understand why you would do this since the apprentice would only need it for those two recipes." he said confused. "simply put i know that eventually your clan might have something worth me trading my recipes for plus if you train that apprentice well enough they will be able to create pills the likes of which will stun you speechless." nick said honestly. the clan leader nodded before telling elder yan to bring that apprentice which she did with a depressed expression since she actually wanted to learn that method. Chapter 145 - Andria khan Elder yan quickly arrived at the welk clans pill hall where she inquired as to were the apprentice from earlier was and after learning it she teleported nearby. the apprentice was doing their assigned chores completely unaware that their life was about to change forever. before they knew what had happened the apprentices found themselves standing in front of nick as well as the clan leader. "what happened , were am i , and why is the clan leader here?" the apprentice asked extremely confused. nick frowned at the apprentices questions "now that''s just cruel , i mean grabbing someone without telling them what they are involved in is just mean." nick joked before looking at the apprentice. "tell me apprentice what is your name?" nick asked calmly. "my name is andria khan , who are you and why am i here?" the apprentice asked confused. the apprentice was a female who was at best a tomboy so you can imagine nicks reaction at hearing her name. nick was stunned but quickly recovered "my name is Nicholas varia and you are in the unique position of being used by the welk clan as a form of payment." he said trying to sound evil. Andria''s eye grew wide as she looked at the clan leader who simply avoided eye contact all but that alone was enough to confirm what nick said in her mind so she tried to run but was caught by elder yan . "its not fair why am i being sold don''t i have a say?" andria asked with tears in her eyes. elder yan sighed before glaring at nick "now that was cruel making this poor child misunderstand the situation like that." elder yan scolded nick who shrugged "apologies , but i have this grudge against your gender so i mess with women whenever i can its nothing to do with the person themselves you understand." nick said casually. andria looked shocked "so I''m not being sold?" she asked. elder yan shook her head "heavens no child we aren''t the ones paying here." elder yan said reassuringly. andria was relieved but at the same time confused. "but if I''m'' not being sold how am i payment?" she asked not understanding. nick grinned "to be more specific you will be the vessel for the payment and before you think something perverted the payment is not related to that." nick said honestly. Andria was confused even more but nick didn''t let her speak "the payment is in fact the self same method that you exposed earlier today , well with a few restrictions that is." nick said with a grin. andria froze when she heard what nick said since she could never have imagined this situation. "but why me?" she asked confused. nick smiled "two reasons really , the first being that you exposed my method and the second that you are weak enough for me to place those restrictions on you without any trouble. I''ll let those two explain what the restrictions are." nick explained calmly. walking forward nick grabbed andria''s head suddenly before imparting the method into her mind as well as placing the restriction on her soul before walking back into the house without a word. andria didn''t even have time to react before nick was gone and she had this incredible information in her head along with this feeling of something more that she could only figure was the restrictions. "i swear that kid has some screws loose up there." the clan leader said before looking at andria and telling her what the restrictions were before having elder yan take andria to her new position. Chapter 146 - Unknown energy Nick immediately sat down cross legged before taking out a few pills to help with his body refinement and started cultivating. a day later nick stood up and stretched causing metallic groaning sounds and pops all over his body. the sounds were merely the lingering effects of nick refining his body so they go away shortly after he stops. ''system status.'' *DING* _________________________ NAME: Nicholas varia AGE:14yrs RACE: human/demigod BLOODLINE: DARKWAR DRAGON KING Money:500299999 DC:1400 Level:77 BODY REFINEMENT: Bronze(organs) CULTIVATION: void chasing tier 1 PROFESSION: alchemist tier 3 , array master tier 3 , blacksmith tier 3 , inscription master tier 3 , healer tier 3 , cook tier 3 SKILLS: swordmastery lv2 , bowmastery lv1 '' inferno step lv2 , area of absolute control lv2 , myriad forms lv20 , void core lv1 , qi control lv15 , dragons wrath lv4 , dragons might lv15 , divine might lv15 ABILITIES: awareness (user is aware of all things around them even without seeing it.) Body control (user has complete control of their physique including nerves, pores ,veins, etc) Divine charm (user naturally emits an aura that attracts others to them like a natural leader) Dragon kings mark (owner has been marked as the dragon princess''s fianc¨¦ for being more exceptional than any other.) Monster (user has surpassed even geniuses in many ways , culture with twice the results with half the effort.) BRONZE BODY(user has a body as durable as bronze) First (user is the first to do something great and is rewarded by the heavens) Conflicted(temporary) user is torn between two opposed thoughts.) STRENGTH:4240 AGILITY:4260 SPIRIT:2300 INTELLIGENCE:2800 LAW: Space small completion, devour advanced completion, fire initial, water initial, air initial, earth initial, dark initial, light initial SYSTEM EVALUATION: more!* nick nodded at his stats since he more or less expected it to look somewhat like this however he quickly noticed some thing unusual in his energy types as there was a completely new type of energy that was extremely faint mixed in confusing him. ''system what is this new energy?" *DING* * unknown energy type* nick was surprised that the system couldn''t identify the energy. ''ok , system where did the energy come from.'' *DING* *energy is emanating from host cells* *system analysis energy is a product of host body refinement.* ''ah that makes sense , i was wondering why body refinement didn''t create a type of energy like most types of cultivation it seems it only starts doing so at the bronze tier'' nick thought before leaving the house. shortly after he did the clan leader appeared with jakob "that method of yours is horrifyingly effective." the clan leader said happily. nick snorted "i don''t mean to sound arrogant but if it was sub par i wouldn''t use it." nick stated. the clan leader nodded and jakob stepped forward . "are you ready to hunt a stygian bear?" he asked seriously. nick nodded "id say so long as its not too high tier i should be able to handle it on equal terms." he said confidently. jakob sighed "alright then we already know a place that has had sightings if stygian bears before however know that before we go you might not return." jakob said seriously. nick grew serious "were?" he asked calmly. "the twilight mountain range." Chapter 147 - Twilight forest Nick broke into a cold sweat when he heard where he needed to go to find a stygian bear. the twilight mountain range was a veritable treasure trove of rare resources making the area extremely popular , or rather would if it wasn''t for the fact that the area also housed the most demon beast on the continent as well as most powerful ones as well. as a result anyone who entered the forest in hopes of striking it rich or coming across an inheritance all ran an extreme risk of death and this even applied to powerhouses like the elders at the academies. needless to say nick realized that in order to complete his test even if he didn''t have to worry about his target he would need to risk everything to succeed. "what area was the closest to the outskirts and how long ago was it spotted?" nick asked seriously. this time it was the clan leader who spoke up "this is a map of the area." he said while unfurling a map in mid air before pointing at a spot on it. "and this was where the closest sighting to the outskirts was however that was roughly a week ago so the creature may have moved on." he said seriously. Nick took in this information and nodded "I''ll start there , though due to the way in which i arrived at your clan I''ll need someone to take me there as well as a way to return once my objective is complete." nick said calmly. the clan leader nodded since it made sense to provide these things. "i can take you there as for getting back I''ll give you a talisman that will open a one time use portal back to the clan." he said before handing said talisman to nick which he stored away immediately. nick looked at jakob "well than i trust you to take care of the little guy until i return." he said to which jakob nodded "i promise on my life." jakob said seriously. the clan leader approached nick wordlessly before grabbing his shoulder firmly before nick felt space warp and he heard a loud pop after which he found himself at the edge of a forest with the clan leader. "the rest is up to you." the clan leader said before vanishing again. Left alone nick took a deep breath before walking into the forest with his guard up. the forest looked normal at first glance however there was a huge amount of qi in the air as well as the fact that there was a complete lack of the ambient sounds that would accompany a normal forest. nick quickly leapt to the side as a vivid green snake shot from the bush in front of nick. having missed its target the snake landed on the ground behind where nick was standing before rapidly coiling to prepare for a counter attack. nick rolled on his shoulder before spinning around to face the snake all in one fluid motion. now that nick could study the snake he immediately had the system appraise it , the result were as follows. _____________________________ Name: leaf viper Tier:3 Age: a.d.u.l.t Description: a bright green viper that grows to a maximum length of three meters and hunts by ambushing its prey regardless of the preys strength , lacking sentience this viper is also nicknamed the berserk serpent because of its complete lack of care for its life , highly venomous. System evaluation: its stupid. _________________________________ Chapter 148 - Twilight forest (2) Having read the appraisal from the system nick was stunned by the existence of such a strange creature since by all accounts the viper could only be said to be a luck based hunter since it attacked any creature it came across regardless of strength meaning if it encountered something far more powerful than it the viper would be guaranteed to perish. nick relaxed a bit since a tier three beast was not even a threat to him so he started walking towards the viper calmly and being stupid as the system said the viper tried to attack nick only for it to die from the pressure nick released. nick simply picked up the body and took all the valuable parts before burning the rest then he headed deeper into the forest. after carefully advancing for about five minutes nick found day old tracks that belonged to a bear type demon beast and he hoped it was the one he sought so he could leave this place. following this trail nick came across fresh tracks as well as claw marks from the bear type beast marking its territory. Cautiously nick continued through the area for a few hundred yards when he stopped because his ears picked up a sound coming from behind a few trees in front of him which caused him to heighten his guard even further before he silently snuck forward carefully. nick reached the trees from which he heard the sound coming from and he slowly peaked around one of them where he saw the sources of the sounds a huge red bear with short sharp spikes protruding from its spine and elbows. from what nick knew this creature should be called a terracotta bear but to be sure nick had the system appraise. ________________________________ Name: terracotta bear Tier:5 Age: a.d.u.l.t Description: a hardy species of bear with clay colored red fur which is where its name came from , highly territorial these bears are known to fight any trespassers viscously before devouring them alive , it is nicknamed the cruel bear due this and the pelt of which is highly prized due to its shockingly high durability. System evaluation: average _________________________________ nick was relieved somewhat when the system informed him that the bear was only tier five however he was also disappointed that this was not the prey he was looking for. Chapter 149 - Twilight forest(3) Nick immediately understood his mistake and launched a fireball at the bears face to temporarily impair its vision before jumping from the tree with his sword drawn. the fireball did its job as it exploded in front of the bears face causing it to have to protect its eyes before focusing on nick who had landed nearby. nick could see the anger in the bears eyes and knew he would have to kill it so he focused his energy into yin yuns edge before charging towards the bear aiming for its front legs. the bear roared and launched itself at nick. the two met in the middle and the bear swiped its razor sharp claws at nick causing him to forego his intended target to block the blow. a resounding boom echoed through the area as sword met claw and force met force the ground around the two cratered as the shockwave from the collision ripped through the area. not stopping for an instant nick and the bear began trading blows violently as destruction flew from each attack. the area quaked from the shockwaves and the trees collapsed devastating the area but neither opponent cared. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/the-destruction-and-creation-system_12168211905027305/twilight-forest(3)_50912397740791007 for visiting. Eventually the victor was decided as the unknown energy showed its use when nick ran out of his other sources of energy. in truth nick wouldn''t have had any problem defeating the bear had it not been for the fact he was using it to get a handle on how the stygian bear would likely also fight. anyway the unknown energy focused into nicks last blow as he unconsciously channeled it revealing its main use , to amplify the raw strength behind an attack multifold. the shear strength behind the final blow erupted caused the air to physically shatter as nicks blade vanished and a monstrous force rended the bear and the earth behind it apart leaving a twenty meter long gorge in their place. nick flew backwards violently crashing into a tree with so much force that he spewed up a mouthful of blood. ''so that''s what that energy does , also it seems that while using the energy isn''t directly going to harm me the recoil is definitely something i need to keep in mind before i use it.'' nick thought while pulling himself out of the trunk of the tree already healed from his injuries. Walking over to where the bear was previously nick didn''t find even a scrap of fur left causing him to click his tongue in disappointment before leaving the area to find a place to recover his energy. walking for a few minutes nick found a cave with the bears tracks all around it obviously being its lair. nick knew he should be safe here so he entered the cave quickly checking it over only finding a few spirit fruits that the bear had been hoarding before confirming the cave to be empty after which he sat cross-legged to recover his energies. after meditating for an hour nick had recovered completely so he stood up and headed back into the forest to try and find a stygian bear so he can leave his dreadful place. sadly for nick fate had other plans and without realizing it he walked right into a well hidden spatial point and vanished with a pop. Chapter 150 - Inheritance ground Nick felt the space warp around him and could only curse his luck as he knew he was definitely going to take a while to get a stygian bear now or so he thought. the moment nick arrived at the end of the spatial point he landed directly in a large arena like area with a dome cover to entire thing and only a single door way on the other side of it. nick took a step towards the doorway and an voice spoke in his head. "welcome young man to the inheritance ground of the ill.u.s.trious lord of a thousand faces!" the voice sounded like many different voices both male and female which was disorienting at the very least. nick sighed "I''m guessing this is the part where you tell me how its such an honor for me to be here and how if I''m worthy I''ll be the inheritor of your creators legacy right?" nick said bored. the voice was was silent for a moment before speaking again "well i was , way to kill the mood young man. no matter your first test is to defeat an enemy far stronger than yourself best of luck." the voice said before a flash of light blinded nick temporarily . Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/the-destruction-and-creation-system_12168211905027305/inheritance-ground_50913832528306508 for visiting. When he got his sight back nick cursed loudly "are you f.u.c.k.i.n.g kidding me!" he yelled confusing both the voice and his opponent. the opponent was a massive pearl white bear the size of an elephant with seven crimson streaks down its back and two massive canines on it top jaw like daggers. the bears eyes were a deep purple and glowed faintly. this bear was precisely the creature nick was looking for a stygian bear , however nick didn''t need the system to tell him that this particular stygian bear was a tier seven beast making it an entire tier higher than the one he wanted to kill. the reason nick could tell what tier the bear was the fact that stygian bears gained a stripe of crimson for each tier they were in. the stygian bear c.o.c.ked its head while looking confused since not only was nick not afraid of it he seemed angry instead which contradicted what it knew of humans. nick took a deep breath to calm himself before transforming into his released form however it was a little different this time as his hair turned white which immediately caught his attention. "Well this is new" he said to no one in particular. seeing no other difference nick ignored it before looking at the stygian bear that stood tensed as its instincts told it that nick was dangerous. drawing yin yun nicks aura raged out making it clear to the stygian bear that the person before meant to take its life. the bear roared causing the air to shake before lumbering towards nick its great weigh crushing the earth beneath it. nick quickly used his experience from the terracotta bear to dodge to the side of the bear and slash at it leaving only a small scratch not even drawing blood causing him to frown. ''this is going to be a pain in the a.s.s.'' nick thought before ducking under the claws of the stygian bear as it retaliated. nick skirted through the bears under arms were it couldn''t strike him while on all fours slicing at the same spot over and over again eventually drawing blood and creating a weak point on the bears body. Chapter 151 - Inheritance ground(2) The stygian bear felt the creation of a weak point so it instinctively stood on it hind legs to protect that area but little did it know that standing up was precisely what nick wanted it to do. nick quickly dashed behind the bear and started attacking its back since on two legs the bears ability to turn was greatly hampered. the bear struggled valiantly but its efforts were in vain since nick was exploiting all of its weak points viciously. after about fifteen minutes the stygian bear breathed its last as it lost the strength to resist from all the small cuts that littered its back that drained almost all of its blood. in truth nick would have liked to kill it painlessly but the sheer durability of the bears body made it impossible to do so. panting hard nick stood next to the stygian bears body catching his breath since even being mostly stationary the ridiculous amount of effort nick needed to kill the bear exhausted him greatly. storing the corpse nick waited for the voice from before to tell him what came next. the voice spoke at the moment nick recovered from his exhaustion "congratulations on completing the first trial." Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/the-destruction-and-creation-system_12168211905027305/inheritance-ground(2)_51003237641288217 for visiting. The voice paused for a moment "to reach the next test head through the doorway at the end of the arena and continue for a few minutes." the voice said before going silent again. nick sighed but did as instructed reaching a heavily forested area with strange looking trees that had blue leaves and green bark while the grass was a bright red making the area look odd. the voice spoke when nick arrived "the second test is to find the hidden token located somewhere in plain view in this area you have five hours good luck." the voice said before going quiet again. nick cursed out since he didn''t even know what the token looked like so he had to take great care when searching so he didn''t actually miss it. nick carefully spread his senses out in hopes of finding the token quickly but failed in finding it so he moved to a new spot and tried again. nick repeated this cycle several times before he finally felt something different which he immediately grabbed. the thing that nick noticed was a single blue leaf that unlike the rest remained stationary in the breeze. Upon grabbing the leaf the voice spoke up "congratulations on finding the hidden token of the second test completing the second test in two hours. the third test is one of comprehension as within that token is a single complex technique that you must learn within a single hour because at the end of the hour you will need to demonstrate that technique in order to pass time begins as soon as you look into the token." the voice said before growing quiet once more. nick looked at the technique in the token and frowned slightly as just like the voice said a single complex technique filled it. the the technique was called (faceless mask) and from the description using it would change the entire body of the user to any other kind of body down to the smallest detail including the aura of the person. Chapter 152 - Inheritance ground(3) Nick focused on the technique for the next hour until the voice interrupted him "your time is up use the technique to the best of your abilities." the voice said before once again growing silent. nick closed his eyes and moved his energy in the way the technique specified while imagining a man half his size with a fat gut and no hair. from a third person view nicks body began to ripple like the surface of water before it began to shrink and the hair receded while the stomach area bulged. after about five minutes the rippling stopped and nick opened his eyes before looking at himself. nick was surprised at the changes or more specifically how comfortable they felt almost like this was his natural form to begin with. "well done you have reached the intermediate level in the technique thus passing the third test." the voice said with what sounded like happiness but nick wasn''t sure due to the nature of the voice. "out of curiosity how many test are there?" nick asked since he felt like getting back to the welk clan as quickly as possible. "There are a total of four test set up by my creator the final of which is in fact a combination of all the other three." the voice answered which surprised nick. "what is the last test then?" he asked curious. the voice remained silent for a moment before answering "i am unable to explain the last test as it would affect the results if i did , are you ready for it?" the voice asked. nick sighed "i suppose I''m as ready as i can be." he said honestly. "very well , good luck" the voice said before nick felt space warp and with a pop he vanished. when he reappeared nick noticed he was in an alleyway in some sort of city. before he could move however the voice spoke up "your qi has been sealed and your image and aura has been circulated throughout the kingdom you are in , in order to pass this test you must reach the capital without being caught by those who pursue you." the voice said causing nick to curse angrily. ''no wonder it refused to tell me ,this is a test around adaptation'' nick thought while checking to see if he can still use the technique he got from the last test. Nick sighed in relief when he felt the technique working but he also noticed something curious , his body refinement was completely untouched but after thinking about it for a moment nick understood why. simply put the creator of this inheritance likely had no idea that something like body refinement existed and as such didn''t add anything about sealing it for this test. if nicks thoughts about this test were correct then this trip to the capital was no more than a joke to him , however he decided to test this theory. nick changed back to his regular form and walked out of the alleyway and into the main road where he all but confirmed his theory when he saw that there were no cultivators anywhere but he didn''t let down his guard as he knew that in rural areas cultivators were non existent almost. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/the-destruction-and-creation-system_12168211905027305/inheritance-ground(3)_51075700970543511 for visiting. Chapter 153 - Fourth test Nick walked up to one of the venders he saw selling fruit a gentle looking women in her early thirties. "excuse me miss might i ask if you know where i could find a cultivator?" he asked with a kindly smile. the vendor looked up and froze when she saw nick since he was the most handsome man she had ever seen however her instincts told her that this man was a predator. "d-do you m-mean gardener?" the vendor asked with a stutter. nick shook his head and decided to elaborate "I''m looking for anyone with superhuman abilities." he explained calmly. the vendor looked perplexed "people with superhuman abilities? those are just fairytales they don''t exist, why do you ask?" the vendor asked confused. nick nodded "I''m on a journey to try to find such a person , thank you for answering my questions." nick said before tossing a gold coin to the woman and leaving. nick walked through the street looking for a library of some sort he saw a few people in metal armor patrolling the area but ignored them until he noticed that one of them froze when they saw nick before quickly pulling out a roll of paper and looking at it then back at nick before they started following nick from a distance. Grinning to himself nick acted like he didn''t notice them while he continued walking down the street. soon nick found a book store and calmly he walked into it. the interior of the bookstore smelled of paper and ink while rows of books lined the walls and a checkout counter stood on the left of the entrance. the shopkeeper was an old man with long white hair and a massive braided beard who sat behind the counter dressed in a along robe. "anything particular you are looking for young man?" the old man asked. nick smiled kindly "yes actually , i happen to be looking for a map to the capital if you have one." nick said warmly. the old man nodded not at all bothered by the predatory feeling nick gave off since he had dealt with mercenaries with the same feeling. the old man reached under the counter and shuffled somethings aside before pulling his hand out from under the counter revealing a large roll of paper with a yellow color. "this is the last one i have." the old man said. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/the-destruction-and-creation-system_12168211905027305/fourth-test_51076982749842838 for visiting. Nick smiled "that is fine would this do?" nick said before putting a gold coin on the counter. the old man nodded "that will do fine , and as an added bonus I''ll tell you that it seems the guards have this place surrounded." he said calmly like he expected as much. nick laughed "oh i know , keep watching I''ll put on quite the show for you." nick said with an evil grin before walking to the entrance calmly before exiting normally. looking around nick saw about twenty armored people with weapons at the ready. nick cracked his fingers "so how are we doing this one at a time or all at once?" he asked with a grin. the soldiers all charged at nick in an orderly formation obviously thinking of overpowering nick with their numbers. "all at once it is then." nick said before casually pulling back his palm and pushing it forward forcefully. the air in front of nick was violently launched right into the soldiers who all went flying backwards were they struck the wall of the building opposite nick with a loud crash. Chapter 154 - Fourth test(2) The shopkeeper who was watching nick sat there with his jaw agape from the sheer power nick used while the voice was feeling a complicated mix of happiness and annoyance. the voice had come to the same conclusion that nick had , that without cultivators to stop him nick was practically impossible to capture basically making the test pointless. nick pulled out the map he had bought while he walked to the city gate completely ignoring the soldiers who were trying their best to capture him. the scene was almost comical as nick walked calmly while memorizing the map all while the soldier threw nets and attacked nick all over with their weapons futilely. unknown to nick the normal citizens who witnessed this scene began worshiping nick as a living deity which was understandable considering the circ.u.mstances. after memorizing the map nick decided to stop wasting time and started running at his top speed instantly shattering the sound barrier which launched the poor soldiers flying with blood leaking from their ears. needless to say nick was far less gentle with this group of soldiers so more likely than not a few were going to die from internal injuries. Nick zoomed through the city almost instantly before jumping over the cities walls casually and heading toward the capital at around mach 1. meanwhile the voice was trying to figure out how to slow down nick so he didn''t make the test entirely pointless. suddenly the voice had a fantastic idea that would not only make nick struggle but would also make the test worthwhile again. nick was halfway to the capital when the voice spoke to him. "in light of your unusual physical abilities it has been decided that your test will be changed." it said stopping nick in his tracks. "your new test is to take control of the country without being identified and without directly harming a single person." the voice finished saying before disappearing. nick frowned at this new test since it all but nullifies his advantage against the people of this test. nick changed his appearance as well as his aura taking on the appearance of a handsome young noble with black hair. nick then ran towards the capital with a plan in mind easily arriving in an hour. nick remained hidden from sight before beginning his plans first stage deception. nick used the unknown energy he had to use a technique that any cultivator can use but usually don''t , the multiform technique that halves your power in exchange to create a clone of yourself with its own mind and while most cultivators wouldn''t even think of using this technique since it weakens the user by half even if only temporary but for nicks plan it was perfect. nick flinched as he felt his strength drop but ignored it while the clone formed in front of him. the clone fully formed and looked at nick "hello me." it said . nick nodded "hello other me" he said before both laughed. done playing with himself nick locked eyes with the clone who nodded "understood." the clone said before run away fast enough not to be seen but not fast enough to break the sound barrier since that would ruin nicks plan. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/the-destruction-and-creation-system_12168211905027305/fourth-test(2)_51167901838787451 for visiting. Chapter 155 - Integration Nick stealthily made his way to the back of the line of people heading into the capital without anyone noticing. eventually some people noticed nicks unusual looks and started whispering to their companions , well to be more specific it was the womenfolk who were gossiping about nick making many of the men jealous. as the line moved up an elderly man in fine apparel approached nick before bowing politely. "pardon me sir but my mistress would like to make your acquaintance if your esteemed self would please follow me." the man said politely. nick smiled gently "by all means please lead on." he said politely. the two walked through the line getting a few grumbles as a result but nobody tried to stop them. while nick followed the man a young lady waited rather anxiously in a crested carriage. ''i do hope that man would accept.'' the girl thought as she began to fantasize about nick. nick and the man quickly arrived at the carriage which nick quickly studied quickly coming to the conclusion it belonged to an important noble as it was impeccably maintained as well as the brilliant crest depicting a heart with a sword through it. The man leading nick spoke up from outside the carriage. "mistress , i have brought the young sir as you requested." he reported politely. a female voice called out from within the carriage "thank you wilson , sir please enter the carriage so as we may converse properly." the female voice said calmly. wilson bowed before heading to the front of the carriage where he took control of the horses that pulled the carriage. nick stood before the door to the carriage "please excuse me." he said politely as he opened the door and stepped inside. the inside of the carriage had a standard layout with two bench seats across from each other and a vibrant red upholstery lining the seats and walls giving it a very warm feeling. taking a seat across from his host nick observed her curiously. his host was a young lady around eighteen with metallic red hair and fair white skin her face was actually on par with most female cultivators which surprised nick slightly , all in all she was quite attractive. nick bowed slightly from his seat "a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet you my name is mark and might i inquire as to your own?" nick introduced himself under a false name before asking for the ladies name. The young lady blushed slightly "my name is bellania hartfell the p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e is mine." bellania introduced herself shyly. nick nodded "if it is not too rude of me might i ask what i can do for miss hartfell?" nick asked feigning curiosity. nick of course knew that it was likely his chosen looks that caused him to be here but that was precisely part of his plan. nicks plan was actually very simple really as first he would draw the attention of someone important in order to take integrate with upper society even a little before his clone would start causing chaos in about a week while slowly making his way towards the capital where nick would reveal his power by fighting his clone and supposedly driving him back which would draw the attention of the royal family. nick would then enlighten them that both himself and his clone were the sons of a god who had been cast down to earth for disagreeing with their father. nick would then likely be offered someone from the royal family as a bride which nick would accept and then a terrible plague would appear killing the entire line of succession with the exception of nick and a few others making nick by default the king when the current king abdicates. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/the-destruction-and-creation-system_12168211905027305/integration_51169878865920163 for visiting. Chapter 156 - Integration(2) Nick thought his plan was perfect and in any normal kingdom it would have been however this particular kingdom was rather unique in that its king did not inherit the throne but rather that he was elected by the citizens to take up that position. "i was wondering if you might want to join me to the kings birthday as my date?" bellania asked with a blush. nick was taken back by how forward bellania was since despite just meeting nick mere moments before. "excuse me if i sound rude but i literally just met you." nick said honestly. bellania froze when she heard nick before she quickly explained herself. "oh no i didn''t mean it in the manner you think , in fact i wanted to use you in order to make the other girls jealous nothing more apologize for the misunderstanding." bellania explained quickly. nick nodded "i understand however why should i accept?" he asked seriously. bellania was unfazed by this question "i would guess you are here to attempt to get elected as king correct?" she asked causing nick to frown thinking she may have some sort of mind reading ability. Bellania understood nicks frown "no need to worry i can''t read minds your objective was simply too easy to guess , after all it is common knowledge that the king plans to abdicate in a few years so now would be the best time to start campaigning to be the next king." she explained calmly. nick was both relieved and confused by what bellania said since she said people were campaigning for the position of king. "shouldn''t the princes automatically assume the throne?" nick voiced his concerns. bellania shook her head "i see you aren''t aware of how this kingdom is run , well its not that surprising really since most would assume this kingdom is run in the same way as others but the fact is that it is not." she said surprising nick "what do you mean it''s not run the way most kingdoms are?" nick asked getting a bad feeling about the answer. bellania confirmed his fears " when a new king is needed people begin campaigning for the position and the best one for the position is selected to take it. in this way the kingdom is always improving rather than having the high chance of one of the rotten individuals in the royal family taking power." Nick internally cursed before he disbanded his clone recovering his full strength which created a small bit of airflow which bellania merely thought was a draft. "i see well i wasn''t planning to run for king but i will now. anyways i assume there are some restrictions for who can run for king mind filling me in on them?" nick asked calmly. bellania smiled "as a matter of fact there are a few requirements to qualify." she said with a sly smile. "the first is to have someone respectable from one of the five founding families vouch for you, the second is that one must be no older than thirty and the last is that one must be a skilled warrior." she said honestly. Chapter 157 - Deal Nick understood why bellania was smiling when he heard the the requirements. "and I assume you are going to fill the first requirement if i accept your invitation correct?" nick asked calmly. bellania laughed "i like you already you learn quickly , so to reiterate you''ll play the part of my boyfriend and I''ll support your campaign for king , deal?" she said while holding her hand out which grasped and shook. "deal , however know that it will never go further than me acting like your boyfriend." nick said seriously. bellania frowned slightly but let out a sigh of defeat. "well i suppose that''s the best i can hope for so that fine. now on to business , where are you going to be staying so i know were to find you in case you are needed for your part." bellania said calmly. nick thought for a moment " i will probably stay at the edge of the city walls in an isolated area since i wouldn''t like to be disturbed for unimportant reasons." nick said seriously. bellania raised an eyebrow at what nick said. "If you didn''t want to be disturbed for unimportant reasons there are other places you could stay whats the real reason you want to stay in that area?" bellania asked curiously. nick laughed "rather sharp yourself , the true reason is that i don''t want anyone to see me train so they can''t make plans around me." nick said calmly. bellania nodded "that makes sense since you would need to fight the other candidates in a tournament to find out which is the strongest which while not the most important thing needed it certainly helps quite a bit." she said honestly. the two chatted about a few topics of little importance after that till they finally entered the city an hour later at which point nick said his farewells before parting with the carriage and making his way around the city walls to find a place to stay. nick walked for about twenty minutes before he found a part of the city that was overgrown and had a rundown wooden shack barely holding together. nick thought this spot was perfect since the area obviously didn''t have much traffic so he could cultivate in peace. yes the real reason nick wanted to be isolated was so no-one noticed the energy fluctuations he released while cultivating. The first thing nick did was clear out the rampant plantlife before he demolished the old shack and using the system replaced it with a small one room house made of a tough granite stone that made the building look very strong but otherwise bland. the interior however revealed that the small building was merely the entrance to a stairway that went twenty feet below the ground before opening into a massive complex of several rooms with different purposes that put even the most luxurious mansion in this world to shame with artificial lighting and gold and marble like materials making up the walls and ceiling. there was one room in particular that had an array in it that gathered the small amount of qi that existed on this planet so that nick could cultivate even if slowly. what nick was unaware of was that by placing that array set this planet down the path of having more qi since it was a universal rule that on any planet the amount of qi available is always greater than what is used so by using the qi nick unintentionally increased the amount on the planet and while this increase was minuscule at the moment it will reach the b.a.r.e minimum for qi s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e individuals to start feeling it. Chapter 158 - Accidental progression What nick didn''t realize was that he wasn''t in a special illusion like he thought but had actually been transported to a planet with next to no qi and as a result didn''t know that his actions had actual consequences. all of the world certain individuals were discovering qi for the first time and while some pioneered their worlds way to power other suffered qi deviation and died. of course nick wouldn''t come to understand this until much later since no one else on the planet even knew what cultivation was much less how to do it. this marked a new age for this world that while having a slow start would quickly gain a fearsome momentum. nick noticed a small increase in available qi but ignored it as a by product of his array before he started cultivating much slower than he normally would since the amount of qi he could draw was greatly reduced since his qi cultivation was sealed. nick didn''t mind the slow speed since he was already expecting something like this to occur. time passed quickly and without nick realizing it a new day had dawned before he woke from his meditation as a system notification went off. *DING* *Congratulations on changing a world with your actions! Rewards for completing mission (NEW WORLD ORDER) peace of mind , world shardx10 , phoenix rebirthx1 , legend pointx1 added to inventory* Upon reading the systems notification nick s.u.c.k.e.d in a breath of cold air as a thought occurred to him ''I''m not in an illusion am i?'' this thought terrified nick as he realized that the people he would have killed with his original plan were real and for the most part innocent. in truth nick tried not to cross the line when it came to innocent lives where most cultivators could care less about killing them. nick quickly calmed down before he opened his inventory and identified twelve new items ten of which were odd shards that rapidly changed colors while the other two where a book and a potion respectfully. taking out one of the shards nick looked at its stats. ______________________________ ITEM:WORLD SHARD GRADE:??? DESCRIPTION: Shard of a core formed within a world that has been born , when a world dies the core breaks apart forming shards like this one which can be used to strengthen another worlds core or to create another world core if at least twenty shards are collected. SYSTEM EVALUATION:WOW! Putting the shard back into his inventory nick took out the book and the potion to look at their stats. ______________________________ ITEM:PEACE OF MIND GRADE:??? DESCRIPTION:A technique that strengthens the soul by refining it by forcing one to face their heart demons. SYSTEM EVALUATION: good _______________________________ ______________________________ ITEM: PHOENIX REBIRTH DESCRIPTION: An extremely potent medicine that is capable of returning the dead to full health with but a single drop but whose main use is to grant the drinker a phoenixes understanding of the (ERROR! HOST TOO WEAK FOR INFORMATION) SYSTEM EVALUATION:USEFUL! _______________________________ Nick was stunned by the rewards he had gotten but was rather confused by how the description of phoenix rebirth was blocked by the system but decided against asking questions since the reason it was blocked was stated clearly. Chapter 159 - Shopping nick stood up and stretched out causing his joints to pop comfortably before he walked through his dwelling and ascending the stairs to the surface. opening the stone door nick discovered bellania standing there with a dumbstruck expression causing nick to grin. "what might i help you with miss bellania?" he asked feigning ignorance. bellania acted depressed "how could you forget our deal so soon? (sob)" she asked obviously pretending. nick shrugged "well jokes aside i was under the impression i had at least another day till the kings birthday party." nick said honestly. bellania smiled brightly "it seems you misunderstood me when i said you would be playing the part of my boyfriend , its not a one and done type thing you have to play the part for as long as you need my support , besides if i just show up at the party with someone no one has seen me with before it would be obvious that i was only using you to save face." she said causing nicks face to twitch slightly. ''i knew there was something wrong with that deal looks like i got played by a girl once again.'' nick thought self depreciatingly. Bellania giggled "no need to look so upset its not like I''m asking you to kill someone you just need to accompany me every now and then to maintain the fa?ade." she said calmly. nick sighed "you''re right it''s not an issue just don''t ask for anything beyond hand holding." nick said calmly. bellania nodded "that''s fine no more than that is likely needed so i wouldn''t ask anyway." she said honestly. having said that she holds out her hand daintily "shall we go then?" she asked with a grin. nick took her hand "by your lead milady." he said with a chuckle. the two walked towards wherever bellania decided hand in hand drawing some attention which would have normally bothered nick but since this was actually the point he was fine with it. the two quickly found themselves in the shopping district of the capital where the buildings were mostly shops with only a few being empty while in the gaps between the buildings little stalls were set up selling various things from produce to jewelry. bellania dragged nick over to a stall that was selling meat skewers in an herb sauce were the bought two each. The skewers were actually quite tasty for mortal food which surprised nick slightly as they had a delicious savory flavor with just a hint of spice while the meat was so tender it barely took any effort at all to pull it off the skewer. having eaten bellania dragged nick into a clothing store that obviously tailored to women exclusively causing nick to blush slightly from embarrassment. from the look on bellania''s face it was clear that she did this on purpose as she had nick sit down in front of a changing room as she tried on different clothes before leaving the room and asking for his opinion on how she looked in different clothes. nick stayed professional with his answers refusing to let bellania win her little game which seemed to spark her competitive streak as she started changing into more revealing clothes. by the end of it nick was sweating fiercely but had still managed to emerge victorious as even with the temptation scratching at the back of his mind nick held strong. Chapter 160 - Problems Bellania was thrilled that at the very least she could make nick sweat from temptation though she was quite upset nick didn''t act on said temptation since she absolutely wanted nick for her own. the reason bellania wanted nick is simply because she wanted bragging rights for having such a handsome man not to mention her instincts told her that nick was far more than he seemed. nick of course was unaware that a women''s intuition had led to the situation he was in currently. time passed quickly as nick was subjected to bellanias whims until she got bored of it an hour later and bought a few of the outfits she liked before leaving the store with nick. the two then walked through the shopping district occasionally stopping at a stall that interested bellania before moving on. bellania noticed that none of the shops seemed to interest nick so she grew curious why. "any particular reason you seem so disinterested in the shops here?" she asked not even bothering to skirt around the issue. nick shook his head "i simply don''t find any of these things interesting no reason needed." he said honestly. Bellania was not surprised by nicks answer since she didn''t expect him to actually tell her the reason so she simply left it alone. after accompanying bellania for six hours nick was finally allowed to return to his residence. nick opened the heavy stone door to his residence easily before stepping inside and closing it and in a combination of mental exhaustion and carelessness nick didn''t notice that he had been followed home. after closing the stone door nick walked down the stairs to the lavish dwelling below the earth and stepped into the qi gathering array before quickly falling into a meditative state. in the night a few hours later a group of people in dark clothes with face mask approached nicks residence with ill intentions. "is this the place?" a deep baritone voice asked from the front of the group. one of the masked individuals nodded "it is." they said in a neutral tone. the masked man at the front of the group nodded "the usual burn and kill strategy won''t work here since this building is entirely made of stone so the only way to attempt to complete our objective stealthily is to enter the lions den." he said seriously. The entire group visibly tensed up when their leader said this before one of them spoke anxiously "but sir surely there is another way right?" the person asked nervously. the leader sighed "i don''t like it either but if we do anything else we risk drawing attention to ourselves." he said seriously. the entire group knew this was true but really hoped they didn''t need to enter their targets residence since the homefield advantage would definitely work against them. the leader spoke again "enough , move up and flank either side of the entrance while i open it so only i risk getting ambushed." he said before moving towards the door to nicks residence quickly but silently. the group followed orders and flanked the entrance while the leader grabbed the grove on the door that nick used as a handle and pulled. the area was silent except for the sounds of a man straining himself , if someone were to see this scene they would be stunned to see a large individual in dark clothes not moving a stone door despite struggling his hardest. Chapter 161 - Conspiracy The door to nicks residence easily weighed a quarter ton meaning that even the strongest normal human would struggle to move it an inch much less someone only just stronger then a normal knight. obviously the leader couldn''t move the door by himself which stunned both himself as well as the other members of the group. the leader fell on his backside panting heavily while the muscles in his arms and legs spasmed from the exertion. gulping large amounts of air to recover the leader looked at one particular member of the group "are you sure the target entered this place that door must weigh as much as a carriage?" he asked seriously. the member who was looked at nodded "aye boss saw him enter using only a single hand i can show ye how if ye want." the member said with an accent. the leader stood up shakily " yes i wonder if there is some secret to this damn door." he said before moving out of the way. the member walked up to the door and imitated nick exactly before trying to move the door. the door didn''t even twitch leaving everyone looking at it dumbfounded. "This mission might be much harder than anticipated." the leader said seriously a deep frown on his face under the mask. "if this door truly has no secret then I''m afraid our target has monstrous amounts of strength and we might have massive amounts of casualties." the leader continued "lets retreat for now we need more information on the target before we act." he said before silently retreating along with his group. nick wasn''t aware of any of this and even if he was he wouldn''t care since he was basically invincible in the world. meanwhile the leader of the group was kneeling in a small room lit only by a single candle. "apologize sir but due to the extreme nature of this job it was decided that we need more information before taking action." he said apologetically. in front of the leader a young man with bright blue eyes and long blonde hair with a toned body sat looking unhappy. "explain yourself." the young man commanded. the leader shivered slightly "we followed the target his place of residence which because it was made entirely of stone meant we need to enter rather than smoke of the target." he paused for a moment. "Flanking either side of the entrance my men stood ready while i myself tried to open the door only to discover that i could not." the leader said seriously. the young man frowned "in what way could you not?" he asked curious. "at first we assumed there may have been a trick needed to open it but upon having the individual who saw the target enter mimic the method the target used we discovered that there was no trick used." the leader explain seriously. the young man was stunned "if there is no trick then why could you not enter?" he asked seriously. "according to my estimation the door must have weighed as much as a small carriage." the leader replied honestly. "impossible!" the young man cried out in disbelief. "we also are skeptical of this possibility which is why we temporarily retreated to gather more information." the leader said honestly. the young man calmed himself "i understand , tomorrow he will be out in public at that time you will use one of the special carriages to get it to fall on him so we can test his strength." the young man said with a glint in his eyes. Chapter 162 - Shock and awe The leader nodded and left the room leaving the young man sitting there alone ''so what will you do mister mysterious?'' he thought before blowing out the single candle and leaving. meanwhile nick who had no clue that he was being targeted quietly cultivated without a care in the world. the next morning nick awoke to discover that his cultivation had been unsealed up to the peak of spirit gathering allowing him to use some of his techniques that required qi to work while he still couldn''t use his laws since an unknown level was needed in body refinement or origin core in order to use them even to a small capacity. feeling his state nick stretched languidly before he wondered if he could transform but decided against it since if it was true he would definitely create a commotion that certainly draw attention to his residence and by extension himself. changing his outfit nick walked up the stairs to the entrance where he opened the stone door effortlessly revealing the comical scene of bellania red faced and panting in front of the entrance. "did something happen? you look exhausted." nick said before closing the door to his residence. Bellania glared at him "what .... the .... hell ... is that door?" she asked between pants. nick looked confused at her question for a moment then he remembered that his door easily weighed a quarter ton and for mortals served as a near impassible barrier. knowing this nick smiled "it''s just a decently heavy door no need to worry about it." he said with a chuckle. bellania pouted slightly "it''s too heavy i can''t move it at all." she said having recovered her breath. nick nodded "wouldn''t be much of a barrier if just anyone could open it." he said honestly. bellania sulked "and here i wanted to see the inside." she said with puppy eyes. nick shrugged "not much to see really it''s fairly barren inside." he said "that said what is it you wanted to see me for today?" he asked changing the subject. in truth nick was extremely clear that "fairly barren" for a cultivator and a mortal are worlds apart so while what he said is true for cultivators for mortals it would be considered a massive lie. bellania smiled brightly "oh nothing much just bringing you back to my home to meet my family." she said sweetly. Nick felt a chill when he heard her "that''s not necessary right?" he asked making it obvious he wasn''t keen on the idea. bellania smiled like a Cheshire cat "oh but it is necessary since it will solidify everyone''s thoughts of you as my boyfriend." she said making nick look like he swallowed a fly. "fine but after the kings birthday tomorrow i want at least three days before you come to bother me again also I''m making the situation completely to your family." he said seriously. bellania looked hesitant but agreed none the less and so the two began walking towards the main street. after walking for ten minutes the two arrive at the main street where they headed toward the north part of the city were most of the nobles lived. half way there a large carriage rushed down the street wobbling very unstably and neither nick nor bellania paid it much attention at first but when it got near the two nick with his super human senses heard the mechanism in the axel go of before the wheel of the carriage flew off and the carriage fell over coincidentally where nick and bellania were standing. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%!d(string=12168211905027305)/shock-and-awe_%!d(string=51514188157209181) for visiting. Chapter 163 - Shock and awe (2) Nick grabbed bellania and jumped above the falling carriage before quickly landing on its upturned side so fast that he looked like little more than a blur to the bystanders. the carriage skidded for a few more feet before stopping but everyone nearby were looking at nick with amazement evident on their faces. bellania blinked not understanding what she just experienced as she saw a carriage falling towards her and the next thing she knows she''s in nicks arms on top of the overturned carriage. nick noticed the confusion on bellanias face and explained roughly "that carriage was an assassination attempt." he said with a cold look in his eyes. bellania was stunned "how do you know?!" she asked in disbelief. still holding bellania nick jumped down from the carriage before releasing her and walking over to the exposed underside of the carriage. looking carefully at the entire bottom nick noticed another mechanism on the opposite side from the wheel that came off and pointed it out "that is the reason I''m sure this was no accident." he said seriously. everyone exclaimed in shock as nick pointed out the assassination attempt quickly and indisputably. Bellania was also amazed that nick could find out the truth so fast "but how did you know that mechanism was there?" she asked confused. nick knew he couldn''t say the real reason son he improvised "I''ve seen carriages collapse before when i was on my way to the capital and there is always one thing they all have in common , warning signs." he said seriously before continuing "when a wheel on a carriage is lose or damaged that wheel will either make odd sounds or will wobble in a noticeable manner , but this carriage did neither as all the wheels worked fine until exactly the moment it reached us and i refuse to believe that''s a coincidence." he said honestly. everyone who heard nicks explanation had to admit what he said made sense but one thing didn''t make sense and one person in the crowd spoke up about it. "but how did you react and jump on top of the carriage with that young lady?" they asked confused. nick made up an excuse "i trained against nature deep in the forest to the southeast of here so i have extremely honed reflexes as for jumping the carriage that was also because my training let me gain the strength of a bear and the speed of a snake making my girlfriend here weigh practically nothing to me." he lied with a straight face. The crowd seemed to buy it since they couldn''t think of any other reason to explain how nick could perform in the way he did. there was a few people mixed in the crowd who had ugly expressions when they heard nicks explanation since if it was actually true nick was their groups worse nightmare. the reason was simply that like all assassins surprise attacks were their bread and butter and the advantage to surprise attacks was that you couldn''t react to them but for nick that wasn''t true making their one advantage diminish to the point of being negligible. now you may be wondering about poisons but the fact of the matter is that if you can''t get the poison into the body they are basically useless not to mention if nick truly trained in the woods he would notice poisons from a mile away. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%!d(string=12168211905027305)/shock-and-awe-(2)_%!d(string=51515960888182852) for visiting. Chapter 164 - Family meeting Meanwhile nick was merely thankful that he managed to convince the crowd of how he was capable of such extreme feats. ''something tells me that isn''t even the slightest bit true.'' bellania thought to herself. after clearing up everything nick and bellania left the area heading further along the street until they reach the part of the city where the nobles resided. it was easy to tell where the area started since the building immediately improved in both quality and size. in the previous area the buildings were made mostly of wood or other inexpensive materials while in this area the buildings were made of precisely cut stone bricks and rare wood such as white oak. what surprised nick the most however was that unlike most large cities hes been to this one didn''t have a wall between the noble area and the commoner areas meaning that anyone could go anywhere they wished in this city freely. nick and bellania continued through the noble area however unlike in the other areas nick noticed that the other noble all greeted bellania respectfully when they saw her which made him think she is actually more important than she let on. Soon the two arrived at a gated Victorian style mansion where on the gate the hartfell family crest stood for all to see. the gate keeper opened the gate immediately when he noticed bellania allowing the two inside before closing the gate behind them "welcome back young lady bellania and greetings young sir mark it is a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e for this servant to make your acquaintance." the gate keeper said respectfully. "likewise sir." nick responded politely. after that brief exchange nick and bellania walked to the front door of the mansion which was suddenly pushed open and a woman jumped out and clung to bellania who cried out in distress. "mom stop you''re embarrassing me!" she said angrily. the woman ignored her daughters distressed complaints was she showered her in affection. nick felt a pang of heartache when watching this scene as he remembers the strong but kind woman who raised him in this world and how she was no longer around along with his stern but caring father. nick quickly hardened his heart and suppressed his heartache as it does him no good. the woman finally released bellania after a few moments before turning towards nick. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%!d(string=12168211905027305)/family-meeting_%!d(string=51608149156755755) for visiting. "You must be the mark my daughter has spoken about a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet you I''m her mother Victoria." the woman said with a slight curtsy. nick bowed as courtesy dictated "i am indeed mark though i am quite interested to know what your daughter has said about me if its not to much trouble." he said politely. bellania knew that if her mother told nick what she said that he was definitely going to set the record straight so she intervened. "mother could you be so kind as to have the kitchen prepare a nice lunch while i show mark around?" she asked sweetly. Victoria immediately forgot what nick said and smiled at her daughter "of course sweetie is there anything in particular they should prepare?" she asked with a gentle smile. bellania shook her head "have them surprise us." she said simply. victoria nodded before walking away while humming some tune nick didn''t recognize. Chapter 165 - You are weak "It would seem we need to have a discussion." nick said while looking at bellania strictly. she fidgeted uncomfortably under nicks fierce gaze. "ok so i might have not told them that our relationship was strictly business." she said while avoiding nick eyes. nick sighed "since it would be suspicious if we just stood here while you are supposed to be showing me around so start walking and we will talk while we do so." nick said seriously. bellania nodded before walking through the door with nick following beside her. "so this is the part where you tell me exactly what you told your family." nick said while they walked casually. "well i told them that you were my boyfriend and that you would be going with me to the kings party." she paused nervously. "whats the but?" nick asked seriously. bellania sighed "but i also said we might get engaged while entirely not telling them that all of this is part of a deal." she finished nervously. nick sighed "I''m disappointed in you , despite what i have said you refuse to let go of the idea that our relationship with eventually go beyond just business." he paused. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%!d(string=12168211905027305)/you-are-weak_%!d(string=51610003492107359) for visiting. "Let me put it clear for you then." nick started to release a bit of his killing intent. "it will never go further , so drop the idea or i will find someone else to back me for the throne." nick said while bellania went pale while shivering in fear from the tiny amount of killing intent nick used. nick retracted his killing intent and waited for bellania to calm herself. "w-what was that?" she asked obviously shook. "that is killing intent and anyone who has fought life and death battles will develop it and the more battles fought the stronger it gets." he explained calmly. bellania was stunned "but why would anyone fight so much , we are at peace?" she asked clueless. nick scoffed "isn''t it obvious , for power of course." he said seriously. "we fight because its the only way to truly gain power. weakness is a sin as only the powerful can decide their fate and i refuse to be weak." nick said with determination before looking straight into bellanias eyes "and you are weak so you will never gain my affection , accept that and move on with your life." he said coldly. Bellania froze as nicks cold words echoed in her mind ''you are weak''. the words echo in her mind she wanted to deny them to prove them wrong but she knew that they were true. a few moments later she looked at nick seriously "but i don''t have to be weak." she said determination burning behind her eyes. nick sighed "no you don''t have to be but will you change that , will you suffer over power as all do or will you shrink at the first sign of peril. only you can decide that." he said seriously. "i shall push forward because i want you." she said with conviction. nick shrugged "we will see , now enough of the serious stuff i believe you owe me a tour." he said with a chuckle. Chapter 166 - Mutant Bellania and nick walked through the mansion while bellania explained certain pieces of artwork or places and nick quietly listened for the most part. the tour didn''t interest nick all that much until they reached the gardens at which point his face visible brightened. the garden was filled with vibrant flowers of a multitude of colors that made nick happy even if they were all mortal plants with no energy , or at least that''s what he thought until his senses picked up a faint up recognizable amount of energy emanating from behind a tree in the middle of the garden. nick walked towards the source of the energy curiously since he hadn''t seen any other lifeform on this world that had qi. nick swiftly arrived at the tree which he ignored for the most part by simply walking around the side of it before stopping with at surprised look on his face as he saw the source of the energy he felt. a lone flower stood between the roots easily hidden from notice but that is not what surprised nick , no what surprised nick was that the flower was obviously a mutant. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%!d(string=12168211905027305)/mutant_%!d(string=51677301066229093) for visiting. A mutant is a mortal plant that broke free of its mortal limits by absorbing the qi in the surroundings either strengthening themselves or gaining additional properties thereby making them a completely new species. this flower in particular appeared to have only just changed so it still bore the appearance of the plant it used to be , a simple white lily. however unlike a white lily this flower was twice as large as well as the petals had taken on thin red stripes straight down the middle giving the flower an amazing contrast that was only further enhanced by the weak glow emanating form it. nick frowned however when he noticed that the flower was struggling to survive since it couldn''t get enough qi after its breakthrough due to the low level of qi in the area. bellania walked around the tree and gasped when she saw the massive red and white lily that stood between the roots of the tree. "oh , wow what a pretty flower and so large as well." she said amazed before she realized that she had never seen a flower like this in the garden before. "odd we never had a flower like this so where did it come from?" she asked confused. Nick reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle of spirit water from his inventory. (for those who forgot spirit water is water infused with large amounts of qi.) bellania looked confused at the brightly glowing bottle of water nick had mysteriously pulled out of his seemingly empty pocket. "what is that ?" she asked curiously. nick didn''t answer before he opened the lid of the bottle and poured out a few drops onto the mutant before closing the bottle and putting it back into his pocket where it entered his inventory again. the mutant which was drooping down absorbed the few drops of spirit water and the results were obvious. first the flower visibly straightened before the dull glow it had in increased in intensity as the red stripes expanded until the petals of the flower were equal parts red and white before the final change occurred where the flower grew a size larger. Chapter 167 - Teaching Bellania looked on in amazement at the changes in the flower before looking at nick in a way that demanded an explanation. nick smiled seeing the flower flourish before turning towards bellania "throughout the universe there is a type of energy known as qi and qi has a unique property of being capable of strengthening just about anything living or not." he said before pausing to make sure she was following along. "this flower is what is known as a mutant." he said before explaining what a mutant is. "however the offspring of this flower will not be mutants but rather simply be called spirit herbs which are plants born with qi the same process can also apply to animals except those are called spirit beast and they eventually gain intelligence , now for people it is slightly different since we can''t take in qi recklessly or else it might kill us , the reason for this is because we are born with intelligence giving us a higher advantage against every other creature minus a few of races but you don''t have those in this world so it doesn''t matter." nick explained seriously. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%!d(string=12168211905027305)/teaching_%!d(string=51678438427247640) for visiting. Bellania had a hard time believing what nick said in fact the only reason she didn''t flat out reject it was because it explains literally all the strange things that she had seen nick do. "i can see you don''t fully accept what i am saying so i will show you undeniable proof." nick said before conjuring a fireball above his hand shocking bellania who jumped back in fear. "how is that possible!" she exclaimed. nick smirked before dissipating the fireball. "i believe i already explained that." he said with a smug look. bellania took a deep breath to calm herself . "as a matter of fact you did not explain how you can create fire out of nothing much less how it didn''t burn your hand." she said making nick freeze as he realized he actually didn''t explain that yet." well once someone passes the body refinement tier they can use their qi to create phenomenon like this as for why i wasn''t burned that''s simply because most uses of qi won''t hurt the person who uses it with a few exceptions of course." he explained calmly. "ok so you mentioned body refinement tier , what is that?" bellania asked deeply enthralled with the new information she is getting. Nick nodded "that was actually what i was going to explain next , so when humans take in qi it is a process called cultivation and cultivation is separated by different tiers the first of which is body refinement." nick said before going on to teach bellania enough for her to have a stable footing in the cultivation world. nick sensed that victoria was approaching from the other side of the tree so he quickly but carefully took the mutant lily before telling bellania not to share what she had been told and turning to where victoria was coming from with a casual expression. victoria came around the side of the tree to see her daughter a good distance from nick who was strangely enough looking right at her like he was expecting her but dismissed the thought. "lunch is ready so i thought I''d come see how the two of you were doing." she said sweetly. Chapter 168 - Truth revealed Bellania was upset that she couldn''t learn more from nick since if even a fraction of what he said was true she could easily change the world. one thing still bothered her though , and that was how did nick know of these things if her world could barely allow one to start cultivating much less advance to the higher tiers nick described. meanwhile a certain group was having a headache as they tried to figure out how to kill nick. "could we win with numbers?" one of the members asked. "no , if we had an army then maybe we could use numbers to overwhelm the target but we are merely of fourteen strong." the leader said with a frown. "what about poison?" another member asked. "I''m afraid if what the target said is true poison is even more pointless since he would either be immune to what we have or would be aware of the tells they leave behind." the leader explained. the young man with blonde hair was sitting in the center of the room with a scowl on his face. "can nothing truly be done to remove that man from bellania hartfells side?" he asked seriously. The leader sighed "I''m sorry sir but if there is something capable of forcing the target away it is beyond our means." he said apologetically. the young man sighed "so be it call off the hunt since there is no point in wasting time on a fruitless effort." he said with a tone of resignation. back at the hartfell mansion nick was sitting at a large circular table with bellania , victoria , bellanias father Lucian and bellanias younger brother Ivan. lucian was a relatively large man with short black hair and fierce green eyes that seemed to stare into ones soul while ivan took after his father looking almost identical to his father with the exception of being thinner. the lunch that the kitchen had cooked was a small platter of egg sandwiches on rough white bread. each person at the table grabbed three sandwiches each before lucian struck up a conversation. "so mark I''m told you are dating my daughter , is this true?" he said seriously. nick shook his head calmly "I''m afraid that information is not entirely accurate you see i intend to run from king and your daughter decided to back me , and in exchange i would play the part of her boyfriend." Nick explained the truth without any hesitation which caused lucian to look at his daughter for confirmation that this was true. bellania avoided her fathers gaze in embarrassment which all but confirmed what nick said. lucian nodded " i see , might i ask as to why she chose you in particular for this role?" he asked curiously. nick shrugged "while i dare not say i know for certain i am fairly sure i know why i was chosen for this role." nick said calmly. lucian raised an eyebrow "oh , well do enlighten us." he said calmly. "if i am not mistaken i was chosen for one of two reasons , the first is that someone she dislikes is trying to pursue her and the second is to show off to the other noble girls at the kings party tomorrow." nick said honestly. Chapter 169 - Conversation Once again lucian looked at his daughter for confirmation to which bellania spoke softly "it was both." she said barely audible. lucian nodded again before looking back at nick "it would seem you are correct on both accounts mark though might i ask what would you improve as king?" lucian asked curiously. nick paused for a moment to think before answering. "i would likely improve the agriculture first since it would appear the current system is having problems." nick said seriously. lucian was surprised by this answer "and how would you accomplish such a task?" he asked genuinely interested. nick went on to explain how growing only a single type of crop will eventually deplete the soil and then introduced the idea of crop rotation. the entire hartfell family was amazed at the information nick so freely shared. "wait why are you telling us so easily , are you not concerned we might steal your ideas?" lucian asked seriously. nick laughed "feel free to try , it will take at least three years for that plan to really show its prowess." he said with a grin. lucians eyes eyes widened as he understood why nick wasn''t worried about them stealing his idea. "By the time we could say anything it wouldn''t matter anymore." lucian said honestly. nick nodded "indeed but do you know what the best part of it is?" he asked with a grin. lucian shook his head so nick answered his own question. "unlike most other things i could change if the other kingdoms copy us it is actually a good thing since it would remove one of the main reasons that wars are started." he said with a proud grin. lucian was amazed "of course , if there is plenty of food there would be no reason to invade to prevent starvation!" he exclaimed in excitement. nick nodded in confirmation "that is merely one of the many things i know how to improve." he said confidently. lucian had a clever glint in his eyes "I''ll back you instead of my daughter if you give me some information that will benefit only my family." he said drawing gasp from everyone at the table except nick who merely raised an eyebrow. "but why father?!" bellania exclaimed obviously upset. lucian looked her straight in the eyes "there are three reasons" he said. "The first is that anyone with any sense would see your one sided attraction to mark to which he obviously wants nothing to do with , the second is that my backing simple has far more weight than your own as the head of the family and the final reason is that with marks help we can finally catch up to the other ducal families." lucian explained seriously. bellania wanted to argue with her father but couldn''t since in everything he said was true. nick thought it was funny how bellania was acting now that her father was poaching him from her right in front her. "well last time i got caught in an loophole when i made the deal with your daughter so i would like to know exactly what the terms of our deal is." nick said seriously. bellania started to tear up when she heard nick even though she already knew he would accept the offer. before she got up to run off nick seemingly took out a plain looking book from his coat and reached over the table to place it in front off her. "before you go here is the book i promised to let you borrow." he said calmly. Chapter 170 - Meeting Bellania grabbed the book before storming off upset leaving the rest of her family and nick behind at the table. "well since that''s out of the way do go on." nick said calmly. victoria was surprised at how easily nick dismissed her daughter and couldn''t help asking "are you truly not even slightly interested in my daughter?" she asked curiously. nick shook his head "i have no intention of settling down anytime soon." he said honestly. victoria nodded "i understand." she said before growing quiet. "back to the topic at hand the exact terms of the deal is that in exchange for my backing you will give only my family a improved idea that you have that is capable of allowing us to exceed the other ducal families." lucian said seriously. nick thought for a moment "only so long as you don''t ask for another if someone else manages to copy it since after all if i can think of it there is definitely someone else capable of doing the same." he replied seriously. lucian frowned slightly when he heard the amendment nick made to the deal but still agreed as it was reasonable. After eating nick excused himself while saying he would fulfill his part after the kings party tomorrow before he headed back to his residence. along the way nick pondered what would be the most appropriate thing to give that would boost the hartfell family without completely throwing away the balance of this world entirely. after walking for a few moments nick noticed he had found himself in the market district again and decided to first observe what was available so he doesn''t try to give something that already exist. nick saw many things that could certainly be improved but nothing that would boost the hartfell family above the the other ducal families so he ignored those while he kept moving until he saw a large soot covered man hawking his wares. nick immediately knew what he could give lucian that would perfectly fulfill his side of the deal. having decided nick left the market district and went to his residence quickly while ignoring everything else. when nick arrived at his residence he was surprised to see a blonde haired young man testing his door as if to find what secret it held. Nick casually walked up to the young man before speaking "it''s just a heavy door." he said calmly spooking the blonde haired man who didn''t notice nick walk up behind him. "good gods man don''t sneak up on someone like that!" the man said angrily before freezing when he noticed who he just scolded. nick noticed the young mans response to him but couldn''t think of a reason for such a response. "judging from your reaction you seem to know me somehow and yet i am absolutely sure we have never met so the question remains , why did you react like that?" nick asked in a cheshire manner. the young man swallowed his saliva nervously "i came to tell you to stay away from bellania hartfell!" he said nervously. nick raised an eyebrow "ah i see , so you must be the one who was trying to pursue her." nick said before laughing out loud. Chapter 171 - Steel The young man grew red from anger when he saw nick laughing at him. "how dare you laugh at me!" he yelled before trying to punch nick. nick of course noticed this but in his eyes the young man might as well be barely moving. nick simply snorted before releasing a small portion of his killing intent at the young man. the young man immediately passed out mid swing while nick calmly sidestepped the young man who was carried right into the ground from his momentum. "wonder what i should do with him now?" nick pondered out loud before tossing the unconscious young man onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before he walked to the main street and found a guard. "excuse me sir guard but could i ask you to take care of this person." nick said calmly. the guard in question eyed nick and the young man on his shoulder seriously. "did that young man do something wrong?" the guard asked calmly. nick shook his head "no he just got angry before passing out , i think he may have a weak heart." nick said feigning concern. The guard sighed "i understand if you set the young man here against the wall I''ll see to it he gets home safely." the guard said calmly. nick carefully set the young man against the wall before thanking the guard and leaving. this time when nick got to his residence there was no one there so he opened the stone door and entered before closing it again. after walking down the stairs nick entered his crafting room and pulled out some iron ore which he smelted down before purifying it and poring the result into and ingot mold. the iron quickly cooled and hardened before nick removed the ingot and before it cooled he stuffed it in a coal coke forge to enrich it into steel. indeed the knowledge nick decided to give lucian was how to create rough steel since it hadn''t been discovered yet on this world. in fact the closest thing nick found was a material called high iron that was extracted from crashed meteors. the blacksmiths of this world knew that high iron was superior to regular iron but couldn''t understand why , truthfully the same was true on earth were nick originally came from until a smith noticed an odd phenomenon when working with coal coke. nick chuckled at how he was going to give lucian information that more likely than not would be discovered anyway. the benefits to steel compared to iron were that steel was slightly stronger but was far less brittle making products made of steel more durable than those made of iron which would certainly allow the hartfell family to exceed the other ducal families but not by so much that it breaks the balance of the kingdom. upon creating the ingot of rough steel nick heated it to close to melting before flattening it into a plate of rough steel before putting it back into the coal coke bed to add more carbon to it more evenly. after officially creating carbon steel nick melted it back into an ingot which he polished to look nice before wrapping it in a rough cotton cloth. Chapter 172 - Party Nick stored away the ingot before he headed into his meditation area and sat down and started meditating. ounce again nick had caused the qi on the planet to increase without realizing it but this time was a little different as he was not the only one drawing in qi this time. in her room bellania was going through the steps described in the book nick gave her which even if she didn''t notice was drawing minute amounts of qi towards her dantian. the process was slow since bellania couldn''t tell if it was working but soon she officially entered the first level of body refinement tier at which point she shivered as she immediately felt the change in her body as the impurities in meridians were forced out through her pores like a viscous brown sludge. bellania gagged at the stench wafting off of her and stood up quickly which surprised her since it would normally take longer but the smell focused her mind on getting a bath. bellania scrubbed herself for over an hour before she finally managed to get all the gunk off of her. Nick meditated for the rest of the night until the sun came up at which point he awoke and stood up before changing his clothes into the finery that he purchased specifically for events such as the kings party in a few hours. the clothes nick had chosen were an azure shirt with a grey coat and matching grey pants with shiny leather shoes. the clothes made nicks features pop making him stand out from the crowd. nick walked up the stairs to the entrance of his residence before he casually pulled the door open to reveal a cadre of soldiers all pointing their weapons at him. "you have been accused of assaulting a member of the northedark family we insist you come with us." a tall soldier in a slightly different set of armor said authoritatively. nick raised an eyebrow at the man "tell me is this northedark person alive?" nick asked seriously. the soldier looked shocked at the question "of course , how else would they accuse you , what of it?" he asked seriously. nick shook his head "now you see that doesn''t make any sense because if i assaulted anyone i can guarantee they would be dead." nick said coldly. All the soldiers felt a chill from nicks words and tensed up behind their weapons before nick shrugged. "judging from the amount of you here you are all aware of my tale so you should know that my words are no bluff." he said before he started to walk towards the soldiers in his way. the soldiers moved out of his way as fear got the better of them and before nick disappeared around the corner he called back. "next time bring some evidence or I''ll take offense." nicks voice echoed out. and like that nick made his way to the hartfell mansion so he could arrive at the kings party with lucian which would show his backing thus allowing him to throw his presence out into the noble circles. Chapter 173 - Party(2) Nick walked for about an hour before he arrived outside the gate to the hartfell mansion where he had the gate keeper inform the family of his arrival. after waiting for three minutes the gatekeeper returned and opened the gate to let nick in. nick was then led by the gatekeeper to the entryway of the mansion where he was instructed to wait before the gatekeeper returned to his post. nick sat on one of the fancy chairs by the wall while he waited for the next fifteen minutes in silent contemplation. after that time nicks sharp senses heard the sounds of four feet walking towards him from the dining area where he assumed they likely just finished their breakfast. the door to nicks right opens and through it the entire hartfell family walks out all dressed in finery much the same as nick. "i hope you forgive us for the delay we were in the middle of our meal when we received notice of your arrival." lucian said calmly. nick shook his head "it''s quite alright , it is my fault for my early arrival so the wait was no bother." he said politely. Lucian nodded "that''s good to hear and i imagine you aren''t here empty handed as well?" he asked with a sly grin. nick reached into his jacket and mysteriously pulled out the ingot of steel. "this is a type of metal that hasn''t been found yet that has all the benefits of iron but is far stronger." nick said before handing the ingot to lucian. "and after the party I''ll tell you how to make more." nick said with a sly grin of his own. lucian unwrapped the ingot and looked it over carefully but couldn''t see much difference from normal iron except for the darker coloration. nick noticed lucians expression when he checked the ingot and pulled out a dagger made of steel and handed it to lucian. "this is a dagger made of the same material if you have an iron weapon i will show you the difference." nick said seriously. lucian looked skeptical but grabbed an iron dagger from a well hidden place behind his back before holding it out. nick grabbed the two daggers and using the steel dagger cut through the iron dagger in one fluid motion before showing the steel dagger to lucian. Lucian was stunned at the show nick just put on and looked at the steel dagger that besides for a tiny inconsistency was completely fine in amazement. "truly and amazing metal do you mind if i keep this dagger seeing as you have cut my other into two parts?" lucian asked in amazement. nick shrugged "seeing as i did indeed destroy your other by all means keep it but once i give you the method to create the material my part of our deal is done." nick said seriously. lucian nodded before the group left the mansion before boarding two different carriages lucian , victoria and ivan in one and nick and bellania in the other. Chapter 174 - Arrival "So i see you have started your path to power." nick said when he was alone with bellania. she nodded before she got angry "you didn''t tell me about that brown sludge that covered me after i reached the first level of body refinement tier!" she said obviously upset. nick was confused for a moment before laughing "i did mention that actually , that brown sludge as you called it is the impurities i said would be removed from your body." he said calmly. bellania huffed "well you never said they would smell so foul." she said while still trying to blame nick . nick was speechless at the shamelessness of bellania. "they are called impurities , so what made you think they would be pleasant?" he asked seriously. bellania wanted to argue but nick had a point so she simply changed the subject "that reminds me you never what tier you were at so i could try and reach that point quickly." she said curiously. nick chuckled and shook his head "you are likely to never reach my tier since that book i gave you only explains how to get to origin core tier whereas i am a full two tiers higher than that" Bellania was flabbergasted "so you gave me an in complete book?" she asked confused since nick said he would let her have a chance to reach his level. nick shook his head "that book will allow you to set a strong foundation thus giving you a chance to reach my level however i never said i would just give you a straight forward way to reach me , merely a chance." he said before ignoring her. bellania could only grit her teeth and accept that she was even lucky to have a chance much less anything more. the rest of the ride was uneventful as the two sat in silence before they arrived at the palace where the current king and his family lived. the palace was a massive building in the shape of a cross made of many stones carved in such a way that they appeared as if the entire building was hewn from a single stone. nick was not that impressed since he as a cultivator and even now lived in such a place that even the wealthiest person on this world would see green at the sight of it. The carriage parked and bellania and nick stepped out on to the gravel pathway that led to the large dark wooden doors that were ajar beyond which one could see a massive room with red carpets and several tables coved with various foods as well as a large amount of people dressed in their best clothes while gentle music played in the background. nick walked down the path before entering the room confidently as the announcer introduced him as a friend of the hartfell family which drew the attention of most of the people there as they were unaware of him. nick confidently walked into the room ignoring the stares he was receiving before casually walking over to over of the food laden tables and began making a plate with various interesting looking dishes before finding an unoccupied corner to lean against while eating. Chapter 175 - Socializing Nick ate the few dishes he had on his plate some of which he liked others not so much. most people had stopped paying attention to nick by the time he had finished eating , though a few people were still waiting for nick to do something exceptional since they were aware of his unique abilities for one reason or another. nick disposed of his plate and looked through the crowd of chatting people before he his gaze settled on an rather muscular young man with a coat of arms on his jacket. the young man was chatting amicably with a group of nobles so he was obviously important as a result nick decided it would only benefit him to leave a positive impression. nick started to walk towards the young man when he was stopped by a massive man with red hair and bulging muscles that were barely concealed by his fine blue suit. the man had a friendly smile as he held out his hand "hello there my name is wesley belios pleased to meet you." he said politely. nick shook the man hand "hello wesley my name is mark and the p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e is mine." nick didn''t skip a beat even after being interrupted. Wesley laughed heartily "truly a good fellow!" hes said jovially. "so mark I''ve heard an interesting rumor about you that i just had to confirm for myself and standing before you I''m honestly confused." he said honestly. nick understood at this point why wesley had came to him. "you are trying to figure out how i could be so strong if i am so thin correct?" nick asked calmly. wesley nodded "yes it truly boggles the mind since every person i have ever met with truly great strength were much like me in appearance." he said while flexing. nick nodded "the trick you see is not size but weight." he said calmly. wesley looked confused "i don''t understand are you saying size and weight aren''t the same thing?" he asked trying to understand. nick nodded "of course after all a wagon of feathers and a wagon of stone obviously weigh differently don''t they?" nick asked simply. wesley looked enlightened "so if most people your size are feathers you are stone." he said in understanding. "but why are you different than everyone else?" he asked confused. Nick laughed "rather obvious the answer to that question isn''t it , i could not trade strength for speed so i simply developed in a way that improved both." he explained. wesley nodded "that does seem obvious but i don''t understand how you did so." he said honestly. nick shrugged "i didn''t question how i simply did." he lied. "well whatever , so am i right to assume you are going to after the throne?" he asked seriously. nick nodded and wesley laughed "i guessed as much , in truth i myself am going to try to compete as well." he said jovially. nick was surprised and it showed on his face "surprised aren''t you , no need to answer it''s all over your face , you must have some thoughts along the lines of how someone like me would want to be king." wesley said with a chuckle. "honestly my family has been running this kingdom in some fashion or another for generations so it''s not that strange really." he explained honestly. Chapter 176 - Duel Nick nodded since what wesley said made sense while also making note of the belios family for future reference. "are all events like this so boring? I''m not certain that i could stand many of them if so." nick said to wesley who laughed. "of course not ,so far this has only been the time of the party where people make connections , once the king makes his speech there will be a time for the younger generation to duel." wesley explained honestly. "that''s good i suppose though i am curious as to when the king will make his speech." nick replied. wesley thought for a moment "I''d reckon that in another hour the king ought to make his announcement." wesley said before excusing himself. nick began to drift threw the room from noble to noble ingratiating himself with the higher up of the kingdom or rather that''s what nick had hoped was occurring since in truth the nobles who he was leaving an impression on seems to be mostly the women. nick cursed himself for his vanity when choosing a disguise since it was obviously working against him at the moment. After an hour of nick trying to make nice a knight in ornate armor yelled out silencing the low din in the room. "his majesty sir elric malbrook who like to impart his words upon you!" the knight yelled loudly. from behind the knight a average sized man walked up "thank you for your help sir nick." he said to the knight who bowed and moved out of the way. the man in question was of course the king who was a middle aged man that had black hair that was starting to turn grey and plain grey eyes that gleamed with wisdom. the wasn''t particularly eye catching however not a single person in the room could look away from him as just his mere presence demanded no less. even nick was amazed at the kings bearing as it seemed to draw a sort of respect from deep in his bloodline that acknowledged another king. "friends i stand before you now at my own fiftieth birthday party to announce that in one years time i will abdicate the throne to whomever is chosen to replace myself and so i officially sanction the start of the kingship trials!" the king says loudly without yelling but everyone present heard his words. Everybody in the room made a large space in the middle of the room before the same ornately dressed knight from before walked into the middle of the empty space while the king sat at the sidelines comfortably watching. "ladies and gentlemen we have come to the part of the evening where the new generation will compete to discover who their competition is before the tournament in six months to decide the final victor!" he said loudly. everyone looked excited and the younger generation all moved closer to the clearing nick included. the knight swaggered around the clearing like an expert hype man "which pair of young warriors will step forth ?" the knight questioned the crowd. nick walked out of the crowd and into the clearing "i will." Chapter 177 - Duel(2) All eyes looked at nick as he spoke up as only a few had any idea who he was and so were unaware that he was monstrously powerful. the king looked at nick and raised an eyebrow as his instincts told him that he was looking at a powerful person which confused the king since nick was not very muscular as far as he could see. before the knight could ask who would challenge nick wesley walked out of the crowd his large frame intimidating to look at even though he had a jovial expression. seeing that two people stood in the clearing the knight spoke to them "the rules of the bout are simple the first person to pass out or surrender is the loser and any crippling or killing will immediately result in the responsible party being arrested , am i clear?" the knight asked sternly. both nick and wesley answered the same "yes sir!" before nick started to take off his upper clothes which caused many in the crowd to gasp as they saw what was underneath. nicks upper torso and arms were covered in the scars he decided to leave under which extremely well defined muscles flexed for all to see. Wesley lost the jovial expression when he saw nicks upper body as he knew immediately nick was extremely powerful. wesley also removed his top revealing his already barely cover physique. nick released a tiny amount of blood l.u.s.t as his expression changed into and indifferent one making those who looked at him get the image of a phantom bear towering behind him. wesley broke out into sweat as his instincts told him to run but he roared and charged at nick before swinging his massive right fist towards nicks face. nick side ducted the punch while raising his right leg and with the sound of a whip cracking kicked wesley in his c.h.e.s.t immediately causing him to cough up a huge mouthful of blood while getting launched backwards a meter and a half. wesley rolled on the ground before stopping , coughing and wheezing as he struggled to regain his breath while nick lowered his leg casually. everyone drew a sharp breath as they witnessed the way nick devastated his opponent with ease. the only person who wasn''t completely taken off guard was the knight who had fought first hand in the last three wars the kingdom participated in as he had developed a fairly large amount of bloodl.u.s.t from his many close calls with death. The knight had felt nicks bloodl.u.s.t and immediately knew that wesley was out matched and indeed he was correct. the only thing that surprised the knight was the sheer force behind nicks attack as he had struck wesley hard enough to make him fly backwards. obviously nick was declared the winner of the duel and wesley was helped to a chair so he could recover. nick remained standing in the clearing waiting for his next opponent however many of the people who wanted to step forward before now refused to do so and in the end only two people stepped forward to face nick. the first was actually a young women with short blonde hair and green eyes with a bow and a quiver of blunt arrows. the second was the same young man that nick had wanted to speak with earlier before wesley had intercepted him. Chapter 178 - Duel(3) The girl who entered the clearing with her bow nodded politely at nick who responded appropriately before the knight started the bout. the girl knocked an arrow before quickly firing it at nick who nodded at her skill with the weapon before catching the arrow which made everyone including the girls jaws drop in astonishment. nick tossed the arrow to the side casually before walking slowly towards the girl. arrow after arrow flew towards nick and each one was caught before being tossed aside while the girl circled the clearing in order to maintain her distance. soon the girl reached for an arrow from her quiver and felt none , it was in this moment she realized that nick simply was the worst possible opponent she could go against . seeing the girl out of arrows nick shot towards her like a viper striking before punching her in the gut sending her into the crowd who caught her unconscious body. the knight announced nicks victory before the young man stepped forward confidently which confused nick. the young man drew a short sword before nick picked up on what made the young man so confident despite the fact that nick had dominated all his previous opponents and what he found surprised him greatly. According to what nicks senses told him the young man had entered the body refinement tier of cultivation and had even reached the third level of it all without any knowledge of what he was doing. the reason nick knew that the young man had no clue what he was doing is because of the way the qi fluctuated unsteadily around his body which would only occur if a cultivator was not using a technique. simply the fact that this young man was standing before nick was a testament to how talented he was since to cultivate without a technique was to gamble with death itself if you didn''t posses a good amount of talent. nick smiled at the young man "find me after this event and I''ll show you the correct way to use it." he said before dashing towards the young man who was taken back by what nick said and so didn''t react in time when nick dashed towards him allowing nick to get past his striking area. nick layered some neutral qi into his hands and began jabbing the young man in each place that wasn''t strengthened correctly. This caused the young man immense agony as nick was forcefully changing his body against his will as well as moving qi through him at a greater rate than his body was used to. to the crowd it looked like nick was viciously torturing the young man who was screaming while nick struck him in various places on his body. nick paused for a moment to focus a large amount of qi unto his palm before slamming it into the young mans c.h.e.s.t directly into the center of energy of the young man which pulsed it throughout his pathways solidifying the changes nick made. the young man immediately passed out once the pain ended and nick was declared the winner , though not without being scolded by the knight for being so vicious with his opponent , not that nick planned on saying what he actually did. Chapter 179 - Talk Nick took first in the younger generation for strength as no one else present would fight him so his place was solidified before the rest of the younger generation began to fight over the other nine places while nick simply deigned not to watch as the matches were boring for him. so while almost everyone was watching the fights nick was playing with a coin that he was controlling with a bit of qi. the only other person not watching the fights was the king who was watching nick in amazement as nick made the coin do all manner of seemingly impossible things like when he tossed the coin over his shoulder before catching it after it ricocheted five times. the king leaned over to his servant "tell that young man that I''d like to have a word with him after the others leave." he said calmly. the servant nodded before skirting around the crowd and walking towards nick who was standing next to one of the walls. "the king would like you to stay after the event to have a discussion." the servant said respectfully before leaving walking back towards the king. Nick looked over at the king who was looking at him curiously before grinning and tossing his coin a foot in the air but instead of falling the coin simply spun in place before nick casually reached up and plucked it out. the king was amazed and nick simply laughed before nodding slightly before going back to playing with the coin. the duels lasted another hour before the other nine strongest members of the younger generation were all set not that nick was paying attention. after the fights everyone started leaving and the hartfell family approached nick. "you are deceptively strong it would seem." lucian said with a chuckle. nick shrugged "honestly speaking i only saw one person who was worth my attention amongst all the younger generation." he said honestly. lucian raised an eyebrow but didn''t comment. "you all go on without me i was invited to have a chat with the king but don''t worry I''ll keep my end of the bargain." nick said before handing a paper with the instructions how to make steel to lucian. the family left after that even though bellania looked like she wanted to say something. Soon the last person besides nick left the building and the king beckoned nick to follow him as he walked further into the building. nick followed the king in silence for a few minutes before he entered a large garden not much different from the one the hartfell family had but much larger. the garden had far more different types of plants besides just those that had pretty colors as nick noticed many that had weak medicinal properties. the king lead nick down a path deep into the garden to a spot that made nick gasp. in this spot the amount of qi that naturally existed was many fold higher than normal and within it nick spot no less than six separate plants that had mutated. Chapter 180 - Talk(2) The king noticed the change in nicks expression when he saw those plants and knew he was right to bring him here. "i assume you are aware of what this unusual energy in the air is and by extension what those plants are as well correct?" he asked with a knowing smile. nick sighed knowing that he had made himself a little too obvious , but to be fair he couldn''t be blamed for this as seeing even one mutant was difficult enough but seeing six all at once was enough to cause even the firmest of people to react much less nick who besides having a bit of a mean streak was fairly average mentally. "i am aware of what the energy is yes but as for those plants they could have taken any number of evolutionary routes so i am not entirely certain besides what they were before they became like this." nick answered honestly. the king was excited by the first part of nicks statement but confused by the second part. "evolutionary routes?" he asked confused. "well in order to clarify that bit you first need to understand what this energy is." nick said calmly. The king motioned for nick to continue his attention fully held on nick. "well to start off with this energy in its base form is called qi and it can be found everywhere though in such small quantities that it is almost unnoticeable." nick didn''t mention that this only applied to worlds like this one that were early in their development. "qi is unique in that it has the ability to strengthen all things some done actively such as with those plants and some passively like stone and metal. this process can have a multitude of different effects on the thing in question but as for humans it is slightly different due to our in born intelligence." nick explained calmly. the king was amazed at the information he was receiving as there was no record anywhere that held it and he would know since he had gone out of his way to search for it but had no such luck. "how is it different for humans ?" the king asked parched for knowledge. "unlike things without in born intelligence using qi to strengthen ourselves requires the use of a strict technique instead of us simply having to draw it in as is the case with animals and plants." Hearing this the king was confused "what happens if humans try to strengthen themselves without a technique ?" he asked curious. nick grew serious "there are three main outcomes , the first is that you explode violently , the second is that you cripple your energy channels making it near impossible to use qi ever again and the third is that you are able to successfully strengthen yourself." nick said seriously. the king went pale " one in three can''t be that bad right?" the king asked hopefully. nick shook his head "it not a one in three chance of success its an one in a thousand chance as such only those who don''t know better or are truly desperate would attempt to do so." nick said seriously. Chapter 181 - Talk(3) This was devastating news to the king as he wanted to attempt exactly that before he saw nicks last fight. "you have a technique don''t you ?" the king asked hopefully. nick sighed "while its true i do indeed have a technique spreading such things is quite taboo." nick said a half truth. the complete truth is that it is taboo for cultivators to spread techniques wantonly as it would stress the supply chain for resources if everyone became a cultivator so while it may reveal a few geniuses it would harm the entire cultivating community in the long run but giving a hand full of people on a planet with no cultivators a technique is completely fine. the king looked desperate "please teach me , i don''t want to grow weak!" he pleaded anxiously. nick was surprised at the kings desperation "why are you wanting to cultivate for that you would be so desperate?" he asked confused. the king sighed "in truth i am perfectly content with not cultivating and in fact i didn''t even know anything about this energy until a few days ago when my son was practicing in this very garden when the energy suddenly surged and damaged his body." he said sadly. Nick was confused at the kings story since an increase in natural qi shouldn''t harm someone normally. "when you say it damaged his body exactly what do you mean?" nick asked confused. the king explained that his son started coughing up blood while his body temperature rose to frightening levels. nick was stunned at this information not because it was unheard of as such events were well recorded but rather because he never thought a place with such low amounts of qi would house such a thing. what the king described was the awakening of an innate elemental physique specifically one of the fire element. nick patted the king on the shoulder "your son is fine what is happening to him is actually very beneficial to him." nick said honestly. the king was confused "how is this beneficial?" he asked. "your son for some unexplainable reason has a fire elemental physique what he is currently undergoing is what is know as the awakening process." nick said while explaining what that meant. once he knew his son was not in danger the king relaxed visibly like he was relieved of a massive burden. "Though your son is not in danger because of his physique i will still give him some fire related resources as well as a basic technique because even i believe his talent would be wasted if he didn''t get any guidance." nick said before handing a space ring to the king and telling him how to use it before excusing himself. Chapter 182 - Chat After nick excused himself he walked out of the mansion calmly as he knew thanks to his senses that the young man who had reached the third level of body refinement on his own was waiting outside the building rather impatiently. the young man looked conflicted when he finally saw nick come out of the kings mansion as even though he could tell that the strange energy in his body was incredibly stable after what nick had done his pride was wounded since he had lost horribly to the same person who he now needed to ask a favor from. "first thing you need to do is calm down as no good comes from being unnecessarily tense." nick said with a chuckle when he reached the young man. the young man took a deep breath before releasing it in order to calm himself before looking right into nicks eyes. "who are you?" he asked calmly. nick laughed "I''m just a guy with more information than you that''s all." he said smiling. the young man shook his head " and why is it that i find it hard to believe that?" he asked sarcastically. Nick shrugged "you may believe whatever you wish but enough banter , if i am right you have some actually important questions for me correct?" he asked seriously. the young man nodded "yes you did say to see you after the party if i wanted to know how to how to use this energy correctly." he said honestly. nick smiled "that i did though i will admit that i half expected you to let your pride keep you from meeting me civilly but here you are." he said calmly. the young man was embarrassed when he heard what nick said as in truth he did indeed almost let his pride win out but his instincts told him he would regret it if he did so he swallowed his pride and waited for nick as instructed. "no need to look so embarrassed anyone with half a brain could have guessed your prideful nature and by extension your reaction to losing without a fight." nick said honestly. the young man frowned at nicks words this time "am i really that easy to read?" he asked perturbed. nick shook his head "its not that you as an individual are easy to read so much as the fact that you wear your heart on your sleeves so to speak." he said calmly. The young man sighed "i suppose so." he said before asking the big question. "what is this energy?" nick motioned for the young man to follow him which he did. after the two were out of earshot of any other person nick explained what qi is and all its different uses before giving the young man the same basic technique he gave to bellania and sent him on his way thankful for the opportunity he had been given. nick then walked back to his residence completely unaware that he had cemented to rise of cultivation on this planet by creating the tiny opportunity needed for a cultivation society to form. the people on the planet would have taken many many years to even learn that they need a technique to cultivate making cultivators rare but now that there were even three people who knew about the need for techniques the information will eventually slip into the main stream and prompt an explosive rise in cultivators as those with techniques spread them to their relatives and further. Chapter 183 - New era Nick spent the next week in his residence cultivating peacefully only barely noticing the amount of qi increasing incrementally over time. at first the increase was so small that it was barely noticeable but then after a day it doubled then tripled before stopping at quadrupling. the amount of qi had reached a level that even normal people began to notice the change and plants and animals started to grow stronger in droves immediately changing the balance of the world as livestock began to revolt and normal plants developed new and strange abilities. at the end of this one week period the world had officially entered the age of qi. nick opened his eyes and was surprised to find that his cultivation had been further unsealed to the peak of origin core which also allowed nick to us his laws even if only slightly. standing up nick noticed that the qi in the air was four times thicker than before he started this last round of cultivation which made him realize he should figure out what he missed. going up the stairs to the entrance to his residence nick opened the door to find three different sets of people waiting out side. The first group was bellania and her father along with some guards , the second set was the young man from before and an unknown elderly man while the last was the king himself with a young child and a posse of guards. "it seems I''m quite popular huh." nick joked when he saw the crowd of people outside his door which draw all of their attentions towards him. the first person to speak is none other than the king "we have been trying to get ahold of you for the past three days what in the heavens were you doing?!" he yelled questioningly at nick. nick frowned "well if you must know i was training which requires my full focus so you''ll excuse me if i wasn''t available." he said coldly. everyone was stunned at what nick said since they had no clue how anyone could train so long without a break. "its been an entire week though?" the king made the shared confusion known. nick scoffed "so , at my tier its normal to train for an entire month with stopping much less a week." he said honestly. Everyone there s.u.c.k.e.d in a breath as they thought about how far the world would have fallen if nick didn''t show up for an entire month. "honestly though what could be so important that all of you would need my help?" nick asked curiously. "mutants have been stringing up everywhere and most of our livestock has rebelled against us so the entire human race is on the verge of starvation since we don''t know whats safe to eat or not anymore!" bellania said panicked. nick was stunned at this news since he had only cultivated for a week and the entire world was imploding when he finally stopped. "not every edible plant turned into a mutant right?" nick asked seriously. bellania was taken back by the question "well no but..." she started before nick cut her off "then how is the human race on the verge of starvation?" he asked seriously. Chapter 184 - New era(2) Bellania sighed "the truth is that even if none of this happened we would barely have enough food thanks to our lives stock but now that we have no choice but to rely on our crops that remain unchanged we simply don''t have enough food." she said honestly. nick nodded "well the solution to your problems is to hunt the animals more." he said simply. the king spoke up at this point again "it''s not that easy since the beast are far smarter now so none of our usual methods work any more." he said seriously. nick shook his head "you people are pathetic , I''m gone for one week and none of you can seem to solve a simple problem such as hunting so let me ask you how do you hunt humans?" nick asked after rebuking the others coldly. everyone was angered by what nick said but they knew he was right after he asked his question since the same method would likely work on the new beast roaming about. "it was uncalled for to rebuke everyone so strongly when a simple solution would have sufficed. lucian said disapprovingly. Nick looked lucian in the eyes "no that was exactly what needed to be said , all of you have become so complacent in how the world works that now that the rules have changed you all lack the ability to adapt to the changes and so you looked to use me as a crutch to keep you afloat." he paused "but the fact is that i refuse to solve problems that you are more than capable of fixing on your own so unless a war happens or an absolutely monstrous creature threatens extinction of humanity try to actually adapt for once." he said before blinking behind the group and walking towards the main street. everyone looked lost after nick left since they had hoped he would fix everything back to the way is was but from what he said the change was permanent and as he said they didn''t know how to handle it. the young man broke the silence "while i don''t like how he put it we as a race has grown stagnant in our ways and we need to grow even if it kills most of us." he said seriously. "mark obviously knows that if he just fixed everything for us we would never get beyond needed his help." lucian concurred. Meanwhile nick was walking towards the market area quickly since he hoped to find some new plants and metals since as far as he could tell besides a few heavenly treasures born from the elements themselves most mutant plants or metals are completely random so he could find several variants that don''t exist on his world. when he arrived nick was surprised to see that rather than money the vendors who were on the StreetSide were asking for food for their merchandise. nick was thankful for the system when he saw this since he had large amounts of food in his inventory for emergency situations. Chapter 185 - Trade Nick checked the wares of the vendors and found that most of it was useless junk but still he gave each vendor a bit of food before taking something soon leaving many people grateful to him for his generosity. in truth this was just a ploy by nick to help him get the position of king so he could pass this test and leave. by the time nick got to the middle of the market area he had collected an impressive assortment of trash while basically feeding a third of the less fortunate in the city so he was well liked by the populace. at the start of the middle area nick noticed an immediate spike in prices as well as several vendors selling mutant plants though most of the ones nick saw were too damaged by improper collection methods to be of use but nick still gave out some food nonetheless. nick stopped at one vendor however and he was surprised to find not mutant plants but several vials of colorful liquid and a sign that said strange medicines. nick could tell at first glance that the potions were full of impurities since the method used to create them was primal and full of flaws. "Excuse me but were you the one who created these potions?" nick asked the vendor who was a young girl no older than ten. the little girl looked at nick with bright innocent eyes "no mister is there something wrong with them?" she asked concerned. nick nodded before pointing to one potion that was bright green in color. "this one in particular is poisonous." he said before handing the little girl a small wheel of cheese and grabbing the green potion. the girl looked confused since despite telling her that it was poisonous nick still took the potion. nick didn''t saw anything instead he simply pulled the cork off the bottle and gently poured a single drop of the green potion onto a weed growing in the crack on the stone ground. the moment the drop touched the weed the plant visibly withered away until it turned to dust. the little girl went pale as she watched this scene as nicks words were proven true beyond a shadow of a doubt. " mister please help me!" she asked anxiously. "the rest of these are not poisonous however they were made a bit wrong so they would be harmful to ones body in the long run." he said honestly. The little girl looked conflicted at the colorful vials before turning to look at nick. "mister i only have these thing i can sell for food if i get rid of them then my brothers and sisters will starve can you help?" she asked hopefully. nick sighed before pulling a large burlap sack out of nowhere filled with dried meat and cheese and handed it to the stunned little girl who was shocked by nick seemingly using magic. "this is enough to feed a large family of seven for about a month so I''ll give this to you if you take me to the person who made theses potions." he said with a kind smile. Chapter 186 - Meeting The little girl looked conflicted for a moment but quickly accepted before leading nick away from the market and towards the part of the city where the poor lived. they walked slowly since the little girl was weak from lack of proper food and nick saw many more people in similar situations but he did not help them. after walking for about an hour the two arrived at a small church like building that was in disrepair. "is this were you live?" nick asked while frowning. the little girl nodded before opening one of the front doors which squealed from the rust on its hinges. as the door opened nick saw the inside of the building had a hard stone floor and broken pews that had been repurposed as beds while most of the windows had been boarded shut. in the center of the stone stage at the end of the building a fire was going with a large pot placed above it with a young man with a dirty face stood hunched over stirring occasionally. nick smelled the air and immediately identified at least four things wrong with the potion based on that alone. Nick kept his side of the bargain and gave the little girl some more food before walking towards the young man stirring the pot. "you should have cleaned the pot before you added the plant in." he said startling the young man. "who are you and why are you here?" the young man stared at nick while guarding the pot asked cautiously. nick chuckled "i am called mark and as for why i am here its so i can give an aspiring alchemist a bit of a push in the right direction." he said calmly. the young man looked confused " whats an alchemist?" he asked curious. nick grinned "you see that brew you have boiling behind you?" he asked calmly. the young man nodded "an alchemist is someone who creates various types of medicines using different ingredients , very much like what you are attempting to do but correctly rather than making bad medicine like whats in that pot." nick explained patiently. the young mans eyes widened when he heard what nick said. "how is it bad medicine if it works?" the young man asked frantically. "Most ingredients have what are know as impurities in them that have no medicinal properties and in fact can prove quite harmful to the body , if a am correct you simply put the entire plant into water to boil before bottling the reduction right?" nick asked to which the young man nodded. "in doing so you have created a substance that contains all the impurities that exist in the plant rather than removing them meaning while whoever drinks this stuff may have a small immediate benefit they are harming themselves in the long run." nick explained seriously. the young man looked horrified when he heard what nick said this . "can the impurities be removed from people?" he asked nick anxiously. nick nodded "of course they can , though the process can be a bit of a pain in the a.s.s." he said chuckling at his inside joke. Chapter 187 - Teaching The young man didn''t know what nick was laughing about but he knew that both himself and the other children here had drank his brews in order to stave off hunger , ironically this was how he had discovered the medicinal properties in the plants. "can you please help us we have drank a few of those since we were hungry." the young man looked pathetic as he bowed towards nick and begged. nick frowned deeply "stand up and look me in the eyes!" he yelled at the young man spooking him. the young man stood up tall and looked in nicks eyes shakily. "an alchemist bows to no one but their teacher or other alchemist if i ever find out you bowed to anyone other than those , i will end you." nick said releasing a tiny amount of killing intent. the young man grew pale as blood drained from his face as he felt how serious nick was and just as fast nick returned to being stoic. "i will teach enough to get on the proper path as well as flush the impurities from all of you but remember this moment because it won''t happen again." nick said seriously. The young man nodded "good now lets get rid of those impurities first." nick said with a sly grin. the young man soon learned the horror behind nicks earlier statement about removing impurities being a pain in the a.s.s as he violently expelled the impurities in his body in the only way a mortal can , through their a.s.s. the rest of the kids in this place that nick discovered was an orphanage also experienced the same horror as the young man but afterward they all felt far better than they could ever remember. "now that you are properly cleaned out." nick snickered " i can teach you a bit of alchemy , to begin with i will teach you about plants." he said before he began to explain the differences between plants as well as how to tell their properties and which part is useful and which is not. after teaching about plants nick explained to the young man about how to collect wild plants as well as how to process and store them. like this several hours passed before nick calls it a day so the young man can sleep. After leaving the orphanage nick walked back towards the main street so he could go back to his residence but quickly discovered that he was being hunted by a large bird flying far overhead which amused him so he decided to play with it a little. erasing his presence nick used his light law to vanish which startled the bird into swooping down on the last place it saw nick landing with a puff of air. the bird was a a dark purple color that liked like a massive raven but it had a third eye in the middle of its forehead while it was as big as a person. unknown to the poor bird nick was standing directly besides it wondering whether or not he should use it for an experiment since it had the audacity to try and hunt him. Chapter 188 - Forced evolution ''System analyze.'' nick commanded mentally. _______________________________________ Name: three eyed raven (mutant) Tier:1 Age: a.d.u.l.t Description: a raven that broke the limits of its race and became a mutant with near limitless potential. (can be evolved further) System evaluation: too early to tell _________________________________ nick was not surprised by the systems description since many mutants likely had similar ones but the thing that interested nick was the part about it being able to evolve further since he was curious had far it could change. the creature in question was completely unaware that it was about to be exposed to horrifying experiments by the very prey it was searching for. nick calmly knocked the bird out before carrying over his shoulder back to his residence not carrying above the shocked look he was getting from the few citizens who were braving the dark streets. nick arrived at his residence where he found bellania waiting still though she was alone this time sitting with her back against the entrance. "Oh , is there something else you need?" nick asked drawing her attention from the book she was reading. Closing the book bellania raised her head to see nick standing there with a massive bird dr.a.p.ed over his shoulder like some kind of strange decoration and the words she had been wanting to say died in her throat. nick saw what she was looking at " ah , this thing had the audacity to try and hunt me earlier so i figured i''d bring it back and force it to evolve a few times to satisfy my curiosity." he explained casually. bellania was astonished that a beast such as that seemed little more than a fun play thing to nick but given the little bits of strength he had shown it didn''t surprise her all that much. "actually i was here to inform you that the few people who know a thing or two about cultivation in this kingdom have decided to have the basic technique taught to some loyal soldiers so they can do as you recommended and hunt beast to offset the lack of food." she said while standing up. nick rubbed his chin for a moment before nodding "i suppose that would be fine since i''m not responsible for any actions someone else does , in the mean time how would you like to see what it looks like when a creature evolves?" "Wait you mean i can come inside ?!" bellania asked in excitement. nick nodded " yeah because if this thing got away after evolving lets just say starving would be the least of your troubles." he said ominously. "it can''t that bad right?" bellania asked seriously. "truthfully speaking if i succeed in making this thing evolve it will be at least five times stronger than any creature on this planet currently with the exception of myself of course." nick said honestly. bellania was horrified "why would you want to create something like that?" she asked confused. "well back when i was little i had heard about an extremely powerful creature that was a mixture between a lion and an eagle but i later learned it didn''t exist so i want to see if i can turn a bird into that creature." Chapter 189 - Forced evolution(2) Bellania was surprised at the reasoning behind nicks actions since as far as she could tell they sounded like the actions of a madman rather than the grounded person she knew. nick ignored the look that he was receiving and walked past bellania to the door of his residence and casually pulled it open with his free hand . "well come in so i can get this experiment on the road." he said to bellania impatiently. bellania stepped into the doorway and was surprised to see a large set of stairs leading into the earth in the center of the room. nick enter behind her and shut the stone door before heading past her down the stairs while dragging the bird behind him since the ceiling wasn''t high enough for him to continue carrying it on his shoulders. "follow me" nick said without looking back. bellania looked nervous as she headed down the stairs behind nick but soon the ever brilliant light from the special stones that lined the walls caught her attention as she was wondering how nick had artificial lighting that wasn''t fire. bellanias eyes widened as she finally saw the ridiculously posh interior of nicks abode. Shock was written boldly on her face as the brilliant materials used as mere decorations shone brightly while the various depictions on the walls seemed so real she felt it wouldn''t be odd if they were to leap off the walls and attack. nick noticed the stunned look on bellanias face and was confused for a moment before it dawned on him that she was far less desensitized to material things than he was as a cultivator. "no need to look so shocked to higher tier cultivators such as myself materials like this are only useful as decorations and little else , if you want to see something truly impressive you should head to the room at the far end of the area." he said bragging slightly. bellania looking at nick in disbelief when she heard what he said as it made no sense how anyone could see such wealth as mere decoration when there was literal gold covering the walls. as much as she wanted to argue with nick about it she could tell from his tone that what he said was true. "it just seems wasteful to only use such wealth as decorations." she said before dropping the subject. Nick didn''t comment on what she said as he walked a short distance down the hall before walking through a doorway to his left with the bird. the room nick had entered was filled with various pieces of equipment that were currently inactive but could be turned on whenever he felt like it. in the center of the room a large cage made of a type of extremely strong metal stood with elemental resistance runes carved into each of the bars making it the perfect holding container for beast no matter the element. nick put the bird into the cage before shutting the door of it and taking out some smelling salts forcing the bird to wake up groggily. bellania watched as the massive avian slowly came to before it noticed its surroundings and screeched in rage before quickly standing up and throwing itself against the bars with violent force only for the cage to not even wiggle a little. Chapter 190 - Forced evolution(3) Bellania quickly retreated as the bird attacked the cage walls while angrily screeching but nick simply ignored the beast as he started activating several machines that began to whir to life. soon the bird noticed it couldn''t escape with brute force and began to obverse its surroundings on to stop on nick as it was surprised to see the prey it sought earlier to be outside its cage. the bird had developed a small amount of intelligence when it mutated managed to put two and two together and figured out that nick was the one who captured it. "CAW CAW!" the bird yelled at nick angrily. nick was surprised at this but quickly recovered and chuckled at the bird. "it seems your mutation was wisdom based rather than physical , though i doubt you can understand me even with that being the case." he said calmly. the bird was unable to translate what nick said but it could easily tell that nick thought little of it which agitated its pride. the bird released an aura of killing intent hoping to frighten nick to assuage its anger even a little. Nick was wholly unaffected by such a weak aura but decided to show this stupid creature who was truly boss and released his own killing intent which immediately chilled the air and to both bellania and the bird they hallucinated a world of blood with a mountain of corpses before nick withdrew it leaving both on the ground shaking and panting as their bodies tried to recover from the experience. the bird knew that it was before a beast far greater than its self and summited quietly in hopes of being spared. nick nodded at this since it would make it easier for him to work on the bird if it wasn''t struggling to much. bellania on the other hand was horrified at the scenes she saw and no matter how much she tried to she couldn''t shake the existential terror that gripped her instincts. nick saw this and simply sent some qi into her to wipe the effects of his killing intent that was lingering in her body. "you should work on your will a bit so you don''t get stuck in that state again." nick said to her seriously. she pouted at his words but didn''t refute them since she knew she was weak willed. Nick walked over to one of the machines that had a screen with an image of the bird on it with extremely detailed information that told the method of strengthening it in theory. on one of the sides of the machine an empty slot with the words sample intake written in bold letters. nick took out a vial of vibrant crimson liquid which he placed into the slot calmly before looking back to the screen where the information of a second creature appeared this time a lion type creature that looked quite regal. indeed the liquid nick put into the machine was the bloodline of a beast known as the dread shadow lion that was another mutant like the bird that nick had in the cage. nick inputted a command into the machine and the two images on the screen crossed into each other and began to morph into a monstrous variety of shapes before the machine beeped and a list appeared on the screen of every possible outcome of the fusion. Chapter 191 - Griffon The list started with a creature called a winged cat which changed the bird into the shape of a cat while shifting the wings to its back but kept the small size of the bird making the resulting animal more suited to being a pet than for what nick had in mind. next on the list there was a creature called a lovern which was actually created through the process of the creatures mutating into a horrible creature that was a hairless and featherless monstrosity with a mix of lion and bird features in horrible combination nick skipped this choice as well as the next five as they all neither satisfied his idea nor his vanity as they were all hideous. ironically the last option was precisely the one he sought , a griffon. the creature in question had the torso of a lion and the head of a bird with both feathers and fur in equal parts while on its back it had two powerful wings that gave it the ability to fly. the actual name of the creature according to the machine was classified as a three eyed false griffon which was technically not even an actual griffon but rather a creature that was made unnaturally with the potential to evolve to an actual griffon. Nick was satisfied with this result so he selected it on the machine which afterwards whirred for a moment before ejecting a vial filled with a black liquid that had the vague sense of life which nick ignored before taking out a syringe and filling it with every single drop of the liquid. nick turned to the bird in the cage who knew nick was about to do something to it so it cawed at him in a halfhearted attempt to get nick to leave it be. nick ignored the creatures warning and approached the cage before reaching to grab the bird through the bars which caused the bid to bite the outstretched hand desperately. the result of the attack shocked both the bird and bellania who was watching because as soon as the beak of the bird latched unto nicks hand sparks flew and the sound of metal screeching filled the air as no harm was done to the hand at all. ironically nick knew that a trapped beast would react in this way so he was counting on it to make holding it still easier. Nicks hand grabbed the bird by the neck and forcefully held it unto the bottom of the cage where it struggle pointlessly before nick stuck it with the needle and injected the black liquid into the creature before removing the now empty syringe and releasing the bird which immediately began to spasm on the floor of the cage. bellania was confused by nicks actions "i thought you said you were going to mutate the creature so why does it look like you are killing it?" she asked not understanding. nick laughed "i am mutating it the reason it is reacting like this is because the way i am causing it to mutate is completely against its will so instead of being a pleasurable experience as it would normally be it is extremely painful." he said without looking away from the creature in the cage. Chapter 192 - Griffon(2) The bird grew another pair of legs behind its first pair as it body grew longer and more feline while its wings grew larger while shifting to the back of the creatures new body shape. a long slender tail sprouted from the back end of the creature where feathers grew in a fan shape at the end of its new tail while fur grew between the feathers on the creatures body before the entire body of the new creature stopped spasming and laid still on the bottom of the cage the only sign of life the rising an falling of its c.h.e.s.t. nicks eyes lit up in happiness as he looked upon his creation ''system analyze.'' he commanded. *DING* _______________________________________ Name: three eyed false griffon (mutant) Tier:2 Age: adolescent Description: a creature created by Nicholas varia with the hope of creating a beast of myth (can be evolved further) System evaluation: hopeful. ___________________________________________ nick noticed that the creature was not listed as an a.d.u.l.t anymore but simply thought that it was a byproduct of the fusion process and ignored it. "is it successful?" bellania asked curiously. nick nodded "yes it was a success this creature is now called a three eyed false griffon and is far stronger than anything else in this world with the exception of myself of course." Nick was about to say something when he noticed the griffon start to move and watched as the creature stood up shakily since it was not used to its new body and needed to readjust but quickly managed to gain its bearings. the creature opened its three eyes and blinked as it was blinded by the lights in the room as its vision was far more s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e now. after getting used to the light the creature turned its head to look at itself and as it did it was shocked to discover the massive changes to its body but it also felt stronger than it ever did as well as noticing some energy in the air it was unfamiliar with. nick created a mental connection with the creature before speaking directly to its mind '' pretty awesome isn''t it?'' he asked it mentally. the creature flinched hard when it heard nicks voice in its head before it looked at him in confusion. ''yes its me.'' nick said while waving. The creature was amazed before it replied in its head ''what did you do?'' it asked curious. in truth the creature wasn''t angry at nick since it felt the strength that whatever nick did gave it , if anything it was grateful hence it was more than willing to remain civil with nick , knowing this it had asked nick its question. nick grinned and gestured dramatically ''i have given you the chance to become a supreme creature capable of having the fear and awe of the many.'' nick started his sales pitch. ''whats more i can help you reach that height without any real problems , though there is one problem.'' nick said his fox tail waving slightly. ''what is it can i help?'' the creature asked excitedly. nick nodded ''indeed you see i can''t do this if you aren''t with me.'' he said seemingly honestly. Chapter 193 - Contract The griffon didn''t know how to respond to nick since it truly wanted to be free and so it was quite conflicted since as far as it could tell it would need to lose its freedom in order to accept the offer nick was giving it. nick didn''t interrupt the creatures thoughts since he was sure he had deceived it perfectly. nick knew that in all honesty that so long as nothing killed this creature it would be practically guaranteed to reach the heights he told it about. after thinking it over for a few minutes the creature agreed to stay with nick on the condition that he wouldn''t lock it in a cage again to which nick agreed immediately. nick bit his thumb forcefully sending sparks flying before he managed to cause himself to drip out a single drop of blood before the would closed before he pressed his thumb unto the creatures forehead and created a contract of equals which the creature accepted causing the drop of blood to be absorbed . on the griffons forehead a symbol of a circle with half black and half white appeared like a strange tattoo and on nicks left hand a symbol of three eyes appeared thus showing the contract was established. Nick decided not to explain anything that just happened to the confused bellania before he messed with her so he opened the cage letting the griffon out before looking at bellania who immediately paled as she remembered what nick said about the strength of the creature if he succeeded. through the contract the creature could understand what nick was doing and decided to play along and walked out of the cage and then looked at the poor girl and licked its beak looking like it wanted to eat her. bellania panicked and bolted for the door but nick started laughing which caught her attention and she stopped running for the door and looked back only to see both nick and the creature cracking up while looking at her. she could immediately tell that she had been tricked and began fuming but both the two others just laughed harder at her. "how dare you trick me !" she yelled angrily. nick managed to stop laughing "oh please it was too easy to trick you i just couldn''t help myself." he said with a grin while the griffon nodded its head in agreement. Bellania huffed angrily but didn''t make to much of a fuss about the joke. having showed bellania the process of evolution for a creature as he said he would he showed her his cultivation chamber which practically made her jaw drop from the sheer amount of qi in the room from the array not to mention the super attractive materials that lined the wall as a layer of insulation. nick smirked when he saw her expression while the griffon immediately made itself comfortable in the corner of the room before falling into a cultivation slumber. Chapter 194 - Showing off Nick ignored the griffon and began shooing bellania out of his residence much to her chagrin. after closing the door to his residence nick walked back to his cultivation room before sitting on the mat in the center of the room and beginning his own cultivation thus ending the day. nick woke up the next day because the griffon was nudging him and he wanted to tell it to stop but he quickly realized that he had no idea what to call it. "are you a male?" he asked seriously. the griffon was startled by the question but nodded quickly in affirmation. nick thought for a moment before he decided on a name "i think i will call you tyrion from now on." nick said seriously and the griffon didn''t seem to mind since it sounded like a powerful name. having gotten the naming out of the way nick started to explain about the cultivation world to the best of his abilities while tyrion soaked the knowledge up like a sponge eagerly. after nick finished explaining the general important information tyrion was extremely grateful towards nick since he now knew how insignificant he was in the grand scheme of things. Nick brushed off tyrions gratitude since he knew he had tricked the griffon into becoming his contracted beast thereby limiting its freedom to a large degree. nick lead tyrion out of the residence carefully since the ceiling wasn''t tall enough for him to walk normally and nick decided he would fix that when he got back. after heading up the stairs nick pulled the stone door open to reveal a few familiar faces outside chatting casually while they obviously waited for nick. everyone heard the door slide open and stopped their conversations and looked at the now open doorway where nick stood with a helpless expression. "honestly do you people have nothing better than to congregate outside my door?" he asked with a bit of teasing. everyone had an embarrassed expression before the king spoke up. "we heard from miss bellania that you had changed a monster into something far stronger and wanted to verify it for ourselves." he said seriously. nick nodded before walking out with tyrion following behind him who fully stretched out his wings while also standing his full height making him look extremely intimidating. The group all recoiled at the sight of tyrion standing majestically in front of the building. the light of the sun glistened of of tyrions ebony body like the sheen on the waters surface while the aura of a tier 2 beast roiled off of him while he posed obviously showing off. nick couldn''t take the embarrassment any more and told him to stop showing off before he looked at the group. "well here is the beast in question anything else you need if not i plan on going hunting." nick said seriously. the king looked at nick with a serious expression "we also heard you used some sort of method to tame this beast so we were wondering if you would give us that method so we could stabilize the situation." he said seriously. Chapter 195 - Showing off(2) Nick thought about the request for a second before agreeing since it was not a very big secret and he would like to see how it would turn out if unlike the world he came here for this world focused on cultivating beast rather than their own strength. having had this thought nick give out the method to tame beast as well as the restrictions on the method such as needing the beast acceptance first as well as the mental connection that makes your thoughts clear to the beast and vice versa. after giving them the information nick took tyrion and left the group behind while heading towards the orphanage to continue teaching the young man how to be a decent alchemist. the civilians who saw nick walking with tyrion all stared in awe as tyrion strutted with his c.h.e.s.t puffed out pridefully. nick ignored the prideful beast while he walked calmly towards the orphanage and a frown started to cross his face as he heard the faint sounds of yelling coming from that direction. tyrion felt nicks irritation through the connection and sent nick a message that he would go first to check it out. Tyrion flapped his wings and shot into the sky with a violent gale before flying rapidly towards the place the sounds were coming from since it was a good distance away from where nick was at in the massive city. tyrion made it to the place were the noise came from and found that it was outside a place nick had been since a strong remnant aura was stuck to the place. if nick was here he would be able to tell that it was the orphanage he was headed to and also that the noise was being caused by a group of burly men in rough clothes that were banging on the door while yelling about how they were going to get rich from the potions once they got inside. tyrion could tell immediately that the men meant ill and so he dived down towards the men with a whistling sound accompanying his decent. the men heard the whistling sound and dodged to the side since from their experience that sound usually accompanied arrows , unfortunately the men jumping away was almost completely ineffective as it was not an arrow but a sentient creature. Tyrion changed direction slightly using his tail before crashing right into two of the men who dodged in the same direction with a muffled bang along with the sound of bones crunching. the two men died without knowing what killed them however the other five men saw the monster that had just killed their friends and instantly broke into sweats as tyrion glared at them with killing intent. it should be know that ever though tyrion seemed tame around nick he was still a violent beast until yesterday so he was extremely viscous to those he deemed enemies. Chapter 196 - Slaughter The group of men looked at tyrion with fear as he stood on the crushed remains of the two he landed on. tyrion glared at the men mockingly before he stepped forward and flapped his wings propelling himself rapidly towards the fearful men before they could react. he almost instantly arrived in front of the group where he raised his right talon and ripped another man in half with his razor sharp claws. meanwhile nick had started moving at a greater speed once he confirmed that someone was starting trouble at the orphanage since while he wouldn''t care if it was someone he didn''t know but since he had decided to teach that young man alchemy he was quite peeved that some people would dare attack before he was done. unknown to nick it was the innate arrogance of his dragon king bloodline that was affecting his thoughts and stoking the flames of his wrath. tyrion dashed to the next man and much like the previous cleaved him in half while blood splashed onto his face but he ignored it before he charged at another and in this way tyrion massacred the men with cold ease. Nick arrived at the orphanage where he stopped tyrion from killing the last man with his blood-soaked claw right above the man like the grim reapers scythe. nick walked over to the last man coldly stepping on the corpses sprawled across the area with an indifferent expression. "tell me , are you bunch the only ones with designs on this place?" he asked coldly. the last man saw the same predatory indifference in nicks eyes as he did in tyrions and horror filled him as he cursed that he most have been unusually cruel to kittens in his past life to meet such monsters. "o-only me an me mates ad an idea on them potions that we tracked ere." the man said fearfully with a broken accent. nick nodded before waving his hand causing the man to implode in a horrifying display of power that made even tyrion shrink back fearfully. nick created a spark of flame which he expanded to incinerate the corpses in the area as well as causing the blood to dry and evaporate erasing any sign of the men who had came to cause trouble before cleaning tyrion off since he was covered in blood and bits of viscera. After taking care of that problem nick walked up to the side of the orphanage where a broken was high up on the wall and lightly tapped his foot sending himself up and through the window in one casual movement before landing gracefully on the floor of the building with a loud thump. the children who were staring at the barricaded turned to look at the place were they heard the sound and were shocked to see nick standing there casually. Chapter 197 - Rebuilding Nick stood there calmly as the children all rushed towards him joyfully since they remembered how nice he was when he came last time. "big brother did you take care of those nasty old men outside?" a little girl asked with big bright eyes. nick nodded "of course i did , here have a piece of candy." he said before handing out candy to all of the children and sending them on their way. nick looked around and made a plan in his head before he walked over to the barricade and waved his hand causing it to come undone and float to the side neatly. opening the front door which g.r.o.a.n.e.d loudly nick walked outside and circled around the building inspecting it closely before shaking his head. in truth nick was originally going to repair the old building but after careful examination he discovered that even the foundation was on the verge of collapse making such an action pointless. nick walked back into the building and had the children and youths grab everything they wanted before having them leave the building by telling them he was going to destroy the building before rebuilding it even bigger and better. It took about five minutes for everyone to clear out everything they wanted which was only because they didn''t have much to begin with. once that was done nick spent another ten minutes in order to convince everyone that tyrion wasn''t dangerous to them. ironically it was the little children who were easiest to convince since to be honest they wanted nothing more than to pet him from the moment they saw him which made tyrion uncomfortable but he didn''t lash out since nick sent him a warning not to. after everyone was out of the building nick wrapped the building with his qi before making it implode crushing the building foundation and all in an instant. if it had been a few days ago this wouldn''t have been possible for nick since his cultivation was still greatly sealed but thanks to the ever increasing qi in the atmosphere his cultivation had unsealed to the peak of nascent soul tier. the truth is that the only reason nick hadn''t recovered his full cultivation was that the world was still lacking a bit to support someone in void chasing tier. once nick cleared away the area he flattened the ground perfectly. The area now looked as though it never had any building to begin with which satisfied nick so he began to create a new foundation this time using sturdy cultivator materials like jade stone. the foundation alone was so large that it easily reached the size of half a football field. after the foundation was set nick began to create the outer walls out of solid jadestone slabs seamlessly placed to surround the foundation without any cracks before he created a roof out of ebony wood which was known for its strength and rich dark coloration as the the supports before covering it with gorgeous blue dragon scale shaped tiles. once done nick entered the empty shell of the building an created two different dorms for the male and females each with ten rooms each as well as two bathrooms as well per dorm. after that he created a kitchen area as well as a few crafting rooms and a library. after the building was roughly done he placed doors were needed before filling the building with the needed furniture such as beds ,chairs ,tables and so on before stocking the library with books on all subjects and various foods in the kitchen while the basic equipment for each of the crafting rooms. with this nick was finished with the building but it looked a bit plain in his opinion so he added some windows before using his qi to to carve various divine beast on the walls with the entryway having a massive image of tyrion standing majestically. Chapter 198 - Griffon nest Nick looked at his handiwork in appreciation before having all the orphanages previous residents head inside. each and every one of them runs into the building in excitement and disbelief that its their home now. nick just grins knowingly before walking in calmly since he understood that for these orphans and abandoned children who have never had a decent place over their heads this place was practically a dream come true. ironically the first thing that the young man got excited about was the crafting rooms since he was truly passionate about alchemy , that is not to say he wasn''t thrilled with them building just that his priorities were different than the others. nick took a seat calmly in the dining room and was about to experiment with his laws when he heard a familiar voice yawn from behind him drawing his attention. "so how long was i out?" the voice asked groggily. nick of course knew that the one asking the question was none other than yin yun who had been uncharacteristically quiet in recent times. "ah i see so you were asleep this whole time." nick said in understanding. Yin yun pouted when she heard nick " yeah that inheritance spirit said i would ruin the test so he put me to sleep before i could defend myself." she said angrily. nick nodded but didn''t comment since he figured that she was also sealed like himself. "so any chance i can get some wine off you?" yin yun asked coquettishly. nick sighed before giving her the weakest wine he had and shooing her away. meanwhile the group of people who were outside nicks residence are discovering that taming beast was by no means easy since what nick didn''t tell them was that unless the beast was willing you needed to overpower it by yourself before even having a chance to succeed with a contract. "oi lucian you think that guy lied to us?" the king asked while panting heavily. lucian was also sweating heavily while panting "if I''m not wrong the method isn''t wrong but we didn''t ask what the rules for making a contract were so he didn''t tell us." lucian said tiredly. "yeah that sounds like something that guy would do." bellania said with a sigh. at this moment wesley walked out of the trees looking like he just fought a bear and lost. Wesley had a large serpent with brilliant silver color and scales like sharp knives with a scythe like appendage at the end of its tail. both the king and lucian looked at wesley in amazement "how did you contract that beast?" they both asked curiously. "well as you know i went off on my own , and according to rea here no self respecting beast would join someone weaker than them as well as those who teamed up to take them down." wesley said while pointing at the silver serpent next to him. "i see so its the rule of the jungle then , now i know why that guy didn''t tell us the rules." the king says with a chuckle. Chapter 199 - Strange beast Lucian nodded "if I''m not wrong we were supposed to figure out that individual strength is more important than numbers." he said with a frown. "that would make sense , though if that is true then we have some problems as we can barely match a beast individually much less defeating one." the king said with furrowed brows. wesley shook his head "you are both thinking about this wrong." he said drawing the two men''s attention. "oh how is that so?" lucian asked confused. wesley pointed at the snake next to him. "does this snake look like it is very strong?" he asked making the two men frown. "it does look very strong , what of it?" the king said not understanding. "you are wrong this snake is actually not very strong but rather it is extremely fast." wesley said before having the snake dash forward disappearing into a puff of dust. lucians eyes lit up at this display "i get it!" he exclaimed before looking at the king "we thought that all of these beast were balanced like before they changed just that they were stronger but in fact most of them actually have grown in a particular direction like this snake which isn''t strong so much as fast." lucian explained. The kings eyes lit up as he figured out the most important piece of information. "so you mean we simply need to find beast that are specialized in something we can handle." he said with a grin. meanwhile nick was teaching the orphans how to cultivate as well as the information they needed to know about the cultivation world. "any questions?" nick asked. "um mister what about tyrion why is he so strange looking?" the little girl who led him to the orphanage originally asked. "tyrion is a special kind of beast called a myth breed but that is only because i had forcefully altered the evolutionary path he would have taken originally. he would still be just a big bird otherwise." nick explained honestly. "is there any other questions?" he asked calmly. "can we learn how to use alchemy like big brother joseph?" a little boy with thin blonde hair and red eyes asked. "it depends on if you have the talent for it like joseph." nick said finally learning the young man who was trying to learn alchemy''s name. "How do we know if we have talent for it?" the same little boy asked hopeful. nick pulled out a clear orb the size of his head. "this orb is used to figure out roughly what someone is talented in as well as what element they are most attuned with." nick explained before placing the orb on the ground. "each of you will come and place your hand on this orb and i will tell you your talents and affinities." nick said before pointing at the little boy "you will go first since you brought it up." he said calmly. Chapter 200 - Unusual The boy looked nervous as he step forward and stopped in front of the clear orb and looked at nick trying to figure out what to do now. "place your hand on top of the orb and wait for the colors in it to settle." nick said seriously. the boy reached out his hand tentatively before putting it on the top of the orb with a flinch before visibly relaxing once he found that there is nothing wrong with it. soon the clear orb began to get clouded with different colors spinning like a cyclone originating from the boys palm. the cyclone soon slowed before separating into different layers each with a different color. nick watched the orb the entire time before speaking "from the way the colors settled we can see what elements you are most attuned to and by extension what profession you are most apt for if any." he said while point at the top two colors "for example the two colors red and yellow as we see here means that you are most attune to the fire and earth elements of which both are needed in order to have any hope of a career as an alchemist." he explain calmly. The boy looked thrilled after learning that he had the aptitude to be an alchemist so he didn''t mind when nick had him set to the other side of the room before having another child walk up to the orb. much like previously the child placed their hands onto the orb one after the other before nick explained what elements they were most attuned to as well as what profession they could be used for if any. some of the children were happy with their talents while other were not as either they weren''t talented in what they found interesting or simply weren''t talented in any career to which nick could only shrug at their bad luck. towards the end of the group of children something unusual happened when a little girl of about six placed her hand on the orb as the colors that appeared all shone brightly while the orb started humming loudly before the girl retreated in terror from the strange phenomena she had created. nick stood there stunned since he had only heard of such a thing occurring once before and of course he would be quite clear about what is represented since he himself was the one who had cause the phenomena before. Nick observed the the girl more closely noting down her light silver hair and vibrant green eyes like jewels. "what is you''re name little one?" nick asked curiously. the little girl thought she was in trouble so she hid behind joseph timidly. nick figured out that to a young child his actions could be construed as an a.d.u.l.t looking to punish. "you are not in trouble little one i merely wish to know if you had come across any odd objects that felt funny when you grabbed them or perhaps even vanished when you did so." he said while purposefully making his voice gentler. Chapter 201 - Another Joseph may not understand what entirely was different with the results of this last test but even he could tell that whatever it was had excited this mysterious and powerful person called mark. having come to the conclusion that mark truly meant well he reassured the little girl behind him while having her step forward. the little girl fidgeted nervously with her head down "my name is mina and i found this really pretty box when i went to the market yesterday and i brought it home with me but i couldn''t find it when i got up today ." she said nervously. nick nodded "it would seem you are quite lucky to find that thing , though it means i will need to change my plans a bit i am happy to do so for you." he said kindly. "why would you need to change your plans for me?" mina asked confused. "thanks to that box you found as well as your own innate talents you unlike most people have no limits on what you can be successful in be it elements or professions and as a result in order for your talent to not be wasted i will need to teach you personally." Mina was stunned at how much freedom she had to learn compared to the other orphans since she had seen that only a few of them had the talents required to thrive at even two professions much less all of them. after settling mina with the others who had taken the test nick had the last four orphans take it as well with average results with the exception of joseph whose results surprised nick a little. when joseph placed his hand on the orb it lit up even brighter than when mina did so however unlike mina only two colors showed up , the first being red for fire and the second being green for wood , soon the two colors swirled within the orb before congealing into the shape of a tree with red and green streaks swirling on every part of it. seeing this nick chuckled slightly before speaking "no wonder you learned alchemy so well it turns out you have a sage talent for the profession." he said with a look of joy. joseph was confused at what nick said and it showed so nick spoke again "i wasn''t going to mention sage talents since they are extremely rare but since you have one it now becomes necessary." "So in this world there are six basic elements as well as various offshoot elements as well but those are not important for this topic. the six basic elements are earth, fire, water, air and wood , now most people are innately attuned to every one of these elements but are more talented in some rather than others which is how we figure out what professions one is innately talented in. sage talented people instead are only attuned to certain elements so distinctly that when tested only those elements show up in some shape that determines if they are also gifted with the profession that uses those elements. for example alchemy requires both fire and wood for compatibility but if the sage talent is not in the shape of a plant then they only have average talent in alchemy and the talent is for some other profession depending on the shape taken. but even amongst sage talents there are distinction based on the order the shape falls under like how trees are the highest order of plants while grass is the lowest." nick explained. Chapter 202 - Sages drawback "However there is a problem with sage talents that is well recorded and that is that regardless of what kind of talent it is the person who possesses the talent will have a near addiction like need to do whatever they are talented in which doesn''t seem that bad at first glance but if you are trapped with limited ingredients for alchemy with a group of friends and family and you run out of ingredients you will first start to get anxious then you will get increasingly irritable before you turn on the others to use them as ingredients in a pill which will immediately calm you down before this process repeats until you either get free or die from using yourself as an ingredient." nick said solemnly. "i would never do such a thing!" joseph vehemently refused. nick sighed "i won''t say that it is impossible to resist those urges but unfortunately the actual likely hood is that you most likely won''t even realize you are having them because your conscious mind will rationalize your thoughts by making you think its necessary for survival." he explained with a look of pity. All the orphans looked horrified at this revelation as most of them recoiled slightly away from joseph while he also looked horrified. "the good news is that your sage talent belongs to one of the professions that is the easiest to satisfy." nick said honestly. "oh what do you mean?" joseph asked hopefully. "obviously you are not the first person with a sage talent so once this huge drawback was discovered many researched how to offset it without paying a horrible price and eventually found that only certain professions can be lessened since they didn''t have high material requirements while others were truly hopeless. luckily alchemy was one of the ones that had a method for relief." nick said calmly. "what is the method " jakob asked anxiously. "for alchemy a pill called nature purge was created that made it so an alchemy sage talent could maintain reason. the way it works is through the creation of a pill using whatever has trapped you as an ingredient as well as a single drop of your own blood thus letting you fulfill the requirement of pill creation." nick said honestly. "don''t worry to much I''ll teach you how to make one later." nick said before changing the subject. "Anyway now that we have determined what everyone''s talents are lets head over to the library so i can give each of you a basic elementless cultivation manual as well as a basic manual for one weapon of your choice as well as your profession if you have the talent for one." nick said while walking to a room on the left side of the hall. the orphans followed excitedly as they walked into the library where books lined every wall with multiple copies next to each other orderly. nick then floated up from the ground and took down a few copies from the shelves before landing again calmly while the orphans watched in awe. Chapter 203 - Teaching "You can fly!" the orphans all exclaim at once. nick looks confused for a moment before he figures out that he forgot to mention that each tier of cultivation has certain advantages that only appear of after reaching that tier. "ah right i forget its not common knowledge yet so anyway once you reach origin core you can fly and once you reach nascent soul you get your divine sense." he explains like it was common knowledge. nick hands out the books to each of the orphans along with a little advice about whichever profession it is before sending each of them away to study on their own except mina since she required far more of attention due to her special circ.u.mstances. nick lead mina over to a table at the end of the library and sat her down before sitting across from her calmly. "first things first we need to talk about what your talent is about and what that means for your future." he says while looking serious. "now as far as I''m aware your talent is the same as my own known as nature''s child , and what that means is that you are loved by the heavens themselves." " meaning you are attuned to every element while also meaning you will not get any tribulations for cultivating until you reach void completion and even then it will never be the heavens trying to kill you only them scolding you for defying them." nick explained calmly. "whats a tribulation?" mina asked confused. nick scolded himself for not explaining very well " as you know to cultivate is to defy the heavens which the heavens usually hate so every time someone breaks through to a higher tier of cultivation the heavens punish them with what are known as tribulations." he explains seriously. "oh so like when you steal food and get your hand popped by brother joseph." mina says in understanding. "but doesn''t that mean cultivating is bad?" she asked innocently. nick shook his head "that is a very debatable concept , one the side of heaven it would seem so but at the same time if it was truly bad why would heaven create things that improve cultivation. so the standard idea is that heaven only wants certain people to cultivate so if anyone else does so it makes heaven unhappy much like a parent giving their child a gift only for someone else child to take it." nick said with a sigh. "Are we the certain people?" mina asked curiously. nick shrugged "not even i know the answer to that question though it is my theory that it''s true." he said honestly. "if it''s true then does that mean everyone else stole the gift meant for us?" she asked innocently. nick froze as cold sweat formed on his back "it''s best if you don''t say anything like that to anyone who isn''t a nature''s child or you will likely meet a horrible end." nick warned seriously. Chapter 204 - Teaching(2) Mina looked confused "why? if it''s true then it only makes sense to let people know." she said innocently. nick shook his head "in fact the exact opposite is true as the fact of the matter is that telling other people would likely get you killed since most people would consider it unfair and since they can''t argue with heaven they would take out their frustration on you instead." he warned seriously. "well enough about that i shall now guide you on a basic cultivation art that is designed specifically for nature''s children called the rainbow world technique. now the reason you will be using this technique rather than the one i gave the others is because the qi that is found everywhere is actually an amalgamation of each elemental qi and the technique they have can only separate at most three different types of qi for their consumption whereas being a nature child such an action is unnecessary and wasteful so you need a technique that refines all of the elemental qi''s equally thus maximizing your gains." he said patiently. "does this mean i will be stronger than the others?" mina asked curiously. Nick shook his head "not necessarily , you see there are benefits to each type of talent as well as downsides as well for example while you may advance your cultivation much faster than the others at the beginning they will advance faster than you after the nascent soul tier since they will not have their attention divided on multiple laws like you will. the easiest way to explain it is that its like building a house where there are a bunch of steps till its finished while they focus their entire attention on a single step you will have your attention on every step at the same time making you far slower." nick explained honestly. "does this mean you also advance slower than others as well?" mina asked curiously. "i am a bit of a special case since I''m pretty sure i am monstrously talented even for a nature child due to several reasons i won''t be getting into." nick said effectively dodging the question. thankfully mina didn''t seem interested in continuing the conversation so nick moved on by handing a book he took out of seemingly nowhere to mina "if you don''t understand anything in the book ask and I''ll do my best to clarify it for you." Mina nodded before opening the book and reading it for about five minutes before she can across something she didn''t understand that nick clarified , this repeated until she finished the book an hour later and asked to stop since she had a headache from the sudden info dump. nick of course agreed since even he was a child at one point in time so after dismissing mina he pondered what he should leave behind after he completes the trial and heads back to the welk clan. Chapter 205 - History in the making Nick already decided that he would take most of the things in his residence leaving only the qi gathering array and the unimportant pieces in his crafting rooms since besides the qi gathering array none of the other things he is going to leave are very high tier and even the array is only tier 2 since when he created it his cultivation was sealed preventing him from making it better. then there was of course the griffons nest he had just founded which would undoubtedly become one of the leading organizations in this new era but that''s the entire reason he he created it was so the whole world will remember that he was here. yes that was the true reason he built the griffons nest rather than just teaching the orphans like he did with the king and nobles. nick knew that after he returned to the other world that since very few people knew of him in this world that as time passed he would end up forgotten entirely unless he left something that was extremely hard to ignore and as soon as he found the orphanage he had the idea to turn it into that thing. What nick was unaware of was that simple by teaching the nobles how to contract beast he had already solidified his place in this worlds history. while nick was planning out his exit strategy the spirit in charge of the test was having a headache since nick had once again made the test pointless while simultaneously causing the world to leap unprepared into a cultivation era which caused a massive imbalance to show up as the beast started to mutate in droves instantly knocking humanity to the bottom of the food chain as the beast immediately slaughtered the places that had little protection such as villages while places like walled cities only faired a little better since the walls allowed for a weak defense which prevented humanity from going extinct immediately. the spirit was at least a little surprised at nicks action of freely passing the method to cultivate as well as that of professions which allowed those in the capital city to begin to reach a balance with the beast , though the spirit could only pity the rest of the humans as none of them had someone like nick to let them resist. The spirit wanted to call the test finished since at this point nick had completed the objective of taking over the kingdom as if he told someone to jump they would ask how high which in itself is a type of leading even if it is only because nick was considered the only hope for humanity by the nobles including the king. soon the spirit decided that it would be honest with nick and tell him that he completed the test but he needed to give the rest of humanity on the world a helping hand before he could leave since it was his fault they were in this situation to begin with. Chapter 206 - Final task Nick was going to head back to his residence when the spirit in charge of the test spoke to him causing him to pause in his steps. " congratulations on completing the fourth and final test , though i dislike the methods you used to do so as you have singlehandedly propelled this world into a cultivation era and nearly caused the extinction of humans on this world." the voice chastised angrily. nick shrugged "to be fair i thought this whole world was merely an elaborate illusion until recently and by that point it was to late to stop the change." he said honestly. "i am aware that i am to blame for this outcome to some extent since i did not inform you of the truth , that said before you leave this world you need to give the other kingdoms humans the same information as you have this kingdoms people at the least since they will likely go extinct otherwise." the spirit said calmly. nick sighed "as it is my fault that they are in such a lurch i don''t mind dragging them back out especially since i am using them as an experiment to see what happens if humans rely on tamed beast early in their history rather than discovering it later when it is no longer needed." The spirit was slightly surprised by nicks train of thought since the spirit had never heard of a civilization that developed in this manner since it was against logic to try and tame the beast until the race was superior to the beast making it pointless. nick stopped heading towards his residence and walked back to the griffons nest where he informed the orphans that he was leaving for a long time and gave them enough gold and treasures to last them at least ten years before he bid farewell and left on tyrions back. after arriving at his residence nick found bellania waiting for him which was convenient so he informed her of his departure to which she vehemently protested but he ignored it as he stripped his residence of everything that he was taking and bid farewell before taking off into the air leaving bellania with a lost look on her face. nick headed towards the cities listed on the map given to him by the spirit leaving each with the knowledge he gave the king and nobles before leaving just as fast as he arrived. Nick repeated this process at every city listed on the map for a total of twenty one before he made his way to an area that had no human presence and stored tyrion in the tattoo of a griffon and first the first time since coming to this world he unleashed his full power including his bloodline as a shockwave of power burst forth from him as the earth shook and the winds howled at the presence of a lifeform so powerful that compared to every other living thing it could be considered a deity. the entire world prostrated itself to the aura of the unleashed nick before the spirit teleported nick back to the inheritance site which caused his aura to vanish but not before nicks actions generated a seed of faith amongst the humans who recognized nicks aura as the aura of the one who gave them salvation making them mistakenly believe he was a deity to be worshiped. Chapter 207 - Inheritance Nick soon found himself where he had left the main world originally and maintained his vigilance as he didn''t know if the previous owner had left any last minute tricks that he had to watch out for. "for someone so young you seems very distrustful." the spirt said with disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e. nick shrugged "i am not so na?ve as to think that the people who leave behind these inheritances are doing so out of the goodness of their hearts." he said calmly. the spirit remained calm for a moment before speaking again "that is fair i suppose since there have indeed been people who have created deathtraps under the guise of passing on their legacies. at this point however i doubt you are willing to simply walk away from the possibility of the inheritance here is real after all the effort you went through to get this far." the spirt said teasingly. nick didn''t deny this since it was true but nonetheless he didn''t lower his guard as the spirt lead him down a narrow hallway with black walls. at the end of the hall was a large metallic door with various depictions of many faces all different from the last. Opening the door nick immediately buffeted by qi so thick that it felt like jelly as he walked through it , and even though he wasn''t cultivating he felt his cultivation passively increasing slowly which stunned him slightly. "surprised at the level of qi right?" the spirit asked teasingly. nick nodded "it is hard to imagine how qi could get this thick since it escapes even spirit stones passively." he said confused. the spirit chuckled in its strange multigendered voice "there is an extremely well guarded secret amongst large cultivator clans that there is a rare material found deep under the seas that functions in a way that allows qi to flow freely through it in one direction while blocking it from exiting the other way. in truth most of the actual rooms used for cultivation by those clans are made of the stuff so there is never a shortage of qi to those cultivating." the spirit explained calmly. "i see and I''m guessing this room is made out of that material?" nick said questioningly. "Yes indeed though this room is a bit different than the ones the large clans use as this room is actually made from one entire piece of that material meaning that unlike those clans where there is a tiny amount of leakage this room has none." the spirit said proudly. nick nodded but didn''t say anything as he walked deeper into the room where he found a total of five statues of the same body shape but no faces or genders kneeling around an altar with their hands raised as though in worship. on the altar there were a set of robes that glimmered in every color , a seed the size of an a.d.u.l.ts thumb and a black ring with three dragons of red green and blue colors circling the band mysteriously. Chapter 208 - Inheritance(2) Nick used the system to figure out what each of the items were and the results were as follows. _____________________________ ITEM: FACELESS RAINBOW GRADE:5* DESCRIPTION: Robe created by the lord of a thousand faces from the silk of five different elemental spider divine beast that has the innate ability to amplify the wearers elemental law perception. comes with auto repairing and size changing inscriptions and can be inscribed further according to the owners preference. SYSTEM EVALUATION: NICE ____________________________________ ITEM: SEED OF THE THOUSAND FACED TREE GRADE:6* DESCRIPTION: The seed of a many faced peach tree that evolved into a divine tree and reached the lord tier cultivation before shedding this single seed. can restore ones broken dantian and grant an innate physique based on the consumers talents if consumed on an eclipse. SYSTEM EVALUATION:NICE! ____________________________________ ITEM: THREE DRAGON DIMENSION RING GRADE:10* DESCRIPTION: A ring with an entire world inside it that was created from the blood essence of a primordial devourer beast and the lord souls of three divine dragons. the world inside this ring can improve indefinitely as long as the criteria is met. SYSTEM EVALUATION: WORTHY! _______________________________________________ Nick s.u.c.k.e.d in a deep breath as he read the descriptions of each of the items and knew that he could never let anyone he didn''t trust with his life know about them as each and every one of these items were enough to spark a massive war much less all three together. "judging from the reaction on your face you can tell how special these items are to some degree so allow me to clarify what each of them are. the robe was crated by the ill.u.s.trious lord of a thousand faces from the silk of five different elemental spider divine beast and has the ability to make elemental laws more clear while also having resizing and auto repairing inscriptions that take up a small amount of space making it possible to add more inscriptions." the spirt paused to let nick absorb the knowledge. "the seed there is actually the only seed the lord created after reaching the lord tier and not even the lord knew what it did but he was sure that it was a great treasure." the spirit said before pausing again while observing nick to make sure he wasn''t unable to understand. "The ring is the most valuable item the lord had and unfortunately the reason for his demise as an expert a realm higher than the lord coveted this ring forcing the lord to use a forbidden technique that burned all of his potential and all but a year of his lifespan to barely kill the expert. this ring was found by the lord in the tomb of an extreme expert and besides that there is a world inside it the lord didn''t have time to discover anything else about this ring." Chapter 209 - Returning Nick had guessed that something had happened to the lord of a thousand faces when he read the description of the ring as he refused to believe that anyone would just give something like this away. the spirits explanation confirmed what nick had thought while also making it clear why this inheritance was here as the lord of a thousand faces did not want their techniques to go to waste. "the final thing that my creator left for you was the token containing the faceless mask technique in its entirety as the one you used previously was only the first part out of four with each being more special and powerful than the last." the spirit said before a brilliant azure leaf appeared in front of nick which he had the system verify before he reached out and placed the leaf into his inventory. "well go ahead and collect the items on the alter since after all they were left for whoever completed the test." the spirit said calmly. nick walked up to the alter and with a wave of his hand collected each of the items with the ring being stored in the inventory as it would collapse the spatial ring if it was placed in it since space can only be compressed so far based on the materials used to create the ring. After collecting his rewards the spirit spoke to nick again " since you have taken all of the rewards there is only a single piece of business left to go over." the spirit said calmly. "oh and what might that be?" nick asked while putting up his guard. "no need to bristle up like that , the final the is you need to decide what you want to do with the pocket dimension the inheritance is located in." the spirit said with a hint of anticipation. "what do you mean i thought it would simply close permanently once i left like most inheritances." nick asked confused. "if this space was unstable like the ones most inheritances are found in then yes it would collapse as soon as you left , however my creator thought that was such a waste so he made this space solid enough to withstand the corrosion of time with little damage to its stability. unfortunately he didn''t have enough time to expand the space to the size of the ones well founded clans like to reside in." the spirit explained with a bit of sadness in its multiple voices. "Does that mean i could turn this space into my own personal clan dimension?" nick asked excited. "if you have enough materials then yes its possible though at your age i don''t believe you should have even a single one of the required materials." the spirit answered calmly. nick made an odd face when the spirit said he shouldn''t have any of the ingredients as he knew he had a stupid amount of materials from the two sect vaults he had looted that were just sitting in his inventory or spatial ring. "what materials are needed exactly?" nick asked with a sneaking feeling that he had quite a few of the materials. "well there''s ...." the spirit went on to list the materials that could be used and as nick checked the materials he had his face got darker and darker as he quickly realized he had most of the materials with the exception of at most five. Chapter 210 - Returning(2) "So how many of those materials can be done without?" nick asked suspiciously however the spirit was oblivious to it. "most of the materials i listed are merely things that can be used for this purpose , the actual amount needed is only twelve of any of those materials though the more used the better the outcome." the spirit said before going silent as nick took out exactly forty different materials each of which were listed by the spirit. after a moment of silence the spirit spoke again. " who are you really?" it asked truly curious. nick shrugged "i am merely very lucky." he said honestly. "no matter , yes this is enough to create a most superb pocket dimension of quite a large size with a perfect foundation making it stable." the spirit said happily. "so how do i use these materials then?" nick asked seriously as none of his professions allowed him to process a single one of these high tier materials. "that is the easy part , you don''t." the spirit said confusing nick briefly before it explained. "i was created by the lord of a thousand faces for the purpose of governing the test he set for you as well as this space meaning i will be the one using these materials." Nick looked enlightened as he heard the spirit as he understood now why he had never seen the vessel that housed the spirit , the entire space was the spirits vessel. "since that''s the case how do i declare ownership of the space then?" nick asked calmly. "the altar with the statues are the core of this space so you can claim ownership by branding them with your blood and spirit." the spirit said honestly. nick nodded since this was a very normal way to bind treasures to oneself he just didn''t know if it would work in this case. having learned how to claim this space nick walked towards the altar and focused on his thumb with his qi forcing blood out of his skin before marking each statue and the altar with his blood and spirit instantly establishing a deep connection to this space as well as a feeling of omniscience as everything about the space was known to him but he knew that this feeling was a lie so he ignored it before he thought about the form he wanted the space to take. Through his connection to the spirit of the space nick knew how large the space would be after using the materials which was thrice the size of the welk clans space easily allowing him to encompass an entire large mountain with a little space left. after a few moments of thinking nick decided that the space will take on a unique five zone shape with each zone being rich in one basic element while in the middle of the space a large space with a perfectly balanced environment will be that nick will have this room as well as the other building he will make there that will serve as the foundation of his own personal base. after verifying with the spirit what he wanted he had to give a few more materials of the elements in order to supplement the zones in the manner he wanted turning each of the four surrounding zones into places where the element in question was in the extreme. Chapter 211 - Returning The spirit told nick that it would take a few weeks for the pocket dimension to become functional at which point nick had the spirit send him out back into the forest he was in before he entered the inheritance ground. nick arrived in the twilight forest and stood on alert immediately as he knew that if he wasn''t careful he could die from the extremely powerful creatures that lived in this forest. nick observed his surrounding carefully and after ensuring that that he was safe he started making his way to the outer edges of the forest where he had came from by following the marks he had left as he traveled that while faint from the passage of time enough was left for him to use. after traveling for a few hours and the sun started to fall nick finally left the forest and breathed a sigh of relief as his nerves relaxed a large amount before he pulled out the one time use talisman that he had gotten from the welk clan to return to their clan dimension and activated it which caused the space to tremble before a portal opened. Nick observed the portal for a moment before sending his divine sense through which confirmed that the welk clan did not play any dirty tricks with the talisman itself before he entered the portal while making sure that he didn''t touch the ground on the other side but floated above it by an almost unnoticeable amount. once through the portal nick observed his surroundings carefully and after he saw no signs of foul play he walked towards the building in the far distance of the valley. what nick was unaware of was that the moment he used the talisman the leader of the welk clan who had a connection to the dimension knew about it immediately. the clan leader had a headache when he felt that nick had returned because the truth was that he was very tempted to try to capture nick but he also remembered the threat nick had given when he had confronted him shortly before he left. while nick was gone the clan leader had the welk clans elders search the entire dimension for any sign of whatever the basis of that threat was but found nothing meaning nick was either bluffing or he had whatever it was on his person at all times. After learning about nick from jakob the clan leader knew immediately that nick was not bluffing which left him with the dreaded second option that nick had the thing on his person. the worst part about the second option is that it means that he cannot really target whatever it is because the only time it would be used would be if the welk clan did something untoward , in the end the clan leader had no other option but to play nice. the clan leader warped to nick with a kindly expression which threw nick off slightly but after thinking about it for a moment he snickered mentally because he roughly knew what the clan leader was trying to do. Chapter 212 - Return Nick greeted the clan leader but didn''t expose his terrible acting since he didn''t intend to cut all ties with the welk clan. the clan leader tried to pry out any information from nick about anything useful but as nick was aware of his intentions he failed horribly which made his face twitch slightly. "so how is the little dude i left with you?" nick asked after toying with the clan leader a bit. the clan leader stiffened instantly when nick asked about azdra since in truth the clan leader had completely forgotten about the small wyrm. "to be honest i have left it with the elder who sent you for the test so i honestly don''t know." the clan leader said honestly since there was no point in hiding information nick would eventually get anyways. there was a slight pause in nicks steps while he frowned deeply for a moment but soon went back to being stone faced after saying "i see". the clan leader didn''t know why but he felt a slight chill when he saw nicks frown but thankfully nothing happened. soon the two men reached the cave that had the elder wyrm much to the relief of the clan leader. Nick didn''t even wait to be invited in before walking into the cave calmly which the clan leader could only follow. nick reached the cavern with the elder wyrm who was busy tossing around azdra playfully only azdra was now the size of a medium sized dog. "oi big lizard i finished your test!" nick yelled out with obvious disrespect which made the clan leader look at nick like he was insane while he quickly distanced himself for fear of being implicated. the elder wyrm stopped playing with azdra when it heard nick before turning to stare at nick in amazement. "you do realize that if i wasn''t so good natured that comment of yours could get you killed right?" the wyrm said confused. nick grinned "of course i do but who asked you to send me after a stygian bear." nick said with a slight irritation. the elder wyrm snorted "and yet here you are bothering a poor old wyrm like me , oh woe is me." the wyrm said sarcastically. nick sighed and gave up since he knew that he wouldn''t get a leg above this person since they had this type of attitude. Nick threw down the corpse of the stygian bear before looking the elder wyrm right in the eyes "here''s the stygian bear you wanted now i believe you can allow the little one to return to me." he said refused to look away. the elder wyrm sighed " truthfully i was aware that getting this bear wouldn''t be a problem for you since i was the one who caught this particular bear to begin with." he said causing nicks eyes to grow wide. "you knew about that thing?!" he yelled in shock as it finally made sense why the first test for the inheritance just so happened to be the exact creature he was hunting. Chapter 213 - Clarification "It would be strange if i didn''t know about it since i helped my friend create it with the small amount of time they had left." the elder wyrm said calmly. nick was stunned and confused at the same time at the wyrms words. "if that''s true why did you send me rather than someone from the welk clan?" nick asked not understanding. the wyrm sighed "while i would have loved to send one of them to get my old friends inheritance after searching through every generation of the welk clan till now none of them had the abilities to pass all of the test , or rather no single one could pass every test alone." the wyrm said sadly and hearing the conversation the clan leader wanted to complain but after comparing all of the welk clan to nick not a single one truly measured up so he remained quiet. "i understand why you didn''t send one of the welk clan members but why didn''t you just tell me your true purpose rather than sending me on a wild goose chase?" nick asked slightly angry at being deceived. The wyrm laughed at nicks childlike attitude "hahaha , i sometimes forget that even though you seem older you are only fourteen at the moment so it was funny seeing your attitude." the wyrm said calmly. "your only fourteen!?" the clan leader exclaimed incredulously. nick looked confused at the clan leaders outburst "is that strange?" nick asked confused. the clan leader looked frustrated "strange? of course it''s strange that means you only took around seven years for you to reach where you''re at now , that''s ridiculously fast!" the clan leader yelled angrily. "how is that fast jakob is around my age and he is only slightly lower than me in terms of cultivation." nick said defending himself. both the clan leader and the elder wyrm froze before looking at nick with an odd look. "how old do you think jakob is?" the clan leader asked solemnly. "isn''t he around seventeen or so?" nick asked confused. the clan leader exchanged glances with the elder wyrm before the wyrm spoke "jakob is thirty two and it took him from the age of seven to reach where he is currently." the wyrm explained calmly. nick froze for a moment and he wanted to argue that it made no sense but he could tell from the look on the twos faces that they weren''t lying. ''It would probably be a bad idea to mention the six year coma so i''m going to avoid that'' nick thought. "right so i''m just going to act like this conversation never happened and go back to my regular life." nick said before pausing for a moment "speaking of , azdra you coming?" nick said which caused the dog sized reptile to bound over to him and rub its head against his leg affectionately. Chapter 214 - Inheritance realm Nick left with azdra following along before heading towards the guest house calmly and after a few minutes jakob showed up with his elder sister. "so did you really threaten my father?" jakob asked curiously. nick nodded "i did though it was mostly to make sure he didn''t try anything funny." nick said seriously. jakob and his sister were stunned and looked at nick like he was some exotic animal which made him uncomfortable. "its not that strange stop looking at me like that" nick said in irritation. "of course it''s strange!" jakob exclaimed. "did you know that an ex clan member once tried to threaten my dad when he was a kid and my father poisoned him to death as a result." jakob said seriously. nick thought about it for a moment "than if i''m not wrong the reason your father hasn''t attacked me because of the threat is likely because i made it clear that it is only meant to protect myself rather than to harm the welk clan." nick said simply. jakob''s sister was confused "what do you mean?" she asked confused. "i also don''t understand what you mean could you explain it a bit better." Hearing that neither of the siblings understood nick sighed. "the threat that ex clan member made was like filled with malicious intentions correct?" nick asked to which the siblings nodded. "unlike that person my threat is based entirely around the idea that the welk clan might play dirty in the face of such benefits." nick paused so they could process what he said. "in other words my threat is only to make sure i am safe rather than to harm the welk clan." nick said before they arrived at the guest building. "feel free to come get me when you head out for the inheritance ground since i have already paid to go." nick said before leaving the two siblings outside to door. after he shut the door nick let out a sigh of relief when he activated the isolation array he placed secretly when he stayed here before. ''man its stressful to be on alert for so long.'' nick thought before looking over azdra who looked many times larger than he was when nick left. ''what on earth did they feed him it get this big in a matter of a week'' nick thought before he started to cultivated. The next day nick was notified that someone was trying to contact him by knocking on the door. standing up refreshed nick lowered the isolation array and opened the door to see jakob standing there with his father and a bout a dozen other youths who looked around jakobs age. "i assuming you are here to get me for the inheritance ground right?" nick asked casually. the clan leader nodded "indeed the inheritance ground has officially opened and since part of your business involved you going in i am here to ensure our transaction is completed to the letter." the clan leader said seriously. Chapter 215 - Inheritance(2) Nick shrugged his shoulders "you should relax , after all I''ll soon leave your clan after the inheritance land." nick said before standing next to jakob. the group left after that by heading over the farmlands next to the clans city and towards one of the surrounding mountains where before they reached it nick felt the space shift slightly proving that they were in another dimension just a moment ago. looking back nick could no longer see the welk clans city but just an overgrown wild valley. " in the mine on the mountain ahead there is the inheritance area that was found by accident not long ago. once you enter your lives are entirely your own responsibility so don''t get c.o.c.ky and die." the clan leader said while leading the youths up the mountain. soon the group reached the mine in question and after being lead through the several shafts the clan leader stopped in front of an open door with a thin film of energy blocking the entrance as well as any senses trying to enter. "this in an age lock that prevents people above a certain bone age from entering which we discovered to be fifty , any questions?" The group looked at each other to see who would stand out first only to pause their gazes on the figure of nick casually walking towards the film of energy before passing through it calmly. no one not even the clan leader expected such an action so they just stood there in shock at nicks boldness before the rest of the youths charged into the film not wanting to be outdone by an outsider. in the end the clan leader stood in front of the film with an irritated expression since he knew that perhaps only nick had assurances about his safety. ''no matter i doubt it will be so easy to gain the inheritance just because he was the first to enter.'' the clan leader thought before freezing as the entire group including nick appeared outside the film of energy which then collapsed in on itself. "can someone please tell me what just happened!" the clan leader exclaimed. one of the youths from the welk clan looked at the clan leader looking aggrieved. "sir it turns out that we were being tested as soon as we entered the mine and after entering the age lock we found out that only two of us passed." the youth said with a sour look. The welk clan leader had an ominous premonition and couldn''t help but ask who passed. the youth pointed at nick and jakob who were to busy trading between each other to notice what was going on. the clan leader felt like he swallowed a fly when he learned that nick had indeed gotten the inheritance though he felt a little better when he remembered that jakob had also gotten some of it. Chapter 216 - Back to the academy Walking over the where jakob and nick were standing the clan leader cleared his throat in order to get their attention. both nick and jakob stopped negotiating temporarily and turned to look at the clan leader with semi irritated expressions. "first i would like to congratulate the two of you for obtaining the inheritance." the clan leader said ignoring the expressions on the twos faces. "next i would like to know what exactly happened for the two of you to obtain the inheritance so quickly as well as would got the main part of the inheritance." the clan leader then said seriously. nick looked at jakob who made a ''go ahead'' gesture before looking back to the clan leader. "well according to the spirit in charge of the inheritance it has been observing everyone who entered this mountain for about a hundred thousand years but since none of the ones who entered fit the requirements set to obtain the inheritance it never called out to them or that was the case until your clan found the cave leading to the inheritance quite some time ago and sent miners in where it tried to call the worthy only for your people to ignore its beckons." Nick paused so the clan leader could process all of the information before he continued. "after being ignored after having waited so long the spirit grew more and more impatient until eventually one of your miners found the entrance and reported it to you which led to this situation where the spirit gave the inheritance to the two most physically powerful youths you sent into the entrance which was both me and jakob. as for who got the main part of the inheritance that would be neither of us as the inheritance was in truth merely the treasure stores of the one who created the inheritance." nick explained calmly. the clan leader felt like hitting nick since the way he explained the situation made it sound like it was the welk clans fault that he obtained the inheritance due to their own incompetence. the thing that bothered the clan leader the most though was that despite what he thought the inheritance itself was merely some experts lifetime acc.u.mulation of treasure which granted was quite valuable it was by no means as useful as a peak cultivation or battle art to a large clan like the welk clan. "in that case i suppose our business is complete so i will have to ask you to leave the welk clan now." the clan leader said to nick seriously. nick nodded in understanding before looking at jakob. "will you be returning with me or will you stay here for a while longer?" he asked casually. jakob thought about it for a moment before answering "i suppose I''ll return after i divide the spoils with the clan as is proper as a member of the welk clan." he said seriously. nick nodded before handing jakob a talisman "this will let you find the current position of my residence back at the academy." he said before entering his own newly acquired space much to the horror of the clan leader who watched on in shock. once in the separate space nick noticed that the expansion was well under way to which he nodded in satisfaction before using the realm to sense the imprint he left at his residence back at the academy and opening a rift on his floating base before walking out and closing the rift. Chapter 217 - Clingy deity Nick looked around his floating base from where he was standing before deciding that the coast was clear before walking towards the building a short distance away. ironically no sooner than he took a step forward he felt a pair of thin arms wrap around him from behind as well as the squishy and soft mountains pressing onto his back. nick froze from the sudden contact but he stopped himself from lashing out violently like his body wanted to since he had a pretty good idea of who it was hugging him from behind. "you are finally back." a familiar voice spoke softly from over his shoulder. nick grabbed the arms wrapped around his c.h.e.s.t and pulled them off of him freeing himself before he turned around to look at the person the arms belonged to. of course the goddess in question didn''t pay his stern gaze any heed since she was simply thrilled she got to hold nick even if briefly. "you could have greeted me normally you know." nick said to the goddess sternly. she paused for a moment in her self delight and looked at nick with a huge grin. "but then i would have missed out on such a golden opportunity." she said unapologetically. "As true as that may be you know that i prefer to take things slowly ." nick said acting upset even though it truly didn''t bother him that much since it was the goddess who had done it. the goddess shrugged her shoulders at nicks acting since after having spent a good amount of time near him she could read him pretty well. "i''m not sorry." she said with a giggle. nick shrugged "i figured , so what has happened since i left?" he asked while enjoying the paradise like environment that his purification array produced in this failed pill land he lived on. the goddess thought for a moment before answering "well that old monkey sun showed up a few times below a day after you left trying to figure out where you had vanished to before i told him that this floating base was in a secret location and that you went to some inheritance land and he left and hasn''t been back since." she paused "also the demons have settled a medium sized kingdom near the coast so most of the remaining humans are trying to fix the damage done to the areas that the demons abandoned after their rampage." Nick was surprised that the situation with the demons had settled down in the time he was gone since he assumed it might take a few years. "ah , right i almost forgot but there was a group of students who had came into the swamp below apparently looking for you or rather the array you used to change the environment into a cultivation holy land according to their conversation." the goddess said seriously. Chapter 218 - Approaching storm Nick frowned when he heard this as he had an ominous premonition that he is going to have a headache here soon. "what exactly did the conversation between these people mention about how they discovered my array?" he asked seriously. the goddess c.o.c.ked her head slightly as she thought about it and after about a minute she spoke. "one of them mentioned something about talismans that worked to purify the area around the user that used a strange principle that he traced back to you." she said honestly. nick didn''t ask any more questions as he knew that the possibility of someone trying to figure out the secret of those single use talismans he sold awhile ago existed even though it was a small possibility. "i will deal with it with they try to confront me so you can forget about this matter." nick said calmly. the goddess shrugged before she started showering azdra with attention since even she was surprised by his increase in size. while his attention was now free nick released tyrion from his contract space causing him to seemingly appear out of nowhere which startled both azdra as well as the goddess who turned to look at the strange creature that just showed up. Meanwhile a tall young man with short silver hair and a heavy tan was looking over a letter with a relaxed expression in his residence at the academy. "it seems that swamp hermit person has returned from the welk clan. hmmm , i suppose obtaining the principle used in those talismans from the person who sold them will also work so long as i silence him after i get it." the young man said to no one in particular. at this time several other young people in the academy were having similar or identical thoughts in their residences and almost everyone in the academy could sense a storm approaching. meanwhile nick had introduced tyrion to the goddess and azdra who had nearly complete opposite reactions to him. the goddess was beside her self with how fluffy and soft tyrion was as she buried herself in his side happily . while azdra was trying to intimidate tyrion by growling and fanning his wings aggressively kicking up a bit of dust in the process. tyrion was completely fine with azdras actions sense most beast did something similar to trespassers on their turf. However he was extremely uncomfortable with the way this terrifying individual is clinging unto his side but his instincts warned him that this small female is even more powerful than is partner. his instincts also warned him that he should just let the small female do as she wished as she didn''t mean him any ill. nick felt sympathy for tyrion as he could tell how terrified he was of the goddess but he knew that she was usually harmless so long as she was indulged every now and then. Chapter 219 - Confrontation Nick left tyrion and headed into his garden that he could see some weeds in which he calmly removed while being careful not to damage any of his herbs that he had planted here. after finishing this task nick headed into his room to cultivate for the rest of the day since he had little progress when he did so in the trial world. early the next morning he heard the formation tell him that someone had entered the swamp which made him sigh before getting up and flexing his new gains from his cultivation session that would shock most as he had broken through twice placing him firmly at the third level of the void chasing tier making his status look like this. ______________________________ NAME: Nicholas varia AGE:14yrs RACE: human/demigod BLOODLINE: DARKWAR DRAGON KING Contracted beast: tier 2 three eyed false griffon(tyrion) Money:500299998 DC:1400 Level:99 Legend:1 BODY REFINEMENT: Bronze(Organs) CULTIVATION: Void chasing tier 3 SKILLS: swordmastery lv2 , bowmastery lv1 '' inferno step lv2 , area of absolute control lv2 , myriad forms lv20 , void core lv1 , qi control lv15 , dragons wrath lv4 , dragons might lv15 , divine might lv15 , faceless mask lv1 , Peace of mind lv1 ABILITIES: awareness (user is aware of all things around them even without seeing it.) Body control (user has complete control of their physique including nerves, pores ,veins, etc) Divine charm (user naturally emits an aura that attracts others to them like a natural leader) Nature child (user is accepted by the laws of the universe, let one cultivate without angering the heavens) Dragon kings mark (owner has been marked as the dragon princess''s fianc¨¦ for being more exceptional than any other.) Monster (user has surpassed even geniuses in many ways , culture with twice the results with half the effort.) BRONZE BODY(user has a body as durable as bronze) First (user is the first to do something great and is rewarded by the heavens) STRENGTH:4500 AGILITY:4400 SPIRIT:3250 INTELLIGENCE:3000 CHARISMA:1000 LAW: Space small completion, devour advanced completion, fire initial, water initial, air initial, earth initial, dark initial, light initial SYSTEM EVALUATION: keep it up* ______________________________________ Needless to say nick felt like he could handle any students who may have come looking for him to try and steal his secrets. nick wasn''t angry at the fact others wanted his stuff since he was very much aware that this was how the cultivation world worked. walking out of his room nick teleported to the area that the formation told him the people entered only he made sure that he was far enough away that it was unlikely that the people would notice his arrival. Chapter 220 - Confrontation(2) According to his divine sense he was out of the perception of whoever had entered the swamp which was good. nick raised a small stump of earth which he sat on while he waited for his uninvited guest. after a minute he felt a few divine senses pass over him letting him know that his guest discovered him. after about two minutes the owners of the divine senses appeared in the distance , three women and one man each a member of the younger generation from their appearances. the women had average appearances for cultivators which meant that most likely the fairly handsome man in between them was likely the leader of this group but nick was observing all of them equally so he doesn''t make a mistake. once the group gets five meters away from nick they stop while on guard as all of their instincts warn them of the presence of a predator in front of them. "so am i correct in assuming that you are the group of individuals who had tried to snoop around for my base while i was away?" nick asked calmly. the young man stepped forward and smiled in an attempt to break the tension. "My name is Edward ingred" he said while watching nicks expression closely before frowning at the lack of change even after he mentioned his clan name. "as for your question it was indeed my companions and myself who had searched for any traces of the place you are staying at." the young man said challengingly. nick heard the way the man spoke and knew that he was being tested for weaknesses so he released his aura which swept out like a burst of steam before washing over the young man and his companions. each of the women retreated frantically with terror written on their faces while the young man took up an defensive position while he stepped back with a foot. quickly the young man realized he had lost this challenge and frowned deeply before he resisted the urging of his instincts forcefully. "i will concede that i may have underestimated you more than i should have so I''ll be blunt , you have previously sold several inscribed talismans that worked with an array that my clan who specializes in inscriptions does not possess knowledge of so we want to obtain it before any of our competitors do." Nick retracted his aura which led the young man to relax slightly " if that is the only reason you are here than you can go back since will not be sharing that array with anyone nor will i be selling anymore of those talismans so your clan need not worry about it." he said calmly. the young man frowned "you will forgive me if i find this answer hard to accept , if you are worried about remuneration my clan does not lack for resources you merely need set a reasonable price." he said while smiling in an attempt to seem sincere. Chapter 221 - Mistake Nick shook his head "if you want i can swear a heavenly oath that i have no intention to share my secrets." he said calmly. the young man was taken back by this but he quickly realized that nick was trying to force him to drop the lies he was so accustomed to using if he intended to press the issue. "there is no need for such a drastic measure if you just let my clan purchase this knowledge from you." the young man said refusing to fall into nicks verbal trap . nick chuckled when he saw how frustrated this man was becoming as he trapped him in a corner slowly. "well if what you say is true then i would also need to give this secret to your competitors in order to maintain the status quo since otherwise your clan would have an unfair advantage no?" nick said with a mocking grin. the young man had an ugly expression after hearing what nick said as well as having seen his mocking expression as he knew he had been played like a fiddle. "do you wish to make an enemy out of the ingred clan" he said dropping the pretenses. Nicks grin grew even larger after the young man spoke. "hold that thought" he said before calling the goddess through her dark space which she responded to by appearing next to nick with an excited expression. "you called dearest~" she said in a song like voice. nicks eye twitched at the last word she spoke but let it go. "is there a clan called ingred that you know of ?" he asked her calmly. she looked disappointed that this was why she was called but answered any way "there was an intermediate level clan with that name before the demon reemergence but the strongest of them was merely slightly into the tier above void completion so they weren''t considered dangerous by most organizations at the higher ranks." she said dismissively. the young man heard the goddess speak of her clan in such a way and grew angry and was going to attack but before he did anything his instincts warned him of immediate death if he continued so he f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y suppressed his actions. "and who might you be miss?" he asked while barely holding his anger in check. the goddess looked at this young man for the first time since she got here and immediately put the pieces together that nick was allowing her to handle this foolish person from the ingred clan. "my name is millea." she said and immediately the surroundings lost there light as the world acknowledged that a deity had spoken their true name which was tied to the laws of the world itself. the young mans anger immediately drained away and was replaced with terror as he realized that he had tried to threaten someone fawned upon by a goddess. Chapter 222 - Work out "Was that absolutely necessary?" nick asked once the phenomena stopped. the goddess shrugged "he asked for it" she said calmly. "well that might be true but was it really necessary to cause such a big phenomenon when answering him." nick complained having a headache at how large this situation is quickly becoming. the young man looked at nick in horror as he listened to him complain about the goddess''s actions like he didn''t care that she was one of the strongest beings on the world. nick looked at the young man disdainfully "so about what you had asked before about whether i wanted to make an enemy of your clan , do you still want an answer to that?" nick asked mockingly. the young man shook his head vigorously "i don''t dare threaten you at this point!" he said frightened. nick nodded "well that''s good now since that bit of business is completed you may go , oh and try to warn any others with the same idea as you that i don''t want to be bothered for such pointless things." nick said before slipping into the dark space with the goddess. The young man let out a breath of relief when nick left with the goddess before he hastily fled the swamp with his companions and swore he would spread the news that nick had a deity favoring him heavily. meanwhile nick and the goddess returned to the base where tyrion and azdra were playing with each other which nick ignored before heading to the training spot and began to practice with yin yun who had just woken up after being sealed by the spirit of the inheritance since she was too powerful. "so do you think i could get a bit of wine from you after we get done stretching?" she asked while clashing with nick sending out minor shockwaves. indeed to nick such a violent clash could only be considered a warmup and since weapon spirits at yin yuns level mirrored the strength of their owners she also considered such a clash as the same. "well after a good workout i don''t mind letting you drink a bit since you had been sealed till earlier." nick said while intensifying the clashes by a level. yin yun smiled brightly before going all out forcing nick to do the same. The air quivered from the near constant sonic booms coming out of the area where the blurred shapes of yin yun and nick clashed in an epic fashion. this bout went on for another thirty minutes before ending with both nick and yin yun looking well spent and satisfied even though for very different reasons. yin yun carried a small jug of wine while nick had steam rising off of him from the heat of his body. it was at this point that elder sun showed up on the floating base with an expression surprise as well as envy showing that he was aware that the base was high in the air hidden in the clouds. Chapter 223 - Conversation Elder sun''s divine sense easily covered the area around the floating base which was why he knew that it was floating far above the ground but what he couldn''t figure out was how nick had achieved this. examining the structure of the formation attached to the sides and bottom of the foundation he could tell that they were designed to interact with the strange red material that made up the foundation. elder sun frowned at this material since he had never heard of anything that matched it since he could tell that it was at most a tier three material. while elder sun was searching for answers to the enigma that presented itself to him nick was cooling off by doing some gardening with the mutant plants he brought from the trial world even though he was aware of the fact that elder sun had arrived . the mutants all took to their new environment like a parched man in a desert to water , refusing to leave once there. nick didn''t mind this since he had already guessed this would happen so he had made sure they were far enough from each other that no conflicts would occur. After taking care of the mutant plants nick finally decided to talk to elder sun to figure out what he wanted so he quickly cleaned himself of with a small burst of qi under his skin that removed the dirt on his body like an odd fog. nick walked to the edge of the yard where elder sun was standing with an expression like he was deep in thought. "i assume you are here for a reason besides trying to figure out my home correct?" nick asked casually. elder sun dropped his train of thought and looked at nick sternly. "would it kill you to show some respect once and awhile?" he scolded half heartedly. nick shrugged "maybe if this was a formal setting but seeing as you are at my home i will speak comfortably instead." nick answered unapologetically. elder sun sighed "i wouldn''t have said anything if i could find you in public but you almost never leave this swamp and even when you do i tend not to realize it until you return." he said exasperated. "i have no reason to leave besides i don''t think you are here to discuss my manners." nick said. "That is true." elder sun nodded. "i have recently learned that several clans as well as a few of the other races have taken an interest in you since you have shown yourself to be unique in several instances." he paused so nick could take in this information. "most of the other races are merely curious about you as an individual rather than any of your secrets however the same doesn''t apply to the clans who feel greed at the secrets they managed to guess at as well as feeling that you may become a threat if they don''t shackle you somehow." elder sun said seriously. nick frowned "shackle me how exactly?" he asked no longer calm. "most seem to want you to be bound to their clan in marriage while others want to force you to serve them through slave seals." elder sun said seriously. Chapter 224 - Conversation(2) Nick frowned deeply at this information but suppressed his anger before it disturbed his surroundings. "is there really any need for them to take such drastic measures against me , after all i am only one person so i doubt that my action truly have much impact on such people. "nick said seriously. elder sun sighed "you would only peak the interest of these people slightly if you had only done a single profound thing however you have done several , some of which have turned the known rules on their head making even well established facts start to blur into uncertainties." elder sun said seriously. "if such discoveries were found by a different person each then it would be fine however you and you alone are rapidly leaving everyone else behind in terms of knowledge and so they are feeling like you may threaten their place in the hierarchy which is unacceptable to them." elder sun finished explaining with a sad expression. nick understood what elder sun meant as similar things had occurred throughout history on earth with the only difference being the scale of the discoveries only changed small things compared to the things nick has shown. Nick suddenly had the feeling that this situations was going to give him a huge headache in the future. "is there any way i can avoid those people trying to restrict me like what you said?" he asked hopeful. elder sun shook his head "if you stop showing this new knowledge you come up with for a few years and make it seem that it was only a short burst of genius you will stay mostly safe since you are connected to millea." he said with a look of sympathy. nick couldn''t help but look at the goddess who was playing with azdra with an odd look. "not to seem like i am ungrateful for the advice but i can''t see her being able hold off any large clans from trying to restrain me." nick said honestly. elder sun chuckled "i could see how you might think her unreliable based on how she acts in your presence but what you seem to fail to realize is that she is in charge of the entirety of the world''s darkness laws which puts her on a level of power only the other major deities are on her level." he said honestly. Nick understood this fact but didn''t realize the truth of it. "to you she seems like a powerful but na?ve girl but if anyone were to truly restrain you against your will i guarantee that she would destroy whoever was necessary in order to free you because that is her nature." elder sun said seriously. "in truth i hope that you would consider truly wedding her so that she would finally have an attachment to someone who makes her happy." he said before bidding farewell and leaving nick to his thoughts. Chapter 225 - Self freedom Nick''s thoughts echoed with the truths that elder sun had said and his mind warred with itself over what to make of it leaving him dazed in place. one part of his mind told him that perhaps he should accept the goddess while another said that it was too soon the decide , then of course there was the part that stubbornly held on to the thought of remaining alone forever since he was to make many enemies in the future. nick didn''t realize it but his experiences after being reborn had created a fear of growing attached to people as he has lost his family and been betrayed by another girl he was growing close to all while being surrounded by women who wish to posses him like some sort of object. nick looked at the goddess who was playing happily with azdra and felt a pain in his c.h.e.s.t like he was being stabbed and he knew that while he was conflicted about her she was precisely as elder sun said and that knowledge hurt him. it was not a physical wound but one caused by the conflicts in his mind knowing that despite all of his efforts to prevent it he had grown fond of the girl in his vision. It was in this moment when he acknowledged his fondness that the conflicting thoughts ceased and all that remained was a single question , what now? nick was freed from his hidden heart demon giving him a sense of freedom unlike any he had felt before all while his cultivation skyrocketed five whole levels in an instant because his hidden heart demon had been suppressing his progress this entire time while the only reason he hadn''t stopped advancing was because the talent contained in his body was so massive that it brute forced his cultivation upwards like a beast trying to escape a cage. once the heart demon was solved it was like the cage had broken so the beast rampaged in exhilaration. the sudden spike in cultivation caused a great disturbance in the surroundings that drew the goddess''s attention who looked at nick concerned what smiled when her senses told her that nick had shed one of his shackles letting him spread his wings just a little higher. nick stabilized his cultivation at void chasing tier 8 before stretching his body with a series of thunderous pops.?? Unknown to nick the bloodlines he has start to dissolve into his marrow while the fiend energy that comes from his body cultivation fuses with the dissolving bloodlines to create something new though of course the progress of this is so small that it is completely undetectable. nick walked over to the goddess who was still smiling and took her hand. "i have been running from you this entire time and i am sorry can you forgive me?" he asked honestly. Chapter 226 - Refinement The goddess smiled gently "you had your own reasons , there is nothing to forgive." she said sweetly. nick smiled " lets just spend the rest of the day relaxing before i have to get back to pushing my cultivation forward." he said to which the goddess nodded. the two then spent the rest of the day relaxing by swimming in the nearby pond as well as sunbathing lazily in the dim light that entered the clouds around the base. the next day nick took out the peace of mind technique that he got for completing the world changing mission when he was in the trial world. this technique would allow him to refine his soul which while not an unheard of practice was fairly uncommon due to how painful it was said to be. the reason nick hadn''t learned this technique yet was because it had the requirement that in order to cultivate it you needed to overcome at least one heart demon on your own. it was not until yesterday that nick had filled the requirement allowing him to finally put the technique to use. pulling the technique out of his inventory nick started to read the book. As he read a deep frown formed on his face at how difficult the technique was to use . besides the requirement previously stated nick also needed to withstand the agony of having his soul ripped and mended by his heart demons. while the soul was not very understood injuries to the soul were know to be the hardest to endure because it was damage to the most fundamental part of a person. nick prepared himself before he started to circulate his qi as described in the technique and he only felt a slight itch after completing one full cycle making him relax thinking that the technique had exaggerated how painful it would be. if nick could see into his soul he would notice that the itch he felt was only his heart demon waking up but alas nick was not able to and as such he was not prepared for the agony that suddenly struck him as the heart demon lashed out at nicks soul leaving a small tear the quickly mended. as the pain struck nick he spasmed on the ground with his hands on his head and his mouth open in a silent scream.?? The pain came and went like crashing waves before the heart demon finally ran out of energy and went back to sleep. nick lay on the ground panting with a distant gaze at the end of this refinement like he was brain damaged. thankfully nick snapped out of it after about five minutes before cursing at the technique for how painful that experience actually was. Chapter 227 - Iron What nick was unaware of was that the reason it was so painful was because unlike most cultivators who have minor heart demons due to them being well informed about the dangers of cultivation nick had several powerful heart demons as a result of being tossed into the deep end by the system with no buffer period to safely readjust. the peace of mind technique used the heart demons to refine the soul and as a result the strength of the heart demon determined how effective the technique was , meaning the reason for such extreme agony was because nick only had major heart demons so the refinement was far larger than it normally would be. if a normal cultivator were to use this technique they would only refine about a quarter of a percent of their soul whereas nick refined an entire one percent making the pain three times higher than normal. after catching his breath nick thought about using the phoenix rebirth but since the system still listed it as him being too weak to know about he decided against gambling with the unknown. in the end nick worked on refining his body as he had a feeling that he would need it. Nick spent the entire day refining his body but only just broke into the next tier since like all cultivation it became harder and harder to advance the further you get. nick noticed that the fiend energy that was hard to notice before was now capable of physically leaving his body in a sort of dull red coating with a similar feeling to the feeling given off by a creature with a higher tier . nick named this phenomena the fiends suppression since it was based on fiend energy. the fiends suppression was not the only change that occurred when he reached iron tier as the moment he did runes crawled across his skin each representing the laws used to refine nicks body. the runes fused with each cell of nicks body which immediately boost his vitality to a terrifying level so potent in fact that nick had the feeling that even if he lost a limb it would grow back on its own with a small amount of time. nick knew that if such a thing were true he had to hide it for as long as he could because it would turn the world upside down if revealed.?? Nick found it ironic that his body refinement had actually reached a higher tier than his qi cultivation since his qi cultivation was only at void chasing while the iron tier for body refinement was at the void entering tier. this imbalance bothered nick a little but not enough to go out of his way to fix it. walking out of the room nick stretched causing thunderous sounds that disturbed the surrounding air before admiring his dull grey skin that had a slight metallic tinge to it. Chapter 228 - Grand Nick liked this color he had now but he knew that when he advanced further his color would change again making him chuckle at the idea of him being rainbow colored. walking over to the training area nick flexed his physique instantly going from a normal human appearance to to a hulk like appearance as all of the condensed muscles were released. moving azure runes appeared on nicks skin as he fully activated the fiend energy in his body bringing his bodily strength to its apex which caused his long white hair to float as though he was underwater while the earth under his feet cracked and cratered in a five meter area. nick could tell that his physical prowess had broken through some sort of hidden barrier once he fully released his body refinement though he couldn''t quite tell what that barrier was. once he ignored this discovery he couldn''t figure out nick felt that since his fiend energy had grown much larger in volume he could try to use the energy to preform techniques that would normally require qi but every time he did so the technique would fail. Nick didn''t understand why he could use the faceless mask technique with the fiend energy but any other technique failed immediately. after thinking for a while he figured out the difference between the techniques was that the faceless mask technique changed his physical form with the aura being secondary while most other techniques affected things outside of his body. it was at this realization that nick figured out that if he wanted to use the fiend energy outside of his body he would have to create the techniques centered around the fiend energy. nick started to manipulate the fiend energy to circulate through his body which caused it to grow slightly larger and he wondered if he could grow larger using fiend energy so to test this theory nick forced the fiend energy to circulate faster and faster to which his body began to vibrate with a shrill sound like a ghostly wail while constantly growing larger and larger until he reached the massive size of fifteen meters tall. at this point the fiend energy was exhausted and nick opened his eyes and noticed that he had indeed grown far larger but he also noticed that doing so had taxed his body heavily and that he could only stay like this for a few moments.?? Knowing that if he didn''t want to harm his body greatly he would need to test the differences in his strength quickly nick took a punching stance and threw out a full strength punch with his right hand. immediately after doing so nick regretted it as once the fist moved the air surrounding it screeched before bursting into flames and upon reaching completion all the clouds for fifty miles in front of his fist parted like a massive sword had cut through them before the earth below that point caved in for the same distance causing a small scale earthquake in the surrounding areas. Chapter 229 - Aftershock Nick started to shrink as he released his control of the fiend energy which started to flow like it normally did while also slowly recovering the energy burned when nick transformed. ''that was ridiculous , all i did was throw a simple punch and not only did i give away the general position of this base i also just announced that i had something extremely powerful!'' nick ranted mentally but he knew that he was just belly aching over spilled milk at this point. ''first things first i need to move the base so i don''t get swarmed by curious people.'' he thought before using the control technique to move the base three miles away as quickly as he could without looking suspicious. if anyone was paying attention they would notice a cloud traveling unusually quickly in a single direction. not two minutes after nick had the base move away several people showed up on the ground who seemed to almost blend into the world and one of those people was of course elder sun whos face was twitching slightly. "oi old sun didn''t you go tell that brat to quiet down yesterday?" an old man in a emerald robe asked. Elder sun sighed "i did tell him that yesterday but if the fact that his base is no longer here is anything to go off of that brat probably didn''t mean to create such a commotion , if anything I''d wager he was testing something out didn''t realize that this would happen." he said while shaking his head. "out of curiosity do you know what this strange energy that feels like an enraged demon beast yet somehow more dominant is?" a middle aged looking man with slicked back purple hair and a white robe with gold edges asked. everyone there froze when they heard this mans question before they also wondered what this faint energy was now that someone had pointed its strangeness. elder sun had an idea of what this energy may be so he spoke up "you are all aware of how that brat created a new type of cultivation right?" he asked seriously. everyone looked at him before nodding. "it''s just a guess but maybe this energy is a product of this new method." he said calmly. the others nodded thinking that this was entirely possible since besides nick no one else knew the inner working of this new method. "If that''s the case then i have an idea of what might have happened to cause this event." elder sun said honestly. "this is also just a guess based on the first one so it might be wrong but as the creator of this new method the brat might also not know how this energy works so he was testing it when this event happened which would fit perfectly with that brats personality." elder sun said seriously. Chapter 230 - Aftershock(2) "Do you mean to tell us that a display of power on this scale was merely a test? i find that hard to believe." with man in emerald robes said sarcastically. elder sun shrugged "the brat has a habit of doing hard to believe things , though you already know this Mikael." he said with the same sarcasm. mikael glared at elder sun " you are lucky i respect your strength old monkey." mikael said threateningly. elder sun''s eyes glowed golden before he transformed into a golden furred monkey and pulled a small stick out of his left ear which grew into a red staff with clouds depicted on it. elder sun roared towards mikael while releasing his aura that covered a range of twenty miles that kicked up a storm of blood thirst directed at mikael. "do you want to test this strength you respect so much bird!" elder sun roared challengingly. mikael''s face grew dark at the last word elder sun said and six silver feathered wings unfolded behind his back while a halo of light manifested above his head while he also released his aura that covers slightly less distance than elder sun''s aura. The two auras clashed sending violent winds and massive shockwaves between them causing the others to retreat further away to avoid being dragged into the conflict. "ENOUGH!" suddenly a voice echoes through the air and with it a mysterious force scatters the auras and presses both elder sun and mikael into the ground firmly. "BOTH OF YOU ARE TO CEASE THIS POINTLESS CONFLICT IMMEDIATELY!" the voice commanded leaving no room for argument. both elder sun and mikael retracted their auras and reverted back to their previous appearances with fearful expressions. the mysterious force vanished after the two transformed back allowing the two to stand again where they bowed respectfully to no one. "we apologize to divine lord subhuti!" they both yelled respectfully. even though no response came the two remained bowed for five whole minutes before they straightened up and nodded at each other in agreement to some unspoken arrangement. the others approached the two again and unlike what one would ?ssume none of them had any intention of gloating in the twos misfortune for fear of the owner of the voice from earlier. "assuming what old sun said about the brat is true how do we proceed from here?" The group discussed what to do about nick for ten minutes before they decided that they would leave him alone for now to see if he would be quiet from now on. meanwhile nick was fleeing with the base while the auras of elder sun and someone he didn''t know rolled over making him ignore staying hidden and flee rapidly. Chapter 231 - World tiers Once nick felt he had fled far enough he stopped the base and quickly settled the clouds that had been swirled from the air pressure around the moving base effectively hiding the base again. "fuck that was close!" nick cursed before deciding that he needed to figure out how to practice without creating waves since otherwise his strength other than his cultivation would start to fall behind. while he was deep in though he felt something tap him on his shoulder causing him to turn around and see millea standing there with an excited look on her face. "what was that form you took it was almost as strong as someone two tiers higher than you?" she asked curiously. nick shook his head "i haven''t named it yet since truthfully i didn''t expect it to be so powerful when i was only testing the abilities of this new energy." he said honestly before pausing. "speaking of how powerful it was do you by chance know how i could practice without announcing to the world that i''m doing something impressive?" he asked seriously. millea thought for a moment before speaking. "if you are only practicing without trying to effect the world i suppose you could use my realm." Nick was surprised at her answer. "can''t others feel what is going on in your realm though?" he voiced his doubts. millea shook her head "i am the goddess of darkness which is by nature an obscuring force so if i don''t want anyone to know what is going on in my realm naturally only someone more competent in the power of darkness could peer into my realm forcefully and if such a person is trying to observe you it is pointless to hide anyways." she explained casually. nick was confused "aren''t you at the pinnacle of darkness laws , how could someone be more competent than you at them?" he asked while visible confused. " it''s not really a huge secret so I''ll explain it to you." she paused " you are aware that there are other worlds besides this one correct?" she asked to which nick nodded. "what you probably don''t know is that there are four types of worlds the first is barren planets that have no qi at all making cultivation next to impossible." she paused to make sure nick was still following. Seeing that nick understood she continued. "the next is a low tier planet that has a small amount of qi making cultivation difficult but not near impossible like the first type , a world will be classified as low tier until such time as creatures there with cultivation become common. the next type is mid tier worlds where cultivation is common and deities have been formed to maintain the balance of the world since cultivation in large scale would throw the balance into chaos otherwise. a mid tier world will stay as such until such time that someone develops to the point they can travel in the void outside the world. the final type of world is a high tier world where people capable of traveling the void have occurred at least five times all the way till traveling the void become commonplace." Chapter 232 - Learning Millea paused so that nick could soak up this knowledge. "this world is almost at the peak of the mid tier as only a single individual has reach the point of traveling the void and since i am a natural born deity my control over the power of darkness is only at the level that this world can sustain." she finished honestly. "so only someone who could travel the void or the darkness deity of a high tier world could spy into your realm right?" nick confirmed when she nodded. "well that''s reassuring to know." nick said in relief before slipping into the dark realm. once he restored his fiend energy nick began practicing with it to figure out how it could be used and after a day of practice nick had figured out roughly how the rules of the fiend energy worked. the first was that the fiend energy could only be used on his own body or anything directly in contact with it. this discovery left nick a little upset since that greatly limits the range of moves available to use in combat though if it is used for crafting it is excellent. Nick wondered what the difference between using fiend energy and using qi in crafting was and what he hound was that when using fiend energy for crafting the process was much smoother and even resulted in top tier products. besides the utility of using fiend energy for crafting nick also how out that if he forces the energy to circulate on the surface of his skin his resistance to the energy of law based attacks get multiplied by around three times however using the energy like this burns a massive amount in order to hold it for than a moment. the most ridiculous use of the fiend energy nick found was that if he circulates it in reverse his entire existence seems to fade immediately. not only does his aura become harder to sense but so does his scent , heartbeat and even his physical body seems to blend into the background. this feature was unexpected since the fiend energy had a very aggressive feeling to it making stealth be the last thing you would ?ssociate it with. nick left the dark realm exhausted where he went to his room and went to sleep. Chapter 233 - Timeskip A few months pass as nick made sure not to cause any commotions when he experimented with anything by going to the dark realm making the world finally relax thinking that his spurt of genius finally ran out. in this time nick had gotten mastery of the abilities of the fiend energy he had discovered previously which he named the fiendish arts due to how integral the fiend energy was to use them. tyrion had evolved into a tier five lesser darkness griffon in an ironic twist due to him being in close proximity to the goddess of darkness for a long period of time. the system had rewarded nick with the blood essence of a strange creature called a star devourer for completing the hidden mission of being contracted to a member of a higher race like that of the wyrms. tyrion didn''t change much during his evolutions save how he no longer had a sense of disunity from when nick forcefully mixed two completely different bloodlines. nick advanced his cultivation to the peak of void completion as well as his body to the skin stage of the iron tier at which point he learned from millea about the tiers after void completion. Apparently the reason nick couldn''t know about it was because it was the beginning of the process to deification which was a complete elevation of existence to another level. what nick was horrified to learn was that during the process to breakthrough to the next tier which was called sage tier was that one would be struck by the heavens to forge ones existence and that absolutely no one was exempt not even children of nature since it was impossible to ascend otherwise. what was worse was that the strength of the tribulation was based entirely of the strength of the person taking it meaning that an extreme existence like nick would cause a tribulation that felt almost apocalyptic. as a result nick put off breaking through to the next tier and focused on creating the next parts of body refining as well as of his cultivation technique which took an entire two months of focusing on that task alone to accomplish. after that he took a week to relax before he started grinding his professions to the highest he could which was tier five since he had learned that the higher tier of energy one gains after ascending was needed to create anything beyond that point. Once nick finished raising his professions he increased the levels of his techniques by a level. azdra during this time had grown as large as a sedan which meant he was no longer able to hang onto nick which made him very unhappy. nick was a little worried about azdra as according to millea azdra will reach adolescence meaning he will have to undergo the tribulation that accompanies reaching that stage since adolescent wyrms are tier seven minimum. Chapter 234 - Invitation Nick knew that besides cheering azdra on there was nothing he could do to help him with his tribulation. nick pulled up his status to figure out what to improve before he underwent his dual tribulation and it was as follows. ______________________________ NAME: Nicholas varia AGE:15yrs RACE: human/demigod BLOODLINE: DARKWAR DRAGON KING Contracted beast: tier 5 lesser darkness griffon(tyrion) Money:500299998 DC:1400 Level:120 Legend:1 BODY REFINEMENT: Iron(skin) CULTIVATION: Void completion tier 9 PROFESSION: alchemist tier 5 , array master tier 5 , blacksmith tier 5 , inscription master tier 5 , healer tier 5 , cook tier 5 SKILLS: swordmastery lv3 , bowmastery lv1 '' inferno step lv3 , area of absolute control lv4 , myriad forms lv20 , void core lv2 , absolute qi control lv1 , dragons wrath lv4 , dragons might lv15 , divine might lv15 , faceless mask lv3 , Peace of mind lv2 Body control (user has complete control of their physique including nerves, pores ,veins, etc) Divine charm (user naturally emits an aura that attracts others to them like a natural leader) Nature child (user is accepted by the laws of the universe, let one cultivate without angering the heavens) Dragon kings mark (owner has been marked as the dragon princess''s fianc¨¦ for being more exceptional than any other.) Monster (user has surpassed even geniuses in many ways , culture with twice the results with half the effort.) Iron body(user has a body as durable as iron) First (user is the first to do something great and is rewarded by the heavens) STRENGTH:8000 AGILITY:8000 INTELLIGENCE:6000 CHARISMA:3000 LAW: Space advanced completion, devour perfection, fire advanced completion, water advanced completion, air advanced completion, earth advanced completion, dark advanced completion, light advanced completion. SYSTEM EVALUATION: keep it up* ______________________________________ Looking over his status he didn''t see much he could work on since his mortal body was already at the limit it could contain laws safely and that was only because the laws were in balance otherwise his body would have likely collapsed on itself. seeing this nick sighed because he knew that if he wanted to continue getting stronger he would either need to get more bloodline or ascend since those were the only options left at this point. nick decided to look at the bloodlines in the system shop but before he could do so millea came into his room casually since in the last few months the two had gotten much closer to the point she had become much more aggressive in her actions even going so far as to "accidentally" flash him when changing clothes. Chapter 235 - Invitation(2) Besides no male in their right mind would turn down a harmless peek if a beautiful women offers willingly. while nick may have some problems due to his experiences mentally he is still mostly sane or at least enough that he only falls into the eccentric category. truth be told if one is truly not sound of mind when cultivating they will more likely than not die of qi deviation so insane cultivators are so rare it is easier to get a dragon to worship you wholeheartedly. nick was aware of this so he wasn''t bothered all that much by millea''s actions even if he was uncomfortable with how much she was trying to accelerate the relationship. nick was interrupted when he was training one this day as millea walked over and dropped off a sealed envelope to nick which at first confused since he couldn''t think who would be sending him mail. curious nick open the envelope which burst with vibrant energy forming a floating invitation to attend the world cultivation convention which is an event were the most powerful cultivators as well as exceptional individuals meet to discuss the future on a global scale. Nick was confused why he was being invited at first but it seems the person who made this invitation knew this as the floating lettering changed into a list of things worthy of global attention the foremost of which was his self discovered cultivation method. the list explained each of his known achievements as well as how much interest they were individually to the global cultivation community. reading through the list made nick realize how reckless he was in exposing himself in the past. once done reading the floating writing condensed together into a token the size of a quarter with a globe on one side and a sword on the other. nick stored the token away before he sat down with millea and discussed weather he should go or not. "due to the rules preventing anyone from attacking you when you are there or directly afterwards i think going would be useful to you" millea said before taking a sip of soda which is her new favorite beverage. nick thought about it for a moment "while that''s true i can easily imagine how many people i might offend by not sharing information about my secrets considering how valuable they are." he said worried. Millea shook her head "to be honest i''m fairly certain that anyone seeming offended over that is in fact acting in hopes of making you slip up as it is very common for the creators of methods to keep them to themselves until the point they are confident none can match their attainments quickly." she explained patiently. nick nodded as what she said made sense "then what would you suggest i do to prevent such a thing from happening?" he asked seriously. Chapter 236 - Planning Millea thought for a moment before she answered "the easiest method would be to mention the others who had done the same before anyone starts their act but i am pretty sure they will bring it up first to stop you from doing precisely that." she said before pausing and nick thought about something that made him scowl. "you said that the leaders of the cultivation world and individuals with special achievements would be at this event right , so does that include the dragon clan?" nick asked with venom when he mentioned the dragon clan. millea sighed "yes the dragon clan is one of the leaders of the cultivation world so the dragon king is likely to be there unless something urgent happens in which case the clan will send a proxy meaning long tamia." she said while flinching at the wrathful energy waves subconsciously radiating off nick at the mention of long tamia. nick calmed himself placing the lid firmly back on his fiend energy that had been agitated with his emotions and started to boil over. millea sighs in relief as something about the energy coming off of nick in that moment felt slightly menacing like it wanted nothing more than to destroy the world. What neither of the the two were aware of was that the fiend energy takes on unique properties depending on the person who cultivates their body and the properties that nicks fiend energy had were based on his affinities which were near perfect but due to the fact that nick had the system he had the affinity for the destruction and creation which were universal laws of the highest level meaning that a tiny part of his fiend energy carried those properties and it can b?r?ly be felt by people at millea''s tier. "aright sorry for that continue." nick said to which millea nodded. "besides the first method there are two others that you can use one of which i don''t suggest unless absolutely necessary. the first is to wait until you are asked to share your knowledge and then give something completely useless which will end the topic there unless one of them decides to be greedy and demands more at which point deny having anything else no matter what is said after that. i actually don''t want to even mention the last method as it can lead to you invoking the anger of the younger generation in other clans." She paused with a hesitant expression before speaking again "the last method is to insult the other clans by saying how simple it is to recreate your achievements and as a result there is no need to share anything as you were merely lucky to figure it out first and those clans with deep roots are far more talented. the reason i don''t suggest this method is that while it will get the clans off of your back it will make the younger generation face great pressure due to their clans trying to recreate your feat effectively making the entire younger generation angry at you." Chapter 237 - Planning "I think it would be wise to leave that last option as a last ditch plan." nick said seriously. millea nodded "that is a good idea because the last person who used this method died in an ambush by the others in his generation." she said calmly. "that sounds about right for this world." nick shrugged. "out of curiosity when are you going to ascend because from what i can see your mortal body is at its limits?" millea asked changing the subject. nick noticed the shift in topic but didn''t mind. "i need to find a place far from others because i have a sneaking suspicion that my tribulation will be very flashy." nick said not directly answering her question because not even he knew when the right time would come exactly. millea nodded since from what she understood about nick was that he was truly exceptional so it wouldn''t be odd for his ascension to be rather flashy. "there is an uninhabited small island west of the port city of lumis that would be perfect to ascend on." she said after some thinking. "really? how big is the island?" nick asked curiously. "Not big only a hundred miles wide but its completely barren with out any plants or animals of any kind making it perfect for what you need." millea said honestly. nick thought about it for a moment and indeed this seemed like a perfect place to ascend safely but the fact that nothing lived of the island made him suspicious. "alright we can head over to the island to check it out and if there is nothing odd about the island I''ll ascend there." nick said calmly. after the conversation ended nick made sure he had recovery items for after he ascended but millea told him it was pointless because anything besides tier seven items are useless after ascending would be rejected because of their mortal nature. the only exception to this is spirit stones merely because those are pure energy to begin with. this irritated nick but there was nothing he could do so he left the lower tier items behind bringing only a few tier seven ingredients and high grade spirit stones before he and millea left to travel roughly northwest towards lumis port. the trip was rather uneventful as besides the occasional bandit nick killed for fun nothing happened. Arriving at lumis nick noticed that the architecture was rather odd as rather than the usual square shape most buildings he had seen in this world these buildings looked like domes with windows on the sides and a circular door. nick marveled at the interesting buildings until millea explained when she saw his interest. "this city is in an area where tsunamis are common and as a result the buildings are designed so that any time a tsunami hits it will only wash over and around the buildings harmlessly.." she said calmly. Chapter 238 - Tribulation Nick was amazed at the stubbornness shown by the people of lumis who rather than relocated to a safer area actually designed their buildings to withstand tsunamis as if to spite nature itself. nick and millea entered through the gate before heading to the local cultivator market where they looked over the goods displayed by the wondering cultivators and surprisingly nick managed to find a teacup with a technique imprinted on it behind a deception seal. in truth since nick used the system to identify most of the things he couldn''t name off the top of his head there was no way he would miss nabbing a hidden treasure if he could help it. after paying what the rogue cultivator wanted for the cup nick and millea left lumis from the port since it was a tacit agreement between cultivators not to fly over cities since it riles up the mortals living in them. the last thing the cultivation community needs is for a massive amount of mortals to decide to try cultivating making the already limited resources dwindle even further. nick and millea flickered across the surface of the ocean like a pair of mirages as they headed towards the island she had mentioned at inhuman speeds. It only took them two hours to arrive at this "small" island and as millea said there wasn''t a single piece of grass anywhere in sight. using the system nick checked the island for any trace of abnormality but besides the fact that the soil was completely barren there wasn''t any. seeing that it was safe nick nodded at millea who distanced herself in order to not be mislabeled as a helper and targeted by the heavens during the tribulation. nick stood in the middle of the island and closed his eyes then took a deep breath and then pushed both his qi technique as well as his body refinement technique to their limits which caused a a chain reaction that felt like two chains within himself strained before snapping flooding his body with power. from the outside it looked like nick started glowing in an aurora of colors while his body started to change shape as his skin became bright sliver. nick grew shorter until his almost three meter tall body was only around six feet tall but his body no longer looked like a body builder but more lean but this loss of size made him even more intimidating rather than less. Two short horns grew from nicks forehead pointed upwards while law runes scrawled across his body like living ink and a thin whip-like tail with a sharp spike of bone at the end grew out and flicked in a predatory manner. on his hands his nails fell out and were replaced with hard black razor sharp pointed claws that glinted with a metallic sheen. if his mouth and eyes were open it would be seen that his teeth grew thick and sharp like a lion and his eyes changed into two glowing red serpent pupils while his hair turned crimson like blood.. theses changes took mere moments however they would prove vital too nick in the long run as finally the bloodlines in his body fused together to create a new bloodline that is unique to nick as well as will grow more powerful as he himself does. Chapter 239 - Tribulation(2) This transformation ended when nicks forehead split open to reveal a vertical eye that unlike the other two had no sclera which is the white part of ones eyes instead the entire eye was a spiral of black law runes that constantly rotated making any who looked at it feels as though all their secrets were revealed. nick opened his eyes after breaking through to pseudo ascendancy as the only way to completely ascend was by surviving against the ascension tribulation. dark clouds rapidly gathered above nick as he familiarized himself with his new form that while much smaller than he was before felt far more powerful . the thing that intrigued nick the most was that his horns , eye and tail all served an actual purpose rather than just being decorations. his tail for instance acted as both an extra limb but also had the nifty ability to detect his surroundings behind him sort of like having eyes on the back of his head. his horns on the other hand had the unique ability to absorb curses and change them into fiend energy to add to his pool of energy. As for the third eye nick grew he could tell that it had several uses but he couldn''t figure out what they were at the moment so nick turned his attention to the ever denser clouds above his head that started to growl with red lightning as well as an odd golden lightning as well. nick was surprised at the golden lightening as he had read about the ascension tribulation in order to prepare himself and two separate types of lightening had never been seen during the ascension tribulation as far as he was aware so he could only ?ssume it had something to do with him breaking through in his body refinement at the same time as his qi cultivation. nick didn''t have time to think about it any longer as a loud ring called out of the cloud telling nick that his tribulation was beginning. after the heavens sent its warning the first blot of red lightning the size of a thumb flew towards him which he clashed with a energy covered fist sending a shockwave out as the lightning collided and burst from the impact. immediately after the first bolt dissipated the second bolt twice as thick shot towards nick at even faster speed before being dissipated but another fist nick sent to meet it only this time the energy on his fist wavered slightly. this confrontation occurred seven more times with each bolt having double the strength of the previous as by the ninth bolt ended nick had a haggard shape with most of his body being scorched and large portions of his flesh having been evaporated under the lightnings tyranny.. immediately after the ninth bolt dissipated an extremely profound energy rushed towards nick healing him back to full health only this time he had truly ascended with his qi cultivation however the ominous golden lightning still swam in the clouds above nick as though waiting for him to finish healing. Chapter 240 - Tribulation(3) The qi in nicks body before he ascended was dense and tyrannical but only now after having ascended did nick truly understand the difference in levels between the two energies as his qi no longer felt dense so much as it now felt like an abyss with seemingly no end. this change in quality was so large that for a moment nick struggled to control his qi as it felt foreign almost to him. as soon as nick managed to control his energy the heavens rumbled as if to remind him that he was in the middle of a tribulation causing him to turn his attention back to the sky. once nick focused on the sky again a lick bolt of golden lightning the size of his arm shot down towards him tyrannically. the bolt of lightning had an aura of innate destruction while simultaneously bearing a hint of creation. nick had no time to ponder this seemingly impossible mix as the bolt collided with his fist before ignoring it entirely and rampaging within his body scorching his flesh and drying his blood. It was at this moment that nick realized that he could only use things related to his body refinement to withstand this kind of tribulation. nick hurriedly used his refinement technique to repair the damage done to his body only to realize that the hint of creation in the bolt was doing so to begin with. from the time the bolt struck nick to now only a second had past and another bolt was rumbling to tell of its impending descent. nick had no time to fully heal himself as no more than a second later the second bolt twice as large as the previous shot towards him forcing nick to coat his fist in his fiend energy and punch at the bolt in hopes to minimize the damage. like last time this bolt collided with nicks fist only it was greatly weakened before it started to damage nicks body. in this way nick knew that he could use his fiend energy to weaken the blows but in order to refine his physique being damaged was inevitable. thankfully the creation energy that was left behind after the damage was able to repair nick even further than before since not as much damage had occurred.. soon an even larger bolt struck and nick clashed with it ferociously but his body was scorched black from head to toe from the rampant energy giving him a dreadful appearance. this clash occurred much like the previous tribulation with a total of nine bolts each twice as potent as the last an after it was over the cloud vanished as though they were never there to begin with revealing a scorched black skeleton with steam rising from it in a terrifying visage that made millea shudder to look at as the only thing that separated this skeleton from a destroyed corpse was the faint life signal coming from it. miraculously millea watched as the blacked parts seemingly shed a layer to reveal silver bones before organs and flesh rapidly grew on the frame each seemingly perfect before a layer of steel colored skin cover the flesh and eyes that had just been regrown though some changes had occurred from the previous body as the tail was slightly thicker with more muscle and the horns had grown from a mere centimeter to an entire inch in length . the claws on each finger and toe had changed from a dark black to a metallic grey and the now regrowing hair was a brilliant ruby red. Chapter 241 - The first fiend god Within nicks body not a trace of the bloodlines that were there still existed and in their place a new bloodline that while thin had near limitless potential. this new bloodline was formed when nicks body started to generate its own bloodline upon ascending and rather than being ?ssimilated into the already existing bloodlines in order to purify and strengthen them this new bloodline actually devoured the others in a tyrannical manner. the reason that this unheard of thing had occurred was that unlike most cultivators who only had a lower tier bloodline upon ascension nick had a high tier bloodline due to his dual ascension in both qi and body refinement and because it was a bloodline created naturally rather than one introduced later it consumed the unnatural bloodlines. the heavens themselves blessed this bloodline as well due to the fact it was the first bloodline formed through body refinement which gave this bloodline a royal status in the future when other bloodlines formed from body refinement will appear. nick would only learn about this status later when he shared his cultivation method and he meets another cultivator with a fiend bloodline. Nick opened his eyes and felt the changes in his body as it seemed that some unknown pressure was lifted off his shoulders leaving only a comfortable feeling. after search his body thoroughly he realized that all of his bloodlines had vanished and only a single unknown bloodline was left. nick was surprised about this change and feared that he would lose the abilities he gained from the bloodlines would disappear as well but after trying to use them he found that not only did they not vanish but they had in fact grown even more potent. nick could also tell that this was not the only thing that his new self could do as well as he felt that this new bloodline was far from simple but he didn''t have time to investigate it at this exact moment.. nick took a step towards millea but since he wasn''t used to his new power used far to much strength when step forward which launched him at super sonic speed right into millea who caught him easily before holding him firmly against her br??st smothering him in squishy clouds. nicks brain short circuited for a moment as the sudden shift in perception added onto the soft abyss he found himself held onto proved slightly too much for him to process for a short period. Millea happily held nick against her womanly ?ssets while her mind raced at the naughty scenarios playing in her head including where nick in his joy from breaking through took her right there on that island. unfortunately millea was bound to be disappointed as nicks brain finally rebooted and he hastily freed himself from the abyss and distanced himself by teleporting as he refused to embarrass himself further. Chapter 242 - Extreme speed "So i''m aware that was mostly my fault but you don''t have to look so thrilled about it." nick said embarrassed. millea grins "i''m not apologizing." she said cheekily. nick carefully starts trying to move without launching himself in any particular direction and after about fifteen minutes of him hilariously failing he finally got the hang of it. "ah that''s much better but before we leave this island there is a slight problem that we need to fix." nick said seriously. millea ???ked her head in confusion "i don''t thing there is any problem." she said not figuring out what nick was talking about. nick shook his head before pointing at his horns and tail. "in case you didn''t notice this appearance wasn''t based on only one of my cultivation types but instead was caused when all of them fused together meaning unlike before i cant just suppress one thing and revert to human form." he said slightly peeved at the inconvenience. "ah! i get it , you don''t know how to revert back to your human form anymore." millea said enlightened. "yeah and I''d rather not deal with people in this form since it basically screams that i did something major again.." Millea giggles" you do realize that you have a technique that makes you disguise yourself almost perfectly right?" she asked knowing perfectly well the answer. nick froze for a moment before dropping his head in self admonishment. slowly nick changes into his human form if not just a bit shorter. afterwards he removed a bit of talisman paper and the spirit brush he found long ago before he quickly created a strange design on the paper that seemed redundant as it merely forced ones appearance to stay as it was when the talisman was applied which would be pointless for almost any situation other than this one. sending a pulse of qi through the ink to dry it as well as charge it nick stuck the talisman between his shoulder blades were it took effect immediately allowing nick to drop the technique without changing into his true form. "that''s much better since it will save me a lot of trouble in the long run." nick said calmly. "so do we go home now?" millea asked. nick nodded "yes though i think we will run for a while first since i am curious how much faster i am now." Millea giggled before shooting off towards the east with only a race challenge. nick smiled and chased after her instantly reaching supersonic speeds while still accelerating faster and faster. the sheer air pressure from his speed causes the air in contact with his thin qi barrier ignites from friction making nick look like a meteor shooting across the horizon. nick kept accelerating more and more as he pushes his speed to its limits eventually reaching such a speed that he appeared like a flash of lightning tearing the clouds around him violently asunder at his mere passing. Chapter 243 - New status Nick arrived just outside lumis where he slowed down rapidly before landing next to millea who grinned at him smugly. "don''t act like you didn''t have a huge advantage." nick said slightly salty from his loss. millea shrugged "you can''t really blame me when you almost have the strength of a ascendant noble right after breaking through you monster!" she complains cheekily. nick can''t really blame her since he is well aware of his own monstrous strength. nick and millea walk through lumis in a relaxed manner before heading back to the base where nick went into millea''s dark space in order to test his new strength and the shear difference from before he ascended was like heaven and hell , absolutely incomparable. after ascending nick could flick his finger with the same force as a full strength punch before he ascended not including the fiend god transformation. the biggest difference though was that he felt like some weight that was on his shoulders had been removed making every use of his strength feel smooth unlike before where it felt stifled like something was pushing in the opposite direction. after nick tested his strength he left the dark space in order to get some rest. Nick took it easy until the convention only improving his professions to the next level since he could support them with his ascended energies after which his status looked like this. ______________________________________________________________________ NAME: Nicholas varia AGE:15yrs RACE: human/demigod BLOODLINE: FIEND GOD(royal) Contracted beast: tier 5 lesser darkness griffon(tyrion) Money:500299998 DC:1400 Level:1 star Legend:1 BODY REFINEMENT: steel(blood) CULTIVATION: Ascendant(2%) PROFESSION: alchemist tier 7 , array master tier 7 , blacksmith tier 7 , inscription master tier 7 , healer tier 7 , cook tier 7 SKILLS: swordmastery lv3 , bowmastery lv1 '' inferno step lv3 , area of absolute control lv4 , myriad forms lv20 , void core lv2 , absolute qi control lv1 , dragons wrath lv4 , dragons might lv15 , divine might lv15 , faceless mask lv3 , Peace of mind lv2 ABILITIES: awareness (user is aware of all things around them even without seeing it.) Divine charm (user naturally emits an aura that attracts others to them like a natural leader) Nature child (user is accepted by the laws of the universe, let one cultivate without angering the heavens) Dragon kings mark (owner has been marked as the dragon princess''s fianc¨¦ for being more exceptional than any other.) Monster (user has surpassed even geniuses in many ways , culture with twice the results with half the effort.) steel body(user has a body as durable as iron) Ascension(qi is purified beyond mortal standards) Faith source(uses the faith energy gained to purify the spiritual impurities passively until it can no more.) First (user is the first to do something great and is rewarded by the heavens) STRENGTH:2 stars SPIRIT:1.5 stars INTELLIGENCE:1.5 stars CHARISMA:1star LAW: Space advanced completion, devour perfection, fire advanced completion, water advanced completion, air advanced completion, earth advanced completion, dark advanced completion, light advanced completion. SYSTEM EVALUATION: greatness awaits!* Chapter 244 - Cultivation convention On the day of the convention nick woke early so he could double check his preparations so he wasn''t left in a dangerous situation. one of these precautions was a seed of destruction that he purchased to threaten the lives of anyone who didn''t get that he had no intention of sharing his secrets and tried to force the issue. besides that he stored a decent amount of spirit stones in case he got trapped somewhere without qi so he could survive as he no longer required food after ascending. after that he boobytrapped the base heavily in case someone came snooping after he went to the convention. originally he wanted to store it in his own pocket space but decided that would be suspicious to anyone trying to find his base. once all his preparations were complete nick sent azdra into his pocket space with tyrion where they made themselves at home right away putting nicks mind at ease. nick walked over to millea who was waiting patiently for him before speaking. "I''ve taken care of my preparations we can go now." he says calmly before millea opens a portal and they step through. On the other side of the portal was a wide array of tents with many different sigils on them representing various clans or tribes that had come the number of which seemed endless. "so what exactly are we supposed to do at the moment?" nick asked seriously. millea shrugged "probably set up a tent and find out where the meeting spot is though normally it is in the middle of the area." she said calmly. "sounds like a plan.." nick said seriously. they quickly found a vacant spot where they set up a tent with white material and millea''s symbol in black on the side since nick didn''t actually have a sigil. inside the tent was a few simple chairs and a table as well as two futons rolled out on opposite sides of the tent much to millea''s chagrin as she thought she could "accidentally" roll unto nicks futon but obviously that won''t work now. nick smirked at her disappointed expression before they headed out of the tent to look for the meeting area. as they walked between the tents various people walked about taking care of their own business completely ignoring each other in the process. If nick was honest he could almost swear that this area seemed like a small city with how bustling it was. after about five minutes nick and millea bumped into the head of the welk clan who definitely didn''t look happy at the idea as annoyance was written all over his face. "what do you want?" he said tensely. nick acted hurt at the tone "and here i thought we were friends why would i ever expect such a cold greeting , truly you wound me." nick said dramatically even letting out a fake tear. millea giggled when the the welk patriarch looked like he swallowed a fly after hearing nick before he sighed in defeat. "seriously brat you just refuse to take a loss , well whatever just drop the act before you ruin my clans image with your antics." he said calmly. Chapter 245 - Cultivation convention(2) Nick shrugged "if you insist , to be honest i want to know where the meeting spot for this convention is so i''m not wondering around like a headless chicken when it starts." he says calmly. the clan leader rubs his forehead when he hears what nick said. "so instead of asking literally anyone else you sought me out just to figure out where the meeting spot is located correct?" he asked irritated. nick nodded causing the clan leader to groan in frustration as a head started to take root. "what did i do to deserve this can you tell me goddess?" he asked millea hopeful she could tell him how to be rid of nick for a while at least. millea giggled at the clan leaders misery "just send that boy jakob back already and i''m sure you won''t personally need to deal with my beloved for a long time unless someone from your clan acts out of line." she said with an amused expression. the clan leader immediately turned to one of the servants next to him and told her to fetch jakob without any hesitation at all. nick couldn''t help laughing at this action of throwing jakob under the bus. The servant quickly entered the tent wordlessly while nick and millea waited patiently for her to return with jakob. "so how have you been since i left , you look simply dreadful i do everything is alright." nick said with mock concern. the clan leader sighed knowing nick would likely bother him until he answered.. "i am fairly certain you know what sort of management nightmare you left behind with all those actions of yours. i have only just managed to get the elders of my back after repeatedly warning them against taking action on you for your secrets. honestly couldn''t you do anything low key while you were there." he griped at nick. "to be fair most of that could have been avoided if i don''t know say someone didn''t try to over reach their means." nick said defensively. the clan leader wanted to argue but knew it was pointless. "regardless it still caused the entire clan to be quite on edge while we tried to figure out what defensive measure you had hidden in our space. admittedly none of us had thought that it was actually on your person until that girl you taught your method to pointed out the idea." Nick shrugged " its not like i would just tell you what it was so you could try to get around it after all." he said noncommittedly. the clan leader shook his head at this since it was completely true. thankfully the servant returned with jakob at this moment which let the clan leader let out a sigh of relief as he wasn''t aware but nicks new bloodline was causing him to be slightly pressured mentally like he was standing before a royal being above him entirely. this unnoticeable pressure is the entire reason he only felt annoyance rather than anger at the mess nick left behind since subconsciously he couldn''t bring forth any substantial anger in nicks presence. Chapter 246 - Cultivation convention(3) "Son i am appointing you as the go between for the clan and nicholas over here." the clan leader immediately threw his son under the bus without hesitation. jakob almost tripped when he heard his father since he was given no time to process that nick was here or he would not be surprised at what his father said at all. nick laughed at jakob when he almost tripped earning himself a mean look from his friend in the process. jakob stopped glaring at nick and looked at his father seriously. "and what is my exact role as the go between just so we are clear?" he asked flatly. the clan leader sighed " your job is to be the middle man between the clan and him in the case either has need of the other for something so that he doesn''t have to come to the clan space every time." he explained calmly. jakob nodded and walked over to nick and frowned a little. "you have grown smaller yet it feels as though you are far larger than before , you did something crazy again didn''t you?" he asked seriously while eyeing nick suspiciously. Nick shook his head vigorously "no no no i only did something all cultivators do if they continue advancing i swear." he adamantly refuses jakobs claim. jakob raises an eyebrow at this since he couldn''t think of anything that could change someone so much that a normal cultivator would do besides maybe obtaining divinity but that is very unlikely as otherwise nick would likely explode. "and what is this normal thing you did that caused such a large change?" he asked not believing nick at all. nick looked at millea "can i just say it or would that cause a problem?" he asked her seriously. millea thinks for a moment before replying "well it is considered difficult it is also within the limits of genius so it shouldn''t cause any issues." she said calmly. nick nodded at this before turning back to jakob "since it shouldn''t cause any problems i can tell you that i have ascended already in both of my cultivations." he said calmly. jakob and the clan leader both froze when they heard nick and couldn''t help but exclaim "WHAT!" drawing the attention of the other people nearby. nick flinched at the exclamation since he wasn''t expecting it "why did you react like that?" he asked curiously. Jakob glared at nick frustrated at his oblivious expression. "while like the goddess said it is not beyond the purview of genius what she forgot to mention is that the last person to ascend did so a hundred years ago and the youngest person to ever ascend on this world was fifty years old almost triple your own age and that''s not even to mention that you ascended in both of your cultivations to which there is a total of ten people on this world who have done the same but none of which did it at the same time like you did." Chapter 247 - Cultivation convention(4) Nick sighed at his inability to stay low key before glaring at millea who looked away like this conversation had nothing to do with her. nick decided to ignore her since there was nothing he could do about her at the moment. "you mentioned that thee are ten others who had ascended in two different cultivations , who are they?" nick asked jakob curiously. jakob thought for a moment so he could remember before finally speaking. "well there are only five still alive at the moment as far as i know so i will talk about the dead ones since i''m not likely to offend them. the first is the blood king Luo who ascended with the blood refinement cultivation technique that is considered wholly evil because it requires the use of the lifeblood of other cultivators , he was killed by a huge group of cultivators who had ganged up on him eventually tiring him to death. the second is avatar kai who ascended with his self made elemental inclusion technique that made him become a part of the elements themselves making him near immortal however he was a womanizer who targeted the very same goddess standing behind you who got her sibling gods to lock him out of the elements temporarily before castrating him which caused him to die from cultivation deviation." Nick looked at millea with a strange expression when he heard this from jakob but she looked embarrassed and refused to make eye contact. jakob coughed to get nicks attention back before he continued. "the third is ghost lady mai who ascended with the evil spirit refinement method that turned her into a living spirit making her near untouchable however she stole something from the lord of yang who flooded her with yang fire burning away her soul. the fourth is the lord of silent night who ascended with his self made technique astral harvest that refined his qi with the power of the stars , he died when he was betrayed by his Dao companion who stabbed him in the back while he was cultivating killing him as well as herself when the unrefined star energy exploded out of his body upon death. and the fifth is lady nuwa who ascended with her mud creation technique that allowed her to create life but the heavens themselves jealously guard that right and so sent the full totality of its power against her after she ascended with that method before she could recover ending her." Nick was astonished at the last one as he didn''t realize that the heavens would act in such a manner that basically forced one to death. he thanked the heavens for their mercy since he didn''t realize that some paths are heavily frowned upon and he dodged a hidden bullet unknowingly. "is there anyone i should be wary of here at this convention?" nick asked jakob seriously. "besides the usual old fogies after your technique the only ones i can think of off the top of my head is the divine lord subhuti but that is more likely because he likes to bring talented people under him as disciples.." jakob said with a bit of a chuckle. Chapter 248 - Cultivation convention(5) "Why does that name sound familiar?" nick asked curiously. millea spoke up at this point "he was the only person capable of traveling the void safely." she said seriously. nick looked enlightened at this "i remember now elder sun mentioned that his master subhuti was interested in me at the academy." he said seriously. millea nodded "that sounds like him though it is a bit odd that he hasn''t approached you yet." she said slightly bothered. "normally he would have approached you in some sort of display of profundity by this point so the fact he hasn''t is very unlike him." she said airing her concerns. "now that''s quite rude of you to speak ill of others behind their backs." a smooth male voice says from the side of the group causing them all to jump like at cat with its tail stepped on. the trio look over and see an old man with a simple appearance covered in a loose white martial robe leaning on a staff calmly. millea specifically looks horrified at the old man like hes the most dreadful thing she ever saw. "don''t look at me like that millea you break this old mans heart." he said. Millea shook her head "speak of the devil and he shall appear." she said spitefully. nick tries to get a sense for the old man but to him it felt like a simple mortal stood before him but he knew better than that. "i''m going to ?ssume you are subhuti from the reaction millea had to you." nick said seriously. the old man nodded "indeed i am he and you are the little fellow married to millea while the other is the child of the welk clan patriarch." he said with a hint of amusement. nick looked irritated at what the old man said. "i am not married to her." he said showing his irritation. the old man looked even more amused when he heard what nick said and a sly smirk crossed his face. "i am going to guess that millea told you that she intended to marry whoever took in her bloodline if they were worthy correct?" the old man asked still smirking. nick could tell that something was off about this situation but couldn''t help but nod in confirmation. the old man smirked even wider at this nod while pausing for dramatic tension. "did you know that natural born gods such as millea are incapable of outright lying?" the old man asked still smirking . nick shook his head meaning he didn''t know about it. "yes they are entirely unable to lie however that doesn''t mean that they have to say everything when they speak." he paused watching the wheels turn in nicks head and smirked even more when a look of realization crept on nicks face. "what millea didn''t tell you was that when you took in her bloodline you basically proposed to her and she accepted meaning for all intents and purposes you are indeed married.." the old man said with a chuckle when he saw the horror on nicks face. Chapter 249 - Cultivation convention(6) Nick looked at millea hoping she would deny the old mans words but instead she looked away guiltily. nick was about to get angry at this new revelation but it dawned on him that despite him technically being married to her already millea has not pushed him into the relationship forcefully but waited for him to become closer to her on his own. granted it would have been nice to know that extra baggage before he consumed the bloodline , the fact remains that he was the one who sent the proposal as it were , whereas millea merely accepted. "it doesn''t matter i suppose since as you said i was the one who initiated this interaction." nick said to the old man calmly. subhuti froze since he thought he had begun to reel in this big fish when it suddenly acted completely against his expectations and ignored the hook and bit through the line. millea looked happy for a moment before nick poured a bucket of ice on her excitement "that doesn''t mean we won''t be having a talk about this when we get back home." nick said to her with a slight glare letting her know he was serious. "As for you i don''t like it when people try to create discord amongst my people , i will let it go this time but don''t do such a thing again." nick said to the old man sternly who looked surprised before laughing. "you actually think you''re able to threaten me , now that is some funny stuff right there." subhuti mocked while laughing before nick did something made him choke on his laughter from worry. nick removed a seed of destruction from his inventory while releasing some of it destructive aura making the space and earth tremble as though in fear before just as quickly suppressing the seed into silence. "perhaps i might not be able to threaten you directly but if i targeted all your allies and disciples with this how many could you save?" nick asked with an aggressive smirk. subhuti looked conflicted for a moment before he sighed in defeat "fine you win lad i am not so unreasonable to go poking a sleeping wyrm just for kicks." he said before looking at nick sternly "remember that not everyone is as understanding as i am and will fold to such a thing as mutual destruction." subhuti said warningly before leaving in a puff of smoke. After subhuti left the trio headed back to the tent nick set up where he complained to millea because she didn''t mention the proposal before they called it a day from the stress of meeting the strongest person on the planet. Chapter 250 - Cultivation convention(7) A few days later and the convention had officially started and jakob lead nick and millea to the location of the meeting which was on the far side of the campgrounds. after arriving nick saw several teachers from the academy including the headmaster as well as subhuti and several other people he didn''t recognize sitting around a huge table. nick took the seat labeled with his name after checking it carefully for traps while millea did the same. jakob was waiting outside the meeting area since he was not invited. after all of the seats were filled the convention officially began and everyone discussed the various things that had occurred in the past ten years since the last convention such as the disappearance of the sub continent were nick originated from to the demon reemergence event that frightened many. soon however the topic of rising geniuses came up and many people bragged about their own children as well as any dark horse that appeared and this included nick. once nick was brought up everyone present looked at nick who was sitting calmly in his seat. "oh please bear me no mind and do continue your conversation." nick said trying to make everyone ignore him as unimportant. "Quite humble of you little one though i''m sure i speak for everyone when i say we would love to know your secret." obviously nick didn''t succeed. nick sighed "in truth i was merely lucky is all." nick said seriously. the person who spoke up pressed further "i am afraid you will need to elaborate further." nick shook his head "i don''t have to do anything but for the sake of peace of mind ill explain a bit. you see i had stumbled across an inheritance left by some mighty figure that let me obtain a perfectly talented body. and as for discovering the method for cultivating the body i simply stumbled across it in a fit of enlightenment." nick said with a shrug. everyone around the table discussed what nick said and found that indeed that would explain most of what nick had accomplished but this only made them greedier. "if this is true then i''m sure you would share these great things with everyone else right?" one of the ones nick didn''t recognize asked with clear greed. "before any of that what is the most valuable thing you have?" nick asked. "I don''t see how that is relevant." the person said with a frown. "oh it is quite relevant since if i am supposed to share my most valuable things with everyone it is only fair that everyone else does the same.." nick said with an evil grin making everyone who didn''t know him already realize that he was no ripe fruit for harvest but a monster luring in victims. Chapter 251 - Argument "that is not how this works young man." one of them says with an angry expression. nick laughed at the person making their face every uglier. "last i checked that is precisely how a trade worked no?" nick quipped. nick released his both of his ascended auras stifling the space as everyone felt the weight of it pressing down on them making the non ascended and weak ascended amongst them groan in pain. "i am already tired of this farce so let me be blunt i won''t be giving anything to anyone without getting equal payment for it and even then only if i feel like doing so." nick said seriously before restraining his aura again. "you dare to threaten us!" one of them yelled angrily getting yells of agreement from across the huge tent. nick shook his head "threaten you? no that was me telling you all that i am already on your level and only the gods as well as subhuti himself have any right to demand anything of me." he said firmly. a huge portion of those in the tent looked offended but when they remembered nicks aura they knew he wasn''t lying. The rest of the meeting continued without anyone really bothering nick not that there wasn''t some who tried it was just that they didn''t accomplish anything except making nick remember their names and faces. the meeting was over a day after it began everyone left including nick millea and jakob. "you know you have probably offended most of the important people in the world with you actions right?" jakob asked nick with a sigh. "to be fair they offended me first." nick said trying to defend himself. "so you decided to flip the political chessboard without thinking?" jakob asked rhetorically. "see when you say it like that i makes it seem like i did something bad." nick complains. "bad nooo what you did was put a target on the back of everyone who has anything to do with you including me by the way." jakob ranted angrily. "hey it''s not that bad since i didn''t threaten anyone right?" nick asked seriously. jakob ?r??n?d "you in no uncertain terms basically spat in everyone''s face and then proceeded to take a shit on their front lawn. so to answer your question yes it is that bad." jakob said with a depressed sigh. "So if i wiped out a whole clan it wouldn''t help?" nick asked seriously. jakob looked at nick in shock "the fu?k did that come from?" he asked surprised.. "hmmm i guess violence is not an option then, what to do , what to do?" nick said under his breath with a thoughtful expression. Chapter 252 - Solution "What if i just leave this world would that work?" nick asked seriously. jakob looked like he wanted to argue about it but stopped himself when he realized who he was trying to argue the unlikeliness of such a thing with. "ok well yes if you left the world then everyone here would have no choice but to ignore your provoking actions." jakob said seriously. nicks eyes shined when he heard jakob say this. "so now we have our solution which ironically is also something i would have done anyway." nick said calmly. jakob sighed before heading back to his room in the base to cultivate so he doesn''t get dragged into any of nicks crazy actions. now that nick was alone he thought about what he needed to do in the mean time to prepare for his departure from this world since he was sure with how broken his talent is he would reach the level of cultivation needed to leave in no time flat. ''well first i should upgrade the arrays of the base to tier seven while also adding a new function since i reached a higher mastery.'' he thought before doing precisely that and upgrading the bases arrays to tier seven. This caused a huge change in the base that nick honestly wasn''t expecting as the purification array , the qi gathering array and the cloud camouflage array all fused into a single unique array that did the functions of the individual arrays but nearly a hundred times better meaning the sheer amount of purified pill qi in the base reached such a level that it began to condense into a sort of strange liquid that shimmered like a rainbow. nick tested this liquid and found that it was basically pill qi condensed into a sort of liquid pill with massive benefits like taking the properties of whichever pill was soaked in it. besides this pill liquid the change in the arrays also super boosted the cloud camo to the point it created an entire three mile wide cloud cover that constantly changed its shape making it even harder to tell where the base was. the qi gathering merely drew more qi from the surroundings leaving the base like a miniature cultivation holy land that most clans would kill thousands for the chance to use even for a sort time. Nick decided to add an extra layer of security to the base since it would be bad if someone accidentally found the base and spread news of it into the world.. the array nick added was a unique array that he created based on millea''s dark realm that basically made the base ethereal to anyone without an invite leaving it nearly impossible to accidentally enter. Chapter 253 - Problem Nick was happy with how the base turned out and completely didn''t notice that both jakob and millea were staring at his from the training field. "i bet fifty high grade spirit stones he won''t even realize what hes done until someone mentions it." jakob said calmly to millea. "you''re on , easiest fifty stones i ever earned." millea said while shaking jakobs hand firmly before the two continue watching the clueless nick. speaking of nick he had this nagging feeling that he was forgetting something important but for the life of him he couldn''t figure out what. in the end nick decided it must not be that important and continued modifying the base this time he was updating the strange metal he created that functioned as the foundation of the floating base. nick found it unacceptable that the foundation of the base was a mere tier three material so he began to experiment with a fresh batch he created so he could figure out how to boost the tier of the material to at least six. after going through countless experiments nick even managed to exceed his own goal and figured out how to turn the metal into a tier eight material. Normally this would prove problematic for crafters of a lower tier than the material but since nick was only using the stuff for its floatation property rather than its ability to be crafted into powerful equipment it wasn''t a huge problem. nick used his control spell to make the base get closer to the ground before he jumped off completely ignoring his surroundings. after landing nick turned the metal foundation into a liquid with his manipulation technique while holding the earth and buildings above that completely still to prevent any damage to it. nick then went through the process to upgrade the material into its tier eight counterpart which was completely black except for the white dots that spot the entirety of the material like stars. nick named this new material flight metal mostly because he couldn''t be bothered to think up a proper name for it. after recreating the foundation far better than before nick attached it firmly to the earth and buildings that he had been holding in the air completely undisturbed by his actions. once the new foundation was attached to the earth and the other arrays an amazing thing happened. The moment the base was fully upgraded by nick adding the new foundation the entire base shuddered slightly and a pillar of light shot out of the base covering a huge distance all around as a chime rang out throughout the heavens not just on this world but across the entirety of the heavens alerting numerous experts who all turned their attention towards the source of the heavenly announcement. after the phenomenon ended nick looked horrified and quickly used his control spell to flee in his new and universally unique base. Chapter 254 - Tourist Neither jakob or millea said anything to nick since it was pretty clear that he realized how overboard he went with the base upgrades. the worse part for nick however was that even knowing that his home was completely unique he also knew a few ways it could be improved making it even more stupidly broken. it was a good thing nick fled as quickly as he did as moments after he did every expert above ascension in the world showed up looking to strangle nick for a variety of reasons. the most prevalent reason however was that thanks to whatever nick had done this world is soon going to be swarmed by cultivators from across the heavens curious above whatever he had done or to put it bluntly , tourist were coming. one or two foreign experts would not be a problem however that heavenly announcement extended to every cultivator above ascension meaning at the least that several thousand cultivators are likely to show up. the shear amount of ascendant cultivators will cause a sort of unhealthy expansion of the worlds strength that will leave it heavily weakened once the foreign cultivators left. After a weeks worth of time the native experts fears were realized as droves of foreign experts started to descend from the void looking for the source of the announcement. meanwhile that very source was hiding in his pocket dimension on his floating base looking depressed. "i don''t get it how could literally no one in the entire universe make something similar , it just doesn''t make sense logically." nick complained loudly while millea massaged his shoulders and nodding in agreement. "you are right that it is odd that no one had done something similar , even i think its unusual since it seems like something that cultivators would naturally do given how they normally act." millea said with a feeling of suspicion. what neither of them knew was that the reason it had never been done before is that majority of cultivators thought that a pocket dimension or domain was the ultimate form of base while the remaining cultivators simple thought that being underground was the best for of residence meaning that literally no other cultivator had thought to create a mobile base that flies like nick had. When nick finished upgrading his base the heavens read his intentions of having a space fairing base and could determine that nick would indeed acquire such a thing eventually so it made the announcement prematurely so it didn''t need to deal with it later. Chapter 255 - Time skip This premature announcement spooked nick into hiding like a timid turtle which while understandable left all the foreign cultivators who had came weather for good or bad irritated. this irritation was then taken out on the poor cultivators who didn''t know better than to give these foreign cultivators a wide berth. multiple clashes occurred between both groups and while the natives won a few times majority of the time the foreign side won and the price for losing is death. the native population of cultivators was cut down to a quarter of what it was before these foreigners showed up with most of those left being the members of a clan or sect. nick hid away for the next three years where he trained and cultivated daily constantly growing stronger. after having ascended nicks cultivation speed had dropped significantly mostly because it was no longer about the amount of qi absorbed and refined weather that be qi cultivation or body refinement. instead the progress nick made was based on his understanding of the laws he used when he ascended and because he used a huge amount it took longer for him to grow even a little. At the end of these three years this is what nicks status looked like. ________________________________________________________________ NAME: Nicholas varia AGE:18yrs RACE: human/demigod BLOODLINE: FIEND GOD(royal) Contracted beast: tier 7 greater darkness griffon(tyrion) Money:500299998 DC:1400 Level:3 star Legend:3 BODY REFINEMENT: steel(bones) CULTIVATION: Ascendant noble(17%) PROFESSION: alchemist tier 7 , array master tier 7 , blacksmith tier 7 , inscription master tier 7 , healer tier 7 , cook tier 7 SKILLS: swordmastery lv6 , bowmastery lv1 '' hell step lv3 , area of absolute control lv6 , myriad forms lv20 , void core lv5 , absolute qi control lv3 , dragons wrath lv4 , dragons might lv15 , divine might lv15 , faceless mask lv3 , Peace of mind lv4 ABILITIES: awareness (user is aware of all things around them even without seeing it.) Body control (user has complete control of their physique including nerves, pores ,veins, etc) Divine charm (user naturally emits an aura that attracts others to them like a natural leader) Nature child (user is accepted by the laws of the universe, let one cultivate without angering the heavens) Dragon kings mark (owner has been marked as the dragon princess''s fianc¨¦ for being more exceptional than any other. fading from soul refinement) Monster (user has surpassed even geniuses in many ways , culture with twice the results with half the effort.) steel body(user has a body as durable as iron) Ascension(qi is purified beyond mortal standards) Faith source(uses the faith energy gained to purify the spiritual impurities passively until it can no more.) STRENGTH:3 stars AGILITY:3 stars SPIRIT:2 stars INTELLIGENCE:2 stars CHARISMA:2 stars LAW: Space perfect completion, devour perfection, fire perfect completion, water perfect completion, air perfect completion, earth perfect completion, dark perfect completion, light perfect completion. SYSTEM EVALUATION: almost good!* Chapter 256 - Leaving the world As seen in nicks status he had only managed to reach seventeen percent spiritual impurity removal placing him firmly in the ascendant noble tier. nick had also broken through in his body refinement twice and his soul refinement once which brought a large increase in his ability to understand law. nick had already mastered all of the world level laws that he knew so the only thing he could continue to improve was his skills and techniques which he did for a few levels before he he felt for the first time a bottleneck of sorts. it wasn''t a traditional bottleneck in that the heavens were trying to stop his rise , no this bottleneck was because the world itself could b?r?ly support small increases of his strength at a time. this meant that if nick wanted to continue improving he had no choice but to leave this world. this had its own problems however as he knew that the moment he tries to leave old man subhuti would definitely try to stop him since he had the greatest chance of reaching ascendant lord and raising the strength of the entire world by a good chunk in the near future. While it is true that nick reaching that tier would raise the strength of the world it still wouldn''t bring the world into a high tier world until someone else also reached ascendant lord. in the end nick decided that he would leave regardless of how subhuti begged him to stay simply because the fact of the matter is that nick was unwilling to delay his progress for the benefit of someone else. after confirming that he was definitely going to leave nick then wondered about those he would take with him when he went obviously azdra and tyrion would go with him but he was unsure if jakob and millea would come as well. in fact nick wasn''t even sure that millea could come with him even if she was willing since she was the goddess of darkness for this world. nick asked jakob and millea about it in the following days and while jakob agreed to go so long as he could tell his family millea broke the news that while she could go with him if she did she would lose all of her power as a goddess leaving only her talent and the little strength she got from her own body refinement process that nick put her through. Nick told her that the choice was hers but that he would support her fully if she came with him and even offered to teach her his body refinement technique if she did so. it would be a lie to say that nick had grown quite attached to millea in the past few years as they had even taken a step forward and started officially dating as well as other things not suitable for children. Chapter 257 - Leaving the world(2) Nick began to prepare the base to travel the void by modifying the array to create air as well as to be very heat resistant. the reason for the heat resistance was because in the void there is literally nothing to tone down the temperature around forcing objects to take the entirety of that heat. after taking care of the durability issue nick worked on increasing the speed that the base traveled since he didn''t want to b?r?ly move on a cosmological scale after traveling for decades. the way nick fixed this problem was by chaining several small spheres of the same material as the foundation of the base. theses spheres were independently covered in a multitude of acceleration inscriptions each working together to send the spheres to frankly ridiculous speeds. from what nick could tell with these spheres pulling the base he would travel safely at just under the speed of light and if he discarded safety almost twice as fast as light. while this seems impressive for cultivators capable of traveling the void it was just average since inhabitable worlds are quite far apart usually meaning to really get anywhere meaningful this is the smallest speed acceptable. The date nick had decided to leave was rapidly approaching and few things had happened during this build up. the first was that jakob had talked to his family who reluctantly agreed to him going with nick when he left and some had even asked if they could tag along. nick immediately made it clear he only intended to bring those he was close to with him a category none of them fit into. the second thing that happened was that millea had renounced her godhood which was a huge spectacle as the entire world shuddered and seemed to wail as the laws and powers of the darkness deity left her. funnily enough this was the thing that tip subhuti off about nicks plan causing the old man to practically beg nick to reconsider. nick explained that he had no intention of staying put when it only benefits someone else. nick even explained how little this world had actually done for him as well as how eager the other cultivators are to rip him apart at the first chance they get. in the end subhuti couldn''t find any reason why nick should stay since all of his points were valid. That conversation had happened a month ago and in this time nick has basically been power leveling millea with both his body refinement technique as well as the pills to go with it. as it turns out her talent in this field is absolutely monstrous as in only a short month she had gone from a mortal all the way to bone stage of iron tier. though to be fair nick himself is a dual cultivator with his body refinement being of secondary importance whereas millea was focusing on body refinement alone.. still nick wasn''t worried since even if she surpasses him in body refinement hers is still inferior to his own since he refined his body with a huge number of laws while she only used two being darkness and life funnily enough. Chapter 258 - Leaving the world(3) The life law was an odd one since it worked in extremely subtle ways on whatever it was used on. an example of this is if someone used the life law to attack when you got hit you would not be able to tell. you would go on thinking that everything is fine and the attack was a dud but then you would suddenly start to age rapidly before dying all without knowing what had happened. the reason for this is that the life law affects lifeforce directly and can effectively rip it out of whatever it is used on. it was for this reason it was considered a universally accepted rule not to antagonize a life law user. there was a clan that did so at one point since the cultivator was only a nascent soul at the time and that single cultivator used the law on every member of the clan they came across. what they did was from a clan standpoint terrifying as they didn''t kill the clan members but made them infertile so the entire clan could only watch their bloodline slowly fizzle out. needless to say there are some fates worse than death for cultivators and to watch your entire bloodline fade to nothing at the hands of a single person was one. The fact that millea had this law confirmed nicks decision not to anger her for no good reason even if she was unlikely to use the law on him. one of the most interesting things that happened during this week was that the news that he was leaving the world had circulated. the source of this information was likely the welk clan members nick had rejected to take with him. the effect this information had in the cultivation community was like a grenade going off as most of them thought nick should at least leave behind a legacy since he was from this world. nick decided to use this to create an inside joke by leaving a message that even someone who had never watched anime in his previous life would recognize. "if you would seek my treasure you will find there in one piece." this brief message sent the world into a feeding frenzy as cultivator scrambled throughout the known world for traces of his legacy. this isn''t to say nick didn''t leave behind a legacy only that no one was likely to find it since he left it directly above the sea where the island he grew up on used to be. At the end of the week nick brought his base into the normal world and sent up higher and higher until the "cap" of the world was the only thing stopping it. with one final fair well to the world below nick left the world with a single harsh push through the cap and into the void beyond. Chapter 259 - Void The void was an unusual thing for nick since at first glance it seemed like its name suggested ,empty. the truth was that it was actually so filled with universal laws that it was like a raging ocean that he couldn''t see the bottom of. the biggest difference from being on a world was the sheer ease at which one could cultivate there. when he was on restrus nick had to claw for every inch of advancement after he ascended but when he tried to cultivate in the void his cultivation began to rise far faster at nearly ten times his previous speed. the only gripe nick really had with cultivating in the void was that he had to replace to worldly laws he had fused with the universal laws that were of a far higher quality before he could advance. this was a perfectly acceptable thing for nick since doing so would only make him stronger so he had no problems doing so. oddly however the people he brought with him into the void who had not reached an ascendants level which is to say jakob and millea acted drunk because of how potent the universal laws were. Apparently the sheer purity of the laws and by extension qi was so different for a non ascendant that it made them feel like they had drank some strong liquor. since millea was just a single body refinement tier away from ascending she was merely slightly tipsy whereas jakob was having trouble standing at all and laughed occasionally for no apparent reason. azdra and tyrion were fine however since both had reached an ascendant level even if only b?r?ly in azdras case. a huge problem had occurred however with the plants in the base as without exception all of them mutated. most irritatingly however was that the layer of blue grass nick had planted for aesthetics had mutated in a mind numbingly large amount of ways from have razor sharp edges to literally being on fire. whats worse is that the mutation went by a blade by blade standard so it was a huge mess of random attributes mashed together haphazardly. in the end nick decided to ignore it and focused his attention on cultivating while ignoring millea''s bored attempts of trying to get a rise out of him. the drunkenness shown by jakob and millea slowly faded as their bodies adapted to the change which took a month for jakob and a week for millea. A year had past since nick left restrus with him having the base travel in a straight line with no real destination in mind the entire time. in this year jakob had ascended with two laws and millea had done the same with body refinement. something that interested nick was how different millea''s fiend god body looked compared to his own. her body lacked wings and a tail like his had but unlike his her body naturally had inky black skin and a silver third eye on her forehead. Chapter 260 - Higher realm This day started out like most others after nick had left restrus ,with him waking up next to the clingy millea. getting up carefully so as to not wake her nick got dressed and left the room. walking over to the training area nick started to draw in the surrounding laws to continue refining his body as well as purify his spirit since he had recently finished replacing all of the worldly laws with universal ones. nick was completely unaware of his surrounding as he focused on cultivating otherwise he may have noticed the void was suddenly starting to become turbulent. the void only became turbulent under two circumstances , the first was when two cultivators fought there and the second was when the space in the void grew unstable. the first scenario wasn''t a problem normally whereas the second was practically a death sentence. nick started to notice that the laws he was drawing in started to become scarce and after opening his eyes to see why he grew pale. "EVERYONE UP!" he yelled loudly waking up everyone else who started to scrabble into ready states. after the others saw the situation outside the protective shield they all grew pale even the beast in the base. The void outside the bases barrier howled and tore a tears in the very fabric of space randomly popped up leading to who knows where before closing. nick took manual control of the base and began to try and navigate out of this void storm. unfortunately he failed as a huge space tear opened right around the base giving none aboard the chance to react before it closed ripping out a huge chunk of the base that included some of the inscriptions. this removed all the protection from the passengers as they were violently pulled away from the rest of the base into the chaos of the storm. nick b?r?ly had enough time to store tyrion within himself before watching the other tree getting pulled into separate rifts that closed behind them. nick tried to protect himself from the tearing void and only managed to prevent himself from losing any limbs as the storm tore chunks of flesh from him before he to was pulled into a space rift after his dantian shattered from a stray void wind causing him to pass out in the space channel that spat him out violently into the side of a mountain somewhere unknown. Tyrion felt nicks body and followed its first instinct to grab nicks limp and battered body and flee to safety. it was a good thing he did too as several beast with frightening auras teleported to that spot to investigate the disturbance. these beast could tell that a space rift had opened here and spat out something but they couldn''t figure out what meaning that more likely than not it was some sort of creature which stoked their greed since anything that could survive a space rift had to be quite powerful and more importantly valuable. Chapter 261 - Restarting Tyrion flew for several hours at top speed with nicks unconscious body carefully avoiding every other creature that he saw. after flying for two hours tyrion found a cave that was over grown and obviously abandoned. entering it without removing the foliage at the entrance tyrion saw that the cave was only large enough to work as a shelter for nick and after giving nick a healing pill from his own stash tyrion reentered nicks contract space to wait. an hour later nick stirred and ?r??n?d as he sat up with his full body aching. nick tried to flex his qi to heal himself but the lack of qi in his body cleared up his foggy mind. nick remembered just before falling into a spatial rift how his dantian was crippled and decided to check his body refinement before he panicked. nick focused on his fiend energy and let out a sigh of relief when it began to flow around his body rapidly healing it. nick remembered that he got something from the inheritance that might solve his broken dantian and began to dig through his inventory. searching for a moment nick found the item he was looking for and pulled up the system entry for it. ____________________________________ ITEM: SEED OF THE THOUSAND FACED TREE GRADE:6* DESCRIPTION: The seed of a many faced peach tree that evolved into a divine tree and reached the lord tier cultivation before shedding this single seed. can restore ones broken dantian and grant an innate physique based on the consumers talents if consumed on an eclipse. SYSTEM EVALUATION:NICE! ______________________________________ This item alone solved nicks broken dantian however he noticed that there was a detail in the description that would put a large delay on his recovery. in the description it explicitly stated that it would only work on an eclipse. unfortunately nick had no clue where he was much less when the next eclipse was. after his body finished healing nick spent the next three days adjusting to his new situation since he was used to having both qi and fiend energy together. once he got used to using fiend energy alone nick summoned tyrion from the contract space and thanked him for his efforts. together the two began to explore the surrounding area and came to a disturbing conclusion. where ever the two had ended up it was a place much stronger than restrus. The reason they figured this out was because most of the cultivator beast they came across in this vast forest were tier seven at the minimum. ascended in general were fairly rare on restrus with there only being about two hundred on the entire world whereas nick had seen at least fifty in a single day here.. nick would have been thrilled to come to a place like this normally however with his dantian crippled and him having only his body refinement he was only as strong as a high tier seven beast. Chapter 262 - Information gathering Nick slowly explored the area around the cave and he was both amazed and worried by what he found. there were natural treasures seemingly everywhere which meant after restoring his dantian nick could recover his cultivation realm rapidly. unfortunately the plethora of treasures also meant that there is likely no humans anywhere near here. the reason nick came to this result was because he is very aware how selfish humans are when it comes to resources. basically so long as they can humans wouldn''t leave a single treasure behind if they could help it. with this knowledge nick sent out tyrion to collect information from the local demon beast specifically pertaining to the next eclipse as well as any info on humanity. tyrion was gone for two weeks after that in which nick spent pushing his body refinement as hard as he could the entire time. when tyrion returned he managed to push it into the next sub tier putting him b?r?ly at a tier eight beast level. according to what tyrion learned the next eclipse was in three months roughly and it was an important one apparently. the eclipse in question was apparently a once in a thousand year event known as the convergence were the entire system lines up and the barriers between dimensions become paper thin. This eclipse would definitely give nick something good if he used the seed during it so he set a reminder in his head to remember it. the rest of the information tyrion learned was that they were in a higher realm which was when most of an entire galaxy was comprised of top tier worlds. the biggest difference between this and a lower realm was that ascended cultivators make up the majority of the population of cultivators. this world in particular was actually located on the edge of the realm and was one of the weakest worlds in the realm. this information in particular horrified nick since it meant he was little more than an ant in this realm. tyrion learned that there were four beast in charge of this forest each of which was an ascendant emperor and were pushing towards the next realm which was apparently called the domain tier. these rulers had a set territory that they ruled over and the place nick was staying was located in the territory of the female phoenix ruler. Nick could only hope that this female wasn''t looking for a spouse since he had had quite enough of having stronger women eyeing him. nick spent the next three months preparing for the day of the convergence first by turning the cave into a proper cultivators abode with several inscriptions and even a small array.. next he used his fiend energy to continuously remove any impurities that started to soak into him from this time without qi so that when he uses the seed he gets the best result possible. Chapter 263 - Eclipse Nick spent the next three months shoring up any flaws he had from getting his dantian crippled such as using fiend energy to move the shattered shards back in one place. this is not to say that he fixed his dantian rather that he made it easier for the seed to do its work. he had done this with the hope that if the seed didn''t need to use more energy to repair his dantian it would give him a better physique. if questioned why he was so focused on the physique nick would say that he has seen what people with them are capable of. nick might have been a nature child but that didn''t mean he was better than those with physiques , no in fact he would be slightly worse since the benefits of being a nature child still required a good amount of effort to succeed but the same isn''t true of innate physiques. even the lowest innate physique naturally draws in qi even if the person with it isn''t aware. this means that people with innate physiques are natural born cultivators that only suffer qi deviation if they force themselves into it and frankly nick wanted that. On the day of the eclipse nick set up a special formation on the top of the mountain that his cave is located on. this formation was specifically designed to draw in the unique qi that the eclipse created like a whale swallowing water and channel it towards the center of the formation where nick was sitting. now nick had all of his preparations complete and was only waiting for the eclipse to begin. thankfully for nick he didn''t have to wait long as within five minutes a strange qi was beginning to fill nicks surrounding which meant the eclipse was starting. nick didn''t use the seed immediately since his instincts told him to wait so he trusted them to do right by him and waited. not more than ten minutes later nick was glad he listened as the unique qi was beginning to spike at a rapid rate with no signs of stopping in sight. nick knew it was the perfect time now so he swallowed the thumb sized seed that was starting to glow. at first he wondered if maybe it was a dud but then he felt an agonizing pain far worse than any body refinement rip through his body starting from his dantian. Nick spasmed on the ground with his mouth open in a silent scream as pulse after pulse of pain wracked his body. in the place where nicks dantian pieces were located the seed sat and spun drawing in each and every piece one after the other into itself. each shard taken in sent a wave of pain through nick with each wave coming faster and faster as the unique qi grows denser. soon the last piece of nicks old dantian entered the seed and nick lay upon the ground breathing heavily. Chapter 264 - Changes Nick was thankful that the pain was over or at the very least hoped it was. nick frowned deeply when he heard an audible "crack" ring out from where the seed sat in his abdomen. more and more cracking sounds came from that area until finally the seed exploded sending the largest wave of pain yet through nicks body along with a boated sensation. this bloating was from the new dantian that came out of the seed expanding to fill the void the previous one left and then some. the remnants of the seed spread all over nicks body like grains of sand until the entirety of it was covered. the grains of the seed then did something odd , each one of them began to draw in the eclipse qi and expand. this process of continued until the pieces of the seed came into contact with each other making expansion impossible. at this point the seed pieces stopped expanding and began to draw in the eclipse qi before causing it to undergo a transformation into some unknown type if qi that was then flooded into nicks body. As the eclipse qi grew denser and denser so to did the unknown qi in nicks body until the eclipse was over and all the eclipse qi vanished. at this point the seed fragment dissolved entirely removing the only thing keeping the unknown qi in check. immediately the unknown qi began to eat away nicks body cell by cell while replacing them with new cells that shined in a black and white light. this transformation of his body continued even when nick fell into unconsciousness until the entirety of nicks body was replaced. at this point the rest of the energy flooded into nicks new dantian were it tempered it repeatedly until even that was shining in a black and white light. the remaining qi then condensed into a small puddle inside the dantian where it finally turned inactive. tyrion watched this entire process worried about his partner until nick began in what he could only describe as the most regal lights before all activity ceased. tyrion continued to watch over nick for the next four days in which time he noticed that the qi in the surroundings naturally gravitated towards nick before being absorbed.at first tyrion thought that nick was waking up but soon realized this was not the case as no matter the what he did nick wasn''t stirring. Tyrion just watched over nick while ignoring the odd phenomena of the qi around nick until the day nick actually began to stir. nick felt the qi flowing through him as he awoke which brought a smile to his face. sitting up nick immediately realized something was different with his body but he couldn''t quite figure out what it was until he went to flex his fiend energy only to find it gone. ''system status!'' he mentally commanded. Chapter 265 - Changes and recovery ________________________________________________________________ NAME: Nicholas varia AGE:18yrs RACE: human/fiendgod BLOODLINE: FIEND GOD(royal) INNATE PHYSIQUE: PRIMORDIAL CHAOS Contracted beast: tier 7 greater darkness griffon(tyrion) Money:500299998 DC:1400 Level:1 BODY REFINEMENT: none CULTIVATION: body refinement stage 1 PROFESSION: alchemist tier 7(unavailable) , array master tier 7(unavailable) , blacksmith tier 7(unavailable) , inscription master tier 7(unavailable) , healer tier 7(unavailable) , cook tier 7(unavailable) SKILLS: swordmastery lv6 , bowmastery lv1 '' hell step lv3 , area of absolute control lv6 , myriad forms lv20 , void core lv5 , absolute qi control lv3 , dragons wrath lv4 , dragons might lv15 , divine might lv15 , faceless mask lv3 , Peace of mind lv4 ABILITIES: awareness (user is aware of all things around them even without seeing it.) Body control (user has complete control of their physique including nerves, pores ,veins, etc) Divine charm (user naturally emits an aura that attracts others to them like a natural leader) Chaos child (user is loved by the laws of the universe, lets one cultivate without angering the heavens and even grants heavenly ?ssistance on rare occasions) Dragon kings mark (owner has been marked as the dragon princess''s fianc¨¦ for being more exceptional than any other. fading from soul refinement) Innate physique (user passively draws in the surrounding qi and cannot suffer qi deviation naturally.) Faith source(uses the faith energy gained to purify the spiritual impurities passively until it can no more.) First (user is the first to do something great and is rewarded by the heavens) STRENGTH:15 AGILITY:15 SPIRIT:3 stars INTELLIGENCE:150 CHARISMA:3 stars LAW: Space perfect completion(unavailable), devour perfection(unavailable), fire perfect completion(unavailable), water perfect completion(unavailable), air perfect completion(unavailable), earth perfect completion(unavailable), dark perfect completion(unavailable), light perfect completion(unavailable). Nick half expected this would happen but that didn''t mean he was happy about it. what is worse for nick is that he is completely defenseless without any cultivation at the moment. thankfully nick had already created cultivation pills with the local treasures he had collected. nick spent the next three months rebuilding his qi cultivation while ignoring his body refinement which let him re attain his ascended qi cultivation. it was at this point he started his body refinement again and much to his discomfort he took an entire year to re attain his previous might. The reason for this outrageous cultivation speed was due to the fact he cant experience qi deviation allowing him to recklessly charge ahead. another reason for this speed was due to him having already pasted through these cultivation levels meaning he already knew the way so he just need to follow it. the final reason though was how ridiculously potent the treasure and by extension pills made from them that nick used to supplement his cultivation.. after all of this time spent hidden away recovering nick finally re attained his previous strength and even gain a fair amount more due to his innate physique as well as the left over qi from when his body was remolded that fused with his nascent core strengthening it to ridiculous levels and making him far stronger than he was originally. Chapter 266 - Leaving the cave Nick finally had the confidence to try and find civilization after he finished recovering what he had lost and as a bonus tyrion had reached tier eight after waiting for nick to recover. the most interesting thing nick discovered after reattaining his cultivation level was the difference between his previous fiend god form and his current one. unlike his previous form this one had a layer of black bone like armor covering his body except the head which had changed to have sharp ears and sharper features. nick had also noticed that his bloodline had changed after he ascended again in body refinement. before it was listed as a royal bloodline whereas now it was listed as an arch bloodline and besides being able to tell that it was better than before nick could really tell what was different. the first day nick left the cave he stayed in his fiend god form for his own safety since he had no idea what to expect in this huge jungle. the second day he relaxed since he could tell that very little in this place paid him any mind so long as he continued to move along. Nick spent an entire week traveling at full speed before he made it to an ocean but what was most surprising was that he found signs of civilization along the shore as there were pieces of broken ships littering the beach. nick used his qi to search for any papers or documents that washed up along with the pieces of the ships. unfortunately he didn''t find anything of the sort though he did find a few interesting things including a skeleton that had a space ring that nick took. the space ring obviously belonged to a civilian since most of its contents were clothes and food supplies each of which nick disposed of immediately. the rest of the ring had a few documents in a foreign language that nick quickly learned with his cultivation before reading. most of the documents were trade agreements between different parties. one document however was about the odd item that nick found in the ring that looked like a scroll made of tiny metal parts with each part having an unbelievably small array on it. what had surprised nick the most however was that these thousands of arrays all seemed to be connected towards some purpose he couldn''t figure out. According to the document this scroll like item had been in this persons family for several generations none of which were able to figure out how it worked or even how to open it.. nick had to admit that this made sense since eve he who had reached tier seven in multiple professions had no clue how to open this odd thing. Chapter 267 - Tracing the coast Nick stored away the strange object and documents before he started to follow the beach around the entire landmass he was on leaving a mark behind to know if he had been there before. nick traveled along the beach front for an entire week occasionally finding interesting bits and bobs along the way. soon he had mapped out the entire edge of the landmass he was on and figured that it was roughly as large as one of the larger continent''s in his old world. if you are wondering why nick hadn''t just flown up to the void to look down at the world it was because he had never actually reached the point were he could travel the void safely. nick at this moment was actually just a single qi tier below that point but this wasn''t more than enough to stay in the void for more than a minute before it began to rip him apart. during his trip around the landmass nick had roughly figured out from what direction the ship pieces he sometimes found came from and was preparing to fly over the sea. The trip across the sea would be quite dangerous since most seafaring demon beast would be far stronger than the ones on the land due to their size. ironically it was because of this size that the most powerful sea demons couldn''t take over the surface as they struggled with their excess mass. nick didn''t know if there was some kind of anti flight zone above the sea so he made sure to spend a few days crafting a vessel to rapidly carry him if it became necessary. once nick had finished his preparations he flew high above the sea in the direction judged the ships to have come from. the first few days of flight didn''t have anything interesting happen but on the fifth nick had to flee from a massive creature that had teeth the size of cars that wanted to eat him. the creature gave up when it figured out that nick was far faster than it was after chasing him for an hour. after two more days of uneventful flying nick finally came across another landmass in the distance to which he sped up to arrive sooner. truth be told nick was growing increasingly bored of the monotonous task of continuous flying with no cultivation advancements at all. Nick was positively thrilled when he arrived near the land he had seen because there along its coast was a bustling city. nick was so excited in fact that he had completely forgotten to take into consideration that not every civilization was friendly to foreign cultivators.. by that i don''t mean cultivators from off world so much as those from literally any other kingdom or place. Chapter 268 - Temporary asylum Nick flew towards the city but before he could get close to it a man teleported in front of him. "HOLD THERE STRANGER!" the man yells startling nick. "can i help you?" nick says politely since he doesn''t want cause any problems. "state your name and place of origin" the man said stone faced. nick complied "my name is nicholas varia and i was born upon the world of restrus." he said honestly. the man looked to be in thought for a moment before speaking "how is it you have arrived upon ervant?" the man asked seriously. "i was caught in a spatial storm and fell into a rift that lead to this world." nick explained simply. "hmm , when and where did you arrive here?" the man asked serious as ever. "about a year and a half ago on a landmass in that direction." nick said before pointing in the direction he came from. the man thought for a moment before nodding. "what you have said matches with the information we have of the time you have stated and as such you will be given a temporary pass to enter the great red kingdom , however be aware that any infraction of the law will be met with extreme violence and forceful expulsion." Nick nodded since that made sense "do you have a written list of the laws that i can look over before entering the kingdom in the case there may be some law i am unaware of beyond the standard civilized set?" he asked calmly. the man nodded and took out a scroll with red furnishing before handing it to nick who read it over seriously. just as nick had ?ssumed most of the laws were the same as everywhere else however there were a few that seemed like they would be problematic. pointing at them he asked the man about the situations in which they would apply as well as how his action would be interpreted in said case. the man seemed impressed at nicks willingness to abide by the laws of the kingdom since he was very aware that most foreigners found the laws that he was explaining to be distasteful. there were three laws specifically that tended to cause problems , the first was that in the presence of the royal family one must use a show of respect. the second was that any treasures or inheritances discovered in the kingdom are to be reported to the royal family and if found interesting are to be turned over for a reasonable payment. The final law though is by far the most often the cause of problems as it was stated that any order received from the royal family are to be followed so long as they are within reason. the man noted that it was this law was the one that nick had asked about the most in detail asking about what would be considered reasonable and what would not. after answering nicks questions the man handed nick a small square plate of metal with several inscription on it that nick looked over before frowning. Chapter 269 - Temporary asylum(2) "Is there a problem?" the man asked seeing nicks frown. "yes, you see the inscriptions on here mostly make sense however there is one that is quite suspicious." nick said seriously. the man looked concerned at this but nick couldn''t tell exactly why. "are you an inscription master?" the man said seriously. nick looked at the man cautiously since he had the suspicion that not all was as he had thought. "i am, is that a problem?" nick asked while preparing to flee if he must. "no no don''t misunderstand me, there is a second set of procedures for inscription masters is all." the man says reassuringly. "alright then please explain." nick says while handing the inscribed badge back. "for inscription masters we are supposed to offer a different badge for the reason that should be obvious at this point." the man says honestly. "is there any particular reason why the other badge has a cultivation suppression inscription on it?" nick asked seriously. yes the other badge had a fairly well hidden but still easily noticeable inscription that unperceptively prevents the person holding the badge from advancing their cultivation without a huge amount of effort. "Don''t tell anyone i told you this but the kingdom uses the badges to boost the economy by having foreign cultivators collect large amounts of resources to sell for cultivation supplies." the man said seriously. nick wasn''t all that surprised to learn of this since it made sense that the kingdom would get some sort of benefit from visitors, he just didn''t expect the kingdom to use such an underhanded method to do so. "if this is true why don''t you use the same badge for inscription masters as well?" nick asked curiously. the man sighed "we tried once but quickly realized that it was pointless since any master capable enough to find the inscription is also completely capable of easily removing it." the man said with a shrug. "whats worse is that if we state that no damage is allowed against the badges by law we just end up striking ourselves since the masters usually just go somewhere else depriving the kingdom of their much needed services." the man explained with a defe3ated expression. "sounds like an awkward situation." nick says calmly. "it is, enough about that though we need to go over the slightly different laws for inscription masters." the man says getting serious again. The laws for inscription masters were basically the same with the exception that they were prohibited from using their skills to undermine the kingdom. while that sounds like it needed clarification at this point both parties knew what the hidden implication of that law was.. after receiving his new badge nick and the man parted ways and nick entered the city officially as a foreign visitor. Chapter 270 - Discrimination Nick descended from the sky into the city but rather than the awe he was expecting to find on the mortals faces he found despise. the looks on the mortals faces made it clear that he wasn''t welcome here so he simply ignored them after he landed. as nick walked through the city he had been spat at and even had a few people throw food and other items at him much to his irritation. even after all of this nick ignored the citizens of this city continuing to observe the area to learn more about it. nick spent a few hours observing the various parts of the city and using the information he got from it figured out how this kingdom roughly worked. nick learned that the hostility he experienced was because this kingdom was locked in a perpetual war with its neighboring kingdoms and as a result the residents of the kingdom had built up a generational hatred of foreigners. other than that nick learned that all forms of commerce were heavily controlled by the royal family with an iron grip. he immediately knew that the reason for this was so it was almost impossible for a rebellion to start since any purchase was logged and reviewed immediately. Oddly nick saw that besides insuring their continued rule the royal family could be considered extremely kind towards their subjects as even nobles were subject to the laws in place. this was further pointed out by the three types of law enforcement members that existed. the first was for mortal civilians and nobles to ensure order. the second was for cultivators both foreign and domestic one of which was the man nick had met earlier. the final type however existed to punish members of the royalty and were held in the highest respect by all of the people of the kingdom including the royalty. the last type existed solely to insure that tyranny from the royals simply couldn''t happen. nick wondered how this could work with the resources for cultivation that the royals had but further investigation had revealed that this group actually only had the most powerful cultivators in the kingdom or those with the talent to reach that height. nick had used his thousand faces technique to change his shape into that of a native with average features before purchasing an inn room at the same price as any other native rather than what he would have had to pay. Unknown to him at the time nick was being followed by a cultivator with profound concealment skills that was watching his every move. this individual was in fact sent to observe nick to discover if he would be a problem but as far as this observer could tell nick was far more patient and lenient than most cultivators which bothered this person.. the reason they were bothered is because of the oppressive presence that nick naturally exuded from his royal fiendgod bloodline. Chapter 271 - Poking the bear The observer reports back their findings and as to be expected they cause a large deal of confusion since the people in charge of this group were in disagreement on what to do. three groups of thought had shown up as a result. the first was the aggressive group who simply didn''t want to risk anything and wanted to outright kill off nick. the second group was the cautious group that thought that as long as nick minded his own business they should do the same. the final group was the one that could be be considered the neutral ground between the groups as the members in this group could see the logic in both of the other groups thinking but also knew that neither side was completely correct. in the end it was decided by a suggestion put forth by the third group that satisfied both of the other sides. the idea was that the group was going to use a series of three proxies completely unrelated to the group to hire an ?ssassin to attack nick to gauge his reaction. if this works correctly the group will know definitively whether they need to be worried about nick. The next week was uneventful for nick and those watching him as he didn''t leave his inn room for any reason. the observers came to the conclusion that he was likely cultivating since after he set up the isolation array they could no longer openly observe him. unknown to anyone nick was actually learning something extremely worrying should it be discovered. nick had learned shortly after he gained his new physique that he had an affinity with the three highest laws , the creation law , the destruction law and the law of chaos. after that he had spent a small amount of time trying to comprehend these laws starting with the most useful to him at the moment the destruction law. nick had learned quickly however that the highest laws were not so simply learned even by someone with an affinity with them as he only managed to catch a spark of the law he sought during this week. having merely a spark doesn''t sound that impressive but to put it into perspective the destruction seeds that he has used in the past that terrified even ascendant lords like subhuti was merely the same as a spark of the total law. Now that nick had grasped a spark of the law he could start the obviously long and difficult path of growing that spark into a the roaring sun that is the full law.. nick left the inn after grasping the spark and made his way out of the city since he wasn''t welcome there completely unaware of his hunter in the shadows. Chapter 272 - Scheming Nick walked along the the gravel road for a few minutes before he stopped and quickly sidestepped the attack aimed at his head. a sickly green beam of energy hits the ground after passing by nicks head causing it to corrode and sizzle. nick spreads his senses out and immediately locks onto the person who attacked him. the ?ssassin was surprised at how nicked dodged his attack but felt every hair on his arms stand up when nick locked his senses onto him in the shadows. the feeling of being stared at by a predator made the would be ?ssassin immediately realize that he was vastly outmatched in this case but before he could run nick appeared right in front of him. looking down at the crouching ?ssassin nick frowned and swung his right hand in a straight punch. the air cracked and with a resounding boom broke as nicks fist stuck to poor ?ssassin who couldn''t even scream before his body was ripped apart by the sheer force of nicks fist. with a slight flex of his qi nick erases all traces of the ?ssassin before continuing on his way. from a nearby shadow a form appears covered in a fearful sweat at having witnessed nicks strike. "the bosses aren''t gonna like this." the figure says before vanishing to go report their findings. latter in a secret area the higher ups of the spy were all gathered to discuss the anomaly that is nick. "could we recruit him?" one of them asked seriously. "unlikely , people like that tend to avoid large groups like ours. not to mention this man seems to stay away from illicit activities." another explains. "is he going to be a problem for our plan later?" another person asked concerned. "that depends on if we are lucky or not." the person who explained earlier said honestly. "elaborate." the other person said interested. "well from what i can tell the only way he would meddle in our plan would be if it affected him in some way. this means that due to the nature of our plan that if luck is with us he will not get involved however if we are unlucky all bets are off." the person explained seriously. "i don''t like the uncertainty of this new variable is there any way to stabilize it?" the other person asked with a frown. "Well we could always just wait until he is outside of a city before we start the plan that way he has no reason to get involved." someone suggest.. "hmmmm , that could work but if he doesn''t leave a city for several years our plan would need to be changed to not target where ever he is which is not a change we can afford."